Chapter 3201

This was a peculiar race that had almost gone extinct. Their clansmen were inherently weak and did not have much fighting ability, but they had a unique talent for cultivating plants.

It was rumoured that in ancient times, powerful cultivators liked to subdue one or two Wood Spirits to help take care of their medicine gardens. The quantity and quality of the harvested herbs in a medicine garden of 100,000 acres would increase by 30% as long as there was a Wood Spirit living in it. They were the darlings of nature and extremely rare existences.

As the years went by, the world continuously experienced changes. The topography of Stars in the Star Fields as well as the Star Boundary itself continued to evolve and develop. Similarly, changes among the species were common occurrences. Conversely, the Ancient Wild Lands had not changed since ancient times. That was why there were many rare creatures in this place that could not be found in the outside world.

The Wood Spirits were one such example, as were the Stone Spirits. These two races supported and depended on each other, forming a kind of symbiotic relationship. The Stone Spirit Clan provided the Wood Spirits with powerful protection while on the other hand, the Wood Spirit Clan granted the Stone Spirit Clan the ability to fly in battle. Without the help of the Wood Spirit Clan, the Stone Spirits could only fight on the ground, often resulting in them suffering heavy losses.

More than ten exquisite Wood Spirits flew towards Yang Kai and gathered around him like a bunch of curious butterflies.

“Hello,” Yang Kai smiled.

Both the Wood Spirits and Stone Spirits were very cloistered races. Under normal circumstances, they refused to interact with the outside world. Many of the Monster Race living in the Ancient Wild Lands had never even seen them before, only hearing stories of their existence.

However, Yang Kai was different. He had been to the territory of the Stone Spirit Clan more than 10 years ago and was received as an Honoured Guest by both them and the Wood Spirits. With how much they interacted, they no longer found him unfamiliar upon meeting again.

A female Wood Spirit landed on Yang Kai’s shoulders, leaned in close to his ears and said, “The Elders and our clansmen are waiting for you, please come this way.”

Her voice was very soft, and her cheeks seemed faintly flushed. Wood Spirits became shy easily. 

Yang Kai vaguely felt that this particular Wood Spirit looked familiar and soon recalled that she was probably the one who poured wine for him back then, but he couldn’t be sure, so he simply smiled in response and nodded, “Good.”

The Wood Spirits had an Innate Divine Ability that allowed them to make all the plants surrounding them for thousands of kilometres into their eyes and ears. Therefore, they immediately noticed his presence the moment he arrived. These Wood Spirits came here to meet him as a result.

The Wood Spirits led the way forward, and after walking for some time, Yang Kai arrived at the place where the Stone Spirits lived. The ancient trees in this area were far larger and taller than all the other trees anywhere else. Moreover, each and every tree had a natural Tree Cave that could be used as a house.

Nine huge Stone Spirits were standing in a line when Yang Kai arrived, with the one in the middle seemingly quite elderly. This figure was stooped and had a beard that looked like upside-down stone pillars hanging down to his chest; he had an appearance that was full of the vicissitudes of life. At this moment, he was looking in this direction with a smile.

Yang Kai walked over to it, cupped his fists, and bowed, “Elder!” 

Then, he glanced at the palm-sized female Wood Spirit with a flower crown that was sitting on the Elder’s shoulders, “Matriarch!”

“Honoured Guest, we meet again.” The Stone Spirit Elder chuckled, his dull voice making the ground rumble slightly.

“Lower your voice.” The Wood Spirit Matriarch, Mu Na, reached up to cover her ears.

“I am not worthy of the title ‘Honoured Guest’. Elder, please call me by my name,” Yang Kai said with a humble expression. A wise Elder deserved to receive the respect his age warranted. Besides, Yang Kai had a deep relationship with the Stone Spirit Clan. Be it Xiao Xiao or his Embodiment, both of them originated as Stone Spirits, “I came uninvited because I have something to ask of you, Elder.”

The Stone Spirit Elder laughed, but his laughter was much more constrained now, seemingly afraid that Mu Na might complain again, “We can talk after we fill our bellies. The last time you came here was more than 10 years ago. It’s rare for us to have any excitement here, so we cannot miss this opportunity to have some fun.”

“Uh… Then let’s do as you say, Elder.”

Following that order, a banquet was held. Everyone sat down on the ground around a huge tree root just like before and used it as a table. With the Wood Spirits bustling back and forth, the table was soon filled with all sorts of fruit and wine.

As night fell, moonlight shone through the leaves. Strange fruits hung from the tree trunks all around them, glowing with colourful lights that illuminated the clearing.

The Stone Spirits were generally stiff and unresponsive, but some of them were going wild at this moment. They were shouting boisterously while holding wooden cups that were taller than a person. They drank heartily and enjoyed the fruits cultivated by the Wood Spirits. Meanwhile, the Wood Spirits danced by their sides.

A bright moon hung in the sky and the feast and wine made one reluctant to worry about other things.

The names of the Stone Spirits were very simple, ranging from Shi Yi to Shi Ba. Unfortunately, Yang Kai couldn’t tell them apart because they all looked the same. Originally, there was another one by the name ‘Shi Jiu’, which was Xiao Xiao; however, there had been no news about him ever since he entered the Blood Gate with Zhang Ruo Xi.

The Stone Spirit Clan had great innate strength and there were few Humans or Monsters that could be their opponents, but the Heavens were fair in all things so there could not be more than ten among the Stone Spirit Clan at a time. If there were more than ten of them, they would surely die. In other words, the number of members in the Stone Spirit Clan would never exceed ten across the entire world.

There were nine of them before Yang Kai right now, and if Xiao Xiao was included, there were exactly ten of them. Although his Embodiment had the body of a Stone Spirit, it could no longer be regarded as a Stone Spirit as it had no sentience, so it wasn’t included among them.

Eight of the Stone Spirits took turns to offer Yang Kai a toast. The wine glasses they used were twice as big as ordinary wine barrels and they seemed like they would not be satisfied unless they drank until he fell. Unable to refuse, Yang Kai could only do his best to match their drinking pace.

The spirit wine brewed by the Wood Spirit Clan was full of energy and medicinal efficacy, so even the Stone Spirits could not drink too much of it. How could he, even with his Half-Dragon Form, win in a consecutive battle against these silly Stone Spirits?

Thus, Yang Kai collapsed without warning in the middle of the night amidst the triumphant cheers of the Stone Spirits. Following that, a dozen or so Wood Spirits flew over, helped him up, and took him into a Tree Cave to rest.

By the time he woke up again, it was morning. 

Yang Kai felt incredibly hungover and only felt slightly better after meditating and circulating his Emperor Qi for a while. He secretly made up his mind to never get into a drinking contest here again.

The female Wood Spirit who came to greet him yesterday was looking inside curiously from outside the door. 

When she saw that he was awake, she timidly spoke up, “Honoured Guest, you’re awake. The Elder and the Matriarch are waiting for you.”

“En, thanks, I’ll be right there.” He smiled at her lightly, causing her to blush again. 

[What a peculiar species…]

The Wood Spirit Clan not only had a unique talent in cultivating spirit flowers and exotic plants, but they themselves were also very valuable. It was said that the bodies of the Wood Spirits contained the mystery of immortality and indestructibility. If somebody was severely injured and on the verge of death, they could be brought back to life immediately and their injuries would heal completely as long as they consumed a Wood Spirit alive.

It was fortunate that they lived in the Ancient Wild Lands and had the protection of the Stone Spirit Clan; otherwise, they would have already gone extinct in the outside world. The greed of Humans knew no limits, and if any of these walking miracle cures was targeted by ill-intentioned people, they would never be able to escape from their evil clutches.

Yang Kai walked out of his Tree Cave and soon saw the Elder in another. Bowing, he took a seat and asked, “Is there still no news of Xiao Xiao?”

The Elder shook his head, “There has been no movement since the Blood Gate concealed itself. I don’t know how Shi Jiu is doing right now.”

Yang Kai smiled, “Ruo Xi is watching over him, so there’s no need to worry too much, Elder.”

There was a grand palace inside the Blood Gate where countless Divine Spirit Sources were sealed. They were obtained from the hunting of Divine Spirits by Heavens Order in the past. Xiao Xiao had followed Ruo Xi into the Blood Gate to inherit the Tai Yue Source. 

Xiao Xiao would be fine with Ruo Xi watching out for him, and his future would be bright after he incarnated as the Divine Spirit Tai Yue.

There were countless Divine Spirits during the ancient times, but differences in strength also existed between them. If the Dragons and the Phoenixes were the apexes among the Divine Spirits, then familiar names such as the Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Qilin, and Qiong Qi were second only to those top existences. Similarly, Tai Yue also ranked fairly high among the Divine Spirits. It was no less than a Qilin or a Qiong Qi. For that reason, Yang Kai was looking forward to what Xiao Xiao would become after emerging from the Blood Gate.

Upon hearing those words, the Elder looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, he changed the subject, “You mentioned you needed a favour from us yesterday. What is it about?”

“It’s like this. I plan to set up a Cross-Territory Space Array here which will connect directly to High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory.”

“Connect to the Northern Territory!?” The Elder was startled by his words.

“Boy, that cannot be allowed.” Mu Na flew in from somewhere and landed on the Elder’s shoulder. She looked at Yang Kai and shook her head, “This place is a pure land for the Wood Spirit Clan and Stone Spirit Clan. No Human, aside from you, has ever set foot here. If you set up a Cross-Territory Space Array here, our lives will definitely be affected by it. I cannot agree to your request.”

Both the Stone Spirit and Wood Spirits were extremely vulnerable to becoming a coveted possession; hence, their existence itself was a secret. If this secret were to spread, it would surely bring a lot of trouble to them.

Yang Kai solemnly explained, “Matriarch, please rest assured, I promise that I will be the only one using the Space Array. Nobody else can come here through it.”

His main reason for making this request was because the Space Array he arranged in Luan Feng’s palace had been destroyed. This was the only feasible option if he wanted to connect the Northern Territory and the Eastern Territory. On a side note, the ‘debt’ he wanted to collect from Luan Feng was his revenge over the destruction of the Space Array.

“How can you guarantee this?” Mu Na clearly still disapproved of this matter.

Comforting her, Yang Kai replied, “Since I am the one arranging the Space Array, I can guarantee this. Additionally, if anybody else aside from me were to enter this place one day, you are free to eliminate them without holding back.”

Mu Na looked like she was about to say something else, but the Elder ended the conversation by saying, “If you can guarantee that, then it’s not a problem.”

“Many thanks, Elder!”

Naturally, Mu Na couldn’t say anything else since the Elder had agreed to the request.

“Where do you plan to set up the Array?”

“In Xiao Xiao’s Tree Cave.” Yang Kai had chosen the location in advance. The place he rested in before was none other than the Tree Cave Xiao Xiao had lived in back then. The Tree Cave was large enough and besides, it was located in the place where the Stone Spirit Clan lived, so it would receive their protection too.

“Good. Let us know if you need any help.”

“En, then I’ll get to work immediately.” Yang Kai stood up and excused himself.

“Come and visit me once you’re done with your work. I have something to discuss with you,” Mu Na spoke up suddenly.

Glancing at her strangely, Yang Kai nodded in response.

Chapter 3202

Inside her palace, Luan Feng sat at the forefront, dressed in luxurious robes with a phoenix coronet on her head. She was sitting motionlessly as somebody paced about in front of her with an anxious expression. Moreover, that person kept glancing out the window from time to time, as if waiting for something.

That person appeared to be a man of superb stature. He was wearing a beige-coloured robe and his hair was carelessly pulled into a bun behind his head with a jade hairpin. He was none other than one of the Three Great Divine Venerables of the Ancient Wild Lands, the West Divine Venerable Cang Gou. At this moment, the West Divine Venerable, who had always been unflappable in the face of great crisis, seemed to be deeply distressed for some reason and had a conflicted expression on his face.

After watching him pace about like a headless fly for some time, Luan Feng finally couldn’t stand it anymore, rubbed her forehead, and spoke up, “Sit down. You are making me dizzy.”

Cang Gou stopped and looked at her with a mixture of sorrow and fury, “Why is he here again!? Tell me! Why!? Why!?”

She weakly replied, “How should I know?”

“Didn’t the rumours say that he went to the Northern Territory and created a Sect there? What was its name…”

“High Heaven Palace!”

“Right! High Heaven Palace!” Cang Gou palmed his fist lightly, “I heard he is doing pretty well in the Northern Territory, so why is he not enjoying lording over that place and is instead here in the Eastern Territory again!?” [I’ve never met anybody like him. He crosses domains at his leisure like it’s nothing. He even regards the Ancient Wild Lands, which is famous for its brutality, as a place that he can enter and exit at will!]

Luan Feng said lightly, “He said he came here to collect a debt from me.”

“Debt? What debt!?” He widened his eyes and stared at her.

She lowered her gaze, “Who knows? Maybe he is just talking nonsense.”

He looked at her suspiciously, “Are you hiding something from us?”

She snapped, “What could I possibly hide from you!? Anyway, you didn’t leak this information out, right?”

Cang Gou scornfully replied, “I’m not a fool. Why would I leak something like this?”

“That would be for the best. If the Monster Kings learn that he is here…” Her words trailed off halfway. She couldn’t finish her sentence as just thinking about the scenario was enough to make her headache worse.

It was clear that Cang Gou was aware of what she was referring to as he had a look of grief and rage on his face. [I can’t believe that we, the dignified Divine Venerables of the Ancient Wild Lands, have to guard against a mere Human in the First-Order Emperor Realm like some unstoppable thief! Nobody will believe us if we say that he worries and frightens us. Since when have the Ancient Wild Lands become a place where a Human can act so presumptuously!?]

Unfortunately, that was the reality of their situation. When that person came to the Ancient Wild Lands more than ten years ago, he had stirred the place up so much that his name had spread far and wide. If not for the Three Great Divine Venerables joining forces to suppress them, the Monster Kings under their command for so many years would have left to look for him a long time ago.

It went without saying that they were not looking for him for revenge. It was just that ‘that person’ was the only one who could communicate with the descendent of Heavens Order, so all the Monster Kings wanted to serve him. The reason being that if they could obtain the favour of Heavens Order’s descendent when the Blood Gate opens again one day, they would have a chance to recreate the glory of their ancestors and become Divine Spirits.

For the past few years, the remaining 29 Monster Kings had been clamouring that they wanted to replace Ying Fei, Xi Lei, and Xie Wu Wei to serve under Yang Kai despite the suppression of the Three Great Divine Venerables. Some even put forward the absurd proposal of a shift system.

It was extremely unsightly to see how the Monster Kings, who stood above others, would go to such great lengths to ingratiate themselves to a Human for an opportunity that was nearly impossible to come true. They were so desperate that they even abandoned their pride and honour as Monster Kings. Even the Three Great Divine Venerables felt embarrassed watching them.

Even so, it was only natural if one stopped to think about it. The Monster Kings’ cultivation had reached its limits. If they wanted to go any further, they could only look to the bloodline of their ancestors. Most of the Monster Race in the Ancient Wild Lands carried at least faint bloodlines of Ancient Divine Spirits, so the chance of becoming a Divine Spirit was high if they could receive the help from the descendant of Heavens Order.

For that reason, the Three Great Divine Venerables could not punish the Monster Kings even if they felt extremely exasperated and disappointed in them. Fortunately, the Monster Kings had gradually calmed down over the past 10 years or so and finally stopped causing such a fuss.

Luan Feng was very thankful for her decision to destroy the Cross-Territory Space Array back then. It had been a move of great foresight. Otherwise, the Three Great Divine Venerables would quickly become the Three Solitary Divine Venerables if Yang Kai were to come and go freely in the Ancient Wild Lands every few days. It would truly be shameful if all the Monster Kings defected to High Heaven Palace, leaving for the Northern Territory, with the Divine Venerables not having a single subordinate under them.

“What about that Monster Commander who reported this to us?” Cang Gou suddenly seemed to think about something and felt concerned for a moment. The news of Yang Kai’s reappearance in the Ancient Wild Lands could not be leaked, or else the just settled Ancient Wild Lands would boil over again.

“I locked him up.” Luan Feng replied. 

How could she not anticipate something that Cang Gou could? She had placed the Monster Commander under house arrest the moment he finished reporting to her because she was scared that the news might leak out.

“Good.” Cang Gou breathed a sigh of relief.

“Have you prepared what I asked you to prepare?” Luan Feng lifted her gaze to look at him.

He flipped his palm upward and three Space Rings appeared in his hand immediately, “It’s right here. Are we really going to be able to solve this disaster with money?”

“Then, what else do you think we should do?” Luan Feng was certain about one thing, she had destroyed the Space Array that Yang Kai worked so hard to arrange; therefore, things would definitely turn disastrous if she did not give him an explanation or compensation for her actions back then. The easiest and most effective way to do that was to use money to buy peace. Unfortunately, this sum could not be provided by one person alone. It was a matter related to the entire Ancient Wild Lands after all, so there was no way the other two Divine Venerable could escape scot-free either.

He said a little painfully, “The Ancient Wild Lands might be rich, but it can’t withstand his plundering. He took a lot of things away with him last time too…”

“It’s just some rocks and plants, nothing useful to our Monster Race in the Ancient Wild Lands anyway. Just give them to him. Or…” Her beautiful eyes flashed with a frosty light, “We could find a chance to get rid of him!”

He jumped in fright, “Absolutely not!”

[What a crazy idea! If we really killed him, ‘she’ would definitely never forgive us!] Shi Huo’s death back then was still extremely vivid in Cang Gou memories, as though it was only yesterday. That Heavens Order descendant had taken away Shi Huo’s Source like she was plucking a flower from the roadside. Who would dare to provoke her when killing a Divine Spirit was as simple as chopping up vegetables for her!? She was the natural enemy of all Divine Spirits. The relationship between them was akin to a cat and a mouse.

Cang Gou had never considered the question of whether he could kill Yang Kai or not. How could the Three Great Divine Venerables working together fail to kill a mere First-Order Emperor Realm Master if they really had the mind to do it? It only came down to the fact that… he did not dare to kill Yang Kai. 

“Fan Wu is here.” Luan Feng suddenly raised her head and looked outside.

A tall and slender figure came from the outside and landed in front of them. That person was wearing a crown of feathers and a decent blue robe; however, their expression was incredibly grim… 

Looking at Cang Gou before glancing toward Luan Feng, he asked, “Is he here again?”

Luan Feng nodded lightly.

Fan Wu let out a long sigh, “What a disaster!”

Fan Wu never imagined that a trivial Human could shake up the Ancient Wild Lands so badly. It would have been different if that person was strong to the point they couldn’t stand up to him. Divine Spirits might be powerful, but they were not unparalleled in strength; however, it just so happened that Yang Kai wasn’t particularly strong nor hostile towards the Ancient Wild Lands. It was just his existence in itself was enough to endanger their peace.

For that reason, the Divine Venerables of the Ancient Wild Lands had never been so vexed before in their lives. They could neither attack nor kill that boy, making them realize what the saying ‘Decent people had short lives but evildoers lived for a thousand years’ meant. Naturally, this saying was referring to people like Yang Kai.

“Where is he right now?”

Luan Feng shook her head, “I don’t know. All I know is that he suddenly appeared in the Ancient Wild Lands yesterday and ran into a Monster Commander. He ordered the Monster Commander to come and send me a message, saying that he would come looking for me.”

“Did any other members of the Monster Races see him?” Fan Wu felt as though his heart was in his throat.

“Probably not.” She frowned, “Otherwise, the Monster Kings under us would not be so quiet. You know as well as I do that that guy is proficient in the Dao of Space, making him extremely elusive. If he wanted to conceal his whereabouts, the Monster Kings would not be able to notice him either.”

All those eager Monster Kings, who were itching to make a move, would have come out in full force the moment news about this matter spread around.

“That’s good. That’s good.” Fan Wu finally felt relieved.

“What do we do now? Do we just wait for him to come here?” Cang Gou glanced at Luan Feng before turning to look at Fan Wu.

“The most important thing right now is to figure out where he is at the moment. It’s best if we go to him before he comes to us. We shouldn’t let him run about freely in the Ancient Wild Lands.”

Luan Feng nodded, “That makes sense.”

Angered by Yang Kai, she had failed to realize this point until now, but soon, her eyes flashed and she spoke, “I might know where he is right now.”

Looking up, she and Fan Wu blurted out in unison, “The Stone Spirits!”

It was not hard to guess Yang Kai’s whereabouts; after all, the Stone Spirit Clan were the only ones with a good relationship with him in the Ancient Wild Lands. Since he had not come looking for any of the Three Great Divine Venerables after appearing here, then there was only one other place that he could go! They might not be able to confirm their conjecture, but the possibility was very high.

Having reached a decision, the Three Great Divine Venerables stopped hesitating and immediately set off together towards the territory of the Stone Spirit Clan. If they could not afford to wait for him to come to them, then they could only go to him themselves.

The Stone Spirits were a very special group within the Ancient Wild Lands, because they were not under the jurisdiction of the Divine Venerables and could be considered an independent clan.

It wasn’t that Luan Feng and the others had not thought of subduing the Stone Spirit Clan before, it was just that these giants were not only very strong, but they were also very stubborn in nature. Even though the Divine Venerables gained the upper hand in their fights against the Stone Spirit Clan over the years, they could not do anything for the Stone Spirits to submit.

At some point though, it was discovered that the Stone Spirit Clan was only active within a couple tens of thousands of kilometre radius. Moreover, they did not harm the interests of the Divine Venerables, so the Divine Venerables left them alone after that, though there was still some friction between the two parties. If not for Yang Kai, they would never enter the Stone Spirit Clan’s territory so recklessly.

Inside the Tree Cave, Yang Kai looked at the Space Array in front of him with satisfaction. Arranging the Space Array this time around was much easier than all his previous attempts. The most obvious change was that the time he had taken to complete it had been halved. It wasn’t because he had gotten stronger. The main reason was the fact that his attainments in the Dao of Space had greatly improved.

Becoming a Star Field Master, using the entire Star Field as a medium to activate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, devouring part of the Grand Desolation Star Field… The benefits Yang Kai gained from all these activities didn’t stop at just a stretch of Starry Sky spanning millions of kilometres. He also gained a deeper understanding of the Dao of Space.

Similarly, the changes in the Sealed World Bead and the expansion of the Small Sealed World had involved the mysteries of Space. He might not have deliberately cultivated, but he still gained a lot of intangible benefits without noticing. His insight into the Dao of Space had improved significantly and he could instinctively tell that he had touched upon some kind of profound mystery, resulting in him seeing things a little differently now. 

Despite being surrounded by the Void, he saw some semblance of structure and there were traces he could follow. Standing there, Yang Kai’s mind was immersed in the very mysterious perception, and he was unable to extricate himself for a long time.

Chapter 3203

Yang Kai seemed to enter a peculiar trance-like state. Lifting his hand slightly, he lightly pushed it out. It was a subconscious movement. Moreover, nothing happened despite his palm strike. Even so, he continued striking out in front of himself. Sometimes, it was a closed fist. Sometimes, it was an open palm. His movements seemed random and without any method to speak of, yet there was a strange charm to them.

A few hundred kilometres away, the Three Great Divine Venerables flew over and suddenly stopped above a canopy of trees.

Luan Feng frowned and said, “The Stone Spirit Clan’s territory is right ahead. We don’t even know whether that boy is there.”

“Let’s hope he is,” Fan Wu looked tired. [The Three Great Divine Venerables rushed out just to give a Little Brat something in hopes of sending him away as soon as possible. If word of this gets out, we will be a laughingstock for years to come.]

All of a sudden, Cang Gou sniffed the air around him with a strange expression, “Do you feel anything?”

“What is it?” Luan Feng turned to look at Cang Gou.

He replied with a frown, “I’m not sure. It’s just… Watch out!” His expression changed abruptly, pointing at something behind her and shouting.

She felt it too. A sense of danger rushed at her from behind. It was accompanied by a powerful suction force that threatened to swallow her into some unknown place. Panicking, she hurriedly spread open a pair of beautiful wings and rushed up into the sky.

She looked back and saw that a large black hole had appeared out of nowhere, right at the spot where she was standing just now. The black hole was a swirling chaotic nothingness that dissolved and shattered everything surrounding it. It was also transmitting an extremely strange vibration. More importantly, she could sense a life-threatening aura coming from that black hole. She would have suffered a tragic end if she had been swallowed up by it just now.

“Space Principles!” Fan Wu’s expression turned grim. Before he could finish his sentence, space in front of him rippled as well as that strange vibration force struck out again, using the Void as a medium to slam into him from the front.

His expression changed drastically. Bending backwards, he lay flat as he watched a layer of ripples visible to the naked eye sweep across the empty space above him. It cut off a strand of his hair and stretched out for hundreds of metres, smashing the gigantic canopy of trees along its path into dust.

More black holes emerged one after another, as the strange destructive fluctuations came at them from all directions, transforming a large space into an absolute killing zone with the Three Great Divine Venerables caught in the middle.

All three of them were shocked and hurriedly pushed their strength to twist and turn to avoid those invisible killing moves. 

Fortunately, these three were no ordinary people. They were extremely powerful beings. Otherwise, the first wave of attacks alone would have instantly killed them.

If one were to look down from the sky, they would see that the space spanning several hundred kilometres had turned into a broken mess, and the Three Great Divine Venerables were trapped inside. They could not distinguish between north, south, east and west; furthermore, they would run into each other for some inexplicable reason despite running in opposite directions.

The whole world seemed to have turned into a cage, trapping the three of them inside, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t break free from that invisible barrier. Hence, their expressions were a mixture of horror and shock.

It wasn’t as if there was nobody stronger than them in this world, but they were Divine Spirits so it was hard to imagine that somebody could toy with all three of them without even revealing his face.

“Is this his doing!?” Cang Gou asked with a glare as he dodged the invisible yet lethal attacks that kept coming.

The Dao of Space could not be mastered by just anybody, and Yang Kai appeared in the Ancient Wild Lands yesterday, while today they were being attacked by some strange Space Divine Ability. It was difficult to imagine it was not his doing.

All of a sudden, Cang Gou realized that Yang Kai was much stronger compared to how he was just ten years ago.

[If he had this much power ten years ago, he would not have been beaten so badly by Shi Huo.]

“Where is he!?” Luan Feng was now feeling quite annoyed. Two feathers had fallen off the wings on her back because she couldn’t fully evade all these Space Principle attacks.

The situation in front of them might seem a little dangerous, but it wasn’t to the extent that their lives were at stake now that they were on guard. It was just that she couldn’t understand why Yang Kai had attacked them without any warning or reason. [Has that boy gone insane!? Even if he has gotten stronger over years, it’s not to the point where he can make the Three Great Divine Venerables his enemy! Besides, we didn’t do anything to provoke him this time. Isn’t he being too petty if he is doing this over a mere Space Array!?]

Meanwhile, Fan Wu didn’t say anything as his expression turned solemn before he suddenly stretched out two fingers to cover his eyes and shouted, “Open!” 

Glancing around, he studied their surroundings from a completely different perspective, his expression changing greatly in the next moment, “This is bad! This place is about to collapse!”

He had the Heavenly Eye Divine Ability, so he could see the essence of things that other people couldn’t. Under the observation of his Heavenly Eye, he saw the space around them seemed to be trembling uncontrollably. While their surroundings might look intact at the moment, it was actually filled with innumerable tiny Void Cracks that could not be detected by their Divine Senses. If this space were a cookie, then that cookie was about to crumble and turn into countless tiny crumbs. It was just that it couldn’t be seen on the surface.

Cang Gou and Luan Feng paled when they heard those words and understood how serious of a problem it was. Hence, they no longer hesitated and immediately revealed their true forms.

With a bang, an enormous Phoenix-like bird soared in the sky, breathing out black flames to open a path. It struggled to break free of the constraints of this place and rushed out. Similarly, Cang Gou had transformed into a monster several tens of metres tall and followed closely behind Luan Feng. On the other hand, Fan Wu relied on his Heavenly Eye Divine Ability to navigate through the numerous Void Cracks.

A short while later, they finally escaped from that dangerous area and Luan Feng and Cang Gou transformed back into their Human forms again. They glanced behind them with solemn expressions; their hearts filled with lingering fear. They had to admit that power like that was enough to endanger them. If that really was Yang Kai’s doing, then they had to re-examine their relationship with him.

The turbulent space suddenly calmed down; the pitch-black black holes slowly shrunk and disappeared without a trace; the violent forces of vibration became peaceful again; and the space that was about to shatter became safe once more.

“What the Hell!?” Cang Gou frowned, looking unhappy, “Was he just showing off his strength!?”

Although he was fearful of the Heavens Order’s descendent behind Yang Kai, that was all it was. In his opinion, Yang Kai was just a boy who relied on the protection of a woman. 

[What can a trivial First-Order Emperor Realm Master do without the support of that Heavens Order descendent?] 

Cang Gou was already pretty upset in the first place when he followed Luan Feng and Fan Wu to this place, so it was only natural that he was in a worse mood after encountering an incident like that before he even met Yang Kai.

Luan Feng looked gloomy too, [That boy is too much! No matter how you put it, the three of us are Divine Spirits! He shouldn’t be this rude even if I destroyed his Space Array back then!]

Fan Wu shook his head slightly, “It doesn’t seem to be intentional.”

He had a good look at the situation just now, and he could tell that all those attacks had not been targeting anybody. If Yang Kai was truly trying to scare them, then his attacks wouldn’t be so messy.

“How can that be unintentional!?” Cang Gou asked furiously.

“Maybe he is cultivating some sort of Divine Ability?” Fan Wu guessed faintly; however, he was shocked as soon as the words left his mouth. [At a glance, this Divine Ability seems incomplete. In other words, it has not been perfected yet. If an incomplete Divine Ability is this strong, then how strong will it be once he successfully cultivates it!?]

He didn’t quite dare to continue thinking in that direction. [No wonder that descendant of Heavens Order treats him so differently. From the looks of it, he is not somebody to be trifled with even without her support.]

A Human’s lifespan and starting point was not as long nor as great as a Divine Spirit’s. In fact, they could not even compare to the Monster Race; however, a Human’s rate of growth could be quite horrifying.

At that moment, a person’s voice sounded in their ears, “I apologize for not greeting the three of you. Please forgive me for my rudeness.”

The expressions of the Three Great Divine Venerables changed as they could tell that the voice belonged to Yang Kai. Glancing at each other, Fan Wu greeted back, “Brother Yang, you are too polite. We are also at fault for coming uninvited.”

A hint of surprise flashed across both Cang Gou and Luan Feng’s eyes. The way Fan Wu addressed Yang Kai was very… intriguing. Divine Spirits had their pride as Divine Spirits, and a mere Emperor Realm Master was not qualified to be addressed on equal terms such as ‘Brother’.

“Since you are here, why don’t you come in and talk?”

Fan Wu smiled, “Please excuse our intrusion!” 

He shot a look at Luan Feng and Cang Gou before striding forward.

Under his influence, Cang Gou and Luan Feng pushed down their anger. Among the Three Great Divine Venerables, Luan Feng might be the strongest, but Fan Wu was known as the wisest; hence, they basically relied on him whenever they gathered.

A short while later, the Three Great Divine Venerables arrived at the residence of the Stone Spirit Clan. Yang Kai stood in the vast and empty space that was surrounded by countless thick trees, smiling as he watched those three descending from the sky.

Eight Stone Spirits were scattered around, glaring at those three with an unkind look in their eyes. The Stone Spirit Clan and the Three Great Divine Venerables were not on good terms with each other. 

Meanwhile, the Elder stood beside Yang Kai while the Matriarch of the Wood Spirit Clan sat on his shoulder. Meanwhile, many Wood Spirits watched curiously from among the treetops, but none of them dared to show themselves.

Fan Wu stepped forward and greeted the Stone Spirit Elder, “It has been years since we last met, Elder. Your bearing is as noble as ever.”

Elder seemed taken aback by those words, but despite his astonishment, he quickly replied in kind, “You are too polite, Sir Divine Venerable.” 

There was no reason for Elder to kick up a fuss when the other party was acting courteously. Besides, he was not fond of fighting at his advanced age.

“We came here uninvited because we heard that Brother Yang appeared in the Ancient Wild Lands. Thinking he might be here, we decided to visit. It would seem that our guess was correct.”

Yang Kai smiled in response, but was feeling a little puzzled inside. Wasn’t Fan Wu being a little overly friendly? Besides, didn’t he only instruct that two-horned Monster Commander to tell Luan Feng that he would go and find her to settle their debt? Why did they come looking for him instead?

Yang Kai was unaware of his current influence within the Ancient Wild Lands, but how could the Three Great Divine Venerables allow him to walk around freely? If not for that, they would not be so courteous towards him.

Not wanting to beat around the bush with them, Yang Kai bluntly asked, “May I know the purpose of your visit?”

“We don’t really have a reason. We only came to visit,” Fan Wu responded with a smile.

[Am I supposed to believe you?] Yang Kai was unconvinced and secretly became vigilant.

Still, he welcomed them, “In that case, why don’t you have a seat?”

Afterwards, he sat down at the wooden table where the banquet last night had taken place and was joined by Fan Wu and the others. Mu Na clapped her hands lightly, and the Wood Spirits flew out from the treetops with fruits and wine.

Fan Wu smiled, “I have long heard that the Wood Spirit Clan is good at cultivating spirit fruits. I’ve never had the chance to witness it myself before. It looks like I will be enjoying a great feast today. Allow me to take this opportunity to offer a toast to you, Brother Yang.”

Chapter 3204

Fan Wu had humbled himself with the intention of making friends, so Yang Kai showed him due respect in return. During the banquet, they laughed and smiled. Both the host and the guests seemed to be having a good time. After a few rounds of drinks, Fan Wu intentionally or unintentionally asked, “Why did you come to the Ancient Wild Lands this time around, Brother Yang?”

“I was just passing by,” Yang Kai replied casually.

“Passing by? Haha…” Fan Wu chuckled. Needless to say, he did not believe this nonsensical excuse. According to the information he received, Yang Kai had established High Heaven Sect in the Northern Territory. Not only was this place in the Eastern Territory, but it also happened to be the remote and treacherous Ancient Wild Lands, so nobody could be ‘just passing by’ this place!

Unbeknownst to him, Yang Kai was speaking the truth. It really was a coincidence for Yang Kai to end up in this place after leaving Heng Luo Star Field. Along the way, he decided he might as well set up another Space Array in the Ancient Wild Lands since he was already here. It truly was something he merely did in passing.

Unfortunately, those words sounded like a lie to Fan Wu, so it only resulted in making his belief that Yang Kai was hiding ulterior motives grow stronger. Thinking that Yang Kai was here to target their Monster Kings, Fan Wu became even warier of Yang Kai. If he were to wander around the Ancient Wild Lands, he would only need to raise his arm and all 29 Monster Kings would unquestioningly follow him. How could the Divine Venerables allow something like that to happen right under their noses?

“Brother Fan, is there something you wish to say?” Yang Kai glanced sideways at Fan Wu. He couldn’t help thinking that whatever was happening today was rather suspicious and thus spoke with a frown, “If you have something to say, please be frank about it. It makes no sense to keep beating around the bush.”

[The one that makes no sense is you!] The Three Great Divine Venerables retorted in their heart and Luan Feng couldn’t help but roll her eyes at those words. If anybody else were to speak such words to them, they would have taken offence a long time ago regardless of whether that person did indeed have such a mindset. They would not have allowed anything the least bit suspicious to slide by them. That person would be killed on the spot to protect their dignity and interests.

However, Fan Wu believed that Yang Kai had a promising future and was someone who would stand on equal footing with them, sooner or later. Moreover, he had the descendent of Heavens Order behind him, so how could they afford to provoke him?

Thus, Fan Wu simply chuckled at those words and replied, “I heard that you established a Sect in the Northern Territory, Brother Yang. The three of us have been living in the Ancient Wild Lands for a long time without stepping foot outside. I apologise for not coming to congratulate you earlier.”

Yang Kai waved his hand casually, “You are being too serious, Brother Fan. I’m not that impressive. How can I compare to the three of you who live in such comfort with so many outstanding people under you?”

Those words were the truth. Although the Ancient Wild Lands were dangerous and filled with Wild Force, something ordinary people would not be able to withstand, they were also an enormous natural treasure trove. There were all sorts of spirit flowers and exotic plants here that could not be found anywhere else, as well as numerous Earth Veins and mineral lodes. The Three Great Divine Venerables could be said to occupy an excellent Heavenly Paradise. Moreover, they had several dozen Monster Kings under their command. It really made Yang Kai envy them.

High Heaven Sect would surely become one of the top Sects in the entire Star Boundary within a hundred years if it was established in this place.

Nevertheless, those words sounded unnatural and awkward to the three Divine Spirits and they couldn’t help thinking that there were other meanings concealed behind them. [What does he mean? Is he not only eyeing the Monster Kings under our command but our territory as well? Is he saying he wants to snatch our lands from us? That’s just too much!]

The Three Great Divine Venerables with preconceived notions of their own had ugly expressions on their faces. They couldn’t care less about beating around the bush with Yang Kai anymore, so Fan Wu reached out and placed several Space Rings on the wooden table and pushed them in front of Yang Kai with an undiminished smile on his face.

Yang Kai glanced at the Space Rings, then looked at the Three Great Divine Venerables and blinked and asked, “What is this about?”

Fan Wu smiled slightly, “Brother Yang, High Heaven Palace was established not long ago, so I’m sure this is a time when financial resources are much needed. The three of us might not be able to contribute much, but please take these commodities from the Ancient Wild Lands as our congratulatory gift. It is just a little token to show our respect to you, so please don’t turn it down. Consider it as a little bit of support towards your noble Sect’s future from the three of us.”

[No, seriously, what is this about?] Yang Kai was truly confused now. It was undeniable that he had planned to make Luan Feng pay him a substantial amount as compensation when he asked that two-horned Monster Commander to send a message to her yesterday, and he had even prepared the speech he was going to give her. He was going to claim that the Cross-Territory Space Array had cost him a lot in terms of financial resources and effort, and since Luan Feng had destroyed it, it was only natural that she should offer a little compensation in return. He would refuse to leave if she refused to offer a fair price, and he was determined to receive some big benefits.

Of the Space Arrays he had arranged in the Star Boundary, two had been destroyed. One was destroyed by Luan Feng, and the other was probably destroyed by the Iron Blood Great Emperor. He didn’t dare to find fault with the Iron Blood Great Emperor, so Luan Feng was the unlucky one who had to take the brunt instead.

However, this matter only involved Luan Feng and had nothing to do with Fan Wu and Cang Gou. Besides, he and Luan Feng were not enemies. He also borrowed her help once in the past, so he wouldn’t go too far either. As long as she took out some compensation, the matter would have been resolved just like that; after all, he wasn’t such an unreasonable person.

Yang Kai never imagined that Luan Feng would actually send gifts to his door before he could even begin trying to rip her off. Moreover, it wasn’t just one, but three of them. 

[This is just strange… I can’t believe there are people in this world who take the initiative to offer up gifts for no reason at all.]

He was certain that the nine Space Rings in front of him were the collective possessions of the three of them, with each of them contributing three.

[Is this a trap?] Yang Kai couldn’t dismiss the feeling that today’s events felt extremely strange. Fan Wu and the others were being too friendly. In fact, they are so enthusiastic that it was almost unbearable.

Even with the possibility of it being a trap, Yang Kai was not such a coward that he didn’t dare to check out the contents of the Space Rings though. Reaching out, he picked up a Space Ring, and swept its content with his Divine Sense. Then, he raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes slightly. [Amazing! So many Source Crystals!]

There was no way to calculate how many there were exactly, but the Space Ring was filled with Source Crystals that were Mid-Rank or above! There were numerous High-Rank Source Crystals too. A rough estimate placed the value of these Source Crystals at no less than 100 million High-Rank Source Crystals! 100 million High-Rank Source Crystals might not sound like much, but it was equivalent to 10 billion Mid-Rank Source Crystals or 1 trillion Low-Rank Source Crystals!

Coughing lightly, he calmly picked up another Space Ring and checked the contents. Countless spirit flowers and exotic herbs entered his vision. Furthermore, the medicinal age of each one was quite high. As for the third Space Ring, it was filled with rare ores.

Source Crystals, herbs, ores, as well as Monster Cores of Monster Beasts… These were undoubtedly the resources produced in the Ancient Wild Lands. Unfortunately, the first three commodities were basically useless to the Monster Race. Source Crystals and ores were of no value since the Monster Race’s cultivation was not dependent on Source Crystals. Instead, they absorbed the essence of their environment, relying on the accumulation of this energy over many years to strengthen themselves.

Although the herbs were somewhat useful, nobody in the Ancient Wild Lands knew Alchemy. The Monster Race could only consume them raw, so they could not bring out the full effects of their medicinal efficacies. On the contrary, the Monster Cores of Monster Beasts had a huge effect on them. Consuming the Monster Cores of other Monster Beasts made their might rapidly increase.

However, when Yang Kai last came to the Ancient Wild Lands, he had robbed them of quite a lot of Monster Beast Cores. Consequently, the Three Great Divine Venerables were unable to gather up many this time around and replaced them with rare ores instead.

The items were divided into three different categories and each category was placed into one of the three Space Rings. That held true for all nine Space Rings from the three of them.

The wealth Yang Kai took from the Ancient Wild Lands during his last visit was several times what was contained within these nine Space Rings; nevertheless, this time was different from last time. Back then, both parties had confronted each other in a huge battle which later woke the bloodline of Heavens Order’s descendant. Following that, the Three Great Divine Venerables became anxious and reluctantly handed over a large amount of compensation to calm Yang Kai’s anger. 

Today, however, they simply wanted to send him away as soon as possible. These items could be considered fairly valuable for that purpose.

[How timely! I really needed these now!] There were over a hundred thousand people in the Small Sealed World that were just waiting to be accommodated. Once settled into High Heaven Palace, a huge demand for resources would occur, especially with regards to Source Crystals, and pills. 

Which cultivator would not need these when they cultivated?

Yang Kai had used up all of the Source Crystals in his Space Ring for Xia Ning Chang’s sake in Tong Xuan Realm when he and Li Jiao arranged the 108 Absolute Profound Heaven Spirit Array, so he was in urgent need of Source Crystals right now.

Needless to say, there were still Source Crystals with Hua Qing Si; moreover, the commercial channel between High Heaven Palace and the Southern Territory should have been established by now. Even so, in the long run, who would turn their nose up at more Source Crystals? Besides, with all this wealth, he wouldn’t need to worry about the cultivation of High Heaven Palace’s disciples for a while.

“Are these for me?” Yang Kai quietly gulped. It wasn’t that he had not seen much of the world, but the Three Great Divine Venerables’ timely assistance left him feeling very confused.

Fan Wu laughed, “I’ve already delivered them to you. Brother Yang, you can’t mean to have us take them back, right? That would be highly improper.”

“That’s right, B-Bro… Brother Yang. You won’t embarrass us, right?” Cang Gou played along. [Ugh. Calling him ‘Brother Yang’ sounds so awkward. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.]

“Little Brother Yang, please don’t refuse.” Luan Feng pursed her lips and smiled.

“In that case…” Yang Kai smiled brightly but pretended to be calm and unaffected while he quickly put away the nine Space Rings and laughed, “Then, this Junior will not refuse anymore. Hahahaha!”

[Who cares what they are planning? Let’s just take this first and worry about it later, it’s much more than what I expected to get anyways. The Ancient Wild Lands is so rich in resources. Isn’t it time to put them to good use? If I can turn the Ancient Wild Lands into High Heaven Palace’s source of supplies, then the disciples will never have to worry about their cultivation resources again. If we run short of Source Crystals then we can just come and mine some directly; if we run out of pills, then we can look for the herbs to refine them. It will be completely self-sufficient. It won’t be difficult for High Heaven Palace to rise to the top under these circumstances.]

Grinning widely, Yang Kai blurted out, “I am thankful for your favourable opinions of me. I am willing for the three of us to become sworn Brothers and Sister. I don’t ask for us to be born in the same year, same month, or same day, but I hope to share our troubles and blessings together. What about the three of you?”

[The part about sharing their blessings held true, but they can forget about sharing troubles. If there is something that even the Three Great Divine Venerables can’t handle, then I probably won’t be of much help in that regard either.]

“Huh?” The topic had switched too quickly, and the subject had strayed so far that Luan Feng couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise. Her small hands covered her red lips. Similarly, Fan Wu and Cang Gou frowned.

*Pfft…* Mu Na, who had been sitting on the Elder’s shoulders, couldn’t help but laugh as she watched Yang Kai with interest. 

[Is he seriously saying that? Is he pretending to be stupid or does he really not understand? How can he actually speak such words?]

“Uh…” Despite Fan Wu’s sharp mind, he was at a loss for what to say. A sense of powerlessness washed over him at this moment. [Isn’t this little brat far too shameless!? How dare he utter such nonsense!? Becoming sworn Brothers and Sister with three Divine Spirits!? I don’t deny the fact that he has great potential and might even be stronger than me in the future, but that is far off in the future. Who knows if he can even survive that long!? There’s no value in befriending a dead genius!]

Chapter 3205

If the Three Great Divine Venerables were to readily agree to that request, they would be the only ones losing out in the deal. As sworn siblings, they had no choice but to help out with High Heaven Palace’s issues. They would surely be forced to send a dozen or so Monster Kings to support this ‘Fourth Brother’ of theirs. That was what they were most worried about. Even if they could not avoid it, how could they voluntarily throw themselves at it?

The fairly harmonious atmosphere suddenly froze.

Yang Kai had been observing their reactions, so how could he not understand what they were thinking about? He coldly snorted to himself in his heart. [In the end, I still need to rely on my strength to do the speaking for me. These three are still looking down on me; otherwise, why would they show such troubled expressions?]

He had simply uttered those words for the sake of it. He had not truly meant them. The only reason he did it was due to the abundant resources in the Ancient Wild Lands. How could he force the issue if the other party was unwilling? Things like these could not be forced. Besides, he did not believe that he was in any way inferior to these three. How could a person like him, who forced his way in and out of Dragon Island, be impressed by these three Divine Spirits, who were incomparable to the Dragon Clan?

Laughing heartily, Yang Kai declared, “It was just a small joke. Don’t mind it too much.”

Fan Wu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and squeezed out a smile, “You truly are a humorous person, Brother Yang. Come, come; let me drink this toast to you again.” While speaking, he shot a look at Luan Feng and Cang Gou to signal them.

After a few more rounds of drinks, the awkward atmosphere eased considerably. It wasn’t until evening rolled around and sunset coloured the skies that Fan Wu and the others took their leave.

Yang Kai warmly offered, “I’ll see you off.”

“No need for that,” Fan Wu hurriedly said, “We can see ourselves out. Please get some rest, Brother Yang.” [We don’t want him moving around the Ancient Wild Lands in the first place. How can we let him see us off?]

“Good!” Yang Kai nodded and cupped his fists, “Please excuse me, then.”

“En, please take care, Brother Yang!” Fan Wu smiled reservedly. After bidding farewell to the Elder and Mu Na, he departed into the skies with Luan Feng and Cang Gou.

Yang Kai waved his hands enthusiastically and shouted, “I will remember the kindness you’ve shown me today and will visit you another day as a sign of my gratitude. Please have a safe journey!”

Fan Wu and the others, who were turning around and preparing to leave, staggered and almost fell from the sky at those words. It was visible to the naked eye as Fan Wu took several deep breaths while Luan Feng turned and glared at Yang Kai.

Afterward, the three figures turned into streams of light and disappeared. Yang Kai stood in place, frowning deeply in puzzlement, scratching his head and questioning, “How strange. They are acting quite weird today!”

“Pfft!” Mu Na snickered again. Similarly, the Elder was smiling from ear to ear and couldn’t help but laugh at those words.

Yang Kai turned to look at them and asked, “Elder, Matriarch, what do you think is up with those three? Why did they come all this way just to present me with gifts? It’s not like we have that great of a relationship between us!” 

[The only one I’m familiar with is Luan Feng; moreover, I’ve only met Cang Gou and Fan Wu once. There’s no reason for them to behave in this manner even if I have Zhang Ruo Xi behind me.]

“Are you really clueless? Or, are you just pretending to be clueless?” Mu Na was beginning to feel speechless. The thoughts and practices of the Three Great Divine Venerables were extremely obvious to her, but Yang Kai just seemed so confused for some reason. He even mentioned something about becoming sworn siblings. Wasn’t he trying to drive them into a corner?

Yang Kai cupped his fists with a serious expression, “Matriarch, please enlighten me.”

“How did you manage to survive until today?” She looked at him in surprise.

The Elder chuckled, “You can’t blame him for being clueless about this matter, I’m afraid he simply isn’t aware of the inside story.”

Mu Na considered those words for a moment and agreed, “That’s true. Good, boy, I’ll tell you why they are behaving like this…”

After listening to Mu Na’s explanation, Yang Kai finally understood the situation. He pointed to himself and stared wide-eyed, “They are afraid that I will take away all the Monster Kings!?”

Mu Na replied, “Most Monster Kings’ cultivation has reached its upper limits. If they want to improve any further, then they can only aim for the Blood Gate. And, you are the only one who can communicate with that descendant of Heaven’s Order. The only reason Shi Jiu was able to enter the Blood Gate was thanks to you. With that precedent, can you understand what kind of position you hold in the hearts of those Monster Kings?”

Yang Kai was still stunned by the revelation and muttered, “I knew something about this, but I didn’t think it would have such a huge impact.”

Ying Fei, Xi Lei, and Xie Wu Wei were all Monster Kings working under him. He had only been taking advantage of the situation when he took them away from the Ancient Wild Lands with him back then, and when he finished what he had to do, he had asked the three Monster Kings to return, but they refused. Moreover, they had been overjoyed to learn that the Space Array had been destroyed and they could continue staying at High Heaven Palace. It wasn’t that they had forgotten their roots, but just as water flowed downwards, people aimed for higher places, it was a matter of course for Monster Kings to continue to strive and better themselves.

Yang Kai thoughtfully said, “According to what you said, won’t I be able to bring all the Monster Kings away with me if I simply call for them?”

“Probably…”

He continued, “If I ask them to join me in eliminating Fan Wu and the others…”

“In your dreams!” Mu Na glared at him unkindly, “The Three Great Divine Venerables have ruled the Ancient Wild Lands for tens of thousands of years. Under their rule, which Monster King would have the courage to go up against them? They might be willing to follow you and listen to your orders for the sake of entering the Blood Gate, but, I don’t think things will go your way if you dare to ask them to go against Fan Wu and Luan Feng.”

Yang Kai chuckled, “I was just wondering.”

Soon, his expression turned serious, “From the looks of it, I should visit the Ancient Wild Lands more often in the future.” 

[I don’t even need to do anything, all I need to do is come here and make some noise for Fan Wu, Luan Feng, and Cang Gou to come and give me some benefits just to chase me away. Of course, this can only be done once or twice; after all, Divine Spirits are not to be trifled with. It would be bad if I angered them too much and caused our friendly relations to fall apart.]

In any case, Yang Kai was in a great mood after getting a good grasp of the situation. Although he could not regard the entire Ancient Wild Lands as High Heaven Sect’s playground, he might be able to reach a cooperative relationship with the Three Great Divine Venerables eventually. The only way to make their relationship stable and long-lasting was if it benefited both parties.

The Ancient Wild Lands produced a lot of materials, while High Heaven Palace was fully capable of exchanging pills for those materials. Just because none of the Monster Race was capable of Alchemy, did not mean that they could not consume Spirit Pills. 

Pills refined by Humans were very scarce among the Monster Race, so even if they were sold to them for ten or twenty times their actual value, the demand would still be greater than the supply.

In due course, High Heaven Palace would be cooperating with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce in the Southern Territory and the Ancient Wild Lands in the Eastern Territory. By buying and selling commodities that were rare in one territory and abundant in another, one only needed to earn a certain degree in the price difference to profit. With that, High Heaven Palace would never need to worry about its disciples’ cultivation resources again. Furthermore, this was a unique business. Even if other people were jealous of High Heaven Palace and tried to emulate it, they would not be able to pull it off because they lacked the Cross-Territory Space Arrays.

With that vague idea in mind, Yang Kai decided to ask Hua Qing Si to come up with a detailed and feasible plan once he returned to High Heaven Palace.

“By the way, Matriarch, you mentioned something about wanting to talk to me before. What was it about?” He suddenly remembered something and casually raised a question.

“Come with me.” Mu Na became solemn and turned around to fly towards a Tree Cave.

Not knowing what she wanted, Yang Kai could only follow after her.

Inside the Tree Cave, she turned to face him and waited until he walked in before raising her hand. The Tree Cave suddenly closed behind him, isolating them from the outside.

[What does she have to say that she needs to be so secretive?] He wondered in his heart. Nevertheless, he knew that she would never harm him. It was a publicly known fact that the Wood Spirits detested fighting.

Just as he was about to speak, she abruptly flew towards him and stopped in front of him, “Close your eyes.”

Yang Kai obediently did as she instructed. Then, he felt a very natural, fragrant scent lingering on the tip of his nose. It made him subconsciously take a few more breaths. 

Mu Na was an absolute beauty, it was just that the limitations of a Wood Spirit only allowed her to grow to the size of a palm. If she were as large as a normal Human, she would be an existence that could turn the world upside down.

The scent on her body was so relaxing though that Yang Kai’s emotions became calm and unflappable. It was as though he had entered an ethereal state.

A short while later, he heard a strange noise. A strange expression appeared on his face. It was because he could feel that Mu Na seemed to be circling around him while sniffing something continuously.

“Matriarch, what is going on?” He asked, secretly opening his eyes slightly. If it had been an ordinary woman doing this, he would have thought that the woman was trying to seduce him; however, Mu Na clearly wasn’t. [Do I have some strange odour on my body? Otherwise, why would she be sniffing me?”]

Mu Na did not reply to his question, she simply continued downward and abruptly stopped at his dantian. After a few more sniffs, she looked shocked and reached out to cover her mouth with her hands.

The Tree Cave fell silent, and Yang Kai waited for a while before asking, “Can I open my eyes now?”

“En.”

Opening his eyes, he saw Mu Na frowning deeply with a troubled expression on her face.

[Today has been filled with strange events. First, it was the Three Great Divine Venerables coming to give me presents of their own volition, and now, the Wood Spirit Matriarch dragged me into a Tree Cave and sniffed me all over…]

“Do you know what the Wood Spirit Clan is best at?” She asked without prior warning.

“Cultivating all sorts of spirit fruits and brewing fine wine! Oh, you are pretty good at singing and dancing too.” Yang Kai replied without even thinking about it.

She pressed her palm against her forehead tiredly and muttered, “Is that your impression of the Wood Spirit Clan?”

Yang Kai was surprised by her words and asked, “Isn’t that the truth?”

To which Mu Na smiled bitterly, “Of course not. We are good at cultivating all sorts of spirit fruits and exotic plants because we are inherently capable of communicating with them. I’m sure you’ve heard of the rumours that say that, in ancient times, the Wood Spirits helped powerful Masters tend their medicine gardens.”

Yang Kai nodded at her words.

“That is the Innate Divine Ability of my Wood Spirit Clan. Any plant in this world can bloom and flourish to its best in our hands because we are familiar with how the plants behave and what their needs are. No other clan can equal our skill in this regard.”

Yang Kai made an expression as though he was enlightened by her words; however, he had no clue what she was trying to express.

“It is precisely because of this Innate Divine Ability that we of the Wood Spirit Clan can sense the existence of some very strange plants.” Her scorching gaze burned into him, “Do you have a special kind of plant in your possession? Like a flower? A herb? Or perhaps… a tree!?”

Yang Kai’s brow twitched at her words as his tone of voice turned serious, “Why would you ask such a thing?”

He truly had some extremely precious plants in his possession. 

[Does she know something?]

Mu Na advised, “Don’t get so nervous. I only found out because I smelled something on you.” 

She paused for a moment before continuing, “I actually noticed it the first time you came here, but I wasn’t sure back then.”

“And, are you sure now?”

“Yes.” She nodded, “Can you tell me what it is?”

Chapter 3206

“Matriarch, can you not tell by the smell?” Yang Kai asked without answering her question.

Mu Na glanced at him helplessly. Knowing that he was hesitant to answer, she answered, “It is rumoured that during ancient times, there was a strange tree known as the Firmament Tree, which was a mixture of gold and silver intersecting with each other that was capable of sealing all things in existence. Am I right?”

His eyes widened, and he nearly gave her a thumbs-up sign. [How is she able to tell just from the smell? That’s amazing. The Wood Spirit Clan indeed is a clan born with the ability to communicate with plants.] 

The Ancient Demon Qi of the Ancient Demon was sealed in his dantian with the gold and silver power of the Firmament Tree. It was only natural that some clues existed. Nobody else had the talent of the Wood Spirit Clan, so it had gone unnoticed until now.

Unfortunately, that faint clue was as bright and dazzling as a lamp in the dark to the Wood Spirit Clan, especially for the Matriarch of the Wood Spirit Clan. Observing Yang Kai’s reaction, how could she not know that she had guessed correctly? She exclaimed in surprise, “You actually have the Firmament Tree!?”

He grinned meaningfully, “I obtained it by accident. It was pure luck.”

She enviously murmured, “You sure are lucky.” Then, she furrowed her eyebrows., “But, there seems to be another aura on your body. That aura…”

This time Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat. The fact that she knew about the Firmament Tree was nothing as, while it was a legendary tree, it only had the power to seal. Yang Kai was only using it to seal the Ancient Demon Qi in his dantian, so it wasn’t a big deal even if news about the Firmament Tree got out. There were many other ways to seal something after all. Besides, he was no longer that weak. He was not afraid of the foolish people who would come causing trouble for him over the Firmament Tree.

However, the other tree was different. If news of its existence were to spread, it would turn the entire Star Boundary upside down in an instant. That tree represented the very mystery of immortality and indestructibility! Those attributes were extremely attractive to others! Even the Great Emperors could not claim that they were immortal and indestructible. Even they possess lifespan and had a predestined time of death. The rumours claimed that if one could refine it, then they could obtain the secret of everlasting life. They would have the same lifespan as the Heavens, living in harmony with the universe itself.

Yang Kai felt his heart getting stuck in his throat. 

Mu Na was unbelievably amazing and he was terrified that she might utter the words ‘Immortal Tree’. He did not know how to deal with the situation if she really did mention its name. If it were anybody else, he would have killed them on the spot to maintain secrecy; unfortunately, he had no grudge or grievance with her. Moreover, the Wood Spirit Clan detested fighting, so how could he be so cruel to such an existence? Besides, he wouldn’t just be offending the Wood Spirit Clan if he did something like that, even the Stone Spirit Clan would become hostile to him.

Fortunately, Mu Na hesitated for a long time before shaking her head, “I’m not certain what that one is.”

He breathed a sigh of relief.

She exclaimed, “I can’t believe that there are plants that the Wood Spirit Clan doesn’t know about! There sure are all sorts of mysteries in the world!”

Yang Kai chuckled, “Maybe you smelled wrong, Matriarch.”

“Impossible!” She shook her head resolutely. She was completely oblivious to how nervous he was. She looked up and spiritedly said, “Hand it to me!”

A pair of beautiful eyes shone brightly, revealing her excitement.

“What?” He was taken aback.

She repeated, “I said, hand over the Firmament Tree and that other thing to me.”

“Is this a joke!?” He became livid at her words. He originally had a favourable impression of her, but hearing those words of hers immediately infuriated him. [The Firmament Tree is not something I can just give away! I’m still relying on its power to seal the Ancient Demon Qi. Otherwise, once the seal on my dantian falls apart, without the Firmament Tree, I will immediately fall prey to the demonification and lose myself entirely! As for the Immortal Tree… That’s even more impossible! It is the world’s most precious treasure! It can revive the dead and heal all wounds, it’s an essential cure-all! How can I possibly give it away!?]

Mu Na urgently added, “I can trade with you for it. As you know, the Wood Spirit Clan cultivates…”

Lifting his hand, he resolutely said, “There is no need for further discussion, Matriarch. I will take my leave if there’s nothing else.”

Mu Na finally came back to her senses when she noticed his frosty attitude. [I seem to have angered him. From his reaction, it would seem that the thing I can’t identify is more precious than I imagined, but what in the world is it? Something so precious and rare that even I can’t identify it by its smell…] 

One after another, names that only existed in legends flashed through her mind. Unfortunately, she could not place a name to that peculiar smell.

Yang Kai had already walked to the entrance of the Tree Cave when he turned back to glance at Mu Na.

Mu Na was about to continue trying to persuade him; however, she couldn’t help but sigh the moment she met his eyes. Lifting her hand, the closed Tree Cave reopened and he immediately rushed out. It didn’t matter whether she opened it or not. If she refused to open the Tree Cave, he could have just smashed it down with his fist.

Hovering in mid-air, she pondered for a long time until she finally flickered and flew out.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai returned to Xiao Xiao’s Tree Cave. Upon checking and confirming that the Space Array was properly arranged, he finally headed towards the Elder’s Tree Cave. He entered the house and said, “Elder, I am done with my tasks here, so it is time for me to depart. Please take care of the matters regarding Xiao Xiao and the Blood Gate. Do be careful if anything does come up.”

Elder nodded, “Don’t worry. Shi Jiu is one of us. We won’t be negligent in this matter.”

“Goodbye then.” Yang Kai cupped his fists and turned to leave without looking at Mu Na, who was sitting on Elder’s shoulders.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Mu Na suddenly stretched out her hand and pulled on Elder’s ear. Elder grinned and raised his hand to stop Yang Kai, “Wait a moment!”

Yang Kai turned back and asked, “Is there something else you need, Elder?”

The Elder replied somewhat apologetically, “I’m sorry, it’s not me who has something to say to you. It’s Mu Na…”

Yang Kai directly interrupted Elder’s words, “I have made myself clear to Matriarch. There will be no further discussion on that matter.”

Mu Na was furious, “Little brat, do you think I will take advantage of you!?”

He frowned in response, “That is not what I meant. It’s just that I will never hand over these two items. They are of great use to me!”

“If it was something useless, I wouldn’t even have brought it up with you,” she snorted, annoyed beyond words.

He could tell that his reaction had been a little too harsh when he saw her expression; thus, he cupped his fists, “I’m sorry, Matriarch. In any case, I cannot hand those two items to you.”

Gritting her teeth, she glared at him angrily, “Can you even take care of them!?”

He shrugged at those words, “They are not dead, are they?”

She was extremely furious and turned her head away, looking as though she refused to talk to him anymore.

The Elder spoke up at that moment, “Calm down, both of you. Calm down. Take a few deep breaths and settle down.”

Yang Kai retorted, “I’m very calm, she is the one that refuses to leave this matter alone. Elder, you should talk some sense into her.”

The Elder chuckled, “Do you know why moths are drawn to fire?”

“Because they are stupid?” Yang Kai replied smoothly.

The corner of the Elder’s face twitched at those words, “It’s because it is in their nature. One’s inherent nature is a very mysterious thing. Take the Stone Spirit Clan for example, we won’t be able to stop ourselves from devouring a rare ore that we come across. As for Humans… men can’t help themselves from stealing a few more glances at a beautiful woman. Similarly, a moth cannot stop itself from being attracted to fire. It is all part of their nature.”

“The leopard can’t change its spots!”

Elder’s face twitched even more violently, “Yes, that’s the concept. For the Wood Spirit Clan, the rarer the plant, the more it inspires their desire to care for it.”

After circling around the bush for so long, it came back to the starting point again.

Yang Kai was just about to say something when Elder interrupted, “I might not know what Matriarch wants from you, but it’s obviously something that is very precious. It seems that it is something very difficult to give up. Moreover, it seems to be something that cannot be made public.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Yes, so please forgive me.”

The Elder smiled, “In that case, you don’t need to hand it over. Instead, the Matriarch has a suggestion. Why don’t you listen to it patiently?”

“What suggestion?” Yang Kai looked at Mu Na curiously. As long as they did not bring up the same request from before, he did not mind listening; after all, the inherent ability of the Wood Spirit Clan allowed them to communicate with all plants, so he might even get some tips from them on how to better take care of the Firmament Tree so that its sealing abilities would be recovered faster.

Mu Na turned her head away as if she was reluctant to look at him. Even so, she muttered, “I will assign two of my clansmen to you to help you take care of these two items.”

Yang Kai widened his eyes at her, “Assign two of your clansmen to me?”

He quickly did some calculations in his heart. He had a medicine garden in his Small Sealed World, which contained all sorts of rare plants and herbs, including the Firmament Tree and the Immortal Tree. He had simply planted them at will and had never bothered to tend to the garden before. Fortunately, the medicine garden contained a large amount of Heavy Earth and a number of Earth Vein Crystals. Otherwise, most of the plants would have withered by now.

If he had two Wood Spirit Clan members sent by the Matriarch to take care of his medicine garden for him, not only would he not have to worry about his collection dying anymore, but the herbs in the medicine garden would also be very well raised and tended to. There was nobody else in the world who was more suited to this task than the Wood Spirits after all. They were practically born to take care of plants since ancient times. If a person could obtain a Wood Spirit, they wouldn’t need to worry about the affairs of their medicine garden anymore. More importantly, their harvest would also increase by at least thirty percent.

Therefore, he looked very shocked, “Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I am joking?” Mu Na retorted angrily.

Yang Kai rubbed his hands together and broke out into a huge grin, “How could I possibly accept something like that? This is really… Oh, my…”

He was slightly incoherent at this point. 

He had thought of abducting a Wood Spirit before leaving once, as it would be such a waste not to let such a rare species put their talents to full use in his medicine garden. Furthermore, High Heaven Palace would definitely have its own medicine garden in the future, and judging by the current scale of High Heaven Palace, the medicine garden would surely be huge. Nothing could beat having a Wood Spirit taking care of it.

Mu Na turned to look at him in contempt. [This brat was so rude to me just now but changed his tune so quickly. How hateful and disgusting! Why have I never noticed this before?]

Yang Kai made a fist, placed it next to his mouth, coughing lightly before trying to act seriously and asking, “Are there any conditions attached to this offer, Matriarch? Let me say this first; don’t even think about touching those two things.”

“What conditions!? What conditions can I put forth!?” She snapped angrily.

Yang Kai was astonished, “You can’t be offering this for nothing, can you?”

Elder chuckled, “Didn’t she mention the conditions just now? Let her two clansmen take care of those two items.”

“That… Does that even count as a condition?” Yang Kai was so shocked that his eyes were practically falling out of their sockets. 

[That’s clearly beneficial to me, so how is that a condition?]

The Elder replied in a serious manner, “That is the nature of the Wood Spirit Clan. Seeing how much she values those two items, letting them take care of it is the best reward they could possibly receive.”

Chapter 3207

Not only were there no conditions attached, but Mu Na was also going to assign two clansmen to help him take care of his medicine garden. Yang Kai couldn’t believe something this incredible could be true…

Yang Kai finally understood the depth of the Wood Spirit Clan’s desire and pursuit of rare plants. It was just like what the Elder mentioned, this was part of their inherent nature. Allowing them to take care of the plants was the greatest sign of gratitude that he could give them. Besides, it was an excellent deal for him. It cost him nothing, and he even managed to hire two caretakers for his medicine garden for free. How could anything be better than that?

The sudden unexpected stroke of good fortune left him feeling rather dizzy so he began pacing about the Tree Cave, feeling extremely excited.

Meanwhile, Mu Na, who was watching him, frowningly and enigmatically said, “If you can’t even agree to this, then I have nothing else to say. In the future, please don’t come here anymore. The Wood Spirit Clan does not welcome you! The Stone Spirit Clan too!”

“I agree! Of course I agree to it!” Yang Kai stopped pacing and turned to her with a huge smile, “I’d be foolish to refuse such kindness from you, Matriarch.”

Mu Na snorted and cast a look at him that seemed to say, ‘At least you have some tact.’

His expression became solemn again, “But, there’s something I need to let you know, Matriarch.”

“What is it?”

“I’m afraid it won’t be easy for your two clansmen to see freedom again once they are in my hands.” If he really got his hands on two Wood Spirits, he would surely place them in the medicine garden inside the Small Sealed World. As long as he did not have the power to maintain the Immortal Tree on his own, he would not allow them to leave easily.

Mu Na frowned at those words, “Why? Are you going to restrict their freedom?”

“I have no choice. Please forgive me, Matriarch.”

She thoughtfully said, “It looks like that item is very special.”

Yang Kai replied with a serious expression, “Matriarch, if you don’t mind, then I will be very happy to accept. Of course, I will not treat them badly, so please don’t worry about that.”

“I’m not worried about that.” For the Wood Spirits, being able to spend time with precious plants was the greatest joy in life for them. Not only did Yang Kai have the Firmament Tree in his possession, but he also had something even more precious. Any Wood Spirit would be willing to stay by his side and work for him. Besides, she had already anticipated something like this when she came up with this suggestion, so she nodded in response, “No problem.”

He grinned, “Many thanks, Matriarch!” 

The irritation he held towards her had vanished without a trace and he suddenly shyly said, “Matriarch, don’t you think two clansmen might be too few? If possible, won’t you assign at least seven or eight of them to me?”

The Elder’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at those words while, on the other hand, Mu Na yelled, “Get out!”

“I was just saying! Just forget it if you don’t agree. Why did you have to yell at me?” Yang Kai lowered his head and muttered under his breath.

“Stop acting like you’re pitiful when you received the most out of us all!” Mu Na snapped furiously.

He lifted his head at those words, looking as if nothing had happened and declared, “Matriarch, please summon your two clansmen here quickly. I still have other matters to deal with, so I can’t remain here for long.” 

Needless to say, he had no time to delay for fear that she would regret her decision. He had to abduct two of the Wood Spirits and take them away with him immediately.

Even though Mu Na was annoyed at him, she still raised her hands and clapped twice. Soon after, two Wood Spirits flew in from outside the house. They bowed to her and then turned to study Yang Kai. It was clear that they had been prepared in advance.

Yang Kai looked at them and immediately felt elated. One of the Wood Spirits was somebody he was familiar with. It was the Wood Spirit who came to greet him yesterday. She seemed to be very shy, blushing deeply and looking around awkwardly when their gazes met.

The other one was also a female Wood Spirit, but she was clearly more outgoing. She smiled when she saw Yang Kai looking her way, instantly brightening the world around her.

“Mu Zhu, Mu Lu, you will follow this boy from now on. Take good care of his… things,” Mu Na instructed.

Mu Zhu and Mu Lu answered in unison, “Yes!”

Then, Mu Na turned to Yang Kai again, “I’m leaving my people in your hands. If you dare to wrong them or hurt them in any way, I will hold you accountable!”

“Rest assured, Matriarch, I won’t let anything harm a single hair on their heads!” Yang Kai patted his chest and promised, his eyes gleaming when he glanced at Mu Zhu and Mu Lu. 

[Tsk, tsk. These two Wood Spirits will belong to me from now on. It’s so amazing.]

“Which one of you is Mu Zhu? And, which one is Mu Lu?” He asked as harmlessly as possible with a smile on his face.

The outgoing Wood Spirit bowed elegantly and introduced herself, “I am Mu Zhu.” Pointing at her blushing companion, she added, “She is Mu Lu.”

“En.” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly and continued in a warm voice, “I’ll be sending you somewhere in a bit, please don’t be scared.”

Having said so, he reached out and held them gently, after which the two Wood Spirits disappeared immediately.

Mu Na was enraged when she saw this and swiftly raised both hands, summoning many vines as thick as a grown man’s arm into the Tree Cave. These vines shot out like arrows and wrapped around Yang Kai until he looked like a dumpling. 

The Wood Spirit Clan detested conflict, but that did not mean they were incapable of fighting. The power contained within those small and exquisite bodies was no inferior to any other race. Moreover, Mu Na was stronger than the average Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so while she might not be as strong as a Divine Spirit, she was in no way weak.

“What did you do to them!? Spit them out, right this instant!”

“Calm down! Calm down!” Yang Kai felt cold sweat oozing from his head. Her words made it sound as though he was a wild and savage beast that devoured its prey whole.

“Where are they!?” How could she remain calm after witnessing her two clansmen disappearing right in front of her eyes? Their aura had vanished completely too. [I don’t even know if they are dead or alive right after handing them over to him!]

“They are in a safe place!” As he spoke, his entire body flickered and with a pulse of Space Principles, the vines trapping him in place fell apart like they were cut by thousands of knives, disintegrating into powder and floating to the ground.

Mu Na’s pupils contracted at this sight.

Similarly, the Elder was looking at Yang Kai in shock. He had known Mu Na for thousands of years, so he knew best just how strong the binding force of those vines were. The Elder might have been able to break free of the vines with brute force, but not as easily as Yang Kai had.

Before the arrival of Fan Wu and the others, Yang Kai had been immersed in his newfound perception of Space Principles. He could vaguely comprehend something, but it was not yet a complete understanding. After trying it out, he realized that his attainments in the Dao of Space had improved greatly and was confident he would be able to create a new Divine Ability if he had more time to work on it. Unfortunately, now was not the time to consider such matters. Mu Na would never let him go unless he cleared up the issue regarding Mu Zhu and Mu Lu.

“Matriarch, as you know, I am proficient in the Dao of Space. That’s why it’s not strange for me to have a special kind of storage artifact.” While speaking, he took out the Sealed World Bead.

In the early years, he had concealed the Sealed World Bead very carefully because he did not have enough strength to protect it or himself. There were times when he needed to borrow the strength of the Sealed World Bead as well; however, Yang Kai now had the strength to refine a new Sealed World, so there was no need to place so much importance on the Sealed World Bead anymore.

A light flashed across the Sealed World Bead and a confused Mu Zhu and Mu Lu reappeared with bewildered expressions.

“That world! I see.” Elder exclaimed.

A strange light shone in Mu Na’s eyes as she seemed to realize something and exclaimed, “Are the Firmament Tree and that thing in there?”

“That’s right.” Yang Kai broke out into a grin, “Matriarch, do you want to go inside and have a look?”

She immediately looked wary, “I won’t be able to leave once I enter, right?”

“Of course, you can.” Yang Kai laughed heartily while, honestly, he had such intentions. As the Matriarch, Mu Na was the best among all the Wood Spirits in terms of cultivating spirit flowers and exotic plants. If he could trick her into the Small Sealed World… However, he knew that that was impossible. The Stone Spirit Clan and the Wood Spirits depended on each other and often relied on each other’s strength. If he kidnapped Mu Na, the Stone Spirit’s Clan Elder would be the first to become hostile to him.

But in this way, Mu Na finally understood what he meant when he said ‘they would not see freedom again in the short term.’ This storage artifact was a world of its own, so upon entering it, they needed to get his consent to exit again.

Meanwhile, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were still confused. They suddenly felt the world spinning around them just now. Then, they found themselves in another world. Before they could take a closer look at the environment inside that world though, they suddenly reappeared in the Tree Cave again.

“Boy, you sure have a lot of good things in your possession.” Mu Na sighed in amazement. A storage artifact that could form a complete world on its own was very rare. Moreover, something like that was most effective in the hands of somebody who was proficient in the Dao of Space. It was the envy of others.

“Matriarch, do you have any other questions?”

“No. Please take good care of them.”

“Don’t worry, I will never let them feel wronged,” Yang Kai replied. Following that, he placed Mu Zhu and Mu Lu back into the Small Sealed World. He cupped his fists and said, “I am grateful for your kindness, Matriarch. I won’t forget the graciousness you showed me today even if I climb to the top in the future. It’s getting late, please excuse me now. I hope we meet again.”

Elder said, “Be careful. If you ever need the help of the Stone Spirit Clan in the future, just come over and say hello.”

Yang Kai nodded and strode out of the Tree Cave to return to where the Space Array was located. The Space Array surged, light flashed, and his figure disappeared.

A palace had been built around the Space Array at High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. The Space Array was located right in the centre of the palace, so several disciples were on guard duty, sitting cross-legged while meditating by the side.

This place was the passage connecting High Heaven Palace to the broader world; therefore, it was an extremely important existence. An Emperor Realm Master was assigned to guard this place all year round. Moreover, the palace was protected by the layers of Arrays that Nanmen Da Jun had arranged. If anybody dared to invade this place, the entire palace could be turned into a death zone with the slightest activation of the Array Jade. Even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would not be able to escape alive.

The Emperor Realm Master on duty today was none other than Bian Yu Qing. She had joined High Heaven Palace after receiving Yang Kai’s help at Spirit Lake Palace where she broke through to the Emperor Realm. Due to her experience in managing Blue Feather Sect previously, she had been assisting Head Manager Hua Qing Si since she joined. She could be considered the Second Manager of High Heaven Palace.

Speaking of High Heaven Palace, it now had many Emperor Realm Masters among its ranks. The greatest among them were the Three Monster Kings, the Emperor Alchemist, Ji Ying, the Emperor Array Master, Nanmen Da Jun, and the Emperor Artifact Refiner, Hou Yu. They were followed by Hua Qing Si, Bian Yu Qing, and the former Sect Master of Thousand Leaves Sect, Ye Hen, who came out of retreat three years ago after breaking through into the Emperor Realm. It could be said that although High Heaven Palace did not have many members in total, the ratio of Emperor Realm Masters among their ranks was terrifying. There was no other Sect in the Star Boundary that could achieve such a ratio.

Chapter 3208

With such a line-up, High Heaven Palace had a richer heritage than most of the top Sects in the Star Boundary. Even Sects like Fire Dragon Palace, Ice Heart Valley, and Azure Sun Temple only had one Third-Order Emperor Realm Master each.

The Space Array shone brightly, which startled Bian Yu Qing who was meditating, causing her to lift her eyes and glance in that direction. Thinking that it was Hua Qing Si returning from the Southern Territory, she hurriedly got up to greet the person who arrived.

Yang Kai’s figure was revealed before she could get closer though, and surprised, she hurriedly cupped her fists, “Palace Master, you’re back.”

Several disciples guarding by the side also rushed to greet Yang Kai with respectful expressions. Incidentally, it had been more than ten years since Yang Kai left the Northern Territory to go to Dragon Island. There had been no news from him throughout all this time, and if Zhu Qing had not come here to inform everybody of the truth, they would have assumed that something had happened to him. However, she had not mentioned that he was going to a Lower Star Field and simply said that he was cultivating in retreat and might take months or years to exit.

Now that Bian Yu Qing could feel the fluctuations coming from Yang Kai’s body, she was shocked to the core to discover that he was now a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master. [I can’t believe he broke through to the Second-Order Emperor Realm in a little more than ten years! What incredible cultivation speed!] 

When she first met him, he had only been a Second-Order Origin King. She inadvertently felt a sense of shame for her lack of achievement when she compared herself to him.

“Manager Bian.” Yang Kai grinned, feeling extremely cordial to be reunited with an old friend. Although Heng Luo Star Field was where he was originally from, High Heaven Palace was the foundation of where he currently stood. He finally returned after ten years outside, so he was in a good mood, “Are you on duty today?”

“Yes!” She replied honestly.

“En, did anything happen in the past few years?”

“Everything has been peaceful. Please rest assured, Palace Master.”

The heritage of High Heaven Palace was clear as day and it was no secret that three Monster Kings were guarding this place, so who in the entire Northern Territory, aside from Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Medicine Pill Valley, could even compare to it? It was only natural that nobody dared to cause trouble for High Heaven Palace, so the past ten years had gone by without incident.

“Rather, people from Fire Dragon Palace came here many times to ask about the whereabouts of Li Jiao.”

“Oh, just ignore them.” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, “Ask Sister Hua to come and meet me.”

She responded, “Manager Hua is currently not in the palace.”

“Where did Sister Hua go?” Yang Kai was startled to hear the news.

“Manager Hua is currently settling some accounts for the end of the year. She went to the Southern Territory half a month ago to settle some material transactions with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, and based on her schedule, she should be returning in about two days.”

A few years back, Yang Kai had reached an agreement with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce. Since the two Territories were located very far apart and the resources they produced were very different, they were fully capable of making up for what each other lacked. Hua Qing Si had maintained the trade relationship between them for all these years, bringing in a lot of income for High Heaven Palace as a result.

“Is that so? Then, ask Nanmen Da Jun and Chi Yue to come and meet me instead.”

“Yes.”

Afterwards, Yang Kai strode forward and merged into the Void. By the time he reappeared again, he was standing in the sky and looking down at High Heaven Palace. The mountains below him rose up in the distance, the vegetation was lush, the scenery was beautiful, and the weather was calm. There were many mountain peaks scattered around and numerous buildings were located in the valleys between them; however, most of these places were empty. These buildings were originally the properties left over from Seeking Passion Sect, but because High Heaven Palace had always been sparsely populated, nobody lived there and those buildings were left empty.

Yang Kai flew around the entire High Heaven Palace for a while, observing the landscape quietly as he formed a plan in his heart. Since he was back, the first thing he needed to do was to release the people within the Small Sealed World. The only way they could adapt to the World Principles in the Star Boundary was to integrate them into this world as soon as possible.

After today, the population of High Heaven Palace would probably exceed a hundred thousand people.

An eagle’s cry sounded and a figure dashed over to Yang Kai at that moment. When that figure got closer, it turned into a well-dressed man with a hooked nose who cupped his fists and greeted, “Young Master Yang.”

“Ying Fei, it has been years since we last met. I trust you’ve been well?” Yang Kai smiled slightly.

Ying Fei replied, “Many thanks for your concern, Young Master Yang. I have been well.”

While they were speaking, Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei rushed over too. The three of them had noticed Yang Kai’s aura at the same time, it was just that Ying Fei’s speed was faster, so he arrived first.

After exchanging greetings, Xi Lei asked curiously, “Young Master Yang, what are you looking at?”

“I was trying to assess how many people High Heaven Palace can accommodate.”

Xi Lei chuckled at those words, “We have vast lands and a small population, with hundreds of spirit peaks empty. Accommodating one or two hundred thousand shouldn’t be a big deal. Why? Are you planning to open the gates and recruit disciples, Young Master Yang?”

“That’s not necessary.” Yang Kai shook his head. Then, he casually added, “By the way, I just came back from the Ancient Wild Lands.”

All three Monster Kings turned pale at those words. Glancing at each other, Ying Fei cautiously asked, “Did the Divine Venerables… say anything?”

“We met briefly before they drove me out. It seems that they don’t welcome me very much.” Yang Kai grinned, recalling the behaviour of the Three Great Divine Venerables back then still amused him greatly.

“Is that so…” Ying Fei was speechless. Although he could guess why the Three Great Divine Venerables were not welcoming toward Yang Kai, it was not easy for him to explain the situation at this time.

Xi Lei hesitated for a moment, “Did the Divine Venerables mention us?”

As soon as those words sounded out, both Ying Fei and Xie Wu Wei looked at Yang Kai nervously. When it came down to it, they were still Monster Kings of the Ancient Wild Lands. They were subject to the commands of the Three Great Divine Venerables, and if they were ordered to return, they would have no way to refuse. Otherwise, it would be considered a betrayal. However, they would surely be frustrated and unable to accept the situation if they returned just like that. Despite staying by Yang Kai’s side for so many years, they had yet to obtain the opportunity they were hoping for. It would be such a waste to leave right now.

“Not at all.” Yang Kai shook his head, “It looks like you’ll be my people officially from now on.”

The three looked at each other before cupping their fists in unison, “We wish to serve under you!” 

Their eyes were full of excitement. It was best if the Divine Venerables did not order them to return. They were willing to continue staying by Yang Kai’s side and offer their services to him. Although living in High Heaven Palace was peaceful to a fault and there was nothing much for them to do, it was still the best way for them to make a connection with that descendent of Heavens Order.

“Work hard. In the future, I will make it worth your time.” Yang Kai nonchalantly said. It was a casual remark, but it sounded much more significant to the listeners. Thus, the three Monster Kings became even more excited.

“En, come with me.” Yang Kai ordered before he turned around, flew downwards, and landed in front of a huge square where Nanmen Da Jun and Bian Yu Qing were waiting for him. 

Upon noticing his arrival, Nanmen Da Jun hurriedly came forward, “Greetings, Palace Master!”

“Little brat, you’re finally back!” Chi Yue, Gui Zu, Gu Cang Yun, and Ai Ou also greeted him.

Yang Kai cupped his fists respectfully. These few would always be regarded as his Seniors no matter how high his cultivation, especially Chi Yue and Ai Ou. One was his Mother-In-Law and the other was his Father-In-Law, so how could he not be respectful towards them?

“Boy, where have you been gallivanting off to recently? I heard you even subdued a Dragon Girl!” Ai Ou looked at Yang Kai with an unhappy expression. Moreover, his tone was rather difficult to interpret.

[This smelly brat is too improper! He already has four wives in the Star Field yet he dares to continue to fool around after coming to the Star Boundary!? He even dared to seduce a member of the Dragon Clan and become intimate with her!] It was only natural that Ai Ou had some thoughts of his own regarding Yang Kai’s actions. He might not dare to act presumptuously in front of the Dragon Clan, but it was different when it came to Yang Kai. [Who cares how high your cultivation is!? I will never forgive you if you treat my daughter badly!]

Moreover, that Dragon Girl wasn’t the only one. Ai Ou had also heard about a woman in Ice Heart Valley who seemed to have some sort of ambiguous relationship with Yang Kai as well. It was simply intolerable. If not for his lack of strength, he would have taught Yang Kai a harsh lesson by now.

“It was an accident. It was only an accident!” Yang Kai sweated profusely. He only mentioned Zhu Qing to Su Yan alone and did not know if Su Yan had told Luo’er and Xue Yue about this, but he had never heard them asking him about it before.

“An accident!?” Ai Ou snapped angrily, “How can you do that to those girls!? You don’t even know how they are doing back in the Star Field right now. Smelly brat, if you have the time to go around seducing women, then you should use that time to figure out a way to go back and bring them here! You should be able to do it with your current ability!”

“I was just about to discuss this matter with you.” Yang Kai took the opportunity to change the flow of the conversation.

“About what?” Chi Yue looked at Yang Kai suspiciously.

“Look who’s here!” Yang Kai smiled and waved his hand out in front of him. Communicating with the Sealed World Bead, several figures appeared, one after another, with that flick of his wrist.

Su Yan, Xia Ning Chang, Shan Qing Luo, and Xue Yue all appeared together. It was clear that they had been summoned without warning as they were confused and did not know what was going on; however, just standing side by side highlighted how beautiful yet distinct they were. Although their looks varied greatly, every one of them was an outstanding beauty.

Nanmen Da Jun and Bian Yu Qing were amazed by what they saw, their eyes gleaming brightly as they swept their gazes over these four women. The cultivation of Su Yan and the others might be nothing special in their eyes, but each one among these four women was incredibly gorgeous. It was a blessing of several lifetimes for an ordinary man to obtain any one of them. Nevertheless, Yang Kai managed to grab hold of all four of them at once! It seemed their Palace Master was quite lucky in love! 

[It’s Yang Kai after all.]

Meanwhile, the focus of the three Monster Kings was not on the external appearances of Su Yan and the others. It was undeniable that these four women were beautiful even in the eyes of the Monster Race, but they could sense a different sort of aura coming from two of these women that grabbed hold of their attention.

In particular, the aura from the woman with the cold expression gave birth to a sense of worship in them. Her aura was similar to that of Luan Feng’s, but it was even nobler and more powerful. Despite just standing there, she felt as though she was towering above the clouds and looking down on the world from the Heavens. Conversely, the other enchanting woman did not have as imposing a presence, but even so, her aura was not something ordinary people could possess.

[Divine Spirits!] The three Monster Kings glanced at each other and their eyes were filled with shock. As part of the Monster Race, they were very sensitive to the auras of Divine Spirits so they could easily tell that both Su Yan and Shan Qing Luo were carrying Divine Spirit Sources with a single glance. Even if the two women were weak right now, these three were certain that these two women would surpass them in strength if given the opportunity to grow.

“Luo’er?” Chi Yue was stunned and stared at Shan Qing Luo in a daze. She was barely able to believe her eyes. 

Ai Ou was just asking Yang Kai to figure out a way to go back to the Star Field to bring Shan Qing Luo and the others here, but then Shan Qing Luo suddenly appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 3209

Shan Qing Luo was taken aback upon hearing her name being called out. Their gazes met when she turned her head to look and she excitedly called out, “Mother!”

Back when she and Bi Luo left the Great Han Dynasty, they were transported directly to Monster Emperor Star after passing through an extremely strange altar. If not for Chi Yue finding and watching over them, taking her in as her Adopted Daughter, they would have met a disastrous end with their strength alone.

Therefore, Chi Yue wasn’t just her saviour but also her Adoptive Mother. Shan Qing Luo had known before coming here that she would be able to meet with Chi Yue again, so she had been looking forward to it.

On the other hand, Ai Ou was similarly staring at Xue Yue in a daze. The latter felt her eyes reddening as she called out softly, “Father!”

He resisted the turmoil of emotions in him and nodded, “Good, good, good. It’s good that you are safe.” Turning his head, he glanced at Yang Kai and felt all the dissatisfaction from before dissipating. Yang Kai had returned to the Star Field and brought his daughter here, so what more did he have to say?

Although Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang did not have any family to reunite with here, they had not seen Gui Zu for many years, so they stepped forward to greet him. Meanwhile, Gu Cang Yun stared blankly and stammered, “Palace Master, did you return to the Star Field?” 

Chi Yue and Ai Ou could address Yang Kai directly by his name or even call him ‘Boy’ or ‘Little Brat’, even ‘Smelly Brat’ was fine, but Gu Cang Yun did not have the courage to do so. Hence, he conscientiously addressed Yang Kai as ‘Palace Master’.

“En. I just got back from there.” Yang Kai smiled slightly.

“T-Then, is Sword Union…” Gu Cang Yun looked at Yang Kai with a look of expectation.

“Don’t worry, Senior Gu. I also brought Brother Gu here on this trip and many others from Sword Union too.”

“Where are they?” Gu Cang Yun’s eyes brightened.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to meet them soon.” More than a hundred thousand people were crowded in a certain area of the Small Sealed World, so Yang Kai could not find Gu Jian Xin nor the people of Sword Union at a moment’s notice. The reason he could summon Su Yan and the others so easily was that they were not staying in the same place as the others.

“Da Jun, bring me the Mountains and Rivers Projection,” he said while lifting his hand.

Nanmen Da Jun did not know what Yang Kai wanted to do, but he did not doubt the latter. He hurriedly took out the Mountains and Rivers Projection controller and opened it. A picture instantly lit up and an image of a miniature High Heaven Palace appeared before them. From the mountains and the plains down to the smallest stream and hill, everything was clearly shown in the image. This was something Nanmen Da Jun and Hou Yu had joined hands to refine so it was only natural that it was an amazing work.

Yang Kai pointed at several of the peaks and asked, “There are people living here, right?”

Bian Yu Qing glanced at the spots Yang Kai was pointing at and answered, “That’s right. That’s Thousand Leaves Peak where Old Man Ye Hen and the people of Thousand Leaves Sect are staying. Five Saints Peak is where Chi Yue lives…” She had been living in High Heaven Palace for more than ten years now, so it was only natural that she was familiar with where everyone lived.

Yang Kai nodded at her words, “There will be a lot of people coming out soon. I need you to help settle them in.”

“How many?” She asked.

“More than a hundred of thousand!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, everybody gasped in response. High Heaven Palace had always been small in number; moreover, Yang Kai had never shown any intention to recruit disciples. The gates to High Heaven Palace had never been opened since its establishment, so they did not know what he was planning. It wasn’t until today that they understood he was simply making preparations all this time.

“With so many people, I will need some helping hands,” Bian Yu Qing said.

“Good. You can also ask the people from Thousand Leaves Sect to come.” Yang Kai nodded, “I’m going to bring these people out first.”

Bian Yu Qing immediately took out her communication artifact and poured her Divine Sense into it. It was obvious that she was calling for people to come over and help.

On the other hand, Yang Kai summoned the Sealed World Bead, and in a swirl of darkness, a huge tadpole-like figure appeared. It was Gun-Gun who proceeded to open his dark and wide mouth as though it spanned across the entire world.

The terrifying aura emanating from Gun-Gun made the three Monster Kings pale. They couldn’t even tell what this thing was. It wasn’t due to the large body size either, but rather that it gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.

A figure soon rushed out of that big mouth and looked around with a shocked expression. The figure that was frozen in place was none other than Meng Wu Ya. The rich World Energy all around made him think that he was in a dream. The World Energy in the place where High Heaven Sect was located on Shadowed Star had been second to none in the entire Star Field; however, comparing that place to this place was like comparing the ground to the vast Heavens. One didn’t even need to circulate a Secret Art to feel the World Energy pouring into their body here, an extremely comfortable sensation.

Then, another figure came out of Gun-Gun’s mouth. Followed by the third, and then a fourth… Everybody reacted in the same way.

Yang Kai called out loudly seeing this, “Everyone, please don’t stop here. Please continue moving forward as there are still others coming out behind you.”

His reminder finally woke these people from their daze and glancing at each other, they saw the shock and excitement in each other’s eyes. They had long been informed that they were going to follow Yang Kai back to a higher world known as the Star Boundary, and from the looks of it, they had arrived safely. It was just that they never imagined that the Star Boundary they heard about would have such an excellent cultivation environment.

Naturally, most places in the Star Boundary were unlike High Heaven Palace. Even if it was better than the Star Field, it would not have given them the sense of disparity between day and night; however, this was High Heaven Palace. It was where the Seeking Passion Sect once stood. In the first place, it was one of the best Cultivation Paradises in the Northern Territory, so how could the Word Energy not be abundant?

In the meantime, a steady stream of people emerged from Gun-Gun’s mouth and the square was soon filled with people.

At this time, the people of Thousand Leaves Sect also rushed over under Ye Hen’s lead. There were not many of them, only a few hundred at best, and needless to say, they were extremely shocked to be greeted by this scene. After asking around for a bit, they finally learned that these people came from a Lower Star Field and were astounded by Yang Kai’s methods.

In the eyes of a cultivator born and raised in the Star Boundary, those that arrived from a Lower Star Field were the elites among the elites. As long as they did not die partway through their journey, the chances of them advancing to the Emperor Realm was extremely high. It was only because the cultivation environment of a Lower Star Field was vastly inferior to the Star Boundary that their potential for growth had been limited.

It wasn’t as if there were no cultivators from a Lower Star Field in Star Boundary, it was just that they were scattered all over the place so it was difficult to see so many of them all at once.

Thousands of cultivators appeared in the square, and there were still more people coming out. These people might not be powerful at the moment, but with enough time, they would surely become the foundation of High Heaven Palace.

Yang Kai had no time to chat with anybody as he stood in a corner with Bian Yu Qing, pointing at various spots at High Heaven Palace shown on the Mountains and Rivers Projection. They were constantly discussing how to divide the land and living quarters for these people.

One by one, the disciples of the Thousand Leaves Sect were given instructions, each of them leading approximately 1,000 or 2,000 people as they headed for a mountain somewhere.

This busy work spanned several days, during which, Hua Qing Si returned from the Southern Territory. With her help, things went more smoothly than before while her expression was both blissful and distressed. She would glance at Yang Kai from time to time with a resentful look.

Although she was personally named by Yang Kai as the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, she had nothing much to deal with since its establishment. There weren’t that many people in High Heaven Palace in the first place. Besides, most of them were disciples of Thousand Leaves Sect, and since Ye Hen was also based on Thousand Leaves Peak, self-governance had not been a problem.

Over the years, Hua Qing Si had mostly busied herself looking for ways to obtain cultivation resources for High Heaven Palace. Cooperating with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce in the Southern Territory had earned her a lot of fortune, but what was the point of earning so much? There were no disciples using these resources so these materials ended up as a bunch of numbers of paper. Hence, it could be said that she was Head Manager in name only.

However, it was different now. More than a hundred thousand disciples had entered High Heaven Palace all of a sudden; in other words, she had to coordinate, determine their cultivation techniques, and prepare the resources needed for all of these disciples. She could almost see a future where she would not get a moment’s rest for at least half a year…

Her workload would finally be worthy of her title as ‘Head Manager’, but… wasn’t this going to be too exhausting?

Fortunately, she had Bian Yu Qing sharing her worries and helping her in solving problems; otherwise, she would have to bear this burden all alone. Nevertheless, it was still too much for her and Bian Yu Qing alone to handle the daily needs of more than a hundred thousand people, so they needed to come up with a better plan.

The last group that came out of the Small Sealed World was a group of Monster Race cultivators. They were the elites of Monster Emperor Star, and numbered around three thousand in total with Yu Xiong as their leader. Furthermore, each one of them gave off a tremendous Monster Qi.

Yang Kai beckoned at the three Monster Kings, “I will hand them over to you three to take care of.”

The cultivation of the Monster Race was different from that of Humans; therefore, it would be for the best for them if they were personally taught by the three Monster Kings. In response, Ying Fei, Xi Lei, and Xie Wu Wei smiled widely. Their gazes swept over the three thousand or so new members of the Monster Race with a calculating look, causing a chill to shoot up the spines of these three thousand.

These new members of the Monster Race could be considered the elites of Monster Emperor Star, the outstanding talents who survived the war against Limitless Beast Mountain. Even so, they felt like babies when faced with the aura coming from the three Monster Kings. None of them could tell how powerful the Monster Kings were specifically, but there was no doubt that any one of these three could snuff them out with a snort.

“Finally, we have something to do!” Xi Lei laughed loudly.

Like Hua Qing Si, the three of them had been idling since they came to High Heaven Palace. Their greatest joy had been playing hide-and-seek with Hou Yu. Unfortunately, she lost the heart to escape after being captured by them countless times and instead dedicated herself to refining artifacts for High Heaven Palace nowadays.

In her words, she was going to squander all the resources in High Heaven Palace to make Yang Kai feel distressed and finally release her. Nevertheless, she could not bring herself to disgrace her reputation as an Emperor Artifact Refiner, and as a result, all the Artifacts she refined were of top quality. At the moment, countless artifacts of various grades were piled up in High Heaven Palace’s treasury. If she had known beforehand that Yang Kai would bring more than a hundred thousand disciples into the Sect and effectively put those artifacts to good use, she would not have the motivation to continue ‘wasting’ resources.

Without Hou Yu to chase around, the three Monster Kings had felt increasingly bored; therefore, handing them three thousand or so disciples was just what they wanted. At the very least, they could do something for Yang Kai, which was better than staying here doing nothing all day long.

“Little ones, come with me.” Xi Lei waved his hand and took the lead to fly to a large mountain deep inside High Heaven Palace.

The three thousand or so newcomers looked at each other, feeling confused until Chi Yue shouted, “What are you waiting for!? Get moving!”

Only then did many of them notice Chi Yue’s presence and they were both surprised and delighted to see her. When she left the Star Field, Chi Yue had been the one and only Monster Queen on Monster Emperor Star, and while her strength was simply incomparable to that of Xi Lei and the other Monster Kings, her orders carried far more weight, so the three thousand or so Monsters follow after Xi Lei obediently. 

It was a mighty and spectacular procession.

Chapter 3210

It took Yang Kai half a month to completely arrange accommodation for this mass of people. During this period, he was so busy that he was practically running around all the time. Fortunately, he had Hua Qing Si and Bian Yu Qing helping him; otherwise, he would have died from overwork.

The hundreds of Spirit Peaks of various shapes and sizes in High Heaven Palace were originally empty; however, they were now filled to the brim with people. The smaller Spirit Peaks housed up to several hundred while the largest Main Peaks could house up to three thousand people. With more than a hundred thousand people distributed among the hundreds of Spirit Peaks, High Heaven Palace instantly transformed into an extremely lively place.

Managing so many people was a huge challenge, be that as it may, Hua Qing Si made a suggestion that they select a Peak Master for and from each peak. These hundreds of Peak Masters would fall under her direct responsibility while the Peak Masters would be responsible for the newly welcomed disciples living in their respective Spirit Peaks. That way, it would save everybody a lot of trouble.

Naturally, Chi Yue, Ai Ou, Gu Cang Yun, and Gui Zu were each capable of overseeing a Spirit Peak; moreover, the Spirit Peaks they oversaw were the Main Peaks. Although their cultivation had yet to enter the Emperor Realm, they now all stood at the peak of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. They were much more powerful than the cultivators from the Star Field. For that reason, the four of them gave up the Five Saints Peak that they had been living on for a long time and relocated to other Spirit Peaks. 

Gu Cang Yun was the former Union Master of the Sword Union, and Yang Kai brought most of the elites in Sword Union here with him; thus, all the disciples from Sword Union were pushed onto Gu Cang Yun to manage. Yang Kai was fairly certain that those disciples would not mind either. If their numbers were insufficient, he could transfer people in from other places to fill the empty spots.

Meanwhile, Ai Ou was placed in charge of the cultivators from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce; Gui Zu and Chi Yue each oversaw a portion of those who were originally in High Heaven Sect. It was because the three thousand members of the Monster Race had been assigned to the three Monster Kings, so she had nobody available under her.

The others such as Ye Xi Yun, several Elders of the original Star Emperor Sect, Qiu Yi Meng, and Old Demon, who were in the Origin King Realm, were all promoted to become Peak Masters of their respective Spirit Peaks too. With this system in place, the entire structure within High Heaven Palace immediately became clear and far more convenient to manage.

Yang Kai patrolled and monitored the conditions of the various Spirit Peaks along with the two Head Managers, Hua Qing Si and Bian Yu Qing. After confirming that everything was in order, he finally had some time to rest for a few days. Even so, he did not spend the so-called ‘rest days’ doing nothing. It was just that he wasn’t as busy as he had been at the beginning.

With so many people moving in, a large number of cultivation resources and Secret Arts and Techniques would definitely be needed for cultivation.

Now that everyone was in the Star Boundary, the Secret Arts they cultivated in the Star Field would not be able to keep up with their progress. It was only natural to replace those Secret Arts with better ones.

Fortunately, Yang Kai had killed countless people ever since he entered the Star Boundary, and even a top Sect like Seeking Passion Sect had been destroyed at his hands; therefore, he had gathered quite a collection of Secret Arts. There were many different varieties of Secret Arts suitable for all kinds of cultivators to choose from.

Furthermore, Hua Qing Si had long been prepared for this potential future and had built a library on one of the Main Peaks that contained countless Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. The library was now open for the numerous Peak Masters to freely browse. The matter regarding the Secret Arts was temporarily solved, only the matter regarding cultivation resources remained.

Cultivators in the Star Field mostly cultivated using Saint Crystals while those in the Star Boundary mostly cultivated with Source Crystals. The two were completely different in terms of quality. Luckily, High Heaven Palace accumulated a lot of wealth over the years. Source Crystals were piled up like mountains in the storehouses and Yang Kai had just received a fortune from the Three Great Divine Venerables recently. Combined with the earnings from the trade between Hua Qing Si and Violet Source Chamber of Commerce in the Southern Territory over the years, a rough estimation indicated that High Heaven Palace had no need to worry about Source Crystals for the next fifty years, at the very least.

Moreover, transactions with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce took place every year, and the trade of materials was on a very large scale, so there would definitely be a surplus of Source Crystals even after fifty years. Hence, the matter regarding Source Crystals could be put aside. The only problem left to consider was the supply of pills.

Yang Kai brought along many cultivators from the Star Field who were in the Origin Returning Realm. Additionally, the number of people breaking through to the Origin King Realm would increase gradually with time. This wasn’t of particular concern as Origin Kings weren’t anything special in the Star Boundary. On the other hand, it was the process of advancing into the Dao Source Realm from the Origin King Realm that was extremely pill-consuming. That was because every cultivator required Source Condensing Pills during this period to aid in the transformation of their Saint Qi to Source Qi.

Yang Kai had also experienced this process back then. The same went for Chi Yue, Gui Zu, and the others. Without the assistance of the Source Condensing Pill, it would take an Origin King at least ten or twenty years to completely transform their Saint Qi into Source Qi, and that was considered fast. Those that were slower might take hundreds of years to complete the process.

Consequently, High Heaven Palace would require an enormous amount of Source Condensing Pills over the next hundred or even thousand years. They would not be able to meet this demand just by relying on the Sect’s own production alone. It would be far from enough, even with High Heaven Palace’s very own Spirit Pill Peak. Thus, there was a need to buy such pills in bulk while training their own Alchemists.

For that reason, Yang Kai had asked Hua Qing Si, who had just returned, to visit the Southern Territory again. She took a large number of Monster Beast Cores with her and was prepared to use these to exchange for a batch of Source Condensing Pills from Violet Source Chamber of Commerce to tide over this emergency period for now.

Yang Kai had a few million Monster Beast Cores in his possession, the vast majority of which he obtained when he entered the Ancient Wild Lands in the past. Those Monster Beast Cores were the results formed from the accumulation of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years in the Ancient Wild Lands’ Ten Thousand Spirits Tomb and he had stolen them all in one fell swoop. Among them, there was no lack of Twelfth-Order Monster Beast Cores. Violet Source Chamber of Commerce would certainly be more than happy to go through with such a transaction. 

Yang Kai had taken out more than ten thousand Monster Cores of all kinds just to obtain an urgent supply of Source Condensing Pills. It was an incredibly high expenditure for High Heaven Palace.

After working for one month straight, Yang Kai finally let out a breath of relief. On this day, he led Xia Ning Chang to the top of one of the Spirit Peaks. This peak was one of the Main Peaks in High Heaven Palace. The scenery here was far more beautiful than all the other Spirit Peaks. Not only was it abundant in World Energy, but it was also surrounded by flowers and birds.

Compared to the other lively Spirit Peaks, this one was quite different. Although the Peak was extremely tall and large, it was quiet and peaceful. That was because he did not allow any other cultivator from the Star Field to disturb this Spirit Peak. This was Spirit Pill Peak of High Heaven Palace!

There were two similar Spirit Peaks, Spirit Array Peak and Spirit Instrument Peak. The respective Peak Masters were Nanmen Da Jun and Hou Yu. Needless to say, these two Peak Masters were forcibly appointed by Yang Kai. Regardless of their consent, the two of them were to be the respective Peak Masters of Spirit Array Peak and Spirit Instrument Peak from now on.

On the other hand, Spirit Pill Peak did not have a Peak Master even though it was the place where Ji Ying, an Emperor Alchemist, was located. Strictly speaking, Ji Ying was not part of High Heaven Palace. He was the Fifth Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor after all. It was only because he lost to Yang Kai in an Alchemy competition back then that he stayed in High Heaven Palace to help with Alchemy. He could be considered an Honoured Guest of High Heaven Palace.

Nonetheless, Ji Ying was not a pedantic person. Not only was he in the Emperor Realm, but he was also an Emperor Alchemist. Moreover, he was a Legacy Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. All three of these statuses would attract a lot of attention no matter who held them, but it was all the more terrifying when all three of them were held by the same person.

Yang Kai would not have been able to do anything to Ji Ying if he had refused to admit his loss back then; furthermore, he could not be killed since that would surely offend Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. The wrath of a Great Emperor was not to be taken lightly; however, Ji Ying actually stayed to fulfil his bet with Yang Kai and refined a large number of Spirit Pills for High Heaven Palace over the years. The Spirit Pills he personally refined were not only of high grade, but the quality was also guaranteed too.

Ji Ying had several disciples under him, who he brought along with him to Spirit Pill Peak to help out. Thus, only Ji Ying and his disciples lived on Spirit Pill Peak, along with several others who were in charge of miscellaneous work.

Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang slowly wandered up the peak and soon arrived at the summit. A man who appeared to be in his twenties was waiting in front of the great hall and when he saw Yang Kai, he bowed, “Palace Master Yang, Honoured Master has been waiting for your arrival. Please come with me.”

Yang Kai smiled and nodded. He knew that Ji Ying had noticed his presence the moment he arrived.

After following the disciple into the great hall, Ji Ying quickly appeared to greet Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, it has been a long time since we last met.” 

The two had not seen each other for more than ten years, which certainly was quite a long period. Besides, Ji Ying was so friendly not only because he lost to Yang Kai in the Alchemy competition, but also because of Gong Sun Mu. It was only thanks to Yang Kai that the Third Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Gong Sun Mu, was able to return to Medicine Pill Valley after his death. 

Ji Ying was grateful to Yang Kai for that reason.

“Brother Ji!” Yang Kai responded with a smile.

Ji Ying grabbed Yang Kai’s arm and exclaimed, “Brother Yang, you came at just the right time! I’ve been experimenting with a new Alchemy Technique recently. I’ve had some gains with it, but I would like to ask you for some advice.”

Ji Ying was an Emperor Alchemist, so there were very few people in the world who could discuss Alchemy with him. Although he had several Senior Brothers and a Senior Sister, they were all taught by the same Master, so there was a limit to what he could gain from discussing Alchemy with them.

Whereas, Yang Kai was different. Ji Ying might not know who taught Yang Kai Alchemy, but he knew that Yang Kai’s skills in Alchemy were not inferior to his own. Furthermore, Yang Kai was unique in the sense that he had his own style and methods. One would surely gain something from communicating with him.

“Uh…” Yang Kai looked speechless. [Alchemists truly are single-minded. I came here today for a purpose, but he’s already dragging me off somewhere the moment we meet…]

Thinking that he had things to request during their meeting this time around, Yang Kai decided that it would be best if he could earn some favours to make the discussion go a little bit smoother later. Hence, he had no choice but to humbly state, “I don’t dare to give advice, but I don’t mind discussing the matter with you, Brother Ji.”

It had been pure luck for him to defeat Ji Ying the last time they competed in Alchemy. Yang Kai did not think that he was better than Ji Ying in any way; after all, he still felt that Ji Ying was better than him when it came down to Alchemy skills.

Ji Ying laughed heartily, “Brother Yang is too humble. Even Honoured Master is full of praise for your Alchemy skills. It’s a pity…”

“What’s a pity?” Yang Kai was stunned. [Could it be that the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor has some sort of negative opinion of me?]

“It’s a pity that you can’t focus solely on the Alchemic Dao.”

[Oh! So, that’s why they feel that it is such a waste…] Yang Kai grinned, “There are three thousand Daos, and I simply choose one of them. It’s enough for me to pursue that path to the peak.”

Ji Ying was taken aback for a moment before he nodded, “Fair enough.”

Afterwards, he no longer wasted any time, dragged Yang Kai into his Pill Refining Room, took out some precious herbs, and began refining. Needless to say, Xia Ning Chang followed them inside. 

Ji Ying did not know who this young woman was; however, he did not stop her from entering upon seeing that her relationship with Yang Kai seemed a bit unusual. Besides, his new Alchemy Technique wasn’t something that could be learnt by just anybody watching it.

Chapter 3211

Ji Ying had been researching a new Alchemy Technique recently. The most notable part of the technique was the Pill Condensing Technique. According to his explanation, his Pill Condensing Technique was relatively simple compared to other similar techniques, to the point that even an average Alchemist could master it with some practice. Moreover, the Pill Condensing efficiency would be increased by at least 10% or 20% upon mastering the technique.

A 10% or 20% increase was nothing to sneeze at. It might not make much of a difference when refining only a small number of Spirit Pills, but an Alchemist would refine a large amount of Spirit Pills throughout their lifetime, so a 10% or 20% increase in the quantity of condensed pills would result in quite a terrifying amount of wealth.

Since the Pill Condensing Technique was the last part of the process, Ji Ying did not choose to refine a high-grade Spirit Pill; instead, he chose a Dao Source Grade Spirit Pill to experiment with. 

The early stages of the process were ubiquitous, and even though the process was sophisticated, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

The room was shrouded in silence for a while as Ji Ying was focused on his Alchemy. Meanwhile, Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang watched the entire process together. In particular, Xia Ning Chang stared unblinkingly at Ji Ying’s movements with her beautiful face revealing a thoughtful expression from time to time.

Ji Ying condensed the medicinal liquid, portrayed the Spirit Arrays, and refined the embryonic Spirit Pills. Soon, it was time for the Pill Condensing process and his expression subsequently became serious, “Brother Yang, please watch carefully.”

Saying so, Ji Ying began forming a set of hand seals while directing subtle waves of his Emperor Qi into the Alchemy Furnace. A fragrant aroma seeped out in an instant. The Pill Condensing process had obviously begun, and a short while later, Ji Ying shouted in a low voice, “Condense!”

He then lifted the lid of the furnace. Following that, several circular Spirit Pills flew out and were guided into a jade bottle Ji Ying had prepared in advance. They rolled around inside the bottle noisily. There were exactly nine Spirit Pills, no more, no less. Nine was the limit. No matter how great the technique of the Alchemist or how high the level of refining, each refinement could only produce nine pills at the most, a law even Wondrous Pill Great Emperor could not break past.

As an Emperor Alchemist, Ji Ying could refine nine Spirit Pills when refining a Dao Source Grade Spirit Pill even without using his newly developed Pill Condensing Technique; therefore, the number of pills he refined, even after using his new technique at the end, was still nine.

Even so, Yang Kai could tell that the new technique had its unique points and immediately focused his mind carefully before discussing the process with Ji Ying.

A discussion between Alchemists was not limited to theory only; hands-on experiments were necessary too. Therefore, Yang Kai took out his Alchemy Furnace and some herbs before he began to refine a Spirit Pill. When he arrived at the last Pill Condensing step, he used the techniques developed by Ji Ying to compare the pros and cons first-hand.

Afterwards, they refined Spirit Pill after Spirit Pill in their experiments. Time passed little by little, but Ji Ying was not the slightest bit fatigued. Rather, his eyes shone brighter and he became more energetic the longer they worked. It was the right decision to discuss this matter with Yang Kai after all. Over the next few days, he discovered that his new Pill Condensing Technique still had some flaws and he gradually rectified them with Yang Kai’s mutual input and confirmation, which made him extremely happy.

Five whole days later, the two of them put away their Alchemy Furnaces and walked out of the Pill Room together. Having gained some new insights, Ji Ying was in a jubilant mood and thus ordered his disciples to prepare a banquet to entertain Yang Kai.

This was in line with Yang Kai’s wish so he signalled to Xia Ning Chang with a look. Xia Ning Chang immediately understood his intentions and picked up a bottle of wine to pour them some drinks.

It was several rounds of drinks before Ji Ying slapped his head and said, “Where are my manners! I haven’t even asked for this lady’s name yet!”

While speaking, he turned to glance at Xia Ning Chang with an apologetic expression. Despite noticing that the relationship between Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang was a bit unusual, Ji Ying had quickly become fully engrossed in his Alchemy. Aside from Alchemy, the only other thing in his head was Yang Kai, the person he was discussing this matter with, which was still related to Alchemy. He completely neglected Xia Ning Chang the whole time and didn’t even notice that she was serving their drinks by the side until this moment.

“This is my beloved wife, Xia Ning Chang.” Yang Kai smiled slightly and introduced them.

Xia Ning Chang bowed elegantly, “Greetings, Grandmaster Ji Ying!” Her face was slightly flushed as it was the first time Yang Kai had introduced her to an outsider in that manner.

“Madam Yang!?” Ji Ying was startled. [The person who has been pouring me wine is Yang Kai’s Wife!?] 

Ji Ying seemed at a loss and hurriedly stood up, “W-What have I done? Please sit down!” [If I had known this Xia Ning Chang was Yang Kai’s wife, I would never have let her do such menial tasks! Isn’t that like slapping Brother Yang’s face!? Luckily he doesn’t seem to mind…] 

“I have been disrespectful. Allow me to offer this toast to you as an apology, Madam Yang! Please forgive me for my lack of hospitality!” Ji Ying lifted his wine glass and drank its content down.

“Brother Ji, you are being too serious about this, it’s just a minor matter.” Yang Kai smiled and waved dismissively.

Ji Ying looked at Yang Kai with a bitter smile, “Brother Yang, how could you allow me to make such a fool of myself, bringing your wife here without saying anything and making me look bad? You have to drink three cups of wine as punishment later!”

“It is as you say, Brother Ji.” Yang Kai smiled before continuing, “But, there’s no hurry to start drinking just yet. I actually have something to ask of you, Brother Ji, and it concerns my wife.”

Ji Ying said, “Feel free to speak up whenever you need my help, Brother Yang. I won’t refuse as long as I can help.”

“This matter is definitely something only you can do, Brother Ji.” Yang Kai smiled confidently and pointed to Xia Ning Chang, “It’s like this… Ning Chang has also been practising Alchemy ever since she started cultivating. She loves Alchemy more than fighting and cultivation.”

“Oh? Sister-In-Law is an Alchemist too?” Ji Ying studied Xia Ning Chang seriously but frowned slightly a moment later. As an Emperor Alchemist, he could tell if somebody studied the same field as him with a glance. That was because an Alchemist would have a unique air around them. This was especially true for those who dealt with different fires and herbs all year round; there would definitely be traces that could not be removed completely. Oddly, he could not find any of these traces on Xia Ning Chang at all of her dealing with flames, though he could clearly smell the scent of various pills coming from her, which made him suspicious.

“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded, “It’s just that she has just arrived from a Lower Star Field where the conditions were very limited. She also had nobody to teach her about Alchemy, so now that I finally managed to bring her here, I was hoping that she could study the Alchemic Dao from you, Brother Ji.”

Ji Ying replied, “Brother Yang, your achievements in Alchemy are no worse than mine; moreover, you are husband and wife. Would it not be simpler for you to teach her? Why bother going around the sun to reach the moon?”

Yang Kai smiled wryly, “You think too highly of me, Brother Ji. As you know, I don’t have the time to teach her.”

Upon hearing those words, Ji Ying knew that Yang Kai was speaking the truth. He had been in High Heaven Palace for quite a long time now, but even so, he practically never saw Yang Kai around. Yang Kai’s whereabouts were a constant unknown, so how could he have the time to teach others?

Thus, Ji Ying nodded lightly, “If that’s the case, I don’t mind helping. But…” Before Ji Ying could continue his sentence, Yang Kai cut him off and winked at Xia Ning Chang, “Ning Chang, come and greet your Honoured Master!”

Not only was Ji Ying in the Emperor Realm, but he was also an Emperor Alchemist, so he was more than qualified to be Xia Ning Chang’s Master. Even if he and Yang Kai referred to each other as brothers, their relationship would not be affected if Ji Ying simply taught Xia Ning Chang casually.

Ji Ying was a Legacy Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, and learned the Alchemic Dao from Wondrous Pill Great Emperor personally, so if Xia Ning Chang could learn from him, she would surely gain greatly from the experience even if it was slight.

However, it was different if Ji Ying took her on as a formal Disciple. That would mean he was obligated to teach her everything he knew without any reservations. Comparing those two options, it was natural that Yang Kai wanted Xia Ning Chang to become Ji Ying’s Disciple. Suffering a small loss in terms of hierarchy was nothing compared to that.

Before coming here, Yang Kai had informed Xia Ning Chang in advance of his plans; hence, she knew what she had to do right now and quickly tried to bow. Before she could speak though, Ji Ying waved his hand and an invisible force supported her to forcefully prevent her from bowing before him.

“Brother Yang…” Ji Ying looked at Yang Kai helplessly. Waving his hand about, he continued, “I can’t. I can’t.”

If he really accepted Xia Ning Chang as a Disciple, then what would become of the relationship between him and Yang Kai? What’s more; he was not just an ordinary Emperor Alchemist, he represented Medicine Pill Valley. It was not possible for him to randomly take in Disciples at will. He had to receive approval from Medicine Pill Valley first.

In addition, he had no intention of accepting more disciples. It was okay to ask him to teach Xia Ning Chang; however, accepting Disciples was an important affair. How could it be done so carelessly? Even if Xia Ning Chang was Yang Kai’s wife, Ji Ying didn’t dare to take her in as a disciple without even knowing her aptitude; otherwise, it would be Medicine Pill Valley’s reputation at risk if things went wrong.

Ji Ying already had several disciples under him, but each one of them was elite among the elites. Over time, each of them was likely to become an Emperor Alchemist.

“Why not? Could it be that you are unwilling, Brother Ji?” Yang kai thought to himself. [I’ve already said so much, so how can I let you escape so easily? You have to take her in as your Disciple. I’ll make you do it even if you don’t want to!]

“It’s not that I’m unwilling. It’s just…” Ji Ying was extremely conflicted, “There are rules in place, so I cannot take in Disciples at will. I will need to report this matter to Eldest Senior Brother first.”

Although Medicine Pill Valley was where Wondrous Pill Great Emperor cultivated in retreat, the old man was not in charge of everyday matters. Currently, the person in charge of Medicine Pill Valley was the Eldest Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, the man Ji Ying addressed as ‘Eldest Senior Brother’.

“There are such rules?” Yang Kai was stunned, but at the same time, he knew that Ji Ying would not lie to him. He also understood that various obstacles had appeared in his plan.

“That’s right. Otherwise, I would not refuse this request. Why don’t we do this instead, Brother Yang? I can teach Sister-In-Law Alchemy, but we won’t have the status of Master and Disciple between us.”

Yang Kai was greatly reluctant to accept that offer. [What if he isn’t serious about teaching her? How much can she learn?] 

Worried, he tentatively asked, “Does Medicine Pill Valley still accept disciples?”

How could Ji Ying not know what Yang Kai was trying to do? As such, he gave a troubled smile, “The Valley has not taken in any new disciples for the past 500 years. However, Eldest Senior Brother will not refuse if the person has extraordinary aptitude.”

Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai became happy and called out, “Ning Chang, demonstrate your skills for Brother Ji.”

Ji Ying stared at Yang Kai in amazement, finding all this rather hard to believe. From what he could see, there were no traces of Xia Ning Chang practising Alchemy; however, Yang Kai seemed to be extremely confident about her skills. Unfortunately, things had already come to this, so Ji Ying could not put a stop to the matter anymore. It was all down to Xia Ning Chang now. 

[If her aptitude is even the slightest bit acceptable, I will go back and beg Eldest Senior Brother to accept her into Medicine Pill Valley. I should at least do that for Yang Kai.]

“Then, please excuse me.” Xia Ning Chang said softly before she took out some herbs from her Space Ring. They were all herbs of the Origin King Grade as there were no higher grade herbs in the Star Field. Just this action alone though made Ji Ying’s eyes brighten.

Chapter 3212

With Ji Ying’s insight, it was easy for him to tell that Xia Ning Chang was only in the Third-Order Origin King Realm, but even so, Xia Ning Chang was taking out Origin King Grade herbs. Her actions indicated that she was going to refine an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill, which was probably the limit for a cultivator from a Lower Star Field. 

In other words, Yang Kai’s Wife was an Origin King Rank Alchemist.

[Perhaps… I can look forward to this a bit.] Ji Ying secretly nodded to himself and silently began paying attention.

In the meantime, Xia Ning Chang gently picked up one of the herbs, and at that moment, the aura around her changed drastically and became extremely focused. It was as though the only thing left in the world was the herb in front of her right now and nothing else.

Alchemy required incredible concentration, and one could not become easily disturbed or distracted. That was an essential quality for every Alchemist. 

Seeing this, Ji Ying nodded to himself again. Regardless of her Alchemy aptitude, her performance alone would deserve some merit.

In the next moment though, Ji Ying’s brow furrowed deeply because Xia Ning Chang was controlling her Saint Qi to wrap around the herbs in her hand directly. Furthermore, her Saint Qi did not remain constant and instead fluctuated freely. Both the amount and the strength of her Saint Qi constantly increased and decreased without a fixed pattern. 

Under the influence of these fluctuations, an emerald aura soon seeped out of the herb and a clear medicinal liquid began to condense.

[She is not using an Alchemy Furnace!?] A strange look flashed across Ji Ying’s eyes. An excellent Alchemist did not need to use an Alchemy Furnace when refining Spirit Pills they were very familiar with. They could simply refine it in the air. Nevertheless, that process required the skill of the Alchemist to be extremely high. Moreover, the Spirit Pill they were refining could not be of too high of a grade. 

For example, an Emperor Alchemist like him did not need to use an Alchemy Furnace when refining a Dao Source Grade Spirit Pill. Be that as it may, the quality and number of those pills would be affected even if he could complete the refinement successfully.

An Alchemy Furnace was the life of an Alchemist. Those weren’t just empty words. Regardless of how good or bad the Alchemy Furnace was, it was the most essential tool necessary to assist an Alchemist in refining.

Xia Ning Chang was in the Origin King Realm; therefore, refining an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was her limit in the first place, and yet, she was going to refine the pill in the air without the help of an Alchemy Furnace. That made Ji Ying a little unhappy. Even if she wanted to show off a thing or two in front of him, she should not go overboard. This wasn’t a good mindset to have as an Alchemist. She was sacrificing substance for style, a mentality that would limit her future prospects. 

If it had been anybody else, Ji Ying would have reprimanded them for their actions already. He only managed to stop himself from doing so at the thought that this young lady was Yang Kai’s wife. Unfortunately, the hope he previously had for her vanished.

In the next moment though, he was again stunned. That was because he sensed that her Saint Qi was not of the Fire Attribute. [What is she doing!? It’s bad enough she is refining without an Alchemy Furnace, but now, she isn’t even going to use a fire!? How is she going to perform Alchemy!? Does she take Alchemy for a children’s game that she can fool around with!?] 

Unable to take it anymore, he turned to look at Yang Kai.

But contrary to expectations, Yang Kai was smiling and he meaningfully said, “Just watch, Brother Ji. You will come to understand later.”

Ji Ying frowned, but he had no choice but to let nature run its course while pondering how he could refuse Yang Kai’s previous proposal without wounding the latter’s pride or the friendship between them. [This is very difficult. If Yang Kai had brought anybody else, I could have rejected the request outright, but this woman is his wife! If I handle this poorly, it might form a rift between us!]

Meanwhile, Xia Ning Chang’s Saint Qi surged and the herb which was tumbling before her gradually began to shrivel up as a pearl-sized emerald green liquid sphere was extracted from it.

Ji Ying’s abruptly eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed out loud, “How is this possible!?”

The first step in refining Spirit Pills was to condense medicinal liquid from the required Spirit Herbs. Generally, an Alchemist would use an Alchemy Furnace and intense flames to do so; however, Yang Kai’s wife used neither. Even so, she magically managed to condense the medicinal liquid of that herb.

He turned to look at Yang Kai in shock only to see that Yang Kai’s expression was indifferent, as though he had expected this outcome.

[What is going on? How did Young Lady Xia manage to condense the medicinal liquid without the help of an Alchemy Furnace or any kind of fire at all!?] Unable to believe his eyes, Ji Ying silently spread out his Divine Sense only to have his eyes widen again.

This was indeed medicinal liquid, and moreover… it was extremely pure! The pearl-sized green medicinal liquid drop did not contain any impurities whatsoever. It was pure and flawless. Plus, the medicinal properties were extremely well preserved without any hint of damage. The shock to his heart was extraordinary as he felt as though what he just saw overturned his lifetime of knowledge and experience.

With his current skills, Ji Ying could achieve the same results as Xia Ning Chang with the same Origin King Grade herb; however, he would need to use an Alchemy Furnace and an appropriate flame to achieve that. Moreover, he was an Emperor Alchemist while Xia Ning Chang was only an Origin King Rank Alchemist. The gap between those two was so wide that they were simply incomparable.

Ji Ying never imagined that an Origin King Rank Alchemist could condense medicinal liquid to the extent where it was above their limit. At the very least, he couldn’t have achieved this when he was an Origin King Rank Alchemist himself.

The purity of the medicinal liquid directly affected the quality of the Spirit Pill that was produced. The higher the purity and quality of the medicinal liquid, the smoother the subsequent refining process would become and the better the end result would be. In this step, Xia Ning Chang had undoubtedly reached a state of perfection.

Ji Ying glanced at the withered Origin King Grade herb in her hand next and determined that all the medicinal efficacies contained in it had been fully extracted without any wastage.

It was already amazing how she could condense such a pure medicinal liquid without the help of an Alchemy Furnace or any kind of flame, but she was even able to extract every last bit of medicinal efficacy from the Spirit Herb she was working with. It could be said that Ji Ying had never met an Alchemist like Xia Ning Chang before. Even those disciples under him that he had great expectations for could not compare to her. If he were to score her on this stage of Alchemy, and 10 was a perfect score, then he would give her 9 points, deducting one point solely out of fear that she would become overconfident.

He could not figure out how she managed to achieve this simply because it went against everything that he knew. Calming himself down, he continued to watch her. The rest of the herbs were being condensed into individual balls of medicinal liquid now, and it did not take long before she completely condensed all of the medicinal liquids necessary.

Ji Ying was amazed at her achievements. Furthermore, he realized that the first time she condensed such pure medicinal liquid had not been a lucky accident. That was because all the medicinal efficacies of the other herbs she processed had been condensed completely without the slightest trace of wastage.

The dissatisfaction and contempt in his heart had vanished and he now focused all his attention on Xia Ning Chang’s movements without moving. Ji Ying was afraid he might miss out on some of the finer details of her methods. Even if he couldn’t quite figure out how she managed to achieve this, the visual and sensory impact was still incredibly pleasurable to watch as a Senior Alchemist.

After condensing the medicinal liquids, it was time to portray Spirit Arrays to temper and merge them together. Thus, Ji Ying thought to himself, [At this point, she should be taking out her Alchemy Furnace, right? That performance just now was enough to prove her ability.]

But contrary to his expectations, Xia Ning Chang continued without taking out her Alchemy Furnace. She simply spread out her hands slightly and wrapped the pearl-sized medicinal liquid drops with Saint Qi, suspending them between her palms. When her Saint Qi churned again, those balls of medicinal liquid began to dance quickly. They spun around a point in space that acted as the centre without stopping while her palms acted as the boundaries. During this process, the droplets merged and blended over and over again until something strange happened.

At this point, Ji Ying was completely speechless. All he could understand was that the way Yang Kai’s wife refined Spirit Pills was completely different from any form of Alchemy that he knew. It was far beyond what he could even imagine. Using his Divine Sense to observe the changes in the medicinal liquid, the expressions on his face constantly shifted from astonishment, to shock, to amazement… all sorts of expressions flashed across his face.

A quarter of an hour quickly passed by when the blended medicinal liquid that had been rotating between Xia Ning Chang’s palms suddenly slowed down. With Ji Ying’s perception, he could clearly tell that all the different medicinal liquids had been completely fused with one another without any kind of incompatibility or waste.

Holding the semi-finished pill in one hand, Xia Ning Chang suddenly knit her brow and pondered something for a moment, after which she suddenly changed the array that she had been using with her free hand and pushed her Saint Qi in a pulsing manner.

“This is…” Ji Ying stood up abruptly as the Alchemy Technique she was currently using was none other than his newly developed Pill Condensing Technique! He had discussed the technique with Yang Kai over the past five days and used it to refine roughly twenty Spirit Pills, but that was all. He couldn’t believe she learned his new technique completely just by watching them for five days! Not only did she learn it, but was even able to apply what she learned immediately!

Ji Ying became more and more excited as he instinctively realized he had stumbled upon a hidden gem. 

Her excellent and unique Alchemy skills could be explained away as having been acquired through great amounts of practical experience; after all, Xia Ning Cheng had indeed been practising the Alchemic Dao for a long time. However, learning Ji Ying’s new Pill Condensing Technique in just five days and applying it now proved that her comprehension and aptitude had reached an astonishing, near Heaven-defying height.

Naturally, Ji Ying could tell that the Pill Condensing Technique she was using was not perfect. There were some flaws in the execution, and some parts were rather stiff compared to when he was using it, but those small flaws did not obscure the brilliance of this feat. She had simply been watching from the side for five days, and he didn’t even teach her anything about this technique, but despite that, she was capable of executing it to a practical extent. If she was this good when she was simply observing, how much more would she improve if he actually taught her himself? Compared to her, the disciples he had high hopes for weren’t worth anything!

Upon executing the final portion of the Alchemy Technique, the medicinal liquid in Xia Ning Chang’s hands split into seven orbs. Those seven balls of medicinal liquid spun continuously, gradually solidifying and drying. 

Once the dust had settled, there were seven round, snow-white pills rolling around in her palm.

“Please have a look, Grandmaster.” She said softly as she placed the seven Spirit Pills on the table and retreated behind Yang Kai.

Ji Ying immediately widened his eyes at the sight. Grabbing the seven Spirit Pills, he studied them carefully.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai had been observing Ji Ying’s expressions the entire time, so how could he not notice the changes in the latter’s demeanour? Lifting his gaze, he smiled and winked at Xia Ning Chang, signalling that she had done well.

“Pill Veins!” Ji Ying exclaimed. Two out of the seven pills actually formed Pill Veins! This was such an amazing ratio that even he felt dazed with shock for a moment.

Chapter 3213

Pill Veins were the best proof of an Alchemist’s skills. Unfortunately, it was something that could only happen by chance. If Pill Veins appeared on a Spirit Pill during the process of refinement, then both the medicinal efficacies and the value of that Spirit Pill would at least double. That was because the medicinal efficacies of a Spirit Pill that formed Pill Veins would not fade away no matter how much time passed as long as the pill was stored properly. The patterns on the surface of the Spirit Pill were akin to the meridians in a Human’s body that locked in the medicinal efficacies and prevented them from waning.

It was even more remarkable if Pill Clouds appeared. Pill Clouds not only had the same preservative and enhancement effects as Pill Veins, but they could also actively absorb World Energy to nourish the Spirit Pill. The longer such a pill was stored, the more powerful its medicinal efficacies became. Hence, the medicinal efficacies contained in the Spirit Pill that formed Pill Clouds would be terrifying if it was stored for thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Pill Veins were already considered rare coincidences, so what more needed to be said about Pill Clouds? Pill Clouds were an absolute rarity. Whenever Ji Ying refined Spirit Pills, he might occasionally produce a Spirit Pill with Pill Veins, but a Spirit Pill with Pill Clouds… he had never produced one before.

On the other hand, his Fourth Senior Sister had once had a stroke of good fortune and managed to refine a Spirit Pill with Pill Clouds. However, it was only an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill. She was already an Emperor Alchemist at the time, so refining an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was as simple as breathing for her. Still, she received the praise of their Honoured Master for that achievement and had kept that special Spirit Pill hidden like a precious treasure till this day. It would probably become a family heirloom and be passed on from generation to generation.

Xia Ning Chang had refined an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill, which was her limit. After all, she was only an Origin King Rank Alchemist. Producing seven pills in itself was an amazing outcome, but she also produced two pills among them that had Pill Veins.

Ji Ying was thoroughly shocked by the results. One could have been passed off as luck, but two? Can two be produced by pure luck? Wasn’t that a bit too much for a mere coincidence?

He carefully confirmed that he was not mistaken. Both definitely had formed Pill Veins.

The medicinal efficacies of both Spirit Pills with Pill Veins were more than twice as potent as the other five. Such results were even rarer than producing nine pills all at once.

Ji Ying also realized that the reason why she only produced seven pills was that she did not fully understand the Pill Condensing Technique, the last step in the refinement. After all, it was the first time she was using it. If she had more time for her to completely comprehend the new Pill Condensing Technique, how could she not produce a full nine pills?

Taking a deep breath, Ji Ying put down the two Pill Veined Spirit Pills and looked at the remaining five with an amazed expression. When she had condensed the perfect medicinal liquid, he had expected that the quality of the Spirit Pills would be quite good, and in fact aside from those two Spirit Pills with Pill Veins, the remaining five were also of the best quality. It felt as though she was only one step away from producing Pill Veins in all the pills.

[Madam Yang doesn’t just have great aptitude; she is a genius among geniuses! I’m afraid she is far more talented than Yang Kai!] Recalling her various Alchemic performances just now, Ji Ying suddenly lifted his head and glanced at her blankly as an incredible idea flashed through his head, “Madam Yang… Do you possess the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body?”

When Ji Ying pointed out the truth, Xia Ning Chang nodded lightly in response while Yang Kai laughed out loud, “Brother Ji, you sure have sharp eyes!”

“No wonder. No wonder…” Ji Ying smiled bitterly. No wonder she was able to refine in the air with such precision and excellence without the need for an Alchemy Furnace or flame attribute energy. It was because she had the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body! [How embarrassing; I can’t believe I thought she was trying to show off in front of me. I finally know the whole story now. Why would somebody with the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body need a furnace or flames? Her very being is the best pill furnace there is and her Saint Qi is superior to any kind of fire!]

He then turned to look at Yang Kai and whined at the injustice of it all, “Brother Yang, why did you hide this from me? I nearly made a fool of myself because of my ignorance!”

Yang Kai blinked innocently, “Seeing is believing. You might not believe what you hear. Brother Ji, what do you think of my wife?”

Ji Ying solemnly replied, “This Ji is inferior!”

It wasn’t flattery; it was simply the truth. He suddenly recalled the records he once read in some ancient books. There were countless peculiar Special Constitutions in this world, and every one had its own uniqueness. However, for an Alchemist, the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body was the most coveted. That was because that kind of physique was specifically made for Alchemy. For those with the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, practising Alchemy was akin to breathing, an innate ability they were born with.

It did not matter that he currently had higher Alchemy skills and rank than her. Once she grew, Ji Ying would be no match for her, even his four Senior Brothers and Sister under Wondrous Pill Great Emperor could not compare to her. With time, she might even be able to reach the height of his Honoured Master and truly become one with the Alchemic Dao.

Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment as he had not expected Xia Ning Chang to receive such a high evaluation from Ji Ying. A proud expression appeared on his face as he laughed heartily, “Brother Ji, you praise us too much! We still have much to learn from you.” 

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Does that mean I can take it that you are willing to take my wife as your disciple, Brother Ji?” 

[With such a high evaluation, it shouldn’t be difficult for Ji Ying to take Xia Ning Chang under his wing.]

Every famous Master would yearn to have talented disciples under them. Ji Ying was one of the most prestigious Emperor Alchemists in the Star Boundary. Just as the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor must pass on his mantle eventually, Ji Ying must have had similar thoughts too. Unfortunately, famous Masters were everywhere while talented disciples were rare. Xia Ning Chang was, without a double, an excellent choice.

Yang Kai originally thought that Ji Ying would agree to the proposal with great enthusiasm, but to his surprise, he saw Ji Ying frowning deeply and looking troubled so he asked suspiciously, “Brother Ji, are you still worried about the rules of Medicine Pill Valley?”

“No.” Ji Ying waved his hand dismissively, “With such amazing aptitude combined with the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, I’m sure Eldest Senior Brother will warmly welcome Madam Yang into Medicine Pill Valley.”

“If that’s the case, why do you have such a troubled expression, Brother Ji?” Yang Kai was bewildered. [I’m willing to go so far as to send Xia Ning Chang to Medicine Pill Valley to learn the Alchemic Dao for the sake of her future even though being apart is such a painful experience. So, why is he hesitating? Shouldn’t he accept her while jumping for joy instead?]

Ji Ying did not answer for a long time while his expression fluctuated. After hesitating for quite a long time, he finally made up his mind and resolutely declared, “Brother Yang, I want to introduce Sister-In-Law to my Honoured Master.”

“To Wondrous Pill Great Emperor?” Yang Kai was stunned, but a moment later, he exclaimed in shock, “Brother Ji, you don’t mean…”

“I’m afraid only Honoured Master is qualified to teach Sister-In-Law.” Ji Ying declared solemnly. If he was being honest, he really wanted to accept Xia Ning Chang as his Disciple and nurture her carefully. It would surely reflect well on him with a Disciple like her. Unfortunately, the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body was so rare and conveyed such advantages that he would not be able to teach her for long. It would be embarrassing as her Master if he was inferior to his Disciple soon after taking her in. Besides, taking her on as his Disciple would mess up the hierarchy in his relationship with Yang Kai.

That was why he said what he said. If he could make her a disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, then they would be Senior Brother and Junior Sister. That way, it would not be awkward to meet with Yang Kai in the future.

Yang Kai looked excited and exclaimed, “Brother Ji, I really can’t thank you enough for your kindness…”

If Yang Kai was being honest, it wasn’t as if he never thought about making Xia Ning Chang the disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor; however, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor was not somebody he could meet just because he wanted to, much less put up a request for him to become Xia Ning Chang’s Master. It just so happened that Ji Ying was at High Heaven Palace, so he decided to approach Ji Ying instead. Who could have known that Ji Ying would voluntarily bring such a proposal up? It was truly something to rejoice about.

Yang Kai hurriedly turned to Xia Ning Chang and said, “Little Senior Sister, quickly thank Brother Ji.”

Xia Ning Chang had just arrived in the Star Boundary, so she had no idea who Wondrous Pill Great Emperor was. Even so, she understood that he must be an extraordinary existence from Yang Kai’s reaction; thus, she hurriedly paid her thanks but Ji Ying lifted his hand to stop her, “Wait, wait!”

Yang Kai solemnly said, “Brother Ji is so kind, how can I express our gratitude with just a simple word of thanks!? Brother Ji, please don’t refuse.”

Ji Ying smiled bitterly, “I’m not refusing, It’s just… I don’t have much confidence in this matter. Please don’t blame me if this doesn’t succeed.”

“Not much confidence?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Why do you say that?”

Ji Ying replied, “It’s like this… Honoured Master has accepted five disciples so far, and I am his youngest disciple, as well as his last disciple! Back when Honoured Master took me under his wing, he once mentioned that he would never take in another disciple again.”

After hearing that explanation, Yang Kai understood why Ji Ying had such a troubled expression. Ji Ying had the intention to introduce Xia Ning Chang to Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, but the issue was that the old man had already declared he would not take in another disciple. The words of a Great Emperor held enormous weight, so how could he break them so easily?

The only hope was for Xia Ning Chang to have enough aptitude and prospects that Wondrous Pill Great Emperor would willingly go against his own word to accept her. Nevertheless, her Sacred Spirit Medicine Body was undoubtedly her greatest trump card. Otherwise, Ji Ying would never take the initiative to mention something like this. As a disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, it was impossible for him to discredit his Honoured Master. It was just that he couldn’t bear to leave such a precious pearl lying in the dust.

“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai exclaimed.

Ji Ying continued, “I can only promise to try my best. As to whether it will work…”

Yang Kai hurriedly said, “Brother Ji, please allow my wife and I to offer our thanks for your kindness in advance. It doesn’t matter whether this matter is successful or not, we will forever be grateful to you.”

Ji Ying smiled, “If you don’t have any objections then I will leave for Medicine Pill Valley immediately.”

“This matter is not that urgent…” Yang Kai said without actually meaning it.

Ji Ying replied, “You may not be anxious about it, but I am!” 

After saying that, he stood up and walked outside with long strides.

“Do you need my wife to go with you?” Yang Kai asked.

“Not yet. I will try to feel out Honoured Master’s attitude first. If it seems possible, then it won’t be too late to bring Sister-In-Law to the valley.” The point was that he had no confidence in this matter. If his Honoured Master refused to even meet Xia Ning Chang, then it would be very humiliating for her.

Thus, Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang saw him off outside the great hall.

“I hope everything goes smoothly.” Ji Ying muttered before shooting straight into the sky. He instantly disappeared from view, seemingly to be in a great rush and not willing to delay in the slightest.

Looking in the direction Ji Ying had left, Yang Kai clenched his fists lightly and exclaimed excitedly, “If this works out, then you will have a powerful backer in the future, Little Senior Sister!” 

If she could become the disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, then nobody would ever dare to provoke her again regardless of where she went in the Star Boundary. The weight behind Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s current five disciples was so terrifying that nobody would dare to challenge them.

“Junior Brother, who is… Wondrous Pill Great Emperor?” Xia Ning Chang asked softly.

Yang Kai smiled, “I haven’t had the time to explain this to you in detail. Hmm… Let’s call Su Yan, Luo’er, and Xue’er. It’s a good chance to tell you all about the current situation in the Star Boundary.

Reaching out to grab her waist, he flew towards the Main Peak where he lived. His hands were naturally a little naughty since he was in a good mood, causing Xia Ning Chang to blush furiously as she bit her thin lips with an expression of shame.

Chapter 3214

Ji Ying was extremely efficient so Yang Kai only waited at High Heaven Palace for less than five days before Ji Ying rushed back in a hurry and headed straight to the Main Peak, High Heaven Peak.

“Brother Ji, how did it go?” Yang Kai couldn’t read the situation from Ji Ying’s expression, so he asked anxiously.

Ji Ying replied, “Honoured Master has agreed to meet Sister-In-Law.”

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed by that answer, but he also knew that Wondrous Pill Great Emperor would not take in a disciple so carelessly. Just the fact that Wondrous Pill Great Emperor had agreed to meet Xia Ning Chang meant that they had a chance. If he refused to even meet them, then Yang Kai could only give up on this idea; thankfully, there was still a glimmer of hope.

“If Sister-In-Law is not busy with anything right now, then let us set off immediately. We cannot let Honoured Master wait for long.” Ji Ying did not want to delay a single moment to return to Medicine Pill Valley.

“Many thanks, Brother Ji.” Yang Kai bowed slightly with one hand on his chest. Xia Ning Chang walked out from behind him then they reluctantly said their goodbyes.

They had just reunited not long ago, and now they were about to be separated again; moreover, it would not be easy for them to meet again if and once she entered Medicine Pill Valley. Even so, that was the best place for her to be in the long run. 

[After she has learnt enough, she can always come back, and we have a long future together. So, stop worrying. Don’t keep thinking of making her stay.]

Afterwards, Ji Ying took out his boat artifact, boarded it with Xia Ning Chang, and shot off into the sky in a stream of light.

Yang Kai stood in front of the main hall and watched their departure. A long time passed before he retracted his gaze. Su Yan, Shan Qing Luo, and Xue Yue were standing behind him. Composing himself, he turned and asked, “Luo’er, are you sure you don’t want to go to the Ancient Wild Lands?”

Over the past few days, he had given the four women a rough explanation of the situation in the Star Boundary. He had arranged for Xia Ning Chang to enter Medicine Pill Valley. As for Shan Qing Luo; the best place for her to go was the Ancient Wild Lands. Although she was born a Human, she had the Monster Race’s bloodline in her as well as the Source Strength of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, so the most suitable place for her to increase her cultivation in the Star Boundary was undoubtedly the Ancient Wild Lands.

He believed that if he sent her to the Ancient Wild Lands, the Three Great Divine Venerables would not have much to say about it. It went without saying that it was useless even if they were against the idea. Surprisingly though, she didn’t seem to have such intentions. On the contrary, she seemed happy to stay and cultivate in High Heaven Palace. He even had a vague guess for her reasoning. She was worried that Xue Yue might get lonely, so she was staying to keep her company.

“I’m not going.” Shan Qing Luo smiled, “As long as I have the heart and the will, it makes no difference where I cultivate.”

Yang Kai gently nodded, “Fair enough.”

At present, High Heaven Palace had no shortage of cultivation resources, so even if she did not go to the Ancient Wild Lands, it would not negatively affect her cultivation pace; thus, he did not force the issue since she was not willing to go. Turning to look at Su Yan, he said, “Let’s go to Ice Heart Valley, then.”

After saying that, his figure moved as he headed towards the Space Array at a high speed with Su Yan following closely behind him.

A short while later, the Space Array located in the once Restricted Area on the Ice Island of Ice Heart Valley lit up brightly. 

Ice Heart Valley’s disciples guarding the area noticed the changes and went to investigate the situation. When they got a grasp of what had happened, they reported it to their higher-ups.

Yang Kai rarely came to Ice Heart Valley, but all the Elders and many of the disciples could recognize him; after all, it was Yang Kai who turned the tide and saved Ice Heart Valley from the catastrophe they were facing just over a decade ago. On the other hand, his position in the hearts of Ice Heart Valley’s disciples was almost transcendent. Otherwise, how could a man like him enter a place where only women gathered so easily? Normally, they would kill any man who dared to contaminate this paradise.

A quarter-hour later, Yang Kai met with Bing Yun in a large hall. There was nobody else with her except Ji Yao, who served next to her. 

Yang Kai felt troubled the moment he saw Ji Yao as just the sight of her brought up memories of the embarrassing incident between them in the Ancient Wild Lands.

Similarly, Ji Yao had a strange expression on her face too. She smiled at him, but the smile was not reflected in her eyes. It made him extremely uncomfortable and gave him the feeling that she was hiding something she wanted to say in her gaze.

Shifting his eyes away, he cupped his fists, “Yang Kai greets Senior.”

Bing Yun smiled and replied in a gentle voice, “Why are you acting like such an outsider? Boy, why have you not visited this place for more than ten years?”

Before he could reply, Ji Yao insultingly interjected, “Palace Master Yang is an important and busy man. He only interacts with the noble and the rich. Why would he think of this desolate and small Ice Heart Valley?”

Yang Kai lifted his gaze and glanced at Ji Yao. [I’ve never done anything to provoke you before, why are your words so harsh?]

Even Bing Yun glanced at her Third Disciple upon hearing those words.

The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “Junior Sister Yao, I trust you’ve been well since we last met.”

Ji Yao stretched out her hand and pushed her hair behind her ear. Then, she lightly replied, “Last time, it was ‘Yao’er’, but now, it has changed to ‘Junior Sister’.”

This time around, the corners of his brow twitched at those words. Even Bing Yun’s eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness before she lifted a hand and spoke up, “Don’t act so distant. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Ji Yao added, “There is no tea for guests. Please forgive our discourtesy, Palace Master Yang.”

“Aha.. ha… haa…” Aside from giving a dry chuckle, he had no idea how else he should react to her words.

Meanwhile, Bing Yun couldn’t take it anymore and glared at Ji Yao, with the latter lowering her eyes with a docile look in response.

“This is…” Bing Yun glanced at Su Yan, who was standing behind Yang Kai, with a strange look. She secretly thought to herself. [Ji Yao’s cold attitude probably has something to do with this woman this little boy brought with him….] 

Thinking so, Bing Yun couldn’t help asking out of curiosity.

Su Yan stepped forward and bowed slightly with her fists cupped, “Su Yan greets the Ancestral Founder!”

“Ancestral Founder?” Bing Yun was taken aback by those words. Similarly, Ji Yao lifted her head to look at Su Yan curiously.

“That is…” Bing Yun’s eyes suddenly shone with a different light and her gaze fixed on the sword hanging by Su Yan’s side with a stunned look. Beckoning with her hand, the sword flew into her grasp. She held the hilt of the sword and pulled it from its sheath with a sharp sound. The large hall was instantly filled with a cold yet dazzling light while at the same time, a freezing aura spread out.

“Profound Frost!” Bing Yun muttered in surprise. This sword originally belonged to her. It was the sword she used when she was the Valley Master of Ice Heart Valley on Scarlet Wave Star in Heng Luo Star Field. She had left the sword behind in Ice Heart Valley when she later left the Star Field to head for the Star Boundary. Even after more than ten thousand years though, and even though Profound Frost had undergone tremendous changes, Bing Yun could still tell with a glance that this was the sword she had used back then.

“Yes, Ancestral Founder. It is Profound Frost!” Su Yan replied respectfully.

Bing Yun glanced up at Su Yan and asked, “Are you from Heng Luo Star Field?”

Since Profound Frost was here, it was not hard to guess where Su Yan had originated from.

Yang Kai smiled, “My wife once studied in Ice Heart Valley on Scarlet Wave Star for a while. Profound Frost was something she received from Ice Heart Valley back then.”

“Wife?” Bing Yun keenly caught the extremely intimate manner Yang Kai had addressed Su Yan. Similarly, a strange light flashed across Ji Yao’s eyes.

Stroking the sword edge lightly, Bing Yun recalled the memories of the past and couldn’t help sighing. A long while passed before she spoke again, “Profound Frost was only an Origin King Grade Artifact back then, but it is now a Dao Source Grade Artifact. Moreover, it seems to have gained spirituality. It seems that leaving the sword in your hands has not been a disservice to it.”

Returning the sword to its sheath, Bing Yun lifted her hand and returned Profound Frost to Su Yan. Although it was something she used to own, Profound Frost was no longer useful to her so it was only natural that she would not snatch it from Su Yan, who brought it here with her.

Bing Yun turned to look at Yang Kai then and said, “Yang Kai, the reason you brought her here to me…”

Yang Kai grinned at her, “Su Yan can be regarded as a disciple of Ice Heart Valley on Scarlet Wave Star. Naturally, that makes her your disciple by extension, Senior. I simply brought her here to return to her roots.”

Bing Yun nodded lightly at those words as she could guess his intentions, “Good, I will take her in. Don’t worry, I will not neglect her.”

[Bing Yun sure is easy-going!] Although he knew that nothing would go wrong here, he had not expected Bing Yun to agree so readily. Compared to Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Bing Yun was much more amiable. Nevertheless, Bing Yun was only a Third-Order Emperor, a far cry from Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s height. A Great Emperor should be extremely cautious in accepting disciples after all. What’s more; Wondrous Pill Great Emperor had already declared he would not take in more disciples.

Yang Kai winked at Su Yan, who immediately bowed once more, “Disciple greets Honoured Master!”

Ji Yao suddenly spoke up, “Honoured Master, you spend most of your time cultivating in retreat, so why not leave Little Junior Sister to me? I will take responsibility for her.”

Yang Kai was shocked and shifted his eyes abruptly to stare at Ji Yao, only to see that she was smiling at him with a cryptic grin. It gave him a bad feeling, but before he could say anything, Bing Yun nodded and said, “Good. If I am busy, I will leave Little Su Yan to you. Please take good care of her.”

“Of course. I won’t disappoint you, Honoured Master.” Ji Yao replied respectfully before turning to look at Su Yan and saying, “Little Junior Sister, this is our first time meeting each other. You may call me ‘Third Senior Sister’. You can also call me by my name. I am Ji Yao.”

“Greetings, Third Senior Sister!”

Ji Yao smiled, “Leave that to the future. Honoured Master has yet to take you in formally, but we will all be one family once the reception ceremony is over, so you don’t need to act so stiff and polite.”

“Yes.”

Yang Kai broke out in a cold sweat as he suddenly had the feeling that he was sending Su Yan into a lion’s den. However, it wasn’t the time nor occasion to regret his decision. Bing Yun had already agreed to take Su Yan in as her disciple; moreover, Su Yan was very suited to stay and cultivate in Ice Heart Valley, so what was the point of regretting now?

[Ji Yao won’t make things difficult for Su Yan, right?] Based on his understanding of Ji Yao, it shouldn’t come to that. That thought settled all the anxiety in his heart, so he added, “Senior, I returned to Heng Luo Star Field a short while ago and brought back a number of disciples from Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley. If you are willing to take them in, I will return immediately to arrange for them to be brought here.”

The people he brought with him when he left the Star Field were not just from Shadowed Star but from all the major Cultivation Stars. Needless to say, Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley had been one of those with preferential treatment, so almost the entire Sect had been relocated.

“You went back to the Star Field?” Bing Yun was shocked.

“Yes. It was a lucky coincidence.”

“How many people did you bring with you?”

“Senior, are you asking about Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley or the total number of people I brought back?”

“Of course, I’m asking about Ice Heart Valley.”

“Several thousands.”

Bing Yun was stunned as she initially thought that even if he had the ability to bring a few people back from the Star Field with him, it would not be more than a couple dozen. Hence, the number amounting to several thousand shocked her to the core. But soon, her eyes brightened and she asked, “Did you become the Star Field’s Master?”

Yang Kai laughed, “Senior has sharp eyes.”

She felt relieved by those words. [No wonder he can bring several thousands of people along with him. It’s because he became the Star Field Master and the Guardian of the Star Field. There is no other way to explain how he could bring so many people along with him aside from that.] 

Frowning suddenly, Bing Yun said, “All Star Fields and the Star Boundary have their own respective rules. Only those in the Third-Order Origin King Realm can pass through the Starlight Corridor to arrive in this world after overcoming the obstacles in their path. Although I don’t know what method you used to bring them here, I’m afraid your actions will invite some trouble.”

Yang Kai replied, “Don’t worry, Senior. The fact that I dared to do this means that there won’t be any problems.”

Chapter 3215

If not for the fact that Yang Yan was Yang Kai’s direct superior, he would not have been able to pull this off. He would definitely have been caught and ultimately punished for his actions. In the worst case, he might even be deprived of his Star Field Master status; however, with Yang Yan’s protection, it was nothing for him to sneak a few people over.

“What about the total number?” Bing Yun suddenly realized something. If he brought over several thousands of people just from Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley alone, then the total must be even higher; after all, Yang Kai himself originated from the Star Field, so he couldn’t neglect taking care of his friends and family there.

“I think there were more than a hundred thousand…” He scratched his face.

Bing Yun was completely stunned while Ji Yao stared at him blankly. What was the scale of a hundred thousand people? The entire Ice Heart Valley only had a few thousand disciples. It didn’t even reach a population of ten thousand in total. Moreover, that was the result of continuously recruiting disciples over so many years. A hundred thousand was practically equivalent to several Ice Heart Valleys.

“Why did you bring so many people over?” Bing Yun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Can you afford to feed them?”

[It’s more than a hundred thousand people! Just the cultivation resources for everybody will amount to a terrifying figure! It has not been long since High Heaven Palace was established, how can they have such a large heritage to squander?] She couldn’t help but worry about his future.

Yang Kai chuckled, “There is no problem for the time being.”

Bing Yun was stunned for a moment before she nodded, “It seems that I have underestimated you. Since you have so many people on your side, let’s arrange for those from Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley to be sent over as soon as possible. That will be my contribution to sharing and reducing some of your burdens.” 

Bing Yun would not have done this under normal circumstances; however, Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley was also a Sect she had established with her own hands in the past. Thus, she could not ignore those thousands of disciples that were essentially her disciples too. It was also better for those disciples’ cultivation if she took them into Ice Heart Valley.

“Many thanks, Senior.”

She smiled, “I should thank you instead. Since you have such deep pockets, there is nothing Ice Heart Valley can provide you as thanks other than this. In the future, I will teach Su Yan carefully to return your favour.”

That was clearly implying that Yang Kai had nothing to worry about as she would never treat Su Yan poorly. 

On the other hand, Yang Kai seized the opportunity to make a request, smilingly speaking, “Senior, this Junior has a favour to request.”

Bing Yun asked, “What is it? As long as it isn’t too much… Let’s hear it.”

He made a bitter expression, “Senior, High Heaven Palace has only been established for a short time so its heritage cannot compare to that of other Sects in the Star Boundary. Putting aside the issue regarding cultivation resources since we can still live frugally, the disciples cannot rely solely on Source Crystals to cultivate. They need suitable Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. If they cultivate blindly without any direction, they will not survive in a fight against others no matter how high their cultivation. How humiliating will it be if they are killed by others with lower cultivation realms than themselves?”

Bing Yun looked at him in annoyance and declared, “Get to the point. Why are you beating around the bush!?”

Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “I was wondering if I could borrow some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from Ice Heart Valley? As you know, there are bound to be all sorts of people among the many I brought with me, so I’m sure some of them will cultivate Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Techniques. We are currently lacking in these things right now.”

Bing Yun couldn’t help laughing, “You eliminated the Seeking Passion Sect and took away everything that belonged to them. Isn’t the heritage of a Sect that is several tens of thousands of years old not enough for you to use?” Speaking of which, the heritage of the Seeking Passion Sect was more impressive than that of Ice Heart Valley. It was a Sect created by a Great Emperor after all. Back then, the Seeking Passion Great Emperor was very influential. It was just that the Sect’s reputation gradually declined over the generations and in the end, was destroyed by Yang Kai.

Although Bing Yun did not know how much he benefited from annihilating the Seeking Passion Sect, the fact that he could afford to feed more than a hundred thousand people was a good indicator of how many cultivation resources he obtained. In that case, there must have been many Secret Arts and Secret Techniques too. She distinctly remembered that the library in Seeking Passion Sect was larger than Ice Heart Valley’s.

Yang Kai simply rubbed his hands together though, “Of course, it’s always better to have as many Secret Arts and Secret Techniques as possible. That way, the disciples will have more options to choose from, right? Of course, we can also do an exchange if you are interested. High Heaven Palace now has its own grand library. Senior can take whatever Secret Arts or Secret Techniques you fancy from there.”

Bing Yun waved her hand, “The disciples of Ice Heart Valley cultivate Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Ice Attribute Secret Techniques exclusively. Why would I want the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques of others?”

“Senior, does that mean…”

She replied, “Won’t I look too stingy if I refuse your request?”

“Many thanks, Senior!” He broke into a broad smile.

She nodded before turning to the side, “Yao’er, bring him to the Cultivation Technique Pavilion to have a look. Aside from the restricted resources on the top level, he is free to go anywhere he pleases.” 

Issuing a command like this right in front of Yang Kai was a clear indicator that she did not treat him as an outsider. As for those restricted resources; they were the core foundation of Ice Heart Valley itself which even its own disciples could not freely access. Only the future leaders and promising talents of the Sect were qualified to study those records; thus, it was only natural that she could not allow him to take them away.

“Uh… I can go by myself. I don’t need to trouble Junior Sister Yao.”

Ji Yao chuckled, “It’s not up to you. Honoured Master has already decreed it to be so. Senior Brother Yang, please come with me.” She smiled and walked over. Brushing past him, leaving a touch of fragrance lingering in his nose like something tangible.

“Go on. I want to have a chat with Su Yan.” Bing Yun waved him away, indicating that his presence was no longer welcome.

Thus, Yang Kai had no other choice but to leave. Before he left, he quietly sent a transmission to Su Yan, “Focus on your cultivation. I will visit you from time to time.”

Su Yan nodded at him lightly.

The door to the large hall closed behind Yang Kai as he followed Ji Yao to the Cultivation Technique Pavilion. Along the way, he came across many beautiful and alluring young women. Many of Ice Heart Valley’s disciples moved to the side to open up a path in the middle and bowed respectfully when they saw Yang Kai and Ji Yao coming from afar; however, he could sense that the occasional peeping looks were studying him with great curiosity.

All sorts of fragrances and perfumes intermingled in the air, giving birth to the illusion that he was trapped in a country of women.

It was silent throughout the entire journey. Even though Ji Yao took the lead, she had no intention of striking up a conversation with Yang Kai and soon, a nine-story pagoda came into sight. There was a plaque on the pagoda with three words written on it, ‘Cultivation Technique Pavilion’. Many Ice Heart Valley’s disciples came and went from the pagoda, clearly here to choose their Secret Arts and Secret Techniques.

Yang Kai entered the pagoda with Ji Yao and was immediately greeted by a woman dressed in palace clothes with her hair tied up in a high bun behind her head. She politely called out, “Martial Aunt Ji!”

This woman was in the Dao Source Realm, so she was not weak in terms of strength. If Ji Yao was a first-generation disciple of Ice Heart Valley, then this woman would be a second-generation disciple.

After her initial greeting, this young woman glanced at Yang Kai and suddenly exclaimed, “Martial Uncle Yang!”

She had seen Yang Kai before, and although it had only been a distant glimpse in the past, there was only one man in the world who could enter the Cultivation Technique Pavilion with Ji Yao and that was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace.

Yang Kai smiled and returned the courtesy. He was aware of how famous he was within Ice Heart Valley, so he was not surprised.

“Ask all the disciples inside to leave. Senior Brother Yang and I have something to do,” Ji Yao commanded indifferently.

A look of surprise flashed in the woman’s eyes. [Are the rumours true? Otherwise, why are they clearing out the entire Cultivation Technique Pavilion just to enter? It will be bad for Martial Aunt Ji’s reputation if word got out that she was alone with a man, but she clearly doesn’t seem to care about that.] 

Despite the suspicions in her heart, she replied, “Yes!”

Following that, the woman turned around and went inside. A short while passed and one by one, the disciples of Ice Heart Valley walked out of the pagoda, bowed to Yang Kai and Ji Yao, and took their leave. The entire process only took a quarter of an hour at most. Afterwards, the woman in the palace clothes approached the two again and reported, “Martial Aunt Ji, all the disciples have exited.”

“Good.” Ji Yao nodded slightly. Looking back at Yang Kai, she said, “Come in.”

Yang Kai looked uncomfortable. He had wanted to stop Ji Yao when she asked to clear out the pagoda; however, he was worried that other people might take it the wrong way and decided to keep his silence instead. Now, that ship had sailed and he could only let nature run its course. 

[Ji Yao isn’t afraid, and she is a woman, so why should I be bothered?]

The Cultivation Technique Pavilion was divided into nine floors, and the higher the floor, the higher the grade of the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques stored inside. Correspondingly, the requirements for the disciples to enter the pagoda would increase too. Although this was Ice Heart Valley’s Cultivation Technique Pavilion, the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques stored here did not just include those of the Ice Attribute.

After all, Ice Heart Valley had been standing for more than ten thousand years. Disciples who journeyed outside the Sect for life experience and missions were bound to gain some benefits during their travels. Hence, they would bring those Secret Arts and Secret Techniques they obtained, whether by intention or by luck, back to the Cultivation Technique Pavilion in exchange for Sect contribution points. That was basically how a Sect’s heritage grew. It was not something that could be obtained overnight but rather something that was accumulated over many centuries and millennia.

Ji Yao led Yang Kai inside and gave him a quick introduction of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion’s organization as they walked. After Yang Kai got a rough idea of the place, he said, “Let’s head directly to the fourth floor.”

All the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques below the fourth floor were useless to him. The materials suitable for cultivators in the Saint King Realm and above were only located on the fourth floor and above.

Nodding, she followed the winding staircase upward to the fourth floor, “Take your time and see if there’s anything you need, Senior Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai nodded and looked around. The fourth floor was very spacious. Moreover, it was filled with at least twenty wooden shelves as tall as a person and as long as several tens of metres. The wooden shelves were divided into small grids, with each containing a jade slip inside. The name of the Secret Art or Secret Technique was written on the jade slip. The organisation of the resources was very clear and easy to navigate.

Grabbing one of the jade slips at random, Yang Kai poured his Divine Sense into it to investigate the contents. It turned out to be a Secret Technique that allowed cultivators to cultivate until they entered the Origin King Realm. It was not very precious, but its main point was that it progressed steadily. There was no need to worry about cultivation dissonance.

Not holding back, he took out a blank jade slip and began copying the contents. He had prepared in advance for this trip, so he had readied tens of thousands of blank jade slips inside his Space Ring. It wasn’t just Ice Heart Valley; he was also targeting Fire Dragon Palace. He had long asked Li Jiao to go back and prepare some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques to be sent over.

If it were in the past, Li Jiao would have tried to shirk the task or negotiate with Yang Kai; after all, that was Fire Dragon Palace’s heritage, how could he allow other people to benefit from it so easily? However, after experiencing life and death with Yang Kai on Dragon Island, owing a favour to Yang Kai for saving Lu San Niang, and the comradeship formed when they joined hands in battle all over Heng Luo Star Field, he did not refuse Yang Kai’s requests. He immediately agreed and brought both Lu San Niang and Lu Yu Qin back to Fire Dragon Palace with him.

[It should be about time to receive those Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from Li Jiao.] Yang Kai was also planning to head to the Southern Territory to obtain some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from Azure Sun Temple.

Once High Heaven Palace gathered Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from four of the top Sects in the Star Boundary, the disciples of High Heaven Palace would have a wide variety of choices when it came to their cultivation. Just this starting point alone would give them a distinct advantage over others. It would be difficult for them not to become strong even if they didn’t want to.

“Shall I help you?” Ji Yao walked over and asked softly.

Nodding, Yang Kai took out a jade slip and handed it to her. He might not know how many Secret Arts and Secret Techniques were stored in the Cultivation Technique Pavilion of Ice Heart Valley, but it was always more efficient to have one more person helping to copy the jade slips.

Chapter 3216

There were jade slips on both the left and right sides of each wooden shelf. Yang Kai started copying the jade slips from the left while Ji Yao started from the right. The two of them kept the same pace, walking forward at the same time with only a hollow wooden shelf between them. Whenever they looked up, they could see each other’s faces clearly.

They were not choosy when it came to what they were copying into the jade slips either. In fact, Yang Kai was hell-bent on taking everything. He was prepared to copy everything from the fourth floor all the way to the eighth floor of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion in Ice Heart Valley.

For a while, the Cultivation Technique Pavilion was utterly silent. Only the jade slips in their hands kept changing. There were several thousands of jade slips on the fourth floor, but it only took them half a day to finish copying all the Secret Arts on that floor.

“Let’s head to the next floor,” Ji Yao said before leading the way to the stairs.

The fifth floor was slightly smaller than the fourth floor, and there were considerably fewer wooden shelves too. There were only around a dozen or so of them. Accordingly, the jade slips stored on this floor were also approximately half the amount found on the fourth floor.

With their previous experience, the two worked even more efficiently than before. It only took them around two hours to finish copying all the jade slips on this floor. Then, it was the sixth floor, followed by the seventh floor…

In the beginning, Yang Kai felt rather uneasy. He had the feeling that it was not a good thing that Ji Yao was following him around; however, she was acting as she normally did, and even when they spoke to each other occasionally, it was just casual conversation. Thus, he slowly began to relax in her presence.

He was afraid that she might bring up the incident in the Ancient Wild Lands back then. Her consciousness had been hazy, and she had mistakenly identified him as Bing Yun. With no other choice, he had impersonated Bing Yun for a while. As a result, he saw some things that he should never have seen. Ji Yao’s reputation would be ruined if word got out about what happened back then.

Seeing that she seemed to be calm and peaceful though, Yang Kai gradually calmed down as well. He understood that what happened back then had been nothing more than an accident; hence, there was no reason for her to hold onto that incident for so long.

When they entered the eighth floor, there were only a few wooden shelves. A rough estimate placed the number of jade slips to be around only a hundred or so. Nevertheless, the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques stored within these jade slips were the most advanced in Ice Heart Valley, second only to the restricted resources, and were suitable for those in the Emperor Realm to cultivate. It could be seen how generous Bing Yun was to Yang Kai for her to share these things with him. If it were any other person, they wouldn’t even have the chance to set foot into the Cultivation Technique Pavilion.

There were not many jade slips, so Ji Yao did not copy anymore. She walked over to the window and stared out into the distance, a slightly sad and lonely expression showing on her side profile.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai continued the copying on his own.

“I heard you brought back four wives from the Star Field.” She suddenly spoke up.

Lifting his head, he glanced at her. She continued showing only her side profile to him. If he had not been paying attention, he would have thought that he had an auditory hallucination just now. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he called out, “Who did you hear that from?”

She turned to look at him with a mocking smile hanging from the corner of her lips, “I’ve already met Little Junior Sister. When can I meet the other three?”

[Why do you want to meet them!?] He yelled in his heart. What puzzled him even more than that was how she learnt about this matter. It was true that he had returned from the Star Field for more than a month now and bringing his four wives with him was not a secret either; even so, who would tell her something as trivial as this?

“Did you plant spies in High Heaven Palace?” Yang Kai suddenly looked at her with an incredulous expression. She could not have learnt about these things unless she did that.

“You haven’t answered my question,” she replied without replying to the question.

He laughed wryly, “If you want to meet them, you can always visit them at High Heaven Palace at any time, Junior Sister Yao.”

She snorted softly and spun around angrily, “I would love to go, but I’m afraid some people wouldn’t welcome my presence.”

“Who dares!?” He glared.

Her gaze burned into him unwaveringly.

Pointing at himself, he asked, “You can’t be talking about me, right? What nonsense! Junior Sister Yao, you can come to High Heaven Palace any time you want to. Everyone will surely warmly welcome you.”

“You said it yourself.” She smiled, “In the future, I should show my face around High Heaven Palace more often.”

She used to visit High Heaven Palace frequently, but nine times out of ten, she wasn’t able to meet him. All the information she received only mentioned that he had yet to return from his various excursions. Even if that was the truth, it inevitably gave her the illusion that he was avoiding her, which made her very sad. Now that she had his promise she could come over at any time, some of her unease faded away.

“By the way, I also heard that a Zhu Girl has fallen for your charms too.”

The corner of Yang Kai’s face twitched at those words, “Who has such loose lips?” 

Several possible candidates flashed through his mind. [The three Monster Kings? No. They have no reason to gossip about me behind my back. Could it be Hua Qing Si? Or, Nanmen Da Jun? Or, Hou Yu? It was Hou Yu, no doubt!] He was furious. [I will definitely lock her up for a hundred years and make her refine artifacts non-stop once I get back! I won’t let her out before a hundred years have passed!]

“Senior Brother, you really are quite capable. You have so many lovers. You must be enjoying life to the fullest. It really is the envy of others.”

Yang Kai awkwardly coughed and said, “Junior Sister Yao, if you have nothing to do, please help me copy these jade slips. There’s not much left.”

Talking about a subject like this with a woman like Ji Yao felt extremely strange. He might have had some interest in joining the conversation had it been with a man instead.

Ji Yao only looked at him sarcastically though, “Senior Brother, are you feeling embarrassed? What is there to be embarrassed about? Aren’t all men like this? They can’t help but want to conquer all the beautiful women in the world.”

“That’s wrong.” Yang Kai shook his head, “I cannot deny that beautiful women will always attract a man’s attention. Men might even fantasize about them sometimes, but to conquer all the beautiful women in the world is simply unrealistic.”

“Is that so?” She was expressionless, “Does that mean you are already content with five beautiful women by your side?”

He sternly said, “How dare I be unsatisfied?”

She walked toward him and solemnly said, “Senior Brother, can you guarantee that you will never mess around with other women or seduce other women in the future?”

He pressed his palm against his forehead, “Junior Sister Yao, we really should change the conversation topic.”

“Are you avoiding my question, Senior Brother? Or, could it be that you have other intentions in your heart? Are you saying you won’t refuse a woman if they throw themselves into your arms?” She stopped in front of him, and her soft fragrance filled his nose.

Yang Kai took a step back, his back now pressing against the wooden shelf as he warned, “Junior Sister Yao, you are overstepping your boundaries!”

Ji Yao didn’t pay his warning any mind though and continued, “If it was like in the past, I could have ignored it, but Honoured Master promised to accept Little Junior Sister into the Sect. That means I am already family with Little Junior Sister. Although it’s only our first time meeting, I can tell that Little Junior Sister has a cold nature. I’m sure she won’t restrict you when it comes to relationships between men and women. As a Senior Sister, it’s only natural that I worry on her behalf.”

“You are being ridiculous.” He frowned.

She laughed coldly, “And you are a hypocrite.”

“How am I a hypocrite!?”

“How are you not?”

“Don’t talk as if you know men very well.” Yang Kai glanced at her up and down. Then, he sneered, “If I’m not mistaken, you are still a virgin, Junior Sister!”

Ji Yao’s fair face blushed beet red, feeling ashamed, “Scoundrel!”

He spread his arms wide, “You just had to discuss this topic with me. I’m only replying in kind. You’ve never even met a suitable man before, spending all your time painstakingly cultivating in Ice Heart Valley, so how can you understand a man’s thoughts?”

“Who says I haven’t met one!?” She snapped angrily, her chest heaving violently as she glared at him with wide eyes.

Feeling guilty for some reason, Yang Kai shifted his gaze away and shrugged, “That’s why I suggested we change topics. It’s meaningless to continue discussing this.”

“No!” She reached out and grabbed him by the collar, “I used to think that you were a decent person who understands how to control his desires. I never imagined that you would turn out to be this rotten on the inside despite your decent appearance! We have to settle things between us now; otherwise, Little Junior Sister will surely suffer in the future!”

Yang Kai instantly became livid and snapped back, “Who is decent on the outside but rotten on the inside!?” [This is too much! How am I decent on the outside but rotten on the inside!? This is a blatant slander! How can I possibly tolerate this!?]

She abruptly put force into her hands, and her entire body leaned forward towards him, then she enunciated her words clearly, “I am talking about you.”

“Ji Yao!” He shouted, “That’s enough!”

“Enough? Enough?! I’m just that unreasonable! What are you going to do to me!?” She leaned in further, looking incensed. She clearly had no intention to step back. Despite being half a head shorter than him, it felt as though she was looming over him instead.

He glared at her fiercely, hot air blowing out of his nose. There was such a beautiful woman in front of him; moreover, he could feel an amazing warmth and elasticity pressing against his chest. It made him lose track of what he was thinking for a moment, and his savage expression changed to something more intimate all of a sudden. He had only been focused on arguing with Ji Yao just now so he failed to notice how close they were to each other. Now that the reality of the situation hit him, his heart was pounding like crazy. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly as he softened his tone, “Let’s calm down and talk this out. Why don’t you let go of me first?”

He reached out and tried to pry her hands away, but to his surprise, she had no intention of letting go at all. It was just that the moment their skin made contact, her soft and white hands began to tremble. At the same time, her face slowly flushed red.

Their gazes met, but it was no longer hostile. Rather, it felt tantalizing and sensuous.

Yang Kai took a deep breath to try to calm his rampaging emotions and earnestly said, “Look; I was wrong, okay? Can you let go first?”

“No!” Ji Yao lost the courage to meet his eyes but remained stubborn.

He quickly said, “This will lead to trouble.”

She said nothing; however, her silent defiance was enough to indicate her stance.

“I’m warning you for the last time. This will only lead to trouble.” His expression was stern.

She remained motionless.

[I can’t stand it anymore! There’s no need to endure!] Letting out his breath softly, he slowly lowered his head and tilted hers up, pressing his lips against hers.

Ji Yao’s entire body began shivering violently, and her hands grabbing at his collar tightened abruptly. A strong male scent washed over her as the distance between them was closed swiftly. She immediately closed her eyes, and only her long eyelashes continued to tremble softly, revealing the nervousness she was feeling inside.

A soft and warm touch came from her lips. There also seemed to be a touch of fragrance that lingered and made her crave for more. Her trembling body instantly stiffened as if a binding technique had been cast on her.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s movements were extremely gentle. He seemed afraid of frightening her, pulling back immediately every time he touched her. His touch was as light as a dragonfly skimming across the water surface. The rigid tender body gradually relaxed and the hands that had been gripping his collar tightly released at some point. She was being held in his embrace as he snuck his arms around her back. Then, his hands tightened around her waist and her whole body pressed forward against his.

Chapter 3217

At the bottom of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion, the woman dressed in palace clothes who previously addressed Ji Yao as ‘Martial Aunt Ji’ looked up with a worried look. She seemed to have heard the faint sounds of quarrelling coming from above.

The Cultivation Technique Pavilion had been cleared out, so aside from her standing guard outside the door, only Ji Yao and Yang Kai were left inside. As such, the quarrelling noises must have come from those two; however, she could not figure out what it was that was making them quarrel so loudly that even she could hear them from the outside.

[Nothing will happen, right? Ice Heart Valley is indebted to Palace Master Yang. Besides, I heard that Martial Aunt Ji and Palace Master Yang have a close private relationship. When Martial Aunt Ji went missing for so many years, it was Palace Master Yang who brought her back safely. If that’s the case, why would they be quarrelling with each other?] She considered investigating the situation but hesitated for fear of encountering something that shouldn’t be seen.

Fortunately, the quarrel stopped as abruptly as it began. There was no more movement from above, which reassured her greatly. She couldn’t hear anything when she tried to listen in on them now; thus, she could only shake her head and sigh. As she continued to guard the door, she secretly prayed that nothing would happen.

Unbeknownst to her, something had really happened on the eighth floor of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion.

Ji Yao was completely inexperienced, so how could she compare to Yang Kai, a veteran in the matters of intimacy? Nothing serious had happened yet, with Yang Kai simply having his hand around her waist as he kissed her on her scarlet lips for a little bit. Even so, Ji Yao’s entire body had gone limp, and she lost all strength. If not for his hands supporting her around her waist, she would have fallen to the ground by now. Her breathing was ragged and her chest heaved violently. At the same time, her cheeks burned as though they had been set aflame.

On the other hand, Yang Kai was no longer satisfied with the sampling taste. Pushing her lips apart, he caught her soft tongue and had his way with it.

Ji Yao moaned, frightening herself. She never imagined that she could make such a strange sound, and it woke her up from her dazed state. Then, her eyes widened as round as saucers. She did not know where the strength came from, but she shoved at him with all her might and turned away. Pulling herself out of his embrace, she leaned against the wall and breathed in heavy gasps like a fish out of water.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai smacked his lips as he revelled in the taste of her lips for a moment. After that, he grinned at her and quipped, “I told you that it was going to lead to trouble!”

Ji Yao pressed one hand against her chest as it felt like if she didn’t do that, her heart would leap right out of it. The blush on her face had not gone away, and her enchanting eyes were watery. Nevertheless, she sneered, “What else do you have to say now?”

“About what?” He was stunned.

“That you’re a hypocrite! That you won’t be able to control yourself if a woman throws herself into your arms!” She snarled bitterly.

“So, it’s my fault?” He looked speechless. [Isn’t this your fault? If you didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have done anything either. Seriously, I’m a man after all.]

She frostily replied, “The truth is right in front of you, yet you still dare to deny it!?”

Yang Kai lowered his gaze, several strands of black hair falling across his forehead and concealing his expression as he murmured calmly, “Junior Sister Yao, were you using yourself as bait just to prove your point?”

Ji Yao said, “Yes!”

Raising his head, he grinned, “Junior Sister Yao, you sure are bold. Aren’t you afraid I might just eat you whole?” While speaking, he approached her slowly, step by step. 

Ji Yao was already feeling weak and leaning against the wall for support to begin with; thus, she couldn’t escape as he slowly came up to her. Her long eyelashes began trembling violently as she exclaimed, “What do you think you are doing!?”

Yang Kai slammed one hand against the wall behind her and used the other to lift her jade-white chin. It was as though his inner evil demons had been completely released from their shackles and he smiled at her faintly, “What do you think I’m doing?”

Without waiting for her to respond, he leaned down and kissed her again. This time around, he wasn’t as gentle as before. Instead, he roughly pushed past her defences and wantonly had his way with her. She immediately became out of breath, feeling as though she was suffocating. Only then did she understand that men should never be provoked arbitrarily.

After experiencing something like this for the second time, she performed much better. Moreover, she could begin to feel something. It was also because of that stirring feeling that it became more and more unbearable. It felt as though something was awakening within her. The blood in her body flowed several times faster than usual, and her entire body seemed to burn with an astonishing heat. It felt as though her clothes were about to burst into flames.

It wasn’t until a large hand slid from her waist to her chest that she grabbed his fiendish paws and opened her eyes wide, shaking her head beggingly. 

Yang Kai had been observing her reactions, so he smiled at the situation. Even so, he did not force things any further.

A long while passed before their lips parted while a glittering thread connected them together even after the deed. Ji Yao stared at the glimmering thread blankly, her already flushed cheeks becoming redder and redder. Then, she ducked and wriggled out of his embrace from beneath his arm. Dashing to the top of the stairs, she stopped and turned around to glare at him fiercely, “You absolutely cannot tell Little Junior Sister about this!”

After saying that, she hurried down the stairs as though she was fleeing from him.

“How dare she continue to act so fierce!?” Yang Kai looked in the direction she had disappeared and snorted with laughter. Her scent still lingered in his hands and placing one under his nose, he took in her fragrance with a captivated expression.

[I came here today just to obtain some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from Ice Heart Valley, so why did things develop like this with Ji Yao?] Looking back on everything just now, it felt almost like a dream. Unfortunately, what was done was done and there was no point in thinking about it now. 

[I wonder if things will be awkward when I next meet Ji Yao again.]

What bothered him the most was that Ji Yao did not want him telling Su Yan about this. He originally thought that she was using herself as bait to get some dirt on him to use against him, but contrary to his expectations, she seemed even more afraid about this matter being exposed than he was. 

Yang Kai rubbed his chin and pondered over it for a moment before shaking his head. He simply could not understand what she was trying to do.

On the first floor of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion, the woman dressed in palace clothes hurried over after hearing the commotion and saluted, “Martial Aunt.”

Ji Yao didn’t look at the woman and apparently didn’t hear a single word she said as her mind was still occupied with thoughts of what had happened just now. The shock Ji Yao was experiencing due to this incident was unimaginable. She was definitely not as calm as she seemed on the surface.

The woman asked, “I heard some commotion upstairs just now. Were you and Palace Master Yang quarrelling, Martial Aunt?”

Ji Yao glanced at the woman and frowned, “You heard?”

The woman replied in trepidation, “It wasn’t on purpose. It was just that… It was a little loud.”

The look in Ji Yao’s eyes flickered, “What did you hear?”

The woman lowered her head, “I couldn’t hear anything clearly.”

Ji Yao had no idea whether this young woman was speaking the truth; thus, she could only instruct, “Keep this to yourself. It was just a minor disagreement between Senior Brother and I.”

“Good.” The woman nodded in response before asking curiously, “Martial Aunt, why is your face so flushed?”

She replied with an unnatural expression, “He made me angry.”

The woman did not doubt those words. As those who cultivated Ice Attribute Secret Arts generally had a calm, cold demeanour, so she couldn’t help being very curious about what it was that Yang Kai and Ji Yao had been quarrelling over that could anger the latter so badly. 

[Seriously; what is wrong with the Palace Master Yang? Martial Aunt Ji is such a good person, yet even she lost her temper with him. It must have been his fault!]

There were not many jade slips on the eighth floor, so Yang Kai finished copying them quickly. He then looked up and glanced at the ninth floor. That was where all the restricted resources of Ice Heart Valley were stored.

The ninth floor was completely unguarded to him, so he could easily enter the place if he wanted to; however, Bing Yun had not allowed him to do so. For that reason, he would not trespass into that area; after all, he only came to collect these Secret Arts and Secret Techniques to provide his disciples with more choices. There was no need for such profound materials.

[This trip has been very rewarding. I wonder how things are progressing on Li Jiao’s side.] Yang Kai leisurely walked downstairs where a woman immediately stepped forward to greet him.

“You didn’t leave?” Yang Kai looked at Ji Yao, who had her back to him, in amazement. [I thought she was going to avoid me after what happened just now. I can’t believe she was waiting right here!]

Ji Yao turned around and stated, “Why should I leave? It’s not like I did anything to be ashamed of.”

[I can’t believe you just said that with a straight face!] Yang Kai’s eyes widened. [She was getting intimate with her Little Junior Sister’s man behind her back. Doesn’t that count as shameful?] Unfortunately, he was involved in the incident, so he couldn’t say anything to refute her. He simply nodded at her words, “I’m done here. I should return now.”

“I’ll see you off.”

He did not refuse. He did not know whether he was imagining things, but it felt as though she was maintaining some distance between them during their journey. He tried to make small talk with her, but she did not respond to his attempts, so he couldn’t help feeling a little bored.

In truth, he wanted to bombard her with questions. [What in the world happened just now!? We were so intimate just moments ago! Why do you have such a cold expression now? You look so bitter, could it be that you are angry?] When that thought crossed his mind, his heart tightened a bit. 

[That’s quite possible; after all, I lost control and went too far just now. It’s inevitable that she is mad. Still, intimacy is not a solo act. If she wasn’t willing, why didn’t she reject me right from the start? Why was her resistance so weak? I thought she had acquiesced to it, that’s why I took the opportunity to go even further with her! Damn it, this is going to be awkward now. I wonder how we are going to get along with each other in the future.]

They soon arrived at the Restricted Area on Ice Island. Yang Kai stepped onto the Space Array and glanced at Ji Yao. Her expression was no different from usual, and she simply stood there quietly. Sighing to himself, he cupped his fists and said, “Please take good care of Su Yan, Junior Sister Yao.”

Ji Yao faintly replied, “Don’t worry, she won’t suffer any grievances here.”

He nodded at her words and activated the Space Array, disappearing from sight with a bright flash of light.

Upon returning to High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai went to Hua Qing Si and handed his gains from this trip. It was so that she could put it into their own Cultivation Technique Pavilion for the disciples to choose from.

After receiving these items from him, Hua Qing Si reported, “Palace Master Li came not long ago and brought many Secret Arts with him. I thanked him, but it seems like he has something to talk to you about.”

“Where is he?”

“In the conference hall.”

“Good, I’ll go and meet him.”

While speaking, Yang Kai flew into the air and left. 

Li Jiao was sitting inside the conference hall, accompanied by Lu San Niang. The two of them were whispering to each other and giggling away happily. Li Jiao sensed somebody entering through the door and looked up. Then, he looked surprised for a moment before getting up to bow respectfully.

“Brother Li, did you need something from me?” They were no longer strangers after experiencing various life-and-death situations together and sharing both honour and disgrace, so Yang Kai gradually changed his opinion of Li Jiao. There was no need for formalities between them.

Li Jiao smiled, “Brother Yang, I wish to form an alliance between Fire Dragon Palace and High Heaven Palace so we can look out for each other from now on. What do you think?”

Chapter 3218

[An alliance? Look out for each other? That’s great news!] Although High Heaven Palace was currently respected and the disciples in the Sect numbered over a hundred thousand, it was still a new force in the Northern Territory. If it could form an alliance with Fire Dragon Palace, it would surely be beneficial in the future. In any case, Li Jiao was no longer an outsider and Yang Kai had no reason to refuse such a request. Hence, Yang Kai immediately agreed.

Li Jiao chuckled and put his hand on his chest, “From now on, Fire Dragon Palace will be depending on you, Brother Yang. We will only submit to High Heaven Palace.”

He knew better than anybody else just what Yang Kai was capable of; therefore, he knew that there was still a hierarchy to adhere to in the alliance. Fire Dragon Palace was no match for High Heaven Palace. Those were honest words, but there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

An alliance between two great forces was a major event; however, it was finalized in a few words between these two men. They didn’t even sign an agreement because they both knew that there was no need to sign anything.

“Brother Yang, since we have allied, that would mean we are family now?” Li Jiao grinned meaningfully, “So… about those debts… do you think we can write them off now?”

When Li Jiao came to High Heaven Palace to cause trouble with Ji Ying back then, he had taken the chance to make a bet during an Alchemy competition between Yang Kai and Ji Ying. Consequently, he lost the bet pathetically and ended up owing High Heaven Palace several dozen years’ worth of Fire Dragon Palace’s income. He was required to pay millions of High-Rank Source Crystals every year, causing Fire Dragon Palace to tighten its belt considerably. Life had been very miserable for Fire Dragon Palace as a result. Many of the Elders and Deacons in the Sect had been complaining while the disciples occasionally ran out of Source Crystals to use for cultivation.

Only slightly more than 10 years had passed since then, but Fire Dragon Palace was starting to fall apart. Just thinking about another 20 to 30 years of repayment left Li Jiao feeling extremely troubled.

“You tricked me!” Yang Kai glared at Li Jiao as those debts were not a small amount after all.

Li Jiao grinned meaningfully and cheekily stated, “We are not outsiders anymore. We are family now.”

Yang Kai paused for a moment before he laughed, “It’s not like I can’t write them off…”

Li Jiao hurriedly latched onto the opportunity and cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai lifted his palm to stop Li Jiao, “But, I have a condition.”

Li Jiao said, “Please name it, Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai replied, “I’m sure you are aware of what is going on within High Heaven Palace at the moment. More than a hundred thousand disciples have just arrived, and although there is no need to worry about cultivation resources, Secret Arts, and Secret Techniques for the time being, cultivating experience is indispensable. These disciples need people to teach and guide them, but there are just too many of them. I can’t gather enough people to teach them on my own; therefore, I would like to ask for your support, Li Jiao.”

In the pursuit of the Martial Dao, having someone to guide you in contrast to figuring things out on your own was completely different. Yang Kai had first-hand experience with this, having navigated his journey almost entirely on his own. Hence, he already had plans to arrange for people to guide the disciples. It just so happened that Li Jiao came offering himself up on a silver platter, so how could Yang Kai let the chance slip him by?

All of Ice Heart Valley’s disciples cultivated Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Secret Techniques; thus, they were unsuitable to teach the general masses. If not for that, he would have asked Bing Yun to send some people over for support during his previous trip to Ice Heart Valley. It was just that the Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Secret Techniques of Ice Heart Valley were too specific and might not be suitable for a lot of cultivators.

“What kind of support?” Li Jiao was puzzled.

“Please select a group of experienced cultivators from Fire Dragon Palace and send them here to teach my disciples how to cultivate.”

[Is that all? I thought it would be a bigger deal.] Li Jiao immediately patted his chest and said reassuringly, “Not a problem!” 

Pausing for a moment, he continued, “But, there are too many disciples in High Heaven Palace. Even with the support of Fire Dragon Palace, I’m afraid it still won’t be enough.”

With more than a hundred thousand disciples, they would still need two hundred to three hundred teachers even if each teacher took responsibility for five hundred disciples. Fire Dragon Palace could not afford to send that many people over; after all, a cultivator had to be at least in the Dao Source Realm to be qualified to teach. Those with cultivations lower than the Dao Source Realm would not be helpful since the cultivators from the Star Field were already capable of cultivating to the Origin King Realm. What they lacked was the cultivation experience above the Origin King Realm. Regardless of how many cultivators Fire Dragon Palace had that were in the Dao Source Realm, it was still impossible to send them all here.

“It’ll serve as emergency measures for now. I’ll try to come up with a solution for the rest.” Yang Kai sighed. With so many people, it was inevitable that all kinds of issues would appear too. It was impossible for him to account for everything all at once, so all he could do was create a foundation for High Heaven Palace as best he could. How it developed in the future would depend on the management of those below him and the advancement of the disciples themselves.

“How many people do you need, Brother Yang?” Li Jiao asked.

“A hundred!”

Li Jiao considered it for a while before nodding, “Good!”

A hundred was not a small amount, but Fire Dragon Palace could still afford to deploy this number of people; any more than that was impossible. As the task was to teach, it would require Masters who could instruct others in cultivation, not something everybody was capable of. Teaching somebody else to cultivate was different from cultivating themselves after all. Fire Dragon Palace was a large Sect, so even though deploying a hundred disciples was difficult, it was still doable.

“We can consider those debts as the monthly salary of the 100 teachers. Do you have any objections, Brother Li?”

“None at all! None at all!” Li Jiao responded with a smile. Those debts were a huge fortune, so if sending out a hundred teachers was enough to cover the entire debt, it would be a huge boon for him. How could he have any objections to that? Besides, these hundred disciples would eventually return to him anyway, so there was nothing to lose in this deal. Thus, Li Jiao stood up and said, “This matter shouldn’t be delayed any further. I will head back immediately and send the necessary manpower over as soon as possible, Brother Yang.”

“I’ll go with you!” Yang Kai said.

Li Jiao was taken aback for a moment before he seemed to realize something and asked, “Could it be that you plan to create a connection between Fire Dragon Palace and High Heaven Palace, Brother Yang?”

“That will make it easier for us to come and go.”

“Good,” Li Jiao did not refuse and immediately set off for Fire Dragon Palace with Yang Kai and Lu San Niang.

All three of them were in the Emperor Realm; moreover, they had the help of a powerful flight type artifact, so it was only natural that their speed was very fast. It didn’t take more than half a day for them to arrive at Fire Dragon Palace.

Li Jiao led the way, bringing Yang Kai to a quiet and remote place in Fire Dragon Palace.

Yang Kai immediately began arranging a Space Array, and by the time night fell and the stars filled the sky, the Space Array was completed. With this Array connecting High Heaven Palace and Fire Dragon Palace, a distance of tens of thousands of kilometres could be crossed in an instant. It truly was helpful for both parties and allowed them to ‘take care of each other’ per the alliance.

Yang Kai initially wanted to rush home right away since there were still lots of trivial matters troubling High Heaven Palace, many of which he needed to handle personally, but contrary to expectations, Li Jiao forcibly made him stay the night. He did that by saying that a banquet would be held in his honour. Since it would not be good for him to refuse Li Jiao, Yang Kai could only agree to remain.

Lights flickered inside the hall, illuminating the luxurious interior. Everyone with any standing in Fire Dragon Palace, from the Palace Master Li Jiao to the Protectors to the Elders came to accompany Yang Kai at the banquet. 

Clearly, they had already received the news from Li Jiao that Fire Dragon Palace would no longer have to turn over Source Crystals to High Heaven Palace every year in the future, so all of them were in an exceptionally good mood and it was only natural that their attitudes towards Yang Kai changed too. Every one of them tried to ingratiate themselves to Yang Kai, with Li Jiao even boasting about the fateful friendship between him and Yang Kai. He even wrapped his arm around Yang Kai’s shoulders after getting tipsy from drinking. It was clear that he no longer recalled how much he hated and feared Yang Kai back then.

The atmosphere was exuberant, and there were dancers below livening up the event. Yang Kai sat beside Li Jiao without putting on any airs. When it came down to it, he was only a Second-Order Emperor right now, so there was nothing to brag about after meeting so many more powerful Masters. Consequently, more and more of Fire Dragon Palace’s higher-ups began having a better impression of him.

Wine flowed freely, and they drank until they were drunk.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that they began to disperse. Li Jiao ordered a young and beautiful maidservant to bring Yang Kai to a room to rest; however, Yang Kai declined. He wanted to return to High Heaven Palace that very night, so Li Jiao personally saw him off.

Standing in front of the Space Array, Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at Li Jiao, “Brother Li, I want to unify the Northern Territory. What do you think?”

The night breeze blew across their faces and Li Jiao sobered up instantly as he exclaimed, “Unify the Northern Territory!?”

“Good!” It was a sudden idea that struck Yang Kai. A hundred thousand disciples were waiting to be fed back at High Heaven Palace, and while there might be no need to worry about cultivation resources for the time being, and there was even a source of trade with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce which was located in the Southern Territory as well as the possibility of establishing trade with the Ancient Wild Lands in the Eastern Territory, doing nothing but using up resources was not a viable solution in the long term. If High Heaven Palace wanted to continue its legacy, it would need to establish its own business and industry.

The Seeking Passion Sect owned many properties in the past and held jurisdiction over as many as twenty cities of various sizes in their vicinity, so the Sect used to receive many offerings from those cities every year. In return, it ensured the safety of those cities.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai only looted the wealth of the Seeking Passion Sect after he destroyed the Sect and ignored the properties left behind by the Sect. In other words, those twenty or so cities of various sizes were not under High Heaven Palace’s control. Still, it would be easy to take them back in. With High Heaven Palace’s current strength, he could randomly send out a Monster King as a threat and the opposing party would promptly give in to his demands.

Nevertheless, that income would not satisfy the cultivation needs of all the disciples. If he could unify the entire Northern Territory though, then there would be nothing else to worry about. All the resources in the Northern Territory would be at his beck and call. Forget about a hundred thousand people, he could even feed millions of people.

Be that as it may, Yang Kai knew that there would be resistance. No matter how powerful High Heaven Palace was, there were billions of cultivators in the Northern Territory and many of them would not take him trying to establish dominion lying down. The Monster Kings were powerful indeed, but there were only three of them. Besides, their identities were a bit sensitive. They were not suited for long-term public appearances, so the gain would not be worth the losses if they accidentally provoked a great force and ignited a war with the Monster Race.

Moreover, Yang Kai did not believe that there were no stronger Masters in the Northern Territory. All the Masters he knew of were those who were already known to the public, but there must be other capable people that remained hidden beneath the surface. The only reason he didn’t know about them was that he had no interest in approaching them. Nonetheless, they would not sit around and do nothing if he provoked them.

At present, there were several top forces in the Northern Territory. High Heaven Palace, Ice Heart Valley, and Fire Dragon Palace were in the same boat, advancing and retreating together, so if Yang Kai really wanted to unify the whole Northern Territory, these two Sects would not stand in his way. Besides, he would not harm their interests either. Unfortunately, the other great forces would not step aside so easily.

By now, Li Jiao was very familiar with Yang Kai’s thought process, so he knew that this person was incredibly bold and daring. Yang Kai even dared to intrude on Dragon Island, so there was really nothing in this world he would not dare to do. If somebody else had asked Li Jiao this question, he would have laughed it off as it was highly unrealistic, but it was different when it came to Yang Kai. The reason Yang Kai asked was because he might be able to pull it off, and had the confidence to back up his plans.

Looking up at Yang Kai, Li Jiao saw there were no signs of intoxication on his face; hence, he knew that Yang Kai was not just making drunk talk. After pondering in silence for a moment, Li Jiao answered, “If you have the intention to do so, I will surely assist you…” [Besides, I just agreed to form an alliance between us, so I can’t slap myself in the face like that.] 

“It’s just that… Are you mentally prepared to face the criticism of countless people? Including those in the Northern Territory?”

Yang Kai laughed, “What does the life or death of others have to do with me? I only care about High Heaven Palace.”

Li Jiao nodded in response. Every man for himself. Ever since he had embarked to pursue the peak of the Martial Dao, he had been mentally prepared to die at any moment. Killing and being killed were normal occurrences for cultivators like them.

Chapter 3219

“There’s just one thing… About Medicine Pill Valley…” Li Jiao looked at Yang Kai rather worriedly.

There was no real Great Emperor Sect in the Northern Territory. Medicine Pill Valley was simply the place where Wondrous Pill Great Emperor lived in retreat, it was not a Sect. However, if Yang Kai were to cause pandemonium in the Northern Territory, it might draw out the people of Medicine Pill Valley, and the situation might get out of hand once they intervened.

Yang Kai sneered, “It’s not like I’m going to slaughter the billions of cultivators in the Northern Territory. I just want to occupy a few cities so that they pay tribute to me every year. Why would Medicine Pill Valley care about that?” Tilting his head to the side, he looked at Li Jiao and asked, “Brother Li, you didn’t actually think that I was going to destroy all the major Sects in the Northern Territory, right?”

Li Jiao broke out in a cold sweat, “It seems that I have misunderstood.”

When he first heard Yang Kai talking about unifying the Northern Territory, he actually believed that Yang Kai was about to go on a killing spree. Only now did he realize that he had been overthinking things. [It’s not too much if he is simply occupying some cities and making the major Sects in the Northern Territory pay tribute. There will be no ruthless killings after all so there’s a lot of room for appeasing the masses.]

Yang Kai stretched out his hand and patted Li Jiao’s shoulder, “In order to do that, I need to set up some prestige for myself first. Full Sky Sect is a good target to start with. Brother Li, please help me send a message asking Mi Qi to come to High Heaven Palace as soon as possible.”

Li Jiao smiled bitterly, “Brother Yang, you are making me into the villain.”

Yang Kai blinked, “There’s no other choice. You are more familiar with Mi Qi, after all, Brother Li.”

“Fine. I will let him know as soon as possible. It’s just I don’t know how he will react.”

“It’s enough if you let him know.” Yang Kai smiled before he turned around and stepped onto the Space Array. A bright light flashed, and he was gone without a trace.

….

Full Sky Sect was also one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, its strength on par with Fire Dragon Palace and Ice Heart Valley, each having a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master commanding their respective forces. Since Yang Kai wanted to establish his dominance and spread High Heaven Palace’s reputation, he had to choose a suitable target to demonstrate his worthiness. Since Ice Heart Valley and Fire Dragon Palace were his allies, he could only target the Full Sky Sect.

Having said that, Full Sky Sect was similar to Fire Dragon Palace in that it was also suffering from the crippling debt owed to Yang Kai. Although it had paid back a lot of Source Crystals over the years, it was still far from paying off the bulk.

Time flew by quickly with Yang Kai being so busy every day that he didn’t even have the time to speak with Shan Qing Luo or Xue Yue. Providing resources, shelter, and cultivation techniques to more than a hundred thousand disciples was a huge issue. As long as he could not solve these problems, there was no way he could do anything else.

When Hua Qing Si received his instructions, she went back to the Southern Territory again, bought a large number of Source Condensing Pills from the Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, and distributed them to the cultivators who were at the peak of the Origin King Realm and on the verge of breaking through to the Dao Source Realm.

After a few days, the hundred instructors from Fire Dragon Palace arrived. Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si discussed the distribution of these hundred teachers and then assigned them to respective Spirit Peaks. These hundred were all in the Dao Source Realm, so it was not a problem for them to teach the cultivators from the Star Field.

Once each Spirit Peak produced its own Dao Source Realm Masters, they could fill in the gaps in the ranks of High Heaven Palace. In time, the old would guide the new in a never-ending cycle. There was no need to worry too much in that aspect.

Each Spirit Peak varied in size, and accordingly, the number of people living there varied too. It ranged from a minimum of two hundred people to a maximum of three thousand. Those instructors who were assigned to Spirit Peaks with fewer people were overjoyed while those who were assigned to Spirit Peaks with more were extremely dejected. Just imagining what would happen if a person were to guide three thousand people in their cultivation was a headache. Even if only 1% of the population came to ask a single question each day, the instructor would still have no time to rest whatsoever.

One month later, Yang Kai sat at the head of High Heaven Palace’s Main Conference Hall. The three Monster Kings and the Head Manager, Hua Qing Si, were seated on both sides of the table while the area below the platform was densely packed with people. More than a hundred people squeezed inside the hall today to attend the first general meeting involving the entire High Heaven Palace. These people were the Peak Masters of High Heaven Palace whose cultivation varied in strength. Yang Kai did not even know half of them personally.

Yang Kai swept a sharp gaze over the crowd below him, and they simultaneously bowed, “Greetings, Palace Master!”

Regardless of whether the person in front of him used to be his Elder or his fellow cultivator, they came to the Star Boundary and entered High Heaven Palace only thanks to his blessing, which meant that they were now part of High Heaven Palace. As the Palace Master, it was natural for Yang Kai to receive their respect.

Raising his hand in acknowledgement, Yang Kai secretly found this scene somewhat amusing. He himself never expected that things would turn out on such a grand scale when he first established High Heaven Palace. [I’m afraid there is no other Sect across the entire Star Boundary that would have so many people gathered just for a general meeting. It feels like when an Emperor assembles his court. But then again, there should be no Sect that has more people than High Heaven Palace either. Such a situation is inevitable under these circumstances.]

Although it was supposed to be a meeting, they were simply establishing the rules and regulations of the Sect today. Nothing could be accomplished in a Sect without established rules, and with more than a hundred thousand disciples and more than a hundred Spirit Peaks, High Heaven Palace was now a very large enterprise. Even if there was no shortage of cultivation resources, those supplies could not be given out at will. How many resources could be claimed each month by each Spirit Peak and how much of that would be distributed to each disciple were things that required very detailed considerations.

Aside from that, there was the matter of rules for handing out rewards and punishments too. These had all been previously discussed by Hua Qing Si and Bian Yu Qing, so at this moment, the two of them stood at the head of the hall and announced these laws. The main reason for doing so was for the Peak Masters of each Spirit Peak to record them and convey the information to the rest of the disciples when they returned, lest the disciples claimed injustice when they made mistakes. Suffice it to say, where there were punishments, there would also be rewards. Those who made rapid progress in their cultivation and those who contributed to Sect would receive rewards.

Half a day passed just like that.

Afterwards, it was time for each Peak Master to report the situation on each Spirit Peak. Fortunately, there was no trouble so far. All the disciples had been acting rather amiably considering they had just arrived here and most were cultivating in retreat after receiving some cultivation resources.

It wasn’t until evening rolled around that the crowd slowly dispersed, one after another. Then, somebody rushed in from outside the hall to report, “Greetings, Palace Master. Honoured Master asks that you visit him.”

Yang Kai fixed his gaze on the speaker and discovered that it was the Eldest Disciple under Ji Ying, which immediately lifted his spirits, “Is Brother Ji back?”

The disciple replied, “Honoured Master returned at noon but heard that you were having a meeting with the Peak Masters, so he decided not to bother you until it was over.”

“I’ll head over immediately.” After saying that, Yang Kai immediately headed towards Spirit Pill Peak.

Upon arriving at Spirit Pill Peak, Yang Kai entered the hall and looked around only to see that Ji Ying was alone. Yang Kai smiled happily and cupped his fists, “Brother Ji!”

Ji Ying replied, “Brother Yang, fortunately, I did not fail my mission.”

Even though Yang Kai had guessed as much when he did not see Xia Ning Chang around, he was still overjoyed to hear the words Ji Ying uttered. He quickly pulled Ji Ying by the arm and sat down together, “Did the Great Emperor agree to accept Ning Chang as his disciple?”

Ji Ying smiled, “No.”

The expression on Yang Kai’s face froze, “How can this be!?”

Ji Ying had been gone for more than a month, and when Yang Kai didn’t see Xia Ning Chang around, he naturally assumed that Wondrous Pill Great Emperor had already taken her in as a disciple. Who could have known that Ji Ying would bring him down with such news? Yang Kai’s emotions instantly cooled down.

“Brother Yang, please listen to me first.” Ji Ying smiled slightly, “Honoured Master has said that he would no longer accept disciples, so he cannot go back on his word.”

Yang Kai glared, “Ning Chang has the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, how can the Great Emperor be unmoved by that?”

Ji Ying explained, “It is precisely because Sister-In-Law has the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body that Honoured Master believes it would be a waste of her unique talent if he let her go. That is why he allowed Sister-In-Law to remain in Medicine Pill Valley.”

“What does that mean?” Yang Kai looked puzzled. [If he didn’t accept Xia Ning Chang as a disciple, then why keep her in Medicine Pill Valley?]

Ji Ying continued with his explanation, “Honoured Master wants Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, and Fourth Senior Sister to jointly teach Sister-In-Law. He even mentioned that if there was anything she did not understand, she could directly ask him for advice. It is just that they will not have the status of Master and Disciple.”

Yang Kai asked in astonishment, “Is there a difference compared to taking her in as a disciple?”

Xia Ning Chang was allowed to remain in Medicine Pill Valley and would be jointly taught by several of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s disciples. Moreover, she was allowed to approach Wondrous Pill Great Emperor directly to ask Alchemy-related questions. No matter how he thought about it, it was no different from taking her in as a disciple.

Ji Ying smiled slightly at those words, “Honoured Master seemed slightly remorseful about his past declaration that he would no longer accept disciples. He is even more vexed that what he said back then had been spread to the public.”

Yang Kai was stunned for a long time before he burst into laughter. It wasn’t that the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor didn’t want to accept Xia Ning Chang as a disciple, it was just that he could not embarrass himself by going back on his word. If not for the fact that his words were already widely known to the public, he would never have refused to take Xia Ning Chang in.

“So, there’s no need to worry, Brother Yang. Little Junior Sister has Senior Brothers and Senior Sister teaching her. She will definitely flourish under Honoured Master’s mantle.”

Yang Kai looked at Ji Ying teasingly, “The Great Emperor did not accept my wife as his disciple, but you are calling her ‘Little Junior Sister’… If the Great Emperor hears…”

“That is how it is,” Ji Ying wasn’t bothered. He was the Fifth Disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, so how could he not understand what the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor was thinking? Besides, the Great Emperor was a person who cherished talented people. Although he could not take Xia Ning Chang in as his disciple due to what he said back then, he would definitely teach her carefully. In her case, she simply lacked an official title. Nonetheless, she was recognized by Ji Ying and his fellow Senior Disciples.

“Wonderful! How wonderful!” Yang Kai clapped his hands excitedly.

Su Yan had gone to Ice Heart Valley to be a disciple there while Xia Ning Chang had gone to Medicine Pill Valley and became a disciple in all but name there. It could be said that they shared the same fate. However, it was inevitable. Compared to the others, their age and cultivation were incomparable. [If they become Little Junior Sisters, then so be it. They can benefit from studying under an influential person.]

Meanwhile, there was no place he could arrange for Shan Qing Luo and Xue Yue to go. Shan Qing Luo refused to go to the Ancient Wild Lands, so the two women could only remain in High Heaven Palace to cultivate. It wasn’t too bad for Shan Qing Luo though since she could consult the three Monster Kings on their experience in cultivation. Unfortunately for Xue Yue, she could only teach herself. Although Yang Kai had also blindly stumbled and groped his way along his cultivation journey, he was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm now, so it was not a problem for him to teach her when he had time.

In great spirits, he remained at Spirit Pill Peak to have a drink with Ji Ying in joyous celebration.

…

Full Sky Sect was one of the four top Sects in the Northern Territory. The Sect Master, Mi Qi, was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master who was famous throughout the entire Northern Territory. Unfortunately, life began to become increasingly difficult ever since High Heaven Palace appeared. Mi Qi had to hand over more than half of the Sect’s annual income to High Heaven Palace every year, forcing him to live on a tight budget. Fortunately, Fire Dragon Palace was in the same boat; otherwise, he would have been at a loss for what to do.

On a certain day, Li Jiao suddenly paid a visit. 

Mi Qi and Li Jiao were old acquaintances, so it was only natural that he greeted Li Jiao with enthusiasm.

A banquet was held to honour this guest, and after a few rounds of drinks, Li Jiao smiled slightly and spoke up, “Actually, I came over uninvited today because I was entrusted with a task.”

Mi Qi was taken aback by those words, “You were entrusted with a task? What task?” Like Mi Qi, Li Jiao was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master; moreover, Li Jiao carried a Half-Dragon bloodline. If it came down to a fight, Mi Qi had to admit that he was no match for Li Jiao, so what kind of person had the power to entrust Li Jiao with the task of delivering a message to him?

Chapter 3220

“The Palace Master of High Heaven Palace!” Li Jiao replied.

The corner of Mi Qi’s eyes twitched at those words. Gnashing his teeth, he muttered, “Why is it him again?” 

He had a resentful expression on his face and clearly had no fondness for Yang Kai at all. That was no surprise considering that he had only met Yang Kai once before, and that one meeting caused him to lose a large amount of Full Sky Sect’s Source Crystals. It felt as though knives were cutting into his heart every time he recalled that incident, and he sorely regretted tagging along to join in on the fun back then,

He glanced sideways at Li Jiao and said, “Brother Li, isn’t it enough to be oppressed by him? Why are you turning around and fawning over that bastard instead?” His tone was filled with scorn, anger, and bitterness. He and Li Jiao could be considered friends, and although they were not close friends, their association should still be deeper than whatever relationship Li Jiao might have with Yang Kai. Hence, the fact that Li Jiao came bearing a message from Yang Kai upset him greatly. [Li Jiao is such a coward. What’s more; he even carries the Half-Dragon bloodline in him. What a disgrace!]

Even Li Jiao became a little embarrassed upon hearing those words and a trace of guilt appeared on his face. He couldn’t say that his relationship with Yang Kai had improved tremendously, so much so that Yang Kai had even written off the enormous debts Fire Dragon Palace owed; thus, he could only say bitterly, “I had no choice. He is the creditor after all. Beggars can’t be choosers; I have no choice but to submit to him.”

“Hmph!” Mi Qi slapped the table, a savage light flickering in his eyes, “That despicable villain used lies and trickery to set us up! If not for Grandmaster Ji, why would I even bother with him for all these years!?”

That was the truth. Full Sky Sect was one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, and Mi Qi was a Third-Order Emperor. Even if he lost a bet against Yang Kai, he could have denied making it and refused to take responsibility. With so many Source Crystals on the line, what was a little embarrassment in comparison? It was just that the incident had occurred right in front of Ji Ying. Also, Mi Qi later heard that Ji Ying had even joined High Heaven Palace and become their Chief Alchemist. Thus, he had no choice but to compromise.

After all, he might upset Ji Ying if he refused to take responsibility for losing the bet. Mi Qi wasn’t scared of Yang Kai, but he was scared of Ji Ying. The statuses Ji Ying held as the disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor and an Emperor Alchemist were not to be underestimated.

Li Jiao retorted in his heart. [It wasn’t lies and trickery, Yang Kai won fair and square with his Alchemy skills.] If not for the various life-and-death situations he had been through with Yang Kai, his thoughts would not have been much different from Mi Qi’s; however, his opinion of Yang Kai had changed greatly during their various excursions and experiences together. He could tell that Yang Kai was a decent person. Naturally, that was on the condition that they did not provoke him first.

Mi Qi picked up his wine glass and gulped down its contents as if to vent his anger. Then, he quickly said, “Brother Li, what is the message you came here to convey?”

Li Jiao had a calm expression on his face as he replied, “Palace Master Yang wants Full Sky Sect to submit to High Heaven Palace.”

“What!?” Mi Qi’s eyes widened, “I seem to have heard you wrongly. What did you say, Brother Li?”

Li Jiao sighed in his heart. How could he not know that Mi Qi was asking him that question knowingly? They were the only two people here, there was no other noise around them, and Mi Qi was a Third-Order Emperor. There was no way Mi Qi had not heard what he said. Feeling exasperated, he could only repeat what he said.

“Hah!” Mi Qi was so furious that he laughed instead. A cold light flashed across his eyes as he toyed with the wine glass in his hand, “How does he want me to submit to him?”

His tone was frosty, and he obviously held some resentment towards Li Jiao too. 

[I can’t believe he dared utter such ridiculous conditions!] By extension, Li Jiao was equally as hateful for delivering the message.

Before coming here, Li Jiao knew that what little friendship there was between him and Mi Qi was going to end today, and he became certain after seeing the expression on Mi Qi’s face and felt a little regretful, “Brother Mi, please rest assured. It seems that Palace Master Yang has no intention to seize Full Sky Sect’s territory. It’s just that High Heaven Palace needs a lot of cultivation resources at the moment. What he wants is for Full Sky Sect to offer up some of its annual income to High Heaven Palace every year in the future.”

Mi Qi asked sarcastically, “How much is ‘some’?”

“Half?” Li Jiao asked tentatively. Yang Kai had not mentioned the exact amount, but he knew any less would not satisfy Yang Kai’s appetite.

“Half…” Mi Qi was all smiles as he lifted his wine glass in a toast, “Brother Li, drink!”

Li Jiao looked bewildered. Even so, he raised his wine glass and clinked glasses with Mi Qi. After emptying his glass, he heard something shattering against the ground. Mi Qi had smashed his wine glass to the ground and then slamming his fists down on the table, he roared, “This is bullshit! Does he think Full Sky Sect is powerless!?” Throughout his entire cultivation journey, threats and intimidation had never worked on him before. If he easily gave away half of Full Sky Sect’s income any time a random person came asking, he would not have survived until today.

This was unlike those debts. Although the debts were heavy, there was an end to them, so Mi Qi only needed to spend another thirty years or so to clear that burden away. However, if he submitted to High Heaven Palace like Li Jiao mentioned, he would have to offer up half of their yearly income every year from now on, unless the Full Sky Sect was destroyed one day.

[How can I agree to such outrageous demands!? What will people think of me if I actually agree to those conditions!? What will the disciples of Full Sky Sect think of me!?]

“Brother Mi, please calm down…”

“Silence!” Mi Qi glared at Li Jiao in fury. Then, he smiled contemptuously, “Brother Li, you sure are easy-going. Back then, both you and I were humiliated together. It’s bad enough you don’t have any thoughts of taking revenge after suffering from so many years of exploitation and oppression by High Heaven Palace, but now you are colluding with that evil devil, wearing the skin of a man!? Palace Master Yang… Hahaha… I truly had no idea that you decided to latch onto him and willingly become his lackey for benefits, Brother Li!”

Although Li Jiao was embarrassed by the way Mi Qi worded that, it was simply too harsh so he expressionlessly replied, “It’s hard to explain.”

He could not tell Mi Qi about his experiences with Yang Kai over the years. Putting aside the fact that he and Mi Qi were not that close in the first place, just the secrets involving Dragon Island could not be revealed easily.

“It’s hard to explain!?” Unconcealed contempt shone in Mi Qi’s eyes, “Brother Li, you assessed the situation and decided that this is best for your survival. I don’t blame you for ingratiating yourself to him. To each their own after all. However, I will not stoop to your level!”

The implication behind his words was that Li Jiao was greedy and a coward while he was a courageous person.

Li Jiao’s expression turned ugly, “I am only responsible for delivering the message. Why do you have to speak so harshly, Brother Mi? Whether you agree or not, it has nothing to do with me.”

“It seems we will go our separate ways. Palace Master Li, please leave.”

Mi Qi had changed the way he addressed Li Jiao from ‘Brother Li’ to ‘Palace Master Li’. It was clear that he was drawing a line between them now.

Li Jiao shook his head and stood up, but thinking of what little friendship they used to have, he urged, “Sect Master Mi, please rethink your decision. The Seeking Passion Sect was destroyed before High Heaven Palace even emerged as a force. Now that several dozen years have passed, I’m afraid it has only grown stronger. How do you think Full Sky Sect compares to Seeking Passion Sect? Why must you invite disaster upon yourself?”

Mi Qi sneered, “Palace Master Li, you should take care of your own affairs. You don’t need to worry about the affairs of Full Sky Sect. If Yang Kai wants Full Sky Sect to surrender to him, he might as well come over and talk to me in person. He can see for himself whether Full Sky Sect will acquiesce to his demands!”

“I’ll take my leave then,” Li Jiao nodded lightly, cupped his fists, and turned to leave. [I have delivered the message. What Mi Qi chooses to do is his choice.] 

Since Yang Kai decided to use Full Sky Sect as an example to the Northern Territory, he must have known that Full Sky Sect would not agree to such a request so easily. This situation might be exactly what he wanted. Otherwise, how could he display and establish his strength? There were four top Sects in the Northern Territory, out of which two had friendly relations with High Heaven Palace; hence, the only remaining choice for Yang Kai to show off his might was Full Sky Sect.

Inside the great hall, Mi Qi stared in the direction Li Jiao had left with a disdainful sneer. He felt that Li Jiao was being melodramatic. Nevertheless, he had no idea what methods Yang Kai used to make Fire Dragon Palace submit to him, so much so that even Li Jiao came all the way here to deliver a message.

Mi Qi had heard a lot about the destruction of the Seeking Passion Sect back then as it was such a huge affair in the Northern Territory that there was no way to remain ignorant about it. It was true that the strength of Seeking Passion Sect was no less than that of Full Sky Sect. Such a large Sect might have been destroyed easily, but it did not mean that Full Sky Sect would be just as vulnerable.

Mi Qi felt that the reason Seeking Passion Sect was destroyed was that all its Masters had left to attack Ice Heart Valley. As a result, Yang Kai, along with some Masters under his command, worked together with Ice Heart Valley to sweep the Seeking Passion Sect clean. However, Mi Qi had no intention of attacking High Heaven Palace. If Yang Kai really came looking for trouble, Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array and Masters were enough to deal with his forces. If he was lucky, he might even manage to kill Yang Kai.

Proactively attacking a Sect and defending a Sect against external attacks were two different things after all. Still, there was one thing he couldn’t help being wary about. Yang Kai had three Monster Kings under his command, and each of them was equivalent to a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. It would not be easy to deal with them.

Mi Qi racked his brains for ideas for a time before suddenly clapping his hands. A black-robed man immediately walked in from outside the door. Looking at the man, Mi Qi asked, “Is the Blue Jade Fruit in the medicine garden about to ripen?”

The black-robed man did not know why Mi Qi brought this subject up so suddenly, but even so, he cupped his fists and replied, “It will ripen in one month.”

Mi Qi nodded at that, “Very good. Send a message to Old Tao and invite him over for a taste.”

The black-robed man bowed deeply before leaving to fulfil the given commands.

Turning around, Mi Qi looked in the direction of High Heaven Palace and laughed coldly. [Yang Kai, oh, Yang Kai… You better behave yourself. If you look down on Full Sky Sect again, you will never leave this place alive!]

…

“Sect Master Ye, the situation is just like this. I’m sure you know the current situation at High Heaven Palace. There are simply way too many disciples. All Spirit Peaks are filled to the brim. Some of the Spirit Peaks even house two thousand or three thousand people at the moment. That’s not just a tight squeeze anymore, it’s practically stuffed to the brim. On the other hand, you are occupying such a large Spirit Peak even though you don’t have that many disciples in Thousand Leaves Sect. Many Peak Masters are complaining about it. After giving it some thought, I had no choice but to come and discuss this matter with you.” Yang Kai looked helpless as the Sect Master of Thousand Leaves Sect, Ye Hen, was sitting opposite him. The table full of wine and food between them remained untouched.

“Palace Master, what are you trying to say?” Ye Hen looked at Yang Kai inquiringly.

“I brought you back to High Heaven Palace for several reasons. Firstly, the cultivation environment here is excellent and there are no disturbances here. It was perfect for you to recover and regain your strength. Secondly, the misfortune Thousand Leaves Sect suffered was my fault, and I felt extremely guilty for that.”

“Palace Master, you are exaggerating. I can only blame Thousand Leaves Sect for being inferior to others. Speaking of which, it’s all thanks to the protection and care that you provide that Thousand Leaves Sect survives to this day.”

“I don’t need your words of gratitude.” Yang Kai raised his hand to stop Ye Hen, “Today, I came here to play the villain.”

“I’d appreciate further details, Palace Master.”

Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “As the saying goes, ‘there cannot be two tigers on the mountain’. It might not be appropriate to say that in this case, but that is how it goes. As the Palace Master, I am not trying to cast Thousand Leaves Sect aside. It is just that… having another Sect, or a group that identifies itself as another Sect, within High Heaven Palace, is truly an inappropriate affair.”

Chapter 3221

“Palace Master, you want us to move out?” Ye Hen was surprised. After what happened to Thousand Leaves Sect back then, the Sect only had around two or three hundred members left out of its previous thousands and their strengths varied greatly. If not for the care given by Yang Kai all these years, the Sect would have fallen apart a long time ago. Instead though, the cultivation of his disciples advanced by leaps and bounds over the years while he, the Sect Master, had also advanced to the Emperor Realm.

“You have two other choices, Sect Master Ye,” Yang Kai said and raised one finger, “The first choice is for Thousand Leaves Sect to fully merge with High Heaven Palace. From then onward, there will be no more Thousand Leaves Sect, only Thousand Leaves Peak will remain, and you will become its Peak Master. While we discussed this before, that was then, and this is now. If you choose this option, the other Peak Masters won’t have complaints anymore.”

Ye Hen’s expression changed slightly. If he chose this option, Thousand Leaves Sect would truly be gone forever, so he hesitated before asking, “And, the second choice?”

Yang Kai responded, “I will send you back to Thousand Leaves Sect’s original foundation. Manager Hua passes through the area every time she travels to the Southern Territory and I’ve heard that nobody is occupying that place at the moment, but it is a little worn out. Sect Master Ye, you will only need to instruct your disciples to do some minor repair works and you can move back in immediately. As for safety issues; there is no need to worry. You are already in the Emperor Realm and have enough strength to protect yourself and your disciples. Combined with the Heaven Grade Puppets, I’m sure not many would come looking for trouble. In addition, I am still a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple so I will call on Azure Sun Temple to ask that they take good care of Thousand Leaves Sect. That will give you some space and time to grow stronger.”

Ye Hen was moved by those words and gratefully said, “Many thanks for your kindness, Palace Master Yang.”

Knowing that Yang Kai had done all he could, Ye Hen held no resentment towards him. Rather, choosing to discuss this matter so frankly and openly was the greatest respect Yang Kai could give to Ye Hen. With Yang Kai’s current strength, he was perfectly capable of kicking them out without a word.

[Will I still have the opportunity to exact my revenge if I leave this place and return to Thousand Leaves Sect?] His disciples had made rapid progress in their cultivation over the years and even he had broken through to the Emperor Realm. Those achievements were thanks to the excellent cultivation environment of High Heaven Palace and the continuous supply of cultivation resources that High Heaven Palace provided. On the contrary, they would need to start over from scratch if he chose to return to the Southern Territory. Even if Azure Sun Temple protected them from danger, where were they going to obtain their cultivation resources? Thousand Leaves Sect excelled at refining puppets, but refining those puppets required a lot of materials too.

More importantly, would his disciples be willing to go back to the Southern Territory with him? Having stayed here for a few decades now, those hundreds of Thousand Leaves Sect’s disciples had long since gotten used to life here. To put it bluntly, this was a paradise. It was easy to change from a lifestyle of frugality to one of luxury, but it was difficult to do the reverse. Who would willingly return to a barren place that even birds and beasts avoided after living in such a wonderland?

“Sect Master Ye, you can take your time to think it through. This matter is not urgent enough that you need to rush with your reply.” Yang Kai sighed when he saw the troubled expression on Ye Hen’s face. 

Patting Ye Hen on the shoulder, he stood up.

“I don’t need to consider it any further.” Ye Hen suddenly piped up.

Yang Kai turned to look at Ye Hen.

In response, Ye Hen stood up and respectfully cupped his fists, “This Ye Hen is willing to lead all of Thousand Leaves Sect’s disciples and submit under High Heaven Palace. I have but one requirement.”

Yang Kai grinned, “Let’s hear it.”

“When the time comes, Palace Master, please allow me to lead the disciples of Thousand Leaves Peak to Flowing Shadow Sword Sect to seek justice!”

Flowing Shadow Sword Sect was the Sect that destroyed Thousand Leaves Sect back then, and even if it was instigated by others, they were responsible for carrying out the act. Ye Hen had been painstakingly cultivating for so many years just to be able to set foot into the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect and avenge his dead disciples.

“If you can agree to this condition, I am willing to serve High Heaven Palace faithfully.

“Good, how can I not agree to that?” Yang Kai chuckled, “You and I talked about this back then. What I said then still stands. If you want to get revenge with your own hands, you need to work hard on your cultivation. Flowing Shadow Sword Sect is not an easy opponent.”

Ye Hen nodded in acknowledgement. Throwing his sleeves back, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed in the utmost formal manner, “Peak Master of Thousand Leaves Peak, Ye Hen, greets the Palace Master!”

Although he had always addressed Yang Kai as ‘Palace Master’, it had a different meaning now. From now onward, those originally in Thousand Leaves Sect would truly belong to High Heaven Palace; moreover, their puppet refining and puppet controlling methods would also become part of High Heaven Palace’s heritage.

Despite Yang Kai’s reluctance to let Ye Hen leave and interest in integrating them into his Sect, he had still spoken the truth. The two to three hundred disciples of Thousand Leaves Sect were occupying an excellent Main Peak, and the other Peak Masters were indeed making some noise about it. If they had been one of their own, it wouldn’t have mattered as much; however, they were outsiders who were occupying a good spot purely because they had arrived earlier. Fortunately, that concern was no longer valid.

Yang Kai informed Ye Hen that more people would be assigned to Thousand Leaves Peak in a few days. With such a large Main Peak, it would be a waste not to house at least two thousand people. 

He had a relaxed expression as he returned from Ye Hen’s place.

Upon entering the main hall of High Heaven Peak, a maidservant immediately stepped forward and reported, “Palace Master, Senior Ji is here.”

“Brother Ji? Is something the matter?” Yang Kai was stunned.

The maidservant covered her mouth to hide her smile, “Not Sir Ji Ying, but Lady Ji Yao.”

Yang Kai was walking inside when he paused mid-stride. Feeling a little guilty, he asked, “What is her purpose for coming here?”

An incident had occurred in the Cultivation Technique Pavilion of Ice Heart Valley previously, and Yang Kai thought back on the memory of that incident at this moment, still feeling Ji Yao’s attitude at the time was confusing. They had shared such an intimate moment together, and yet, she had acted as though she was unaffected and nothing unusual had happened afterwards.

The good news was that she warned him not to let Su Yan know about the incident. If not, he would have worried about whether she would blackmail him with the information. Seeing as she had warned him not to reveal anything though, it meant that she would not leak the secret either.

He had been so busy since his return that he had completely forgotten about what happened that day. Hence, he couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive when he heard that she was here. [Ji Yao’s emotions seemed a little out of control that day. She couldn’t have regretted her actions and came here to settle the matter with me, right? If that’s the case, then I most likely will be humiliated.]

The maidservant replied, “I don’t know. After Lady Ji Yao came, she went inside immediately and told me to inform you to visit her as soon as you returned, Sir.”

Yang Kai scratched his neck and looked uncomfortable. Glancing at the maidservant, he asked again, “What expression did she have on her face when she arrived? Was she angry?”

The maidservant had a strange look on her face, “No. Lady Ji Yao has always been cold, so I don’t know if she was angry.”

“Can’t you even tell whether or not she is angry?” Yang Kai glared at her.

The maidservant hurriedly lowered her head, “I really don’t know.”

“Forget it. Forget it.” He waved his hand dismissively, “You can go back to your work.”

The maidservant obeyed his command and scuttled away as if to escape.

Afterwards, Yang Kai paced back and forth in the main hall. He simply could not figure out Ji Yao’s purpose in coming here. It stood to reason that it would be rather awkward to meet right now. Not knowing her intentions, he hesitated to head inside.

He paced back and forth a few more times. At one point, he walked to the entrance of the main hall, ready to ignore her. She would not be able to stay in High Heaven Palace forever, so waiting it out until she left would save him from embarrassment. Then, he thought about it again. [I’m not the one who should be feeling embarrassed. It should be her instead, and she isn’t even scared. I’m a man, so what am I afraid of? The one who suffers the most is her anyway.]

Turning around, he gallantly and spiritedly walked inside, holding his head up high. It took him a long while to finally locate Ji Yao in one of the rooms.

It was Su Yan’s room, which was built on a cliffside. The balcony faced a bottomless canyon with clouds and mist rolling around below.

When he pushed open the door and entered, he saw Ji Yao standing next to the guardrail. She was looking out at the setting sun. The afterglow of the sunset enveloped her, dyeing her whole body in golden light. A breeze blew past and her hair was gently lifted while her robes fluttered around her, making it seem like she could float away at any time.

Ji Yao did not turn around, as if she had not sensed his presence at all.

Yang Kai closed the door behind him and walked over to her. Standing next to her, he glanced at her side profile. Her snow-white skin, her slender neck, her proud peaks, and her demure posture revealed an enchanting kind of style.

“Junior Sister Yao, you came.” He chuckled and rubbed his hand together,

Without understanding her current attitude, he did not dare to be too presumptuous. When men and women shared such an intimate moment, a man should feel as though he had taken advantage of the woman. Thus, he felt a little like he was in the wrong.

“I came to take something.” Ji Yao turned to look at him.

“Take what?” he asked curiously.

“Some changes of clothes for Little Junior Sister,” she replied.

Yang Kai stared at her in a daze. A long while later, he realized that she was not planning to say anything else, “That’s it?”

She gently nodded.

Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in response, “Do you need to personally come here for something like that?”

As a cultivator, everybody had a Space Ring; furthermore, they would have prepared several sets of spare clothes in their Space Rings normally. He himself had some in his Space Ring, and he was certain Su Yan did too. Hence, there was no need to come here on purpose just to get some spares.

“Am I unwelcome here?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“No! Of course not. That’s absolutely not it. Why would you be unwelcome here?” He denied vehemently.

She lifted her chin and said, “Then, go and find some for me. It’s not appropriate for me to rummage through Little Junior Sister’s personal effects.”

“En, just wait for a moment.” While speaking, he turned around and walked into the room. He walked over to the closet and began searching through it. Su Yan was not particular about the clothes she wore, and with her beauty, she would still look gorgeous regardless of what she wore.

There were not many clothes in the closet to begin with, so Yang Kai just stuffed them all into an empty Space Ring. Turning around, he discovered that Ji Yao had followed him in. She was sitting sideways on the bed and being so quiet that it was strange.

He handed the Space Ring to her, “It’s all here. Go back and tell her that she can cultivate in Ice Heart Valley without feeling burdened. Just let me know if she needs anything. I will send somebody over to deliver the items.”

“Good.” She took the ring from him with her bare hand and placed it on her finger. Then, she raised her hand to admire it. She was acting as if he had gifted the ring to her.

“Junior Sister, is there anything else?” Yang Kai asked.

“No.”

[If there’s nothing else, then why are you still sitting there!?] He had a speechless look on his face. Even so, he could not bring himself to kick her out. He didn’t know if he was imagining things, but it felt like their encounter this time was different from all their previous encounters. He felt like he was constantly making blunders and mistakes; thus, he couldn’t wait to send her away as soon as possible, so that he was not stuck in anxiety all the time.

“Is there something wrong?” She looked up at him with bright eyes.

“Of course not,” He scratched his head. [There’s nothing wrong with me. You are the only one who has a problem.]

“If you have something to attend to, you can leave. You don’t need to mind me.”

“Haha…” The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched in response. [You are a guest here. How can I leave my guest alone?]

Chapter 3222

Yang Kai had no choice but to make small talk with Ji Yao, lest the atmosphere become too awkward. Fortunately, Su Yan gave them a common topic to talk about. He asked about Su Yan, and Ji Yao responded to all of his questions. In that way, he learnt about how well Su Yan had been doing in Ice Heart Valley recently and how welcoming her Senior Sisters were to her. Part of the reason was out of respect for Yang Kai, but it was mostly out of affection as disciples in the same Sect. Regardless of the reason, Bing Yun had spoken so it was quickly confirmed that Su Yan was their Little Junior Sister, and they were all part of the same family from now on.

On another note, Bing Yun had been ecstatic when she learnt that Su Yan had the Ice Crystal Jade Body. Yang Kai had not mentioned anything about that when he brought Su Yan to Ice Heart Valley to return her to her roots. He was originally planning to bring it up, but Bing Yun had accepted Su Yan so readily that it didn’t take much effort from him to convince her.

Between the two of them, one was sitting and one was standing. Yang Kai turned to look out the window from time to time. The meaning behind his actions clearly being ‘it’s getting late, she should be going now; otherwise, it would be bad if word got out that they were alone in a room in the middle of the night.’

However, Ji Yao wasn’t bothered by his actions. She simply sat there quietly and didn’t seem to feel any discomfort.

As night fell, the clouds outside the window became so thick that it was hard to see. The hazy dimness gave off a different kind of beauty.

Yang Kai was a little speechless. He truly had no idea what Ji Yao wanted to do. [Could it be that she came here to cause trouble because of the previous incident? But, that doesn’t seem likely. If she was here to cause trouble, she could have brought it up directly, so why is she stubbornly refusing to leave?]

In any case, it wasn’t good to continue standing around. It made it seem like he was listening to her preach. [I am the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace. I am a relatively respectable and influential figure. Besides, this is my territory. Why should I stand while you sit?] 

Turning around, he smoothed the front of his robe with both hands and sat down on the edge of the bed, not too far away from Ji Yao.

“By the way, how is Junior Sister Liu doing?” There was nothing to talk about, so he randomly found another topic to discuss. The ‘Junior Sister Liu’ in question was referring to Liu Xian Yun, who entered the Star Boundary through the Starlight Corridor and ended up in Blue Feather Sect with him back then. She later entered the Solitary Void Sealed World with Yang Kai where the two of them had met Bing Yun. Later, Liu Xian Yun entered Ice Heart Valley.

Speaking of which, Liu Xian Yun did not cultivate an Ice Attribute Secret Art and was technically not qualified to enter the Sect according to Ice Heart Valley’s criteria; however, she had nowhere to settle down and Yang Kai could not ignore her circumstances. In the end, he asked Bing Yun to accept her into the Sect.

“Junior Sister Liu recently went into retreat to attempt to break through to the Emperor Realm. It has been several years since I last saw her, but there is nothing to worry about,” Ji Yao replied indifferently.

That was the good thing about cultivators from a Lower Star Field. Their aptitudes were among the best of the best, and they had a high probability of advancing to the Emperor Realm. Liu Xian Yun had been one of the leading Masters in Grand Desolation Star Field, and after entering Ice Heart Valley, she had abundant cultivation resources and an excellent cultivation environment. The accumulation of her efforts allowed her to progress rapidly and explosively.

Yang Kai nodded in response, feeling happy for Liu Xian Yun.

Unfortunately, what Ji Yao said next left his heart pounding wildly, “Senior Brother, are you interested in Junior Sister Liu too?”

He glared at her and solemnly stated, “Stop talking nonsense. Such words could ruin her reputation.”

Ji Yao slowly adjusted her sleeves, “Senior Brother, haven’t you already ruined a lot of reputations?”

[What does that mean!? Isn’t it just that I couldn’t help myself the other day!? Besides, it’s not entirely my fault either! Why is she so hung up on that? Does she feel like she was taken advantage of? How about I let her molest me right now in return!?] Turning to stare at her, he sternly said, “Junior Sister Yao, I think you might have misunderstood me a little bit.”

“Hahah…” The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, neither confirming nor denying his charge.

Yang Kai suddenly became angry out of shame and leaned towards her, the veins in his forehead twitching wildly, “Can you not laugh like that? It’s very disrespectful of you.”

It was an angry outburst, but he looked startled after speaking. That was because a hint of panic flashed across Ji Yao’s face without warning, and her eyelashes quivered. It wasn’t until he came back to his senses that he realized that he was so close he was almost pressing his lips against her face. His expression twitched slightly in response.

[Damn it! Now it’s going to be awkward again… I need to think of a way to explain myself… I’m already being suspected of taking advantage of her. I’m just digging myself into a hole at this rate. She won’t believe me even if I try to explain, but backing away right now will make it seem like I’m feeling guilty.] He was racking his brains trying to think of how to calmly get out of this situation and broach this topic.

Contrary to his expectations though, he noticed a faint blush creeping up her face, one that was incredibly alluring. Moreover, Ji Yao’s scent lingered at the tip of his nose, penetrating his senses as though a hand was gently stroking his heart.

[What’s going on?] He was puzzled. [Why isn’t she avoiding me? I accidentally got too close, so logically speaking, she should have moved away. But, it seems she has no intention of doing that…] 

There was only a hint of panic flashing in across her eyes and her hand was subconsciously gripping her snow-white sleeves as she lowered her gaze docilely.

Yang Kai swept his eyes across her fair face, delicate earlobes, and slender neck. From this angle, he could even see into the valley between her two mountains. Unfortunately, her clothes were too tight to see clearly. Nevertheless, the darkness of that crevice gave him much to fantasize about. Swallowing nervously, he turned his head away and whistled casually as he moved to sit much closer to her.

[Hmm? No response?] He moved a little more, then a little more… Finally, he could feel a warmth pressing against the side of his body. It was clear that they were already touching each other. Even now, Ji Yao was not reacting, nor did she seem intent on moving away. However, her entire body shuddered slightly when he pressed his body against hers just now.

[What is happening!?] He yelled in his heart. A thought rolled around in his mind, and he could not suppress that idea no matter what he tried. Thus, he put one hand on the bed and his other hand quietly snuck around her back and slowly tightened around her, hugging her to him.

He stopped whistling and sat up straight. He didn’t look at her directly, but he did study her reaction from the corners of his eyes. Meanwhile, she turned to look at him with a sharp gaze that felt like knives slicing across his face. No matter how thick-skinned he was, that gaze still made him extremely uncomfortable.

[Now that things have come to this, what else is there to say?] The look in his eyes suddenly became firm, and with the determination of a hundred men storming a fortress, he turned to look at her. Their gazes met, his eyes filled with hunger like a starving beast, and this time around, she was the one to look away instead.

[Not so tough after all!] He laughed wildly in his heart before he lowered his head and leaned towards her.

Ji Yao’s eyes closed quickly, and her entire body trembled lightly in Yang Kai’s arms. When their lips touched, she abruptly stiffened, amusing Yang Kai somewhat. [This isn’t her first time anymore, so why does she still have such a huge reaction? It was the same back at the Cultivation Technique Pavilion a few days ago. Really… She hasn’t made any progress whatsoever.]

Savouring the sweet taste, Yang Kai quickly pried open her lips and caught her tongue, ravaging it wantonly.

Ji Yao was very clumsy and didn’t even respond to his advances. She simply allowed him to do as he pleased. If not for the slight trembling of her body, he would have thought that he was holding a piece of wood in his arms.

The hand holding her around the waist slowly shifted upward. He placed his hand on her shoulder before putting some strength into it and pushing her against the bed. Rolling over so that he was on top, he placed one hand on her back. His other hand slid beneath her clothes at her waist. It was a brazen and unscrupulous act.

The atmosphere between them was so hot and electrifying that the scorching atmosphere almost caused the room to burst into flames. One should strike while the iron was hot and since things had already gone so far, Yang Kai decided that he should go all in. Grabbing her belt with one hand, he moved to pull it off, but unexpectedly, she grabbed his wrists and opened her tightly shut eyes, a look of pleading filling her face.

[This again?] He felt a little speechless. She had done the exact same thing back at the Cultivation Technique Pavilion. It seemed that kissing was okay, but she refused to go any further than that. Nonetheless, he was certain that she was already aroused. Her face was so flushed that it looked like blood was going to seep out of her pores, the sound of her pounding heartbeat could be heard from her ample bosom, and her breathing was incredibly ragged.

Yang Kai tentatively pulled at her belt again and discovered that her hand was tightly clenching his wrist. Feeling a little helpless, he could only step back and go for something else. His large hand slid along her belt and continued upward. This time around, there was still some resistance but it was not as strong as before.

At this point, he couldn’t care less though. [She seduced me but won’t let me have a taste. If I can’t have a taste, then I can at least enjoy myself fully, right?] He pulled out his other hand, grabbed both her wrists, yanked her hands above her head, and held them there. At the same time, he used his other hand to climb her peaks.

Ji Yao moaned, and in response, he pressed himself against her again and covered her lips with his. 

Yang Kai did not know how long passed. They had changed positions on the bed several times and now, he was lying beneath her, and she was riding on top of him. Her clothes and hair were a mess, and she no longer had her usual immaculate image.

He squeezed and kneaded her snow rabbits, constantly changing their shapes. Nevertheless, she was kissing his lips without the slightest care in the world. It was just that she had no skills so her kisses felt like the touch of a dragonfly skimming across the water. It was both amusing and frustrating.

“Junior Sister Yao, I have a request!” Yang Kai suddenly blurted out.

Ji Yao’s movements froze abruptly. Then, she pressed her palms against his chest and pushed out lightly. Her entire body fluttered backwards and she came to stand beside the bed.

Yang Kai saw this and asked anxiously, “What are you doing?” [We were doing just fine. Why is she running away all of a sudden?]

Biting her red lips, she glared at him angrily and shouted, “Scoundrel!” 

Afterwards, she turned around and rushed out of the room. She went straight to the guardrail and flew into the air, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“Scoundrel? What? I haven’t even mentioned what my request was!” Yang Kai chased her to the porch, but she was already gone.

[This is just great. Last time, I took advantage of her back at the Cultivation Technique Pavilion of Ice Heart Valley. This time, she came to High Heaven Palace and took advantage of me. Does she think that she can write it off just like this?]

Yang Kai didn’t know if he still had any chance with her in the future; thus, he couldn’t help feeling annoyed with himself for not hardening his resolve and taking her on the spot to officially make her his. The main reason was that his resolve melted whenever he saw that begging look in her eyes.

Letting out a long sigh, he walked out of the room and searched the palace for some time. Then, he came to a room, pushed the door open, and strutted in.

Inside, Xue Yue was meditating, but when she saw that it was Yang Kai, she couldn’t help asking, “Husband, what are you doing here?”

Yang Kai did not reply to her question. He simply walked over to her and picked her up in a princess carry.

“Where are we going?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“To find Luo’er.” He smirked deviously.

Chapter 3223

In the early morning of the next day, Yang Kai woke up and yawned. There was a tender body in each of his arms, and a strange smell lingered in the room. Last night was another crazy one!

He gently disentangled himself from between the two soft forms and got out of bed to open the window with a wave of his hand. A light breeze blew in, blowing away the lingering fragrance.

Those movements of his caused both Shan Qing Luo and Xue Yue to wake up. Shan Qing Luo was thick-skinned so she sat up and stretched in a seductive manner, her exotic curves exposed for all to see. Staring at Yang Kai, she smirked and asked, “Are you satisfied now?”

Yang Kai grinned meaningfully. Walking over, he groped her chest, “You make it sound like you suffered a loss. I don’t even know who was wilder last night.”

She snorted, “Don’t come to me for the time being. I’m going to cultivate in retreat to break through to the Dao Source Realm. Big Sister is already in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. If I don’t work harder, I won’t be able to keep up with you guys anymore.” While speaking, she reached out and pinched Xue Yue’s cheeks, “Stop pretending to be asleep and quickly get up.”

Xue Yue blushed when her cover was blown and had no choice but to get up; however, she was not as bold as Shan Qing Luo so she grabbed a blanket to cover her chest

Shan Qing Luo stretched out a hand to tickle Xue Yue, “What’s wrong? It’s not like we haven’t seen them before. Why are you being so shy?”

“Luo’er, stop teasing me.” Xue Yue was blushing furiously. Although she wasn’t as shy as Little Senior Sister, she wasn’t as unrestrained as Shan Qing Luo either. She secretly snuck a glance at Yang Kai and saw him standing there buck-naked, watching them with a smile on his face. He had no intention of stopping Shan Qing Luo’s antics; thus, she blurted out in shame, “You two always go overboard now that Big Sister isn’t here! I’m going to tell Big Sister about this!”

“Wow! How dare you tattle on us!?” Shan Qing Luo gritted her teeth and lunged over to pull the blanket off Xue Yue’s body. Then, she used both hands to tickle Xue Yue to the point where she started begging for mercy. At the same time, she called out to Yang Kai, “Husband, how can you dominate the world if you can’t even keep your woman in line? Little Sister is in need of some discipline. What are you still waiting for?”

Yang Kai considered it seriously for a moment and nodded, “That makes sense.” Approaching them, he grinned savagely as he ravaged Xue Yue with Shan Qing Luo’s assistance. Needless to say, Shan Qing Luo could not escape from the devil’s clutches either, and by the time the battle had been settled, it was midday.

The two women helped Yang Kai dress as he sat in front of the mirror with one helping him straighten out his clothes while the other combed his hair.

Xue Yue busied herself with her task while talking, “Husband, since Luo’er is entering retreat, I will too. You better not sabotage our efforts in the near future. It will be bad if our cultivation cannot keep up with you and Big Sister.”

“Good,” Yang Kai nodded. Although he would miss making love with them, they needed to continue scaling the path of the great Martial Dao. Both Shan Qing Luo and Xue Yue had just arrived from the Star Field, so it was the perfect time for them to improve at an explosive speed. If they missed this chance, it would affect their futures, so he warned them, “Work hard on your cultivation and don’t be afraid to ask if there is anything you don’t understand. There are many in the Emperor Realm within the Sect, so teaching you should not be a problem.”

“En.” Xue Yue nodded.

Shan Qing Luo suddenly pursed her lips and smiled, “Big Sister went to Ice Heart Valley, Ning Chang went to Medicine Pill Valley, and Little Sister Yue and I are going to cultivate in retreat. Husband, you are probably going to be a lonely man for some time. Didn’t you mention we have another Sister? Moreover, a member of the Dragon Clan at that. Why don’t you bring her over? That way, you’ll still have somebody taking care of you when we are not by your side.”

“About her…” Yang Kai murmured, “We’ll see.”

Zhu Qing’s affairs were a little tricky. Her very existence was related to the reputation of the Dragon Clan, so they would not let her go so easily. Furthermore, he caused a huge stir on Dragon Island previously and indirectly contributed to the death of an Eighth-Order Great Dragon. The Dragon Clan not being hostile to him was the best outcome he could hope for, so how could they allow Zhu Qing to join High Heaven Palace on top of that? The only way he could bring Zhu Qing here was if he had enough power to subdue all of Dragon Island.

Once Yang Kai was properly dressed, he walked out of High Heaven Peak and saw Hua Qing Si waiting outside. Hua Qing Si greeted him with a grumbling expression, “It’s one thing when you were constantly absent from the Sect in the past, but now that you are back, why is it still so hard to meet you!”

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Take a look.” She handed him a jade slip.

He took it from her and investigated the contents with his Divine Sense. Then, he couldn’t help gnashing his teeth, “Why are so many people filing complaints?”

To which she replied, “Well, there’s not enough to go around. Those teachers that arrived from Fire Dragon Palace are having an extremely difficult time these days. They practically don’t even have the time to rest, much less cultivate.”

“Why would they have no time to rest?” He was stunned.

Rolling her eyes at him, she stated, “Let me show you around and you’ll understand why immediately.”

While speaking, Hua Qing Si flew into the sky and led him to a Spirit Peak nearby. The cultivators living on this Spirit Peak seemed to be from Shadowed Star and numbered about a thousand in total. Currently, a long queue was stretching out in front of a palace situated at the top of the Spirit Peak. There were at least two hundred people waiting in line. From time to time, a cultivator would walk out of the palace with a look of sudden enlightenment. Every time somebody walked out, the person at the front of the line would enter the palace. Then, the cycle would repeat.

The corners of Yang Kai’s face twitched as he pointed to the palace below them and asked, “Is that the place where their teacher lives?”

“En.” Hua Qing Si looked a little apprehensive just looking at the situation, “The cultivators you brought have just arrived, so they are not used to the Star Boundary yet. It’s only natural that they run into some problems in their cultivation. Whenever they run into a problem, they come looking for their respective teachers to seek guidance. But, there is only one teacher on each Spirit Peak. Look at the line outside the palace. Where would these teachers find the time to rest? This is only a Spirit Peak with a population of around a thousand people. Those with even more living on them have it even worse. Though those with a population of only a few hundred have it slightly better, they are still very busy. A few of the teachers have already come to me, saying that they can’t bear life here any longer. Even if they suffer some punishment, they want to return to Fire Dragon Palace immediately. They have asked me to contact Palace Master Li.”

“Ignore them.”

Hua Qing Si said, “I’ve managed to suppress them for now. But, how well can they teach our disciples with that kind of mentality? If they don’t teach them properly, it will affect the futures of our disciples. Palace Master, you really need to look for a way to alleviate this situation.”

“En. I was already planning to do that.”

She said, “Ice Heart Valley has a pretty good relationship with us. Can’t we get some help from Ice Heart Valley?”

“Forget about Ice Heart Valley. I’ve considered it before, but all the disciples of Ice Heart Valley only cultivate Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Techniques. It’s too specific, which makes them unsuited to be their teachers.”

“What do we do then?”

“I have my own plans,” Yang Kai replied, “But, before more teachers arrive, I need you to appease the ones here already somehow. Let’s give them a monthly salary every month. We’ll stop making them work in vain.”

“I had that idea too. I was just about to report it to you.”

“Use your own judgement regarding this matter. If that doesn’t work, discuss it with Manager Bian. You are free to decide how much pay is suitable. You don’t need to ask me for my opinion on this.”

“Fine, fine,” Hua Qing Si sighed helplessly. She had never met a Palace Master like him before. He simply couldn’t wait to let go of all the power in his hands, seemingly happiest acting as an arm-flinging shopkeeper.

After separating from Hua Qing Si, Yang Kai went to Spirit Pill Peak, met with Ji Ying, and took out a number of items with him. A short while later, he appeared in front of the Space Array.

“Palace Master!” Bian Yu Qing, who was meditating by the side, hurriedly came to greet him.

He waved her away gently, indicating for her to go back to what she was doing, before walking over to the Space Array, activating it, and disappearing.

In the Southern Territory, Yang Kai leisurely appeared in a quiet mountain valley located at the back of Spirit Sword Peak in Azure Sun Temple. He swept his Divine Sense around and confirmed that nobody had seen him; then, he flew straight towards Spirit Sword Peak.

He was a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple, and Spirit Sword Peak was the Spirit Peak where he lived. It was also the place he had chosen for himself and was located far away from the other Main Peaks, which made it easier for him to conceal the Space Array.

Flying over to Spirit Sword Peak, he took out an Elder’s Jade Token, opened the protective Array, and walked straight in.

Two young and beautiful women were feeding fish in front of a pond. The big red koi carps were swimming in the pond and competing for food, causing the two girls to giggle.

Yang Kai was a little dumbfounded by the sight. Looking around him carefully, he was certain that he was not in the wrong place. [This is definitely Spirit Sword Peak. Since when did I have two maidservants?]

Both girls did not have high cultivation and it wasn’t until Yang Kai had gotten very close that they noticed that there was somebody else present. Startled, the girl on the left dressed in red jumped up and shouted, “Who are you!?”

Yang Kai laughed and looked back at them and asked, “Who are you?”

“We are disciples of Azure Sun Temple. Who are you?” The girl in red looked at him warily.

On the contrary, a thoughtful look flashed through the eyes of the other girl, who was dressed in green. Seemingly realizing something, she tugged at her friend’s sleeve before bowing elegantly, “Greetings, Elder Yang!”

[Elder Yang!?] The girl in red froze in shock. There was only one Elder with the surname ‘Yang’ in the entire Azure Sun Temple, so she immediately composed herself and bowed.

“Rise.” Yang Kai waved his hand and beckoned them to stand. Then, he asked curiously, “Why are you here?”

The girl in green replied, “Elder Gao assigned us this mission. She said that Elder Yang doesn’t live here all year round, so she wanted us to stay here and tend to this place.”

“Senior Sister Gao…” Yang Kai nodded, “So that’s how it is.”

The girl in green continued, “We didn’t touch anything on Spirit Sword Peak. We kept everything as it was. We only clean the palace and feed the fish. Please understand, Elder Yang.”

He smiled, “Many thanks for your hard work, both of you.”

The two girls seemed overwhelmed by his praise. The person in front of them was an Elder of the Sect. Moreover, he was an Emperor Realm Master. With their humble statuses and low cultivation, the gap between them was as vast as the space between the Heavens and Earth. Nonetheless, the person in front of them was being so friendly that it made them very emotional.

By the time they came back to their senses, Yang Kai had already stepped into the hall.

“So that was Elder Yang.” The girl in red looked at Yang Kai’s disappearing back with a look of admiration, “He looks very young.”

The girl in green stated, “I heard that Elder Yang may be the youngest Elder we’ve ever had here. It’s said that he only spent a hundred years cultivating.”

“Seriously!?” The girl in red was visibly stunned. Although their cultivations weren’t high, they knew that it was not easy to become an Emperor Realm Master. To achieve that Realm within a hundred years was simply unthinkable.

“Elder Yang is said to have come from a Lower Star Field,” The girl in green clearly had more information. After saying that, she exclaimed out loud.

“What’s wrong?”

“Elder Gao told me to let her know as soon as Elder Yang returns. I almost forgot.” While speaking, she hurriedly took out a communication artifact.

Chapter 3224

Upon entering the hall, Yang Kai walked around and found that the place was indeed kept neat and tidy. He slid his hand over a tabletop and saw that there was no dust at all. It could be seen that the two girls had earnestly taken care of this place. Then, he turned around, sat on a chair, and pondered for a moment. When he looked up again, the two girls walked in and bowed in greeting.

“By the way, wasn’t there another old man living here? Where did that old man go?” He asked, looking at them.

Yang Kai was referring to Tian Yan, who had arrived from the Divine Ascension Mirror after creating a new body for himself. Back then, Tian Yan received help from Yang Kai to create his physical body with the Flesh Incarnation Pill. Yang Kai originally thought that he could gain a Great Emperor as his support, but reality turned out differently. Tian Yan was indeed a Master comparable to a Great Emperor in the Divine Ascension Mirror World, but that was only limited to when he was in the Divine Ascension Mirror. When he later created a new physical body, he needed to start all over again. He was equivalent to a newborn baby simply because the Heavenly Way could not be deceived. The Heavenly Way couldn’t produce another Great Emperor out of nothing.

At the time, Yang Kai had not understood the situation clearly. It wasn’t until his talk with Yang Yan that he finally understood. The world was a bottle that could not contain Tian Yan’s existence; thus, Tian Yan had to start cultivating all over again. Wen Zi Shan initially wanted to choose another place for him to stay, but Tian Yan insisted Spirit Sword Peak would be fine.

Afterwards, Yang Kai went to the Frozen Earth with Zhu Lie, entered the Revolving World, took a trip to the Western Territory, entered Dragon Island, and returned to Heng Luo Star Field. More than ten years had passed in a blink of an eye. He didn’t see Tian Yan anywhere upon his return to Spirit Sword Peak; there were only these two girls in front of him on this Spirit Peak. Thus, he couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious.

“Senior went on a trip,” A clear voice suddenly rang out from the outside.

Yang Kai lifted his head to look in the direction of the voice and saw a tall figure stepping in. That person wore a clean, white dress and had her hair tied up in a bun above her head. It made her seem neat and tidy, and also somewhat heroic.

Standing up, Yang Kai cupped his fists with a smile, “Senior Sister Gao, it has been a long time since we last met. You are as beautiful as ever.”

He was not surprised to see Gao Xue Ting appearing here so quickly. The reason she ordered those two girls to stay here was to take care of Spirit Sword Peak and also to monitor his movements. She would definitely be notified as soon as he returned.

*Zheng…* 

A clear sound rang out while at the same time, a cold light flashed as a longsword slid out of its sheath. Gao Xue Ting strode forward and rested the sword on Yang Kai’s shoulder and smiling coldly, she sneered, “Tell me! How do you want to die!?”

The two girls next to them cried out in surprise. They never expected Gao Xue Ting to lose her temper the moment she ran into Yang Kai. [Why is Elder Gao pointing her sword at Elder Yang? Could there be some sort of long-standing grudge between them?] 

They wondered if they should report this matter to the other Elders; however, both of them had low cultivation and humble statuses. How could they have a method to contact the other Elders?

The smile on Yang Kai’s face stiffened as he swallowed nervously, using two fingers to pinch the sword blade and gently remove it from his shoulder before he asked, “Senior Sister Gao, what are you doing?”

“How dare you return so shamelessly!?” Gao Xue Ting coldly snorted, unmoved by his words.

His expression twitched slightly, “I don’t understand what you mean. Please enlighten me, Senior Sister.”

“You want to know why you deserve death?” She looked at him expressionlessly, “Fine! I will let you die knowing the reason why! Let me ask you this; are you or are you not an Elder of Azure Sun Temple!?”

“Of course, I am!” He quickly nodded in response before exclaiming in shock, “Could it be possible that I’ve been kicked out!?”

“If you claim to be an Elder, then why didn’t you show up for more than ten years!?”

“It has only been slightly more than ten years… It’s not that long…” Yang Kai touched his nose weakly, “Besides, I’m just a High-Rank Guest Elder. It doesn’t make any difference to the Temple whether I’m here or not.”

“A High-Rank Guest Elder is still an Elder! You ran away the moment the Temple ordained you and failed to send word ever since then. Do you still hold the Temple in your eyes!?”

“Nope!” He shook his head flatly at those words.

She was taken aback by his answer. It would seem that she never expected him to respond in such a manner. A look of disappointment appeared in her eyes, and she slowly retracted her sword.

He smilingly added, “I keep the Temple in my heart!” 

He even patted his chest while speaking.

She glared at him immediately, “Enough with your antics. If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation for your absence, I will ask the Temple Master to revoke your status as a High-Rank Guest Elder; after all, it doesn’t make any difference to the Temple whether you’re here or not.”

[Why use my words against me!?] He looked speechless. Even so, he could only smile at her, “Senior Sister Gao, as you know, I have High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. There were a lot of matters to take care of. Moreover, it is not convenient to come and go. The North and the South are separated by millions and millions of kilometres, so it takes years just to make one round trip. It’s not too much to come back every ten years or so, right?”

She scoffed, “I told you this a long time ago. You don’t need that High Heaven whatever in the Northern Territory. Just settle down here at the Temple. A great force isn’t something a person can support all by himself.” Nevertheless, her tone had softened considerably.

Even he knew that a great force was not something that a person could support all by themselves. If it was in the past, he could still have given up on High Heaven Palace; however, he had just brought more than a hundred thousand people over from Heng Luo Star Field, and they were all gathered in one place. How could he abandon them now? He had to take responsibility for them since he brought them here.

Yang Kai signalled the two young girls, who were watching the excitement by the side, with a look and sent a transmission to them at the same time. After that, he nodded and bowed, “Senior Sister, please calm down. Let’s sit down and talk.”

Gao Xue Ting turned around and took a seat. Her longsword that was glimmering with a cold light was put away too, which made him sigh with relief.

Soon, the two girls served a fragrant and steaming pot of tea. 

“Senior Sister, have some tea. I’m afraid this place is crude, and I don’t have much to offer.”

She glanced sideways at him, “Are you looking down on Spirit Sword Peak? This is the place you chose for yourself. If you are not satisfied with this place, you can settle down at my place, Purple Bamboo Peak. I have a lot of empty space anyway.”

“Uh… how could that be appropriate?” Yang Kai wanted to slap himself on the mouth for saying the wrong thing; thus, he hurriedly changed the subject, “I believe I heard you say something like Senior Tian Yan is out on a trip. What did you mean by that, Senior Sister?”

“It means exactly what I said.”

Yang Kai was stunned and asked, “Did the Temple send somebody to protect him? Won’t it be dangerous for Senior to wander around outside on his own?”

Yang Kai was quite worried. Although Tian Yan had the foundation of a Great Emperor, he had to start his cultivation over from scratch after creating his body. Only slightly more than ten years had passed since then, so his cultivation couldn’t be that high yet. The Star Boundary was unlike the Star Field, there were Masters everywhere. If Tian Yan encountered heinous individuals during his journey, it might lead to his demise. It would be the greatest joke if a Great Emperor was killed by a cultivator in the Origin Returning Realm.

“It’s what Senior himself wanted, so who could have stopped him? As for being in danger… You don’t need to worry about that either. When Senior left this place three years ago, he was already in the Saint Realm.”

“What!?” Yang Kai was utterly taken aback. He nearly suspected that he had heard wrongly.

In the Martial Dao, the Saint Realm was the seventh Great Realm, following the Initial Element Realm, the Qi Transformation Realm, the Separation and Reunion Realm, the True Qi Realm, the Immortal Ascension Realm, and the Transcendent Realm. Moreover, there were nine Minor Realms in each Great Realm before reaching the Immortal Ascension Realm. Following that, the Transcendent and Saint Realm both had three Minor Realms. Every cultivator had to spend a lot of time and effort just to progress forward a single Minor Realm, one step at a time. Even Yang Kai spent thirty to forty years to advance through those Realms.

But how long had it been since Tian Yan created his body? Only a few years or so had passed, yet Tian Yan was already in the Saint Realm three years ago. In other words, he spent less than ten years cultivating to reach the Saint Realm. Now that three more years have passed, his cultivation was undoubtedly even higher.

Thinking about it though, it made sense. Tian Yan was not an ordinary cultivator. He had the heritage of a Great Emperor, so it was only natural that he had a faster cultivation speed. Most cultivators would normally encounter bottlenecks, but not him.

“Although Senior’s cultivation isn’t that high, don’t forget what he is best at. It’s unlikely that he will encounter any dangers even if he wanders around outside.”

Yang Kai nodded in response. Tian Yan was born in the Divine Ascension Mirror World with only a Soul Avatar; as such, he was unmatched in the application of the Spiritual Energy and Soul Secret Techniques. On this point, even the Serene Soul Great Emperor was no match for him.

Tian Yan’s physical cultivation was certainly not that high, but if it was supplemented with the strange Soul Secret Techniques he had, he would be able to fight with people several Great Realms higher than himself.

“Senior sure is courageous,” Yang Kai laughed.

Gao Xue Ting explained, “The outside world is unfamiliar to him, so it’s only natural that he doesn’t want to cultivate blindly. Besides, it’s beneficial for him to go around and see the world.” She glanced sideways, and her tone turned cold, “What about you? What have you been doing?”

[Why did she turn the topic of conversation back to me again!?] Yang Kai felt rather speechless. Even so, he nonchalantly replied, “It’s better to traverse the world far and wide than to sit at home and study all day. Haha…”

“Shut your mouth!” She shouted.

In response, he sat up straight in a proper manner.

“Pfft!” The two girls by the side snickered loudly. However, they immediately lowered their heads again when they saw Yang Kai’s resentful glare. 

The two quickly became silent and looked away with looks that screamed, [We didn’t see anything. We didn’t hear anything.]

“Take out those things!” Gao Xue Ting suddenly stretched out her jade white hand.

He asked blankly, “What things?

She sneered, “Stop acting dumb. You took so many of the Temple’s spirit flowers and exotic herbs with you back then. You couldn’t have forgotten about the task you were given, right?”

“Oh! That’s what you mean!” He finally understood the situation and added confidently, “How could I have forgotten the task you assigned to me, Senior Sister Gao? I completed it diligently. Here, have a look.”

After saying that, he took out a Space Ring and pushed it to her. While she was investigating the contents, he said, “The main reason I was delayed in the Northern Territory for so long is that I was refining these items. Then, I cultivated in retreat for a while.”

“So many!” A hint of consternation flashed through Gao Xue Ting’s eyes. This Space Ring was filled with nothing but Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that Yang Kai had gotten from Ji Ying.

It was true that he had taken a lot of spirit flowers and spirit herbs away with him back then. That was the task the Temple had given to him; refine Emperor Grade Spirit Pills. Therefore, he did not forget to prepare the Spirit Pills in advance before coming here. Looking at her reaction, it would seem that he safely passed this challenge.

“You still had the energy to cultivate after refining so many Spirit Pills?” She glanced at him in surprise, thinking that the Spirit Pills had all been refined by him. The look she gave him immediately alerted her to something though. Something was different about him. Thus, she studied him carefully and murmured suspiciously, “Your cultivation…”

He grinned meaningfully, “Senior Sister Gao, you really have good eyes. I can’t hide anything from you.” Pushing his Emperor Qi slightly, the aura of his cultivation was revealed.

She was immediately shocked by what she saw. [Second-Order Emperor Realm! This brat is actually a Second-Order Emperor! How is this possible!?]

Milf is milf. You can state that they are Milfs. But, I sorta want to know which character reminds you most of your own mom. (I don’t expect you would consider them to be milfs right? So, do split the responses apart.)

Chapter 3225

After meeting again after more than ten years, Yang Kai was now in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, the same as her!

Gao Xue Ting couldn’t believe it. Nonetheless, she had no choice but to believe it. The Second-Order Emperor Realm’s aura could not be faked. [Still… Isn’t his cultivation speed a little too fast?]

She could still remember the first time she saw him. It was when the Four Seasons Realm was about to open and he arrived at the Temple with a Bustling World Token to exchange for an entry spot. At the time, Yang Kai had only been in the First-Order Dao Source Realm. Several years later, he returned from the Shattered Star Sea having broken through to the Emperor Realm. And now, only a few more years had passed since then, but he already experienced another breakthrough.

She was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, hence she knew how tough it was to break through to the next Minor Realm in the Emperor Realm. There were many Emperor Realm Masters in Azure Sun Temple, but most of them were only in the First Order. On the other hand, there were only three Second-Order Emperors. Excluding her, the other two were Vice Temple Master, Qiu Ran, and Grandma You, who guarded the Divine Ascension Mirror.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai was a rising star who actually managed to catch up to them. Judging by the current situation, he would surpass them one day. It was only a matter of time.

The other disciples who started at the same time as Yang Kai, such as Xia Sheng, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao, had only just stabilized their cultivation in the First-Order Emperor Realm, so who knows when they would be able to break through to the Second-Order? In comparison to Yang Kai, the so-called genius disciples were simply mediocre.

An old saying popped up in Gao Xue Ting’s head at that moment, ‘Every generation produced new talents, and the new generation would eventually replace the old’! The smiling young man sitting in front of her was a star that was gradually rising into the sky, one that would bloom with a dazzling light one day and cover the entire Star Boundary in its radiance as long as nothing unexpected occurred.

“Not bad,” She praised indifferently. However, she thought differently in her heart. [How is that ‘not bad’!? It’s practically a miracle! I seriously have no idea how he cultivates or what kind of Secret Art and Secret Techniques he uses.]

“Senior Sister Gao, how many Elder Contribution Points can I redeem with these items?” Yang Kai asked.

Putting the Space Ring away, she responded in a detached manner, “Emperor Grade Spirit Pills are hard to come by. Converting so many Emperor Grade Spirit Pills into Elder Contribution Points should garner you a large profit but I don’t know the exact amount. Senior Brother Qiu is in charge of this matter, so you will need to discuss this with him.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go see Senior Brother Qiu!” He stood up.

“You sure are in a hurry,” She glanced at him suspiciously.

He quickly stated, “Not really. It’s just that this is the first time I’ve contributed to the Temple. Of course, I want to know how valuable this contribution is. Motivation only comes after achievements, right?”

“Fine. I’ll go with you to meet Senior Brother Qiu. Let’s have him give us an exact number.” She stood up as well.

“Senior Sister, after you!” He gestured with his hand.

Walking to the entrance of the palace, she suddenly paused mid-step and turned around to look at him in a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Yang Kai asked in bewilderment.

“Something’s not right.” Gao Xue Ting shook her head slowly, “Tell me honestly. How did you return?”

“What do you mean by ‘how did you return’? I returned like normal,” Yang Kai’s expression remained calm as he spewed nonsense with a straight face.

“If you returned like normal, why didn’t the disciples on guard duty report anything? If you came from the outside, you would have needed to pass by Purple Bamboo Peak. Why didn’t I notice anything?”

To which he promptly replied, “I am proficient in the Dao of Space. It only takes a few rounds of teleportation for me to arrive. That’s probably why you failed to notice my presence.”

“Is that so?” She glanced at him with a look that said she neither believed nor doubted him. Nevertheless, she did not question him any further and simply flew up into the sky.

Staring at her back, Yang Kai touched his nose absent-mindedly. [Did I mess up somewhere?] 

He couldn’t figure out what possible mistakes he had made. In the end, he could only fly after her, but to his surprise, he saw her making a turn and flying in a different direction before he could catch up to her.

“Senior Sister Gao, are you going in the wrong direction?” Yang Kai shouted from behind. Although he rarely stayed in Azure Sun Temple for long, he knew that Spirit Jade Peak, the place where Qiu Ran lived, was not in this direction. However, Gao Xue Ting ignored him as she flew towards a certain spot before landing in one of the mountain valleys. 

Seeing where she landed, Yang Kai’s heart clenched tight and his speed increased significantly.

Gao Xue ting silently stood in front of a Space Array inside a cave in the mountain valley. Walking into the cave nervously, Yang Kai called out softly but did not receive a reply; thus, he grit his teeth and exclaimed, “Wow! What is this? Why is there an array here!?”

She turned to look at him, “You still dare to pretend!?”

He innocently replied, “What are you talking about, Senior Sister Gao? Pretending? Me? About what?”

She sneered, “This is the back mountain of Spirit Sword Peak. Are you saying that you don’t know about the things that are in your territory?”

He protested, “I don’t know about this!” Looking at her, he continued, “Do you not believe me? I really know nothing about this. As you know, I rarely live here. How am I supposed to know about what happens in this place?”

“Do you really not know?” She asked.

“Yes, I really don’t!” He maintained a serious face.

Then, she nodded and turned to look ahead, “It looks like a Space Array. Moreover, it hasn’t been many years since it was arranged. We don’t know who set this up nor where this connects. Junior Brother, please stand guard for me. I will inspect it.”

“Uh…” He didn’t know how to dissuade her, so he could only nod in agreement, “Okay. Be careful, Senior Sister.”

She immediately walked onto the array and took out some Source Crystals. Placing them on the surrounding grooves, she released her Emperor Qi and activated the array; however, there was no response at all.

Yang Kai lowered his head guiltily. This was naturally the array he arranged and no one could activate it without his special token. For that reason, he was not worried that she might suddenly be transported to the Northern Territory.

Despite trying for a time, Gao Xue Ting failed to activate the array and in the end, she could only walk off it.

Yang Kai spoke up at that moment, “It looks like the array has been in disrepair for a long time. It probably lost its functionality, making it useless. We should just leave it be.”

She shook her head, “There might be other activation methods that we don’t know about. Besides, we don’t know where this array leads to. This place is deep within the Temple so we cannot leave this threat lying here. If somebody uses this array to sneak inside our borders one day, we won’t be able to notice their arrival at all.”

*Zheng…* 

A clean sound rang out, and a cold light flashed as Gao Xue Ting drew her sword and pushed her Emperor Qi.

Yang Kai’s brow twitched in response to her actions and he called out, “Senior Sister, what are you planning to do?”

“What does it look like I’m planning to do? I’m destroying it, lest it keeps us on edge all the time.” While speaking, she lifted her sword to cut the array.

“Wait!” Yang Kai shouted.

She turned to look at him, “What is it?”

Scratching his face, he anxiously said, “Don’t be so reckless, Senior Sister. This is a Space Array after all. Although we don’t know where it connects, it might lead to a vast source of treasure. If you destroy the array just like that, won’t you also be cutting off all connection with that opportunity?”

“Then, what do you think we should do?”

He put his hand on his chest and bowed, “Although I am not talented, I am proficient in the Dao of Space. Please let me study this Space Array. I might be able to learn a thing or two about it.”

“How long will you need to study it?”

“A month or two?”

“Hmm.”

“Or, twenty to fifty years?”

“Hmm?”

He explained, “I can’t really say. I can only say that I will do my best.”

She waved her hand dismissively, “There’s no need for so much trouble, let’s just destroy it. Stand aside, Junior Brother, this array looks quite firm so I don’t think I can hold back”

“Senior Sister Gao…” He pressed his palm against his forehead, feeling a little desperate to cry but unable to shed any tears.

“Do you have something else to say?” She looked at him with an expression that seemed to be asking if he had any last words. It was as though the sword was not about to cut the array but him.

He lowered his head, “Senior Sister Gao, do you know something?”

She scoffed, “That depends on what you want me to know.”

“Haaa…” He sighed, knowing that he couldn’t hide it anymore, “How did you find out?” 

He believed that he had concealed the Space Array very well; moreover, Spirit Sword Peak could only be accessed by those that have enough authority. Unless they searched every inch of this place, it should have been impossible to discover.

Gao Xue Ting simply replied, “You have always been elusive and hard to track, so it’s difficult not to become suspicious of your actions. Besides, our Temple Master is an idle and bored person. During the past ten years that you were away, he searched every last step of Spirit Sword Peak. Did you think a single Array could block his search? He has a more advanced Spirit Jade to control the Arrays in his possession. Speak. Where does this Array lead to?”

He lowered his gaze. His expression was wooden, “The Northern Territory.”

“High Heaven Palace?” She raised her eyebrows.

He nodded at those words.

“As I expected! It’s a Cross-Territory Space Array!” She coldly snorted, “Did you arrange it?”

He smilingly said, “Yes.”

“Why did you have to be so sneaky about it?”

“I wasn’t being sneaky about it. I was just waiting for the right time to tell you about it,” Yang Kai declared.

Needless to say, she did not believe him. If she had not confronted him face-to-face like this, the ‘suitable time’ he mentioned would never have appeared. Even so, she could understand why he did what he did. The existence of this Spirit Array was too shocking and not something that could be leaked to the public easily.

“Why can’t I activate it?” It wasn’t the first time Gao Xue Ting had tried to activate the Space Array; in fact, both she and Wen Zi Shan had tried to activate it when he first discovered it, but nothing they did worked.

“It can only be activated if you have one of my specially refined tokens.” Now that it had been discovered, there was nothing left to hide. Azure Sun Temple had always been generous to him. The main reason he kept everything such a secret was that he was afraid of being used as her errand boy.

The people of Azure Sun Temple knew that he was an Emperor Alchemist and had long wished for him to keep refining Emperor Grade Spirit Pills for them; however, he had no time to focus on Alchemy and would hide in High Heaven Palace to live a leisurely life. Unfortunately, Gao Xue Ting could come to him anytime and anywhere now that the Space Array has been exposed.

“What token? Show me.”

“Is it okay if I don’t show it to you?” Yang Kai looked at Gao Xue Ting weakly.

Gao Xue Ting stretched out her hand, indicating that she was not going to give up until he showed it to her. Thus, he had no choice but to take out a token. She quickly reached out and snatched it from him and began studying it. She did not sense anything strange about it, but it did seem to give off some subtle Space Principles. She vaguely understood that the Space Principles sealed within were the key to activating the Space Array. 

After a while, the token was put away into her Space Ring.

Seeing this, Yang Kai’s face twitched visibly, but he didn’t dare to raise any objections.

Chapter 3226

“Let’s go.” After putting the token away, Gao Xue Ting turned around and walked out. When her back was facing Yang Kai, an almost imperceptible smile drew up the corners of her lips.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in place and sighed for a long while before striding out to catch up to her.

The reason he had admitted to setting up the Space Array so readily was that the other party had already discovered it a long time ago. It was meaningless to continue playing dumb. Besides, he came here to borrow some manpower for High Heaven Palace so it would have been exposed soon anyways. Instead of continuing to cover it up, it might be better to reveal his hand now.

As for whether Gao Xue Ting would go to the Northern Territory to ask him to refine Spirit Pills in the future, it was practically a done deal. In any case, he had Ji Ying so he could just push everything onto him.

Spirit Jade Peak was the place where the Vice Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, Qiu Ran, lived. When Yang Kai and Gao Xue Ting arrived, Qiu Ran was meditating. He walked out of his room after being notified of their presence and met them in the hall.

Yang Kai got up and bowed, “Greetings, Senior Brother Qiu.”

On the other hand, Gao Xue Ting remained sitting. They were one big family and often met each other anyway so there was no need for her to be so reserved.

“What a rare guest. Junior Brother Yang, when did you return?” Qiu Ran looked at Yang Kai expressionlessly. Stretching out a hand to dismiss the formalities, he sat on the main seat in the hall.

Yang Kai chuckled, “I just got back and immediately came to visit you, Senior Brother Qiu. It has been many years since we last met. I’m glad your noble bearing is still the same.” While speaking, he sat down too.

Qiu Ran lifted his brow in response, “I am not worthy of your praise. Junior Brother Yang, you are an extraordinary man, but we don’t see much of you. If you failed to return any longer, I’m afraid this Old Master would have forgotten that you were a part of the Temple in the first place.”

[Those words are practically identical to what Gao Xue Ting said just now.] Yang Kai wanted to roll his eyes. Nevertheless, he maintained a smiling face on the surface, “I apologize, Senior Brother. I am greatly indebted to Azure Sun Temple and have never forgotten the Temple nor my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters.”

Qiu Ran did not respond. He simply glanced at Gao Xue Ting, who quietly nodded lightly in response. It seemed as though they were having a secret conversation via Divine Sense Transmission. 

Soon, Qiu Ran’s expression brightened. Nodding, he spoke up, “It’s good if you have us in your heart, Junior Brother. You should also pay attention to your safety when going out. Regardless of the circumstances, you are still an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. You represent the Temple, so you must never do anything that can harm the reputation of the Azure Sun Temple.”

“I will remember that.” Yang Kai nodded solemnly.

Qiu Ran said, “Good. If there’s nothing else, you should leave. I still have other things to do.”

[What? Are you kicking me out already? I haven’t even gotten to the main point yet.] Yang Kai looked stunned and quickly looked at Gao Xue Ting, desperately trying to signal her with his eyes. However, Gao Xue Ting looked down and simply sat there doing nothing.

[How heartless! How dare you cast me aside once you no longer need me!? I shouldn’t have given you that token!] Since she refused to help him, he could only rely on himself. Putting his hand on his chest, he bowed and said, “Senior Brother, this Junior Brother has something to report.”

“What is it?” Qiu Ran raised his eyes and looked at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai explained, “When I left, I took a large amount of spirit herbs from the Temple with me. Senior Sister Gao asked me to refine Spirit Pills for the Temple’s use with them and, fortunately, I did not fail my mission.”

“Oh?” Qiu Ran raised his eyebrows at those words, “Does that mean you have refined the Spirit Pills?”

“Yes!”

“Show me.”

Only then did Gao Xue Ting speak up, “It’s all with me.” Removing the Space Ring from her jade finger, she handed it to Qiu Ran.

Qiu Ran took the Space Ring from her and swept his Divine Sense through it. His expression immediately became one of astonishment. [So many!? Moreover, they are all Emperor Grade Spirit Pills and high quality too!] 

He had known that Yang Kai was an Emperor Alchemist and had agreed to allow him to take those spirit flowers and exotic herbs back then, but he never expected Yang Kai to bring back such a large amount of Emperor Grade Spirit Pills just ten years later. 

[Having our own Emperor Alchemist sure is nice.] Qiu Ran was already calculating whether he should give Yang Kai more spirit herbs. As long as they could be refined into Emperor Grade Spirit Pills, what was waiting for ten more years?

“Hmm. Not bad,” he said indifferently. [I can’t praise him too highly; otherwise, it will be difficult to ask him to refine Spirit Pills again.]

Yang Kai said, “It’s my job to contribute to the Temple.” Pausing for a moment, he rubbed his nose and asked, “Senior Brother, how many Elder Contribution Points can I exchange these for?”

Qiu Ran replied, “I will need to make careful calculations before I can give you an exact number.”

“Then, I ask that you please calculate it for me quickly, Senior Brother.”

He blinked at Yang Kai, “Are you in a hurry?”

“Not really.” Yang Kai made a fist and awkwardly coughed into it, “Of course, it would be wonderful if you can give me an exact number now, Senior Brother.”

Qiu Ran frowned at those words and studied Yang Kai. He did not know what Yang Kai was up to. Nonetheless, he was counting on Yang Kai to continue refining Spirit Pills for them in the future so for that reason, he needed to give Yang Kai some motivation. Thus, he nodded and said, “Fine. I will calculate it for you right now.”

“Many thanks, Senior Brother!” Yang Kai looked elated.

Qiu Ren said nothing to that. Taking out all the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills from the Space Ring, he placed them on the table in front of him. It was naturally impossible to store Emperor Grade Spirit Pills in ordinary bottles. Each Emperor Grade Spirit Pill was stored in a container of appropriate Attribute, which would ensure that their medicinal efficacies were not lost in short order. There were jade boxes, gold boxes, silver boxes, wooden boxes, and so on and so forth, covering a range of different types of Spirit Pills. Soon, the table was filled with containers. They were spread out over several layers and looked to be at least 200 to 300 in total.

Gao Xue Ting also came over, mainly because she had never seen so many Emperor Grade Spirit Pills in one place before. It was a very strange and rare sight. If they wanted to get any Emperor Grade Spirit Pills from the Temple, they had to ask an Alchemy Grandmaster to refine it for them. Not only did they need to collect their own materials, but they also needed to offer up a large sum as a reward. Sometimes, they might even have to wait in line when the Alchemist was busy.

To put it bluntly, the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that Yang Kai brought out were almost equal to the sum of the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that the Temple had acquired in the past five hundred years. Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting were both extremely happy and shocked inside but showed no signs of their emotions on their faces.

“There has never been such a precedent before, but Emperor Grade Spirit Pills are rare, so I will now convert them into Elder Contribution Points for you.” While speaking, Qiu Ran opened a wooden box with his hand and studied the Spirit Pill inside carefully. He nodded and said, “This pill can be categorized as Mid-Rank. After deducting the cost of the materials, I will price it at 800 Elder Contribution Points. Is that alright?”

Yang Kai did some swift calculations in his head. He once heard from Gao Xue Ting, You Kun, and the others that Elder Contribution Points were somewhat difficult to obtain at Azure Sun Temple and on average an Elder would acquire about 5,000 to 6,000 points at most. On the other hand, entering the Divine Ascension Mirror World required 2,000 points per entry.

Elder Contribution Points could be redeemed with Source Crystals but could only be redeemed up to 2,000 points per year, which was just enough to enter the Divine Ascension Mirror once. Moreover, the redemption ratio is 1:1,000. In other words, it took 1,000 High-Rank Source Crystals in exchange for 1 Elder Contribution Point. If one wanted more Elder Contribution Points, they could only help Azure Sun Temple out with various tasks. For example, Gao Xue Ting received some Elder Contribution Points when she led the team of disciples to the Four Seasons Realm.

If the 800 Elder Contribution Points were converted into High-Rank Source Crystals, it would be worth 800,000 High-Rank Source Crystals. Furthermore, that was after the deduction of the costs of materials. Since the materials for the Spirit Pills were provided by Azure Sun Temple, it was cheaper than if the materials had been bought from external sources. At any rate, Yang Kai was one of the Elders of Azure Sun Temple so it was a matter of course for it to be slightly below the market price.

Although Yang Kai could reluctantly accept the value given, he brazenly asked, “Could you give me a little more?”

Qiu Ran replied, “As the Vice Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, I am in charge of all matters concerning the Temple’s finances. All I ask for is fairness for all. If you feel that it is too little, you can ask Junior Sister Gao for her opinion.”

There was no need to ask as Yang Kai was well aware of the situation. Nevertheless, he said, “Won’t you make it 1,000 points? Let’s round it up to a whole number.”

“800!” Qiu Ran completely ignored Yang Kai. After saying that, he stuffed the jade box into his Space Ring without another word.

“Serves you right for failing to find a dual cultivation partner,” Yang Kai muttered under his breath in dissatisfaction.

“What did you say?” Qiu Ran looked up at Yang Kai.

“Nothing, nothing. Senior Brother Qiu, please do continue.”

Snorting, he picked up another jade box, opened it, and nodded with a smile, “An Emperor Grade High-Rank Spirit Pill. 1,000 Elder Contribution Points.” He stuffed the jade box into his Space Ring and picked up another one.

He briefly evaluated each jade box and swiftly determined the value in terms of Elder Contribution Points. A High-Rank Spirit Pill was valued at 1,000 Elder Contribution Points, a Mid-Rank Spirit Pill was 800 Elder Contribution Points, and a Low-Rank Spirit Pill was only 500 Elder Contribution Points. The numbers slowly added up. Yang Kai could feel a bubbling feeling of joy in his heart while, occasionally, he would explain the benefits of various Spirit Pills from his perspective as an Alchemy Grandmaster, the difficulties of refining a Spirit Pill, and how time-consuming the process was. It was all done in hopes of convincing Qiu Ran to give a higher valuation.

However, Qiu Ran was strict and impartial. He completely ignored Yang Kai, which made the latter so irritated that his teeth itched.

“Please wait, Senior Brother. Although this Spirit Pill is Mid-Rank, the pill fragrance is strong and the veins are clear. You can tell at a glance that it has almost reached the High Rank. Don’t you think it’s too unfair to only give it 800 points?” Yang Kai suddenly raised his hand.

Qiu Ran asked, “Then how much do you think should be given?”

Yang Kai replied in a serious tone, “Since it is between Mid-Rank and High-Rank, we can give a slight discount and value it at 900 points. This way, it’s a win-win solution for everybody, right?”

Qiu Ran chuckled softly and pushed the jade box in front of him to Yang Kai, “Junior Brother, your words make sense. Why don’t you help me evaluate the goods instead? That way, I can take a break.”

[I wish I could. But, what’s the point of evaluating it? I still need your approval anyway.] Thus, Yang Kai smiled and said, “What are you saying, Senior Brother? I’m just trying to explain the truth as it is. I don’t mean to overstep my boundaries.”

“Hmph!” Qiu Ran’s expression became frosty as he stuffed the jade box away, “700 points!”

“Wait!” Yang Kai was shocked, “Why did it become 700 points!? It was 800 points just now!”

“600!”

Yang Kai immediately stopped talking lest the price get lowered even further. Then, he turned to look at Gao Xue Ting for help, hoping that she would speak up on his behalf; however, this woman was actually looking up at the roof as though there were flowers growing there.

Yang Kai’s face twitched in response, and he secretly gritted his teeth. [You are both so ruthless! I wonder who it was that said ‘all he wanted was fairness’. All a bunch of lies! An abuse of authority!]

An hour later, Qiu Ran finished doing an inventory of the items and concluded, “The total comes to 156,300 Elder Contribution Points. Did I make a mistake in my calculations?”

“No!” Yang Kai lowered his head weakly. That number was identical to the one he had calculated in his head.

Gao Xue Ting expressionlessly murmured, “Congratulations, Junior Brother.”

Yang Kai snorted at those words. [I was oppressed and underpaid by this stingy Qiu Ran. What is there to be congratulated about?]

Nevertheless, if these 150,000 over Elder Contribution Points were converted into High-Rank Source Crystals, it would come up to more than 1.5 billion High-Rank Source Crystals. That was an extremely shocking number. There were many Elders in Azure Sun Temple, but nobody had managed to accumulate more than 10,000 Elder Contribution Points at once so far. Compared to those people, Yang Kai could be said to have become rich overnight.

Chapter 3227

Qiu Ran put all the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills away again. Stroking the beard on his chin, he pondered for a moment before asking, “Junior Brother, how do you intend to spend this vast amount of Elder Contribution Points?”

Having too many Elder Contribution Points was not a good thing. According to the rules, the Elder Contribution Points could be used to redeem anything and everything that could be redeemed in Azure Sun Temple. For example, various cultivation resources or advanced Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. However, Yang Kai had too many Elder Contribution Points, so many it frightened Qiu Ran. If he were to exchange them for materials, the treasure accumulated within the Temple’s storehouse would be greatly reduced all at once.

Naturally, that was not what Azure Sun Temple hoped to see. If Yang Kai were to completely exchange his Elder Contribution Points for supplies, then the other disciples would have to tighten their belts when cultivating for the next while.

Yang Kai had a plan in mind for a long time, so when he heard the question, he immediately replied, “Senior Brother, as you know, I have founded High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. I recently took in some disciples, but unfortunately, the foundation of High Heaven Palace is not broad enough and its heritage is insufficient. Therefore, I would like to ask the Temple to allow me to copy some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques to bring back. I don’t know if that is allowed. Of course, I can use my Elder Contribution Points in exchange for them.”

Qiu Ran said, “You are an Elder. It’s not a problem if you copy some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. As long as it’s not something especially important, you won’t need to use any Elder Contribution Points.”

[At least there’s something good out of this!] Yang Kai felt happy. [With how stingy Qiu Ran was with me just now, I thought he was intentionally targeting me. It looks like I misunderstood him.] 

Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, the more Secret Arts and Secret Techniques the better. I would also like to get some of the precious ones.”

Qiu Ran advised, “You can discuss this with Junior Brother Di. He is in charge of the Cultivation Technique Pavilion. He knows best what needs Elder Contribution Points and what doesn’t.”

The ‘Junior Brother Di’ Qiu Ran was referring to was none other than Di Rong. Yang Kai wasn’t as familiar with Di Rong as he was with Gao Xue Ting, but they could be considered friends who had drunk together and suffered punishments together. They were not strangers to each other.

“Good!” Yang Kai nodded.

“Is there anything else?” Qiu Ran looked up at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai said, “In addition, I want to borrow some manpower from the Temple.”

“Borrow some manpower?” Qiu Ran frowned, “What do you mean?”

Yang Kai explained, “The disciples I recently took in at High Heaven Palace don’t have very high cultivation, so they need someone to help guide their cultivation and answer questions they might have. Therefore, I would like to borrow some manpower from the Temple to serve as their teachers. Of course, I won’t be asking for free. I can use my Elder Contribution Points to offset their compensation.” This was the main purpose of his visit this time. The one hundred teachers from Fire Dragon Palace had been complaining for many days now, so he had to gather more manpower as soon as possible.

“Although there is no precedent for this, it shouldn’t be a problem. Junior Sister Gao, what do you think?” Qiu Ran turned to look at Gao Xue Ting.

Gao Xue Ting spoke up, “It’s not like it’s impossible. He isn’t an outsider after all; however, how many people do you want to borrow and what cultivation do they need to have, Junior Brother?”

“Two hundred people,” Yang Kai replied.

“En.”

“Dao Source Realm?”

*Puhh…* 

Qiu Ran had just taken a sip of tea and spurted it out upon hearing those words. He quickly put down his teacup and patted at the water stain on his chest. Looking at Yang Kai in amazement, he exclaimed, “Junior Brother, you want to borrow two hundred Dao Source Realm cultivators!?”

“You heard correctly, Senior Brother. I would like to borrow two hundred Dao Source Realm instructors.”

Gao Xue Ting was similarly astonished, “Why do you need so many Dao Source Realm disciples?” 

These people were going to High Heaven Palace to teach. Since they were teachers, it would definitely be one teacher to a group of students. If one teacher was to teach two hundred people, then two hundred teachers would be teaching forty thousand people. [High Heaven Palace has forty thousand disciples!?]

“Didn’t I tell you just now? I want them to be teachers.”

She frowned, “How many disciples did you recruit at High Heaven Palace?”

Yang Kai sniffed lightly, “More than a hundred thousand…”

Both Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting were completely stunned. They almost thought that they had misheard Yang Kai. Exchanging a glance with each other, Qiu Ran asked Gao Xue Ting using his Divine Sense, “How many did he say just now?”

Gao Xue Ting replied, “I heard him say more than a hundred thousand. What did you hear him say, Senior Brother?”

[So it really was more than a hundred thousand! We weren’t mistaken!] The corners of his brow twitched, “Why did you take in so many disciples!?” 

The key point to what Yang Kai had said was that these disciples’ cultivation was not high. The strength of a Sect did not lie in the number of disciples, but whether they had enough powerful Masters.

Azure Sun Temple only had about eight thousand disciples, but it was still one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory. On the other hand, High Heaven Palace had more than one hundred thousand disciples. [It’s more than a hundred thousand people! It’s not like they are a hundred thousand chickens. Can he even feed so many people!? Besides, what’s the point of taking care of a hundred thousand people with low cultivation!? There has never been any Sect with so many disciples before. It’s completely unseen and unheard of!]

“I had no choice,” Yang Kai smiled bitterly. It was inconvenient to explain the situation to others. It was enough if his own people knew about it. If people from Azure Sun Temple learnt that those disciples had been brought over from a Lower Star Field, Azure Sun Temple would surely try to snatch some of them.

[With more than a hundred thousand disciples, two hundred teachers really isn’t much…] Qiu Ran forcefully composed himself and asked, “Junior Brother, do you know how many Dao Source Realm Masters are in Azure Sun Temple?”

“No, I don’t.” Yang Kai shook his head. Although he was qualified to know, no one had told him before, so how could he have known about that?

“352.” Qiu Ran offered an extremely accurate number, “Leaving aside the disciples in the Dao Source Realm who oversee various properties, there are only 289 who remain in the Temple.” The implication behind his words was: ‘What is the Temple going to do if you take away two hundred Dao Source Realm disciples all at once!?’

Yang Kai nodded at those words, “289. The heritage of the Temple is truly not to be taken lightly. It’s perfectly capable of fulfilling my needs. I ask that you carry out my request, Senior Brother.”

Qiu Ran almost failed to stop himself from cursing. He even wondered if Yang Kai was doing this on purpose. Those 289 people in question had duties to perform in the Temple as well. They were not idlers with nothing to do. While deploying some people was not a problem, two hundred was simply too many. Besides, Qiu Ran was certain that Yang Kai was deliberately playing dumb despite being well aware of this point. Taking a deep breath, he stated, “Two hundred Dao Source Realm cultivators is impossible. I can lend you thirty at most.”

Yang Kai opened his eyes wide and said, “Thirty!? What am I going to do with thirty?” [Thirty is nowhere near enough people to fill in the gaps!]

“Take it or leave it.” Qiu Ran turned around and picked up his teacup. Just as he was about to take a sip, he suddenly remembered that he had just spat into his tea mere moments ago. Thus, he put it down again in anguish.

“Please don’t do this, Senior Brother. We are all one family aren’t we? We can talk things out. Is it because you don’t have the authority to decide on this matter? If you can’t make the call on this matter, I can always go and negotiate with the Temple Master instead.”

Qiu Ran shook his head, “It’s useless even if you approach the Temple Master over this matter.”

“Good, I’ll lower the amount I’m asking for. One hundred and eighty people.” Yang Kai took a step back.

Qiu Ran was expressionless, “Forty.”

“One hundred and seventy.”

“Fifty!”

“One hundred and sixty. That should work, right? Senior Brother, please don’t be so unreasonable. I’m only asking them to be teachers and they will be paid for their work. I won’t let them work for nothing.”

“Sixty!” Qiu Ran glanced sideways at Yang Kai, “It looks like High Heaven Palace is quite well off, Junior Brother. Not only can it feed more than a hundred thousand disciples, but it can also afford to pay salaries for two hundred Dao Source Realm teachers. Junior Brother, you truly are a capable man.”

“I am also living on a tight budget to support my Sect. Senior Brother, you are also somebody who is in charge of a Sect so I’m sure you can understand my pain. One hundred fifty. I really can’t go lower than that anymore.”

“It’s precisely because I understand how hard it is that I’m willing to be more considerate of you. Seventy people. I can’t go any higher than that.”

The two of them had a lively back-and-forth conversation, each responding to the other in quick succession. It was similar to haggling at the market, making Gao Xue Ting stare at them speechlessly. [The two of you are talking about tens to hundreds of disciples in the Dao Source Realm. Can you please be a little more serious about it?]

After a battle of wits and courage, Qiu Ran adamantly refused to budge from eighty people. He would not give even a single one more.

Yang Kai slapped the table furiously, “Senior Brother, don’t force my hand!”

Qiu Ran calmly adjusted his sleeves, “Calm down, Junior Brother. Giving you eighty Dao Source Realm disciples as teachers is really the Temple’s limit. How can you say that I am forcing your hand?”

“You really can’t give me more?” Yang Kai showed a fierce look as if he had a deep grudge against Qiu Ran.

Qiu Ran slowly shook his head.

“Fine.” Yang Kai pointed a finger at Qiu Ran, “Since that’s the case, I don’t want any teachers anymore. Not a single one.”

Qiu Ran was surprised by this declaration, but suddenly had an ominous premonition wash over him.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai spread his arms out, “Senior Brother, please convert all of my 150,000 plus Elder Contribution Points into High-Rank Source Crystals. I currently need to feed more than a hundred thousand disciples and we are sorely lacking in cultivation resources so we need to use Source Crystals to make up for that deficit. Please support me, Senior Brother.”

Qiu Ran’s expression instantly turned black and he had to struggle intensely to stop himself from cursing out loud. What he feared the most really came true. While he was calculating Yang Kai’s Elder Contribution Points before, he had felt that there were far too many of them, that was why he wanted Yang Kai to spend some of them. Unfortunately, he did not expect to arrive back at square one after taking such a big detour.

If all those Elder Contribution Points were to be converted into High-Rank Source Crystals, it would amount to over a billion High-Rank Source Crystals. It wasn’t that the Temple couldn’t afford such an expenditure, but what would happen after that? Besides, the Temple still needed to trouble Yang Kai to continue refining Emperor Grade Spirit Pills for them in the future. If he continued being stubborn here, it would only anger Yang Kai further and make things more difficult.

“Cough, cough…” Qiu Ran formed a fist and coughed into it, “Junior Brother, let’s not get agitated. I’m sure we can reach a middle ground. Aren’t we still in the process of negotiating?”

Yang Kai laughed. Leaning back into the chair, he crossed one leg over his knee and said, “One hundred forty teachers in the Dao Source Realm. Senior Brother, it’s up to you.”

Qiu Ran replied with a sour expression, “That’s too many.”

“Is that so? But, I don’t think it’s too many.” Yang Kai secretly thought to himself. [Li Jiao was really quite agreeable. I only needed to ask him to send some Dao Source Realm teachers over, and he arranged for it immediately. On the contrary, Azure Sun Temple is being so fussy about it. They are acting as if I’m trying to kidnap their people or something.]

“Please reduce it by a bit more.”

Yang Kai resolutely declared, “Senior Brother, please help me exchange my Elder Contribution Points for Source Crystals.”

Qui Ren’s expression darkened even more.

Unable to stand this farce any longer, Gao Xue Ting spoke up, “Why don’t we do this instead, Junior Brother Yang. One hundred Dao Source Realm disciples, plus three hundred Origin Kings. Since your disciples’ cultivation is not that high, the Origin Kings should be able to teach some of them too; after all, not everybody needs the guidance of a Dao Source Realm Master.”

Yang Kai glanced at her, knowing that she was right. In any case, a hundred Dao Source Realm instructors were not far off from his original estimations. The reason why he asked for two hundred people was so that Qiu Ran had room to bargain.

Three hundred Origin Kings was quite a large number, and if Yang Kai divided them among all the Spirit Peaks, he would have two to three per Spirit Peak. Although some of those who came from the Star Field were also Origin Kings, they had their hands full with their own cultivation at the moment and did not have the time to guide others. Therefore, the current situation at High Heaven Palace would surely improve with the help of these four hundred additional teachers.

Still, Yang Kai pretended to consider it for a long time before saying, “Since Senior Sister Gao has spoken, then I will back down out of respect for her. However, the number of Origin Kings is a little lacking. Let’s increase it to four hundred instead.” After saying that, he glanced at Qiu Ran.

Qiu Ran gritted his teeth and snarled, “Fine!” [He backs down in respect for her, but not for me? How outrageous!]

Yang Kai immediately broke into a grin and cupped his fists, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Qiu.”

Chapter 3228

Now that the matter had been finalized, Yang Kai didn’t want to drag things out any longer so he urged, “This matter is urgent. Senior Brother, please choose the suitable candidates for this task as soon as possible.”

Qiu Ran raised his hand and said, “There’s no hurry.”

Yang Kai exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Brother, don’t tell me you are going back on your word?”

Qiu Ran snorted, “How can I go back on my word after making a promise with you? But, I’ve already mentioned this before; there is no precedent to this matter. Let me ask you this. How many Elder Contribution Points should be used each month in exchange for each Dao Source Realm disciple that you want to borrow?”

Yang Kai suddenly became alert, “Senior Brother, don’t you dare try to ask for more than is reasonable!”

Qiu Ran replied, “I can’t decide on this matter alone. I will need to gather the Elders to discuss this matter and come up with a suitable plan. I also need to inform the Temple Master about this.”

[Fair enough.] Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai nodded in agreement, “That makes sense.”

Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting immediately took out their respective communication artifacts and notified the other Elders of Azure Sun Temple. Not long after that, several figures flew in from the outside, all of whom were familiar faces. They were the Elders of Azure Sun Temple, including the newly promoted Elders, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao.

The disciples of Azure Sun Temple were eligible to become an Elder as long as they reached the Emperor Realm. Although it could be said that it was just a title that came with no real authority, an Elder was still an Elder. Their status was completely different from that of a disciple and the treatment they received was different too.

Yang Kai greeted each of them with a bow. Xiao Bai Yi was as cold and aloof as usual, a man of few words. On the other hand, Murong Xiao Xiao smiled brightly and approached Yang Kai to chat.

Yang Kai asked about Xia Sheng and learned that he was still guarding Spirit Lake Palace and rarely returned to Azure Sun Temple.

“Senior Brother Xia mentioned that he is greatly indebted to you for what happened last time. If he has the chance, he wants to invite you to Spirit Lake Palace for a drink.”

“What happened last time…” Yang Kai was lost for a moment but quickly realized that Murong Xiao Xaio was referring to the incident at the Southern Swamp where the Demon Cave was encountered. The Palace Master of Hundred Flowers Palace, Hua Yu Lu, was a friend of Xia Sheng. At the time, Xia Sheng had entrusted Hua Yu Lu to Yang Kai. Fortunately, Yang Kai lived up to Xia Sheng’s expectations, and nothing happened to Hua Yu Lu.

Yang Kai just smiled and waved his hand dismissively, “It’s nothing. He doesn’t need to feel indebted to me.”

At that moment, Qiu Ran stood up. The entire hall fell silent as everybody turned to look at him. He spoke with a helpless expression, “The Temple Master said he couldn’t come, so he left it to us to discuss and resolve this matter.” 

Logically speaking, a matter involving hundreds of disciples in the Dao Source Realm was no trivial matter and Wen Zi Shan should have been present for it. Unfortunately, he was an extremely lazy person and generally paid no attention to the affairs of the Sect, leaving everything to Qiu Ran. Therefore, it was no surprise that he was absent today too.

Everybody seemed to have expected this outcome. You Kun even declared forcefully, “Who cares if the Temple Master doesn’t want to come? It won’t make a difference whether he is here or not. We might as well discuss it on our own.”

No Elder of any other Sect would speak of their own Temple Master in such a manner. Azure Sun Temple was the only exception. It was the perfect example of what it meant by the saying ‘the apple didn’t fall far from the tree’.

Everybody else nodded in agreement while Qiu Ran looked heartbroken, secretly cursing in his heart, [This isn’t right!]

Nothing else was said as everybody took their respective seats. On the other hand, Yang Kai looked around and cupped his fists, “Then, I will take my leave.”

Qiu Ran quickly stated, “This matter is about you. There’s no need to leave. Sit down and listen.”

[Ha… I can’t leave,] Yang Kai turned around and sat back down. He was similar to Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao. They were Elders in name and not authority; however, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were actual Elders of Azure Sun Temple while he was just a High-Rank Guest Elder. For that reason, his seat was placed at the back, right next to Murong Xiao Xiao, even though he made significant contributions to the Temple.

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao would not have been qualified to participate in discussions like these yet, mainly because they were still inexperienced. Nevertheless, the reason they were called here today was to listen and prepare themselves for the future; after all, it was only a matter of time before they held great authority within the Temple and decided on matters pertaining to the disciples’ future.

Qiu Ran cleared his throat. First, he talked about how Yang Kai had brought a large number of Emperor Grade Spirit Pills and received a correspondingly large amount of Elder Contribution Points in exchange. It made all the Elders in the hall study Yang Kai in surprise. They also had envious expressions on their faces. 

[More than 150,000 Elder Contribution Points…] 

That was a number that had never been seen before. Even if they entered the Divine Ascension Mirror World once a year, they would only need to spend 2,000 points a year. His Elder Contribution Points of more than 150,000 were enough to last him for sixty to seventy years.

However, there was no point in feeling envious. Emperor Grade Spirit Pills were not something just anybody could refine. It simply strengthened their belief that Emperor Grade Alchemists were capable of making a fortune. [He obtained 150,000 Elder Contribution Points out of nowhere, just like that. How long will it take for him to spend them all?]

Meanwhile, Yang Kai sat there in an easy-going manner, his expression calm and indifferent. Unbeknownst to them, the truth was that he was having a secret conversation with Murong Xiao Xiao via Divine Sense transmission.

After the amazement wore off, somebody immediately thought of the concerns that Qiu Ran had previously been worried about and questioned how Yang Kai planned to spend his Elder Contribution Points.

In response, Qiu Ran explained Yang Kai’s wish to borrow one hundred Dao Source Realm and four hundred Origin King disciples from the Temple. The results had already been negotiated and decided upon. Seeing that he had finalized the decision, the others had nothing much to say about it either. What they wanted to discuss at present was how many Elder Contribution Points those five hundred people should earn as a salary each month. Luckily, Yang Kai was not an outsider. Everybody maintained a fair and impartial stance when discussing this matter, and they soon came to an agreement in less than an hour.

Yang Kai was required to pay 10 Elder Contribution Points per Dao Source Realm per month and 3 per Origin King per month. A quick calculation showed that he had to pay a total of 2,200 Elder Contribution Points per month or 26,400 Elder Contribution Points per year. With more than 150,000 Elder Contribution Points, he had enough to last for almost six years. This result was within his ability to bear, so he had no objections to it when Qiu Ran asked. In that way, the decision was finalized immediately.

Six years should be more or less enough time for those disciples from the Star Field to become familiar with the Star Boundary. It should also be enough time for some of those in the Origin King Realm to advance into the Dao Source Realm. By having the experienced ones guide the inexperienced ones and imparting their cultivation knowledge to those below them, it would eventually form a virtuous cycle.

What’s more, he could just ask Ji Ying to produce more Emperor Grade Spirit Pills for him to exchange for more Elder Contribution Points if he ran low; therefore, it was nothing to him.

“It’s rare for us to get together like this, so let’s discuss the matter regarding the Southern Territory Martial Gathering that will be held next month.” Qiu Ran took a few sips of tea from his teacup, placed it down, and continued, “The Southern Territory Martial Gathering was originally held every five years. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, certain events occurred several years back. Demon Caves appeared and numerous Demon Spirits were revived, which left everyone living in fear. All this time, our fellow cultivators in the Southern Territory have been hunting down and killing those Demon Spirits who escaped. As a result, the Martial Gathering has been delayed for several years. Now that the dust has finally settled, we cannot be careless about the Martial Gathering that is finally being held again after more than a decade.”

“Martial Gathering? What Martial Gathering?” Yang Kai turned to look at Murong Xiao Xiao and asked via Divine Sense.

Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “It’s a tradition in the Southern Territory that is held every five years. It is jointly organized by Azure Sun Temple, Orthodoxy Temple, and Heavenly Martial Holy Land. These three Sects jointly fund the event and arrange for various valuable prizes. Star Soul Palace will also present some gifts. All the cultivators in the Southern Territory below the Emperor Realm are eligible to participate in the event. It is categorized into three levels, namely the Dao Source Realm, the Origin King Realm, and the Origin Returning Realm, where the younger generation competes for rankings. There are both individual rankings and Sect rankings. The prizes will be handed out according to the rankings. It is also a means for the Sects and Families to test the results of their disciples’ cultivation. In any case, every Sect attaches great importance to this event, especially the top three Sects in the Southern Territory. Nobody is willing to rank poorly; therefore, every Martial Gathering is very lively as many Masters gather around.”

“Wow! There’s something like that?” Yang Kai was surprised.

She pursed her lips and said with a smile, “Senior Brother, you have not been in the Southern Territory for long, so it’s only natural that you have never heard of it. The last Martial Gathering was hosted by Azure Sun Temple. I, Senior Brother Xia, and Senior Brother Xiao all participated in that competition.”

“How were the results?” He asked with interest.

Murong Xiao Xiao answered shyly, “Azure Sun Temple ranked slightly higher than the other two top Sects in the Sect ranking. In the individual rankings, Senior Brother Xia lost to Wu Chang by a slight margin, coming in second. On the other hand, I only made the top ten.”

Yang Kai comforted her, “Victory and defeat are part of life. Don’t mind it, Junior Sister.”

“The three Sects take turns hosting the Martial Gathering. Last time, it was us. This time, it seems like it’s Orthodoxy Temple’s turn.”

“By the way, Senior Brother Qiu mentioned that the Southern Territory has been hunting down Demon Spirits in recent years. What’s the current situation?” Yang Kai was very familiar with the Demon Spirits. He, Hua Yu Lu, and others could be said to be the culprits of the entire incident. During their trip to the Southern Swamp, a Demon Cave had appeared. Gong Yue, the former Patriarch of the Gong Family from the Heavenly River Valley was taken over by a Demon Spirit, succumbed to demonification, snuck into Azure Sun Temple, and opened another Demon Cave, releasing thousands of Demon Spirits.

It was just that Yang Kai had been anxious to find Zhu Qing and went to Frozen Earth in search of her right at the beginning of that incident. He had then gone through an arduous journey just to return not long ago. More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and Yang Kai had lost track of how this situation had played out afterwards. Besides, Star Soul Palace was leading the efforts to eradicate the Demons, so there was nothing for him to worry about with them in charge.

When Murong Xiao Xiao heard his question about the Demon Spirits, she couldn’t help turning pale in response as if recalling something extremely horrifying as she whispered, “Many people died.”

Demon Spirits were difficult to guard against. They were invisible and nearly impossible to track. It was something Yang Kai had experienced personally back then. Gong Yue’s cultivation was not weak, but even so, a Demon Spirit managed to invade his body without any warning whatsoever and corrupt his mind. The most frightening thing was that Gong Yue had succumbed to it without realizing anything was wrong. The Demon Spirit had distorted his heart and mind so that he would release thousands of Demon Spirits and bring chaos into the world even if he had to die at the hands of Azure Sun Temple.

Murong Xiao Xiao claimed that a lot of people died, which probably meant that the death count was truly horrendous. It was hard to imagine the situation in the Southern Territory for the past ten years.

At that moment, Qiu Ran announced loudly, “If that’s the case, this matter is settled. I will stay and guard the Temple while this trip will be led by the Temple Master himself. The accompanying Elders are as follows… Luo Chen!”

A fair and baby-faced man stood up in response, cupping his fist and shouting, “Yes!”

Yang Kai murmured in surprise, “The Temple Master himself will be going? Isn’t that honouring Orthodoxy Temple a little too much?”

Although the Southern Territory Martial Gathering was not small in scale, it only involved those below the Emperor Realm. Yang Kai initially thought that only a few Elders would lead the delegation, so who could have known that even Wen Zi Shan himself would attend?

Murong Xiao Xiao smiled and replied, “Star Soul Palace will send someone over every time the Martial Gathering is held, so the Temple Master is simply going for the sake of formality.”

“I see.” Yang Kai nodded lightly. [It’s not out of respect for Orthodoxy Temple, but for Star Soul Palace. That explains everything; after all, even the people from Star Soul Palace are attending. It will be outrageous if Wen Zi Shan doesn’t attend. It’s just a formality anyway. It’s no big deal.]

Qiu Ran called out again, “Gao Xue Ting!”

“Yes!” Gao Xue Ting stood up and bowed with her hand on her chest.

“Xiao Bai Yi!”

“Yes!”

Chapter 3229

“Murong Xiao Xiao!”

“Here!”

“Yang Kai!” Qiu Ran looked at Yang Kai, along with the various gazes of other people, stunning him as he pointed at himself and asked, “I’m going too?”

Qiu Ran was sour-faced as he asked, “Were you not listening during our discussion just now?”

How could Yang Kai have heard anything? He had been chatting away with Murong Xiao Xiao. Azure Sun Temple probably sent Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao to give them some experience. Although they had participated in the Martial Gathering before, they had participated as disciples. Now that they were Elders, the situation was no longer the same. Sending them out would allow them to gain more experience and get to mingle with those from other Sects. That way, they would not be caught unprepared should a situation arise where they needed to lead a team in the future.

[But, why do I have to go along with them?] Including Yang Kai, Qiu Ran had named a total of five people. [It’s an event for those below the Emperor Realm. Is there a need for five Elders in the Emperor Realm to lead the delegation? Aren’t they making a big deal out of nothing?]

High Heaven Palace was still facing many issues at the moment, and the disciples had yet to be completely settled in. Hence, Yang Kai was reluctant to join the Southern Territory Martial Gathering. He pondered for a moment and said, “Senior Brother, please forgive me. Unfortunately, I have something else…”

Gao Xue Ting cut in, “Don’t forget that you are also an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. It’s bad enough that you didn’t bother showing your face around here for so many years. You should go on this trip if you can make it; otherwise, people might forget that an Elder like you even exists in Azure Sun Temple.”

Emperor Realm Masters were the cornerstones of a Sect. They were a stabilizing force and a measure of influence. Thus, the number of Emperor Realm Masters in a Sect was directly related to the Sect’s standing in the world. One more or one less would make a huge difference.

Gao Xue Ting obviously meant that he should make an appearance more frequently to remind others about the existence of an Emperor Realm Master like him in Azure Sun Temple.

Having this pointed out, Yang Kai could only nod in agreement, “Alright then. I will go on this trip.”

You Kun laughed loudly, “Junior Brother, don’t look so displeased. You should know that the Martial Gathering is where many Emperor Realm Masters from many Sects will gather. There will be various meetings and auctions held in private. You might even stumble across a cheap and rare find if you go. Why else do you think the Temple sends so many Elders there?”

Although that was certainly an aspect to be considered, Yang Kai was a relatively wealthy person who could afford to feed more than a hundred thousand disciples, so why would he need to stumble across a cheap and rare find? Nevertheless, he smiled and nodded, “Good, it is as Senior Brother says.”

“Then, this matter is settled. You may leave to start your preparations early. We will set off in one month.”

After finalizing several matters, everybody began to disperse.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai stopped Di Rong to inform him that he wanted to visit the Cultivation Technique Pavilion to copy some Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. Di Rong naturally agreed to the request and personally led Yang Kai there.

After working hard for the entire day and forking out some Elder Contribution Points, Yang Kai left the Cultivation Technique Pavilion feeling satisfied. He was in no hurry to leave though and instead called on several Elders that he was more familiar with and hosted a banquet on Spirit Sword Peak.

He did not dare to invite Gao Xue Ting over of course. It wasn’t that he was disrespecting her, but after the drunken debacle last time, Yang Kai had been left traumatised. That woman was usually pretty upright and magnanimous, but she became a different person when she was drunk. It was an unbearable sight to behold.

After what happened last time, Qiu Ran even punished all the Elders involved by deducting a large sum of Elder Contribution Points. Only Yang Kai had gotten away scot-free since it was his first offence. How could he dare to invite her again after that? Yet for some reason, Gao Xue Ting showed up and sat down at the table. Everybody looked at each other and kept all the wine away in tacit agreement; thus, that meal was a rather bland affair.

Yang Kai remained in Azure Sun Temple for two more days, and on the third day, one hundred Dao Source Realm and four hundred Origin King Realm disciples gathered on Spirit Sword Peak to report for duty. When Yang Kai appeared before them, a loud mixture of voices greeted him as the disciples bowed respectfully, “Greetings, Elder Yang.”

He swept his Divine Sense over them and clasped his hands behind his back, nodding in satisfaction. All five hundred of them were lively and spirited. In terms of cultivation, the Temple had done a thorough job selecting them. Whether they were men or women, each one of them was an elite. Rather, it should be said that the aptitude of the cultivators taken in by Azure Sun Temple was excellent to begin with.

Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting stood to the side, and after Yang Kai gave his greetings, he turned to the five hundred disciples and said, “I’m sure you’ve heard from the Vice Temple Master about this matter. I am inviting you to High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory to become teachers. I hope you will do your best in your task and know that I will not allow your services to go unrewarded.”

“Yes, sir!” Everyone promised.

Yang Kai turned his head to the side, “Do Senior Brother Qiu or Senior Sister Gao have anything to say?”

Qiu Ran stepped forward, “No matter what you are about to see later, you will take it with you to your graves. You are not even allowed to tell your fellow Sect members. If you are caught leaking information to others, you will not be forgiven.”

“Yes!” The group of disciples couldn’t help feeling suspicious. Why would Qiu Ran give them a warning like that?

On the other hand, Yang Kai knew that it must have something to do with the Cross-Territory Space Array. It seemed that the Temple valued this Cross-Territory Space Array more than he thought and were trying to keep it a secret. Yang Kai, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about the matter as it had already been exposed after all. In any case, it would not work unless he activated it himself or they had one of his Transmission Tokens. Otherwise, nobody could even think about activating it.

“Let’s go!” Qiu Ran waved his hand, leading the way. The rest followed behind him and it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the cave at the back of the mountain. Yang Kai made all five hundred disciples enter the cave in groups of ten and stand atop the Space Array. There was no other choice as the space within the cave was too small, and the scale of the Space Array he arranged was not large enough. Teleporting ten people at a time was the limit.

Qiu Ran and Gao Xue Ting watched eagerly from the side. It was clear that they wanted to get a good look at how the Space Array worked. Yang Kai found it amusing and did not try to hide anything from them. Instead, he asked Gao Xue Ting to take out the token he gave her and actively taught her how to activate the Space Array.

Five hundred was neither many nor few, so it took just less than an hour to teleport all of them. When Yang Kai appeared in High Heaven Palace with the last group of people, the great hall was already full of people. Gao Xue Ting had also followed along. Not everyone could get the chance to teleport from the Southern Territory to the Northern Territory in an instant. Besides, she was very curious about the High Heaven Palace that Yang Kai had established. She wanted to come and take a look at the place in person.

Upon receiving the news, Hua Qing Si hurried over to greet Gao Xue Ting with Bian Yu Qing in tow. The two parties got together and talked for a moment before Hua Qing Si led the five hundred teachers away with her. They would soon be assigned to Spirit Peaks to alleviate the pressure on those teachers from Fire Dragon Palace.

Meanwhile, Gao Xue Ting did not leave immediately. Since she was already here, she decided to have a tour of the place. Yang Kai personally accompanied her and led her around High Heaven Palace. Although she seemed calm on the surface, she was shocked to the core inside. There were two main reasons. Firstly, the number of disciples in High Heaven Palace was exactly as Yang Kai had described, more than a hundred thousand in total. People were bustling about on every single Spirit Peak. It was hard to imagine where he managed to recruit so many people.

Secondly, she was shocked by the number of Masters inside High Heaven Palace. She could distinctly sense the aura of many Emperors, two or three among them were even in the Third Order. It was just that their auras were different from ordinary Humans. Their Monster Qi was extremely dense, clearly indicating they were Monster Kings.

She knew that Yang Kai had Monster Kings working under him as back when he brought Ying Fei to the Southern Territory, it had caused quite a commotion. She was just surprised to see that he had more than one Monster King working under him. Aside from those Monster Kings, the Head Manager and Second Manager that she met previously were both Emperors. Moreover, there were some other Emperor Realm Masters concealed on other Spirit Peaks too.

High Heaven Palace’s heritage was clearly not something a newly established Sect should have. If it truly managed to train and raise all its disciples, who else but the Great Emperor Sects could compare to them?

Moreover, there were many natural Spirit Arrays in this place. She might not be proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, but she was at least capable of identifying them. The Spirit Arrays covering the Spirit Peaks were extremely exquisite and were clearly arranged by a Grandmaster.

Curious, she questioned Yang Kai about it only to learn that he had an Emperor Array Master working under him! She was so shocked that her jaw unconsciously dropped. It would be interesting to see her reaction when she learnt that there was also an Emperor Artifact Refiner and an Emperor Alchemist working in this place as well. In particular, that Emperor Alchemist was a Legacy Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor.

Gao Xue Ting stayed in High Heaven Palace for two days before leaving. She had to admit that what she saw during her stay here had shocked her greatly. She initially thought that it was a ridiculous notion and waste of time for Yang Kai to establish his own Sect; thus, she had persuaded him to give up on his Sect and remain in the Temple instead. But now it seemed that she had been ignorant back then. High Heaven Palace was in no way inferior to Azure Sun Temple. Furthermore, being an Elder at Azure Sun Temple could not compare to the status of being the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace.

When Yang Kai saw her to the Space Array, Gao Xue Ting suddenly turned around and told him, “Junior Brother, I’ve thought about it. Since High Heaven Palace and Azure Sun Temple are connected by a Space Array, it’s convenient to travel back and forth between both places. Why don’t we exchange goods and supplies? If you can send the specialties of the Northern Territory to the Southern Territory, and vice versa, I’m sure we can profit by a large margin.”

Yang Kai sneered in his heart. [I’ve been doing this for a long time. I don’t need you to advise me.] 

Nevertheless, cooperating with Azure Sun Temple wouldn’t hurt since the existence of his Space Array had been exposed. Although Violet Source Chamber of Commerce was good, the Azure Sun Temple was not weak either. The ability of Azure Sun Temple to collect materials would not be too inferior.

Thus, he nodded, “I was planning to discuss this matter with Senior Brother Qiu. When you get back, you can briefly inform him about it and, if the Temple is interested, I’d be happy to cooperate.”

“Senior Brother Qiu will definitely agree to a cooperation.” Gao Xue Ting said, knowing Qiu Ran had no reason to refuse a win-win situation, “You should return to the Temple as soon as possible once you finish settling matters here. Then, you can discuss it with Senior Brother yourself.”

“I got it.”

She then warned, “You better not be late. Don’t forget about the Martial Gathering.”

“I know. I know.”

She glared at him before activating the Space Array and leaving. After watching Gao Xue Ting leave, Yang Kai turned around to leave, but to his surprise, the Space Array behind him rippled and when he glanced behind him, he saw a new figure standing there.

“Brother Li.” Yang Kai grinned. The person standing there was none other than Li Jiao who had probably come through the Space Array in Fire Dragon Palace. The two Sects were not that far apart, so there were no side-effects from the teleportation and Li Jiao was able to respond immediately upon hearing Yang Kai’s voice, “Brother Yang.”

“How did it go?” Yang Kai asked.

Li Jiao sighed in response, “I have done as you asked, but Mi Qi was unwilling to accept your suggestion.”

Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “Unwilling? That’s good. Very good!”

Li Jiao smiled bitterly. How could he not understand what Yang Kai meant? He had tried to persuade Mi Qi before so as not to give Yang Kai an excuse to make an example out of the latter. Unfortunately, persuasion was completely useless when it came to something like that. If Li Jiao had said any more, the situation would have turned hostile immediately so he just sighed again. 

[Things are going to get very rough for Mi Qi soon. I hope Yang Kai doesn’t go overboard.]

Chapter 3230

“Brother Li, you must be tired from the long journey. Why don’t you go back to Fire Dragon Palace to rest? I will take care of the rest.”

Li Jiao felt a little grateful to hear those words. He knew that Yang Kai was not planning on bringing him to Full Sky Sect out of consideration for his friendship with Mi Qi; otherwise, he could not justify standing by the sidelines and watching Yang Kai attack Mi Qi. Nevertheless, Li Jiao cupped his fists and spoke up after considering it carefully, “Many thanks for your concern, Brother Yang, but although I may not be of much help, I would still like to accompany you.” 

His friendship with Mi Qi wasn’t that deep to begin with, and after their last encounter, it had completely fallen apart. In the future, Fire Dragon Palace would need to depend on High Heaven Palace if it wanted to strengthen its position in the Northern Territory; therefore, it was best if Li Jiao took a firm stance now. Besides, how could his life and death relationship with Yang Kai compare with his casual friendship with Mi Qi? It was easy to distinguish which one was more important and more meaningful.

Yang Kai glanced at Li Jiao and smiled, “It would be impolite for me to refuse your kind intentions, Brother Li. Wait a moment, I will gather some people. Please join me when I leave for Full Sky Sect later.”

“Good,” Li Jiao nodded.

Then, Yang Kai left.

Standing on the spot and pondering for a while, Li Jiao said something to Bian Yu Qing, who was standing to the side, then turned around, stepped onto the Space Array again, and disappeared.

A short while later, several figures rushed over speedily and landed in the hall. Yang Kai glanced around and did not see Li Jiao anywhere. Surprised, he asked, “Where did he go?”

Bian Yu Qing replied, “Palace Master Li said that he is going back to Fire Dragon Palace to gather some more people to cheer you on, Palace Master.”

“How thoughtful of him,” Yang Kai smiled and glanced back at the three figures behind him. They were none other than the three Monster Kings.

Although the number of disciples in High Heaven Palace exceeded a hundred thousand now, and there were many Emperor Real Masters among them, the only ones that could actually fight were the three Monster Kings.

Hua Qing Si, the Head Manager, was not suitable for fighting and killing as it would be a disaster if something unexpected happened to her. Bian Yu Qing was the Second Manager and was currently guarding the Space Array and could not leave her post either. The rest included Ji Ying, Nanmen Da Jun, and Hou Yu, who while being Emperor Realm Masters, were not good at combat. They were only capable of producing excellent results in their respective craftsmanship fields. It was not suitable to bring them out with him on this occasion. Ye Hen might have broken through to the First-Order Emperor Realm, but it would not matter much whether he came along or not when it came to something like this. Thus, Yang Kai decided against bringing Ye Hen with him. It was enough to have the three Monster Kings follow him.

He was just about to set off with Ying Fei and the others when he heard the sound of clothes fluttering behind him and the sound of something speeding through the air so quickly that it cut through the wind. Turning back, he saw Liu Yan standing at the door of the hall, pouting as she glared at him angrily.

[How could I have forgotten about her?] He slapped his head and beckoned to her, indicating for her to come over. Only then did she break out into a smile. She picked up her skirt with one hand, skipped over to him, and held one of his large hands.

Subsequently, the five of them stepped onto the Space Array and disappeared in a flash of light.

In the meantime, Li Jiao was working efficiently inside Fire Dragon Palace. Under his command, eight Emperor Realm Masters and two hundred Dao Source Realm disciples had gathered together, standing just outside the Space Array and waiting.

Chang Sheng, the Vice Palace Master, was in a dishevelled state. His clothes were in disarray, and his hair was a mess. He looked like he had just crawled out of bed. He was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, so he did not need any sleep; however, it was easy to guess what he had been doing just by looking at the distinct ‘marks’ on his face. While straightening his clothes, he asked puzzledly, “Palace Master, where are we going?”

[Why have we gathered in front of this Space Array? And, a Space Array connecting directly to High Heaven Palace at that. We can’t be attacking High Heaven Palace, right?] Many people were frightened by the speculation in their hearts.

High Heaven Palace was not to be trifled with. Who in the Northern Territory did not know about the three Monster Kings in High Heaven Palace? Furthermore, there was a Sect Defending Array arranged by the Emperor Array Master, Nanmen Da Jun. With just these few people from Fire Dragon Palace, they would definitely not come out victorious. Seeking Passion Sect was a lesson to be learnt from. Fire Dragon Palace was no better than Seeking Passion Sect in any way.

“Why are you asking so many questions? You’ll know when the time is right,” Li Jiao snorted coldly. He deliberately refused to give them a clear explanation because many of the Emperor Realm Masters in the Northern Territory had connections with each other. The Elders of his Sect, who were in the Emperor Realm, that had gathered here were friendly with many of the Elders from Full Sky Sect, so Li Jiao was worried that information might leak to the enemy as a result if he explained the situation to them at this time.

Chang Sheng looked sheepish after being rebuked and did not dare to say anything more.

A brilliant light flashed suddenly, and five figures appeared on top of the Space Array. Before they could identify who these newcomers were, a terrifying wave of Monster Qi spread out across the surroundings. It horrified the people of Fire Dragon Palace and caused their expressions to change drastically. Upon a closer look, they realized that it was Yang Kai; thus, their expressions turned serious and they secretly let out a sigh of relief. [It looks like the Palace Master isn’t going to attack High Heaven Palace. That’s good, that’s good]

Looking at the three figures standing next to Yang Kai, the Fire Dragon Palace members couldn’t help feeling surprised. Although they had never met these people before, they could guess from the Monster Qi that these three were none other than the famous Monster Kings.

However, there was also a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl that looked like she was a statue carved out of the finest jade accompanying this group. Her presence and identity confused them greatly. [Could this little girl be Yang Kai’s daughter? But, we’ve never heard of him having a daughter with anybody. No way; is she his illegitimate daughter?] 

Many glanced at each other with strange expressions.

“Brother Yang!” Li Jiao cupped his fists.

Everybody else followed suit and greeted, “Greetings, Palace Master Yang.”

Yang Kai swept his gaze over them and immediately felt his spirits lifting, “An impressive army!” 

Excluding Li Jiao, there were eight other Emperors and two hundred Dao Source Realm Masters. Going by the situation back at Azure Sun Temple, Li Jiao had most likely deployed all the cultivators in Fire Dragon Palace that were in the Dao Source Realm and above.

Li Jiao smiled, “Brother Yang, I can gather more people if you think that this is not enough. But, their strength…”

“No need,” Yang Kai had not planned to bring many people with him in the first place. The fact that Li Jiao could mobilize so many Masters under his command to help out was already a pleasant surprise in itself. Gathering more would only be superfluous. Why would he want people who were weak?

“En… Shall we set off then?” Li Jiao asked.

Yang Kai nodded in response.

“Move out!” Li Jiao shouted and flew into the air, the others following behind him.

The flight speed between an Emperor Realm Master and a Dao Source Realm Master was vastly different, with the former undoubtedly being much faster. In consideration of those Dao Source Realm cultivators, the Emperors swiftly summoned their flight type artifacts and allowed the others to board and ride along together with them.

In an instant, all kinds of flight type artifacts, such as flying boats, flying swords, flying shuttles, and flying chariots, turned into streams of light that flashed across the sky like a meteor shower. Similarly, Yang Kai summoned his Flowing Clouds Shuttle and led the three Monster Kings and Liu Yan inside. Then, he followed behind Li Jiao and headed in the direction of Full Sky Sect.

Full Sky Sect was quite far from Fire Dragon Palace, so despite flying non-stop for two whole days, Yang Kai’s group had yet to reach their destination. Nevertheless, the Emperor Realm Masters of Fire Dragon Palace seemed to have noticed some clues by now. No matter how they thought about it, their flight route seemed to be heading for Full Sky Sect. Many of them had been to Full Sky Sect before, so they could not be mistaken about the direction. After communicating with each other via Divine Sense, they felt extremely apprehensive and pushed Chang Sheng to raise the question.

Chang Sheng did not refuse this duty. He was the Vice Palace Master of Fire Dragon Palace, so it was only natural that such responsibilities would fall on his shoulders. As such, he flew over and landed on Li Jiao’s flying artifact. Cupping his fists, he bowed and asked, “Palace Master, are we going to Full Sky Sect?”

“Yes.”

He was astonished, “Palace Master, may I know why we are heading there?”

Li Jiao replied, “To help Palace Master Yang subdue Full Sky Sect.” At this time, there was no point trying to hide it anymore. He would need their strength later after all so he did not want them falling into confusion when the moment arrived.

“Ah!” Chang Sheng panicked and exclaimed anxiously, “Palace Master, please rethink your decision. We can’t do this!”

“Why not?” Li Jiao looked at Chang Sheng expressionlessly.

Chang Sheng explained, “High Heaven Palace rose to power very quickly. A few years ago, its reputation spread far and wide because it destroyed the Seeking Passion Sect. Their prestige might have gone down a bit since they have been silent for the past few years, but if we assist High Heaven Palace in conquering Full Sky Sect, High Heaven Palace will become the number one Sect in the Northern Territory!”

“And? What of it?” Li Jiao thought to himself. [Even if High Heaven Palace doesn’t subdue Full Sky Sect, its current heritage is still unrivalled by the other Sects.]

Chang Sheng looked solemn, “Palace Master, may I ask how Fire Dragon Palace compares to High Heaven Palace?”

“We are inferior!” Li Jiao spoke the truth. He had seen Yang Kai’s ability with his own eyes. He even suspected that Yang Kai alone could wipe out Fire Dragon Palace. Needless to say, Fire Dragon Palace was greatly inferior. Besides, there were also the three Monster Kings.

“Indeed, we are inferior. Fire Dragon Palace is already no match for High Heaven Palace, so what would happen to Fire Dragon Palace’s standing in the Northern Territory if High Heaven Palace were to subdue Full Sky Sect? Seeing as we are so dependent on them, Fire Dragon Palace will not be safe any longer.”

Li Jiao looked at Chang Sheng and asked seriously, “In your opinion, what should we do instead?”

Chang Sheng solemnly answered, “We should cooperate with Full Sky Sect to resist High Heaven Palace. If two top Sects join forces, I’m sure even we can match High Heaven Palace in strength. At least, we can prevent one Sect from dominating the entire Northern Territory.”

Li Jiao simply looked at Chang Sheng without saying anything.

Chang Sheng was a little baffled by Li Jiao’s response, “Did I say something wrong?”

Li Jiao patted Chang Sheng on the shoulder and sighed, “I don’t blame you for having that mindset. It’s Human nature after all. It’s just… there are many things you don’t understand.”

Putting aside the fact that Yang Kai had saved him on multiple occasions, Li Jiao was personally not willing to make an enemy of Yang Kai. [Who says we can win against High Heaven Palace if we join hands with Full Sky Sect? That’s impossible. Yang Kai has the backing of the Dragon Clan. Who would dare provoke him if they knew? It might be different if it was just a casual association, but Yang Kai is married to a Ninth-Order Dragon!]

“Palace Master…”

“Haa… You never spoke a word about this, and I did not hear anything either. Go back and tell them to stuff their hearts into their stomachs. I don’t need you to do any fighting either; I only need you to cheer loudly when we get there.”

Chang Sheng’s expression twitched at those words, “Palace Master, do you mean to say that Palace Master Yang can wipe out Full Sky Sect with just those few people?”

“Are you saying they can’t?”

He shook his head, “It’s not that I am underestimating Palace Master Yang and the others. The cultivation of the three Monster Kings is obvious and no one in Full Sky Sect can be their opponent in a one-on-one fight. However, laying siege to a city is different. Leaving aside the fact that there are many Masters in Full Sky Sect, the Sect Defending Array alone cannot be broken that easily. Once the array is activated, even the three Monster Kings will be helpless against it for a time. Isn’t that right?”

“Helpless?” Li Jiao couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as he waved his hand, “Well, just wait and see.”

Chang Sheng was stunned. He could not understand why Li Jiao had such confidence in Yang Kai. It was Full Sky Sect they were talking about, one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory. Its Sect Defending Array would not be broken so easily. Nevertheless, there was nothing else he could say if Li Jiao was so adamant about it. In any case, Li Jiao had already said that they were only there to cheer Yang Kai on, not to get into a fight, so they wouldn’t face any danger. Thus, Chang Sheng bowed and left to convey Li Jiao’s message to the rest. Upon hearing these orders though, the other Emperor Realm Masters looked at each other in confusion.

Chapter 3231

The sounds of singing and dancing rose and fell inside the great hall of Full Sky Sect, accompanied by the sounds of rustling silk. A group of dancers was dancing nimbly below in clothes that exposed much of their skin. Meanwhile, a group of Emperor Realm Masters were seated in two rows on the left and the right. Everybody had a table arranged in front of them. Lastly, the Sect Master of Full Sky Sect, Mi Qi, sat next to a white-haired old man at the head of the hall and enthusiastically entertained the latter.

That old man was getting on in years and was not dressed very luxuriously, so he would not stand out from a crowd. The only conspicuous point about him was that he had several bags hanging from his waist. Nobody knew what was stuffed into them, but they were bulging. Nevertheless, it was such an old man who made Mi Qi and the others attend to him personally. Moreover, he was seated on the same level as Mi Qi, which went to show just how highly Mi Qi regarded this person.

Below them, the Elders and Protectors of Full Sky Sect constantly raised their glasses to toast the old man, who in turn did not refuse. The rare nectar slid down his snow-white beard as he drank, causing the Elders to feel great pain at the sight. It had cost them a lot of effort and Source Crystals just to brew these spirit wines and even though they couldn’t bring themselves to drink them on normal occasions, they brought all of it out for this guest only to see him being so painfully careless with it. Unfortunately, the old man was not somebody they could afford to offend. They could only lament in their hearts while smiling on the surface.

While the old man was drinking, he leered lecherously at the slender and charming dancers below. At the same time, he also grabbed a handful of grape-like berries and stuffed them into his mouth, one by one. Those berries looked extremely delicious. They were bright blue and sparkled in the light like gemstones; however, those who were familiar with this fruit would know that while it might be exquisite, their taste was anything but.

The Blue Jade Fruit was a kind of spirit fruit that could be used to refine certain Spirit Pills, but those pills weren’t very valuable or useful. If these fruits were consumed raw though, one would find them incredibly sour and difficult to swallow. In addition, they were difficult to cultivate; thus, they were extremely rare across the entire Star Boundary. After all, it did not have much use, did not taste good, and was difficult to produce. It was only natural that people couldn’t be bothered to waste their time and energy on growing them.

However, Full Sky Sect had invested heavily into a Blue Jade Fruit orchard, producing a large number of Blue Jade Fruits every year. The reason behind this endeavour was simple. This old man known as Old Tao loved the taste of Blue Jade Fruit. Everybody had their own unique likes and dislikes, so while most found Blue Jade Fruit hard to consume, it was the most scrumptious delicacy in the world to this old man. Nobody had any idea why his preference was so unique.

Old Tao came from an extraordinary background, and it was by pure chance that Mi Qi had gotten to know him. It was then he happened to notice that Old Tao had a love for Blue Jade Fruits when he invited him to Full Sky Sect. Pandering to the old man’s desires, Mi Qi spent a fortune to create a Blue Jade Fruit orchard in the Sect’s medicine garden and meticulously maintained it every year. 

Mi Qi would invite Old Tao over for a taste whenever it was time for the Blue Jade Fruits to be harvested and wrap up all the remaining Blue Jade Fruits for this old man to take when he left. Over the years, Old Tao developed a habit of staying at Full Sky Sect for a few days every year to relieve his cravings, and they eventually became familiar with each other.

The day Li Jiao left after delivering Yang Kai’s message, Mi Qi immediately invited Old Tao over by saying that the Blue Jade Fruits had ripened. Old Tao rushed over without hesitation upon receiving the message, and Full Sky Sect immediately served up good wine and good food for him.

Mi Qi was aware that Full Sky Sect was no match for High Heaven Palace as three Monster Kings were not to be underestimated. He had been harbouring a grudge since he and Li Jiao were both deceived by Yang Kai into taking that Alchemy bet, so he didn’t care about what it might cost him if he could use Old Tao’s strength to break free from High Heaven Palace’s control. The three Monster Kings were strong, but they were not enough to stand in front of Old Tao.

Therefore, Mi Qi enthusiastically offered drinks to Old Tao while smirking in his heart. [I can’t wait for Yang Kai to come knocking on my door. I’m going to show him that Full Sky Sect isn’t some pushover he can bully!]

At that moment, somebody suddenly entered from the outside and secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Mi Qi. Mi Qi’s expression immediately changed upon receiving the message and he hurriedly put his wine glass down while intentionally showing a disturbed look on his face as he spoke, “Old Tao, please excuse me for a moment. I will be back soon.” 

Old Tao listened to those words and looked up at Mi Qi curiously, “What’s the matter?”

Mi Qi forced a smile, “It’s just a trivial matter. I shouldn’t bother you with it, Old Tao. I will take care of it myself.”

Old Tao tossed a Blue Jade Fruit into his mouth and grinned meaningfully while chewing, revealing a set of blue-stained teeth, “Brother Mi, why are you treating this Old Master like an outsider?”

“How could I dare?” Mi Qi waved his hand quickly, “Old Tao, your presence at Full Sky Sect as a guest has allowed the Sect to flourish. How can I treat you as an outsider?”

Old Tao replied, “If it’s related to Full Sky Sect’s secrets, then you don’t need to talk about it, Brother Mi. But, you shouldn’t hide it from me if you are in trouble. I might not have much strength, but I can still speak a few words. Who knows? I might be able to help you solve your problems, Brother Mi.”

He could tell that something was wrong just by looking at Mi Qi’s expression.

Mi Qi hesitated for a while, seemingly struggling over something, but eventually he sighed and spoke, “Since you don’t treat me as an outsider, Old Tao, then it doesn’t matter if I tell you about the Sect’s shameful dispute.” While speaking, he picked up his wine glass and drained it down in one gulp, as though he was trying to drown his sorrows.

“Shameful dispute? What happened?” Old Tao became curious.

Mi Qi sighed, “It’s that damned High Heaven Palace again.”

Old Tao was stunned, his expression turning slightly strange as he asked, “You mean that High Heaven Palace that emerged not long ago? I remember you saying that the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace cheated you out of a lot of Source Crystals.”

Mi Qi had told Old Tao about this matter many years ago. At the time, he had wanted Old Tao to go to the High Heaven Palace to speak on his behalf and make Yang Kai write off those gambling debts; however, how could Old Tao easily involve himself in other people’s disputes? Although he came to Full Sky Sect to enjoy some Blue Jade Fruit every year and Mi Qi had always been very hospitable towards him, that was just a small favour in the end, not something worth upsetting one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory over. 

Old Tao might come from an extraordinary background, but that did not mean he went around inviting trouble to himself. Besides, it was a gambling debt, so it wasn’t as if Yang Kai had stolen it from Mi Qi.

“I am ashamed. Very ashamed!” Mi Qi looked like he couldn’t bear to think about the past. 

“What did the people of High Heaven Palace come here for?” Old Tao’s expression twitched, “Don’t tell me they are here to ask for the Source Crystals you owe? If that’s the case, I recommend you pay them back to keep the peace.”

Mi Qi secretly cursed in his heart. [You’ve eaten from my table for so many years, yet you ask me to use money to solve my issues the moment you hear that it’s High Heaven Palace!? You truly are unreliable at critical moments! Whatever; I will be borrowing your name as a shield since you are already here. Why else would I invite you over so enthusiastically if not for this? It was all for the moment when Yang Kai came knocking on the door. Up until now, everything has been going according to plan.]

While he cursed to himself, Mi Qi lamented with a sorrowful expression on his face, “You are right, Old Tao. I am not a man who goes against my word. It is only natural that I accept my loss since I was willing to gamble in the first place. Full Sky Sect has tightened its belt over the years to send over a large number of Source Crystals to High Heaven Palace. But, that bastard surnamed Yang seems to be unsatisfied. Just a few days ago, he sent somebody over to deliver a message, asking Full Sky Sect to surrender to High Heaven Palace; or else, he would wipe out Full Sky Sect.”

Although Li Jiao had said words to the effect of surrendering, Mi Qi had no qualms about embellishing the part about being wiped out.

Old Tao’s expression darkened when he heard those words, “This High Heaven Palace is being far too arrogant.”

“Isn’t it? I may be untalented, but I am still a Sect Master. I have several thousand disciples under me, so how can I sell out my Sect and submit myself to another? Therefore, I immediately refused on the spot, only asking for them to show mercy and leave Full Sky Sect alone.”

“And?” Old Tao asked.

Mi Qi replied with a sullen expression, “My disciple just reported that the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai, has led a dozen Emperor Realm Masters to Full Sky Sect with him. Moreover, there are more than two hundred Dao Source Realm cultivators following them. From the looks of it, they are here to attack Full Sky Sect.”

The corners of Old Tao’s face visibly twitched, “That can’t be…” 

He was no longer in the mood to continue eating the Blue Jade Fruit in his hand as he had the vague feeling that he had been set up. He might be old, but he was not a fool. [Mi Qi went out of his way to invite me over, and High Heaven Palace just so happened to arrive with a large group of people to invade this place? It’s as clear as day that Mi Qi planned this out! Damn it! He wants to borrow my power to settle this dispute!]

Old Tao couldn’t help feeling resentful, [I only come here to eat some fruits every year. Do you really need to set me up like this!?] 

Be that as it may, Old Tao maintained his composure as he asked, “Could you be overthinking things, Sect Master Mi? This might be nothing more than a misunderstanding.”

Mi Qi sternly refuted, “That bastard surnamed Yang has already deployed his men here. How is it a misunderstanding?”

Old Tao tossed the Blue Jade Fruit up and down in his hand, suddenly feeling like it was a ball of flames rather than a sour fruit. Coughing dryly, Old Tao continued, “Brother Mi, you haven’t even met them face-to-face yet. How can you be so sure that it’s not a misunderstanding? Who knows? It might be resolved with a few words.”

[Resolved!? You damn cheat!] How could Mi Qi not know that Old Tao was being evasive? Nevertheless, he could not force Old Tao either. It wasn’t like he could say, ‘You eat so many of my Blue Jade Fruits every year. Shouldn’t you help out now that I’m in trouble!?’

Old Tao continued, “Besides, the Sect Defending Array of Full Sky Sect is nothing to sneeze at. There’s nothing to worry about even if that Palace Master Yang tries to attack. Whether or not they can enter the array is a whole other matter.”

Mi Qi forced a smile on his face and nodded in agreement, “Your words make sense, Old Tao. In that case, I will go and check out the situation. Let’s hope it is, as you say, a misunderstanding.”

Old Tao immediately replied, “Brother Mi, please come back soon.”

The corners of Mi Qi’s mouth twitched in response. Seeing how Old Tao was not willing to go with him drove home the point that the relationship between them was nothing. Thus, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of grief and rage. Even so, he couldn’t lose his temper here and could only say, “Good. Please excuse me for a moment, Old Tao. I’ll go out and have a look at the situation.”

While he was speaking, he spun around and headed outside. At the same time, he signalled the seated Elders and Protectors with his eyes. All of them immediately got up from their seats and followed behind him.

A moment later, Old Tao was the only one left in the great hall. He glanced at the young girls who continued dancing below, then glanced at the Blue Jade Fruit in front of him. All of a sudden, he had lost interest in them.

Just outside the Sect Defending Array of Full Sky Sect, Yang Kai leisurely stood in the air with his hands behind his back. Li Jiao stood beside him, and the three Monster Kings stood behind them, their Monster Qi surging overwhelmingly while their gazes were fierce.

Further behind them were the Emperor Realm Masters and Dao Source Realm cultivators of Fire Dragon Palace, their expressions rather complicated. They never expected to actually come and cause trouble for Full Sky Sect. 

[What does Palace Master Yang want to do? Our Palace Master is acting strangely too. Why is he cooperating with Palace Master Yang?]

Inside the array, a group of Full Sky Sect’s disciples, whose cultivation could not be considered high, shivered in fear and gathered together for warmth as if that would make them feel safer. Both sides watched each other from across the array. Whenever they met the terrifying gaze of the three Monster Kings, these disciples couldn’t help feeling petrified, breaking out into cold sweats.

Chapter 3232

Yang Kai and the group behind him gave off the impression that they were aggressive and ill-intentioned. Although Full Sky Sect’s disciples did not know what Yang Kai and the rest were here for, they had eyes and common sense so it was only natural for them to feel apprehensive.

Yang Kai glanced sideways and said coldly, “This King and Sect Master Mi are old acquaintances. I travelled so far to visit him to discuss urgent matters. Why are you keeping me outside? Hurry up and open the array. Can you bear the responsibility if this delay causes relations between Sect Master Mi and this King to deteriorate?”

Naturally, the disciples of Full Sky Sect did not believe his nonsense. They were well aware of the relationship between Full Sky Sect and High Heaven Palace. The huge reduction in discretionary Source Crystals over the past few years was entirely caused by High Heaven Palace. Therefore, they had long held a deep hatred toward both High Heaven Palace and Yang Kai. Despite not being enemies, Yang Kai and High Heaven Palace were no different from their enemies. How could a person like that specially pay a visit to the Sect Master? It was clear that he did not hold any good intentions. What’s more; the Sect Master had already issued an order. The array was not to be released without his permission. Hence, they were not frightened by Yang Kai’s words.

The leading Dao Source Realm Master cupped his fists and stated, “Palace Master Yang, please calm your anger. Sect Master is on his way. I’m sure he will arrive soon. Please wait for a little longer, Palace Master Yang. If you have any business with the Sect, please wait until Sect Master arrives. You can talk to him yourself, Palace Master Yang.”

Yang Kai coldly snorted, “It is said that lackeys are even more difficult to deal with than the boss. It seems that is really the case. What is your name?”

The Dao Source Realm Master’s expression twitched. [What is this? Is he trying to pick a fight with me?] He hesitated for a while but decided that he did not dare to conceal anything from Yang Kai. Thus, he reported his name.

Yang Kai nodded and pointed at the Dao Source Realm Master, “I’ll make you sorry later!”

That person was desperate to cry but could not shed any tears, “Palace Master Yang, I am only doing as I was told. Why must you make things difficult for me?”

Yang Kai said, “If you don’t want me to make things difficult for you, then hurry up and release the array. Stop wasting my time with nonsense.”

That Dao Source Realm Master felt like a noose was tightening around his neck. [How could I dare to release the array!?] He was extremely restless, anxious, and beside himself with panic.

At that moment, a voice rang out from behind him, “I was wondering who it was that was being so arrogant. It turns out to be you, Palace Master Yang. I was negligent in welcoming you, please forgive my discourtesy.”

“Sect Master!” The group of disciples turned back to look, and their expressions lit up with joy. The leading Dao Source Realm Master was ecstatic, feeling as though he had been exonerated. More than ten Emperor Realm Masters flew over. The Elders and Protectors landed with the Sect Master of Full Sky Sect in the lead.

Now that the Sect Master was here, the leading Dao Source Realm Master couldn’t help feeling that this matter had nothing to do with him anymore. Thus, he hurriedly took several steps back and stood behind the group of Emperor Realm Masters

“Sect Master Mi!” Yang Kai looked at Mi Qi with a smile on his face, “I haven’t seen you for so many years, I trust you’ve been well.”

Mi Qi put his hand on his chest, “Palace Master Yang, your bearing is as noble as before. Your prestige has not diminished one bit.” Although they were words of praise, they sounded mocking instead. It was difficult not to notice the sarcasm.

Yang Kai frowned. [Why does that bastard look so confident?] 

Yang Kai glanced at the Emperor Realm Masters behind Mi Qi, then turned to look at the army behind him. [Our fighting power is completely on different levels. Where does he get his confidence to speak to me in such a manner? Could it be due to the Sect Defending Array in front of me?]

Mi Qi continued, “Palace Master Yang, why aren’t you living in comfort back at High Heaven Palace? How are you so free to visit this little backwater place of mine?”

Yang Kai laughed loudly, “I was just passing by the area while running some errands. I missed you since we haven’t seen each other for so many years, so I decided to drop by for a visit.”

“Is that so…” Mi Qi cupped his fists again. Thank you for your kind thoughts, Palace Master Yang. Everything has been going fine here.”

Yang Kai asked “Sect Master Mi, are you going to talk to me like this? Aren’t you going to invite me in? Speaking of which, it’s my first time in Full Sky Sect. I wonder how it compares to High Heaven Palace.”

Mi Qi shook his head in response, “High Heaven Palace is a beautiful place. Full Sky Sect is far inferior in comparison.” [I’d be crazy to invite you in!] 

Changing the subject, Mi Qi added, “Unfortunately, you came at a bad time. I am hosting an honoured guest, so it’s not convenient for me to entertain you today. You can come back on another day if you want to, and I will accompany you personally, Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai lowered his gaze and looked at Mi Qi, “I came from afar to visit. Sect Master Mi, isn’t your hospitality unreasonably lacking?”

Mi Qi smiled slightly, “Forgive me, Palace Master Yang. It’s really… Not a convenient time. It won’t be good if I am rude to the honoured guest.”

“Who is this honoured guest? Why don’t you let me meet him?”

He shook his head again, “That person doesn’t like strangers. Palace Master Yang, I am really sorry, but please go back for today.”

Yang Kai calmly asked, “And, if I insist on going inside to have a look?”

Mi Qi narrowed his eyes, “Palace Master Yang, please watch your behaviour. This place is Full Sky Sect, not High Heaven Palace. You don’t have any say here. If you want to act all high and mighty, please go back to High Heaven Palace!”

When the disciples of Full Sky Sect heard those words, they couldn’t help feeling extremely excited. They felt that their Sect Master sounded very domineering. It was very satisfying to hear. [High Heaven Palace’s Palace Master is begging for it. Why is he chattering away and humiliating himself?]

Yang Kai looked at Mi Qi meaningfully, “It seems that you have something to rely on, Sect Master Mi. That’s why you’re not afraid that I might destroy Full Sky Sect in a fit of rage.”

Mi Qi arrogantly replied, “Heaven sees everything, and justice lives in the hearts of man.”

Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively at those words, “Justice doesn’t live in the hearts of man. It is in my hands!”

[I can’t be bothered to waste my time talking to him. Let’s get down to business.] 

“Mi Qi, I came here in person to present you with two choices!”

Mi Qi smiled widely, “I’m curious to hear just what these two choices may be. I hope you will state them in all seriousness, Palace Master Yang. Don’t turn yourself into the butt of jokes.”

Yang Kai was expressionless, “Submit to High Heaven Palace and offer up 70% of your annual income to me in the future, or… I will turn Full Sky Sect into High Heaven Palace’s branch operative!”

Meanwhile, Mi Qi stared at Yang Kai expressionlessly. He seemed to be waiting for Yang Kai to continue. After a while, he asked, “Is that all?”

Yang Kai clasped his hands behind his back, “The choice is up to you.”

Mi Qi chuckled and turned to look around him, “Palace Master Yang just told a joke; shouldn’t you guys show him some support?”

The group of Elders and Protectors standing around began laughing heartily in response. Some of the disciples also joined in. It was an indescribably weird situation.

On the other hand, Yang Kai watched coldly. The three Monster Kings also had solemn expressions on their faces.

The moment Mi Qi lifted a hand, the laughter stopped abruptly. He coldly stared at Yang Kai and said, “Though peace reigns over the land, the people create trouble for themselves. Palace Master Yang, it is not too late for you to retreat now. You can still preserve your pride. Otherwise, it will be humiliating for you when you are put on the spot later.” He acted as though he was trying to dissuade Yang Kai with good intentions. However, he couldn’t wait for Yang Kai to embarrass himself. He decided that he would settle everything with Yang Kai today so that he did not need to send a large amount of Source Crystals to High Heaven Palace every year in the future.

“Sect Master Mi, you sure speak with confidence today.” Yang Kai nodded slightly, “I hope you won’t come to regret it.”

Mi Qi yelled, “I have done nothing wrong! I have nothing to regret!”

“Good!” Yang Kai exploded, “You refused the easy way out and chose the difficult path instead. Don’t blame this Palace Master for disregarding the friendship we used to have and destroying Full Sky Sect!”

As soon as those words left his mouth, three figures rushed out from behind him. They arrived in front of the Sect Defending Array in the blink of an eye. Everything happened so fast that nobody could see what happened clearly. All they felt was a violent shockwave spreading out, followed by a loud explosion and an earthquake. The Sect Defending Array shuddered strongly and a layer of ripples spread out across the surface.

The three Monster Kings’ fierce attack packed terrifying power. Moreover, their Monster Qi flared so strongly that it was extremely overwhelming. It frightened many people, and they hurriedly summoned their artifacts and drew out their strength as if they were facing a great enemy.

On the contrary, Mi Qi remained calm and unruffled. He simply looked straight ahead with a smile, “Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array may not be the best, but won’t break so easily. Palace Master Yang, don’t waste your strength.”

After saying that, an Array Board suddenly appeared in his hand. The swaying array immediately stabilized with a light wave of the banner in his hand. Even the ripples disappeared. There was no reaction at all no matter how the three Monster Kings attacked.

It wasn’t that there was no response. It was simply that the attacking power was dispersed and moved elsewhere. That was the power of the Sect Defending Array. As long as the Spirit Array was activated, even the three Monster Kings, who were extremely powerful, could not destroy the Array within a short time. Had those people in the Seeking Passion Sect remained hiding behind their Sect Defending Array back then, Yang Kai would not have had the ability to wipe them out. Their greatest mistake was leaving their stronghold to attack Ice Heart Valley, which gave Yang Kai a chance to take them down instead.

The three Monster Kings did not spare any effort. After a volley of powerful attacks, they were running out of steam. Thus, they returned to Yang Kai’s side looking ashamed of themselves and feeling as though they had let Yang Kai down.

Meanwhile, the people of Full Sky Sect were laughing loudly. Their laughter was filled with mockery and derision.

Mi Qi said, “Palace Master Yang, are you not going to give up? It will be even more embarrassing to continue.”

He had been worried that the three Monster Kings might destroy the Sect Defending Array. But, now that the Array was safe and sound, he immediately calmed down. [It looks like I won’t need Old Tao to step up. High Heaven Palace can’t do anything to me. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have sent those Source Crystals. It would have been better to keep them for our own use.]

Yang Kai glanced at Mi Qi and said, “If that’s what you were relying on, then I’m very disappointed.”

Mi Qi coldly snorted, “Stop your shameless boasting!”

“This trivial Spirit Array is hardly a challenge. Watch me break it down.” Yang Kai stretched out his arms to both sides. The people behind him immediately backed away, putting a distance of a kilometre between them.

Mi Qi frowned. He did not know what Yang Kai was up to. He had to admit that Yang Kai wasn’t weak. Nevertheless, Yang Kai had only advanced into the Emperor Realm not too long ago. How could he accomplish something that even the three Monster Kings couldn’t do?

While he was entertaining his doubts, he saw Yang Kai putting one hand into the void and grabbing something. Then, a silly-looking Stone Man suddenly appeared. Everybody widened their eyes in surprise. Nobody could tell how or where that Stone Man had appeared from. All they saw was Yang Kai grabbing at something in the void as if it had been hiding there all along.

The Stone Man was about half a person tall, with sharp edges and corners all over its body. It looked a little dopey, but its eyes were bright as could be.

As soon as the Stone Man appeared, it turned to face the Sect Defending Array of Full Sky Sect and immediately let out a beast-like roar while beating his chest with both fists.

The people watching this scene were dumbfounded. [What the Hell is going on!? That guy might not look weak, but what is the point of beating his chest?] 

However, their astonishment soon turned into horror. Their gazes slowly shifted upward, and they slowly lifted their heads accordingly. Amidst the shaking ground, the Stone Man, who was only half a person tall at the beginning, was growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

3 metres, 15 metres, 30 metres, 60 metres, 100 metres… It wasn’t until it was approximately 130 metres to 160 metres tall that it stopped growing. It was as large as a mountain, standing in front of Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array.

Chapter 3233

An unimaginable pressure assaulted their senses as it felt as though the Monster that was the size of a small mountain was not standing in front of them but pressing down on their chests instead, making it difficult for them to breathe. What terrified them even more were the sharp stone pillars protruding from the Stone Man’s body, which had emerged at some point in time like a layer of spikes. Moreover, his entire body was covered in flames that seemed quite malevolent.

“Shi Huo!” The pupils of Mi Qi’s eyes abruptly contracted. He had great vision and extensive knowledge, so he was able to recognize traces of the aura emanating from the Embodiment. But, why would Shi Huo appear here!?

He had long heard of the Divine Spirit Shi Huo that existed in the Ancient Wild Lands of the Eastern Territory, which had destroyed Black Tortoise Sect many millennia ago. He did not know whether that Divine Spirit was this thing in front of him; however, what baffled Mi Qi the most was its size. [Since when was Shi Huo capable of becoming this big!?]

Some information on Divine Spirits was available, and as long as one had the will, it was not hard to gather that information. Therefore, Mi Qi was not totally unfamiliar with Shi Huo. It was just that he had never seen it for himself. As far as he knew, even if Shi Huo had some sort of Secret Technique to change his body size, it was still impossible for him to become so huge.

Unbeknownst to Mi Qi, the Shi Huo standing in front of him was a Stone Spirit that had once devoured an entire floating continent. Despite using the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to refine all the impurities, the Embodiment could still become even bigger if he wanted to. What was a mere 400 to 500 meters of height? Even Yang Kai’s 200-metre-long Dragon Body was nothing in front of him.

The roaring sound stopped abruptly as the Embodiment opened his eyes wide, glaring with a fierce and evil look as it gazed down from above. A fist larger than a palace clenched tightly in the next moment as he bent his arm back before punching downwards. 

Before the attack even landed, an ear-splitting sound cut through the air.

Mi Qi’s expression changed drastically and he was no longer as calm as before. It was true that Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array was extraordinary, and with him personally presiding over it, the array would be enough to withstand the attacks of the three Monster Kings without any damage. Be that as it may, he did not have the slightest confidence that it could withstand the onslaught of such a behemoth; after all, most Spirit Arrays in this world could be destroyed when hit with enough brute force. If they could not be destroyed this way, it simply meant that the attacking party didn’t have enough strength.

Mi Qi could not imagine just how much power this ridiculously large Shi Huo packed, and he didn’t even dare to speculate. In a panic, he rapidly formed a series of seals while injecting his Emperor Qi into the Array Jade. Bursts of light flew out and landed on the surface of the Spirit Array. In response, the surface of the Spirit Array glowed, becoming much more dazzling than before.

*Hong…* 

The Embodiment’s fist smashed down on the Sect Defending Array, and the entire Full Sky Sect shook from the impact. Countless buildings collapsed in that instant and amidst the settling dust, many figures flew up into the sky and looked around blankly. When they saw the humongous figure in the distance, though, they were all transfixed by the sight.

Full Sky Sect was guarded by their powerful Sect Defending Array, and nobody could force their way into the Sect as long as the Spirit Array was intact. However, the Embodiment’s attack was a manifestation of pure brute force, so even this Sect Defending Array could not dispel it completely. Instead, the force of the attack surged across the array and spread out to all parts of the Full Sky Sect. Whether far or near, the entire Full Sky Sect instantly became a mess.

Meanwhile, the place where Mi Qi and the others were located was in even worse shape. When that fist smashed down, all of them couldn’t help feeling as though the sky was crashing down on them. The Heaven-splitting force turned into a powerful series of vibrations that sent dust and stone flying across a large area of the land, even obscuring the sun from view.

*Pu pu pu…* 

A series of muffled noises rang out as flesh and blood splattered everywhere. Some of Full Sky Sect’s disciples with lower cultivation had exploded into blood mists after being hit by the invisible vibrations. Only the cultivators in the Dao Source Realm and above kept their lives. Nevertheless, their complexions were pale and their eyes were filled with horror.

Mi Qi was thoroughly shocked. He couldn’t care less about the life and death of some disciples with low cultivation at the moment as his gaze was locked on a certain spot on the Sect Defending Array. It was none other than the spot where the Embodiment’s fist had made contact. There, countless small cracks had appeared on the sturdy and solid surface of the Spirit Array and had spread out into the surrounding area. Those cracks stretched out for several thousands of metres in the blink of an eye.

Mi Qi was taken aback. He had known that the power behind that monster’s punch was not to be underestimated, but even so, he never expected it to be so overwhelming. [Is this really the strength of a Shi Huo!? Shi Huo’s main forte doesn’t lie in its brute strength, right?]

Upon seeing the monster raising its fist again, Mi Qi didn’t dare to hold back. Pushing his Emperor Qi madly into the Array Jade, more lights streamed out from it and the unsteady Spirit Array gradually stabilized. Similarly, the cracks that had appeared slowly disappeared with his efforts. 

Before Mi Qi had time to catch his breath though, a second fist came crashing down.

This punch felt as though it wasn’t landing on the Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array, but directly on Mi Qi’s heart instead. It horrified him, and he couldn’t help feeling a sense of death washing over him.

The same situation as before reappeared once more. The entire Full Sky Sect shook fiercely again, and more buildings collapsed. Fortunately, the Emperor Realm Masters behind Mi Qi began casting defensive techniques the moment they sensed that things were going badly. They managed to defend against the invisible fluctuations of the sky-splitting force and prevented more of the weaker disciples from suffering any harm.

*Kacha…* 

A cracking sound rang out as large fissures appeared again in the Sect Defending Array that had just been repaired. The number of the cracks were higher and denser than before, and they spread out further as well. Mi Qi was so scared that he felt as if his Soul had left his body and he once again began furiously forming hand seals as he tried to stabilize the Array.

A sense of despair washed over Mi Qi when he saw the Embodiment raising its fist again. The Sect Defending Array he was so proud of was not capable of protecting Full Sky Sect from danger. Rather, it could be said that more than 90% of the Sect Defending Arrays in the world could not withstand this kind of indiscriminate barrage of attacks, so he shouted. “Elders, help me!”

The moment Mi Qi’s voice sounded, the Emperor Realm Masters came back to their senses like they were waking up from a dream and each of them hurriedly took out their respective Array Jades. These Array Jades were used to control the Sect Defending Array as well, but they were only sub-controllers while the Master Array Jade was held by Mi Qi.

The expressions on their faces were filled with a never-seen-before solemnity as they sent their Emperor Qi into their Array Jades, hurriedly trying to repair the cracked Sect Defending Array.

The Embodiment shook his head. The fact that his previous two punches had failed to destroy the Spirit Array seemed to annoy him, so he suddenly clasped both hands together, lifted them above his head, and smashed his clenched fists down.

[We can’t stop him! It’s absolutely unstoppable!] 

That thought surfaced in the minds of Mi Qi, as well as the Elders and Protectors of Full Sky Sect, even though the attack had yet to land. It was a feeling derived from pure instinct.

In reality, it turned out to be the truth. When the Embodiment’s third attack landed, the unstable surface of the barrier flashed for a moment before dense cracks began spreading out from the point where the attack landed as its centre. Under the horrified gaze of the people inside Full Sky Sect, the Sect Defending Array shattered!

Thousands of metres away, the figures of the three Monster Kings blasted forward like lightning. They rushed directly into the midst of the Emperor Realm Masters of Full Sky Sect in the blink of an eye. Ying Fei was faster, so he took the lead. Meanwhile, Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei followed closely behind.

As claw strikes rained down from the sky, the Emperor Realm Masters of Full Sky Sect, who had yet to accept that their Sect Defending Array had been destroyed, could barely defend themselves and were unable to counterattack.

The gap in their cultivation showed instantly. The only Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in Full Sky Sect was Mi Qi, and even he might not be able to match Ying Fei in a one-on-one fight, so there was no chance the other Elders and Protectors could resist.

Xi Lei’s body sparkled with cyan lightning as he recklessly rushed over to Mi Qi and grinned savagely, “Since you refuse a toast, you must drink a loss! Die!” A big fan-like palm swiped at Mi Qi’s head.

Mi Qi threw aside the Array Jade in his hand and swiftly summoned a steel ring-like artifact. Tangled in an all-out fight against Xi Lei, the grief and panic in his heart were beyond words.

On the other hand, Xie Wu We followed closely behind and slipped past Xi Lei. A huge scorpion phantom appeared behind him, shaking its head and wagging its tail. The scorpion stinger was gleaming with a green and eerie light, which looked extremely venomous. The scorpion flickered for a moment, and a viridescent mist exploded out that swiftly enveloped 4 or 5 Emperor Realm Masters. Those Emperor Realm Masters vanished from view in the blink of an eye, and only their exclamations could be heard from the outside. Nobody knew what was happening to them inside the poison fog. 

As soon as the three Monster Kings attacked, they took down all the powerful Masters in Full Sky Sect.

Li Jiao raised his arms and shouted, “Charge!”

Although he initially planned to only cheer Yang Kai on from behind, he couldn’t stand on the sidelines at this point. As the saying went, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’. The best thing for him to do right now was to help Yang Kai take down Full Sky Sect.

In the meantime, the Elders of Fire Dragon Palace remained in a daze. It was mainly because the scene right in front of them was extremely difficult to accept. Both Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace were top Sects of the Northern Territory. They had each remained standing in the Northern Territory for more than ten thousand years, so how did Yang Kai breach Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array so easily? They always thought that Yang Kai had only managed to destroy Seeking Passion Sect due to luck; after all, Seeking Passion Sect had courted death by leaving their Sect to attack Ice Heart Valley.

Unfortunately, that now seemed to have been nothing but wishful thinking. Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array had been broken just like that. If Fire Dragon Palace and High Heaven Palace were to become enemies, they might not end up any better. They originally felt that Li Jiao had caused their prestige to fall by submitting to Yang Kai, but now it was apparent that this was no incompetence on Li Jiao’s part, but keen foresight.

When they heard Li Jiao’s shout, they snapped back to the present and hurriedly rushed after their Palace Master. They might not have been willing to confront Full Sky Sect head-on, but rubbing salt into their wounds would be just fine.

Meanwhile, the members of Full Sky Sect instantly felt as though their suffering doubled. The three Monster Kings had already suppressed them all, and now, Li Jiao was leading a group of Emperor Realm Masters no fewer than them into the battle. How could they overcome such a disadvantage? The Emperor Realm Masters were suppressed on all sides in an instant and were beaten so badly that they were coughing up fresh blood and collapsing to the ground, unable to get back up again.

Mi Qi shouted in grief and indignation. “Li Jiao, you and I are irreconcilable!”

It was one thing if Yang Kai turned against him; after all, reprehensible behaviour from a greedy and wicked person was expected. However, for Li Jiao to intervene in the matter was very difficult for him to accept.

Li Jiao slammed his palm into one of the Elders of Full Sky Sect as he coldly snorted, “Mi Qi, a wise man will submit to the circumstances. It is not too late to submit to Palace Master Yang. Otherwise, I am afraid all you will be left with is regret.”

“In your dreams!” Mi Qi gritted his teeth and snarled. He was surprisingly courageous, but the main reason was that he still had a hidden trump card. Seeing Xi Lei striking at him with an arc of lightning, Mi Qi used the impact to withdraw while at the same time shouting, “Old Tao, save me!”

On a mountain not far away, Old Tao was speechless. He only came here to eat some fruits and drink some wine, so why did he end up in this terrible situation?

Seeing the situation before him, Old Tao would have lived his life in vain if he still couldn’t guess Mi Qi’s intentions. As the saying went, ‘one was partial to those whom they accepted gifts from’. Mi Qi had been rather hospitable to him for all these years, inviting him over whenever the Blue Jade Fruits ripened. It was hard to justify standing by the sidelines in this situation. Besides, Mi Qi had already shouted so it was too much for him to continue feigning ignorance. Letting out a long sigh, he stepped forward and flew towards Mi Qi.

Chapter 3234

Old Tao might not look like much, but he still gave off an impressive sage-like aura while flying over. Moreover, he was exuding the aura of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master.

Ying Fei glanced sideways at Old Tao and smirked. Lashing out as swiftly as lightning, he subdued the last of Full Sky Sect’s Elders, slapping a palm on the Elder to seal the latter’s cultivation before he shot out to meet Old Tao.

Among the thirty-two Monster Kings in the Ancient Wild Lands he might not be ranked among the top three in terms of strength, but his speed was unrivalled. In that aspect, even the three Divine Spirits had to concede their defeat. He came within a thousand metres of Old Tao in the blink of an eye; moreover, he was still approaching rapidly.

Nevertheless, Old Tao remained calm and unruffled. Grabbing one of the cloth bags hanging at his waist, he tossed it in Ying Fei’s direction. The cloth bag faced the wind, expanded its mouth, and aimed directly at Ying Fei. A powerful suction force came from within, accompanied by a whirring sound, creating strong gusts of wind.

Ying Fei did not act carelessly when faced with that cloth bag. He did not know what artifact that cloth bag was, but the power of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master was nothing to sneeze at. He quickly shifted his body to avoid being in the direction of that cloth bag’s opening, but unexpectedly, the cloth bag suddenly swelled until it became bigger than a house. Moreover, a large green hand emerged from the insides of the cloth bag and grabbed towards him.

Startled, Ying Fei instinctively tried to dodge the hand; however, he discovered that the Monster Qi in his body was roiling unstably. It felt as though his Monster Qi was being disrupted by something, and in that moment when he was caught off guard, he was captured by the hand and a pained expression showed on his face.

As soon as the large green hand captured him, it immediately began to retreat back into the cloth bag and disappeared in an instant. Similarly, Ying Fei disappeared along with the large green hand. Old Tao then lifted his hand and retrieved the cloth bag.

“Old Ying!” Xi Lei’s expression changed drastically as he yelled out in horror and stared at the cloth bag fearfully. As a Monster King himself, he knew just how hard it was to deal with Ying Fei. In spite of that, a Monster King known for his speed had been defeated by a cloth bag without the strength to even fight back. If he had not seen it for himself, he would never have believed it. He knew that it wasn’t the ability of the old man with white hair though, it was the power of that Cloth Bag Artifact, but he didn’t know what this Artifact was or how it could possibly have such a mysterious effect.

On the other side, the venomous fog released by Xie Wu Wei churned violently, indicating that his emotions had also been greatly shaken.

Meanwhile, Mi Qi, who had been sent flying by Xi Lei, laughed loudly, “Many thanks, Old Tao!” His calculated actions had paid off, and he couldn’t help admiring his foresight at this moment.

If it had been any other Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, Old Tao might not have dealt with them so easily; however, he just so happened to be up against a Monster King, and dealing with the Monster Race was what Old Tao specialized in.

Taking advantage of Xi Lei’s distraction, Mi Qi swiftly retreated and removed himself from the former’s range of attacks. He then stood beside Old Tao and said, “Old Tao, this group of thieves are simply too much! Please help me suppress them.”

Old Tao nodded expressionlessly, “A simple task.”

Now that things had come this far, he had decided to go all in. Besides, the sudden appearance of three Monster Kings in this place surprised Old Tao greatly. He could complete his own mission after defeating these three Monster Kings, so he would have done so even without Mi Qi’s request.

“Old Dog, die!” Xi Lei was wrapped in lightning as an illusory phantom of a beast flashed behind him, clearly illustrating his anger. He originally assumed that it would be easy to crush Full Sky Sect when he first followed Yang Kai here. Who could have expected that Ying Fei would be defeated the moment this old man showed up? Ying Fei being defeated was an embarrassment to the Ancient Wild Lands, so how could Xi Lei let that slide?

Old Tao’s expression didn’t change even in the face of Xi Lei’s rage. Moreover, his response could not get any more straightforward. He simply tossed the same cloth bag out again,

Xi Lei, who was rushing in that direction, halted abruptly. Raising his head to look, he saw that the cloth bag had opened above his head. A strong suction was coming from within the bag, but that wasn’t all; he was perfectly capable of resisting such suction force with his strength, but the crucial point was that the large green hand had appeared again. 

The moment the hand appeared, Xi Lei felt the circulation of his Monster Qi becoming disturbed, which scared the life out of him. At the same time, he immediately understood what happened to Ying Fei back then.

Before Xi Lei could react, the green hand grabbed him and dragged him back into the cloth bag. However, Old Tao didn’t take back the cloth bag this time, instead forming a set of seals with his hands and directing the cloth bag towards the bank of venomous fog.

The venomous fog was created by Xie Wu Wei, where he had dragged a few of Full Sky Sect’s Emperor Realm Masters into battle. Nobody could see the what was going on inside, but it was easy to tell that Xie Wu Wei held the upper hand just by listening to the screams of the Full Sky Sect’s Elders

The large green hand reached out again. Surprisingly, it seemed dimmer than before. It was almost as though the green hand was a consumable that would disappear after several uses. Nonetheless, Xie Wu Wei did not dare to take it lightly after what happened to Ying Fei and Xi Lei. The venomous fog churned violently before his figure suddenly rushed out as he hurriedly fled towards Yang Kai. Unfortunately, that green hand was like maggots on rotting bones and he could not escape its pursuit. Furthermore, its speed was incredibly fast so he did not manage to get very far before he was captured and dragged backward. 

It wasn’t until Xie Wu Wei was put into the cloth bag that Old Tao used some Secret Technique to seal the opening of the cloth bag tightly and recalled it to himself. Catching it with his hand, he subsequently hung it on his waist again.

Those events transpired in a flash, leaving everybody in shock and disbelief. The three Monster Kings had been giving off an aggressive and menacing air just now, and nobody in Full Sky Sect could stand up to them, but they were defeated by a white-haired old man with a strange cloth bag in an instant. This situation left everybody feeling stunned.

Li Jiao and the Emperor Realm Masters of Fire Dragon Palace did not dare to rush forward again. They were just about to launch an attack, but immediately backed away in horror instead. Even the three Monster Kings were no match for that white-haired old man; so how could they possibly stand a chance?

Mi Qi obviously didn’t expect things to be so easy, and only after a moment of amazement did he burst into wild and brazen laughter. Standing next to Old Tao, he pointed at Yang Kai, whose expression was twitching slightly, “Little Thief, how dare you attack Full Sky Sect!? Today will be the day you die!”

Old Tao held up a bottle gourd of wine and poured some into his mouth. Upon hearing those words, he glanced sideways at Mi Qi and knew that the latter was taking advantage of his strength, but he didn’t say anything. In any case, he had a great harvest on this trip so it wouldn’t hurt to let Mi Qi borrow his reputation a little.

On the other hand, Yang Kai didn’t seem to hear anything. He was staring hard at the nondescript white-haired man. [I came here to establish my prestige by making an example out of Full Sky Sect, but before I could do anything, my three Monster Kings were defeated. What the Hell!?]

It wasn’t that he left the Monster Kings to die on purpose, it was just that everything had happened so quickly that he couldn’t react in time when Ying Fei and Xi Lei were caught. When he saw Xie Wu Wei fleeing to his side, he had wanted to help but was stopped by Liu Yan for some reason, so in the end, he could only watch as Xie Wu Wei was taken away.

[It shouldn’t have been difficult to save Xie Wu Wei with my Space Divine Ability, but what is the background of this old man, and what kind of artifact is that cloth bag!?] While Yang Kai was mulling over his suspicions, Liu Yan suddenly walked past him and headed in that direction.

Composing himself, Yang Kai looked down at her and warned, “Be careful.” 

Although she was not weak, the Cloth Bag Artifact was extremely strange and he did not know whether she could handle it.

Meanwhile, Liu Yan remained calm, and her steady steps did not falter.

Old Tao, who was holding up a bottle gourd of wine to his mouth couldn’t help glancing over at the approaching little girl and suddenly his eyes widened. The wine in the bottle gourd flowed down the corners of his mouth, wetting his robes and bringing him back to his senses. Thus, he hurriedly patted at his clothes before studying Liu Yan carefully again, his face twitching slightly as he wondered, [W-Why… Does she look so much like ‘that’ person?]

His thoughts drifted for a while, going back to more than ten years into the past. When he went back to the island to report to a certain person a decade or so ago, he had seen a figure sitting by the side of a certain crater while chatting with a certain other person. Despite the distance between them, Old Tao could tell that that figure belonged to a little girl. Moreover, it was a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl who was dressed similarly to the one he was facing right now. At the time, he had asked that person about the little girl’s identity out of curiosity, and that person had merely responded with an inscrutable smile, so he didn’t dare to ask any more questions.

It might have been more than ten years ago and Old Tao had not gotten a clear glimpse at that time, but the impression he got from seeing that little girl was too strong. He couldn’t stop his thoughts from going in that direction now that he saw this little girl standing in front of him. Looking at her again, he became certain, [She looks very similar! Too similar!]

“Little Thief, do you not have any other subordinates? Why send out a little girl?” Mi Qi was the perfect example of a vile character intoxicated with power. He remained close to Old Tao and shouted boldly. After seeing Old Tao’s power, he became more and more confident and fearless; even so, he didn’t dare to stray too far from Old Tao, lest Yang Kai take advantage of the gap to launch a sneak attack.

“Shut up!” Old Tao shouted.

Mi Qi was dumbfounded and glanced at Old Tao in amazement, only to see the latter was staring at the little girl walking towards them with a solemn expression. Moreover, Old Tao was breaking out in a cold sweat. This discovery frightened Mi Qi greatly. [Could it be that this little girl is somebody we cannot afford to offend? Otherwise, why would Old Tao react in such a manner?]

Feeling suspicious, he looked carefully and saw that the little girl walking toward them had a calm expression that was as tranquil as an ancient well. Her black eyes were very distinct and clean. She looked like a budding beautiful woman at first glance. With such grace as a child, she would surely be amazing once she grew up.

Seeing that the distance between both parties was getting smaller but the little girl seemingly had no intention of stopping, Mi Qi became rather nervous and secretly circulated his Emperor Qi so that he was ready to attack at any time.

Liu Yan stopped just a hundred metres away from the pair, and upon closer inspection, Old Tao became more and more certain that he had not guessed wrong. This little girl was the same one he had seen on the island more than ten years ago.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he never expected to encounter her in such a place. It truly was a conflict between two parties on the same side.

Although he was almost 100% certain, there were questions he still needed to ask, so after a moment of hesitation, Old Tao secretly sent out a Divine Sense transmission. 

Liu Yan pushed her Divine Sense and sent a reply back.

The situation suddenly became strange. Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace were facing off against each other, prepared for war, but a little girl and a white-haired old man were communicating with each other in the middle of the battlefield.

Not long after, Old Tao nodded lightly. Following that, Liu Yan turned around and walked away, returning to Yang Kai’s side in a few steps.

“Do you know that old guy?” Yang Kai looked at Liu Yan suspiciously.

She replied, “I don’t know him. But, it seems he has seen me before.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s from Spirit Beast Island.”

“Senior Martial Beast’s Spirit Beast Island?” Yang Kai was taken aback.

Chapter 3235

Liu Yan lived on Spirit Beast Island for a while, so if she said so, then that must be true.

Yang Kai never expected this white-haired old man to have such a prestigious background. He had interacted with several people from Spirit Beast Island before and even met Martial Beast Great Emperor before when they caused a huge ruckus on Dragon Island together. Needless to say, Yang Kai understood just how great Spirit Beast Island’s heritage was. Although there were not many people on Spirit Beast Island, each one of them should never be underestimated. Whether it was Li Wu Yi or Jiu Feng, who among them was not a famous figure across the entire Star Boundary?

In the past, Yang Kai had never fought against them and only regarded them as ordinary Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters; however, after his meeting with Yang Yan, he had some guesses that Li Wu Yi and Jiu Feng were among those stuck in between the Emperor Realm and Great Emperor Realm. It was only because of the limited capacity of the world that they could not become Great Emperors. 

Nevertheless, those were simply his conjectures and he could not confirm if they were true. On the other hand, the fact that that white-haired old man was from Spirit Beast Island could not be wrong.

After asking a few more questions, Yang Kai finally understood the situation. That white-haired old man seemed to have seen Liu Yan once from afar a decade or so ago. However, Liu Yan had been comprehending the mystery of the Fire Phoenix Source at the time and did not interact at all with him. That was why she said that the other party knew her but she did not know him. 

Rather, what she recognized was the Cloth Bag Artifact used by the white-haired old man. She had seen that kind of artifact in Jiu Feng’s possession before. The people from Spirit Beast Island call it the Spirit Beast Bag and it was a very peculiar artifact that was extremely effective at suppressing Monster Beasts but did not have much effect against any other Races.

The Spirit Beast Bag contained a Taming Beast Seal, which was created by Martial Beast Great Emperor personally. The moment the Spirit Beast Bag was used, any existence with the slightest drop of Monster Race or Monster Beast blood would be unable to escape the shackles of the Spirit Beast Bag.

That was also the fundamental reason why the three Monster Kings were defeated so easily. That white-haired old man might not be a match for any one of the three Monster Kings if it came down to a straight-up fight, but he could defeat them effortlessly with the help of the Spirit Beast Bag.

“Spirit Beast Island is in the Eastern Territory. What is this old guy doing in the Northern Territory?” Yang Kai looked puzzled. His pride had been badly bruised today, which made him a little displeased. If not for the white-haired old man who was from Spirit Beast Island, his plans would have gone smoothly.

Now that the situation had developed in this manner, there was probably no way he could continue with this fight anymore. Even so, he was still a little curious about the reason why the white-haired old man was here.

Liu Yan explained, “Spirit Beast Island collects exotic beasts from all over the world. Needless to say, those exotic beasts are forcefully captured and brought back. There are people who specialize in that on the island, and he is one of them. He probably came to the Northern Territory in his search for exotic beasts.”

“I see,” Yang Kai gently nodded.

While those two were communicating among themselves, Mi Qi became unsettled. He might not know how the situation was developing at the moment, but he had seen Liu Yan and Old Tao secretly communicating with each other and an uneasy feeling surged in his heart. Not daring to hesitate, he cupped his fists and said, “Old Tao, I will be eternally grateful to you if you can help me again. I will offer you a hefty reward after this incident.”

Right now, he could only count on Old Tao’s strength; otherwise, there was no way Full Sky Sect could match up against Yang Kai.

Old Tao sighed, raised his hand, and patted Mi Qi on the shoulder, “Forget it. Just give them whatever they want.”

Mi Qi’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as he never imagined that Old Tao would say something like that.

Little did Mi Qi know that Old Tao was utterly helpless too. He might be somebody from Spirit Beast Island who was ordered to come to the Northern Territory to search for exotic beasts, but when it came down to it, his status on Spirit Beast Island was not that high. Senior Martial Beast was naturally the most respected on Spirit Beast Island, followed by Li Wu Yi and Jiu Feng, and this little girl seemed to have a close relationship with Jiu Feng. So, how could Old Tao dare to offend her?

While Mi Qi blanked out from the shock, Old Tao took the cloth bag from his waist and opened it. 

Three figures immediately emerged right after. It was none other than Ying Fei and the others.

All three Monster Kings had haunted expressions on their faces and instantly looked around the moment they reappeared. Upon seeing both Old Tao and Mi Qi when they turned around, the three exchanged a glance with each other before they lunged forward to kill Old Tao with zero hesitation.

They had just suffered a huge loss at the hands of the Spirit Beast Bag, but all three of them were experienced and decisive characters. They instantly figured out the shortcomings of the Spirit Beast Bag at a glance. The artifact was powerful indeed, but it would seem that it could only deal with one person at a time. If all three of them acted together, they could kill Old Tao before the Spirit Beast Bag took effect.

In an instant, Monster Qi surged to the sky as three distinct murderous intents enveloped Old Tao, terrifying him so badly that all the hairs on his body stood upright. Even Mi Qi staggered back in fright and almost fell to the ground.

“Stop!” Yang Kai hurriedly shouted.

Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei both stopped mid-air while Ying Fei’s figure suddenly disappeared. It was an afterimage. His real body was already standing in front of Old Tao, an eagle’s talon stopped just a finger’s length away from the latter’s face with a sharp aura radiating from it.

Old Tao’s back was dripping with cold sweat, having come close to dying. He lifted his eyes to look at Ying Fei, who was standing right in front of him and secretly rejoiced at the fact that this was the first Monster King he dealt with earlier; otherwise, this Monster King might have won against him just by relying on speed alone.

“Monster Kings, don’t be rude!” Yang Kai’s voice came from behind again. Since this old man was from Spirit Beast Island, then he was not an enemy. Besides, Old Tao had taken the initiative to release the three Monster Kings, so how could Yang Kai just sit around and watch him die?

Ying Fei was surprisingly obedient and retracted his eagle’s talon without delay before he withdrew as if some invisible force was pulling at him. In an instant, he stood side by side with Xi Lei and Xie Wu Wei, the three of them were watching Old Tao vigilantly, maintaining a high degree of vigilance. 

They had lost at the hands of this old man, which hurt their pride. If that happened again, they would be too humiliated to remain by Yang Kai’s side anymore.

The moment Ying Fei retreated, Mi Qi returned to his senses too. Although he did not know why Old Tao switched sides all of a sudden and even released the three Monster Kings that had been captured, he knew that there was nothing he could do to change the situation. Hence, he no longer hesitated and ran straight back into Full Sky Sect.

“Please wait here for a moment, Old Sir. I’ll be right back to speak with you later!” Yang Kai smiled at Old Tao. After that, his figure flickered and he vanished in an instant.

“Space Divine Ability!” Old Tao’s eyes shrank at the sight. As somebody from Spirit Beast Island, there was no way he did not know about Space Divine Abilities; after all, that was Li Wu Yi’s field of expertise. Old Tao had seen Li Wu Yi displaying his Dao of Space abilities to come and go freely on multiple occasions. 

However, he never imagined that he would see that same Divine Ability being used by another person.

Looking at the young man’s level of skill, it would seem that Yang Kai was not inferior to Li Wu Yi. Old Tao instantly felt a chill in his heart, knowing that the only reason Yang Kai had held back just now was thanks to the little girl; otherwise, he would have died without even knowing the reason why.

Those proficient in the Dao of Space were not to be trifled with. Even though they were both Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters, Li Wu Yi enjoyed the title of being the strongest Master below the Great Emperors, and the primary reason was his mastery over the Dao of Space.

On the other side, Mi Qi felt his vision blurring slightly while he was desperately trying to escape, and when his vision cleared, Yang Kai was already blocking his path with a cold expression, shouting, “Where are you trying to run off to!?”

Mi Qi gritted his teeth, looking desperate. A long spear appeared in his hand, shining with a cold light. Then, his spear thrust out like a Dragon going to sea. The swooshing sounds of his spear rang out endlessly and seemed to cover a wide area.

When it came down to it, he was still a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master so it was only natural for him to have some life-saving cards up his sleeves, and this attack revealed his strong and powerful foundation. The sky was filled with the murderous intent coming from his spear attacks, and the power behind each thrust was incredible, so much so that they made the Emperor Realm Masters of Fire Dragon Palace widen their eyes in surprise. They knew that they could not have survived a barrage of attacks of that calibre.

Even so, Yang Kai simply stood there boldly without any intention to dodge. The people of Fire Dragon Palace turned to look at their Palace Master and saw that Li Jiao was as calm as could be, not showing the slightest worry.

Out of everybody here, he knew Yang Kai’s abilities best. Yang Kai dared to take on the entire Dragon Clan, so what was Mi Qi in comparison? For that reason, there was nothing to worry about.

Facing that desperate barrage of attacks, Yang Kai’s expression became somewhat strange. It was his first time fighting against another person since becoming a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master; moreover, his opponent was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so even though Mi Qi’s attacks were not weak, they didn’t look very imposing or dangerous to him.

Yang Kai leisurely reached out his hand into the field of spear shadows and grabbed at something.

The spear shadows all dissipated in that instant, and Mi Qi’s movements abruptly froze, his eyes widened as large as saucers as though he had just seen a ghost. That was because Yang Kai’s casual movement had accurately grabbed the head of his spear among the countless afterimages.

[How am I supposed to use my ultimate killing move if my spear has been seized!?] Mi Qi’s expression changed drastically but he still reacted incredibly swiftly. The spear trembled for a moment as a rotating force transmitted along its shaft while Mi Qi roared, “Let go!”

He was hoping that this move would shake Yang Kai off. There was nothing he was basing his hopes on when performing this move, he was simply relying on the fact that his cultivation was one Minor Realm higher than Yang Kai’s.

That rotating force was transmitted to Yang Kai’s palm in an instant, and unsurprisingly, his wrist turned slightly from the force. Mi Qi was just about to continue with his efforts when he saw hostility appearing on Yang Kai’s face. The rotated wrist turned back again abruptly, accompanied by a force that seemed to ‘set things right’. 

Subsequently, a rotating force spinning in the complete opposite direction of the original was returned along the spear, and before Mi Qi even knew what was happening, his entire person was helplessly spinning round and round due to the might of that rotating force.

He pushed his Emperor Qi to forcefully stabilize his body in the air, but the spear he had been holding had already been snatched away by Yang Kai. Despite feeling extremely dizzy, what Mi Qi felt most distinctly right now was terror. [What great strength! His aura is clearly only in the Second-Order Emperor Realm! How is this possible!? How does he have this much power!? Just now, that was nothing but pure brute force!]

He was completely unaware of Yang Kai’s current physical condition. The Half-Dragon Form was not something he could fight against. If it had been Li Jiao, he would never have tried to compete against him in raw strength as that was purely asking for trouble.

Mi Qi didn’t even have the time to stabilize himself when he heard a whistling sound coming from above his head. He was so scared that it felt like his Soul had left his body for a moment. Yang Kai was still holding the head of Mi Qi’s spear; however, he was using the artifact spear as a club and brought it smashing down on Mi Qi.

Mi Qi lifted his arms and crossed them above his head. Two bracers appeared on his arms out of thin air. 

*Hong…* 

The butt of the spear smashed down against his arm guards, causing them to flash wildly before they quickly dimmed. That Emperor Artifact lost its spirituality after taking a hit from this brutal attack. Meanwhile, Mi Qi was struck by an overwhelming force, which caused him to crash down like a meteor. As a result, he smashed into a nearby mountain, opening a huge crater in its side.

Chapter 3236

The Emperor Realm Masters of Full Sky Sect lying on the ground were completely stunned. Their eyes portrayed how lost they felt as they were struck by a sense of utter disbelief. [Our Sect Master couldn’t even withstand a single move?]

Similarly, the people of Fire Dragon Palace were also stunned. Deep down in their hearts, they couldn’t help thinking that it was absolutely ridiculous. [Mi Qi is a Third-Order Emperor Realm, how could he be so pathetic?]

The three Monster Kings also exchanged glances with each other. They were a little shocked too. They could tell that Yang Kai seemed to be much stronger than before. On the other hand, Old Tao swallowed nervously. He lifted his bottle gourd of wine and poured some into his mouth. He needed the alcohol to take off some of the edge off the shock in his palpitating heart.

Meanwhile, Mi Qi had been smashed into the mountain and levelled it as a result. He felt extremely dizzy and the vitality in his body churned. It took some effort for him to finally suppress this discomfort, and when he looked up, he saw Yang Kai floating down to land in front of him.

Yang Kai stood before Mi Qi and looked down from above while playing with the spear in his hands. With a spin and a shake, the spear pierced toward Mi Qi with a spray of sparks.

“Have mercy!” Mi Qi shouted, “Palace Master Yang, please spare my life!”

At this point, survival came first. He couldn’t care less about his pride and reputation anymore. What was the use of his pride if he lost his life? The tip of the spear brushed past his cheeks and cut off several strands of his black hair, causing his eyes to widen to the size of saucers, and him to nearly wet his pants in fear.

“Tsk.” Yang Kai spat disdainfully. Lifting the spear in his hand slightly, he stabbed into the ground at his feet. Turning around, he asked, “Who else refuses to surrender?”

Who would dare to go against him now? All the Emperor Realm Masters of Full Sky Sect had been defeated by the Monster Kings earlier. They were currently sprawled across the ground, endlessly wailing in pain. As for the Emperor Realm Masters who fought against Ying Fei, they were covered in claw marks and fresh blood. They were helpless since Ying Fei had sealed their cultivation. They couldn’t even heal their injuries. On the other hand, the Emperor Realm Masters who fought against Xie Wu Wei were enveloped in a green light. Large and shiny blisters formed on their exposed skin. Their complexion was green and pale. It was clear that they had been badly poisoned. It could be said that all the higher-ups of Full Sky Sect in the Emperor Realm had been completely wiped out. Moreover, the entire battle, from the beginning to the end, had not taken more than a quarter of an hour!

“Palace Master Yang, please spare our lives!” Those disciples in the Dao Source Realm and below knelt down, one after the other, looking as grief-stricken as though they had just lost their parents.

Mi Qi’s eyes were dim. He looked at the person with his back facing him, then glanced at the spear artifact stuck in the ground in front of him. However, he couldn’t even muster the courage to launch a sneak attack. Even though Yang Kai was unscrupulously exposing his back to Mi Qi and seemed to be full of flaws, it only scared Mi Qi even more. How could he dare to act rashly?

Yang Kai swept his gaze over the place coldly and snorted softly, “Whether you can survive or not depends on what your Sect Master chooses.”

Mi Qi staggered up with his hand holding his chest. Turning to look at his subordinates, he saw familiar faces looking at him with eyes full of the desire to survive. What else was there to say at this point? He was not as powerful as his opponent. 

[Let’s just surrender.]

Although everybody ended up in a terrible state, it was fortunate that nobody was killed in this incident. It could be seen that the people on Yang Kai’s side had been rather measured in their approach, causing Mi Qi to sigh once again in his heart. At the same time, he bowed his head and cupped his fists, “Full Sky Sect is willing to submit to Palace Master Yang. Please have mercy, Palace Master Yang, and spare our lives.”

Yang Kai turned his head to glance at Mi Qi sideways and expressionlessly stated, “This is a big deal, Sect Master Mi. Why don’t you think it over carefully before giving me your answer? I am in no hurry. I can give you some time. It is good if you are being sincere. There’s no need to force yourself if you are unwilling, lest word gets out that I use force to bully others.”

[My life is in your hands! What else do I need to consider?] Mi Qi cursed in his heart. [How can I not be decisive at this point? If I have any other thoughts, I will suffer a tragic ending! Besides, quite a few of my Sect’s Elders have been poisoned. They don’t look like they can hold on for much longer. Their lives will be in danger if they don’t get the antidote soon. I have already surrendered to you; what more do you want!?]

Despite the complaints in his heart, Mi Qi did not dare to reveal his thoughts on his face and quickly stated, “Palace Master Yang, your power is unparalleled. Full Sky Sect was too blind to see that before. Please forgive us for how disrespectful we were. From now on, Full Sky Sect will surrender in good faith.”

The corners of Yang Kai’s brow twitched slightly, “Sect Master Mi, you are the Sect Master. You are a man of your word. Of course, I will believe the words you say. Since you are being so sincere, Sect Master Mi, this King will accept your goodwill.”

The corners of Mi Qi’s mouth couldn’t help twitching endlessly. He finally realized how shameless this man could be. [Bringing so many Masters over with him; wasn’t his intention to subdue Full Sky Sect!? He even sent Li Jiao over to deliver a message before and launched an attack on us. How can he still be so shameless as to say such things!? Making it seem as though I willingly surrendered of my own volition while he is forced to accept it reluctantly… Just how shameless can he get!?]

There was only one thing he could not figure out. [Although Full Sky Sect isn’t shabby, it doesn’t explain why Yang Kai is so fixated on it. I might owe him a huge debt, but I pay him back every year without any deficit. Why does he have to subdue Full Sky Sect? Could it be to demonstrate how powerful High Heaven Palace is?]

Despite his doubts, Mi Qi forced a smile on his face and stated, “Many thanks, Palace Master Yang.”

[What in the world is this!? The Emperor Realm Masters under me were badly beaten up, my pride was crushed, the Sect Defending Array was destroyed, and I was forced to surrender. Now, I even have to thank him!?] Mi Qi’s heart was filled with grief and anger. Unfortunately, he could only blame himself for being weaker than his opponent. Or else, he would have made Yang Kai suffer greatly in return.

Yang Kai replied, “Words are worthless. Please show me your sincerity, Sect Master Mi.”

Mi Qi was taken aback by those words. He cautiously asked, “What kind of sincerity do you want, Palace Master Yang?”

[I have already humbled myself so much, why is he still being so aggressive?] He secretly vowed to himself. [If he asks for something outrageous, I will… still have to consider it…]

Yang Kai quickly said, “Sect Master Mi, I hope you can issue an edict to inform all the cities, clans, and subordinate Sects under Full Sky Sect that it will be under the control of High Heaven Palace from today onward.”

“Ah!” Upon hearing those words, Mi Qi lifted his head abruptly with a shocked expression. Today’s events were humiliating, but it had only been limited to the people of Full Sky Sect. Even if word got out about this incident, it would be nothing but conjecture as long as Full Sky Sect remained silent on the matter; however, it was completely different if he were to issue an edict to actively inform the world about this.

There were many cities, clans and subordinate Sects under Full Sky Sect’s wing. It was one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory after all. As the saying went, ‘good deeds often went unnoticed, but bad news travelled fast’. At this rate, it wouldn’t take long before everybody in the Northern Territory would know of this matter.

[Is he trying to humiliate Full Sky Sect across the entire Northern Territory!? One of the top Sects in the Northern Territory has fallen so low that it is now a subordinate! How am I supposed to accept this!?]

“Hmm?” Yang Kai’s expression became cold, “You seem rather reluctant, Sect Master Mi. Don’t tell me those words you uttered just now were empty words?”

“No, of course not.” Mi Qi hurriedly waved his hands in denial, “It’s just…”

Before Mi Qi could finish talking, Yang Kai suddenly looked up at the sky and indifferently muttered, “Sect Master Mi is such an indecisive man. He doesn’t seem suited to lead the Sect. Perhaps he should abdicate and let somebody else take over.”

[What is the meaning of that!? Is he forcing me to relinquish my position as Sect Master!?] If it had been anybody else who said that, Mi Qi would not have taken them seriously; however, it was different when Yang Kai was the one who said those words. [My life is in his hands. He is perfectly capable of killing me and choosing another person from among the Elders to manage Full Sky Sect. I’m sure someone will be willing to cooperate with him.]

A chill ran through his spine. He did not dare to negotiate anymore. Gritting his teeth, he declared, “I’ll do it! I’ll write it!”

Yang Kai stated, “I’m not forcing you. It’s meaningless if I force you.”

Mi Qi replied sternly, “I am very sincere. Palace Master Yang, please understand.”

“If that’s the case… Why don’t you write the letter and let me have a look?” Yang Kai rubbed his chin.

Mi Qi immediately took out a jade slip and poured his Divine Sense into it to write the edict.

Yang Kai raised his chin, motioning to the wounded, “Treat them.”

Ying Fei’s figure flickered and he appeared before several Full Sky Sect’s Elders and slapped his palm against them to remove the seal he placed. Meanwhile, Xie Wu Wei opened his mouth and drew the green aura out from the poisoned Emperor Realm Masters.

Once the seal was lifted and the poison was removed, those Emperor Realm Masters took out their Recovery Spirit Pills and stuffed them into their mouths with complicated expressions.

Not long after that, Mi Qi finished writing and handed the jade slip to Yang Kai, “Palace Master Yang, please take a look.”

Yang Kai took the jade slip and glanced through it. Then, he frowned and tossed the jade slip back at Mi Qi, “Full Sky Sect is one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory. Can you not write like you’re so lowly? It makes people look down on you.”

Mi Qi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. [My life and the lives of my people are in your hands. How can I not be humble? Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do but rewrite it since he isn’t satisfied. I am the Sect Master of Full Sky Sect, but not only am I forced to write this shameful announcement, I am also subjected to his nit-picking… Where is the justice in this!?]

A short while later, he finished writing another edict. Yang Kai checked it and nodded lightly, “This is more like it. Copy that edict and make…” He lifted his head and glanced at the Elders and Protectors of Full Sky Sect who were treating their wounds. He counted their numbers and continued, “Eight copies.”

Mi Qi didn’t dare to resist, so he obediently wrote eight more copies of the same edict.

Yang Kai added, “Let each of the Emperor Realm Masters of Full Sky Sect hold a copy of the edict. They will travel to various places in eight separate directions, entering all forces under your jurisdiction to announce the edict in crowded areas. They will spread word of Full Sky Sect’s surrender to the entire Northern Territory.”

Upon hearing those words, the Elders of Full Sky Sect widened their eyes and stared in Yang Kai’s direction blankly. Similarly, a myriad of expressions flashed across Mi Qi’s face. There was grief, humiliation, and even a trace of hostility. He initially thought that even if he wrote this edict, it would take some time for word to spread. He did not expect Yang Kai to be so ruthless as to force the Elders of Full Sky Sect to personally bring the edict to the cities and Sects in the Northern Territory and announce it to the public.

[This will completely crush Full Sky Sect’s reputation and pride! How am I, the Sect Master of Full Sky Sect, supposed to maintain my standing in the Northern Territory in the future? How am I supposed to answer to those Elders in the Emperor Realm who have to announce the edicts? How will the entire Northern Territory view Full Sky Sect after this!?]

As the saying goes, ‘a warrior would prefer death over humiliation’. At that moment, Mi Qi had the impulsive urge to fight Yang Kai to the death. He believed that Yang Kai was deliberately humiliating him; however, he couldn’t help shuddering in fear as soon as he met Yang Kai’s frosty gaze. That gaze looked at him as though it was looking at a dead man. Thus, Mi Qi had no doubt that Yang Kai would not have mercy on him if he were to make another move. He clenched his fists tightly, but in the end, he didn’t dare to make his move, so he took a few moments to convince himself. [It’s better to be alive than to be dead. It’s just a bit of humiliation. What’s the big deal?]

Chapter 3237

Mi Qi slowly loosened his clenched fist and answered, “Yes!”

“This is an urgent matter. You should move out immediately.” Yang Kai muttered to the side, not letting up for a single moment.

Mi Qi was helpless. He tossed the edicts to the Elders with a wave of his hand and ordered, “You heard what Palace Master Yang said. Go on…” 

Waving his hand, he looked like there was nothing else to live for in his life.

Those Elders, whose injuries had yet to recover, looked at each other blankly. They were unable to conceal the sorrow and rage in their eyes; nevertheless, there was nothing they could do despite the grievances in their hearts. They were no match for their opponent. Even their Sect Master had to lower his head; thus, they could only carry out the order. 

The Elders immediately split up and headed in different directions, turning into streams of light as they left. Although they were still injured, it was nothing serious and they could slowly recuperate during their journey. It was at this moment that they understood why those two Monster Kings had only injured them but not killed them. It was for this moment; they were kept alive to run errands.

This entire incident was premeditated. If all the Emperor Realm Masters of Full Sky Sect were dead, who would announce Mi Qi’s surrender to the world? It was not convincing to have that edict read by someone else. Only if the Elders and Protectors of Full Sky Sect were the messengers would it drive home the point and make it feel real.

It was not hard to imagine that news of Full Sky Sect surrendering to High Heaven Palace would soon spread like wildfire, so Mi Qi sighed inwardly. His entire being seemed to have wilted considerably, like he had aged a lot all of a sudden.

“Get up, all of you. Stop kneeling. We’re all one big family from now on.” Yang Kai glanced at the Full Sky Sect’s disciples around him, who were still kneeling on the ground, and beckoned them to stand with his hand.

All of them looked at Mi Qi and did not dare to move. Then, Mi Qi shouted, “Are you all deaf!? Didn’t you hear what Palace Master Yang said? If you want to continue kneeling, you can kneel until the day you die! Don’t bother getting up anymore!”

[A bunch of good-for-nothings! How did Full Sky Sect raise such a cowardly group of people!? Their cultivation might not be a match for their opponent, but there’s no need to kneel from fear just because of a few words, right!?]

Following Mi Qi’s biting words, how could they dare to remain kneeling? Thus, they stood up with embarrassed expressions.

Mi Qi coldly snorted, “From today onward, you may disobey my orders as your Sect Master, but you have to obey everything Palace Master Yang says. Do you understand?”

“Yes!” His words were met with a faint response. They seemed weak and helpless; after all, even they felt disgraced when their Sect Master uttered such words.

Mi Qi squeezed out a smile, “Palace Master Yang, do you have anything else to say?”

Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively to indicate that he had nothing to say to the rest of them. It was enough if he dealt with Mi Qi alone. After that, he turned to glance at Old Tao, “Old Sir, if you don’t mind, how about you come inside for some tea?”

Mi Qi had the urge to roll his eyes behind Yang Kai’s back. [This is Full Sky Sect, not High Heaven Palace. It’s clear as day that he regards this place as his own territory now…] 

Nonetheless, even if Mi Qi held such thoughts, he did not dare to say anything. He had chosen to surrender, so Full Sky Sect truly was part of Yang Kai’s territory now.

Old Tao pondered for a moment and nodded, “Many thanks for your thoughtfulness. In that case, please excuse this Old Master’s intrusion.” He also wanted to understand the relationship between Liu Yan and Jiu Feng.

“Please!” Yang Kai stretched out his hand to indicate for Old Tao to enter. Old Tao refused politely, and after some back and forth, they entered side by side. The three Monster Kings followed closely behind. Meanwhile, Mi Qi deliberately lagged behind to walk beside Li Jiao.

The two of them could be considered old acquaintances and previously, Li Jiao even came over to try to persuade Mi Qi to surrender. It was unfortunate that Mi Qi did not heed Li Jiao’s advice. He believed that he could sit back and relax if he invited Old Tao over, but who could have known that Old Tao would be incapable of rescuing him from his troubles? That was why Mi Qi ended up in this sorry state. Li Jiao couldn’t help but sigh and reached out to pat Mi Qi on the shoulder, not knowing what to say to comfort him at this point.

Mi Qi sent a Divine Sense transmission at that moment, “Brother Li, you and I have known each other for many years and our relationship is not something normal friendships can be compared to. Tell me the truth, why is Palace Master Yang deliberately humiliating Full Sky Sect? I am certain I have never offended him before. Besides, I pay back the debts I owe him every year without fail. Why does he have to do this? He completely disregarded the pride of Full Sky Sect.” [Moreover, he didn’t give us any breathing space either. He made the Elders in the Emperor Realm set off immediately. I originally wanted to drag things out for a bit to see if I can come up with another solution and turn the situation around. But now… There’s no chance for that anymore…]

In response, Li Jio lifted his head and looked ahead. [What’s the point of cosying up to me now? I was kicked out the last time I came to visit you!] 

Even with such thoughts, Li Jiao had no intention to continue taunting Mi Qi as the latter was pitiful enough as it was, so he simply smiled bitterly and replied, “Brother Mi, do you think Palace Master Yang is deliberately humiliating you?”

“Isn’t he?” Mi Qi glared. [If it’s not to deliberately humiliate me, then why did he force me to write the edict and make my Sect’s Elders announce it publicly far and wide!?]

“He isn’t,” Li Jiao shook his head.

Mi Qi asked, “Then, why!?’

“To establish his prestige!” Li Jiao uttered those words.

Mi Qi was taken aback by those words, “To establish his prestige? Why?” 

Although High Heaven Palace had only just emerged, it could already be considered one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory, a fact recognized by all. [High Heaven Palace is already one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory. Its standing is clear for all to see. What else does it need to establish? And, to who?]

Li Jiao pondered in silence for a while before responding, “Palace Master Yang wants to unify the Northern Territory.”

This matter would not remain a secret for long, and Li Jiao was certain that Yang Kai would take the next step soon; therefore, it didn’t matter even if he mentioned it now and let Mi Qi know in advance.

Mi Qi was shocked to the core upon hearing those words, and his jaw fell open in astonishment. It took him a long time to recover from the shock before he exclaimed, “Unify the entire Northern Territory!?” [What insatiable ambition!] 

Unlike the other three Territories, there was no Great Emperor Sect assuming command in the Northern Territory. Although the Medicine Pill Valley had Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Medicine Pill Valley did not intervene in the affairs of the Northern Territory; hence, the Northern Territory could be considered leaderless, unlike the Southern Territory which was headed by Star Soul Palace, the Western Territory which centred around Shadow Killer Palace, and the Eastern Territory, which was led by Serene Soul Palace.

Mi Qi could never have imagined that Yang Kai would be so ambitious or be so daring to actually act on his ambitions. He said with a lost expression, “Isn’t he afraid of arousing public outrage and inciting the entire Northern Territory to join forces against him?”

Li Jiao replied, “That’s why he has to establish his prestige.”

Mi Qi was no fool. He might be a little cowardly, but he was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in the end. It required being sharp-witted to reach his current position. He had not understood what ‘establishing his prestige’ meant before, but he now understood it completely after listening to Li Jiao’s explanation.

It was simply to say, ‘Full Sky Sect is also one of the top Sects in Northern Territory, but so what? They were defeated by High Heaven Palace and had no power to fight back. They had no choice but to surrender in order to protect themselves. If this is what happens to Full Sky Sect, then what choice do the other Sects and Clans have?’ 

Once word of this incident spread, nobody would dare to resist High Heaven Palace when it pointed its claws at some other place in the future.

All of a sudden, Mi Qi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Just for that!? That’s the reason why Full Sky Sect was unfairly victimized!?”

Li Jiao patted Mi Qi on the shoulder again and sighed, “Stay positive. At least you are still alive.” 

When it came down to it, Full Sky Sect was simply unlucky. Among the top four Sects in the Northern Territory, Ice Heart Valley and Yang Kai had a very close relationship. Meanwhile, Li Jiao and Yang Kai had built up a good rapport with each other after running around outside for so many years; therefore, Yang Kai only had one choice if he wanted to establish his prestige; and that was Full Sky Sect. It could be said that Mi Qi simply had bad luck.

After all, Full Sky Sect was one of the top Sects in the Northern Territory. Its words and actions held a lot of weight. The effect would not have been as good if it had been a smaller, less-known Sect.

Mi Qi let out a long sigh. At this point, it was useless to say anything else. Nevertheless, he felt a little better after learning that Yang Kai planned to unify the entire Northern Territory. That was because Yang Kai was not deliberately humiliating him or Full Sky Sect, it was just that it was a part of his grand plan.

Soon, the group walked into the previous hall. As the host of this place, Mi Qi immediately began making preparations. He ordered people to clean up the previous banquet and replace it with new dishes. Then, he asked the musician and the dancers to perform. The hall was once again filled with singing and dancing. It was just that Yang Kai was now sitting upright in the main seat. Moreover, there were no other Emperor Realm Masters from Full Sky Sect aside from Mi Qi present. Instead, those Emperor Realm Masters were replaced by the three Monster Kings and the Masters from Fire Dragon Palace.

Yang Kai raised his glass in a toast, and everybody joined in. It wasn’t until after several rounds of drinks that Yang Kai finally started talking to Old Tao. They chatted for a bit and got to know each other’s names; however, the main reason he hosted this banquet to keep Old Tao here was to ask him about Dragon Island.

Yang Kai departed from the Dragon Palace to return to the Lower Star Fields after causing a huge ruckus on Dragon Island back then; therefore, he had no clue what happened afterwards. He did not know if the Martial Beast Great Emperor managed to take Fu Xuan away or whether Zhu Qing received some form of punishment from Dragon Island.

It was a pity that Old Tao did not know much either. He had been staying in the Northern Territory to search for exotic beasts for Spirit Beast Island and more than ten years had passed since he last returned to Spirit Beast Island. He didn’t even know that the Martial Beast Great Emperor had brought his strongest forces along with him to invade Dragon Island.

Since Old Tao did not know anything, Yang Kai did not elaborate on the matter either. It was just that the way he tried to be mysterious made Old Tao a little suspicious.

Regardless of whether the Martial Beast Great Emperor managed to take Fu Xuan away, Zhu Qing was probably forgiven for the ruckus she caused; after all, she was currently a Ninth-Order Dragon. Just going by the purity of her bloodline, she met the requirements to become an Elder of Dragon Island. It stood to reason that they would not punish her for the uproar he caused before.

Her situation was somewhat similar to that of Fu Xuan’s as they had both pledged themselves to a Human. If Dragon Island really wanted to punish them, then Fu Xuan would not be spared either. In that case though, the Martial Beast Great Emperor would not stand idly by. And Dragon Island would not punish Zhu Qing if they weren’t going to punish Fu Xuan. Otherwise, it would be highly improper.

On the other hand, Old Tao was curious about Liu Yan. He beat around the bush, trying to figure out the relationship between Liu Yan and Jiu Feng, but finally stopped asking after Yang Kai evaded his questions for some time. In the end, both parties did not receive the information they wanted, resulting in a fruitless conversation.

In the evening, Old Tao took his leave after the banquet ended, with Yang Kai asking Liu Yan to see him off. On the other hand, Yang Kai was accompanied by Mi Qi as he chose a suitable place in Full Sky Sect to arrange a Space Array.

At first, Mi Qi did not know what Yang Kai was doing, and it wasn’t until he communicated with Li Jiao via transmission that he learned the truth and cried out bitterly in his heart, [It looks like there is no way for Full Sky Sect to break free from High Heaven Palace’s control now that this Space Array connects both Sects.]

The next day, Yang Kai led a group of people back to High Heaven Palace. He was also accompanied by Mi Qi. The first thing he did upon his return was to summon everybody for a meeting. The participants were all cultivators above the Dao Source Realm; hence, there were not many people. Li Jiao and Mi Qi were included among them too. Many who did not know the situation glanced at each other in confusion. They were not bothered by Li Jiao’s presence since everybody knew that he was on good terms with Yang Kai, but who was this guy called Mi Qi?

Even Hua Qing Si was puzzled. She glanced at Mi Qi from time to time only to see him smiling at her in an ingratiating manner, confusing her even more.

Once everybody had arrived, Yang Kai went straight into the heart of the matter, “Sect Master Mi has decided that his Sect will surrender to High Heaven Palace. From now on, Full Sky Sect will become a Subordinate Sect of High Heaven Palace.”

Everybody was shocked to hear this announcement and many doubted their ears. Only the three Monster Kings looked calm.

Spirit Beast Island is kinda like that kid that always sits at the back of the class that doesn’t really interact with others and just sleeps. 

Chapter 3238

Many pairs of eyes were staring at Mi Qi inside the hall. Taking the hint, Mi Qi immediately took the initiative to step forward and bowed with his hand on his chest, “Palace Master Yang’s strength and methods are unparalleled. He has the world in mind, and I have been awed by his greatness. Full Sky Sect is willing to submit to Palace Master Yang and will obey High Heaven Palace in good faith from this day forward.”

Regardless of whether it was true or false, that speech of his was eloquent; thus, it gave everybody at High Heaven Palace a good impression of him.

The corners of Li Jiao’s mouth twitched as he could not believe how much of a smooth-talker Mi Qi was. In all the years they had known each other, he had never discovered this side of Mi Qi before. Mi Qi had fought back several times when Yang Kai asked him to surrender before, but now, he was acting as though he had gladly accepted his fate, like it was a great task granted to him by the Heavens. Moreover, he was able to align his position and attitude very well. While it made Li Jiao admire Mi Qi’s flexibility, he couldn’t help feeling a little forlorn at the same time.

Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect were similar in strength and Li Jiao was certain that if he had not gone through various life-and-death situations with Yang Kai on numerous occasions, what happened to Full Sky Sect would have been what Fire Dragon Palace would have faced. It was only because he had some friendly relations with Yang Kai that he did not make a move against Fire Dragon Palace. But then again, Fire Dragon Palace was not much different from Full Sky Sect as it was already something of a Subordinate Sect, although not formally.

“You have all heard what Sect Master Mi said. Let’s get to know each other.” Yang Kai waved his hand.

Hua Qing Si smiled and took a step forward and elegantly introduced herself, “Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, Hua Qing Si, greets Sect Master Mi.”

“You are too polite, Head Manager,” Mi Qi replied, feeling rather curious. [What kind of a position is a ‘Head Manager’? I’ve never heard of something like that before, but she is standing in front of everyone and introduced herself first. Even the three Monster Kings seem to be in a lower position compared to her. It looks like she is quite important to Yang Kai. I better not offend her in the future. I need to butter her up instead; otherwise, I don’t know when she might make things difficult for me.]

There was even a small suspicion in his heart as he wondered to himself. [Could she have an intimate relationship with Yang Kai? Otherwise, why would a First-Order Emperor like her hold such a high position?]

Hu Qing Si had no clue about the thoughts going through Mi Qi’s head, for if she did, she would have fought him to the death. Smiling elegantly, she pointed to a person next to her and introduced, “This is Monster King Xi Lei. I’m sure you’ve met, Sect Master Mi.”

To which, Mi Qi smiled and cupped his fists in greeting. [How could I not have met him before!? I was battling him at Full Sky Sect! I can clearly tell that I am not his opponent.]

Xi Lei grinned at him, showing a mouthful of fangs, inducing a slight bout of panic.

Hua Qing Si continued, “This is Monster King Ying Fei.”

Ying Fei nodded lightly.

“This is…”

Mi Qi maintained the smile on his face as he was introduced to everybody, one by one. It didn’t matter whether their cultivations were high or low, he still felt as though he was inferior to them, but that couldn’t be helped. Full Sky Sect had surrendered to High Heaven Palace after all; thus, Mi Qi didn’t dare to act out in front of these people who seemed to be the cornerstones of High Heaven Palace.

There were many Emperor Realm Masters present, including Xie Wu Wei, Ye Hen, Nanmen Da Jun, and Hou Yu. Meanwhile, Qin Zhao Yang, Chi Yue, Ai Ou, Gui Zu, Gu Cang Yun, Ruan Bi Ting, and the others were all in the Dao Source Realm… In the process of getting to know them one by one, it turned out that there were quite a lot of them.

Mi Qi knew of Nanmen Da Jun, but it was his first time hearing that this famous Emperor Array Master was working under High Heaven Palace. He couldn’t help feeling surprised; after all, Nanmen Da Jun was well-known in the Northern Territory. Although he could not compare with the disciples of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, he was still an Emperor Array Master! They were existences that were coveted everywhere. Mi Qi had thoughts of soliciting Nanmen Da Jun back then, but the latter had completely ignored him.

If it was any ordinary First-Order Emperor Realm Master, Mi Qi would have taught them a lesson for treating him in such a manner; however, Nanmen Da Jun’s status as an Emperor Array Master made him cautious, lest he draw unwanted trouble. Mi Qi didn’t dare to act rashly, for if he had harmed Nanmen Da Jun, all the Masters in the Northern Territory would never forgive him. Full Sky Sect could not afford to provoke such public outrage.

When he heard that Hou Yu was an Emperor Artifact Refiner, Mi Qi’s eyeballs nearly burst out of their sockets from the shock. [What is with the situation in High Heaven Palace!? As if it’s not enough that Nanmen Da Jun is here. There’s also an Emperor Artifact Refiner!? That’s an Emperor Artifact Refiner! How many Emperor Artifact Refiners are there in the entire Star Boundary!? Moreover, this Emperor Artifact Refiner is a woman! I really don’t know where Yang Kai found all these freaks!]

Three Monster Kings, an Emperor Array Master, and an Emperor Artifact Refiner…. Any one of them possessed a status that was amazing. No matter where in the Star Boundary they were placed, they would be highly sought after; thus, for them to gather in one place was even more unbelievable.

Mi Qi suddenly felt that surrendering was not necessarily a bad thing. The heritage of High Heaven Palace was far superior to Full Sky Sect, so it was not a heavy loss to become subordinate to them. In the future, there might even be an opportunity to rely on Nanmen Da Jun or Hou Yu. The only drawback would be the huge blow to his pride.

Hua Qing Si’s next sentence stunned him on the spot, “We also have an Emperor Alchemist. Unfortunately, he is currently in the process of refining Spirit Pills, so it is difficult for him to come out at the moment. Please forgive our discourtesy, Sect Master Mi.”

“An E-Emperor Alchemist!?” He nearly bit his tongue off in his shock, dumbfounded.

To which Hua Qing Si smiled lightly, “Speaking of which, you should know of our Emperor Alchemist, Sect Master Mi.”

“I do?” He was surprised, but then a thought flashed in his mind, one he instinctively refused to believe.

Unfortunately, Hua Qing Si nodded, “Indeed. I’m certain Sect Master Mi is very familiar with Grandmaster Ji Ying.”

Mi Qi couldn’t help but gulp nervously. His first reaction was to look at Hua Qing Si with a questioning look on his face. It was as though he wanted to know whether those words were true or false.

[Ji Ying!? The Fifth Disciple of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor!? He’s joined High Heaven Palace too!?] Mi Qi suddenly recalled a scene from back when he came to this place with Li Jiao and watched Ji Ying and Yang Kai compete in Alchemy. [At the time, Li Jiao and I weren’t the only ones to make a bet with Yang Kai. I recall that Grandmaster Ji also made a certain bet.]

Mi Qi later wondered about it, as although Ji Ying might have lost, the latter was still the disciple of the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to do anything to him even if Ji Ying refused to acknowledge his defeat. Besides, it seemed impossible for him to remain at High Heaven Palace at the time; however, it would seem as though he had really stayed behind.

[Doesn’t Medicine Pill Valley have any objections to this? Didn’t the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor object to it?] Mi Qi felt as though his head was spinning as his eyes swept across each and every person in the hall. [A single Sect actually managed to gather an Emperor Array Master, an Emperor Artifact Refiner, and an Emperor Alchemist, each one a top Grandmaster! Furthermore, three Monster Kings are protecting this place. Just what is wrong with this Sect!? Even a Great Emperor Sect might not be comparable in some aspects!]

Mi Qi suddenly felt that his loss wasn’t undeserved or even a bad thing. In his dazed state, he suddenly heard Yang Kai speaking from a raised platform, “High Heaven Palace has many disciples currently, and although there are some reserves in the storehouse, we can’t just sit on our laurels and eat away at those stocks. We need a long-term income to maintain the Sect. The Head Manager has already taken control of the cities that used to be under Seeking Passion Sect’s jurisdiction, so we will receive some contributions from them each year. We can also do some business ourselves, but that’s still just a drop in the bucket compared to our needs. The disciples of High Heaven Palace are twenty to thirty times more numerous than what Seeking Passion Sect used to have, so we require twenty times more territory than they used to have to maintain the Sect in the long run. I called you all here today for one reason. I have decided to unify the Northern Territory. All the major cities and Sects in the Northern Territory will pay tribute to High Heaven Palace every year. That way, it will prevent High Heaven Palace from having insufficient resources. What do you think?”

Yang Kai turned his head and looked around. The three Monster Kings had indifferent expressions. They were simply the muscle on his side, attacking wherever he wanted them to. They were not afraid of causing a huge ruckus as, in the worst case, they could just return to the Ancient Wild Lands and hide.

On the other hand, Hua Qing Si and the others were surprised to hear Yang Kai’s announcement. Even Hua Qing Si had not heard him mention this before, so she couldn’t help being stunned. [Just when did Yang Kai start harbouring these thoughts?]

High Heaven Palace was presently at the peak of its growth stage, so it could not afford to make enemies carelessly. Rather, they would surely dominate the entire Northern Territory with their numbers as long as they worked hard for the next hundred years.

However, she could tell from the way Yang Kai looked that he had already made his decision. Persuasion would be useless at this point, but she couldn’t help worrying. If they did this, they would surely arouse the resistance of the billions of cultivators in the Northern Territory; after all, who would willingly give up their own benefits?

Furthermore, where would they find the manpower in High Heave Palace to carry out such an endeavour? The newly-arrived disciples were still in the process of adapting to the Star Boundary itself and their cultivations weren’t high either. They wouldn’t be of much use even if they were to be sent out to battle.

Nevertheless, Yang Kai didn’t seem to share her worries and looked like he was going to act decisively in this extremely complicated situation. Sweeping his gaze around, he stated, “If nobody has any objections, I will assume that you are all in support of it. Good.”

The corners of everyone’s face twitched in response. [What’s the point of having any objections? You call all the shots in High Heaven Palace!] 

He usually played the role of an arm-flinging shopkeeper; however, his word was still law whenever he took charge of something.

Yang Kai then continued, “I know what you are worried about. It is nothing more than a problem of manpower, but don’t worry about this. Brother Li and Sect Master Mi will assist out High Heaven Palace. With the three of us joining hands, who would dare stop us in the Northern Territory?”

Li Jiao and Mi Qi both bowed at the same time, “We will obey your orders, Palace Master Yang.”

Li Jiao had been mentally prepared for this, so he didn’t think much of it. On the other hand, Mi Qi was lamenting in his heart. [Full Sky Sect has joined a gang of thieves!] 

Yang Kai wanted to unify the Northern Territory so that he could force those cities and Sects to offer their resources up to him every year. Be that as it may, High Heaven Palace could not allocate the necessary manpower for this grand undertaking. When it came down to it, it would be the people of Full Sky Sect and Fire Dragon Palace leading the charge instead.

Those who would bear a grudge would surely bear a grudge against the people from these two Sects. Conversely, High Heaven Palace would be safely hiding at the back, away from all the dangers. [Enjoying all the benefits without suffering the hard part. How vicious!] 

In other words, High Heaven Palace didn’t even need to put in any effort at all. They would only need to send some people along to supervise.

Yang Kai observed Mi Qi’s reaction, so how could he not know what the latter was thinking? Unfortunately, he couldn’t be bothered explaining. It’s not like he was planning to claim everything for himself, and since Fire Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect were involved, he would definitely reward them for their efforts. Yang Kai wouldn’t let them work for nothing, but as for how many benefits he would share… that would depend on his mood at the time.

Hua Qing Si considered it for a moment before inquiring, “Palace Master, do I need to inform Ice Heart Valley about this?”

Out of the top four Sects in the Northern Territory, three had joined forces, leaving only Ice Heart Valley unaware of the situation, which was unreasonable. It wouldn’t have mattered much if Yang Kai was not close to Ice Heart Valley, but the relationship they shared with each other was actually incredibly close. It was unkind not to let Ice Heart Valley participate when there were benefits to be had.

Yang Kai’s expression twitched slightly at those words, “I’ve considered Ice Heart Valley too, but I don’t know what their thoughts on this would be.”

The women of Ice Heart Valley all cultivated Ice Attribute Secret Arts, which generally made them disdain dealing with worldly affairs; therefore, it was difficult for him to bring up a matter that would cause public outrage with them. It would be worse if Bing Yun started scolding him. In any case, he still planned to divide some of the benefits he acquired in the future with Ice Heart Valley. Su Yan was cultivating there, so Yang Kai could simply think of it as a sincere gesture towards Ice Heart Valley.

Chapter 3239

Hua Qing Si smiled slightly, “Palace Master, you worry too much. Ice Heart Valley will not refuse such a good opportunity.”

Yang Kai wondered, “What do you mean?”

Hua Qing Si explained, “Ice Heart Valley was suppressed by the Seeking Passion Sect for many years due to the disappearance of Senior Bing Yun; therefore, it does not have many outside industries left and there are currently very few cities, possibly just two or three, under its jurisdiction. Most of its income comes from the spirit flowers and spirit herbs they plant inside the valley; moreover, Ice Heart Valley received a lot of disciples in recent years so I’m afraid times are difficult for them. Why would they refuse the benefits that land in their laps?”

Yang Kai rubbed his chin and pondered for a while, “In that case, we could have always included them in the plan.”

He did not know as much about Ice Heart Valley as Hua Qing Si did, so if she said so much, then that must be the case. If he could pull Heart Valley into his plan, then the top four Sects of the Northern Territory would be joining forces in this undertaking. Who would dare to stop them then?

A few moments later, he made his decision, “Let’s include them.”

Hua Qing Si smiled, “Since this matter is urgent, I will invite someone over now.”

Yang Kai nodded, and Hua Qing Si immediately flew off. Within an hour, Hua Qing Si came back into the hall, accompanied by a woman with an icy temperament.

Yang Kai’s expression instantly went black as he glanced at Hua Qing Si a little resentfully; after all, the woman she brought with her was none other than Ji Yao. After the last two secret encounters he had with Ji Yao, he had now become somewhat afraid to meet her. 

On one hand, the secrecy of their encounters was very thrilling. On the other hand, Yang Kai felt like he was betraying Su Yan and the others; therefore, he had been quite conflicted about it. The most important point was that, up until now, he still could not figure out Ji Yao’s intentions.

From beginning to end, Ji Yao had never discussed anything about it with him. It seemed like she didn’t mind letting him do as he pleased, but at the same time, she did not allow him to go past a certain point. It made him feel as though he was being held by his weakness; therefore, it was not difficult to imagine his current mood when Hua Qing Si brought Ji Yao over, out of all the other candidates she could have chosen.

Hua Qing Si had a questioning look on her face, seemingly having noticed something off about Yang Kai’s complexion, but she couldn’t care less at the moment. Cupping her fists, she bowed, “Palace Master, Elder Ji is here.”

Yang Kai squeezed out a smile, “Junior Sister Yao.”

With so many eyes on them, Ji Yao did not reveal any abnormalities in her behaviour either. She simply greeted him in an aloof manner, “Senior Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai coughed lightly, “Junior Sister Yao, I invited you over to discuss something important and I believe Head Manager has already informed Senior Bing Yun, but I don’t know what Senior thinks of the proposal.” If he wanted to drag Ice Heart Valley into this, then Bing Yun’s attitude was key.

Ji Yao promptly replied lightly, “Honoured Master has declared that Ice Heart Valley was saved back then thanks to Senior Brother Yang’s assistance, so now that you are in need of help, Ice Heart Valley will spare no effort to assist you. If you have any instructions for us, Ice Heart Valley will not refuse.”

A light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes at those words and he smiled, “Good, then I shall trouble you with this matter.” Surveying his surroundings, he continued, “Since everybody is here, let us discuss and come up with a plan. This matter must be resolved as soon as possible.”

Having decided to do this, there was no need to delay matters any further. In any case, the top four Sects of the Northern Territory had joined forces, so there was nobody in the Northern Territory that could contend with them. There was no need for conspiracy or trickery now. They could simply push forward boldly.

The plan was formed rather quickly. All four Sects would move at the same time. With High Heaven Palace as the centre, they would fan out and announce its supremacy to the Northern Territory. Every major Sect and city in the Northern Territory would then have to offer up some cultivation resources to High Heaven Palace every year.

After the discussion was completed, Ji Yao, Li Jiao, and Mi Qi immediately returned to their respective Sects to mobilize their forces.

The next day, numerous groups of people gathered in front of High Heaven Palace’s Sect Defending Array. There was a group of cold but alluring women on the left, each of them extraordinarily beautiful. Just looking at them dazzled the eyes. This group of people were none other than the disciples of Ice Heart Valley.

On the right were the people from Fire Dragon Palace, and at the back were the disciples of Full Sky Sect. Each Sect sent out over a thousand members in total, so there were more than three thousand people gathered here now. That was not a large number, but the ratio of Masters among them was terrifying. Emperor Realm Masters and Dao Source Realm Masters were everywhere, and the weakest among them were still Origin Kings.

Those of High Heaven Palace stood in the middle, led by the three Monster Kings. Ye Hen and a number of Dao Source Realm Masters had been deployed too; however, those that stood behind them were nothing special as most were just Origin Kings, incomparable in number compared to the other three Sects.

Unfortunately, the disciples that came from the Star Field were not up to par yet. They were the reason why the divide between the disciples in High Heaven Palace was so extreme. The strong were incredibly strong while the weak were so weak that it was laughable.

Hua Qing Si summoned Li Jiao, Mi Qi, and Ji Yao. Then, she spread out a map. The map had been marked with numerous red dots, and every red dot represented a city or Sect or Clan of varying size.

After a brief discussion, the thousands of people were divided into groups of eight and scattered in all directions. These eight people consisted of two disciples from each Sect, and every team was headed by a Master in the Dao Source Realm or higher. Needless to say, their goal was the locations marked on the map. The only purpose of this deployment was to make these cities, Sects, and clans recognize the supremacy of High Heaven Palace so that they would pay tribute every year.

Yang Kai had already put the word out, so it would be great if the other parties knew what was best for them and cooperated. If some refused to accept reality, the eight representatives were to defeat them if they could. If they couldn’t defeat the other party, then they were to return and report the matter. A Master would then be sent out to deal with the rebels instead; after all, the Emperor Realm Masters of the top four Sects were not just for show.

Be that as it may, the teams led by the Dao Source Realm Masters were assigned to locations that were easy to deal with. More troublesome places would be dealt with by teams headed by Emperor Realm Masters. As it stood, not many would dare to rebel with the combined power of the top four Sects looming over their heads.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai himself also led a team and headed straight towards the headquarters of the other strong forces in the Northern Territory.

Five days later, the Sect Master of Myriad Founders Sect, Hua Yu, stood in front of the main hall of Myriad Founders Sect’s headquarters. He bowed with cupped fists as he watched Yang Kai and his group depart into the distance. It wasn’t until the figures of those eight people disappeared from sight that he finally let the stiff smile on his face slide off his face and sighed deeply, a vexed expression appearing on his face.

Cheng Da Hai, the Vice Sect Master, walked over and said angrily, “Sect Master, are we really going to send 30% of our income to High Heaven Palace each year!?”

“That’s right! Why should we give away 30% of our resources to High Heaven Palace with just a few words from that brat!? How will other people view the Myriad Founders Sect if they learn of this!?” An Elder shouted through gritted teeth,

Hua Yu murmured sadly, “Then, what do you suggest we do instead?”

“Sect Master, if you want me to, I can bring some men with me to intercept that brat right now and bring the jade slip back with us. Dead men tell no tales, and nobody will know that it was the doing of Myriad Founders Sect.”

“That’s right! That little bastard has already drawn public outrage by doing this, so there are countless people in the Northern Territory who want to kill him right now! Who will know that we are the ones behind it?”

“You?” Turning his head, Hua Yu glanced at the Elders and Protectors standing behind him, shook his head, and sighed, “None of you are his opponent.”

The Elder who spoke up previously added, “We haven’t even tried yet! How do you know that I am not his opponent!? He is merely a Second-Order Emperor. If we all attacked together…”

“There’s no need for you to try as I have already tried,” Hua Yu had an extremely sorrowful expression on his face.

“You’ve already tried?” The Elders and Protectors glanced at each other and finally understood why Hua Yu had taken Yang Kai to a secluded chamber just now. It was to test Yang Kai’s strength. Or rather… Hua Yu wanted to see if there was a chance for him to defeat Yang Kai; after all, nobody was willing to give away their profits to another person for free.

“What was the result?” Everyone looked at Hua Yu expectantly.

“I am completely not his opponent.” Hua Yu smiled bitterly.

The Elder who spoke first asked, “Sect Master, why must you diminish your own light just to increase another person’s prestige? You are also a Second-Order Emperor so the difference between the two of you shouldn’t be that great, right?”

Hua Yu replied, “It’s precisely because our cultivations are the same that I agreed to his demands so readily. He allowed me to attack him ten times while he stood still and did not fight back, but in the end, I never even touched the clothes on his body.”

“What!?” Everybody was shocked by those words. Some even wondered if they had misheard him.

[They are both in the Second-Order Emperor Realm! Yang Kai just stood there motionlessly to receive ten attacks from Sect Master, yet Sect Master couldn’t even land a single hit!? How is that possible!? In other words, Yang Kai stopped the Sect Master’s attack with his Emperor Qi alone!?]

“On the other hand, he defeated me with a single casual attack.” Hua Yu threw another shocking revelation at them, which sent them reeling from the shock as he sighed, “What does Myriad Founders Sect have to fight against such power? If we fail to meet his demands today, Myriad Founders Sect’s ten thousand years of history will surely be destroyed tomorrow.”

“He dares?!” Cheng Da Hai shouted loudly.

Hua Yu glanced at Cheng Da Hai, “I’m certain he would. The top four Sects have joined forces, so what can we do against them if they really wanted to wipe out Myriad Founders Sect? I heard that Full Sky Sect surrendered to High Heaven Palace a few days ago. I initially thought that it was false information, but now, it seems to be the truth.”

Everybody fell silent at those words and looked miserable. Offering up 30% of their annual profits meant that they would lose 30% of their total resources. Nobody would be happy with such an arrangement.

Things were going unexpectedly well. Yang Kai led a team and travelled across the lands of the Northern Territory. With the reputation of having subdued the Full Sky Sect preceding him, there was no need for Yang Kai to do anything much. He easily retrieved jade slips from each Sect or Clan declaring that they would pay a tribute of 30% of their income every year, regardless of where he went. Nobody dared to resist. At most, they would try to test their skills against Yang Kai, like Myriad Founders Sect, before quietly finding an excuse to step down from the fight.

Yang Kai did not just focus on obtaining these jade slips, though, he also arranged Space Arrays whenever he came across a suitable place, connecting that location to High Heaven Palace directly. This way, High Heaven Palace could teach those who failed to keep their word a lesson at any time it chose.

Across the entire Northern Territory, every city, Sect, or clan had to offer up a tribute consisting 30% of their income every year. 30% from one or two forces might not seem like much, but 30% from the entire Northern Territory totalled up to an alarming amount.

It meant that High Heaven Palace would receive 30% of the profits of the Northern Territory, even if they did nothing else. Moreover, Yang Kai could collect even more of the Northern Territory’s specialties through his connection to these subordinate forces. That way, he could increase the variety of things High Heaven Palace traded with the Southern Territory. He could also bring in items from the Southern Territory and sell them across the Northern Territory more easily now. The profits from the sale of these goods were nothing to sneeze at.

After hurrying about for more than twenty days, Yang Kai headed back to High Heaven Palace via a Space Array. He had dealt with all the difficulties that may arise in the Northern Territory. The reason things were going so smoothly was that news of the Full Sky Sect’s surrender had already spread far and wide. Even Full Sky Sect had surrendered, so what choice did others have? Another reason was that the four top Sects had joined hands in this joint endeavour, and their power was so great that nobody dared to resist.

Chapter 3240

The matters in the Northern Territory had more or less been settled at this point. Although there were still some details to work out, these were not matters that Yang Kai needed to worry about personally. There was Hua Qing Si presiding over the operation now and with the cooperation of the other three top Sects, it would not take much time to solve these issues.

Seeing that it was almost time, Yang Kai informed Hua Qing Si of his departure before bringing Bian Yu Qing to Azure Sun Temple with him through the Space Array. He did not return to Spirit Sword Peak but flew directly to Spirit Jade Peak where Qiu Ran was located instead.

It was Bian Yu Qing’s first time coming to Azure Sun Temple so she couldn’t help glancing about with burning curiosity. Secretly comparing Azure Sun Temple with High Heaven Palace, though, she discovered that the environment at Azure Sun Temple seemed to be inferior, giving her a sense of pride.

She was born in the Southern Territory and Blue Feather Sect, where she used to live, had been nothing more than a small and weak force. It didn’t even have a single Emperor Realm Master. On the other hand, Azure Sun Temple was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, innumerable times stronger than Blue Feather Sect. Thus, she had always admired Azure Sun Temple. 

If she had still been a Protector of Blue Feather Sect, she would never have had the qualifications to set foot into Azure Sun Temple; however, her current identity as the Second Manager of High Heaven Palace gave her those qualifications. Looking at Azure Sun Temple from another angle naturally gave her a different kind of feeling.

Staring at the back of the brave and heroic figure speeding along in front of her, Bian Yu Qing secretly rejoiced at having met such a noble man. If she had not met Yang Kai, she would never have had the chance to break through to the Emperor Realm. She would have been killed outside of Spirit Lake Palace instead. However, she now wielded great authority, second only to Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si in the entire High Heaven Palace.

[There’s a guest on Spirit Sword Peak.] Qiu Ran woke up from his meditation and met with Yang Kai and Bian Yu Qing in the hall.

After being introduced, Bian Yu Qing bowed neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Greetings, Vice Temple Master Qiu.”

She had heard of Qiu Ran before as he was the Vice Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, making it natural for him to stand above others in the Southern Territory. Bian Yu Qing had felt very nervous before coming here as the man in front of her was practically somebody who was impossible to meet for ordinary cultivators, and she had over-thought things as a result. It wasn’t until she met the actual person that she realized that he was nothing special. That was also when she suddenly realized that she was no longer the same small woman she had been in the past. She often met with the three Monster Kings now that she lived in High Heaven Palace, so a Second-Order Emperor was no longer capable of giving her much pressure.

“Second Manager,” Qiu Ran cupped his fists, greeting her with due respect.

Yang Kai said, “You can discuss the details regarding the cooperation with Second Manager Bian, Senior Brother Qiu. I will be taking my leave now.”

The main reason he brought Bian Yu Qing over was to formally establish cooperation between High Heaven Palace and Azure Sun Temple. Gao Xue Ting had mentioned this matter before, so Yang Kai had to take it seriously lest she catch hold of his weakness and nag at him non-stop again. Hua Qing Si was coordinating affairs of the Northern Territory at the moment; therefore, the task of negotiating with Azure Sun Temple naturally fell on Bian Yu Qing’s shoulders.

Qiu Ran was stunned, “This is a huge matter, don’t you need to decide on things yourself, Junior Brother Yang?” 

The meaning behind his words was clearly ‘can the Second Manager you sent speak on your behalf and represent your will?’ This matter involved a massive amount of benefits, so what if Yang Kai refused to accept the results of the negotiation once they finished working out the details? That would be awkward; after all, Qiu Ran had seen how miserly and petty Yang Kai could be.

Yang Kai, however, just laughed heartily, “Please rest assured, Senior Brother Qiu. I have no opinion on the matter as long as the negotiations are carried out smoothly.” 

How could Qiu Ran know about his recent activities in the Northern Territory? Although cooperating with Azure Sun Temple to bring in goods and supplies would bring in considerable profit, it was not something Yang Kai cared much about anymore. Besides, he was also cooperating with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce which was a commercial force that had more wide-ranging connections and understanding of business in the Southern Territory. A trade agreement with Azure Sun Temple was just a bonus for Yang Kai and if not for his position as a High-Rank Guest Elder, he would never have allowed his profits to flow their way.

Turning to leave, Yang Kai advised, “Second Manager, please make some concessions where appropriate. I am an Elder of Azure Sun Temple after all.”

“Yes!” Bian Yu Qing replied respectfully.

Qiu Ran had a pleased expression on his face when he heard this as the words Yang Kai had uttered in front of him had undoubtedly caused a sense of goodwill to sprout in his heart. In the end, it was always better to work with one of your own.

Immediately after that, Qiu Ran began negotiations with Bian Yu Qing.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai went straight to Purple Bamboo Peak where Gao Xue Ting lived. Meeting with Gao Xue Ting, he asked about the Southern Territory Martial Gathering and learnt that there were three more days before they had to depart. There was plenty of time, so he went to visit Murong Xiao Xiao and Xiao Bai Yi to reminisce about the past. The last time he was here, he had been in too much of a rush and didn’t have time to have a proper chat with them.

Murong Xiao Xiao was a relatively friendly person with a warm and welcoming personality. Yang Kai got to know her when they were both in the Dao Source Realm; thus, they chatted away happily about their experiences becoming Elders of Azure Sun Temple.

On the other hand, Xiao Bai Yi was far less sociable. The expression on his face was even colder than Ji Yao’s. Moreover, he always looked as though Yang Kai owed him a great sum of money and tried to chase him away after a few words.

Yang Kai was almost tempted to beat Xiao Bai Yi up as a result; unfortunately, there was nothing he could do if the host refused to be hospitable to the guest, thus he left the place in a huff.

Yang Kai spent the rest of his time making some adjustments to his Spirit Sword Peak, and three days passed in a flash. When early morning came, the sun shone brightly and the world seemed to overflow with vigour. Several dozen figures stood atop a certain Spirit Peak, and the leader stood out conspicuously in a purple robe.

Yang Kai flew over and landed soon after, and when he saw the purple-robed man, he was stunned for a moment before cupping his fists, “Greetings, Temple Master.”

The purple-robed man was none other than the Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, Wen Zi Shan. He had a gentle smile on his face and stood with his hands behind his back. He had a rather suave air around him and upon hearing Yang Kai’s voice, he turned to look in the latter’s direction with a smile and nodded in greeting, “You’ve worked hard, Elder Yang.”

“Sharing the burdens of the Temple is something I should do,” Yang Kai replied with a serious expression. It couldn’t be helped. He might be the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory, but he was simply a High-Rank Guest Elder here so he still had to maintain the necessary etiquette.

“Please wait for a moment longer. Little Xue Ting isn’t here yet. Haaa… Women are just so troublesome. They take so long just to get out of the door.”

The moment those words left Wen Zi Shan’s mouth, many people glared at him furiously. Even Murong Xiao Xiao, who had arrived a long time ago, frowned. It was no surprise that she was upset after being criticized for no apparent reason. Wen Zi Shan seemed to realize this too and, lifting his hand, he stroked his beard and looked up at the sky with an expression filled with the vicissitudes of life, “The wind today is so noisy.”

“Elder Luo, Elder Xiao, and Elder Murong.” Yang Kai greeted the other Emperors present. There was nothing more to be said about Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao. On the other hand, Luo Chen was a middle-aged man with a cold and indifferent expression.

Yang Kai was not very familiar with Luo Chen because the latter had a relatively cold personality. It was also rare for Yang Kai to be around, so he was lacking interaction with the other Elders of Azure Sun Temple. As such, Yang Kai only knew this person by name but had never really had a conversation with him before.

The three Elders naturally returned his greetings.

“Are these the disciples who are going to participate in the Martial Gathering this time?” Yang Kai lifted his head and looked at the several dozen disciples standing neatly in formation behind them.

Those disciples cupped their fists, “Greetings, Elder Yang.”

These several dozen disciples had varying cultivations. Some were in the Dao Source Realm, while others were Origin Kings, there were even some in the Origin Returning Realm. The Southern Territory Martial Gathering had several categories after all. The Dao Source Realm disciples would compete with other Dao Source Realm disciples; the Origin Kings against Origin Kings; and the Origin Returning Realm Juniors against other Origin Returning Realm Juniors. As expected, the Temple had chosen the best cultivators among each Realm to participate in the Martial Gathering. The dozen or so people standing at the forefront were in the Dao Source Realm, followed by those in the Origin King Realm and the Origin Returning Realm.

Yang Kai smiled and nodded at them. He discovered many familiar faces among these disciples. They had probably participated in the Four Seasons Realm with him back then; unfortunately, they had not interacted much with each other and were simply familiar faces among a crowd of strangers. They had been in the Dao Source Realm back then, and they were still in the Dao Source Realm now. Breaking through to the Emperor Realm was not that easy after all. Most would get stuck in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm for the entirety of their lives.

Xia Sheng, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao could break through to the Emperor Realm due to their excellent aptitude and comprehension abilities. It might also be related to the benefits they received in the Four Seasons Realm and the Shattered Star Sea.

While looking around, Yang Kai’s roving gaze suddenly stopped at a certain point. His gaze had paused on the face of a young man simply because this was somebody he was actually acquainted with. Moreover, he even knew the other party’s name! It was Xue Yi!

Yang Kai first came to Azure Sun Temple with Qin Zhao Yang with the Bustling World Token in his possession to ask for an entry quota to the Four Seasons Realm. The moment the Bustling World Token was brought out, the Temple couldn’t refuse his request and gave him a spot. Unfortunately, the quotas for entering the Four Seasons Realm had already been allocated. Since the Temple gave one spot away, that would mean that they had one spot less in return. The person taken off the list of names at the time was none other than Xue Yi. When the news came out, Xue Yi refused to accept the decision and even picked a fight with Yang Kai, but he turned out to be no match for Yang Kai.

It was something that had happened many years ago, and Yang Kai would not have recalled the incident if he had not met this person again. When their gazes met, Xue Yi’s expression became a little embarrassed. He seemed to experience a momentary sense of shame before collecting himself again. Back then, they had both been in the Dao Source Realm, but now, Yang Kai was already an Emperor Realm Master while he was still stuck in the Dao Source Realm. It was not surprising for him to feel rather complicated about it.

On the other hand, Yang Kai just smiled faintly. It could be seen that Xue Yi had not wasted his time all these years. Although he used to be in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, he was now a Third-Order Dao Source Realm. Furthermore, he stood far in front of the rest and was clearly one of the candidates that the Temple had high hopes for.

Thinking of some things from the past brought about a slight sense of nostalgia. The two of them retracted their gazes soon after and Xue Yi secretly let out a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that Yang Kai might want to get back at him for what he did before. Their current statuses were very different so there was nothing he could do against Yang Kai if the latter wanted to make things difficult for him.

At that moment, a stream of light rushed over from Purple Bamboo Peak and appeared in front of everyone in an instant.

Wen Zi Shan’s eyes gleamed as he shouted, “Little Xue Ting, you are dressed so beautifully today! Are you planning to get married? It’s really gratifying! En, very gratifying indeed!”

“Shut your damn mouth!” Gao Xue Ting glared at Wen Zi Shan and snapped coldly, not giving him the slightest respect at all.

In response, Wen Zi Shan wore a pained expression and waxed, “Oh, my! Why are you being so fierce? You must be careful Little Xue Ting or no one will dare to marry you in the future. If you don’t get married soon, you’ll turn into a lonely old lady!”

The gaze in Gao Xue Ting’s eyes turned even icier and the impulse to stab this shameless man to death with her sword struck her, but instead she just coldly snorted, “It’s none of your damn business.” 

Such a beautiful and elegant woman was so irritated that she even let out a string of curse words. Her mood could not be worse.

The disciples all lowered their eyes with wooden expressions, pretending not to hear the conversation between those two. Similarly, Luo Chen lowered his head to look at the ground, Xiao Bai Yi looked up at the sky, and Murong Xiao Xiao studied her fingers carefully as though wondering if she should tend to her nails. As for Yang Kai, he leaned over and casually complimented her, “Junior Sister, you have such beautiful fingers.”

Murong Xiao Xiao blushed furiously at those words and didn’t know what to do with her hand for a moment. Everybody turned to look at Yang Kai, and he seemed to realize that he had misspoken; thus, his expression twitched a little.

Fortunately, Gao Xue Ting suddenly spoke up, “Is everybody here?”

Xiao Bai Yi nodded in response, “Everyone has assembled.”

“In that case, let’s set off.” After saying that, Gao Xue Ting took the lead and the rest followed after her.

Wen Zi Shan was stunned for a moment as he stood there alone, still rubbing his chin as he murmured, “I’m pretty sure… I’m the Temple Master…”

Chapter 3241

Along the way, Yang Kai finally learnt an unknown side of Wen Zi Shan. Wen Zi Shan was a chatterbox! He chattered on and on without stopping. Although Yang Kai used to think that Wen Zi Shan was rather unreliable, they had never interacted with each other for long; therefore, he did not know what kind of personality Wen Zi Shan had. It wasn’t until now that he finally experienced it for himself.

Wen Zi Shan initially pestered Gao Xue Ting for a bit, but his enthusiasm naturally received a cold reaction. In the whole of Azure Sun Temple, only Gao Xue Ting dared to be so openly disrespectful to him.

After being rebuffed by Gao Xue Ting’s attitude, Wen Zi Shan slowed down to keep pace with Yang Kai and the others instead. He began talking about the past and the present with a burst of joy. Luo Chen and Xiao Bai Yi had relatively cold and aloof personalities and were men of few words, so they responded tersely out of respect since Wen Zi Shan was still technically their Temple Master. However, they closed their eyes after a few words as if to meditate and rest. Thus, Yang Kai and Murong Xiao Xiao got the worst of it instead.

Fortunately, Wen Zi Shan did not pester those two for long. Half a day later, he fell behind to join the others at the back, smoothly inserting himself into the group of Dao Source, Origin King, and Origin Returning Realm Juniors, allowing Murong Xiao Xiao to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the group of disciples at the back were rather polite and respectful. Wen Zi Shan was so approachable even though he was the Temple Master, so how could his disciples not get along with him? Especially those disciples that were patted on the shoulder and loudly praised by Wen Zi Shan as he declared, “You are the future of the Temple! The Temple’s prosperity will depend on you from now on!” They were practically glowing with pride and feeling emotional beyond words, seemingly on the verge of digging out their hearts for him to see how loyal they were to the Temple.

Yang Kai looked back at Wen Zi Shan from time to time, and the expressions on his face were very colourful. [I have to admit that I am pretty unreliable as the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace, but compared to Wen Zi Shan, aren’t I like a rock for everyone to lean on?]

The group travelled non-stop, passing by several cities along the way and even using a few Space Arrays to cover vast distances more quickly. When evening rolled around, the group arrived at Orthodoxy Temple. The undulating mountains here were extremely majestic and looked like a large Dragon crawling on the ground. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was pleasant.

Orthodoxy Temple was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory; therefore, it was only natural that it occupied a Cultivation Paradise. The environment here was no worse than Azure Sun Temple. In addition, it had a beautiful landscape. Looking out into the distance, the clouds and mist rolled off the mountains everywhere the eye could see; moreover, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the world in a golden light.

There was a crowd of people in front of the main gate of Orthodoxy Temple, making for a lively scene. Since the Martial Gathering was right around the corner, many people had arrived to participate in the event. It was no surprise; the Martial Gathering was a grand event for the entire Southern Territory after all.

Putting aside the generous rewards that made one green with envy, one could also gain the attention of their respective Elders if they performed well during the competition. Moreover, there were many cultivators from humble backgrounds who wanted to create a path for their future in the Martial Gathering. It wasn’t as though there was no precedent. The cultivators from humble backgrounds might not be able to join the group events, but if they could deliver a stellar performance in the individual competitions, most of them would be able to successfully join a major Sect or force.

On the other hand, the major Sects were striving for rankings and reputation. The generous rewards came second. Meanwhile, those rewards were very tempting to some of the smaller Sects and clans. It was also a chance to achieve unlimited success. Who would be willing to miss out on this opportunity? Hence, each and every Martial Gathering was extremely popular, and the participants entering the competition were too many to count.

Tomorrow was the day the Martial Gathering officially began, so it appeared Azure Sun Temple had arrived just in the nick of time. It was one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory after all so it was only natural to show off a little. Although Wen Zi Shan was not very reliable, he still understood the importance of such things.

Orthodoxy Temple’s Sect Defending Array had been deactivated today and many people were standing outside to welcome the guests.

As soon as the group from Azure Sun Temple landed, an elderly man dressed in black and an elegant looking young man immediately came forward to greet them. Both of these men were in the Emperor Realm with the elderly one being a Second-Order Emperor while the young man was a First-Order.

“Welcome, Temple Master Wen. It is an honour for Orthodoxy Temple to have you here. Do forgive us for any discourtesy in our hospitality.” The elderly man stepped forward and greeted them with a smile.

Wen Zi Shan also put on the appearance of a dignified Temple Master, acting as though that chatterbox during the journey had not been him as he smiled faintly, “Elder Feng, you are too polite. Are you here to greet the guests today?”

The elderly man was none other than Feng Ming, an Elder of Orthodoxy Temple. Yang Kai had met him several times before, so they were not strangers to each other. Besides, Feng Ming had worked together with Gao Xue Ting on many occasions and had also been present at various events, including the Four Seasons Realm, the Demon Qi eruption outside Maplewood City, and the Demon Spirits’ revival at the Southern Swamp. It was just that he and Yang Kai did not belong in the same generation, so they rarely interacted with each other. On the other hand, Yang Kai was on rather friendly terms with the young man behind him.

It was clear that the young man had noticed Yang Kai and his eyes lit up as he cupped his fists, “Brother Yang, you came too.”

Yang Kai replied, “Brother Zhuang.”

This young man was the rising star of Orthodoxy Temple, Zhuang Bu Fan. He had been present at both the Four Seasons Realm and the Shattered Star Sea as he was from the same generation as Yang Kai, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao; therefore, they were not strangers to each other. Now that they had gathered in the same place, it was only expected that they wanted to have a chat together.

As a result, Luo Chen was pushed to the side and forgotten. Fortunately, he had an aloof personality by nature and did not feel embarrassed by the situation. He simply stood there quietly without saying a word.

While they were chatting away, they suddenly heard a sniggering sound coming from afar. Everybody turned to look in the direction and saw a giant longsword rushing in their direction at a high speed from the horizon. The terrifying Sword Intent felt as though it could cause injuries despite the distance between them so no one dared to underestimate it.

Feng Ming smiled, “Holy Master Ma has arrived.”

Wen Zi Shan spat disdainfully, already feeling fed up, “He sure knows how to time his arrival.” 

He seemed to have felt like he had suffered a loss just by arriving a little earlier.

It was well known that Star Soul Palace would send their people over to watch the Southern Territory Martial Gathering, so even Wen Zi Shan had to personally lead his team as a sign of respect. Therefore, it was only to be expected that Heavenly Martial Holy Land, which was also one of the top Sects in the Southern Territory, would not be any less respectful. Holy Master Ma Qing also personally led his Sect’s team this time.

Since they were old acquaintances, Wen Zi Shan immediately knew that Ma Qing was here the moment he saw the sword light. The sword light approached from afar and soon arrived, dissipating to reveal several dozen people with the one leading them being a ruddy-faced white-haired old man. His figure was thin but his gaze was as sharp as a sword and he held himself tall and straight, giving off a piercing aura.

[He’s Ma Qing?] Yang Kai couldn’t help glancing at the man curiously. It was his first time meeting the Holy Master of Heavenly Martial Holy Land so he was surprised to learn that it was an old man. In comparison, Wen Zi Shan was more pleasing to the eye.

Feng Ming apologized and took his leave to give his greetings to Ma Qing. 

Ma Qing and the others cupped their fists and returned Feng Ming’s greetings. The number of people who came from Heavenly Martial Holy Land was similar to Azure Sun Temple. There were four Emperors, each leading a team of several dozen disciples of various cultivation Realms. They were clearly the elites of the elites.

“Brother Wen,” Ma Qing held one hand behind his back and stroked his beard with the other, nodding slightly at Wen Zi Shan.

Wen Zi Shan spoke in a pointed voice, “Brother Ma, you’re as punctual as ever.” He seemed to be teasing Ma Qing for arriving just in time.

Ma Qing replied calmly, “My disciples were a little absent-minded, so there were some delays on the road.”

Wen Zi Shan laughed, “If you knew that they were going to be a little absent-minded, then you should have departed earlier. It’s rude of you to make Brother Lei wait.”

“You seem to have just arrived yourself, Brother Wen.”

“Tsk.” He curled his lips into a sneer, “We arrived a long time ago. I was simply chatting with Elder Feng until now.”

The two seemed to have some grievances between them so they went at each other’s throats the moment they met. It wasn’t just the respective Temple Master and Holy Master who were acting in this manner, the disciples under them were also behaving in a similar fashion. The disciples of Azure Sun Temple were glaring daggers at the disciples of Heavenly Martial Holy Land while the latter was not backing down from the challenge and glared right back. Both parties got along as well as oil and water.

Yang Kai was amazed by the sight. He might be a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple, but he didn’t know much about Azure Sun Temple’s actual situation. He did not know what kind of grudge they had against Heavenly Martial Holy Land for the disciples to get into a silent confrontation with the other party as soon as they met.

The Temple Master and Holy Master standing at the top were not to be trifled with, and the disciples under them were no pushovers either. The same held true for the Emperor Realm Elders of the two forces.

Yang Kai turned his head to see that Murong Xiao Xiao and the others were also glaring at the four Emperor Realm Masters of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, sparks almost flying in the air between them.

[What is with this situation!?] Yang Kai was utterly confused.

Then, a young man walked out from among the four Elders of Heavenly Martial Holy Land. The young man had a wild and rebellious air around him, and the look in his eyes was sharp and cold. He looked like he had a beast that could jump out to attack others at any time lying dormant inside him. That wasn’t all; his eyes were very strange too. The left pupil was red and the right was faint blue. The skin and hair of the left side were fiery red, but the right side of the body was snowy white. It was an extremely unsettling sight.

[Wu Chang! He sure lives up to his name!] There was a rising star in every generation among the top Sects of the Southern Territory. The rising star of Azure Sun Temple was Xia Sheng, Orthodoxy Temple had Zhuang Bu Fan, and Heavenly Martial Holy Land had Wu Chang.

Yang Kai had exchanged blows with Wu Chang before in the Four Seasons Realm, so he knew just how difficult an opponent this boy was. Wu Chang seemed to have some sort of Special Constitution which greatly enhanced his combat ability. During the last Southern Territory Martial Gathering, Xia Sheng had apparently been defeated by Wu Chang and placed second in the individual rankings as a result. Although Azure Sun Temple regained its pride by ranking at the top in the group competition, the first person people thought of when talking about the number one among the younger generation in the Southern Territory was Wu Chang, not Xia Sheng.

Not to forget, Lan Xun of Star Soul Palace, who was also an extraordinary talent. Unfortunately, Star Soul Palace did not send any of its disciples to participate in the Martial Gathering, so Lan Xun was not included among the rankings.

Yang Kai secretly made a conjecture in his heart. [Could this animosity between the two Sects be related to the last Southern Territory Martial Gathering?] 

Xia Sheng had been overwhelmed by Wu Chang in the individual rankings, which upset Azure Sun Temple. Meanwhile, Heavenly Martial Holy Land had suffered a terrible defeat to Azure Sun Temple in the group rankings, which definitely upset Heavenly Martial Holy Land in return.

Wu Chang swept his gaze over the crowd with his heterochromatic eyes before turning to look at Yang Kai, “Xia Sheng didn’t come?” He seemed slightly disappointed.

Yang Kai replied, “Senior Brother Xia is stationed at Spirit Lake Palace and is unable to leave his post.”

“Coward!” Wu Chang coldly snorted.

Xiao Bai Yi’s lowered eyes lifted abruptly as he glared at Wu Chang with a gaze as sharp as a sword. Likewise, Murong Xiao Xiao also glared at Wu Chang angrily. Wu Chang had insulted one of them the moment they met; moreover, the person he had insulted was none other than Xia Sheng. 

Xia Sheng was a leading figure who represented Azure Sun Temple, so how could Azure Sun Temple take this insult lying down?

Feng Ming glanced over in this direction, whether intentionally or unintentionally; however, he did not seem inclined to stop them and just continued chatting and laughing away with Wen Zi Shan. 

Wen Zi Shan was also acting as though he had not heard a thing. As the Temple Master, it was not appropriate for him to intervene in the fights between those below him. The same went for Ma Qing.

The top three Sects in the Southern Territory might cooperate on many occasions, but the competition between them was very fierce too. Every one of them wanted to dominate the others. Unfortunately, nobody dared to confront each other openly with Star Soul Palace watching over them from the top. Hence, it did not hurt to let those below them make a little commotion here and there…

Chapter 3242

“Why do you feel the need to insult him?” Yang Kai looked at Wu Chang calmly.

Wu Chang sneered, “He doesn’t even have the courage to face me, how is he not a coward?”

Murong Xiao Xiao angrily snapped, “Senior Brother Xia has responsibilities he must attend to! It’s not because he doesn’t dare to meet you!”

Wu Chang put his hands behind his back, “Anybody can make excuses. He is probably scared of the embarrassment he will face if he loses to me again.”

“That’s not true!” She wanted to continue arguing with Wu Chang, but Yang Kai raised his hand to stop her and spoke ambiguously, “I’ve heard about the last Martial Gathering. Momentary gains and losses are truly nothing special. Before coming here, Senior Brother Xia told me Brother Wu Chang was an enthusiastic and active man, so he asked me to keep you company.”

Yang Kai had not even seen Xia Sheng’s face recently, so his words were naturally a lie; however, he was now representing Azure Sun Temple so how could he willingly let somebody else humiliate them? It was only expected that Yang Kai would retaliate when attacked. Yang Kai first had to balance out the aggression before they could talk about anything else.

“You?” Wu Chang swept his eyes over Yang Kai and nodded lightly, “You just barely qualify, I guess. I hope I won’t be too disappointed.”

“Who knows? You might be in for a pleasant surprise!” Yang Kai raised his brow in response. [You rabid dog! You better not end up in my hands, or I’ll make you regret it!]

“Shameless boasting!” Wu Chang sneered.

Then, Chen Wen Hao turned around and shouted, “Wu Chang, enough! This is Orthodoxy Temple, stop acting so presumptuously!”

Gao Xue Ting also spoke up, “That’s enough, both of you.”

Wu Chang looked sullen but he could not refute his Elder in front of outsiders, lest he embarrass his Sect. With a flick of his sleeves, Wu Chang turned away and looked elsewhere. Yang Kai and the others couldn’t be bothered to continue pestering him either; hence, the commotion passed without incident. They all knew that nobody could make a move under these circumstances, so if they continued arguing with each other, they would only embarrass themselves instead.

Wen Zi Shan laughed, “The younger generation are truly vigorous. Good! Good!”

Feng Ming did not comment on that statement, instead just cupping his fists and commenting, “Most of our fellow cultivators from the Southern Territory have arrived, and the Temple Master is entertaining them right now. Gentlemen, please come this way.” Turning to look at Zhuang Bu Fan, he instructed, “Xiao Fan, bring these two Seniors to the guest hall.”

“Yes!” Zhuang Bu Fan replied. Stretching out his hand, he beckoned, “This way, please.”

Feng Ming followed up, “Temple Master Wen, Holy Master Ma, please forgive me as I still have a duty to carry out and cannot accompany you further.”

“Don’t worry about it, Elder Feng. Let’s talk again later.” Wen Zi Shan smiled lightly and followed after Zhuang Bu Fan with his hands behind his back, heading towards the top of a nearby mountain.

Similarly, Ma Qing nodded at Feng Ming in acknowledgement before leading the people from Heavenly Martial Holy Land and following closely behind the rest. Surprisingly, they didn’t quarrel over who took priority.

As the group of people slowly drifted into the distance, Feng Ming suddenly looked back, fixed his gaze on Yang Kai, and slightly furrowed his brow. When there was nobody else around him, he took out a communication artifact, poured his Divine Sense into it, and delivered a message to an unknown person.

Halfway up the mountain, the group came across a three-way fork in the road. There were Orthodoxy Temple’s disciples waiting both on the left and right paths of the fork who bowed when the group approached and stretched out their hands in a welcoming gesture.

Zhuang Bu Fan turned around and said, “Seniors, please arrange for the disciples participating in the Martial Gathering to go either left or right.”

Only Emperor Realm Masters were qualified to ascend to the top of the mountain, so the disciples behind them could not follow along. That was something everybody had known since the beginning.

Wen Zi Shan turned around and motioned to the rest, after which Gao Xue Ting immediately arranged for the disciples of Azure Sun Temple to follow a servant along the path to the right. On the other hand, Heavenly Martial Holy Land naturally chose the path to the left. The disciples of both Sects did not get along, so if they were housed in the same living quarters, they would probably start fighting each other before the Martial Gathering even began tomorrow. It should also be noted that there would not be an Emperor Realm Master around to suppress their fights.

After that, the remaining group of people followed Zhuang Bu Fan and continued onward. Whilst climbing up the stairs, the people of both Sects were cleanly split into two groups on the left and right sides respectively.

They soon arrived at the summit of the mountain where a magnificent palace entered their vision. It had an extraordinary aura about it and maidservants were already waiting for them outside.

Zhuang Bu Fan led the group of people into the palace and entered a hall, at which point a loud noise came from within, causing Yang Kai, Murong Xiao Xiao, and the others to look at each other in surprise. They had not expected it to be so lively already. Glancing around, they couldn’t help feeling shocked. There were no less than five hundred or six hundred people inside this hall; moreover, most of them were Emperor Realm Masters while the rest were servants who navigated freely among them. The hall was filled with tables, and the tables were covered with various delicacies and fine wine.

The hall was full of guests, and the atmosphere within was extremely lively. People came and went from time to time, lifting their glasses in toast. A group of more than forty young girls were also dancing in the middle of the hall. They were not dressed scantily, but they were all quite beautiful, with slim waists and ample curves. Dancing gracefully, they attracted some people to watch them with enchanting smiles.

Although these dancers had been arranged by Orthodoxy Temple to add to the excitement, the Sect’s reputation was on the line; therefore, they did not create any kind of obscene scene. People might look down on them if these girls were dressed scantily, so the current arrangement was much more suitable to show off the impression Orthodoxy Temple wanted to display.

However, most of the attention was not on the dancers as this was the place where many of the Emperor Realm Masters of the Southern Territory were assembled. The Sect Masters of each Sect and the Patriarchs of various clans had gathered in the same place, so it was a prime time to make connections and form relations. Who would still have the time to pay attention to those dancers under these circumstances? It was not easy for so many Emperor Realm Masters to convene in one place after all.

The moment Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing walked into the hall with the rest following behind them, somebody immediately put down their wine glass and stood up to greet them, “Temple Master Wen, Holy Master Ma.”

As soon as the voice sounded, the noisy hall went silent. Everyone turned to look at them, and the greetings poured out endlessly. Wen Zi Shan smiled and returned the greetings in all directions while walking all the way to the front of the hall under Zhuang Bu Fan’s guidance. Meanwhile, Ma Qing didn’t even glance to the side, his expression remaining cold and aloof. Fortunately, those who knew him well were aware that he was always like this and that he wasn’t disrespecting them.

A sturdy man in black attire sat at the head of the hall and glanced over with a smile, tilting his head towards an elegantly dressed middle-aged man sitting on his right as he said, “I told you, right? They will surely arrive within a quarter-hour and look; they’re here!”

The elegantly dressed man smiled in response, “You are truly astute, Brother Lei.”

The only person who could sit in the main seat in this place was the Temple Master of Orthodoxy Temple, Lei Gu. No one else had this qualification. It went without saying that the elegantly dressed man was the Sect Master of one of the Sects in the Southern Territory, a Second-Order Emperor. Moreover, his seat was placed quite far to the front.

“Brother Lei!”

Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing stepped forward and cupped their fists.

Lei Gu stood up, “Many thanks for coming all this way. Please, have a seat.”

Although there were many tables in this hall and every seat was occupied, four tables located on the left and right of the main table remained empty. Nobody dared to occupy these seats as these four tables were clearly reserved for the people from Azure Sun Temple and Heavenly Martial Holy Land.

Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing separated and moved in two different directions, each sitting with their Elders at the left and right tables. Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing each occupied a table with the Elders from their Sects. Azure Sun Temple had one more person than Heavenly Martial Holy Land, so the seats at their table were just enough to accommodate all of them and a servant immediately came forward to serve wine for everyone.

Afterward, Lei Gu got up slowly, held up a wine glass in his hand, and spoke in a loud voice, “The time has once again come for the Southern Territory Martial Gathering! This is a momentous event and I offer my thanks to all the support from the Southern Territory’s Masters. This Lei will be hosting the Martial Gathering at Orthodoxy Temple, and both the Sect and I shall do our best to create a fair environment for everybody in the Southern Territory to compete. I wish your disciples great success and prosperity! May you lead the future hope of the Southern Territory! I offer this toast as a sign of my respect. Cheers!”

“Many thanks, Temple Master Lei!” Everybody in the hall replied in unison, lifting their wine glasses and drinking together. It was an extremely lively scene.

Raising a toast was part of the etiquette Lei Gu had to follow as the host of the Southern Territory Martial Gathering. Following that, everybody was free to do as they pleased. Tomorrow was the day the Martial Gathering began, so it was inevitable for their disciples to suffer injuries and losses once the event began. At the time, they would not be as harmonious anymore.

Many people came to Azure Sun Temple’s table to offer a toast, but most went straight to Gao Xue Ting. Luo Chen rarely interacted with others, so he did not have this honour. On the other hand, Yang Kai, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao were only there to gain some experience and did not know many Emperor Realm Masters. It went without saying that they were ignored, but they were happy to have time to themselves.

Yang Kai took the time to inquire with Murong Xiao Xiao and finally learned why their relationship with Heavenly Martial Holy Land was so tense. It turned out as he expected. It was indeed because of the competition for first place in the individual rankings and group rankings during the last Martial Gathering. Neither Sect was willing to admit defeat, so it was only natural for there to be some friction between them.

One hour later, Lei Gu, Wen Zi Shan, and Ma Qing left the venue early. They had to gather together to discuss matters regarding tomorrow’s Martial Gathering, the arrangement of the name lists, and the planning of the venue. Although everything would be taken care of by Orthodoxy Temple in the end, Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing had to check just in case Orthodoxy Temple sabotaged anything.

After these three people left, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became more energetic. It could be seen that the presence of these three people still stressed the others out to a certain extent.

Yang Kai looked around while eating and drinking, looking rather bored. He had been a little interested in the Martial Gathering at the beginning; however, after coming to this place, he realized that it was nothing special. If this matter had not been pushed onto him, he would have gone home by now.

Although nothing major would happen to High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory, the dust had yet to settle from recent events and it was a little worrying not to be there in person. It was also because his cultivation was higher now. Yang Kai was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master; hence, the competition between those in the Dao Source Realm, the Origin King Realm, and the Origin Returning Realm no longer raised his interest. He had already killed off numerous Emperor Realm Masters so these little fights no longer excited him. Even so, Azure Sun Temple had assigned this matter to him, so he had no choice but to follow along.

He suddenly recalled something and turned to look at Gao Xue Ting as he asked, “Senior Sister Gao, what did that Wu Chang mean when he said that Senior Brother Xia is afraid of losing to him again? Does this Martial Gathering have a competition between Emperors?”

Gao Xue Ting replied, “No, not during the Martial Gathering, but there will be an exchange of pointers after the Martial Gathering; however, it is entirely voluntary. It doesn’t have any prizes either. It’s purely for improving relations between each other.”

Yang Kai grumbled in a non-committal manner and secretly decided that if Wu Chang came to provoke him again, he would definitely teach the latter a harsh lesson. [Who cares what kind of Special Constitution he has? He can’t be stronger than a Third-Order Emperor, right?]

Yang Kai was certain that he would have no problem dealing with a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master with his current strength, and if he used all his trump cards, a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master could only retreat before him. 

[I wonder if Wu Chang will give me the opportunity to go all out.]

Lifting his wine glass to his lips, Yang Kai glanced sideways and saw Wu Chang heading in his direction. Wu Chang’s one blue and one red eye was rather strange. Yang Kai snickered with a scornful expression, which nearly made Wu Chang mad with rage.

Chapter 3243

The banquet ended in the middle of the night and the people of Azure Sun Temple were led to their accommodation by a maidservant soon after, arriving on a mountain peak with rich World Energy and beautiful scenery, covered in soft moonlight that spilled across the ground and illuminated the land.

There was a palace on top of the peak where the people of the Azure Sun Temple were staying. The disciples had long arrived to rest and the maidservant respectfully took her leave after leading them here, while local staff led them to their respective guest rooms.

It didn’t take long before everyone was settled in, and after tidying up a little, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly. Taking out a communication artifact and studying it for a bit he frowned slightly and opened his door to walk out. Turning a corner, he came to another room and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in.” Gao Xue Ting’s voice came from inside.

Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered the room only to see Wen Zi Shan, Luo Chen, Xiao Bai Yi, and Murong Xiao Xiao inside the room, so he couldn’t help but curiously ask, “What’s going on?”

Wen Zi Shan held up a jade slip and waved it slightly, “You have work to do.” Saying so, he threw the jade slip over.

Yang Kai reached out his hand to catch it. Closing the door behind him, he swept his Divine Sense over the jade slip and murmured, wondering, “What is this?”

The jade slip contained a series of name lists, and each name had a corresponding number associated with it. Reading this list Yang Kai felt utterly bewildered as he saw his name appear more than once.

Gao Xue Ting explained, “The reason we brought so many Elders here is not only to encourage the disciples to do their best in the competition but also to act as referees.”

“Referees?” Yang Kai was stunned.

“That’s right.” She continued explaining, “The Martial Gathering is divided into three categories, namely the Dao Source Realm, Origin King Realm, and Origin Returning Realm. Putting aside the Origin King Realm and the Origin Returning Realm for the time being, the fights between the disciples in the Dao Source Realm should not be underestimated. An Emperor Realm Master is needed to act as a Referee. The first reason is to ensure that the competition is fair while the second reason is to ensure that there are no accidental deaths during the competition.”

After listening to her explanation, Yang Kai understood the situation a little. The Martial Gathering was supposed to be a friendly competition, but many things could go wrong during a fight. The probability of unnecessary injury or even death occurring was very high, so a stronger Master was needed in order to prevent such occurrences from happening. However, only an Emperor Realm Master could stop or provide emergency assistance in the competition between cultivators in the Dao Source Realm; after all, it would look very bad for all involved if hundreds of people died in the Martial Gathering.

Upon learning this, Yang Kai studied the jade slip carefully again and then asked, “In other words, I am in charge of the Eighth Arena for a total of five days?”

Gao Xue Ting nodded, “Yes. The Martial Gathering will be held for a month. Junior Brother Yang, you only need to be in charge of the Eighth Arena during the individual rankings. Don’t forget the time slots. The rest will be taken care of by the others in turn.”

Yang Kai nodded, indicating that he had memorized the information. Many of the Emperor Realm Masters in the Southern Territory were here this time around, and for that reason, he only needed to participate for five days rather than for thirty days all by himself.

Mulling over it, he asked, “Doesn’t that give some people the opportunity to cheat for personal gain? If the disciples from my Sect are on the stage, I will inevitably be more biased towards them.”

Wen Zi Shan chuckled, “Everybody has their pride, so even if they have this opportunity, nobody would be too obvious in their actions. They will try to ensure fairness as much as possible. Besides, there will be many others watching the arena aside from the Referees in charge, so I’m afraid it won’t be that easy to cheat.”

Gao Xue Ting added, “In any case, there is only one thing you need to keep in mind. There must be no deaths. Other than that, you can use your own judgement.”

Yang Kai nodded, “I will do my best.” He did not take this duty too seriously. Although he was being a Referee the first time in his life, protecting and preventing two Dao Source Realm Masters from killing each other was no big deal with his current strength.

Aside from Yang Kai, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao were also given the same task and they all had to act as Referees for approximately five days each. Wen Zi Shan talked about a few other things before everyone dispersed. Following that, Gao Xue Ting took out a communication artifact, summoned the disciples participating in the competition, and gave another round of explanation.

At the same time, in a secret room on another Spirit Peak, a burly man sat on the ground. His body was wrapped in black Qi that filled the entire room, constantly twisting and writhing like a snake. It was a terrifying sight.

A knock sounded on the door, and the burly man suddenly opened his eyes that were swirling with red and black light. There were no whites in his eyes whatsoever and a less courageous person would have been frightened to death by the sight.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the black Qi wandering aimlessly in the secret room swiftly retracted into his body as if it was being summoned by something. The red and black colours in his eyes gradually returned to their original colours, and the black Qi disappeared. He now looked no different from an ordinary Human.

“Come in!” An imposing voice rang out and the door was opened, after which an elderly man walked in.

The burly man looked up at the elderly man and asked, “Why is that boy here?”

The elderly man frowned and replied, “I was extremely surprised too. I have not heard from him for more than ten years and it was said he was no longer in the Southern Territory. I don’t know why he appeared here at this point in time.”

The burly man cursed, “Damn it, is this Wen Zi Shan doing? He couldn’t have called that boy over just for the Martial Gathering, right?”

“Maybe it’s all just a coincidence?”

The burly man coldly snorted, “Coincidence or not, this person cannot remain. He will become a huge obstacle to my plans.”

The elderly man frowned, “Sir, do you mean…”

“We need to prevent trouble before it happens. Think of a way to get rid of him.”

The elderly man was silent for a while before he frowned deeply, “He won’t be easy to dispatch.”

“If he were easy to remove, would I call you here? The Martial Gathering will last for a month, so find a safe way to do it within that time, and be sure to leave no traces.”

“Yes!” The elderly man bowed, and seeing as there were no other instructions, he took his leave. He came out of the secret room and let out a long sigh. It would not have mattered if it were just an ordinary Emperor Realm Master. If that was the case, all he needed to do was gather enough manpower and it would all work out somehow. However, that person had a particularly annoying ability, he was proficient in the Dao of Space. Even if he couldn’t win a fight, he was good at escaping, and if he were to escape and spread the news of their existence, their plans would be endangered.

[This is going to be difficult!] After mulling over it for a long time, the elderly man made up his mind. [It looks like I can only ask the people over there to take action. Besides, only those people can stealthily sneak up on him and strike a fatal blow.] 

After making up his mind, he left in a hurry.

The sky was clear for tens of thousands of kilometres as though it was washed clean. Banners were being displayed and people were crowded around in a huge valley surrounded by mountains. This was the place where the Southern Territory Martial Gathering was being held. Tens of thousands of cultivators from across the entire Southern Territory had gathered in Orthodoxy Temple, and apart from this valley, there was no other place that could accommodate so many people participating in the competition together.

There were hundreds of arenas scattered around the inside of the valley like chess pieces, all of which were carefully crafted and protected by Spirit Arrays. There were enough to ensure several hundred pairs of cultivators could fight to their heart’s content at the same time.

On the eastern side of the mountain, there was a row of stairs lined with newly built pavilions that were set up with tables. Sitting in this spot gave one a full view of everything in the mountain valley. The Emperor Realm Masters of each major Sect in the Southern Territory came here in twos and threes. They took their seats after some polite talk. Naturally, the people of the top three Sects sat at the top of the stands.

The Sect Masters of all three top forces made an appearance on the first day of the Martial Gathering, whether they wanted to or not. That was because people even more important than them would be arriving on the scene, and they could not afford to be impolite.

In the mountain valley, tens of thousands of cultivators who were about to participate in Martial Gathering held their breaths in silence as a tense atmosphere spread across the area. Many looked up at the mountainside with a look of reverence, secretly fantasizing about sitting there one day. The Martial Gathering was the best stage for them to achieve great success overnight. As long as their performance stood out in the Martial Gathering, those that already had good backgrounds would receive better resources for cultivation while those from humble backgrounds might obtain the chance to join a more powerful force.

Unfortunately, the Emperor Realm Masters in the stands seemed oblivious to this mood and continued to talk and laugh happily among themselves.

All of a sudden, a stream of light came from the distance and headed straight to the stands.

“They’re here,” Lei Gu smiled and got up first. Everybody else hurriedly stood up too. At first, some people secretly wondered who it was that dared to fly into Orthodoxy Temple so arrogantly; however, they could make a guess after seeing how Lei Gu was acting and did not dare to be disrespectful either.

The light landed in front of the crowd to reveal several figures. The leader looked magnificent and heroic. He was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master with an imposing aura. The people behind him were well-groomed and had extraordinary temperaments, regardless of their cultivation. The people from Star Soul Palace had arrived. Moreover, their leader was none other than Xiao Yu Yang.

“Greetings, Brother Xiao.” Lei Gu and the others bowed in unison.

Xiao Yu Yang smiled and responded politely, “Please rise, it was this Xiao who was tardy. I apologize for being late.”

Every time the Southern Territory Martial Gathering was held, Star Soul Palace would surely send a representative as this was a huge event. As the patron saint of the Southern Territory, Star Soul Palace would definitely participate in it as the hegemon Sect. Be that as it may, they did not send their disciples to participate in the event but took on a supervisory role instead.

“Not at all, not at all, Brother Xiao is right on time.” Lei Gu chuckled. Although their cultivations were technically the same, Xiao Yu Yang came as a representative of Star Soul Palace, so how could he be disrespectful?

Lei Gu showed Xiao Yu Yang to his seat and made casual small talk along the way. Then, Xiao Yu Yang declared, “It’s almost time. Let’s begin.”

Nodding in response, Lei Gu signalled Feng Ming with a look. Feng Ming immediately stepped forward, took out a scroll, unfurled it with both hands, and read out loud from it, “Today, tens of thousands of young handsome men and women from the Southern Territory have gathered together for the Martial Gathering. Orthodoxy Temple is honoured beyond words. Led by Star Soul Palace, several rules for this competition have been drawn up and all participants are expected to abide by them. If these rules are violated, severe punishment will be given…”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it spread throughout the mountain valley under the use of his Emperor Qi and allowed everyone to hear clearly.

There were not many rules of course, as that would be meaningless, but some restrictions were still necessary. For instance, attacking a person who had already given up was not allowed; and the use of Spirit Pills during the competition was not allowed, especially those items that stimulated one’s potential to increase their strength temporarily. If the consumption of Spirit Pills was detected, not only would the participant be punished severely, but the Sect they belonged to would be in trouble too.

These rules were the same for each Martial Gathering so before coming here, the Elders of their respective Sects would have repeatedly told their disciples about them. As such, the tens of thousands of participants had already memorized these rules. Nevertheless, certain procedures were still necessary and had to be carried out.

For a time, Feng Ming’s voice was the only sound echoing in the mountain valley. Once all the rules were read out, the rewards would be announced, which was the real highlight of the day. Most only joined the competition to fight for these benefits; thus, the tens of thousands of disciples in the mountain valley were all looking forward to this announcement.

Chapter 3244

The rewards for every Martial Gathering were extremely generous; after all, if the rewards were not good enough, then they would not motivate the people to try their hardest in the competition. Under normal circumstances, the rewards were jointly prepared by the top three Sects while Star Soul Palace would also contribute. The prizes usually included pills, Secret Arts, and Secret Techniques that were highly coveted.

What excited the tens of thousands of participating cultivators further was that the first place in the individual and group rankings would not only receive generous rewards, but they would also obtain the rights to enter the Restricted Areas of the top three Sects to cultivate for a time limit of one month each.

Each of the top three Sects in the Southern Territory had their own special cultivation zones. Azure Sun Temple had the Divine Ascension Mirror World, Heavenly Martial Holy Land had the Martial Intent Temple, and Orthodoxy Temple had the Outer Astral Wind, each with its own advantages. There was no need to explain much about the Divine Ascension Mirror World as it was naturally a place for cultivating the Soul. On the other hand, the Martial Intent Temple was a Restricted Area to perceive various Daos while the Outer Astral Wind of Orthodoxy Temple was an excellent place for Body Tempering.

These areas of the three top forces covered the cultivation necessities of a cultivator. If one could visit each of these three places then their future would be boundless. Who wouldn’t be moved by rewards like these? Things like cultivation resources were auxiliaries, while one’s own strength was their foundation. In addition, the first-place winners would also have the right to choose to join any one of the top three Sects and be nurtured as one of the Core Disciples within that Sect.

As soon as the rewards were announced, all the cultivators in the mountain valley became short of breath and beside themselves with excitement.

Having said that, the first-place winners of the past Martial Gatherings had always belonged to the three top forces. Moreover, they were all Core Disciples of their respective Sects, so while these rewards might be hugely attractive to 99% of the participants, to the disciples of the three top forces, they were nothing more than an extra flower in a bouquet. 

The reason for putting out such a reward was so that the cultivators, other than ones in the three top forces, would be motivated to go all out and strive to obtain the best ranking they could get. In all the years that the Martial Gathering was held, upsets had certainly been seen. Moreover, they had happened more than once. Those existences that had originally been unknown had emerged victorious in the Martial Gathering and were taken in by the three great forces as a result. In the end, they would eventually achieve extraordinary results.

The rewards for second place were slightly inferior in comparison. They could still choose to join any one of the three top forces as a Core Disciple; however, the reward of entering all three Restricted Areas was reduced down to only two. The rewards for third place dwindled once again as they could only choose to join any one of the three top forces and enter any one of their three secret areas.

Further down, the cultivators would only receive material rewards. They could no longer choose to join the top three Sects nor received the chance to cultivate in the Restricted Areas.

With the announcements finished, the tens of thousands of cultivators in the mountain valley rolled up their sleeves and secretly vowed to themselves to perform well in the competition; after all, this was their chance to achieve great things.

When Feng Ming finished reading out the rules and the rewards, he turned back to glance behind him. Xiao Yu Yang smiled at Feng Ming slightly, indicating that he had nothing to say. Only then did Feng Ming raise his hand and shout, “Let the competition begin!”

*Guang…* 

The deafening sound of gongs and drums resounded throughout the valley from somewhere. Following that, figures flew out from halfway up the mountain. Each figure was a different colour stream of light, which made it look as though a meteor shower was falling out of the sky. One after another, they landed on the stages that were scattered across the mountain valley like chess pieces.

Yang Kai was among them. As a Referee, it was only natural that he was the first to appear on the stage. Speaking of which, it was quite funny that he was acting as a Referee for the first time in his life. Nevertheless, he was rather calm about it since he had the knowledge and life experience to adapt.

Standing on the Eighth Arena, he took out a jade slip and used his Divine Sense to check the contents. The jade slip contained a series of numbers, and each number represented a cultivator. The order of appearance and their respective opponents had been pre-arranged, so all he needed to do was call out the numbers of both parties, monitor the match, and make a fair ruling at the end. Lifting his gaze to look around, he loudly announced, “Round 1. No. 3018 against No. 15611!”

As soon as his voice sounded, a petite figure flew out from below the stage and landed firmly on the arena. That person bowed at him and greeted him crisply, “Greetings, Senior.”

[I became their Senior just like that?] Yang Kai sniffed a little. [I seriously wonder whether I am older than this girl.] 

However, with his current strength, not many people across the entire Star Boundary could still stand on equal footing with him, much less claim to be his Senior.

As such, Yang Kai nodded and smiled at that person, only then studying her carefully. It turned out to be a petite woman with two delicate ponytails at the back of her head. Her black hair swayed in the wind, and her modest dress set off her exquisite and curvy figure. She certainly did not look very old as the aura of youth had yet to fade from her face. Additionally, her cultivation was fairly good. She was in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, but he could not tell which Sect she came from.

While Yang Kai was still studying her, another person appeared on the other side of the arena. It was a brave and heroic-looking young man dressed in black attire that flapped wildly in the wind. He had an assertive aura, and his eyes were filled with a fierce light, making him appear extremely dangerous.

[A Third-Order Dao Source Realm!] Yang Kai glanced at the man and secretly thought to himself. [This is going to be difficult for No. 3018.] 

Not everyone was capable of fighting above their realm or killing opponents that were supposedly stronger than themselves like Yang Kai could. Most of the time, the difference of one Minor Realm was enough to create a huge disparity in strength. If not for that, why else would everybody do their best to cultivate in hopes of a breakthrough? It went without saying that these kinds of things could not be generalized of course and in a life-or-death situation, mental state, grasp of the situation in the battle, and ability to adapt to changes were the keys to determining victory or defeat. That was why there were so many examples of the weak defeating the strong.

No. 3018 bowed upon seeing her opponent enter the stage and politely greeted, “Yu Zhuo of Luo Sha Sect!”

Regardless of how the battle progressed later, the necessary etiquette should still be maintained. Besides, the Referee was still watching from the side.

On the contrary, the young man in black attire did not seem to share the same sentiment. He simply lifted his hand, pointed at this Yu Zhuo from Luo Sha Sect, and expressionlessly demanded, “Scram. You are no match for me.”

His tone was not arrogant but simply matter-of-fact. It sounded as though he was just stating the truth, and he was certainly qualified to speak in such a manner. His cultivation was higher than his opponent by a whole Minor Realm after all.

When Yu Zhuo heard those words, a flash of anger flitted across her face and she bit her red lips lightly and rebuked, “We haven’t even fought yet! How can you be sure that I am no match for you!?”

The man in black attire replied, “Do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.”

Yu Zhuo was livid, but nevertheless, she abruptly took a deep breath and calmed the rage in her heart. Turning to look at Yang Kai, who was standing there calmly, she asked, “Senior, may we start?” 

She was already standing here, so how could she be chased away with just a few words from her opponent? Even so, the other party’s belittling attitude had truly incensed her. If not for her good upbringing, she might have already attacked without even caring to check with Yang Kai.

Yang Kai lowered his gaze and folded his arms in front of his chest in a calm and easy-going manner and nodded, “Of course.”

The truth was that those two could have started fighting the moment both of them stepped onto the arena, but Yu Zhuo’s respectful attitude had gained her some favorability.

As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, the man in black attire lunged toward Yu Zhuo like a whirlwind. A sword as tall as a man appeared in his hands and flashed with lightning. He appeared in front of her in an instant and brought his sword slashing down on her head. There was no holding back just because she was a woman and from his posture, it seemed like he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he cut her in half.

Yu Zhuo was shocked as she had not expected her opponent to attack without any warning. Moreover, his attack came so abruptly and there had been no prior indication at all. In a flurry, she hastily summoned a soft whip that she used to immediately protect her vitals.

A series of clashing sounds rang out and sparks flew everywhere. Two figures moved across the arena swiftly, with one falling back while the other pressed forward. The young man in black attire was pursuing his opponent closely and the power behind his sword was extremely heavy, each swing he made wide and sweeping. His posture was completely focused on attacking and he did not put any effort into defending whatsoever. His attacks pushed Yu Zhuo so hard that she could barely keep up with them.

His cultivation was one Minor Realm higher than hers; furthermore, he had momentum on his side as he had launched the first attack, so it was only natural that he had the upper hand in the fight. Be that as it may, Yu Zhuo wasn’t bad either. The soft whip in her hand was like an extension of her arm and despite losing the initiative in the fight, she had instantly defended herself against her opponent’s sudden onslaught of attacks. Although she was a little out of breath and even showed some signs of being defeated, she displayed neither weakness nor vulnerability.

Yang Kai watched the scene before him with a slightly raised brow and began observing seriously. He had no choice but to be serious here as he was the Referee of the Eighth Arena, and it was his job to prevent unnecessary death or injury. In other words, he had to stop the fight as soon as he noticed that one side’s defeat was clear and before unnecessary harm was done. It was only the first battle on the first day of the Martial Gathering, so he didn’t want anything to go wrong either.

If he had to be honest with himself, he was biased towards Yu Zhuo from a personal standpoint. It had nothing to do with gender, it was just that Yu Zhuo had been polite to him while on the contrary, that man in black attire’s arrogant attitude annoyed him. [I am the Referee of the Eighth Arena. It’s bad enough that you didn’t greet me as ‘Senior’. But, what do you mean by not even looking my way even when you come up to the stage?] 

However, Referees could not be partial to any one party, so Yang Kai could only watch the situation and sigh inwardly at the same time. [This Yu Zhuo is at a great disadvantage. Not only is her cultivation lower than her opponent’s, but she also lost the initiative in the fight. If nothing changes, the victor will be decided soon.]

The two continued their high-speed chase in the arena and reached the edge of the ring in the blink of an eye.

Yu Zhuo had been forced to retreat all the way here, so she didn’t have the time to pay attention to the situation at her feet at all. By the time she lost her footing and noticed that something was wrong, it was too late. She would lose the moment she fell out of the ring whether she could still fight or not. The sudden change made her panic and she let out a cry of surprise as her body fell backwards unstably.

Conversely, this was exactly what the young man in black had been waiting for. He had been in pursuit all this time, so he saw from a different perspective and noticed something Yu Zhuo couldn’t; thus, he smiled savagely as he shouted, “Fall!” 

While speaking, he slashed his sword down at her body.

Yang Kai nearly couldn’t stop himself from making a move, but at that critical moment, Yu Zhuo’s body bent at an incredible angle. She had one foot holding onto the edge of the arena as her body bent backwards just enough to avoid the blow from the man in black. Immediately following that, she flicked her soft whip and wrapped it around her opponent’s sword and used it as leverage to twist herself up and landed softly behind him.

Their positions were reversed in an instant.

Many cultivators watching from the audience were stunned while a certain group of cultivators cheered wildly. They were, without a doubt, Yu Zhuo’s fellow Sect members that were cheering for her.

Even Yang Kai was stunned as he had not expected Yu Zhuo to find a way out of that desperate situation under those circumstances. He could tell that she had not planned for this to happen as her reactions and the panic on her face when she lost her footing just now had not been faked. She simply overcame the crisis and prevented herself from falling out of the ring entirely by relying on her ability to adapt and react to the situation.

Chapter 3245

Yu Zhuo didn’t stop to take a breather even after escaping her crisis. She flicked the soft whip in her hand, sending it striking like a snake out of its pit. The soft whip struck out at the man in black’s back like a gale of wind that could not be stopped.

The man in black slashed backwards as he spun around blindly, having already noticed that things were dire when he lost his target.

*Guang…* 

A clashing sound rang out as the man swayed for a moment before catching his balance. On the contrary, Yu Zhuo was sent flying by a powerful shockwave from his counterattack, coughing up a mouthful of blood mid-air before landing on the ground unsteadily.

Yang Kai secretly thought to himself. [What a pity. If Yu Zhuo had the same cultivation as her opponent, she would have won with that attack just now.] 

Unfortunately, she was one Minor Realm weaker than her opponent, so with her hasty attack, she failed to make use of this great opportunity. Instead, she even suffered some minor injuries from being countered by her opponent.

In the middle of all that tension, the two of them had narrowly escaped defeat. It was truly a dazzling and mind-blowing fight.

Yang Kai couldn’t help but cheer up somewhat. He couldn’t believe that he managed to encounter these two people in the very first round on the very first day of the competition. He could tell that both of them, be it Yu Zhuo or the man in black, were extremely impressive in terms of strength in the Dao Source Realm. People like them would have been prioritized and nurtured carefully even within the top three Sects.

Yang Kai suddenly discovered that he had underestimated all the smaller Sects. There was a reason why a Sect could establish its heritage for thousands of years. It wasn’t just the top Sects that could produce outstanding talents.

He suddenly thought of Luo Yuan from Eight Paths Sect. Back then, the Four Seasons Realm had raised the reputation of two people. One had been Yang Kai as he had successfully refined a batch of Extraordinary Treasure Pills, which were known as a Heaven-defying item, with only a Dao Source Realm cultivation. With such an achievement, it would have been hard not to take notice of him. On the other hand, Luo Yuan from Eight Paths Sect was the other rising star.

Eight Paths Sect was a small Sect in the Southern Territory, one that couldn’t even compare to Blue Feather Sect at the time. However, Luo Yuan, who originated from Eight Paths Sect, was a fearless rising star. He was not even afraid of Wu Chang and fought against him in an almost even manner. His strength was evident.

Speaking of Luo Yuan, Yang Kai suddenly recalled seeing somebody who slightly resembled Luo Yuan yesterday. Unfortunately, they had been too far apart and he had not paid much attention, so he couldn’t be sure if it truly was Luo Yuan. [It might actually have been that guy. Eight Paths Sect is also from the Southern Territory after all so it doesn’t make sense for them not to participate in the Martial Gathering.]

While Yang Kai was caught up in his thoughts, Yu Zhuo and the man in black began exchanging blows again. Their figures clashed in the arena as sword met whip, releasing loud clanking noises.

One was aggressive while the other was flexible, but they were fighting on equal terms. Both parties were unable to determine a winner. It was not a one-sided situation. Thus, the unusual situation attracted many other cultivators to come and watch this fight. It didn’t take long before the Eighth Arena was surrounded by spectators. They all had solemn expressions as they watched the fight in the arena, secretly analysing how they could win if they encountered either of these two as opponents.

Yang Kai was watching with great enthusiasm too, and if it wasn’t for High Heaven Palace no longer accepting new disciples, he would have asked Hua Qing Si to hold a similar competition. A competition like this might be tedious to organize and run, but it was indeed the best way to select outstanding talents. Unfortunately, it could not guarantee the personality and character of these talents.

A quarter-hour later, the man in black became more and more hostile. It was no surprise. His opponent’s cultivation was lower than his, and he believed that he should have been able to finish her off easily. Conversely, the woman who was running around endlessly turned out to be the most difficult opponent he had ever faced. He couldn’t help feeling frustrated, and his attacks became fiercer as a result.

Yu Zhuo was constantly meeting his attacks by relying on her rapid reaction and flexible Movement Skills. However, the gap in their cultivation was her biggest shortcoming. Fighting up until now had not been easy, and while winning the fight would not be impossible, it was certainly a difficult prospect. With her hair a mess and many wounds on her body, she appeared quite dishevelled and her breathing was ragged as her chest heaved heavily. Fine beads of sweat were sliding down her face, but nevertheless, she gritted her teeth and refused to admit defeat.

Even so, Yang Kai could see that Yu Zhuo’s hand holding the long whip was trembling. She had been constantly clashing with her opponent’s sword, so how could she bear the violent force transmitted through the whip to her arm for so long?

The man in black was aware of this too and was utilising his strong point to attack her weakness without giving her any space to catch her breath. Instead, he kept forcing her to keep up with him.

Finally, the sound of something breaking rang out when that sword came into contact with the soft whip again. That soft whip was cut into two by the sword, and the front end flew out.

The man in black was overjoyed by the situation. He had enough of his opponent’s whip and now that he had destroyed this artifact, his opponent would have no power to fight back. He looked up with a cold and stern gaze to see a flash of panic flitting across Yu Zhuo’s face as she hurriedly tried to back away. But, how could he allow her to retreat so easily?

“Die!” He roared as his sword came slashing down and a triumphant expression appeared on his face, as though victory was already in his grasp.

[I won! It sure wasn’t eas…!] Before he could finish his thought though, he suddenly saw the panic on her face disappearing and a hint of cunning flashed across her eyes as she executed some kind of Secret Technique. It was accompanied by the sound of something slicing through the air behind him,

[This is bad!] His expression changed drastically. He might not know what trick she was trying to pull, but it was clear he had fallen into her trap. Unfortunately for him, it was too late to pull back at this point so a vicious glint flashed across his eyes as he pushed his sword even harder to bring it down faster than before.

Yu Zhuo hurriedly guarded herself with the half of her whip that remained in her hands, but the other party’s blow at full strength was too great and she could not stop his attack. Consequently, the sword slashed down from her shoulder all the way to her abdomen. It almost cut her into two. Blood spurted out of her mouth when the powerful force hit her like a tidal wave and she flew backwards like a sack. While she was flying through the air though, the Secret Technique she cast just before took effect.

The man in black felt something tightening around his body and finally knew what she had been planning all along. The half of the soft whip that had flown away after being cut by him had flown back while he was not paying attention and wrapped itself around him while he was caught off guard. Then, an inexplicable force emerged from the soft whip and suppressed his cultivation, making him unable to circulate his Source Qi smoothly.

Raising his head, a look of despair appeared on his face as he saw Yu Zhuo hurl the half of her soft whip in her hands at him. The whip segment was flying straight towards his forehead and he knew that if this attack landed, he would undoubtedly die in his current suppressed state.

“I surrender!” He hurriedly yelled.

The whip froze mid-motion, just a finger’s length from his forehead. Just a little bit more and it would have bored a hole through his head. Even the energy from the tip of this whip was pressing against his forehead painfully like an awl, frightening him so badly that he broke out in a cold sweat.

The reason the whip had stopped in front of the man in black was not Yu Zhuo’s doing, of course, but rather it was because Yang Kai had made a move. When that man in black surrendered, Yang Kai reached out and grabbed at something in the air, catching the soft whip mid-flight and protecting that young man from death. He simultaneously lifted his other hand and caught Yu Zhuo’s body that had been thrown backwards by freezing her in mid-air.

The man in black glanced in Yu Zhuo’s direction in shock, then his expression turned incredibly ugly. That was because her body was floating right at the edge of the arena. It was only a little bit more before she left the range of the arena. [Damn it! I almost had it! If I was slightly slower in admitting defeat, she would definitely have lost this match!] 

However, it was a matter of life and death so how could he dare to hesitate? It was useless to be upset now.

Yang Kai released his grip, and the soft whip that had stopped in front of the man in black’s forehead fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Yang Kai slightly retracted his other hand and Yu Zhuo, who was lifted by an invisible force before she slowly floated over to Yang Kai and landed in front of him. Lowering his gaze, he studied this girl at his feet and frowned.

The first match was rather brutal. The man in black might not have suffered heavy injuries, but he had narrowly escaped death. After suffering a loss, he would never underestimate a person with weaker cultivation than himself ever again. On the other hand, Yu Zhuo was in a far worse condition. She had faced a huge disadvantage in this confrontation and at this moment, both her arms were shaking uncontrollably. There was also a bloody wound stretching from her shoulder to her waist. Moreover, blood was spurting out of the wound without stopping. It looked extremely terrible. This was a serious injury that while not life-threatening, would definitely preclude her from competing in the next battle if not treated properly.

Yang Kai sighed softly and crouched down, pressed one hand on Yu Zhuo’s shoulder, and used his Emperor Qi to stabilize her injury before he subtly took out a healing pill and stuffed it into her mouth.

Yu Zhuo’s gaze was a little dazed as it was obvious that she had been beaten up pretty badly and had yet to recover from the impact. When she saw that Yang Kai was healing her, she couldn’t help looking a little apologetic. Nevertheless, she asked in a trembling voice, “Did I… win?”

Yang Kai looked at her expressionlessly and announced in a loud voice, “The winner, No. 3018!”

Upon hearing those words, her eyes sparkled with a look of surprise and she laughed happily. She had yet to exit the arena when that man in black had surrendered, so she had won. However, she soon couldn’t bring herself to laugh anymore as there was a debilitating pain radiating from her wound. Bracing herself mentally, she lifted her head to examine her condition and immediately blushed beet red.

Her clothes where the man in black had slashed her were torn open and exposed her delicate belly as a result. The people in the audience might not be able to see anything due to the angle, but the Referee was crouching down right in front of her could, so it was impossible for him to not see her exposed skin. Yu Zhuo instantly had the urge to pass out from shame.

Yang Kai had not noticed this and only sensed that this girl was too stiff. When he noticed something strange about her complexion though and he followed her gaze, his expression twitched slightly in response before he took out a set of clothing from his Space Ring and covered her wound with it. After that, he lifted his gaze, turned to the audience, and shouted, “Who here is from her Sect?”

Two beautiful women immediately rushed forward and cupped their fists, “Senior.”

“Bring her away for treatment,” He waved his hand dismissively.

The two women thanked him, stored Yu Zhuo’s artifact away, supported her on both sides, and helped her off the stage.

There was silence in the audience. When Yu Zhuo walked off, everybody involuntarily moved to the side and opened a path for her, their expressions full of respect.

On the stage, the defeated man in black stood there for a while before he shook his head silently and bowed to Yang Kai before flying off the stage. He had lost in the first match, but it was not without gain for him. He still had more chances to return, so he was not too worried.

As for Yang Kai, he stood on the stage and fulfilled his job as Referee. With a meticulous expression, he took out a jade slip and shouted, “No. 6051 against No. 8036.”

Chapter 3246

Perhaps it was because the match between Yu Zhuo and that young man in black had started off so well that the next batch of cultivators who entered the arena went all out to showcase their abilities. All sorts of profound methods were used and the fights were extremely exciting, even drawing a nod from Yang Kai in acknowledgement. Of course, some fights were boring and lacklustre where nothing really stood out about them. Yang Kai would have dozed off if not for his job as the Referee.

A day passed just like that, and when evening rolled around, the sounds of fighting coming from all the arenas in the mountain valley stopped. Tens of thousands of cultivators rested at different spots, waiting for the fights to continue tomorrow.

Yang Kai returned to the Spirit Peak that was Azure Sun Temple’s temporary living quarters. The entire day had worn him out. In reality, he only stood in the arena and watched the fights, rarely having to take action, but maintaining focus for the whole day was still mentally taxing.

He had just rested for an hour when Gao Xue Ting sent a message and told him to follow her somewhere. With no other choice, he pushed open the door and stepped out. Several Elders of Azure Sun Temper were standing outside the palace, and as soon as Yang Kai appeared, Wen Zi Shan grinned, “Let’s go.”

“Go? Where?” Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling suspicious.

“You’ll know when you get there.” Wen Zi Shan had an enigmatic expression on his face as he led everybody to fly in a certain direction.

After asking Gao Xue Ting during the journey, Yang Kai learned that they were going to participate in an exchange meeting.

The Southern Territory Martial Gathering was a grand event where tens of thousands of elite disciples and hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters gathered together, making it a rare opportunity. 

During the day, the Emperor Realm Masters were responsible for being Referees and maintaining order around the Martial Gathering. They were unable to extract themselves from their duties; therefore, they would only get together at night to communicate with each other. That was the standard practice at every Martial Gathering.

With so many Emperor Realm Masters present, every one of them would have something valuable in their possession. These items might not be cost-effective to sell, but they could be exchanged with others for the treasures they needed. Needless to say, Orthodoxy Temple, as the host of the Martial Gathering, would collect many treasures especially to get the ball rolling during the exchange meeting.

The exchange meeting was also not just a one-time thing and would be held on the first night, then every five days going forward. Hence, a total of six meetings would be held to ensure that all the Emperor Realm Masters present would have a chance to obtain things they wanted.

Upon hearing about the exchange meeting, Yang Kai became a bit more interested. When they arrived at the meeting place, he saw hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters gathered inside a hall. Although there were many people inside, it was not noisy as only surging waves of Spiritual Energy, indicating that these people were silently communicating with each other via Divine Sense, could be felt.

Once the people from Orthodoxy Temple arrived, they gave a simple opening speech and the exchange meeting officially started. As the host of the Martial Gathering, Orthodoxy Temple took the lead in bringing out several valuable treasures to get everyone excited. Following that, a constant stream of people came up on stage to exchange the things they didn’t want with others for things they did.

The exchange meeting was just a platform. As for how the exchanges went down so that both parties were not at a loss would require both sides to discuss the details carefully in private.

For the time being, the people from Azure Sun Temple were not making any moves. Yang Kai did not know what the others were thinking, but in his case, it was just that he had not seen anything that he was interested in. His current experience and knowledge were no longer comparable to the past. Ordinary treasures hardly tempted him anymore so he mainly came here just to join in on the fun.

On the contrary, Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao seemed to be fascinated by many things; however, they only became Emperor Realm Masters not long ago so their assets were not abundant. They had nothing to bring out that could be exchanged for these treasures, so they could only sigh at their own helplessness.

Just after the first half of the night, the exchange meeting ended and everybody dispersed back to their own quarters. It wasn’t until the next day when the Martial Gathering started again that the mountain valley which had been quiet for a night became lively again.

Yang Kai did not join in on the fun again and simply sat inside his guest room meditating and resting. There was no need for him to act as a Referee today, so he had some free time on his hands. Seeing as he had nothing better to do, he decided to enter the Small Sealed World and check out the situation inside. He had been very busy recently and failed to pay much attention to the situation of the Small Sealed World as a result; hence, it was only natural that he wanted to take a look now that he had some free time.

As soon as he entered the Small Sealed World, he felt something in the world similar to an invisible Will observing him for a moment. It felt as though a sleeping Dragon had opened its eyes and glanced at him before closing its eyes again. Knowing that it was Gun-Gun, he wasn’t bothered by it.

While he was in the Star Field, Yang Kai had used the Small Sealed World as a medium to display the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to devour a number of Cultivation Stars. His actions inadvertently gave birth to a sentient Will in the Small Sealed World, which was Gun-Gun. It could be said to be a significant harvest. It was just that Gun-Gun did not have much self-awareness. Its existence itself was very peculiar and, even now, Yang Kai did not know how it came to be. Even if he was given another chance to repeat his actions, he wasn’t sure if he could produce a second Gun-Gun.

At present, the Small Sealed World was vast and its vitality was flourishing. Gun-Gun had devoured several Cultivation Stars in Grand Desolation Star Field, and not only did it merge the territories of those Cultivation Stars with its own, but it also brought all the creatures that were living on those Cultivation Stars into the Small Sealed World. They were now living inside this place, introducing a cycle of life and death, as well as creation and destruction, which allowed the world to take its first step in acquiring a cycle of reincarnation.

It was hard to explain in words; however, Yang Kai could sense that the current Small Sealed World was different from how it had been before. It felt as though this was now a real world. With just a thought, he felt an invisible and magnificent power pouring into his body, giving him a sense that he was the world itself.

[World Force!] Only by comprehending World Force could a person qualify to become a Great Emperor.

Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised by this power that he could distinctly feel now. Although he could control the Small Sealed World in the past, he never felt the World Force as clearly as he did now. It would seem that Gun-Gun’s actions of devouring those few Cultivation Stars and introducing countless living creatures had brought about various changes to the Small Sealed World.

Yang Kai was only a Second-Order Emperor right now, but he wasn’t going to stop at the Emperor Realm. He was destined to climb higher, even if his future was full of thorns.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense into the surroundings and concentrated on obtaining enlightenment. It was a wondrous feeling that made his whole body feel warm and indescribably comfortable. It was as though his entire being had melted and integrated into the world. At the same time, it felt like he was lying in his mother’s arms. Without any interference from the outside world, he allowed his body and mind to drift endlessly.

There was no need to deliberately try to feel anything as the world itself had turned into a warm bed that tempted a person to fall asleep in it and never wake up again just so that they could remain in this intoxicating state forever. Invisible and intangible power converged from all directions, surrounding Yang Kai in layers like a silkworm’s cocoon.

The entire world was silent as Yang Kai closed his eyes to maintain this amazing state. All of a sudden, a coolness suddenly entered his mind and all of the comfortable warmth disappeared without warning. An indescribable sense of crisis washed over him, causing him to open his eyes abruptly. His vision blurred and all he could sense was that the Divine Sense he had released into his surroundings was showing signs of fully merging with the world. This horrified him so much that his expression changed greatly and he pushed his Spiritual Energy hard to force himself awake.

His Divine Sense that had been spreading outward like a tide rushed back into him all at once with a loud explosive sound. Both his ears went deaf and his vision went dark. Spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, Yang Kai stiffly collapsed to the ground and he did not know how long passed before his dazed eyes gradually focused again. An unimaginable pain came from all over his body as though he had been stabbed thousands of times over. In particular, his head felt like it was being torn apart. His fingers twitched slightly as his consciousness slowly came back and it was only with great difficulty that he finally managed to sit up cross-legged and meditated to adjust his breathing.

At this very moment, his entire body was covered in sweat as though he had just been fished out of the sea, and his expression was filled with a lingering sense of fear. Yang Kai did not know exactly what had happened just now as he simply wanted to use the Small Sealed World to comprehend World Force, but that act alone had caused his Soul to show signs of disintegration instead. If it wasn’t for the Soul Warming Lotus coming into play at the critical moment, it would have ended badly for him.

[What happened!? It was just a small insight, yet I nearly failed at such an easy task.] Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; nevertheless, he had a vague feeling that the so-called World Force was not something he could handle with his current strength. It was precisely because he was unprepared yet still touched on the existence of World Force that he could not withstand it.

The Emperor Qi in his body was rather chaotic and he wanted to investigate the situation but found that he could not gather his Spiritual Energy; thus, he had no choice but to give up for now.

After a long rest, Yang Kai slowly regained his strength. His thoughts flashed, and he instantly appeared in the medicine garden. The entire Small Sealed World had undergone tremendous changes, yet the medicine garden had not changed at all. This was the core area of the Small Sealed World and also a Forbidden Zone.

Yang Kai had long concealed the medicine garden through various means, obscuring it from the outside world. It was impossible for anyone to even see what was going on inside. Even an Emperor Realm Master would not be able to intrude on the area without his permission.

Upon entering the medicine garden, however, Yang Kai discovered that there were many people gathered around this area. Those people were all Origin Kings and were clearly cultivators from the various Cultivation Stars that Gun-Gun had devoured. They probably discovered the strangeness of the medicine garden and were trying to get a glimpse of what was inside. Unfortunately, they were helpless due to their lack of strength. None of them could enter, so they gathered in twos and threes to discuss ways to enter the medicine garden.

That scene amused Yang Kai as he never imagined that his medicine garden would be so attractive to these people. He had placed billions upon billions of living creatures in the Small Sealed World for two reasons. One, Gun-Gun had not been picky about what it took in when it devoured those Cultivation Stars, swallowing people along with rocks and trees equally. Although Yang Kai had the means to eliminate them all, it would be very time consuming; thus, he decided to leave them be. The second reason was that he wanted to see what kind of changes the Small Sealed World would experience after billions of these living creatures moved in.

Reality had proven that the Small Sealed World did undergo various changes. If the previous Small Sealed World could be described as just an empty shell, then the current Small Sealed World had been significantly enriched. It was as though a walking corpse had gained vitality. The Small Sealed World had successfully become a complete world which was clear from just the changes in its World Force.

Be that as it may, Yang Kai would not allow these cultivators to have any ideas about his medicine garden so he lifted his hand gently and an invisible force spread to the surroundings. In the next instant, the many cultivators gathered around the medicine garden looked horrified as they were pushed backwards by something beyond their control. It was almost as if a large, invisible hand was dragging them backwards. It didn’t matter whether they were a Second-Order Origin King or a Third-Order Origin King, no one was capable of resisting this force, causing all of them to acutely feel their own insignificance.

Chapter 3247

“If anyone dares to approach this place again, they will be killed without mercy!” A majestic voice resounded throughout the world like rumbling thunder at that moment. The expressions of all the cultivators standing firm just now changed drastically as they could tell that the voice belonged to the so-called ‘Master of the World’. How could they dare to remain in place? Thus, they quickly fled.

When two small, delicate beings noticed the situation on this side, they flew over from the medicine garden like dancing butterflies, arrived before Yang Kai, and bowed, “Sir.”

They were none other than Mu Zhu and Mu Lu, whom Yang Kai had brought over from the Ancient Wild Lands.

Mu Zhu gave Yang Kai a once-over and stretched out her hands to cover her red lips, “Sir, are you hurt?” Yang Kai was in a miserable state, so it was hard not to notice how bad he looked.

Yang Kai waved at them weakly and continued to adjust his breathing.

The two Wood Spirits glanced at each other and nodded at the same time. They suddenly shifted so that one stood in the air in front of him while the other flew to stand behind him. They simultaneously formed a set of seals with their hands to activate some kind of Secret Technique. An emerald curtain of light appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Yang Kai next. Wisps of light that resembled fireflies flew out of the emerald curtain and filled his surroundings. Then, these bits of light entered his body with every breath he took.

Yang Kai was aware of their movements but showed no intention of stopping them. He had long heard that the Wood Spirit Clan was exceptional at healing injuries, so how could he not understand what they were trying to do at this moment? As he breathed in the green light, he felt the pain in his body fading away and being replaced by a feeling of comfort. His body gradually restored its strength, and even his Soul quickly recovered.

Investigating his condition, Yang Kai was a little surprised to find that his body was filled with emerald light now. Moreover, that light was brimming with vitality as it repaired his damaged body. The emerald light was obviously the doing of the two Wood Spirits.

Cracking his eyes open slightly, Yang Kai peeked at his surroundings. The small figure floating in front of him had a solemn expression on her face while sweat slowly slid down the tip of her nose. It would seem that providing this kind of treatment was a burden on them too. Yang Kai honestly could not tell these two Wood Spirits apart, but based on their demeanours, the one in front of him was probably Mu Zhu because Mu Lu was shy and became embarrassed easily.

Seeming to sense his peeping gaze, Mu Zhu smiled at him and he calmly closed his eyes again. 

With these two Wood Spirits assisting him in healing his injuries, Yang Kai’s entire body relaxed.

The entire process took no more than an hour, and by the time he opened his eyes again, he was fully recovered. Mu Zhu and Mu Lu seemed aware of the changes too and stopped in unison, causing the emerald curtain of light enveloping him to disappear without a trace. Even the emerald wisps of light faded away.

“Thank you.” Yang Kai said.

Mu Zhu pursed her lips, “You are being too polite, Sir.”

Yang Kai stood up, swept his Divine Sense over the medicine garden, and couldn’t help raising his brow. He had planted all sorts of spirit flowers, spirit medicines, and exotic herbs in this medicine garden over the years, but he had never taken care of them properly before. That was because the Immortal Tree was planted here. The Immortal Tree had limitless vitality, so combined with the nutrient-rich soil and the many Earth Vein Crystals in the medicine garden, nothing would wilt even if he just randomly planted anything he wanted here. But, looking at it now, the huge medicine garden had been tidied up and organized. The spirit grasses and exotic herbs were neatly arranged at different plots with some of the shorter plants having already born fruit. There were blue fruits, green fruits, and red fruits all over the place, making it look very pleasing to look at.

Yang Kai was certain that everything was thanks to the work of the two Wood Spirits because he had only planted everything at random before. There had never been such careful planning and structuring before. He also saw many plants that he had never seen before that seemed like they had just sprouted not too long ago.

The Immortal Tree that was only as tall as a person and the Firmament Tree were particularly conspicuous. They were located at the centre of the medicine garden and as he looked over at the Immortal Tree, Yang Kai saw that two of its leaves were rolled up like tiny beds. Then, he looked at the Firmament Tree and saw a similar scenario. He chuckled, “Do you usually sleep on those leaves?”

Mu Zhu and Mu Lu glanced at each other briefly before the former asked, “Is that bad? If it’s no good, we…”

Yang Kai waved his hand casually, “You are the experts here. You can do whatever you want.”

“Many thanks, Sir!”

Yang Kai simply smiled, “What are you thanking me for? I should be thanking you instead.”

The Wood Spirit Clan specialized in taking care of plants since ancient times. If one had a Wood Spirit in their medicine garden, the output of the medicine garden would increase by at least 30%. He had not expected Mu Na to force two of her clansmen onto him, but that showed just how attractive rare plants were to the Wood Spirit Clan.

In the beginning, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu had not been willing to separate from their clansmen; however, they understood why their Matriarch had assigned them this duty after they arrived in this medicine garden. The unparalleled Immortal Tree that only existed in legends and the incomparably mysterious Firmament Tree were both existences that could only be read about in ancient books. These two had never expected to find them both here in this small medicine garden.

The two Wood Spirits were stunned the moment they entered the medicine garden the other day and it wasn’t until then that they understood the Matriarch’s intent. Only the Wood Spirit Clan was capable of caring for these two precious treasures properly. Besides, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu would also receive huge returns by taking care of them. That was related to the special cultivation method of the Wood Spirit Clan, which was not known to outsiders.

Mu Zhu bit her red lip lightly and nervously reported, “Sir, we also planted some things here without your permission.”

“I noticed,” He had long discovered that there were many seedlings that had just sprouted in this medicine garden, and although he did not know what they were, he was certain that they were rare spirit medicines since the two Wood Spirits were the ones to plant them. Of course, he was not going to stop Mu Zhu and Mu Lu from planting these things if they wanted to; after all, he would be the one to profit from this when the plants matured.

Upon seeing that Yang Kai had no objections, Mu Zhu couldn’t help feeling relieved. Every Wood Spirit collected a lot of rare seeds so what they had planted in this medicine garden were the seeds she and Mu Lu had collected. If Yang Kai had objected to their actions, they would have been very reluctant to get rid of those plants. Fortunately, Yang Kai seemed to have no intentions of doing so.

“You can plant whatever you want. You don’t need to inform me. I have handed the care of the medicine garden to you, so you can call the shots here.”

“Many thanks, Sir!” Mu Zhu broke out into a smile. Then, she hesitated as though she had something to say.

“If you have something to ask, you can go ahead and say it. No need to hesitate.”

Mu Zhu glanced at Mu Lu, then she nudged at the latter. Mu Lu blushed and shyly said, “Sir, can you expand the medicine garden? Right now, the place is a little… small.”

The medicine garden was of course not small. Many of the herbs he had collected over the years were all planted here, so how could it be small? Nevertheless, it was small to a Wood Spirit. A medicine garden of this size could easily be handled by Mu Lu or Mu Zhu alone; therefore, they felt as though there was not enough for them to do.

“Of course I can expand it. How much do you want me to expand it by?” He looked at Mu Lu with a smile.

Mu Lu considered it for a moment and said, “About double the current size?”

“Good, is there anything else you want?”

She lowered her head shyly and whispered, “It would be nice if Sir could bring more seeds for us from the outside.”

“En, no problem,” Now that High Heaven Palace was a powerful force that literally dominated one of the four Territories, searching for some seeds was not a problem at all.

Those were all the requests the two Wood Spirits had at the moment, and they looked extremely satisfied after making them. Afterwards, the two enthusiastically invited Yang Kai to tour the newly organized medicine garden. It wasn’t to take credit for their work, they simply wanted to show him the results of their labour.

Yang Kai did not refuse their offer. Hence, he took a stroll around the medicine garden with them. The two Wood Spirits accompanied him, one on each side. They would explain some things to him from time to time, which gave him a little more insight into such matters. He had to admit that the Wood Spirit Clan’s understanding of plants was truly unparalleled. They were familiar with the characteristics, growth environment, maturity cycle, and harvesting methods of every spirit medicine here.

Half a day later, Yang Kai left after doubling the area of the medicine garden as Mu Zhu and Mu Lu had requested. The newly added parts of the medicine garden were completely empty, and he left it as it was for them to deal with themselves.

Over the next few days, Yang Kai spent most of his time meditating in his room. While he was meditating, he thought back on the insight he had gained back in the Small Sealed World. Although his attempt had failed miserably, it was not without gain. At the very least, he had a better understanding of World Force now.

A few more days later, he had to serve as a Referee for a day again. That night, Yang Kai called up Xiao Bai Yi and Murong Xiao Xiao to join the exchange meeting. 

The last time he came, he had only been there to join in on the fun; however, he came prepared this time as he had something he wanted to exchange. It was rare for so many Emperor Realm Masters to gather together in one place; therefore, Yang Kai was confident he could obtain some strange and peculiar seeds from them to fulfil the requests of the two Wood Spirits.

As for the items he could use for the exchange, he had many Monster Beast Cores of various grades in his possession that would surely cause a stir if he brought them out. He also had all kinds of artifacts and elixirs. In the end, he chose to bring out some Emperor Grade Spirit Pills as well, and as expected, taking out two bottles of Emperor Grade Spirit Pills aroused the interest of many people. In the end, he managed to exchange for some seeds as he wished, and when he returned to his room, he handed them to Mu Zhu and Mu Lu.

The two Wood Spirits were naturally delighted to see that Yang Kai had obtained seeds so quickly. Although they had their own collections, the seeds they had on hand were not enough now that the medicine garden had been expanded. The seeds Yang Kai obtained at the exchange came just in time to solve their urgent need, so they kept asking him to bring more and naturally he agreed to their requests.

However, there were probably no more seeds to be exchanged for at the exchange meeting. Even if these Masters had some seeds, they had simply been something they collected by chance. It was impossible for them to treat those seeds like treasures the way Wood Spirits did, so they wouldn’t be bothered to bring many with them.

Therefore, Yang Kai could only wait for the Martial Gathering to finish and figure out a solution once he returned to the Northern Territory. He believed that collecting some seeds would be easy with the power of the entire Northern Territory.

On this day, Yang Kai was meditating in his room when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. Opening his eyes, he raised his hand and the door opened. A woman dressed as a maid stood outside and bowed politely, “Elder Yang, there is someone here requesting to meet with you.”

The maid was a disciple Orthodoxy Temple had sent to serve them, but since Emperor Realm Masters did not need much in the way of service, most of the time this maid just helped run some minor errands for them.

“Who is it?” Yang Kai felt a little curious. [Since they are asking to meet me, that can only mean that they hold a status lower than mine. I can’t think of anybody who would ask to meet me at this time though.]

“A young woman. She claims that she is here to thank you for saving her life. She seems to be called… Yu Zhuo.”

Chapter 3248

Yang Kai was stunned. [If I remember correctly, she’s the girl who fought in the first match in the Eighth Arena on the first day of the Martial Gathering.] 

Smiling lightly, his first reaction was to refuse her. He was the Referee that day; hence, it was his job to help her when she was sent flying. He did not expect repayment for what he did. However, he thought about it again. [She is already here, so refusing will make me seem a little unapproachable and unkind.] 

The words were on the tip of his tongue when he changed what he wanted to say, “Show her in.”

“Yes!” The maid responded before retreating.

Outside the hall, Yu Zhuo stood there respectfully with both hands held flat in front of her. She was holding a set of clean clothing that she had washed previously with a nervous expression. She had no idea whether the person known as ‘Elder Yang’ would be willing to meet with her. After being rescued by Yang Kai the other day, she rested for a day and recovered fully. She initially wanted to thank him immediately, but unfortunately, she did not know who he was or which Sect he belonged to. She had been asking around for the past few days and finally obtained some information today.

The Referee who rescued her and even fed her a Spirit Pill turned out to be the famous High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple. Yang Kai’s name was familiar to most of the people in the Southern Territory. Refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill in the Four Seasons Realm, being instated as a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple, and clashing with the Elder of Star Soul Palace during the canonization ceremony. News about him had long since spread across the lands. It was just that he had been keeping a relatively low profile for the past ten years, so he had gradually been forgotten as a result.

Yu Zhuo never imagined that she would be so fortunate as to cross paths with such a person; thus, she couldn’t help feeling surprised, and upon learning his identity, she immediately rushed over.

Many disciples of Azure Sun Temple came and went while she was waiting there, almost all of them glancing at her strangely. Some even came over to ask the reason she was here, but when they learnt that she was here to meet Yang Kai, they didn’t bother her anymore.

Just as she was battling with her uncertainties, the maid came back. Yu Zhuo’s expression froze as she stared at the maid nervously, but luckily, the maid smiled and said, “Elder Yang invites you inside.”

“Many thanks,” Yu Zhuo nodded politely.

The maid didn’t say anything else, turning around to lead the way. Yu Zhuo composed herself and followed behind the maid, soon arriving in front of a certain room. The maid stretched out her hand to gesture for her to enter. Yu Zhuo breathed in lightly and stepped into the room.

There was only one person in the room, standing by the window with his hands behind his back, staring out at the distant scenery. He turned around when he heard a sound and when their eyes met, Yu Zhuo immediately recognized this man as the Referee of the Eighth Arena.

“Luo Sha Sect disciple Yu Zhuo, greets Senior!” She quickly stepped forward and gave a half bow.

Yang Kai looked her up and down, then he fixed his gaze on the clothes she was holding in her hands, immediately having an idea of what was going on. Smiling, he asked, “How can I help you?”

Yu Zhuo lifted her head and stared at him with big, bright eyes that held no fear while respectfully replying, “Senior rescued me the other day and even gave me a precious Spirit Pill to aid with my recovery. That’s why I came here today to express my gratitude.”

Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, “I was just doing my job. You are being too polite.”

To which Yu Zhuo smiled, “It might have been Senior’s job to save me, but giving me a Spirit Pill was a kind deed. Although my consciousness was hazy at the time, it’s not like I completely lost consciousness. If not for the Spirit Pill Senior gave me, I would not have been able to continue the competition the next day.”

Those words were the truth. She might not know what grade Spirit Pill he had secretly given her was, but if not for that Spirit Pill, she would not have been able to go all out in the following competitions. She even suspected that it was an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill because only such a pill could have such powerful restorative effects, allowing her to recover completely by the very next day.

Yang Kai smiled slightly, neither affirming nor denying her words. It stood to reason that he, a Referee, shouldn’t have given any Spirit Pills to a contestant; however, he had done it without anybody noticing so he believed that nobody else was the wiser and Yu Zhuo would not speak about it. Besides, it was taken after the fight, so even if someone did notice, who would really care?

Yu Zhuo took a step forward and held up the clothes she was holding in her hands next, “Senior, I washed your clothes and came to return them.”

Yang Kai nodded, “You can put them down over there.” He didn’t reach out to take them either.

It was just an ordinary set of clothes, one he took out to cover her wounds without much thought and had no intention of taking them back. Nevertheless, her actions gave him a good impression of her.

Yu Zhuo obediently placed those clothes down to the side then, turning around, she studied the environment in the room curiously. She didn’t show any timidity, rather, she seemed rather forward instead.

Seeing this, Yang Kai rubbed his nose and asked, “Is there anything else?”

The door was left open to avoid unsavoury rumours, but it wasn’t good for a lone man and woman to be seen in the same room alone. Moreover, he was still a Referee, so how would it be perceived if he were seen privately contacting a contestant participating in the Martial Gathering? If word got out about this, he could not guarantee that they would not be slandered. Therefore, his words were politely asking his guests to leave.

Yu Zhuo was not a fool and she could perceive the meaning behind his words; thus, she hurriedly took out a beautiful shirt from her Space Ring and apologetically said, “Yu Zhuo will forever remember Senior’s kindness that day. I didn’t know what to give you as thanks, but it so happened that I saw a good shirt while at the shopping district nearby and I bought it. If Senior doesn’t mind… Please accept it.” 

Her voice became softer and softer as she obviously realized that it was inappropriate for a woman to give a man she barely knew clothes. It was just that she really had no idea what to give him as thanks.

Yang Kai’s cultivation was no secret; furthermore, the fact that he could bring out an Emperor Grade Spirit Pill to treat her wounds indicated that he came from an affluent background. With her financial resources, even the things she could afford to buy only by going bankrupt would probably be of no value to him. Rather than wasting her money like that, she figured buying him a new set of clothes would be more appropriate; after all, she had dirtied his with her blood. It could be considered an act of reciprocation. It didn’t matter how expensive it was, it was the thought that counted.

Glancing at that shirt, Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was the first time anyone had gifted him clothes. In addition, it was somebody he barely interacted with before. The funniest point was that it was a gift from a woman. If somebody were to witness this particular moment, it would be hard not to misunderstand the situation.

Staring at Yu Zhuo thoughtfully, Yang Kai calmly stated, “As a Referee in the Martial Gathering, it is only natural that I be impartial in the arena. Rescuing you was simply part of my job. Giving you that Spirit Pill was the least I could do since the fight was over. If it had been anybody else, I would have done the same.”

The implied meaning behind his words was that she shouldn’t overthink things. Yang Kai was a little suspicious as to whether this woman had any special reasons for approaching him, but if she did, wouldn’t she be a little too scheming?

Upon hearing those words, Yu Zhuo nodded, “It is as you say, Senior.”

Yang Kai stared at her unblinkingly.

Although she wasn’t looking at him, she seemed to sense something out of the corner of her eyes and suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. Lowering her head, she said, “If it is not to Senior’s liking, I will take it back.”

She couldn’t help feeling a little sad. Even so, she bowed elegantly, “I won’t intrude any further, Senior. I will be taking my leave.” 

[Aahh… It’s just clothes. Why did I shamelessly take them out?] Thinking about it now, she couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed.

But to her surprise, Yang Kai suddenly added, “It’s a thank you gift, so there’s no reason for you to take it back.”

She glanced up at him with a stunned expression.

Before she could respond, Yang Kai took the shirt from her but did not try it on. The main reason was that the clothes were a little too flashy and he would definitely look extremely gaudy in them, so how could he dare wear them?

Seeing him accept her gift, Yu Zhuo suddenly broke out into a smile. She had two small dimples in her cheeks, and her gaze only contained pure happiness.

[It seems that I worried too much.] Yang Kai judged after seeing her reaction.

“Please get some rest, Senior. I will take my leave now.” Yu Zhuo paid her respects again, feeling happy both physically and mentally.

“Wait a moment.” Yang Kai raised his hand.

“Is there something else, Senior?” She half-turned to look at him curiously.

“You mentioned the shopping district just now. Is there a shopping district nearby?”

Yu Zhuo nodded, “En. There is a big shopping district in Orthodoxy Temple that sells everything and anything. Have you never been there before, Senior?”

Yang Kai shook his head as he really had not known about it and asked, “Where is it?”

“It’s just below the valley, not far from here. If Senior wishes to visit it, I can bring you there,” She voluntarily offered.

“Just point me in the direction. I’ll go by myself.”

She smilingly replied, “It’s quite alright. Besides, I’ve finished my match for today, so I have nothing better to do.” 

Yang Kai had no idea what she was thinking. [Doesn’t she understand I’m trying to avoid scandals?] 

When she heard that he wanted to visit the shopping district, Yu Zhuo became very enthusiastic and even added, “What do you want to buy, Senior? I’m quite familiar with the shopping district and can show you around.”

Yang Kai felt awkward turning down such enthusiastic kindness, so after pondering in silence for a moment, he decided to just go with the flow and nodded, “Good. Then, I’ll be troubling you.”

She hurriedly waved her hands dismissively, “Senior is being too polite.”

After deciding on the matter, they immediately walked out together. Yang Kai pushed his Emperor Qi and wrapped her up with it before flying in the direction of the shopping district that she pointed out.

He casually asked about the situation of her battles over the past few days and learnt that she had passed all of them without suffering a single defeat, making him feel some admiration for her. Truthfully, he had noticed from day one that her performance would surely have caught the interest of many people, regardless of the final results of the Martial Gathering.

As long as Luo Sha Sect was willing to let her go, he had the feeling that the top three Sects of the Southern Territory would not object to taking her in. The question was whether Luo Sha Sect would be willing to let her go. No, they would surely refuse as it wasn’t easy for them to produce a disciple like her. How could they let her go so easily? Besides, it was unclear whether she herself was willing to leave Luo Sha Sect.

They chatted away throughout the entire journey, and Yang Kai got a better understanding of her personality. She was a lively and cheerful character, not a calculative or manipulative person. Yang Kai was not repulsed by people like her. Not to mention that she was rather good looking and her voice was very pleasant to the ears, so it wasn’t a bad feeling being around her.

“The Martial Gathering has always been a place to change one’s fate overnight. If somebody invites you to join a better Sect on the day the Martial Gathering ends, how will you choose?” Yang Kai casually asked.

Yu Zhuo’s expression turned solemn at those words as she declared, “I am greatly indebted to the Master Sect, and my Honoured Master is no different from my biological mother. I will not leave Luo Sha Sect for any reason.” After a pause, she looked at him and asked, “Senior, are you asking me to join Azure Sun Temple?” 

She looked troubled and didn’t seem to know how to respond.

Yang Kai waved his hand casually, “I was just asking curiously, I didn’t have such intentions.”

“Oh,” Yu Zhuo nodded. Then, she suddenly pointed downward, “We’re here. That’s the shopping district.”

Chapter 3249

Almost the entire mountain valley of more than a dozen kilometres long was the site of this shopping district with the ground on both sides of the canyon and even caves on the cliffside lined with shops. Countless cultivators came and went, and the endless shouting was deafening. This was the shopping district of Orthodoxy Temple, so all the shops were the property of Orthodoxy Temple, and some were businesses run by the disciples themselves. Anything and everything was sold here, but although it was generally a lively place, it was never as bustling as this.

The main reason for the activity was the recent opening of the Martial Gathering. Tens of thousands of cultivators from all around the Southern Territory had gathered here so it was only natural for some of them to come here for a stroll. Before Yang Kai landed, he saw that the cultivators walking about underneath were all dressed differently, with disciples of the same Sect wearing similar uniforms walking about in groups of threes or fives.

Every major Sect would have a shopping district like this one. Azure Sun Temple had a shopping district too, but Yang Kai had never been there before. Be that as it may, it would not be any inferior to this one.

They were not stopped by anybody when they landed in front of the shopping district, so Yang Kai and Yu Zhuo entered the shopping district without any trouble. Women were born with an inherent interest in places like these, and Yu Zhuo was already a lively and cheerful girl, so she was all smiles after arriving here. Walking backwards with her hands behind her back as she faced Yang Kai, she looked at him and asked, “What is Senior interested in buying here?”

Despite walking backwards, it was as though she had eyes on the back of her head, and from time to time, she would shift her shoulders slightly to avoid the crowd.

“I want to buy some seeds,” Yang Kai looked around.

He decided to come here out of the blue to buy some seeds. The main reason was that Mu Zhu and Mu Lu had a high demand for seeds recently. Although he managed to exchange for some rare seeds during the last exchange meeting, they were not enough for the two Wood Spirits’ use. When he sent the seeds over to them, the two Wood Spirits only kept pestering him to bring over more as soon as possible. Yang Kai didn’t know there was a shopping district here before, but now that he did, he figured he might as well come and check it out.

“Seeds?” Yu Zhuo was a little taken aback by this request as she had not expected him to come here for something so simple, but after thinking about it for a moment, she said, “I know where to find them. Follow me, Senior.”

While speaking, she turned around and wormed her way into the crowd like a fish swimming in water. She was very nimble and her pace was neither fast nor slow, so he did not fall behind too much.

Not long after, the two of them came to a certain shop, one that sold herbs. These shops would generally carry some seeds for sale, but there wouldn’t be much in terms of quantity. That turned out to be the case here too as following Yu Zhuo’s inquiry, the shopkeeper only took out a few types of seeds.

Yang Kai quickly checked through them without turning his nose up at them. He immediately wanted to pay for them and leave, but to his surprise, Yu Zhuo began haggling with the shopkeeper over the price. She was very witty and eloquent, forcing the price down by a fifth of the original price. It was very amusing for Yang Kai to watch. Yu Zhuo also tried to snatch the bill, but how could he allow her to pay? It was only natural that he did not agree.

After leaving that shop, Yu Zhuo led Yang Kai to the next one. She seemed rather familiar with this area, so who knows how many times she had been here before? Approximately half a day later, the pair finished walking the shopping district that spanned more than a dozen kilometres and Yang Kai had gotten quite a good haul. Although the seeds he bought were not priceless treasures, the two Wood Spirits had not specified much in their request so he figured he would let them try planting these seeds and see how it went.

“Do you still have anything you want to buy, Senior?” She blinked at him.

“Not for the time being,” He smiled slightly and looked at her. “You still have a match tomorrow, so you should go back early to rest. Many thanks for accompanying me today.”

Yu Zhuo smiled so widely that her eyes curved into crescent-like shapes as she replied, “It was my pleasure. Senior, please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any other requests.” 

Pausing for a moment, she added, “I’ll take my leave now. Senior, you should also go back and rest soon.”

Yang Kai nodded and only then did Yu Zhuo fly up into the sky. Halfway up, she turned around to look at him again and waved at him energetically. Watching her leave, he weighed the bag in his hand that was filled with seeds before casually stuffing it into the Sealed World Bead. He simply placed the bag in front of the medicine garden as he was certain that Mu Zhu and Mu Lu would be able to find it. Afterwards, Yang Kai turned around and flew towards the Spirit Peak that was the temporary accommodation for the people from Azure Sun Temple.

News about Yu Zhuo of Luo Sha Sect coming to find Yang Kai spread like wildfire among all the people of Azure Sun Temple, and Murong Xiao Xiao even dropped by just to ask about it, wondering if Yang Kai and Yu Zhuo had some sort of secret relationship between them. It left Yang Kai feeling rather speechless. Even Gao Xue Ting looked at him strangely when this matter came up. Needless to say, Xiao Bai Yi’s expression of contempt made Yang Kai’s blood boil.

The following days passed by calmly without anything remarkable happening. In a few more days, Yang Kai would need to come out of retreat, go to the mountain valley, and serve as a Referee for a day. As time went on, more and more cultivators were eliminated from the competition and those that could continue to stand in the arena were more or less famous talents.

During this period, Yu Zhuo stood on the Eighth Arena again. Her opponent was, once again, another person in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. This battle was even more difficult than the one she faced on the first day, but even so, she resolved the fight due and taking advantage of her flexible tactics and keen battle sense, she used everything she had to knock her opponent out of the ring.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai could tell that it would be impossible for her to make it to the top ten even though her abilities were outstanding because her cultivation was a huge shortcoming. If she was also in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, she would surely make it into the top five in this Martial Gathering.

Yang Kai did not go to the exchange meeting between the Emperor Realm Masters again as there was nothing to be gained from it now. However, Gao Xue Ting came back to deliver a message to him. Many of the Emperor Realm Masters wanted to exchange for the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills in his possession again, even saying he could set his price. His only response was to ignore them all. 

Taking out the Emperor Grade Spirit Pills to exchange them for rare seeds was something he did as a one-time thing. How could he possibly bring out even more Emperor Grade Spirit Pills that everybody was coveting?

On the 20th day of the Martial Gathering, the results of the individual rankings came out. The first-place winner was not a disciple from Azure Sun Temple nor even the disciples of any of the three top forces. Instead, it was somebody from Eight Paths Sect.

Moreover, it was somebody Yang Kai knew. That person was the daughter of the previous Sect Master of Eight Paths Sect, Su Zi. 

The fact that the competition was won by a small and unknown Sect was a huge blow to the pride of the three top Sects.

Yang Kai and Su Zi had not interacted much with each other of course, all he knew was that she had feelings for Luo Yuan. Back when he refined the Extraordinary Treasure Pills in the Four Seasons Realm, she had asked to exchange for one of them from him, originally planning to gift the pill to Luo Yuan to aid him in becoming an Emperor Realm Master as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Luo Yuan had not appreciated her sentiment and stuffed the Extraordinary Treasure Pill into her mouth, forcing her to swallow it instead. 

After so many years, Su Zi’s cultivation finally reached the peak of the Third-Order Dao Source Realm and it would not be hard for her to become an Emperor Realm Master with the Extraordinary Treasure Pill from back then as her foundation. Nevertheless, she completely overwhelmed tens of thousands of young talented individuals in the Southern Territory and brought glory to Eight Paths Sect by winning the individual competition. For that reason, a little-known Sect like the Eight Paths Sect once again caught the attention of many Masters.

The truth was that ever since the day Luo Yuan became an Emperor Realm Master, Eight Paths Sect was no longer the same small Sect it had been back in the past. It had expanded its influence greatly, while Luo Yuan had assumed the position of Sect Master.

It was easy to imagine how much honour and glory Su Zi’s victory in the individual rankings of the Martial Gathering had brought to Eight Paths Sect. The current Eight Paths Sect was just slightly poorer in heritage with Luo Yuan being the only Emperor Realm Master overseeing the Sect. But, in time, when both he and Su Zi had fully spread their wings, they were bound to lead Eight Paths Sect to prosperity.

It should not be forgotten that the reward for obtaining first place in the Martial Gathering was permission to enter the secret cultivation areas of the three top Sects. Combining that with the supplementary effects of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, Su Zi would surely advance into the Emperor Realm in short order. It truly made one green with envy just thinking about it.

The second-place winner was actually Xue Yi from Azure Sun Temple. This result did not disappoint, and at the very least, he had overpowered the participating disciples of Orthodoxy Temple and Heavenly Martial Holy Land.

The third-place winner belonged to the Orthodoxy Temple while Heavenly Martial Holy Land missed out on the top three spots this time around, causing the Elder leading their team to look extremely vexed. He was probably troubled by how he was going to assume responsibility for the disgrace. As the results continued further down the rankings, most of the disciples from the major Sects were ranked in front, highlighting the heritage of these forces.

Now that the individual rankings were over, the remaining ten days would be used for group battles. The competition venue was still the same mountain valley, but hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters spent a whole day removing all small arenas and reorganizing the valley into ten large ones. Each arena could fit up to about a hundred people fighting at once.

In the individual rankings, only one Referee was needed for each battle, but that would not work for the group rankings. Every arena needed five Referees to ensure that there were no casualties in each battle. It went without saying that Yang Kai was also recruited. Just as before, everyone took turns to act as a Referee, rotating once every three days this time.

In order to compete for the group rankings, the disciples fought with everything they had and the battles were very flashy and intense. Every method and every trick came into play during these battles and it was quite the spectacle. It was also very difficult to imagine that they were doing all this just to obtain the first place in the rankings. Still, it was no wonder seeing as the rankings would determine the reputation of their Sects. Who would dare to be sloppy about it?

The disciples Azure Sun Temple sent out were all elites, and regardless of their individual rankings, they were invincible in the group rankings. Their opponents couldn’t even lay a finger on them in the first few matches and it wasn’t until they met the disciples of the other two top Sects that they had more difficult battles.

On this day, Yang Kai was meditating as usual when the maid came to report that Yu Zhuo was asking to meet him again. Ever since the first time she came here, she would visit every few days; however, she always had legitimate reasons. It was mainly to send some seeds to him. When she saw that he had been very interested in those seeds back at the shopping district, she went back and asked her Sect members to help collect more, and every few days, she would come to deliver them.

This was the third time she had done so already, and although these seeds were not expensive, Yang Kai had a vague feeling that something was not right. This young woman’s gaze was gradually becoming more and more attached over time. Yang Kai was not inexperienced in these matters, so how could he not know her intentions? Perhaps, he had planted a seed in her when he saved her back then and that seed was slowly showing signs of taking root in her due to their constant contact these days.

Of course, Yu Zhuo was very careful to conceal her feelings, but Yang Kai was not blind so it was impossible for him not to notice after so much time. As such, he felt that it was necessary to have a serious talk with her. He really did not want to get entangled with any more women right now, besides, he still had yet to figure out what was going on with Ji Yao; hence, he asked the maid to show her in.

Soon, a head popped out from behind the door and Yu Zhuo smilingly said, “I hope I’m not bothering you, Senior.” 

After meeting several times, she realized that Yang Kai did not put up any pretences; thus, she had gotten very familiar with him.

“You are already here, so what does it matter if you did bother me?” Yang Kai looked at her, rolling his eyes. After meeting several times, they had naturally become much more familiar with one another.

Chapter 3250

Yu Zhuo stuck out her tongue, slipped into the room, took out an animal skin bag like it was a priceless treasure, and handed it to Yang Kai, “I found some more seeds for you. Have a look.”

Yang Kai reached out to accept them before he quietly murmured., “You don’t need to keep searching anymore. I have enough now.”

Yu Zhuo was taken aback by those words for a moment before she grunted noncommittally in reply. Her expression seemed a little disappointed, but she quickly cheered up again and asked, “Senior, what are you collecting these seeds for?”

He smiled, “My wife asked me to, so how can I be careless about it?”

“Your wife?” She was obviously startled, “Senior, you have a wife!?” 

[Why didn’t I hear about this before!? I’ve been asking around about him a lot over the past few days, but I didn’t hear about this at all!]

Yang Kai nodded, picking up his teacup as he took a sip and calmly replied, “I have a few.”

[A few…] Yu Zhuo couldn’t help feeling a little out of sorts and immediately sank into a state of desolation. She was no longer as lively and cheerful as before. She clearly seemed rather absent-minded upon learning that Yang Kai was married, moreover, to several women at that. Then, after making small talk for a bit, she took the initiative to leave.

Yang Kai saw Yu Zhuo off at the door, and watching her slightly hunched back as she left, he slowly shook his head. He had no choice but to reveal some of his personal information to her in hopes of ending this mess quickly.

The group ranking battles continued on in full swing, and as the battles progressed, the ones remaining were all elites so the fights became more intense as a result. The heritage of many Sects across the Southern Territory was showcased in these battles. The longer they remained in the competition, the stronger the influence of the Sect behind them. Needless to say, none of the top three Sects were eliminated from the competition.

Unsurprisingly, the last three groups competing against each other belonged to the top three Sects. The group from Azure Sun Temple finally lived up to expectations and won first place in the competition in the Dao Source Realm category by an overwhelming margin. Although they lost in the Origin King Realm and the Origin Returning Realm categories, those losses were not a big deal.

The final results of the rankings were out. Hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters, as well as tens of thousands of participating disciples, gathered in the mountain valley once again. Following that, Xiao Yu Yang announced the top ten winners for each category of the competition and the rewards they were to receive. The cultivators and Sects whose names were called out received great honour. On the other hand, those who lost secretly vowed to themselves to wash this shame clean in the next Martial Gathering.

The Southern Territory Martial Gathering was now over, but nobody left. According to tradition, Orthodoxy Temple, as the host of the Martial Gathering, would throw a huge banquet on the final night of the Martial Gathering. It didn’t matter whether it was the Emperor Realm Masters who came to provide support or the tens of thousands of disciples who participated in the competition, all were invited to the banquet.

The banquet would be held in the evening, and since there was still some time until then, Yang Kai returned to his living quarters to wait. Not long after, the maid came to report that Yu Zhuo was asking to meet him again and he couldn’t help feeling a headache coming on. Pondering in silence for a moment, he ordered, “Tell her I’m not here.”

Although he had not made himself entirely clear the last time, the meaning behind his words had been obvious enough. He did not know what Yu Zhuo was thinking, but he really did not wish to continue with this ambiguous relationship. 

The maid glanced at him curiously and could not understand why he refused to even meet with Yu Zhuo when he had been very kind towards her previously. Nevertheless, it was not her place to interfere and she could only retreat obediently.

Outside the hall, the maid returned, turned to Yu Zhuo, and said, “Elder Yang is not in.”

Yu Zhuo exclaimed, “But, I saw him return!”

The maid smiled, “Perhaps, he went out again.”

Yu Zhuo clearly did not believe those words as she had seen Yang Kai return to this place with her own eyes and there had been no trace of him going out again, so how could he not be in? Just as she was about to ask the maid to check again, she suddenly seemed to realize something and forced out a smile before bowing, “Many thanks.”

The maid shook her head, “It was nothing.”

Yu Zhuo turned around and her eyes abruptly reddened. She sullenly flew off in the direction of her living quarters but halfway there, she stopped and turned around to stare at the place where Yang Kai was living. She energetically waved her hand in that direction before hurriedly rushing away.

Yang Kai stood by the window, and upon seeing her actions, he sighed. He could only wish for her happiness in his heart now that things had come to this, hoping that she could put this behind her as soon as possible.

That night, the mountain valley was extremely lively as tens of thousands of people were gathered together. Countless tables were set up all across the entire mountain valley, and many maidservants made their way among them. Even the disciples of Orthodoxy Temple were busy as they constantly served up food and wine. The banquet spread out in all directions. It was rare to see such a grand occasion and drinks flowed freely, making the atmosphere extremely festive.

At the place where everybody from Azure Sun Temple was gathered, Yang Kai looked around and asked curiously, “Where is Senior Sister Gao?” 

He did not see Gao Xue Ting anywhere all evening.

Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “Senior Sister mentioned that she was feeling under the weather, so she didn’t come.”

“Is she okay?” He looked concerned.

Murong Xiao Xiao blushed a little and quietly replied, “It’s nothing. She’ll be fine with some rest.”

Looking at her expression, Yang Kai wisely did not inquire further into the matter.

People kept coming over to propose a toast, so the people from Azure Sun Temple couldn’t just sit around relaxing. Wen Zi Shan gave an order, and several Emperor Realm Masters had no choice but to bring their wine glasses with them to offer toasts to others. On the way back, Yang Kai’s expression changed suddenly as he turned his head to the side and saw a figure flashing by, rushing into the darkness and disappearing out of sight.

“What was that?” He frowned. Putting down the wine glass in his hand, he chased after the figure and a moment later, he saw a person waiting for him approximately several hundreds of metres ahead. He walked over and cupped his fists, “Senior Brother Luo.”

Luo Chen turned to look at Yang Kai and quietly said, “Come with me.”

“Where?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow. It had been Luo Chen who quietly sent a Divine Sense transmission to him just now, asking him to come over. Speaking of which, there had not been much interaction between them although the two of them both belonged to Azure Sun Temple.

This person was even less talkative than Xiao Bai Yi. At the very least, Xiao Bai Yi would offer a comment once in a while. On the other hand, Luo Chen was practically no different from a mute. He wouldn’t make a sound even if he was hit with a stick. He seemed to be an outlier even in Azure Sun Temple and according to Murong Xiao Xiao, none of the many Elders in the temple had a particularly close relationship with him.

Yang Kai did not have much interaction with Luo Chen either and hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with him before, thus there was no friendship between them at all. Hence, Yang Kai seriously had no idea why Luo Chen called him out in the middle of the night.

“Senior Sister Gao wishes to meet you,” Luo Chen responded as he led the way.

“Senior Sister Gao…” Yang Kai was stunned. At the same time, he couldn’t help criticizing in his heart. [Why are they acting so secretively? If Gao Xue Ting is looking for me, she could have come to me directly, why send Luo Chen to deliver the message?]

Suppressing the doubts in his heart, he followed behind Luo Chen, but after a while, he frowned, “Senior Brother Luo, this is not the way back.”

Judging by the direction they were going, they seemed to be flying out of Orthodoxy Temple and it was making Yang Kai feel more and more suspicious. However, Luo Chen, who was leading the way, refused to give him any explanation whatsoever. Yang Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off and his figure came to a sudden stop as he stared at Luo Chen’s back. In response, Luo Chen stopped and looked back at him.

“Senior Brother Luo, what is going on?” He frowned at Luo Chen.

Luo Chen repeated, “Senior Sister Gao wishes to meet you.”

Yang Kai asked, “Why does Senior Sister want to meet me?”

Luo Chen said, “I am only responsible for delivering the message. I don’t know anything about the specifics.”

Yang Kai stared at Luo Chen for a long time before he took out a communication artifact, poured some Divine Sense into it, and contacted Gao Xue Ting himself. Luo Chen’s behaviour was making him feel very suspicious; therefore, he couldn’t afford to care about offending the person in front of him anymore. [Let’s contact Gao Xue Ting and figure out what’s going on for now.]

Yang Kai quickly received a response from the communication artifact, and upon reading the message, he looked stunned. It turned out that Gao Xue Ting really wanted to meet him, but she didn’t mention the reason. She only said that he would know once he arrived. 

Putting away the communication artifact, he bowed to Luo Chen with a slight sense of shame. What he did just now showed that he did not trust Luo Chen, but facts had shown him that he was simply overthinking things.

Luo Chen seemed unaffected and continued to lead the way without saying a word.

After a while, the two left Orthodoxy Temple and nobody stopped them. Yang Kai followed Luo Chen and sped into the distance. About an hour later, Luo Chen stretched out a finger and pointed at a tall mountain in the distance, “Senior Sister Gao is waiting for you over there.”

Yang Kai tilted his head to look at Luo Chen, “Are you not going?”

Luo Chen shook his head, turned around, and left.

Yang Kai was speechless. [Serves you right for not having any friends. Nobody can handle such an attitude! I wonder how Gao Xue Ting managed to make him move.] 

Glancing in the direction Luo Chen had pointed, Yang Kai saw a peak not that far away; thus, he continued heading in that direction.

Landing at the top of the mountain peak, he glanced about his surroundings but there was nobody around. He used his Divine Sense to scan his surroundings, but there were no signs of life around.

“Senior Sister Gao!” He shouted, but there was no response. 

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling that the events of tonight were getting stranger and stranger by the moment. First, Gao Xue Ting entrusted Luo Chen with a message for him, but he didn’t see her anywhere now that he had arrived at their supposed meeting place. Could it be that she hadn’t arrived yet?

Feeling suspicious, he took out his communication artifact and poured his Divine Sense into it again. He wanted to ask Gao Xue Ting about the situation; however, there was no response from her this time around.

Just as Yang Kai was focused on fiddling with the communication artifact, a shadow silently appeared from the darkness behind him. The shadow had appeared like a wisp of black smoke, without any warning nor the slightest indication whatsoever. What was even stranger was that Yang Kai didn’t seem to notice it at all even though it was so close at hand.

The black shadow slowly condensed into a blurry figure that looked like it could be blown away by the wind. The figure lifted a hand, and a black dagger appeared in its grip. Then, it stabbed the dagger towards Yang Kai’s back slowly.

The moon was hidden by the clouds and the wind was strong. The world was quiet, with only the sounds of the birds and insects coming from all directions.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai was still fiddling with the communication artifact, scowling deeply, unaware of the crisis coming from behind him.

At that moment, the sounds of the birds and insects disappeared abruptly, as though they had been frightened by something. All the sounds of the night vanished in that instant and at the same time, the dagger that had slowly been moving towards Yang Kai suddenly burst forward at an unimaginable speed, stabbing violently into his back.

A sharp pain burst out, and the Emperor Qi in Yang Kai’s body exploded outward. The communication artifact in his hand turned into a cloud of dust as his body tensed, becoming as tough as metal. The forearm length dagger didn’t manage to stab any further than a finger length into Yang Kai, so despite being aimed at his heart, it instead became trapped in place by his muscles.

The black shadow holding the dagger swayed erratically for a moment. The position where its eyes were located shone with a light of surprise. It seemed that it had not expected its certain-kill attack would be blocked like this. Although it had managed to stab its dagger into Yang Kai, its actions had not achieved the desired effect. Considering the situation briefly, it immediately understood the crux of the problem. There was something wrong with this man’s body, making it incomparable to an ordinary cultivator’s.

Without giving that black shadow any time to react, Yang Kai turned around with a furious glare and punched out.

Chapter 3251

A violent burst of Qi exploded outward; however, it directly penetrated the black shadow’s body and hit empty space, leaving a black tear behind. Its position had been revealed, so it no longer tried to remain hidden. Putting more force into its dagger, it thrust forward, trying to finish Yang Kai off.

*Chi…* 

Yang Kai didn’t flinch, but even so, he was pushed so hard that he was steadily forced backwards. The ground under his feet looked like it had been ploughed as two long gouges appeared in it. He stretched out his arm and grabbed at the dagger that was stuck in his abdomen, ignoring the fresh blood trickling down his hand from his fingers that had been sliced open by the blade, and stared at the figure in front of him, trying to get a clear look at their face.

That moment just now could have been described as a fine line between life and death. It both shocked and enraged him. What shocked him was that the other party’s actions had gone completely undetected until it was almost too late. He didn’t notice anything whatsoever, so clearly this person’s assassination techniques were beyond superb. Who could it be with such skills? What enraged him was that he had been ambushed so unexpectedly.

The only reason he managed to stop the danger was not that he had noticed a murderous intent but that he instinctively sensed something was wrong and shifted his body so that the attack avoided his vital points. If not for that, he would be in a terrible state right now.

*Hong hong hong…* 

Waves of violent force were transmitted through the dagger and exploded inside his body. The explosions caused his waist area to become a bloody mess and he had no choice but to use his Emperor Qi to resist while golden blood spurted out of his mouth. 

Yang Kai roared, “Who are you!?”

He had been led to this place by Luo Chen, and before he came, he even contacted Gao Xue Ting to confirm; therefore, he had not given it much thought at the time. Who could have expected that he would be ambushed here? This was obviously a premeditated assassination, but Yang Kai could not figure out who he had offended so greatly that they would try to kill him in this manner. More importantly, what roles did Luo Chen and Gao Xue Ting played in this entire process.

Yang Kai did not want to think too much into it, but he had no choice but to do so. Nevertheless, his top priority at the moment was to resolve the immediate crisis he was facing and figure out the identity of the assassin. Luo Chen and Gao Xue Ting’s involvement could come later.

The black shadow did not answer Yang Kai’s question and simply continued to push forward.

Yang Kai scanned the black shadow with his Divine Sense but couldn’t uncover its true identity. He couldn’t even detect any life aura coming from this black shadow, as if it was nothing but an illusionary phantom without physical form. Furious, Yang Kai punched out again. The black shadow ignored the attack and allowed it to land on his body, but unsurprisingly, it was completely ineffective.

A numb and tingling sensation spread out from Yang Kai’s waist area, shocking him into the realization that the dagger was poisoned! He did not know what kind of poison it was that could take effect so quickly, but in any case, he had no time to investigate. Space Principles fluctuated as he spread out his palm to grab at the black shadow.

The black shadow grunted as its seemingly ethereal body suddenly became much more corporeal. Yang Kai was overjoyed at the sight. His brute force attacks had not been effective against his opponent and even his Emperor Qi had not been able to injure this strange assassin. He would have faced a disastrous ending if even his Space Principles were incapable of working against this enemy, but fortunately, they had not let him down. The black shadow clearly could not withstand the pressure of space being condensed around him and showed signs of revealing his true form.

Yang Kai shouted as he sent a Moon Blade flying, slicing through the black shadow’s body.

Fresh warm blood splattered out as the black shadow was cut into two but fused together again in an impossible manner. Nevertheless, a pained expression appeared on its blurry face. The Moon Blade might not have delivered a killing blow, but injury was unavoidable.

Before Yang Kai could do anything else though, the black shadow suddenly released its dagger and retreated. How could Yang Kai allow the black shadow to come and go as it pleased though? Reaching out, he aimed his hand at the black shadow and clenched his fist tightly. The space surrounding the black shadow instantly solidified.

This move was apparently beyond the black shadow’s expectations as it could be said that it was an indefensible attack. Only then did it realize how dangerous it was to confront the person in front of him openly. It was no wonder its higher-ups told it to kill this person silently; otherwise, this person might really ruin their grand plans.

“Exile!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted and the space that captured the black shadow instantly began to collapse. A black hole suddenly appeared behind the black shadow, and a terrifying suction force came out from it, as though it was trying to swallow the black shadow up.

[This black shadow is too dangerous, even my Moon Blade can’t cut him down!] Yang Kai was in no mood to figure out who the black shadow was anymore. Kill first, talk later.

Exile was one of Yang Kai’s Space Techniques that could literally exile a target into the Void. No matter how resilient or impervious the black shadow was to damage, it would still have no way to escape once it was lost in the Void. There, it would eventually die of old age in the Void Crack.

Feeling the chaotic nothingness coming from the black hole, the black shadow became a little panicked. When a sharp whistle sounded from its mouth, a dozen figures suddenly appeared from all directions, each of them holding their artifact in hand as they indiscriminately blasted Yang Kai with attacks.

Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically as he had not expected this person to have so many helpers. Moreover, all these ambushers were Emperor Realm Masters. Lifting his gaze, Yang Kai suddenly noticed that the figures were extremely familiar. They were faces that he had recently interacted with, and some were even people he had met and chatted with earlier today. These people were the Emperor Realm Masters of the major Sects and clans in the Southern Territory that had led their respective disciples to participate in the Martial Gathering. It was just that the aura radiating from these people at this moment was one that made Yang Kai’s heart pound wildly. He looked up at them and saw that every one of them was wrapped in a faint black Qi.

“Demon Qi!” The scene before him could not be more familiar. How could Yang Kai not realize that these Emperor Realm Masters had been taken over by the Demon Qi? Their hearts and minds had been demonified, but how could there be Demon Qi here?

In that brief moment of hesitation, Yang Kai’s body was shrouded by violent waves of attacks. At the last instant, a small bell appeared out of nowhere and rapidly spun as it grew taller than a person. Covering Yang Kai, vivid scenes of mountains, rivers, birds, fish, and beasts seemed to come alive. It was the Mountains and Rivers Bell!

The dozen Emperor Realm Masters were attacking with everything they had, so even if Yang Kai had thick and touch skin, he didn’t dare to take their attacks head-on. Besides, not only was he poisoned, he also had a dagger still stuck in his waist.

*Hong hong hong…* 

A series of explosions rang out as lights flashed out from the Mountains and Rivers Bell while it defended against all the attacks. Afterwards, it suddenly became smaller and smaller until it fit into Yang Kai’s palm. Following that, he turned his head to look in the direction of the black shadow.

The black shadow that was about to be swallowed by his Exile Secret Technique had broken free of its shackles while Yang Kai was distracted. In the darkness, that pair of indifferent eyes stared at Yang Kai deeply for a moment before its body exploded and transformed into countless wisps of black smoke which scattered in all directions and vanished in the blink of an eye. Seeing that its ambush had failed, it decisively retreated.

Yang Kai gritted his teeth as the grief and anger in his heart compounded each other. He had never suffered such a huge loss before since he began his journey on the Martial Dao. He nearly died at that person’s hand, but he didn’t even manage to get a glimpse of their true appearance. He didn’t even know anything about the origin of the other party. It was a great disgrace.

Yang Kai had no time to investigate anything though as there were still a dozen Emperor Realm Masters wielding their Emperor Artifacts once again to attack him. It was clear that they were buying time for the black shadow to escape.

Yang Kai pulled out the dagger from his waist and used his Emperor Qi to staunch his wound before his figure flickered and appeared in front of an elderly man with a white beard. Yang Kai’s fist flew out, punching the elderly man directly in the face.

That elderly man with a white beard immediately flew backwards from the force and lost consciousness even before he hit the ground. He was only a First-Order Emperor, so how could he withstand Yang Kai’s assault?

The rest of the Emperor Realm Masters remained undaunted though, showing no intention to escape. Four people rushed out from both the left and right sides. Meanwhile, the others held out the Emperor Artifacts and bombarded everything in front of them with relentless attacks, regardless of whether it was an enemy or an ally.

Yang Kai glanced about coldly and with a shift of his body, avoided a ball of fire. Two people from the opposing side rushing towards him failed to notice the attack coming at them and were turned into dust by their own allies as a result. Not even bones were left behind, so nobody would ever know which Sects Elders had died there.

The Mountains and Rivers Bell shot out again to cover three people on the right, unleashing an irresistible suppressive force. Those three also noticed that they were in a tight spot and wanted to escape; however, it was already too late. The moment the bell tolled, they lost control of their strength, and their Emperor Qi became chaotic. Wobbling, they fell to the ground, unable to move, and were swiftly covered by the Mountains and Rivers Bell.

In the meantime, Yang Kai lost no time as he flashed to the side of a beautiful woman and grabbed her by the back of her neck before pushing his Emperor Qi wildly. He first sealed her cultivation before striking her on the back of her head to knock her out. After that, he tossed her into the Mountains and Rivers Bell.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the dozen Emperor Realm Masters that had ambushed him had been defeated. When the remaining half saw that the situation was turning sour, they stopped trying to fight him and unanimously scattered in all directions to flee.

Yang Kai wanted to chase after them, but half of his body had become numb from the poison; thus, he could only grit his teeth and watch as they escaped. Sweeping his Divine Sense in all directions, he confirmed that there were no other dangerous elements before reaching out to toss the two people he knocked out into the Mountains and Rivers Bell to suppress them. After that, he hid inside the Sealed World Bead.

He appeared directly in the medicine garden with a pale complexion and went directly to sit down cross-legged in front of the Immortal Tree. When Mu Zhu and Mu Lu heard the commotion, they came to check out the situation and were shocked as soon as they saw Yang Kai’s current state. They hurriedly surrounded him, one in front and one at the back, to treat his injuries.

The emerald light enveloped him, and supplemented by the vitality of the Immortal Tree, Yang Kai instantly felt much better. The truth was that all the injuries he suffered were secondary. Even though the dagger had stabbed into his body and pierced his internal organs, such wounds were nothing to him with his current physical constitution and powerful restorative powers.

The problem lay with the strange poison on the dagger. Yang Kai did not know what kind of poison it was that could affect him even with his current physique and cultivation, which was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Not to mention his body as a Half-Dragon.

His Emperor Qi surged, washing over the numbed half of his body, and with the help of the two Wood Spirits, that half gradually regained its feeling. Yang Kai was very fortunate in a sense. If it had been any other Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in his situation, they would have died from this strange poison.

It was just that he now had a Half-Dragon Body, and the Dragon Clan had strong resistance against various negative states, poisons were naturally among them. The poison on the dagger might have been very strong, but it was not strong enough to poison a member of the Dragon Clan to death. An ordinary Great Dragon would not have been affected by this poison at all. Unfortunately, it took some effort for Yang Kai to purge this poison from his system since he was only a Half-Dragon.

The two Wood Spirits were not only good at healing wounds, but they were also experts at detoxification. With the assistance of these two, it only took a quarter of an hour before Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood he threw up was not the usual golden colour and instead had a green, oily look to it. Moreover, it was pungent and foul-smelling. The blood landed on the ground with a soft hissing sound.

Following that, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and stretched his body. There was nothing wrong with his condition now, but as he recalled the ambush, he couldn’t help feeling a lingering sense of fear.

Chapter 3252

Ever since Yang Kai broke through to the Emperor Realm, he rarely ran into opponents that could put up a fight against him. He even killed several Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters; hence, it couldn’t be helped that his mentality had undergone some subtle changes. He finally understood that the world was vast and there were capable people everywhere. The price of underestimating his opponents was nothing but pain and suffering.

It was only thanks to his Half-Dragon Body that he managed to survive this near-death experience; without it, that sneak attack from behind by the black shadow might have killed him instantly, and it was also his Half-Dragon Body that allowed him to survive the fatal poison from that dagger.

It was only thanks to the toughness of his Half-Dragon Body that his body could lock the dagger in place and prevent it from advancing further or being retrieved. It had allowed him to avoid receiving fatal damage, slow down the spread of the poison, and survive the ordeal.

Yang Kai was still filled with doubts when he thought back on what he went through tonight. The only reason he came to that mountain was that Luo Chen had used Gao Xue Ting’s name to bring him along. If not for that, he would never have gone there for no reason; at the same time, it was clear that the black shadow’s ambush had been premeditated.

[How are Luo Chen and Gao Xue Ting related to this matter?] Yang Kai had contacted Gao Xue Ting beforehand and received a response from her; otherwise, he would not have trusted Luo Chen so easily. Moreover, the demonification of those dozen Emperor Realm Masters gave Yang Kai the feeling that something even more nefarious was happening behind the scenes.

The Southern Territory had just resolved the last Demon incident. In the ten or so years that Yang Kai had been in Heng Luo Star Field, the Southern Territory had been hunting down the Demon Spirits that had escaped from Spirit Sword Peak and it was said that the Demon Spirits had all been cleaned up, so where did so many demonified Masters pop out from?

While mulling over it, Yang Kai suddenly came to a shocking realization. The dozen Emperor Realm Masters who attacked him were all people who came to participate in the Martial Gathering, but he didn’t even notice any abnormalities in them until today. If they all quietly underwent the Demon Transformation, then what about the others here? There are hundreds of other Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples from all over the Southern Territory within this mountain valley right now. It would be catastrophic if some or even all of them had fallen too!

Not daring to continue with that line of thought, Yang Kai emerged from the Small Sealed World. The Mountains and Rivers Bell stood there quietly on top of the mountain peak while the surroundings were a complete mess, with traces of the huge battle from earlier still remaining. Faint sounds of movement came from inside the bell as the Emperors who were suppressed within were clearly trying to break free. However, the suppression of the Mountains and Rivers Bell was extremely powerful, so how could it be so easy to escape?

Yang Kai struck the bell with a punch, causing a loud clanging noise to ring out, and the inside quietened down following several groans coming from within. When Yang Kai took back the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he saw the five Emperor Realm Masters that he suppressed lying collapsed on the ground. He reached out to grab the white-haired elderly man. Pushing his Emperor Qi, Yang Kai investigated the body of the elderly man as his expression darkened.

The situation was exactly as he had feared. The elderly man had undergone demonification, but it would seem that the Demon Transformation had only happened recently and the Demon Qi had not corrupted him too much; he could still be saved.

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai’s aura went through an astonishing change, instantly becoming ancient and desolate. It was as though he had stepped out of ancient times and was quite incompatible with the world of today. 

Shaman Strength!

Yang Kai wasn’t just an Emperor Realm Master, but also a Shaman King proficient in various Shamanic Spells. From his previous experiences, Yang Kai knew that Shaman Strength was definitely the most effective method to restrain Demon Qi.

Reaching out to press his hand against the elderly man’s head, he began chanting in a strange and broken language. A layer of hazy light instantly enveloped the elderly man and soon after, he began glowing with a faint blood-red light. Bloodlust Spell!

Inside that ancient world, Yang Kai had fought fiercely against the Demon Race for many years and had many experiences in treating people who had undergone the Demon Transformation. The Bloodlust Spell was very effective in resisting Demon Qi’s erosion, and supplemented by his Shamanic Spell, it shouldn’t be difficult to reverse the elderly man’s demonification.

However, the Bloodlust Spell was created to stimulate a cultivator’s Blood Essence, and this elderly man was not young anymore, so doing this would slightly reduce his lifespan. Nevertheless, Yang Kai was in no position to consider that right now. He had to quickly figure out what happened today so that he could plan for the future.

After blessing the elderly man with the Bloodlust Spell, Yang Kai began chanting a new spell, the Demon Exorcism Spell.

The elderly man began trembling as his expression distorted, like he was suffering from great pain before wisps of black smoke flowed out of his seven orifices. That black smoke dissolved without a trace the moment it separated from the elderly man’s body. That was the Demon Qi that had been corrupting him, and it was being purified now by Yang Kai’s spell.

All of a sudden, the elderly man’s eyes jerked open without warning. Those eyes were pitch black. He grimaced in pain, howling and snarling at Yang Kai like a wild beast despite being restrained completely. The way he acted was as though he would only be satisfied if he could tear Yang Kai’s body to pieces with his bare hands.

This scene reminded Yang Kai of numerous previous encounters. Inside the ancient world, the Demon Race and the Barbarian Race had fought fiercely, trying to wipe each other out. The sight of flesh and blood flying in all directions… If he had not seen it for himself, it would have been hard for him to imagine just how cruel the conflict between the two races was.

Fortunately, the elderly man’s struggling and roaring soon subsided. At the same time, the Demon Qi flowing out of his seven orifices lessened, and the darkness in his eyes gradually faded.

More than ten minutes later, the elderly man lay limply on the ground, covered in so much sweat it was like he had just been fished out of the sea. Blinking in confusion, he muttered, “What… What happened?”

Yang Kai stared down at the elderly man from above and asked, “Do you recognize me?”

The elderly man’s vision gradually focused, and he exclaimed in surprise, “Aren’t you Elder Yang of Azure Sun Temple?”

“Do you remember what happened to you?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.

The elderly man frowned and pondered for a moment, but a short while later, his expression changed drastically as he shouted, “W-What happened? The last thing this Old Master remembers is…”

He seemed to have some recollection of what happened just now and was not completely oblivious to the situation.

Yang Kai explained, “You were taken over by Demon Qi and underwent demonification. When and how did it happen?”

“Demonification!?” The elderly man’s expression changed and became as pale as could be. Shaking his head wildly, he muttered over and over, “That’s impossible! Impossible!” 

He seemed to refuse to believe those words. The Southern Territory had been chasing and killing those Demons for more than a decade now, so it was clear that he understood what demonification entailed. He had also met people that had undergone the Demon Transformation before and those people would experience a huge change in temperament. Unable to recognize their family and friends, even willing to kill their wives and children without batting an eye. However, he never imagined that something like this would happen to him and couldn’t help feeling scared.

Yang Kai grabbed the elderly man by the collar and shouted, “What do you mean by impossible!? Just look at those four!”

The elderly man turned in the direction Yang Kai pointed and saw four people collapsed on the ground next to him, each of them surrounded by a pitch-black Demon Qi. The pupils of his eyes contracted abruptly as he had no choice but to face reality. There was no way to explain away the strange events that had happened to him.

“Think about it carefully. Was there anything suspicious that happened to you recently?”

The elderly man hesitated for a moment before he recalled, “This afternoon, Lady Han and I were invited by Elder Feng to meet with Temple Master Lei, and then… I don’t remember much after that.”

“Feng Ming and Lei Gu?” Yang Kai’s expression darkened. There were only two people this elderly man would address as ‘Elder Feng’ and ‘Temple Master Lei’ in the entire Southern Territory, but if those two were the culprits…

Yang Kai abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of Orthodoxy Temple with a worried look on his face.

“That’s right.” The elderly man slowly shook his head and continued, “No, it can’t be the doing of Temple Master Lei… Elder Yang, where are you going?” Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Yang Kai suddenly soar into the sky at an astonishing speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Staggering to his feet, the elderly man felt incredibly weak. He turned to look at the four people lying unconscious on the ground, then looked at the traces of battle in the surrounding area. Slapping his thigh in frustration, he sorrowfully muttered, “A great catastrophe is approaching…”

He faintly felt that a storm was brewing, one that would shake the foundations of the world. There were four demonified people here though, so he could not just leave them be. He worried that they might bring harm to their surroundings once they regained consciousness; however, he also had some friendship with these four people and could not bring himself to kill them. He could only think of a way for him to restrain them and bring them back to let Yang Kai heal them. [If Elder Yang can rescue me from the Demon Transformation, he might be able to save these four too.]

At this moment, Orthodoxy Temple was a chaotic mess. The sounds of killing came from all directions as countless figures were trying to flee while corpses lay collapsed in pools of blood everywhere. One of the three top Sects in the Southern Territory had turned into Hellscape in less than an hour.

One after another, Emperor Realm Masters wrapped entirely in Black Qi wandered back and forth, killing people as though they were chopping melons and cutting vegetables. Their pitch-black eyes were filled with cruelty and madness. On the other hand, more than a hundred Emperor Realm Masters had formed a defensive perimeter, shielding all those who fled back to the mountain valley as best they could. That was originally the place where the banquet for the last night of the Southern Territory Martial Gathering had been held tonight.

Feng Ming held a communication artifact in his hand, checking the information inside. He frowned and turned to Lei Gu, who was standing next to him, “I just received news from that side. They failed.”

Lei Gu’s clothes fluttered in the wind and although his entire body was wrapped in black Demon Qi, it was clear that he had not lost his sentience. His situation was not as simple as being corroded by the Demon Qi. Rather, his body had been possessed by a Demon Spirit. At this moment, Lei Gu was no longer the Lei Gu of Orthodoxy Temple. The same went for Feng Ming.

Upon hearing those words, Lei Gu roared furiously, “How could they possibly fail!?” [It was a foolproof arrangement! Just how did they screw it up!?]

“I don’t know the exact details, but that person got away,” Feng Ming shook his head.

“Wastes! All of them!” Lei Gu’s expression turned sullen. It was precisely because they feared that person’s Space Divine Ability that they tried to get rid of him first, lest he disrupt their plans. Contrary to expectations though, the ambush group failed to kill him. These results greatly dissatisfied Lei Gu. Nevertheless, he knew that if even ‘that’ person could not finish the job, it would not have gone any better even if he had gone personally. [I can only say that the Heavens have other plans in mind. It looks like I still underestimated that boy’s abilities.]

“Speed things up. We have to try and wrap things up before word gets out about this incident,” Lei Gu ordered.

Feng Ming nodded and shot into the air with a flicker.

Yang Kai’s figure flashed under the night sky as he wore a tensed expression. His heart and mind were both feeling a sense of calm and worry at the same time. He initially suspected that this matter was related to Luo Chen and Gao Xue Ting, and reality had proven that it was indeed related to them; however, what made him feel relieved was that it was not as though they actually conspired against him. Luo Chen and Gao Xue Ting were most likely under the influence of Demon Qi and were being controlled by somebody else.

Yang Kai suddenly recalled something at that moment. Luo Chen and Gao Xue Ting seemed to have gone out together during the day, and if he remembered correctly, it was because they had been summoned by Lei Gu. Their situations were probably no different from that elderly man from earlier.

It was just that there was something Yang Kai could not figure out. Wasn’t the Demon Spirit situation in the Southern Territory settled? How did the Demon Spirits pull off such a huge operation like this? They deliberately chose this period during the Southern Territory Martial Gathering, so it was clearly a large-scale and thoroughly planned out trap. It could not have occurred over just a day or two, it had to have been in the works for a long time now.

Chapter 3253

A short while later, Yang Kai returned to Orthodoxy Temple, but the sight that entered his vision when he gazed around made his face twitch in response. The Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple had been activated, and the translucent curtain of light was like an inverted bowl shielding it without any gap.

Before he arrived, he had heard screams coming from inside and it was clear that many had been killed or were being attacked. Then, he looked at a certain spot inside Orthodoxy Temple where black Demon Qi soared to the sky.

His expression changed drastically. [If I remember correctly, that is where the banquet was being held tonight. Before I left, there were hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples from the Southern Territory gathered in that place. Don’t tell me; have they all been killed or corrupted already!?]

Thinking about it, he realized that it was unlikely. If that was the case, then there would be no need for Orthodoxy Temple to draw him away from this place.

Among the hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters, a number of them were in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, and if all of them had been demonified, he would not have been able to stop them or escape either.

The reason Orthodoxy Temple diverted him away from this place was that they were afraid word of this situation would leak. Hence, they wanted to get rid of him first. His proficiency in the Dao of Space was not a secret, and if they failed in their initial attempts to capture or restrain him, they would not get another.

From the looks of it, the situation was dire but not to the point where it was irreversible. Yang Kai had the feeling that Wen Zi Shan and the others would not be affected by the Demon Qi so easily and might still be fighting back right now.

His figure flickered and, stopping in front of the Sect Defending Array, he glanced up and swept his gaze around. What he saw nearly made his eyes pop out with rage. Many cultivators were fighting for their lives inside Orthodoxy Temple and it was clear that many had realized something was wrong and had tried to flee, further adding to the chaos. However, the Sect Defending Array was blocking their way, so how could anyone escape? All of them had been sealed inside, and as a result, many were killed on the spot by the Demons who were chasing after them. Some had hurriedly run back inside to find another way out when they saw that there was no hope of escape.

Blood-curdling screams, sounds of people begging for mercy, and cries of sorrow rang out from within. People who had still been alive during the day had turned into piles of flesh and pools of blood everywhere. It made Yang Kai’s blood boil with anger, but as his eyes swept across the scene, it suddenly froze on a certain spot only several dozen meters away.

A corpse lying on a small slope stood out to him. It was wearing a familiar set of clothes and had a familiar face. There was a large, gaping hole in its chest, and its internal organs were faintly visible from that wound. The blood flowing out from its wound had stained the slope it was lying on. The blood had yet to dry, and its eyes were slightly open. Lying there with its head tilted to the side, it was completely motionless. That pair of eyes that used to be so dazzling had now gone dull and lost their brilliance.

“Yu Zhuo…” Yang Kai’s lips parted and he called out softly. Unfortunately, he did not receive any response.

[She died? The person who came looking for me time after time for the past month died just like that?] He could barely believe his eyes. Her sweet and clear voice still echoed in his ears and her figure as she turned around to wave goodbye to him was still incredibly clear in his mind. Yang Kai could still remember her nervous attitude as she held the freshly-washed clothes in her hand when she first came to thank him, as well as the slight expectation in her eyes when they repeatedly met to talk.

Long ago, he had once made the mistake of sleeping with a woman when he was intoxicated and it had led to a series of hurt feelings and unfulfilled dreams. Due to his fear of being ambiguous and mistakenly leading a beautiful woman on again, he did not dare nor want to continue his interactions with Yu Zhuo. For that reason, he had turned her away at the door just hours ago. It could be considered as him breaking things off cleanly with her, but now, that energetic figure was lying on the cold, hard ground. Moreover, she was staring in his direction as though she had received a vague premonition in her last moments. Her eyes remained open in death, looking straight at him, who had returned too late…

The blood in his body suddenly turned cold and bitter as he forced himself to look away from those lifeless eyes that seemed to be boring a hole into his soul. He did not dare to look into her eyes again. Lowering his head, a shadow was cast across his face as he clenched his fists tightly before lifting his gaze once more and roaring into the sky in a fit of rage, “Lei Gu!”

About a hundred kilometres away, Lei Gu was standing in the sky when he heard this shout and turned to look in the direction it came from, coldly snorting as he muttered, “He came.”

His eyes flashed, and he rushed over there.

Yang Kai’s shout was clearly heard by many cultivators who were fleeing for their lives, and in the next moment, many rushed over from all directions and stopped in front of him. Separated by the Sect Defending Array, they all seemed to scream, “Senior, save us!”

Yang Kai lifted his eyes and his gaze swept over those panicking faces before it shifted and landed on a figure standing behind them.

Lei Gu’s burly figure came into view and stood in the sky with his hands behind his back. He had a cold expression on his face, his eyes were completely pitch-black, and his entire body was shrouded in Demon Qi. As soon as he appeared, he casually waved his hand.

Yang Kai’s pupils contracted at the sight and he shouted at the cultivators in front of him, “Run!”

But how could they escape? Lei Gu was a Third-Order Emperor, and now that he was possessed by a Demon Spirit, killing was second nature to him. An invisible slash swept out horizontally, cutting dozens of people in two from the waist up. The Sect Defending Array was splattered with a river of blood in an instant, and those people wailed in agony. As they were all cultivators, being cut in two would not kill them instantly. Rather, they experienced an unbridled fear and horror before their death, their screams and wails added an endless gloom to the surrounding world.

“I can’t believe you came back!” Lei Gu looked at Yang Kai coldly and sneered.

“As I thought… It was you!” Yang Kai gritted his teeth.

Lei Gu laughed mockingly, “So what? What can you do to me?”

Yang Kai stared at the Sect Defending Array blocking his way, and forcefully suppressing the boundless anger and guilt he was feeling, he calmly asked, “Do you think a mere Sect Defending Array is enough to stop me?”

Lei Gu replied, “You can go ahead and try it.”

Yang Kai pointed at Lei Gu, “If I don’t trample flat Orthodoxy Temple, I will no longer be surnamed Yang!”

At that moment, a voice shouted from the inside, “Yang Kai! Orthodoxy Temple has become a Demon nest! Hurry up and get reinforcements!”

Yang Kai was stunned as he could tell that the voice belonged to Wen Zi Shan, so he couldn’t be bothered about Lei Gu anymore and shouted loudly, “Temple Master, what’s the situation on the inside!?”

“We can hold on for a little while more, so quickly alert Star Soul Palace!”

Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai’s heart sank. He knew that the situation inside must be pretty bad; otherwise, Wen Zi Shan would not ask him to head for Star Soul Palace, but even if he left for Star Soul Palace now, the trip would take him several days at the very least due to the distance; thus, he replied, “Temple Master, rest assured. I’ll take care of this!”

Lei Gu grinned, “Yang Kai, I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you to achieve your current cultivation. I don’t want to make things difficult for you either. Why not join me instead? With your strength, only great things will await you in the future!”

“Join you? In your dreams!” Yang Kai yelled as his body trembled and he roared, “Dragon Transformation!”

A majestic Dragon’s Roar rang out. At the same time, a dazzlingly Golden Dragon phantom appeared above his head briefly before it flashed into his body. Amidst a chorus of crackling sounds, Yang Kai’s figure expanded explosively. 

50 meters, 100 meters, 150 meters, 200 metres…

Lei Gu’s gaze slowly moved upward as the confident expression on his face changed to one of disbelief. Staring at the behemoth before him in a daze, he blurted out, “A Dragonkin?!”

He finally understood why ‘that’ person failed in the assassination. Yang Kai was a Dragonkin, and although his Dragon Vein seemed a bit unusual, it was obviously not weak if he could utilize it to this degree. The Dragon Clan had incredibly powerful bodies and a natural immunity to most poisons, so it was not strange that that person had failed in the assassination. Nevertheless, Lei Gu never imagined that Yang Kai could perform this kind of transformation. If he had known earlier, he could have made more preparations so that person might have been able to kill Yang Kai in a single strike.

[Mastery over the Dao of Space and a powerful Dragon Vein…] Lei Gu’s expression sank. [If we don’t get rid of this child, he will surely become a huge disaster in the future.]

Before Lei Gu could recover from his shock, Yang Kai suddenly lifted his hand and summoned his Embodiment. Communicating through their thoughts, the Embodiment immediately understood Yang Kai’s intentions. Following that, he let out a loud roar and his body began growing as well.

200 meters, 300 metres, 500 metres…

Lei Gu’s face twitched at this sight. Everything he was witnessing here was utterly incredulous. Yang Kai becoming so massive was unexpected but still somewhat acceptable, but where did this giant Stone Man come from!? How was it even bigger than Yang Kai!? It looked like a Shi Huo, but did such a large Shi Huo exist?

“Smash it!” Yang Kai had such a grand figure now that even his voice sounded like a Dragon’s roar. The moment his voice rang out, both he and Embodiment raised their arms above their heads, clenched their fists, and brought them down with great force. It was as though two huge mountains were falling from the sky and upon impact, two massive depressions appeared on the curtain of light that made up the Sect Defending Array.

Just recently, the Embodiment had destroyed the Sect Defending Array of Full Sky Sect via brute force, and Full Sky Sect’s heritage was not that different from Orthodoxy Temple’s. No matter how strong the Sect Defending Array, there was still a limit to what it could withstand; therefore, Yang Kai had no doubt that he and his Embodiment could break through this Spirit Array if they joined forces.

When the depressions appeared, Yang Kai grinned happily, but unfortunately, the craters in the light curtain bounced back before he could react and at the same time, a strong force was transmitted through both their fists.

Yang Kai was caught off guard and was blown away as a result. His 200-metre-tall body flew through the air before it came crashing down like a large mountain, rolling away and flattening a large part of the forest behind him. 

A rumbling sound rang out at the same time from nearby, and as he turned his head to look in its direction, Yang Kai saw his Embodiment in a similar situation. Furthermore, his Embodiment’s body was larger than his own and consequently created a larger commotion than he did.

*Chi…* 

Yang Kai tried his best to adjust his posture and finally managed to stabilize his body while, on the other side, his Embodiment had done the same. Their gazes suddenly met, and they both saw the astonishment in each other’s eyes. The Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple was clearly very different from the one at Full Sky Sect.

Meanwhile, Lei Gu also let out a breath of relief as he secretly rejoiced at his luck. [Thank goodness for the Spirit Array’s special characteristics that allow it to reflect brute force. With the power of those two monsters, I’m afraid there isn’t another Sect Defending Array in this world that can stop their frenzied attacks.]

“Again!” Yang Kai shouted as he strode forward, looking clumsy and awkward in his Half-Dragon Form. Nevertheless, he arrived in front of the Spirit Array in a flash and threw a punch straight at it.

*Hong…* 

The curtain of light sunk in again before bouncing back with a correspondingly violent force. This rebound shook Yang Kai’s arm so badly that it went numb and he was forced backwards unsteadily. The same was true for his Embodiment.

Seeing this, Yang Kai’s heart sank with the realization that the situation was not looking good for him. The Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple was capable of reflecting any kind of brute force attack, so no matter how much strength he put into his attack, it would simply be rebounded back at him. It was truly the nemesis of both himself and his Embodiment.

If Full Sky Sect’s Sect Defending Array had similar properties, his Embodiment would not have been able to destroy it so easily that day.

“Laughable!” Lei Gu sneered at the sight, “I gave you an opportunity, but you didn’t appreciate it. There’s nobody but yourself to blame now! Don’t regret your decision when my Demon Race’s Grand Army arrives and destroys this world!!”

Demon Race Grand Army…

Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly at those words; however, he couldn’t be bothered to pay any attention to the other party’s nonsense now. Dragon Language sounded from his giant maw while at the same time, a dazzlingly Golden Dragon phantom manifested above his head and struck out. This attack landed on the Sect Defending Array and created a visible layer of ripples on its surface; however, there was no sign of the force being reflected.

When Yang Kai saw this, he understood the situation immediately. The Sect Defending Array had the ability to reflect physical attacks, but could only disperse Qi-based ones. In other words, it was impossible to break the Spirit Array through brute force, rendering the greatest advantage he and his Embodiment possessed useless.

Chapter 3254

Looking at the situation, Yang Kai and the Embodiment no longer hesitated. They brought out their strongest Divine Abilities and blasted them at Orthodoxy Temple. Amidst the archaic Dragon Language, wave after wave of Dragon Clan Secret Techniques transformed into Golden Dragons and shot out unendingly. Similarly, the fires covering the Embodiment’s body burned fiercely, turning the world around him into a sea of flames, burning down the Sect Defending Array.

For a time, layer after layer of ripples spread out across the surface of the light curtain as it flashed wildly.

Lei Gu coldly snorted at the sight, and an Array Jade appeared in his hand. He placed his other hand on the jade and stabilized the Spirit Array. He had been possessed by a Demon Spirit and his nature had changed greatly, so much so that he was practically a different person altogether, but even so, he could easily control everything that Lei Gu himself possessed. That Array Jade was, naturally, the controller for Orthodoxy Temple’s Sect Defending Array, and driven by Lei Gu’s strength, the Spirit Array immediately became impregnable again.

Yang Kai’s eyes nearly popped out from rage. [How do I enter Orthodoxy Temple if I can’t destroy this Sect Defending Array? How do I save Wen Zi Shan and the others? How do I avenge those who died here today?] 

For a moment, he was consumed by anxiety. [Do I really have no choice but to head towards Star Soul Palace to seek help? But, that will take too long … Who knows what will happen to Wen Zi Shan and the others during that period? In the worst case, they will all undergo demonification. For Lei Gu to choose to act at this point in time indicates that he is very confident of his plans.]

Turning his head to look around, Yang Kai saw that the flames blazing brightly on his Embodiment’s body were definitely affecting the Spirit Array, but unfortunately, judging by the situation, it would not be able to break through in short order, and him working together with his Embodiment would not make a significant difference.

Lei Gu snorted coldly, “Junior, I will make you wish you were dead if you dare to ruin my plans.”

A flaw had truly appeared in his plans as Yang Kai was not dead. News of this incident would surely spread now. In other words, his plan had failed. The only saving grace was that it was not a complete failure. Many Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples had fallen into their trap, which was better than nothing. With so many people demonified here, they would definitely become a force that was not to be underestimated and they would open up the path for the next plan.

All of a sudden, Yang Kai stopped and backed away. Glaring at Lei Gu coldly, he executed a Secret Technique before shouting, “Temple Master, can you hold on for a day?”

Lei Gu frowned when he heard this as he did not understand what Yang Kai meant by ‘a day’.

Looking at the current situation, the best Yang Kai could do was to go to Star Soul Palace for help. Unfortunately, Star Soul Palace was very far away and it would definitely take him more than a day to make a return trip even with his Space Techniques.

Wen Zi Shan’s voice came from inside Orthodoxy Temple, “We’ll do our best!”

Another person’s voice rang out, “Little brat, why are you still wasting time here!? Hurry up and go to Star Soul Palace!” It was the voice of Ma Qing, the Holy Master of Heavenly Martial Holy Land. He sounded a little frustrated as it was clear that he had not expected Yang Kai to still be procrastinating here without leaving.

Yang Kai stared at Lei Gu deeply before he shouted, “Good. Everyone, stay strong! Give me one day and I will save you all from this disaster!”

After saying that, he turned to leave. Catching a glimpse of a certain cold corpse lying on the slope out of the corner of his eye, Yang Kai felt an inexplicable pain in his heart, as though it was being gripped tightly by a giant hand.

With a flicker, Yang Kai disappeared from Lei Gu’s field of vision. Following Yang Kai’s departure, Lei Gu stopped injecting his Qi into the Array Jade and the flashing light of the Sect Defending Array gradually subsided in response. Then, he turned to look at the Embodiment and called out, “Divine Spirit Shi Huo?”

The Embodiment stood tall, looking down at Lei Gu across the Spirit Array. His eyes were burning flames that danced continuously. He was connected to Yang Kai’s mind, so there was no need for much communication between them for him to understand what Yang Kai was planning. At the same time, he was also filled with fury and guilt over Yu Zhuo’s death. He stayed behind to divert Lei Gu’s energy so that the latter was unable to focus on attacking Wen Zi Shan and the others. The other reason he stayed behind was to wait for an opportunity to destroy the Sect Defending Array. It would be great if he could destroy it before Yang Kai returned, but even if he couldn’t, he could reduce some of its power as preparations for the next part of the plan.

Seeing that the Embodiment was not speaking, Lei Gu shouted solemnly, “Aren’t Divine Spirits supposed to be noble beings who stand above all others? Since when have they become mere servants to the whims of a Human? You are the greatest embarrassment to Divine Spirits possible!”

If the Embodiment was truly Shi Huo, he might have been angered by those words; however, his base was Yang Kai’s Soul Clone, so why would he be affected by such empty provocations?

When the Embodiment did not react, Lei Gu frowned and gave up on this useless effort before turning around to head back inside.

Before Lei Gu could leave though, the Embodiment ignited his flames again, sending them crashing against the Sect Defending Array.

The corner of Lei Gu’s face twitched as he hurriedly controlled the Array Jade in his hands to reinforce the Spirit Array and resist the power of the flames.

…

A short distance away, Yang Kai’s figure navigated through the sky. It only took a moment for him to return to the mountain peak where he had been attacked before where he saw the white-haired elderly man meditating and adjusting his breathing. The four others still wrapped in Demon Qi remained unconscious on the ground around him.

Upon noticing motion, the elderly man opened his eyes to see that Yang Kai had returned and was overjoyed, “Elder Yang!”

“Quickly go to Star Soul Palace to seek help. Report to them about what happened in Orthodoxy Temple and ask the Great Emperor to take action; otherwise, the entire Southern Territory will be in danger,” Yang Kai said anxiously.

“Ah…” The white-haired elderly man was taken aback for a moment but quickly nodded, “Good.” 

Pointing to the four people, he added, “What about them…”

“Go!” Yang Kai turned around and glared at the elderly man with a gaze that was akin to the eyes of an enraged beast that was about to swallow its prey.

The elderly man did not dare to say anything else in the face of that vicious glare. He realized that time was precious and hurriedly summoned his flight type artifact, ascertained the direction, and headed directly towards Star Soul Palace.

After the old man left, Yang Kai waved his hand and transported the four unconscious people affected by Demon Qi into the Small Sealed World. He suppressed them at a certain spot there before subsequently bringing out a large pile of materials and getting to work.

Going to Star Soul Palace to inform them about the news and asking the Great Emperor for help was certainly one of the ways to resolve this incident; however, Yang Kai was not optimistic about the prospects for that solution. It wasn’t that he did not trust in the Great Emperor’s strength, it was just that it would take too much time. The dust would have settled by the time the Great Emperor arrived. If he wanted to resolve this catastrophe and avenge the dead with certainty, he had to rely on other things. Fortunately, Yang Kai had other options.

The image of that corpse lying on the cold, hard ground kept flashing through his mind. Those dim and lifeless eyes felt like they were carved into the depths of his soul, staring at him, making him suffer with every breath he took.

Strictly speaking, they had only known each other for less than a month and didn’t even have a deep friendship between them. Killing was very normal in the pursuit of the Martial Dao, and the death of one person should not have caused such a large emotional fluctuation in him. Unfortunately, Yang Kai was filled with endless remorse at this moment. Her action of turning around to wave at him goodbye turned out to be a final farewell.

Quickly, a giant Space Array was constructed as many materials were smelted and fused atop the mountain peak, and in less than half a day, it was completed.

Yang Kai did not have time to do any extra inspections of the Space Array as he hurriedly stepped onto it, glanced in the direction of Orthodoxy Temple, and activated it. A light flashed brightly, and his figure disappeared.

A moment later, he appeared on top of the Space Array at High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory, frightening the person on guard duty.

Bian Yu Qing was guarding the Space Array as usual, and when she saw Yang Kai, she immediately got up and cupped her fists, “Palace Master!” 

Then, her eyes focused on a spot around his waist and exclaimed in horror, “Palace Master, are you hurt!?”

Although the wound caused by the black shadow’s sneak attack was no longer an issue, the bloodstains remained and could not be concealed from her eyes.

“Where is the Head Manager?” Yang Kai turned and asked.

Bian Yu Qing was slightly taken aback by his sharp tone and she could tell that something was a little off about him today. He was giving off an aggressive aura and there was an air of danger about him. It was as though he was a volcano that was about to erupt, and it frightened her greatly. She did not know who had injured him or provoked him, but it was her first time seeing him in this state. Thus, she hurriedly replied, “Head Manager just returned yesterday and should be resting right now.”

“Call her over.”

“Yes.” She quickly took out her communication artifact and poured her Divine Sense into it. Lifting her head a moment later, she said, “Please wait for a moment, Palace Master, Head Manager will be here soon.

No more than a dozen breaths later, Hua Qing Si appeared from the outside and glanced at Bian Yu Qing suspiciously. Just moments ago, Bian Yu Qing had called her and asked her to come to the Space Array Area immediately. Since Bian Yu Qing had sounded terribly anxious, Hua Qing Si didn’t dare to delay and rushed over as quickly as she could. Nevertheless, she couldn’t hide her astonishment when she saw Yang Kai standing there with such a dark expression.

Before Hua Qing Si could say anything, she heard Yang Kai’s voice asking her a question, “How many Emperor Realm Masters can we mobilize right now?”

Blinking once, Hua Qing Si organized her thoughts and asked in return, “Palace Master, are you referring to High Heaven Palace alone or the entire Northern Territory?”

“The entire Northern Territory!”

“May I know why you want to mobilize them, Palace Master?”

“Murder, revenge, and annihilation!” He coldly spat out a few words through gritted teeth.

Shocked, Hua Qing Si realized that something serious was happening; otherwise, Yang Kai wouldn’t be giving off such tremendous murderous intent, so she solemnly replied, “With enough time, we can easily gather three or four hundred.”

High Heaven Palace had been leading the other three top Sects during this period as they continued their efforts to subordinate all other great forces in the Northern Territory. Although it had not been long since they started, many Sects had already chosen to submit. There was no other choice; the top four Sects in the Northern Territory had joined hands in this endeavour, so who else in the Northern Territory could stop them? Since they had chosen to surrender, they had to obey whatever orders High Heaven Palace had for them, whether they were willing to or not.

“Good. You have half a day. Mobilize all the Emperor Realm Masters you can muster and have them gather here. I will return to mobilize them at that time.” Yang Kai turned around and stepped onto the Space array again, but after a moment of silence, he said in a solemn tone, “Tell them that if they dare make excuses or refuse to cooperate in any way, I will wipe their forces from the face of the Northern Territory!”

“Yes!” Hua Qing Si’s complexion paled. She wanted to ask for further details, but before she could, his figure had already disappeared from the Space Array.

Afterward, both Hua Qing Si and Bian Yu Qing glanced at each other in confusion with the former asking, “What happened to Palace Master?”

Bian Yu Qing shook her head, “I don’t know either. He didn’t say anything.”

Hua Qing Si frowned slightly. She had the vague feeling that Yang Kai had encountered a very troublesome matter; however, what could cause such a huge issue that he needed to mobilize so many Emperor Realm Masters to deal with it? She had noticed the bloodstain on his body of course, and although she was not clear on the state of his injuries, it could be seen from that alone that their enemy this time was very powerful.

Therefore, she did not dare to treat this matter lightly. After a brief discussion with Bian Yu Qing, they both took out their respective communication artifacts and began spreading the word. After that, the both of them stepped onto the Space Array, one after the other, to begin rallying the Masters from all over the Northern Territory.

Chapter 3255

Some time ago, Yang Kai set up many Space Arrays across the whole of the Northern Territory so that it would be easier to travel around; otherwise, how could they gather help in just half a day? An hour later, more than half of the Northern Territory was in pandemonium over an order from High Heaven Palace. Countless Emperor Realm Masters were anxious and uneasy, wondering why High Heaven Palace had suddenly called upon them.

[Are they trying to burn all bridges? But, how will that benefit High Heaven Palace?] Needless to say, many wanted to fake being sick or make up excuses so that they could skip this. Unfortunately, the message from High Heaven Palace made them too afraid to not go. Yang Kai had already threatened them with annihilation, so who would dare to blow him off after that? He was the one who wiped out Seeking Passion Sect. The place where High Heaven Palace was currently occupying was where Seeking Passion Sect used to be. Nobody wanted to be the second Seeking Passion Sect; after all, if Yang Kai truly wasn’t joking about this matter, he was perfectly capable of destroying anyone he wanted to.

There was a constant stream of people teleporting to High Heaven Palace through the Space Array. It started out with three people, followed by five, ten, then twenty… The hall gradually began to fill with people and became overcrowded. A few latecomers instantly felt relief upon seeing so many other Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory gathered here. It would seem that High Heaven Palace was not planning to get rid of them after achieving its goals; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many Emperor Realm Masters gathered in one place.

Some people gathered around Bian Yu Qing to ask about the situation, but unfortunately, she was as clueless as they were. Yang Kai had rushed back here, issued some orders, and then left again in a hurry; therefore, she had no idea what was going on either. Being completely bewildered herself, she could only ignore their questions. Lucky for her, nobody dared to act aggressively here, so when they saw that she was ignoring them with a cold expression, they had no choice but to retreat and even smile at her ingratiatingly.

Bian Yu Qing couldn’t help feeling a little amazed at this. The Emperor Realm Masters she had to look up to in the past were now the ones that had to act in accordance with her will. This kind of respect was something Blue Feather Sect could never have given her. She knew better than anybody that these Emperor Realm Masters were not afraid of her as she was just a First-Order Emperor and many of these Emperor Realm Masters in this room were more powerful than her. If not for the name ‘High Heaven Palace’ behind her, such a situation would never occur. Thus, she felt a little proud and honoured.

Whilst High Heaven Palace was in a tumultuous condition, Yang Kai had already teleported to the Ancient Wild Lands. He stepped out from inside the small Tree Cave just in time to see a Stone Spirit probingly looking in this direction. Since he had no idea which Stone Spirit this was, he could only ask, “Is Elder around?”

The Stone Spirit raised his hand and pointed at the Tree Cave where Elder lived, and Yang Kai rushed over in that direction. It didn’t take long before he saw Elder inside the Tree Cave.

Elder glanced at Yang Kai in astonishment and asked, “Little Friend, why are you here again?”

It had not been long since Yang Kai left this place, less than two months in fact, but Yang Kai did not have any time to waste so he simply bowed solemnly and declared, “I came to ask the Stone Spirit Clan for help.”

Elder nodded, “Good.”

Yang Kai was stunned, “Elder, are you not going to ask what this is about?” 

He did not expect Elder to agree so readily.

Elder chuckled, “From the way you look, it seems as if you have run into something troublesome. The Stone Spirit Clan doesn’t have many friends, so how can we stand by and do nothing when one of those few are in trouble?”

Yang Kai bowed deeply, “Many thanks for fulfilling my request, Elder. But, I must let you know that this matter is occurring in the Southern Territory!”

“The Southern Territory?” Elder raised his stone brow. The Ancient Wild Lands was located in the Eastern Territory, so a matter in the Southern Territory seemed a little out of their reach, but thinking back on the Space Array arranged by Yang Kai, he instantly understood.

“This matter also involves the Demon Race!”

“The Demon Race!?” Elder exclaimed in shock.

Yang Kai glanced at Elder and asked thoughtfully, “Elder, do you know about the Demon Race?”

Elder replied with a stern expression, “Aside from the Divine Spirits, there is no one else in this world that has a deeper understanding of the Demon Race than the Stone Spirit Clan.”

The Divine Spirit had their Source Inheritance, which not only granted them incredible power, but also a certain amount of memories and experience from all previous Divine Spirits who carried this source in the past. As such, all Divine Spirits, regardless of what kind, had inherited memories of their ancestors. For that reason, they had some knowledge of the Demon Race even though the matters involving the Demon Race had occurred a very long time ago.

The Stone Spirit did not have the convenience of receiving such an inheritance, but they had extraordinarily long lifespans. Elder himself had experienced the changes of several eras and even personally fought against the Demon Race in the past, so how could he not know the horrors of the Demon Race and what formidable enemies they were?

“The Demon Race appeared in the Southern Territory?” Elder asked gravely.

Yang Kai said, “A Demon Cave appeared in the Southern Territory more than ten years ago and somebody broke the seal on it, releasing thousands of Demon Spirits. Those Demon Spirits were capable of possessing the bodies of cultivators, making them very difficult to defend against. For more than ten years, the Southern Territory has been hunting down these Demon Spirits and it was thought that they had been wiped out, but last night it became clear that was not the case. Apparently, many more Demon Spirits had been hiding in the dark and they set up a huge trap, targeting the cultivators of the Southern Territory. All the major Sects in the Southern Territory, including hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples have been caught in this trap. I was fortunate enough to escape their clutches, but I need to rush back to rescue them as soon as possible; otherwise, it will be too late!”

“Such a thing happened…” Elder was shocked. Although he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he couldn’t help being shocked when Yang Kai mentioned the involvement of hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciplines in the Southern Territory in the matter. 

“Any matter involving the Demon Race isn’t just an issue for the Southern Territory, it affects the entire Star Boundary. The Stone Spirit Clan might live in seclusion, but we cannot stand idly by in this situation. This matter is extremely urgent. Let us depart now.”

“Many thanks, Elder!” Pleasantly surprised, Yang Kai nodded and quickly led the way.

Upon leaving the Tree Cave, Elder pounded the cane in his hands against the ground a few times and the Stone Spirits immediately walked out of their respective Tree Caves while many Wood Spirits flew over.

Elder conveyed Yang Kai’s message with a few simple sentences, horrifying both the Stone Spirits and the Wood Spirits. It was clear that they knew the terrors of the Demon Race. Without wasting any time, they filed into the small Tree Cave under Yang Kai’s lead and stepped onto the Space Array.

Yang Kai had made special preparations when he arranged this Space Array two months ago. He intentionally made it very large in preparation for the day when the Stone Spirits would need to make use of it. Nevertheless, he never expected this day to come so quickly.

The Stone Spirits were so large that Yang Kai could only teleport them one at a time, but he worked quickly to organize this deployment. Then, he turned to Elder and said, “For the time being, please don’t act rashly when you arrive at that place. I don’t know how many Demon Race there are or whether they have reinforcements. For now, please stand guard around the Space Array while I arrange more reinforcements; after everyone is assembled, we will defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.”

“Good. Rest assured, Little Friend, we will not disappoint your trust,” Elder nodded as he stood by the Space Array.

After sending off all the Stone Spirits besides Elder, Yang Kai soared up into the sky and rushed straight towards a certain direction. His Emperor Qi flowed freely as he completely ignored his consumption, teleporting over and over again, causing his figure to repeatedly flicker across the sky.

In less than an hour, the towering palace appeared in his field of vision. It was none other than the palace belonging to Luan Feng, the South Divine Venerable of the Ancient Wild Lands.

Before Yang Kai could land on the ground, he heard an angry shout, “Who goes there!?”

A charming woman flew towards him from the front. She was dressed very revealingly, and the Monster Qi around her was extremely powerful. She clearly had the strength of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, not weaker than Ying Fei and the others.

Yang Kai glanced at this woman and felt that she was a little familiar. Although he was certain she was one of the thirty-two Monster Kings, he could not remember which Monster King she was, and right now he didn’t care as he was in no mood to deal with her, so he flicked his sleeve angrily and shouted, “Move aside!”

This Monster King was furious. She might be a subordinate of the Divine Venerables in the Ancient Wild Lands, but no one had ever dared to talk to her in such a manner. Even the other Monster Kings did not dare to do so as they knew how terrifying it was when this woman became enraged. She was just about to teach Yang Kai a lesson when she noticed that this person seemed a bit familiar. Upon a closer look, she became both surprised and happy all at once. [Isn’t that him!?] 

Her furious expression instantly transformed into a smiling one as she called out, “So it is…”

Halfway through her sentence though, Yang Kai brushed past her and rushed forward. He landed directly in the middle of Luan Feng’s palace and turned to look around his surroundings. Then, under the shocked gaze of the many maids, he shouted loudly, “Luan Feng!”

That Monster King was completely ignored but did not dare to lose her temper at him. Everybody knew that this Human was related to the Blood Gate and the Divine Spirit Sources inside. She couldn’t wait to get into his good books, so how could she dare to offend him so easily? [I wonder what kind of luck Ying Fei and the other two have for them to be able to follow him around all the time. It makes me so envious of them! My cultivation is no worse than Ying Fei and the others; moreover, both my looks and figure are outstanding. I might be able to get into a favourable and advantageous position if I can take the opportunity to get closer to him…]

Those thoughts were swirling around in her head when she heard Yang Kai’s furious roar and her expression twitched violently, quietly thinking to herself. [What is wrong with this guy today? He looks like he is here on a punitive expedition. I wonder what his purpose is.]

Uncertain, she didn’t dare to approach him rashly, choosing to hover nearby and observe anxiously, feeling extremely conflicted. [If he starts fighting with the Divine Venerable, should I help… I will suffer if I offend the Divine Venerable, but if I offend him… I can forget about obtaining my Ancestral Source and awakening the power of a Divine Spirit.]

“Why are you being so loud?” A cold voice rang out. Luan Feng appeared not far away from Yang Kai with a frosty expression. Her eyes were so cold that ice was practically forming on her face; furthermore, her expression was filled with disgust and repulsion when she looked at him. 

She secretly felt extremely troubled. [Why is this brat here again? Is he still unsatisfied after taking advantage of us and robbing us blind? Isn’t his greed a little too much!?] 

She was annoyed, and her tone reflected her annoyance; however, she couldn’t help feeling worried when she saw his expression. [I didn’t provoke him, right?]

“I have a favour to ask of you!” Yang Kai didn’t bother beating around the bush and went straight to the point.

[So, he’s here to ask for a favour.] Upon hearing those words, she immediately felt more confident again. [It’s all fine as long as he is not here to cause trouble for me.] 

Luan Feng lifted her hand and adjusted her sleeves while calmly asking, “Is this the attitude of somebody asking for help?”

[Coming to my palace and making such a ruckus… It’s clear that he is looking down on me. Besides, how dare he ask me for a favour in such an arrogant manner!?] Although she was afraid of the power behind him, that did not mean she could give up on her dignity as a Divine Spirit. She secretly decided to take him down a peg or two, lest he remained so defiant in the future.

“Just tell me if you’ll help me or not!” Yang Kai completely ignored her complaint and continued in an extremely aggressive and harsh tone.

Yang Kai’s response left Luan Feng feeling both furious and amused, “You don’t even say what it is that you want my help with. How can I respond to your request? You can’t expect me to agree if you ask me to die, right?”

“Of course what I’m asking for is within your abilities.”

Luan Feng spat disdainfully, “This Queen doesn’t owe you anything, does she?”

“That’s why I said I’m asking you for a favour!”

Chapter 3256

[This rotten brat is becoming more and more hateful!] Luan Feng ground her teeth, “What will happen if I help? What will happen if I don’t help?”

“If you help me this time, I will owe you a favour. If you won’t help, then I’ll leave immediately.”

She sneered, “Why would I want a favour from you?”

Yang Kai looked at her coldly, nodded in acknowledgment, and took off into the sky.

She was taken aback. [Is he really going to leave? Just like that? Why is he acting simply on what I say? Is he crazy!? He didn’t even give me any time to consider!] 

Although she hated his arrogant attitude, it would be bad if he held a grudge against her in the future; thus, she could only lift a hand and shout, “This Queen’s palace is not a place you can come and go as you please!”

“What do you want then?” Yang Kai paused mid-stride and turned back to look at her, his gaze so cold that the chill was almost tangible.

When their gazes met, Luan Feng’s heart jumped to her throat and she suddenly realized that something seemed to be wrong with him today. He might have been somewhat annoying before, but he had always been reasonable. This time, he almost seemed like a different person altogether. [It looks like he is really in great trouble. Moreover, it’s something that has greatly infuriated him.]

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“It’s none of your damn business!”

[That is not the attitude one should be taking when asking for a favour!] Luan Feng was so livid that she was tempted to slap him hard. Unfortunately, she knew that he was not weak and she might not be strong enough to kill him if she really forced his hand. More importantly, the consequences of confronting him was not something she could afford to bear. Gritting her teeth bitterly, she shouted, “There won’t be a next time!”

That meant that she agreed to help.

Yang Kai didn’t waste any more time and got straight to the point, “Call Fan Wu and Cang Gou over, and summon the other twenty-nine Monster Kings from the Ancient Wild Lands.” He turned around and landed back in the palace, standing not too far away from her.

Luan Feng was shocked, “What are you planning to do!?”

She initially thought that he was only asking her for help, but how could she have known that he would make such an outrageous demand? [He not only wants Fan Wu and Cang Gou, but the twenty-nine Monster Kings too!? That’s the most powerful force the entire Ancient Wild Lands can gather! Could this bastard be trying to start a war against a Great Emperor!?]

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Luan Feng felt a chill running down her back. She might be a Divine Spirit, but she was aware of her own limits. There were only so few Great Emperors in total, and each of them was an existence acknowledged by the World itself. If they really fought against a Great Emperor, not many from the Ancient Wild Lands would survive the battle. Not to mention, Great Emperor Sects had deep and profound heritages.

She felt a jolt of fear as she looked into his eyes. [I have always known that this boy is incredibly reckless and fearless, but isn’t this being a little too bold?]

Of course, she was overthinking things.

“What are you standing around gawking for!? I want to see them all here within an hour! Hurry up and contact them!” Yang Kai suddenly felt annoyed when he saw Luan Feng standing there stupidly. He had given High Heaven Palace half a day so he also needed to finish things up here in less than half a day. He didn’t have the time to care about anything else anymore.

Suppressing the panic in her heart, Luan Feng was no longer in the mood to care about how rude he was being and her beautiful brow knit together, “Just what do you want us to do? You can at least tell me that, right?”

“Kill some, rescue others!”

“Who is the enemy?” After asking this question, Luan Feng felt her heart pounding violently again. She was very afraid that the name of one of the Great Emperors would come out of his mouth.

Unexpectedly though, he lowered his gaze as three words came out of his mouth, “The Demon Race!”

“The Demon Race!?” Luan Feng’s expression changed greatly as she asked, “Has the Demon Race invaded!? When did that happen?!” 

Although she had never seen a Demon herself, she had some understanding of the Demon Race from the Source Inheritance she received. [More than a hundred thousand years have passed since this land last saw a member of the Demon Race. Where did they pop out from again?]

Yang Kai, however, just lifted his gaze and glared at her, “Are you going to keep wasting time here with me? I want to see those two and the twenty-nine Monster Kings here within an hour! If they can help me, I promise to allow all of them to inherit Divine Spirit Sources in the future!”

Luan Feng was stunned for a moment before she gritted her teeth with a pained and bitter expression. It would be fine if nobody ever learned about what he just said; however, the twenty-nine Monster Kings would throw themselves at his feet if they so much as got wind of this news. Even the Three Great Divine Venerables stepping forward together would not be able to control them. On the other hand, those twenty-nine Monster Kings would bear a grudge against her forever if she refused his request today. It would be a huge embarrassment for them when that happened.

“You’re too ruthless!” She coldly snorted before commenting, “An hour is not enough. Some of the Monster King’s territories are too far from here so they won’t be able to reach this place in an hour’s time.”

“How long?”

“Four hours!”

“Fine. Then, I will wait here for the next four hours!” After saying that, Yang Kai closed his eyes and remained where he stood, refusing to budge.

Luan Feng glared at him before heading into the depths of her palace. He did not know what she was busy doing, and he had no intention of monitoring her either. In any case, there was nothing else to say. If Luan Feng knew what was best for her, she would definitely help him to the best of her abilities. If not, it wouldn’t be too late to make her pay for this at a later date. Besides, the Northern Territory was still assembling and would need some time to finish their preparations as well, so this was not going to slow down his plans.

Luan Feng was clearly mad at him, and when she departed, she dismissed all the servants in the surrounding areas and left him standing there like a lone javelin. Not a single person came to serve him tea or even offer him a chair. The meaning behind their lack of hospitality was obvious.

A moment later though, a fragrant scent wafted over. Somebody landed next to Yang Kai, and noticing the movement, he opened his eyes to look only to see a seductive and charming woman looking at him with a smile on her face. It was none other than the Monster King he met earlier.

When their eyes met, that seductive woman smiled and politely said, “Du Mi’er greets you, Sir.”

She was already dressed in rather revealing clothes, and now she was intentionally or unintentionally showing off her assets. She was using everything she had to fawn over him, and her smile was brighter than a flower.

“What do you want?” Yang Kai glared at her coldly.

Du Mi’er waved her hand nonchalantly, “It’s nothing. This Mistress is a Monster King serving under the South Divine Venerable and has long admired Sir Yang’s power. Now that I meet you, I can see that Sir really deserves his reputation.” While speaking, she gave a wave of her hand and took out a chair from her Space Ring. 

She diligently said, “Sir, please have a seat.”

He gently nodded and the frosty expression on his face reduced slightly as he adjusted his robes before taking a seat.

Leaning in suddenly, Du Mi’er softly said, “Lady Divine Venerable has a bit of a short temper, so please don’t blame her for neglecting you, Sir.”

She exhaled an orchid scent while she spoke, and a delicate fragrance lingered around the tip of Yang Kai’s nose, making the murderous aura and rage he was exuding soften considerably. His tumultuous emotions also gradually calmed down too.

Turning his head around, he looked at her calmly, “What if she heard you speaking badly about her behind her back?”

Du Mi’er’s expression stiffened for a moment. Then, she shyly said, “I was only saying it to you, Sir. I’m sure you won’t spread it around.”

Yang Kai swept his eyes over her and asked curiously, “What is your original form?”

She pursed her lips and smiled, “I am a Flower Monster, Sir.” 

Lifting her hand mid-sentence, she snapped her fingers and a golden-yellow flower instantly appeared between her fingers. It gave off a strong fragrance that was very intoxicating.

Yang Kai nodded in response, “It’s very rare for plants to gain sentience.” It was much more difficult for plants to become Monsters compared to creatures with flesh and blood bodies. He never imagined that the Monster King in front of him would be a Flower Spirit. In addition, she managed to cultivate to become a Monster King. It was truly an extremely rare case.

Du Mi’er murmured bashfully, “Sir praises me too much. I also experienced a lot of hardship and it took many years for me to achieve the success I have today.” 

At the same time, she secretly observed his reactions, and seeing that he had no intention of continuing the conversation, she bit her lips and tried another approach, “Sir, I heard that Ying Fei, Xi Lei, and Xie Wu Wei are working as your subordinates. Is that true?”

“Why ask something you already know?”

She pouted, “What can three smelly men do? I’m sure they can’t even do their job of serving you well. I don’t know what the Divine Venerables were thinking. They should have sent a woman to take good care of you instead. At the very least, a woman can take care of your daily life, Sir.”

“Are you very good at taking care of people?” He gave her a sideways look.

To which Du Mi’er eagerly said, “Sir, would you like to try? You look pretty frustrated and bogged down with troubling matters. This isn’t good. With a battle approaching, it’s best if you can empty your mind so you can focus your strength. If Sir is willing, this Mistress can display a few of her skills.” 

After saying that, she looked at him eagerly while waiting for his reply.

However, she didn’t get any reaction from him even after a long time, so gritting her teeth, she made up her mind, walked behind him, placed both hands on his shoulders before leaning close to his ear, “Sir, just relax. You can leave the rest to me. I’ll definitely satisfy you.”

A soft fragrance in the wind tickled his ears like an invisible hand, causing his emotions to ripple. It also calmed the anger and various negative emotions that he had been suppressing.

Two delicate, seemingly boneless hands pressed against his shoulders and head, kneading with a gentle pressure. An almost imperceptible Monster Qi and Spiritual Energy also fluctuated, quickly making Yang Kai feel as if he was floating in a sea of flowers. The world was vast, the sea of flowers was boundless, allowing his mind to obtain peace.

Seeing Yang Kai’s tense expression gradually softening and the aura around him slowly stabilizing, Du Mi’er smiled and became even more attentive than before.

After Luan Feng relayed her message, various figures came out from all directions of the Ancient Wild Lands. Each one of them had impressive Monster Qi that surged strongly. Many Monster Commanders looked up into the sky, not understanding the reason why their Kings were being summoned.

An hour later, more than a dozen Monster Kings had gathered in Luan Feng’s palace while the rest were on their way. It would not take long for all of them to gather here. A group of Monster Kings had come to the courtyard where Yang Kai was in and were either sitting or standing, staring directly at Yang Kai and Du Mi’er.

Despite being surrounded by so many people, Du Mi’er didn’t feel the slightest shame. Instead, she became even more attentive towards Yang Kai as she massaged him. Her long and slender neck held high like a proud rooster.

“Bitch! Slut! Shameless woman!” Looking at the way Du Mi’er was acting, a glamorous female Monster King couldn’t help scolding Du Mi’er with a disdainful expression.

A furry male Monster King standing next to her smiled and added, “You can join her.”

She snorted coldly, “I am not that immoral.”

Looking her up and down, that male Monster King sneered, “Why are you pretending to be so innocent? Which Monster King from the Ancient Wild Lands has not gotten a taste of you before?”

She raged, “I’ll rip your mouth off if you speak again!”

He reached out to hug her, “What will you use?”

“Scram!”

“Alright, stop making a fuss. Does anybody know why the Divine Venerable called us here?” Another Monster King stepped forward and asked with a puzzled expression.

Chapter 3257

The entire group of Monster Kings shook their heads. Nobody knew why they were gathered here. They simply came after receiving a summons from their respective Divine Venerables. They might not understand the situation, but one thing was certain. This matter was related to Yang Kai; otherwise, he would not appear here.

However, Yang Kai was calmly sitting there and enjoying Du Mi’er’s service. They could hardly go up and disturb him while he was sitting there without moving. All the Monster Kings recognized him. They also knew what kind of power was backing him; hence, they naturally refused to make things unnecessarily difficult for themselves.

Time passed slowly, and Monster King after Monster King arrived at this place. In less than four hours, all twenty-nine Monster Kings had been gathered. Similarly, Luan Feng, Cang Gou, and Fan Wu also showed up. Upon seeing these three, the Monster Kings bowed in greeting.

On the other hand, Yang Kai finally opened his eyes. The light in his eyes was full of energy and he had to admit that while Du Mi’er might behave a little frivolously, she was truly good at serving others. She was a Flower Spirit, so it would seem that she had an Innate Divine Ability that could soothe a person’s emotions.

“Is everybody here?” He turned to look around him.

Fan Wu’s expression was rather unpleasant as although he had heard the general story from Luan Feng, Yang Kai’s actions made him a little uncomfortable. When it came down to it, the Ancient Wild Lands was the territory of the Monster Race. Since when was a Human allowed to make decisions here? As such, he fell silent for a moment before nodding, “They are all here.”

“Good, then let’s go,” Yang Kai got up and headed towards the place where the Stone Spirit Clan lived.

The twenty-nine Monster Kings stared at the Three Great Divine Venerables curiously, but at this point, what could the three of them say? They had no choice but to raise their hands and all the gathered figures rose into the sky in an instant to follow closely behind Yang Kai.

Fan Wu and the other two caught up and flew side-by-side with Yang Kai, but none of them spoke up.

Seeing this, Yang Kai took the initiative to speak, “Many thanks for being so understanding. I will forever remember the help you offer today and will surely pay you back handsomely in the future.”

Luan Feng coldly snorted, “That’s not the attitude you had before.” 

She was still holding a grudge over his arrogant and imperious manner previously. [Things would have gone so much smoother if he had adopted this attitude earlier.]

He turned to glare at her, “Aren’t you ashamed to say that?”

“What’s the matter? I can’t even argue back now?” Her temper flared up as she glared at him, refusing to back down.

Yang Kai snapped back, “If you hadn’t destroyed my Space Array back then, would we need to rush around like this today? We could have arrived at our destination directly from your Phoenix Nest Palace! But now what? We have to travel for at least an hour! If this causes any delay in my plans, you will see how I deal with you!”

Luan Feng blinked at him when he brought up the events of the past, feeling a little guilty. It was true that she had destroyed his Space Array at that time, but who could have imagined that he would be in such a rush today? She turned her head away and muttered, “What are you shouting at me for? How could I have known that this would happen?”

“Enough. Now that things have come to this, there’s no point arguing about it further.” Fan Wu jumped out to mediate between them. Regardless of the circumstances, the Ancient Wild Lands did not wish to fight against Yang Kai, so he quickly changed the subject, “Little Brother Yang, why don’t you tell us what is going on now?”

Luan Feng had only told them that Yang Kai wanted to recruit the strongest combat power the Ancient Wild Lands could assemble, and that it seemed to be related to the Demon Race. However, she could not explain the situation to them clearly. Now that they had decided to take action, it was only natural to learn more about the situation.

Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to argue with Luan Feng anymore and pondered in silence for a moment before explaining, “Ten years ago, I was invited by somebody to explore an Ancient Cave Mansion in the Southern Swamp of the Southern Territory…”

They had time on the road anyway, so he briefly told them about what happened in the Ancient Cave Mansion more than ten years ago, as well as what happened afterwards. Then, he explained the situation at the Southern Territory Martial Gathering again.

When the Three Great Divine Venerables heard that the Demon Spirits had been resurrected and the Southern Territory had suffered a Demon invasion, all three of them were shocked. Then, their expressions changed greatly once more when they heard that the Temple Master of Southern Territory’s Orthodoxy Temple had been possessed by a Demon Spirit and set up a massive trap to ensnare hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples. They glanced at each other with the sudden realization of how serious the situation was.

“Are you saying that hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters from the Southern Territory are still trapped within Orthodoxy Temple right now?”

“That was the case when I left. There’s no way for them to escape as long as the Sect Defending Array isn’t destroyed. I don’t know what the situation inside is like now.”

Cang Gou stroked his chin as he muttered, “Hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters… I wonder how many have already been corrupted by Demon Qi.”

Since Yang Kai had been ambushed by more than ten demonified Emperor Realm Masters, they could be certain that those were not the only ones. There were probably a lot more than that; after all, the Martial Gathering had lasted for a whole month. If Orthodoxy Temple had planned this all in advance, they could have infected many more people with Demon Qi. Those people might look no different under normal circumstances, but they would create extensive damage once an outbreak occurred and lead to even more people being affected by Demon Qi. If the cycle continued, everybody inside would have become a Demon by now.

“I hope the situation isn’t too disastrous.” He sighed.

Luan Feng frowned, “If Orthodoxy Temple has been plotting this for a long time, why did they lead you away and try to assassinate you? Isn’t that akin to lifting a rock only to drop it on their foot?”

Yang Kai coldly replied, “Maybe they just didn’t expect to fail at killing me.” 

That was the reality of the situation and he still felt a sense of lingering fear whenever he thought back on the assassination. If his assassin had not been unfamiliar with his body constitution and was unaware that he had a Half-Dragon Form, he could very well have died already.

Luan Feng, however, shook her head in response, “What I meant was why didn’t they leave you inside the Temple? They could have left you stuck knee-deep in trouble, and you would have been incapable of escaping. There was no need to assassinate you.”

Cang Gou said, “It’s no secret that Little Brother Yang is proficient in the Dao of Space. I have a feeling that they were afraid he might escape after noticing that the situation wasn’t right. It would be safer to kill him off first.”

Luan Feng felt that those words made great sense when she thought about it and gave a nod.

Fan Wu suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Those Demons really arranged a grand and complicated game of chess!”

“What do you mean?” Yang Kai looked at Fan Wu suspiciously, wondering what it was that shocked Fan Wu so greatly.

Fan Wu proceeded to explain, “Just think about it. If you didn’t happen to escape the assassination, what would have happened to Orthodoxy Temple?”

Frowning, Yang Kai considered it for a moment, “In the worst case, all the surviving cultivators would experience demonization.”

“That’s right!” Fan Wu clapped his hands, “And if those demonified cultivators were to return to their respective Sects and act quietly…”

Yang Kai followed Fan Wu’s logic and was shocked, “The entire Southern Territory would have been in danger!”

Fan Wu added, “With so many top Masters corrupted, the entire Southern Territory would quickly have fallen to the Demons. At that point, even the Great Emperors would have a hard time rectifying the situation.”

Yang Kai felt a chill when he heard those words as he realized that Fan Wu’s conjecture might be exactly what Orthodoxy Temple had been planning. If he had not escaped the assassination by chance and gotten the chance to reveal this plot, who would have known about the calamity within Orthodoxy Temple?

Cang Gou spoke up, “If Orthodoxy Temple dared to target all the people within the Southern Territory, they must have gathered a lot of Demons under their cause. With just our numbers…”

Yang Kai quickly said, “Rest assured, you’re not the only ones. I also recruited many others for this mission. I’m not going to let a single Demon escape from Orthodoxy Temple this time.”

“Others?” Cang Gou looked at Yang Kai curiously, but when he saw that Yang Kai was not willing to go into further details, he stopped asking questions. He had been worried that Yang Kai was acting out of anger without any real plans. Since there was a plan in place though, then there was nothing to worry about anymore.

Yang Kai continued, “In any case, be careful not to be infected by Demon Qi when you are fighting against those Demons and be especially on guard against being possessed by those Demon Spirits. I have personally witnessed people who were possessed by the Demon Spirits and they exhibit no outward signs whatsoever. They don’t look any different even after being possessed. It’s all very subtle.”

“We know.” Fan Wu nodded.

They had not deliberately suppressed their voices during their conversation, so they were naturally overheard by the Monster Kings behind them. That was also part of Yang Kai’s intention. The Monster Kings were incredibly shocked to learn that they were going to fight against people under the control of Demon Qi. That was not something they had ever experienced before; furthermore, they did not know which was stronger between Demon Qi and Monster Qi. Regardless, this was a good chance to do well and stand out. If they could catch Yang Kai’s attention, becoming a Divine Spirit in the future was no longer unattainable.

Luan Feng had not told them about Yang Kai’s earlier promise. It wasn’t because she was worried that Yang Kai might go back on his word, but rather that it would stir up the Monster Kings too much, causing them to be eternally grateful towards Yang Kai if they learned of it. That would fundamentally shake the rule of the Three Great Divine Venerables in the Ancient Wild Lands.

Rushing all the way, the group arrived at the residence of the Stone Spirit Clan within an hour. Elder had not left yet and was standing by, waiting with the Mu Na, Matriarch of the Wood Spirit Clan.

They couldn’t help glancing at each other when they saw the Three Great Divine Venerables and twenty-nine Monster Kings descending from the sky. They were secretly amazed as, although they knew Yang Kai had quite a lot of influence among the Monster Race in the Ancient Wild Lands, they had not expected it to be this exaggerated. Yang Kai had brought along all the top Masters in the Ancient Wild Lands with him.

When the two parties met, Elder exchanged a few words with the Three Great Divine Venerables before they stepped onto the Space Array under Yang Kai’s leadership. By the time the flash of light had subsided, they had arrived on a mountain top.

Eight Stone Spirits had arrived at this place a long time ago and were now guarding all approaches to the Space Array. Seeing movement on the Space Array, they all turned to look in its direction.

The Three Great Divine Venerables and twenty-nine Monster Kings appeared one after another. Glaring at each other, they were quickly separated and formed into two groups. The relationship between the Stone Spirits and the Monster Race of the Ancient Wild Lands had never been harmonious and it was only over the past ten years that they started getting along a little more peacefully thanks to Yang Kai.

After Yang Kai finished transporting the people from the Ancient Wild Lands to their destination, he told them to wait for him before turning around and stepping onto the Space Array again.

It was crowded inside the main hall where the Space Array was located in High Heaven Palace. Nearly two hundred Emperor Realm Masters had been gathered in this place, with at least half of them whispering among themselves while the rest were standing to the side alone. As time passed, impatient emotions gradually began to spread.

If not for the Masters of the top four Sects watching them like hawks, the Emperor Realm Masters of these Sects would have broken out into a riot by now. They had answered the summons of High Heaven Palace to come here without knowing the reason why; moreover, their questions remained unanswered even after asking Head Manager Hua Qing Si. It was to be expected that they were feeling extremely uneasy. They kept wondering whether High Heaven Palace was quietly raising the butcher’s knife to slaughter them. But, how would that benefit High Heaven Palace?

Ying Fei, Xie Wu Wei, and Xi Lei were each standing at one corner of the hall, their Monster Qi overflowing as they swept their eyes around coldly. Anybody who made eye contact with them would quickly lower their heads and dare not make any mistakes afterward.

Meanwhile, Hua Qing Si, Bian Yu Qing, Ye Hen, and Nanmen Da Jun had gathered together with the contingent from Ice Heart Valley. Ice Heart Valley had sent five Emperor Realm Masters in total, with Ji Yao leading the team with a frosty expression, preventing anyone from approaching too close. The people from Dragon Palace and Full Sky Sect had also gathered here, so aside from the few Emperor Realm Masters left behind to guard their Sects, the rest had all assembled here. Li Jiao and Mi Qi were also talking amongst themselves, both at a loss, not knowing what Yang Kai was up to this time.

Chapter 3258

Amidst the quiet whispering, a brilliant light flashed from the Space Array to reveal Yang Kai’s figure. Everybody turned to look at him, some of them having solemn expressions while others were filled with doubt. Not everybody had seen Yang Kai before after all, they only knew that he was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace. Those that knew what he looked like naturally had solemn expressions. On the other hand, those who did not know could sense that this young man was very imposing, not one to be trifled with.

“Greetings, Palace Master Yang,” A sparse smattering of voices rang out. Only then did the Emperor Realm Masters meeting him for the first time confirm who he was and hurriedly cupped their fists in greeting.

“Palace Master.” Hua Qing Si stepped forward.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai glanced around with a harsh and penetrating gaze. Seeing that there were quite a lot of people, he seemed satisfied and his expression softened significantly before he asked, “Is everyone here?”

Hua Qing Si replied, “Those that could arrive within half a day have more or less arrived. Only the people from Dragon Tiger Sect and Profound Cloud Pavilion have not arrived yet.”

There were only slightly more than 200 Emperor Realm Masters gathered inside this hall, and there were definitely far more Emperor Realm Masters across the entire Northern Territory than those present. However, Yang Kai had given them a deadline of half a day. For that reason, Hua Qing Si had only sent out selected notifications. Those who obviously could not make it to High Heaven Palace within half a day had been left out.

Even gathering this much manpower was only possible thanks to the numerous Space Arrays that Yang Kai had arranged across the entire Northern Territory, all of which connected directly to High Heaven Palace. If not for those Space Arrays, not even a quarter of this number would have made it here by now. It was only by relying on teleportation via those Space Arrays that they could gather more than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters within half a day.

“Dragon Tiger Sect and Profound Cloud Pavilion…” Yang Kai nodded indifferently before he waved his hand dismissively, “Those that haven’t appeared don’t need to appear ever again.”

His tone was calm and indifferent, without even the slightest hint of malice in it; nevertheless, all the Emperor Realm Masters present could sense a feeling of animosity behind them and secretly sighed to themselves. [These two Sects will no longer be able to gain a foothold in the Northern Territory. They might even be eradicated by this madman…] 

They couldn’t help grieving for those two Sects and seething with a trace of hatred towards Yang Kai for his oppressive actions at the same time.

A Sect that emerged less than thirty years ago currently held control over the futures of all the cultivators in the Northern Territory, as well as the rise and fall of the various Sects. Nobody would believe it even if word got out about this. Unfortunately, there was nothing that they could do; the other party was extremely powerful. The annihilation of Seeking Passion Sect was evidence of what the other party was capable of. Therefore, they didn’t dare to express discontent despite the resentment and anger in their hearts.

“Everyone, I’m sure you must be wondering why I summoned you to High Heaven Palace today. I will now tell you why. Firstly, it is to rescue people, and secondly, it is to kill!”

A middle-aged man cupped his fists and asked, “Palace Master Yang, who do you want us to rescue and who do you want us to kill?” With so many Masters gathered together, it could not be a small matter. Practically a fifth of the combat power in the Northern Territory had been gathered in this place, so he could not imagine what kind of situation would require gathering this much strength. Even the top four Sects had practically emptied their headquarters for this undertaking.

Yang Kai glanced over at this man. He did not know which Sect’s Sect Master he was, but despite only being a First-Order Emperor, he had a righteous air about him and met Yang Kai’s gaze without flinching. 

Yang Kai nodded lightly and explained, “The people we are rescuing are the cultivators of the Southern Territory. Like everyone here, they are the Masters of the major Sects and clans.”

“Cultivators of the Southern Territory!?” The inside of the hall exploded in a clamour of voices. They could never have expected that what was happening today would involve the Southern Territory. This was the Northern Territory after all and there was an enormous distance separating the two territories. As the saying went, ‘Distant water could not quench an immediate thirst’. They were too far away to provide timely aid during a crisis, so why did Palace Master Yang muster the forces of the Northern Territory if he wanted to rescue the people from the Southern Territory?

Something else concerned them even more though, and that was what happened to the Masters in the Southern Territory that would require so many people to rescue them? Although they didn’t live in the same Territory, they were all Masters and couldn’t possibly be weak. There were undoubtedly many Emperors in the Southern Territory, and if even those Masters could not solve this problem, then what could we do even if they could travel there?

“The ones we are going to kill are Demons!” Yang Kai shouted, suppressing the clamour of discussion.

The entire great hall fell silent in an instant as everyone stared at him with wide eyes. Even Ji Yao’s expression, which was generally cold and indifferent slightly changed.

Yang Kai couldn’t care less about what they were thinking at that moment as he continued on, “Hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters in the Southern Territory have been caught in a trap set up by people who underwent demonification. They are currently trapped inside Orthodoxy Temple with no way to escape. They may be infected by Demon Qi at any time and are in danger of falling prey to demonification themselves. Right now, their only hope of salvation is us. That is why I need all of your help to breach the Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple, kill the Demons, and rescue everyone from the Southern Territory.”

The words he spoke sounded unbelievably far-fetched, so much so that everybody was left reeling in shock and instinctively thought that he was joking. For one, who could know about what was happening in a place as far away as the Southern Territory? 

Yet, Yang Kai’s words were filled with certainty. The existence of something like Demons was too difficult to even conceptualize, and while it was rumoured that someone infected by Demon Qi would succumb to becoming a Demon themselves, where would so much Demon Qi even come from in the first place?

“That is the situation. I don’t care whether you believe me or not. It doesn’t matter anyway. You will understand the truth once you arrive. During this mission to the Southern Territory, however, you must keep one thing in mind. Protect yourselves well; do not allow yourself to be contaminated with Demon Qi. More importantly, you need to be on guard against Demon Spirit possession. If the former situation appears, this King may still have a chance to save you. But, if it’s the latter… that will be your fate. Depart!”

Hua Qing Si was stunned for a moment but quickly came to her senses and immediately began leading the gathered Emperor Realm Masters onto the Space Array. The Space Array in High Heaven Palace was quite large and could transport twenty to thirty people at once, and with Yang Kai here, there was no need to power the Space Array with Source Crystals. He only needed to manipulate his Space Principles to activate the Space Array.

Following the flashes of light, group after group of people disappeared. Regardless of what they were thinking inside, they were sensible enough not to raise any objections here and simply followed the instructions given to them docilely.

A plain-looking woman and an elderly man stood together somewhere in the crowd. Both of them were Second-Order Emperors, and there were both Sect Masters of first-class Sects in the Northern Territory, which were only marginally weaker than the top four Sects including High Heaven Palace and Ice Heart Valley. The only difference between them was the lack of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master and having a smaller number of Emperors in their Sects. Aside from that, their heritage was nothing to laugh at. The two of them stood together, secretly communicating with each other via Divine Sense transmission.

The woman commented first, “High Heaven Palace is too much. First, we were told to rush here within half a day, then this boy didn’t even ask whether we agreed to this undertaking or not before demanding we risk our lives fighting against Demons just like that. How can such a thing be permitted!?”

The elderly man nodded, “En, it is indeed going too far.”

Just recently, all of them had been forced to submit before the strength and prestige of High Heaven Palace, so they already held grievances in their hearts. And now, they were suddenly dragged into battle against Demons to rescue a group of Emperor Realm Masters from the Southern Territory that they didn’t even know. It was inevitable that the resentment in their hearts considerably deepened.

The woman continued, “Does he really think that the Northern Territory belongs to High Heaven Palace now? If things are like this now, what will our futures be like?”

The elderly man smiled bitterly, “Life will become difficult. What else?”

The woman glanced sideways at him, “Do you plan to keep being suppressed with no power to resist like this?”

The elderly man was shocked, “Resist!? How do you plan to resist!? I advise you not to have any unnecessary thoughts. The heritage of High Heaven Palace is standing right in front of your eyes. Do you see those three Monster Race Masters? They’re all Monster Kings, each one as strong as a Third-Order Emperor. How can we match up to them?”

The woman coldly snorted, “A just cause will gain public support, but an unjust cause cannot. High Heaven Palace terrorized the entire Northern Territory this time around, so which Sect doesn’t hold some resentment towards them? Besides, who would willingly allow others to control them? If all the major Sects in the Northern Territory join forces and work together, what will happen to High Heaven Palace then?”

The elderly man thoughtfully said, “You want to recruit others…”

The woman explained, “That’s the only thing we can do for the sake of our futures. If High Heaven Palace knows what’s good for them, they will back down. Even if they refuse to accept reality, can they really fight back against the entire Northern Territory? It’s impossible even with the help of the other three top Sects. The key point is whether the hearts of the people can be united.”

The elderly man nodded lightly, “After this incident, I have the feeling that everybody will feel a sense of crisis and gain an awareness of how dire our situation is. They probably won’t let a chance to fight back slip through their fingers; after all, the knowledge that their lives and their freedom are lying in the hands of somebody else will make them very uneasy.”

“We should go around after this incident to gauge the willingness of the others. If the opportunity exists, it won’t be too late for an in-depth discussion into the matter.”

“Good. Let’s not talk about this anymore for now. It’s our turn, and we don’t even know where we are being sent.”

The woman and the elderly man mounted the Space Array with a few other Emperor Realm Masters and soon they were enveloped by a flash of light and a wave of dizziness washed over them. It felt like their entire being was passing through the endless Void. Despite how strong the two of them were, they were left with stars floating in front of their eyes and their Knowledge Seas had become somewhat choppy.

When they finally recovered from the dizziness, an uncomfortable feeling spread out throughout their bodies. There was a feeling of solid ground beneath their feet. The woman’s complexion was a little pale, and her footsteps were a little unsteady, but she still clearly heard a shout entering her ears, “Don’t just stand there blocking the way! Hurry up and get down! There are more people coming from behind.”

Before checking who was talking to her, she hurriedly stepped aside while circulating her Secret Art to relieve the uncomfortable feeling in her head. However, the expression on her face was filled with doubt.

It wasn’t as if she had never used a Space Array before; after all, she had arrived at High Heaven Palace today via teleportation through their Space Array. She also used this network to travel around in the Northern Territory before on multiple occasions; however, not once had she felt this kind of dizziness. It was her first time experiencing this kind of sensation. Logically speaking, that shouldn’t be possible. She was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, so how could she fail to withstand the backlash of a single teleportation?

When her vision finally cleared up and she looked around, she was greeted by the sight of many familiar and unfamiliar faces that were all somewhat pale at the moment. They had apprehensive expressions and were clearly feeling rather uncomfortable. The elderly man was also standing beside her, and when their eyes met, they both looked at each other in confusion.

At that moment, a soft whisper came from the side. The voice was not loud, but everybody here was in the Emperor Realm, so who among them didn’t have excellent hearing? Both the woman and the elderly man were shocked when they heard this voice and together with many others exclaimed in astonishment, “The Southern Territory!?”

[That’s impossible, right!? Is this really the Southern Territory!? We were just in High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory a moment ago! How did we arrive in the Southern Territory in the blink of an eye!?] Their first reaction was disbelief; however, an investigation of their surroundings with their Divine Sense revealed that the topography and climate in this place were hugely different from the Northern Territory. It seemed that they were truly in the Southern Territory.

Thinking back on the feeling they experienced during the teleportation just now and the records they had seen in ancient books, a sudden realization flashed across their minds. A thought that they could barely believe came to them as they all turned to look at the Space Array in unison, a scorching gaze burning in their eyes. 

[A Cross-Territory Space Array!]

Chapter 3259

It was not impossible for them to travel from the Northern Territory to the Southern Territory in an instant. It could be done with a Cross-Territory Space Array, but such a thing was extremely rare in the entire Star Boundary. Only a few Great Emperor Sects possessed such Space Arrays and all of them were inheritances that came from ancient times. Nobody knew if they could even still be used.

It was something the woman and the elderly man had never thought of before, but listening to the whisperings around them finally woke them up to the fact. 

[Did we just use a Cross-Territory Space Array?] The more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Only by using a Cross-Territory Space Array could they suffer from such strong teleportation backlash; after all, they had crossed a distance of tens or even hundreds of millions of kilometres in an instant. It was incomparable to the teleportations that they had experienced previously.

Where did High Heaven Palace get their hands on a Cross-Territory Space Array? High Heaven Palace was currently occupying the former site of the Seeking Passion Sect, and most of the Emperor Realm Masters in the Northern Territory had been to the Seeking Passion Sect at least once in their lifetime. They had a thorough understanding of Seeking Passion Sect’s heritage and were keenly aware that Seeking Passion Sect could not have owned a Cross-Territory Space Array.

It had long been rumoured that Yang Kai, the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace was proficient in the Dao of Space, so could it be that he is even capable of arranging a Cross-Territory Space Array!? If that is the case, then it is a huge deal!

The woman and the elderly man looked at each other, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes. The whispers surrounding them became louder and louder, and the frequency of the words ‘Southern Territory’ seem to increase as well. Some people sounded like they couldn’t believe it while others reacted like these two and stared at the Space Array on the ground with burning gazes.

If this was truly a Cross-Territory Space Array, then it was a huge treasure. Just like how Yang Kai saw the benefits in the circulation of materials between the two Territories, these old foxes could see them too. Any Sect could make a fortune just by having a Space Array that connected the Northern Territory and the Southern Territory

Just to be on the cautious side, the woman wanted to find somebody from High Heaven Palace to inquire about the matter; however, she froze mid-motion when her gaze swept over her surroundings.

The elderly man had yet to recover from the shock of being transported via this Space Array and arriving in the Southern Territory in an instant, but when he saw her expression, he couldn’t help being taken aback as he sent her a Divine Sense transmission, “What’s wrong?”

The woman did not respond, she simply continued to stare in a certain direction. Puzzled, the elderly man followed her gaze and was instantly stunned. There were nine Stone Men who were tens of metres tall standing there. They had angular bodies and all of them were so imposing that just looking at them gave people a strong visual impact. The bodies that seemed to be formed from piling a bunch of stones together were full of indescribable power. Nobody dared to doubt their combat prowess.

[I-I-Isn’t that the legendary Stone Spirit Clan!? Weren’t they said to be extinct!? Why are there so many of them here!?] It would have been one thing if that were all, but standing opposite the Stone Spirits were a number of equally imposing figures. There were not many of them, only about thirty or so, but be that as it may, the Monster Qi coming from each individual figure was overwhelmingly powerful and extremely terrifying.

The woman and the elderly man had been so fixated on the shocking existence of the Cross-Territory Space Array that they had failed to notice this shocking Monster Qi until now, but when they studied these figures carefully, their expressions changed drastically. These members of the Monster Race were all Monster Kings. None of the people here was a match for them.

The woman and the elderly man watched as the three Monster Kings from High Heaven Palace mingled with these other members of the Monster Race, laughing and chatting with each other. A careful count indicated that there were a total of thirty-two of them…

In other words, there were thirty-two Monster Kings in this place! What kind of force was this!? It should be said that most of the so-called top Sects only had one Third-Order Emperor Realm Master each. For example, Fire Dragon Palace only had Li Jiao; Full Sky Sect only had Mi Qi; Ice Heart Valley only had Bing Yun; and even Seeking Passion Sect only had two just before its destruction.

Faced with such a comparison, the strength represented by these thirty-two Monster Kings was extremely terrifying. To put it bluntly, the two hundred Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory gathered here probably couldn’t defeat this group of Monster Kings even if they all fought together. The only way they might stand a chance against the Monster Kings was if they actually coordinated and cooperated with each other perfectly.

[Are they also part of the reinforcement that the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace recruited? Where did a group of Monster Kings like them pop out from? Why were we completely unaware of the existence of these Monster Kings before?]

*Gudong…* 

There were various gulping sounds as people swallowed nervously. Everybody’s attention had finally shifted from the Cross-Territory Space Array to these Monster Kings.

The Monster Kings obviously felt the sudden attention on them too and many of them teasingly grinned back. The Monster Qi radiating from them became even more terrifying than before, completely terrifying many of the Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory. They were afraid that the Monster Kings might suddenly go on a rampage and massacre them.

The woman suddenly remembered a rumour she heard in the past and her pupils contracted as she adjusted her focus to two men and a single woman standing in front of the thirty-two Monster Kings, secretly sending a Divine Sense transmission to the elderly man, “Thirty-two Monster Kings. Doesn’t that number remind you of anything?”

“Remind me of what?” The elderly man responded subconsciously.

“I heard that in the Eastern Territory, there is a place known as the Ancient Wild Lands which retains its ancient wild aura unchanged from hundreds of thousands of years ago. Ruling that land are Four Great Divine Venerables, each with eight powerful Monster Kings under their command…”

The elderly man felt his mind going blank, “The Four Great Divine Venerables, each with eight powerful Monster Kings under their command?” [Aren’t there exactly thirty-two of them here right now?] He had heard of this rumour before too, nevertheless, a rumour was just a rumour and nobody would dare to believe that rumour unless they personally saw proof. There were supposedly thirty-two Monster Kings in the Ancient Wild Lands, and there just happened to be thirty-two Monster Kings here too.

The elderly man paled visibly as he muttered, “Are you saying that they are from the Ancient Wild Lands? But, that’s in the Eastern Territory…”

She rebuked, “So what if it’s located in the Eastern Territory? We just came from the Northern Territory ourselves! So that’s how it is. It turns out that the three Monster Kings from High Heaven Palace are from the Ancient Wild Lands!”

The existence of Ying Fei, Xie Wu Wei, and Xi Lei was not a secret, it was just that nobody in the Northern Territory could not figure out where Yang Kai managed to find and recruit three Monster Kings, who he then placed in High Heaven Palace as guards. It wasn’t until this moment that they finally found the answer to this question that had puzzled them all for such a long time.

“That makes sense. Those Stone Spirits, which are rumoured to have gone extinct, probably came from the Ancient Wild Lands too.” The elderly man gently nodded before he suddenly felt his breath catch in his throat and he tremblingly asked, “If those Stone Spirits and the Monster Kings are from the Ancient Wild Lands, then… who are those three standing in front of them?”

The woman turned her head stiffly to look at him. She had already considered that question a long time ago, and at this moment, she slowly uttered two words, stressing each word carefully, “Divine… Spirits!”

The elderly man immediately lowered his head, considered it for a while, and replied, “I think that what we talked about earlier was extremely ill-considered. We need to put more thought into it before making a decision.”

They originally wanted to contact all the other Emperor Realm Masters in the Northern Territory to rebel against High Heaven Palace after this incident; however, they were now witnessing first-hand the powerful forces that Yang Kai could casually bring out at any moment. There were Stone Spirits, Monster Kings, and even Divine Spirits willing to answer his call, so who would dare to oppose him?

These Masters might all live in the Eastern Territory, but with the existence of the Cross-Territory Space Array, travelling from the Eastern Territory to the Northern Territory was as easy as taking a stroll. For them to appear here at this moment could only mean that there was another Cross-Territory Space Array in the Eastern Territory. If they provoked High Heaven Palace and caused this group of Monsters to march into the Northern Territory, they would still be no match even if they rallied every Sect in the Northern Territory together, and that was not even taking into consideration a lack of unity among them at that point.

The woman nodded with deep approval, “Actually, it’s not that bad to have a leader in the Northern Territory. It’s better than having us scattered about, unable to coordinate with one another.”

Those words were probably only to comfort herself.

More than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory were gathered here; moreover, they were all worldly people, so if this woman and the elderly man could guess the origins of the Stone Spirits and the Monster King, it was reasonable to assume that the others could too.

Seeing so many Monster Kings and even Divine Spirits waiting around obediently, how could they dare to have any complaints? They quietly looked down at their feet and dutifully waited by the side. There was no need for other people to see how shocked they were.

Mi Qi and Li Jiao were standing together and many expressions flashed across the former’s face. He was secretly thanking his lucky stars he had not completely fallen out with High Heaven Palace back then. If not, there wouldn’t even be ashes left of Full Sky Sect. Even he might have died without knowing how!

On the other hand, Li Jiao was perfectly calm and composed. He had raised a ruckus on Dragon Island with Yang Kai before, after all. Besides, he also knew about the intimate relationship Yang Kai had with a Dragon Girl. Although he was a little surprised by Yang Kai’s methods and prestige, he was considerably calmer than the rest. He even had an inexplicable sense of superiority. [If Yang Kai had called upon the Dragon Clan from Dragon Island, then that would truly be exciting.]

Unfortunately, he had no idea what stance Dragon Island had taken with Yang Kai at the moment. It stood to reason that Yang Kai was probably Dragon Island’s greatest enemy after he caused such a big mess back then. But, the crux of the matter was that Yang Kai was now married to a Dragon Girl.

While everybody was still reeling from shock, Yang Kai led the last batch of people and appeared on the Space Array. All attention instantly focused on him as he swept his gaze over the crowd and loudly announced, “This is the Southern Territory. Orthodoxy Temple is located not far away. Moments from now, I must ask all of you to work together to aid me in the rescue efforts while preventing the Demons from escaping. Firstly, you must protect yourselves well. Don’t let yourselves be corrupted by Demon Qi. Secondly, capture those who have been affected by the Demon Qi. Try not to kill them if you can and keep the killings as minimal as possible.”

“We can’t just kill them?” The crowd was in an uproar.

Even Fan Wu frowned and asked, “Why spare their lives if they have already been demonified?” If they were not allowed to kill, then their only option was to capture the enemy alive. Everyone here might be rather powerful, but capturing an enemy alive was far more troublesome than killing them. What’s more; what was the point of capturing these people? It was easy to be demonified, but it was hard to cure. In his opinion, there was no need to spare their lives anymore if they were already corrupted by the Demon Qi.

“I have my reasons. Of course, if there’s no other choice, I would rather you kill them than to let a single Demon escape from this place,” Yang Kai said with a solemn expression, “Do you understand?”

“Understood!” Over 200 Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory shouted together. Nobody dared show any disrespect anymore; after all, there was a group of Monster Kings and three possible Divine Spirits eying them dangerously at this very moment.

“For now, please surround Orthodoxy Temple and act according to my orders!” With a wave of his hand, he took the lead and headed in the direction of Orthodoxy Temple, “Let’s go!”

The group of people followed closely behind him and a short time later, an almost imperceptible curtain of light appeared in their field of vision. It was the Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple. Everybody was secretly surprised to see the state of the Spirit Array. It was only a glimpse, but this Spirit Array was part of the heritage of a top Sect.

As they approached the Sect Defending Array, Yang Kai gestured to the left and the right with his hands and the two hundred Emperors immediately split into two groups, flying out in an orderly fashion around the light curtain. A person would stop and take up a position at fixed intervals. In this way, they completely surrounded Orthodoxy Temple in less than a quarter of an hour.

Chapter 3260

Inside Orthodoxy Temple, Lei Gu, who was wrapped in Demon Qi, received the news at the exact moment Yang Kai and the others made their move. Turning his head, he glared at the Demon standing next to him and asked, “Are you certain?”

The Demon bowed, “Sir, there is no mistake. There are over two hundred people, each of them in the Emperor Realm.” This Demon was dressed in the attire of someone belonging to Orthodoxy Temple; moreover, he was a First-Order Emperor. He was most likely one of the Elders of Orthodoxy Temple, but it was clear that he was currently being possessed by a Demon Spirit.

Lei Gu’s eyes flashed as he frowned and muttered, “How is that possible?”

The trap he laid in the Southern Territory had been prepared meticulously and executed precisely. He had taken advantage of the Martial Gathering to secretly plot against hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples. He had been confident that it was foolproof, but contrary to his expectations, a crack appeared in his plan in the form of Yang Kai at the very last moment.

Lei Gu never imagined that Yang Kai, who had been missing for more than ten years, would suddenly appear to participate in the Southern Territory Martial Gathering. That was why he arranged for Yang Kai to be lured away and secretly assassinated, but who could have known that even ‘that’ person would fail at this mission? It frustrated Lei Gu to no end. Only now did he learn how adept a person proficient in the Dao of Space was at escaping and surviving; however, only a day had passed, so where did that bastard find so many powerful reinforcements!?

Unfortunately, the Demon subordinate sounded so confident that Lei Gu had no choice but to believe his words. To be on the safe side though, Lei Gu decided to take a look in person. After giving instructions to the other Demon, Lei Gu flew out to the main gate, and looking out into the distance, his expression turned grim.

Sure enough; Yang Kai, who had left less than a day ago, had returned. Moreover, he brought a lot of reinforcements with him. In addition to Shi Huo, who had remained in this place to monitor the situation, there were nine more Stone Men and hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and Monster Race Masters gathered around Yang Kai.

Lei Gu looked to the left and then to the right. There were people standing in the air at fixed intervals outside the Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple, and when they noticed his arrival, they all looked over in his direction.

[They really are Emperor Realm Masters… And there are so many of them too!] Although Lei Gu was not sure how many people Yang Kai brought in total, it seemed that the report by that Demon earlier was fairly accurate.

[Where did he find so many Emperor Realm Masters? Only one day has passed! Even if he went to all the major Sects in the Southern Territory without rest and reported this news to them, it would still be impossible to muster up so many reinforcements in such a short period of time!] Lei Gu’s expression twisted into a grimace. He had the nagging feeling that the situation was about to turn against him. If the plan this time failed, it would definitely be because of Yang Kai. A great hatred welled up in Lei Gu’s heart. After so many years of planning, everything was about to fail because of one person, so how could Lei Gu not be vexed?

“It’s true. He’s been demonified,” Ji Yao stood beside Yang Kai and commented. When she saw Lei Gu, she couldn’t help feeling a little surprised as she stared at him carefully. It was her first time seeing Demon Qi or a cultivator who had undergone demonification. Even though she was only seeing it for the first time, that black Qi surrounding Lei Gu’s body gave her an extremely uncomfortable feeling. It was a kind of rejection that came directly from the depths of her soul. [Is that the Demon Qi? How abominable.]

“Lei Gu, today you die!” Yang Kai shouted through gritted teeth. Meeting his enemy left him feeling incredibly livid.

Lei Gu looked grim but did not make any kind of reply; instead, he turned around and left. He had no intention of saying a single word to Yang Kai. The only reason he came here was to see if the report he received was accurate, and since he had confirmed it was, there was no need to stay any longer.

Yang Kai was slightly surprised when he realized Lei Gu had decided to perish here as well before he immediately raised his voice and shouted, “Temple Master, are you there?”

Yang Kai’s voice, which was supported by his Emperor Qi, sounded like the rumbling thunder and transmitted into the depths of the Orthodoxy Temple easily.

A hearty laughter immediately came from inside along with a shout, “I’m not dead yet!”

“Temple Master, hold on a bit longer. I’ll rescue you soon,” Yang Kai shouted again.

Wen Zi Shan’s voice rang out, “Good!”

Although he did not know what the situation was like on the outside, Yang Kai must have brought back reinforcements since he had returned after leaving. All their hopes of being rescued lay on Yang Kai’s shoulders, so they could only choose to trust him unconditionally.

“Little Brat, hurry up! Your Temple Master is going to become a Demon if you waste any more time!” Ma Qing’s frustrated voice also rang out.

Wen Zi Shan snapped, “Nonsense! You’re the one who is going to be demonified!”

Yang Kai grinned at those words. [This is good. If they can still quarrel, then it means that the situation inside has not yet become dire.]

Collecting himself, Yang Kai lifted one hand up high and his voice sounded in all directions, “Everyone, prepare yourselves!”

A loud clanging sound rang out as swords were unsheathed and countless Emperor Artifacts were summoned. Monster Qi and Emperor Qi surged up and condensed.

The hand Yang Kai held up in the air was brought down in one swift motion while he shouted, “Attack!”

The moment the word left his mouth, a pitch-black Moon Blade slashed forward and struck the surface of Orthodoxy Temple’s Sect Defending Array. A crackling sound rang out where the blade struck against the light curtain, and a slight dent was formed. Countless ripples spread out from where the curtain of light sunk inward. 

In the next moment, hundreds of attacks of various shapes, sizes, and colours blasted at the Sect Defending Array from all directions, causing the light curtain to sway and flicker. For a moment, the sky went dark, and the surrounding World Energy became chaotic as various Principles intertwined like a great storm.

Before the surface of the Sect Defending Array could be stabilized, it flickered unsteadily from the continuous rain of attacks. It looked like it was about to collapse at any moment, but contrary to expectations, the light curtain managed to resist the initial barrage of attacks and did not immediately shatter.

The Sect Defending Array of Orthodoxy Temple was truly extraordinary. If somebody was presiding over the Spirit Array, they might be able to repair it quickly; however, the Spirit Array was relying on its own defensive capabilities at the moment. It didn’t even have a host. For that reason, the self-repair effects were minimal.

It wasn’t that Lei Gu was unwilling to remain here and preside over the Spirit Array, it was just that he knew that the tides had turned against him. With so many Masters working together, the Spirit Array would not last any longer even if he was supporting it. Rather than wasting his time here, it was better to do something useful instead. Who knows? There might still be a chance of turning things around.

The first wave of attacks had just ended when the second wave of attacks began. Moreover, it was even fiercer than the previous round. The entire world dimmed as the Heavens and Earth seemed to invert. An indescribable sense of enthusiasm surged up in the hearts of these Emperor Realm Masters. There had never been an instance where so many Masters worked together before, so the prestige alone was terrifying in and of itself. As part of this historic moment, the reinforcements brought by Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment.

A rumbling sound rang out before the Spirit Array collapsed. The curtain of light that had been protecting Orthodoxy Temple for thousands of years burst apart like a soap bubble that had been popped.

“Charge!” Yang Kai roared as he raced to be the first to rush inside.

Following closely behind him was Ji Yao. Her figure was ethereal; however, she turned her head to look to the side as she rushed into Orthodoxy Temple. The corpse of a woman was sprawled across a small slope there. That woman had a curvaceous body and beautiful looks, but unfortunately, she had died with her eyes wide open.

Ji Yao did not know who this woman was or how she was related to Yang Kai; however, Ji Yao clearly noticed him glance in this fallen woman’s direction for a moment, and a look of pain had flashed across his eyes when he saw her corpse. Ji Yao’s eyes flashed slightly as she pointed a finger out. A snowflake floated from her fingertip and landed lightly on the woman’s corpse. The snowflake did not melt, however, and instead released an extremely cold energy, sealing that woman’s corpse in a block of ice in the blink of an eye.

A group of Demons wrapped in black Qi came rushing towards the charging Masters suddenly, every one of them wearing a wooden expression, seeming as though they had no sentience. They were no different from walking corpses that were dressed in different attires, but they were clearly disciples of various major Sects in the Southern Territory. Waving the weapons in their hands, they fearlessly rushed at the Emperors and Monster Kings.

Yang Kai was the first to reach the line of battle. His figure shifted erratically, passing the Demons one by one, reaching out and lightly striking them in the back of their necks as he flew by. A group of Demons instantly fell out of the sky like dumplings and crashed into the woods below. He did not kill them as he knew that these people were infected by Demon Qi and had undergone demonification which, while incurable for most, was not for him. If a massacre were to take place here, the Southern Territory would surely suffer severe damage to its foundation. Be that as it may, Yang Kai had no time to look after these disciples one by one, so he could only knock them out as quickly as possible. Fortunately, they were not flying too high. Falling from this high would not be deadly. Not to mention, there were trees below to break their fall.

The people following Yang Kai imitated his actions. While using their Emperor Qi to protect themselves and prevent the Demon Qi from invading them easily, they knocked out the enemies in front of them in rapid succession.

The Demons that were rushing at them were all below the Emperor Realm, so there was no way they could pose any real threat. Even if these Demons did not fear death after their demonification, they were still no match against Emperor Realm Masters in a fight. One by one, the Demons fell unconscious and crashed to the ground. It was quite a sight to behold.

Even so, there were too many Demons. A rough estimation showed that there were at least a thousand of them. This was still only in the direction of the gates. If all the Demons from other parts of Orthodoxy Temple were included in the count, Yang Kai estimated that the number of disciples from the Southern Territory that had been demonized in this one day had reached tens of thousands.

More than ten people, with Yang Kai in the lead, plunged into the ranks of the people who had undergone demonization like a sharp knife, leaving a path of bodies behind them wherever they went.

“This is too easy!” One of the Elders of Full Sky Sect in the First-Order Emperor Realm laughed loudly. [Yang Kai gathered so many Masters together and made things seem so grand and dangerous that I couldn’t help feeling nervous at first. I thought that these Demons would be something terrible, but after fighting against them, it’s clear they’re nothing special. It seems that strength is the root of everything, whether they be Demons or not.]

He was not the only one who had this kind of mindset as most of the reinforcements who came into contact with the Demons for the first time were thinking similar thoughts.

The Demon Qi coming from the bodies of those Demons was indeed strange, possessing a strong corrosive aura filled with malice and madness; however, these people were protected by their Emperor Qi. Furthermore, many of them had donned Artifact Armour. They had nothing to fear against that flimsy Demon Qi.

The liberators progressed forward smoothly like they were chopping melons and slicing vegetables. Although these ten or so people were surrounded by thousands of enemies, they were talking and laughing as usual while manoeuvring through the crowd. The Demons might have been numerous, but with the power of these ten or so people, they could probably knock out all these Demons within a quarter-hour. If they regrouped with the others after that, they would be able to head straight to the depths of the Orthodoxy Temple and Lei Gu would have no place to escape to.

Unexpectedly though, many of the Demons suddenly flushed bright red and swelled up like they were balloons. Their stomachs expanded like they were ten months into a pregnancy and torturous and pained voices sounded of their throats. The Demon Qi in their bodies also began to fluctuate wildly.

The sudden change shocked many, and their movements slowed down considerably. Nevertheless, they all felt an imperceptible sense of crisis looming over them.

“Be careful!” Yang Kai’s expression changed, grabbing one of the Demons that was experiencing these changes as he shouted, trying to knock them unconscious. However, the Demon’s eyes bulged as he glared straight at him, its swelling body showing no signs of stopping whatsoever.

Chapter 3261

Following a loud bang, the Demon exploded. Although there were no bones nor body left after the explosion, flesh and blood did not splatter all over the place. More importantly though, a cloud of pitch-black Demon Qi was released and wrapped around Yang Kai with a whooshing sound.

*Hong hong hong…*

Explosion after explosion rang out as the Demons self-destructed, one after another. Yang Kai’s heart sank upon hearing those explosions.

Clouds of Demon Qi that were as dense as blood appeared following the self-destruction. Across the sky above Orthodoxy Temple, the cultivators who were clashing against the Demons were instantly engulfed. It was as if a field of black mushrooms had suddenly sprouted, covering a vast area in the blink of an eye and forming an enormous black cloud that spread over more than a dozen kilometre radius.

The dozen or so Emperor Realm Masters following closely behind Yang Kai were caught off guard and, as a result, they were caught in the black cloud. Even Yang Kai was not spared.

The expressions of those people, who had been talking and laughing just now, changed drastically in an instant. The seemingly flimsy Demon Qi that they had been looking down on suddenly became thousands of times denser than before and its corruptive power increased accordingly.

Sizzling sounds could be heard everywhere. It was the sound of the Demon Qi eroding the protective layer of Emperor Qi surrounding their bodies. Despite the strength of the Emperor Realm Masters here, they could all feel their Emperor Qi was beginning to crumble under the erosion. Holes began appearing in their defences in a very short span of time, causing many to cry out in panic.

There was no need for anybody to say anything. The dozen or so people moved without any hesitation, desperately escaping outward. When they emerged from within the black cloud and looked back, their expressions were filled with lingering fear. They never expected the Demons to self-destruct, nor for their self-destruction to be so terrifying.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s expression was incredibly sombre. There had been thousands of Demons rushing at them just now; however, he and the others couldn’t have knocked out more than three hundred or four hundred in total. That meant that at least five to six hundred people had self-destructed in that moment just now. In other words, the Southern Territory had lost as many as six hundred elite disciples just in their direction. Similar situations no doubt must have occurred in all the other directions. The Southern Territory’s losses could only be described as heavy!

“Brother Chen, you…” A horrified voice sounded suddenly.

Yang Kai turned to look in that direction, and his eyes narrowed at the sight. A middle-aged man was standing there with a look of helplessness. The protective layer of Emperor Qi surrounding his body had collapsed, and his body was wrapped in traces of pitch-black Demon Qi. The Demon Qi was like a pack of snakes, entering his body through his pores and his seven orifices. It changed his aura in a very short period of time, and his eyes were showing signs of being covered in the black Qi.

Yang Kai had no idea who this person was; nevertheless, this man was one of the reinforcements that he recruited from the Northern Territory.

When the others standing next to this man noticed his situation, they looked extremely shocked and hurriedly put some distance between themselves, all staring at him vigilantly, for fear that he might start violently attacking them.

This man seemed a little dazed himself and lifted his hands out in front of him, staring at them blankly. Then, he lifted his head to look at Yang Kai and begged, “Palace Master Yang, save me!”

If he was completely taken over by the Demon Qi and lost his reasoning, then he would be no different from the Demons that had self-destructed just now. In that situation, his life and death would be out of his control. He wouldn’t even know if he suddenly self-destructed.

The moment those words left that man’s mouth, Yang Kai had already appeared in front of him. The aura around Yang Kai suddenly underwent a huge change and a strange chant left his lips. A moment later, a ray of light burst from Yang Kai’s hand and enveloped this man.

*Chi chi chi…*

It was as though the traces of black Qi had met their nemesis. When the light wrapped around that man, the black Qi flowed out of his pores and dissipated into nothingness. His chaotic consciousness also stabilized. He had the sense that he had just escaped the clutches of death; thus, he gratefully said, “Many thanks, Palace Master Yang.”

Although he did not know what strange method Yang Kai had used just now, he could clearly sense that the Demon Qi invading his body had been driven out.

“All of you, be more careful.” Yang Kai swept a cold gaze over these people. [He is an Emperor Realm Master, yet he nearly succumbed to the demonification just like that. What a fool.]

Yang Kai knew that it was not actually that difficult to guard against this kind of loose Demon Qi, this situation was the result of these people never having encountered Demons before. While the sudden self-destruct had played some role, it was mainly facing seemingly weaker opponents just now that had made these Masters lower their guard. Under normal circumstances, they would only need to maintain a strong protective layer of Emperor Qi around themselves at all times and such a situation would not have happened. 

If this wasn’t the case, how could Yang Kai have survived for so long under that monstrously powerful Demon Qi outside Maplewood City during the Demon Eye incident when he had only been a First-Order Dao Source Realm at the time? The Demon Qi might be very corrosive, but it was nothing as long as they protected themselves well and did not give the Demon Qi any opportunities to invade.

“Shamanic Spell!” A lurking black shadow hiding in the canopy of a large tree some distance away couldn’t help narrowing its eyes at this sight. The people around Yang Kai might not know what method he used to get rid of the Demon Qi, but this person was very familiar with it. That was a Shamanic Spell! Back in ancient times, the Demon Race had suffered great losses because of those Shamans. It was precisely because this figure was very familiar with that history that it was so shocked.

[Why are there people who know how to use Shamanic Spells in this era!? Moreover, he seems extremely proficient in Shamanic Spells from the way he cast that one just now. If not, he could not have casted the Demon Exorcism Technique so easily. But, how can this be!? People are the product of their time! Each era has its own distinctive Principles, and with the current Principles of this world, how can anybody successfully cultivate Shamanic Spells?]

Before this shadowy figure could finish that train of thought though, its vision blurred for a moment and a figure appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of it. It was so shocked that it immediately backed away without even thinking about it.

“Solidify!” A cold voice sounded in its ears, making it feel as though it had fallen into an ice chamber. It looked up and saw that Yang Kai, who had been several kilometres away just now, was standing directly in front of it. It didn’t even know when Yang Kai approached it. Following the word that Yang Kai uttered, the surrounding space became viscous and turned into an invisible cage that trapped it inside.

The figure struggled desperately, using all the strength it had to try to break free of these shackles. However, it felt as though it was trapped in a mire and the more it struggled, the more entangled it became.

“A Demon Spirit!” Yang Kai stared at the man’s pitch-black eyes and coldly snorted.

This person was obviously different from the Demons who had rushed at them just now. Although those Demons infected by Demon Qi had also been demonified, they lost their rationality and thinking abilities. In contrast, the man in front of Yang Kai was able to act autonomously. He had undoubtedly been possessed by a Demon Spirit, just like Lei Gu, and judging by the way he was dressed; he was probably one of the Elders of Orthodoxy Temple, signifying he was an Emperor Realm Master.

“Damn you!” He shouted through gritted teeth and his body abruptly began to swell. He was going to self-destruct without any warning! It was clear that he knew he was no match for Yang Kai, so he chose this path rather than being captured alive.

“You think you could self-destruct in front of me? Look into my eyes!” Yang Kai roared as his right eye suddenly turned into a golden shaft of light that pulsed with intense Spiritual Energy.

The Demon Spirit who was about to self-destruct suddenly froze. At the same time, his swollen body involuntarily shrank back to normal and before he could react, Yang Kai grabbed him by the neck and shoved him into the Small Sealed World to be suppressed in a certain corner of the world. Yang Kai did not kill because he still had many unanswered questions. He might be able to obtain some useful information if he left somebody alive to be questioned later. In addition, he wanted to see if he could rescue this person from a Demon Spirit’s possession just like how he saved those people who had been corrupted by Demon Qi.

Achieving his aim in one move, Yang Kai turned and looked back with a frown. The enormous black cloud in the sky was swirling non-stop. A moment later, hundreds of whirlpools materialized in the black cloud. The dense black Qi poured into those whirlpools and quickly disappeared.

Very quickly, the black cloud vanished without a trace and hundreds of figures with powerful Demon Qi reappeared. It was clear that they were part of those thousand or so Demons from before.

Among the Demons, five hundred to six hundred had self-destructed while three to four hundred had been knocked out by Yang Kai and the others while the remaining hundred or so had hidden inside the black cloud. It wasn’t until now that they revealed themselves. After devouring the Demon Qi formed from their companions who had self-destructed, each of these surviving Demons had grown far stronger than before. The aura they were emitting currently was not inferior to that of an Emperor Realm Master.

“What is this!?” An Elder of Full Sky Sect stared so hard that his eyeballs trembled in their sockets. His expression was filled with shock and horror. It wasn’t until this moment that he realized how ridiculous he had been to underestimate his enemies just now. The Emperor Realm Masters had looked down on the horde of around a thousand Demons earlier, but who could have imagined that those Demons could converge into a force that could rival them in strength? Fortunately, they soon realized that something was strange. Those hundred or so Demons might have grown exponentially in strength, but they simply stood there motionlessly like wooden pillars in the sky.

“Quickly knock them out!” Yang Kai shouted as he had a vague insight into the situation. It seemed that these Demons infected by Demon Qi did not have any ability to act independently. In that case, the reason they attacked just now was that they were being controlled by somebody, and the most likely candidate was the Elder of Orthodoxy Temple who had been possessed by a Demon Spirit. Since Yang Kai had captured the person controlling them though, those hundred or so Demons immediately became something akin to wooden puppets with cut strings.

When the dozen or so Emperor Realm Masters heard Yang Kai’s shout, they cautiously rushed towards the demonified people. Upon launching their attacks, they soon realized that these Demons showed no signs of resistance and were quite simple to take out.

Observing the situation, Yang Kai became more and more affirmed in his conjecture. The Demons that had been infected by Demon Qi had no sentience. It was just that he had no idea if this would always be the case or if it was because they had not been demonified for long enough.

Whatever the case may be, Yang Kai had no time to think about it right now. He flew straight up into the air and looked around. Orthodoxy Temple had been divided into more than twenty battlefields, and every one of them was caught up in a fierce battle.

The situation on his side was noticeably better as he had rescued that Emperor Realm Master of the Northern Territory from being corrupted by Demon Qi and prevented the Demon Transformation from taking place. Moreover, he had successfully captured the Elder of Orthodoxy Temple and caused the Demons here to lose their ability to move.

Unfortunately, the other battlefields were not doing as well. Yang Kai could clearly see that several Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory had become demonified and turned their weapons on their companions. Those Emperor Realm Masters were currently fighting against their former friends and companions. Their companions were terrified but could only do their best to resist and deal with the situation. They couldn’t very well kill their former companions, so they were greatly restrained in terms of strength and tactics.

At the same time, the Demons that had been boosted in strength after devouring a large amount of Demon Qi suddenly rushed in fiercely without fear of death and fought brutally against the reinforcements in both the Northern and Eastern Territories.

Yang Kai’s gaze flashed as he looked down at a certain area and pushed his Divine Sense to send a transmission to the Stone Spirit Elder. Elder and the eight Stone Spirits had been pushing their way forward, leaving a bunch of defeated Demons in a terrible state in their wake. With their special constitution, they were completely unafraid of the Demon Qi. Since they had no need to worry about the dangers of demonification, and possessed incredible strength along with near invulnerability, ordinary Emperor Realm Masters were nothing in their eyes, much less mindless Demons. If not for the fact that they were afraid of using too much strength and did not dare to attack randomly, they would have killed the Demons and obtained a crushing victory by now.

Chapter 3262

When Elder received the Divine Sense transmission Yang Kai sent to him, his expression changed and he immediately instructed the other eight Stone Spirits in a soft voice. In the next moment, the nine members of the Stone Spirit Clan dispersed and headed in all directions.

An Elder of Orthodoxy Temple, who had been possessed by a Demon Spirit, stood atop a certain tree canopy. He carefully concealed his aura, hid his figure, and blended perfectly into his surrounding environment. Many people passed both above and below him, but nobody noticed his presence. He hid in this spot and watched the battlefield several kilometres away while controlling the hundreds of Demons that had been greatly boosted in strength to fight against more than a dozen Emperor Realm Masters.

At that moment, his vision darkened without warning as a large mountain stood in front of him and blocked the light coming from above. Surprised, he looked up only to see a Stone Spirit that was several tens of meters tall staring straight at him.

[I’ve been discovered! I can’t believe I was discovered! And by a Stone Spirit at that! Since when does a Stone Spirit have such keen senses!?] In his opinion, his concealment was perfect and it was impossible to discover him unless a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master was deliberately searching for him.

Nevertheless, he immediately shrank back to retreat without any hesitation. At that moment, he felt something tightening around his leg which was followed by a pulling force. It felt like he had been caught by a large hand. He turned back to look in horror, revealing a look of disbelief on his face. The thing that was grabbing onto his ankle was not a large hand, but a vine.

His Demon Qi shot out and immediately turned that vine into dust; however, that momentary delay gave the Stone Spirit an opening to attack. A large fist came smashing towards him as though a meteor was falling from the sky. It landed squarely on his chest and in that instant, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The sound of bones breaking rang out and subsequently, his entire person collapsed to the ground like a ragged gunny sack. Before he touched the ground, fragments of his internal organs spurted out of his mouth and nose. Then, his neck tilted to the side and his aura disappeared completely.

Even though this person was possessed by a Demon Spirit, he was still just a First-Order Emperor. Each member of the Stone Spirit Clan was so powerful that even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master would suffer heavy injuries if they took a direct hit from them, much less a mere First-Order Emperor. A single attack had immediately ended this man’s life.

After that, the Stone Spirit turned and ran off in another direction, a soft whispering voice coming from behind him. It was true that the Stone Spirits did not have keen vision or senses, but it was different when they had the guidance of the Wood Spirits. The Wood Spirit Clan and the Stone Spirit Clan complemented each other perfectly and would fight side-by-side in battle. Furthermore, the Wood Spirit Clan’s perception of plants was unparalleled. Those Demon Spirits who hid among the trees might be difficult to detect by most people, but the Wood Spirits simply needed to communicate with the surrounding forest to get a clear insight into where these Demon Spirits were hiding so they could accurately guide the Stone Spirits to their targets.

The nine Stone Spirits acted together to root out the Demon Spirits hiding in various locations throughout Orthodoxy Temple and either killed or severely injured them. Without the control of these Demon Spirits, the mindless Demons quickly lost their ability to fight. They simply stood there motionlessly, allowing others to knock them unconscious or fall out of the sky like raindrops.

Yang Kai monitored his surroundings with a cold look in his eyes and his gaze quickly fixed on a certain spot in a certain direction. That was the mountain valley where the Martial Gathering had been held. When he left one day ago, that mountain valley had been swamped with Demon Qi, a complete sea of black. Now that he was looking at it again, the situation seemed even worse than before. Moreover, Wen Zi Shan and the others were trapped in that mountain valley.

The overall situation had been settled. Almost all the people who had been possessed by Demon Spirits had been eliminated, and without them, the remaining Demons could no longer cause any trouble. Thus, Yang Kai headed in the direction of the mountain valley.

Along the way, three streams of light rushed towards Yang Kai from three different directions and arrived next to him. They were Fan Wu, Cang Gou, and Luan Feng. They had clearly noticed his movements and came to provide support. No matter how much they disliked him and even wanted to kill him themselves at times, that woman, who was the natural enemy of all Divine Spirits, was standing behind him. They had personally witnessed the intimacy between him and that woman before she entered the Blood Gate and also knew how important he was to her; therefore, they knew that she would definitely make them suffer greatly the moment she came out of her retreat if they allowed Yang Kai to die right under their noses. For that reason, they had no choice but to stay by his side to prevent any accidents.

These four figures sped forward without running into any hindrances along the way and soon arrived next to the mountain valley, landing on a certain mountain peak. Looking around, the three Divine Spirits frowned, and a hint of fear showed in their eyes. That was because the mountain valley was flooded with dense Demon Qi, squirming and rolling about like a living thing. They did not know how the Demon Qi was formed, but they were certain that they would suffer greatly if they fell into it.

The sounds of fighting and killing came out from the middle of the mountain valley, making it clear people were trapped and besieged inside.

“Boy, how dare you ruin my plans!? Did you think you could rescue them? In your dreams!” Lei Gu’s voice came from somewhere inside the mountain valley, echoing from all directions, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.

“Why are you hiding in the shadows!? If you have the guts, why don’t you come out and fight!?” Yang Kai snorted coldly.

Lei Gu laughed, “How naïve! Just wait right there! I will finish them off first, then I’ll come and deal with you!” After those words left his mouth, the Demon Qi in the mountain valley churned even more violently and screams rang out from all over.

Yang Kai’s expression changed, “Junior Sister Murong!”

He distinctly heard Murong Xiao Xiao’s voice among those screams and was just about to rush in when Luan Feng grabbed his shoulder and shot him a glare as she snarled, “What are you doing!? Do you court death!?”

“Let go!” Yang Kai shook off her hand angrily.

Fan Wu’s figure flickered and stood in Yang Kai’s path, quickly warning, “Yang Kai, don’t be so impulsive. It’s clear as day that that guy is deliberately trying to provoke you and lead you into a trap. You will be doing exactly what he wants if you rush in right now!”

Cang Gou also tried to persuade Yang Kai, “That’s right. The Demon Qi is so dense here that it’s incredibly dangerous inside. You need to reconsider this.”

“To Hell with reconsidering!” Yang Kai shouted, spraying the three Divine Spirits in the face with his spit, his expression turning savage, “My friends are inside! I don’t know how much longer they can hold on for! How can I not go and rescue them!? Are you asking me to stand here and watch them die!?”

“Recklessly rushing in is not the way! At the very least, we need to know the situation inside!” Fan Wu scowled, “Let’s do this. Call over everyone outside and we will work together to disperse the Demon Qi in the mountain valley. That way, the situation will reveal itself on its own.”

Yang Kai’s expression was gloomy, but nevertheless, he did not insist on rushing in again either. Even he knew that that was the only choice they had at the moment.

At that moment, Murong Xiao Xiao’s screams rang out again.

“Lei Gu, you court death!” Yang Kai’s expression became hostile again and Space Principles flared before he vanished from where he stood, rushing in without any regard for anything else.

Fan Wu and the others were instantly dumbfounded.

Luan Feng was so livid that her chest heaved violently and she frustratedly cursed, “Fool!”

Similarly, Cang Gou shook his head with a helpless look, feeling helpless.

On the other hand, Fan Wu’s expression was grim as he gritted his teeth and spoke up, “What are you still standing there for? Let’s go.”

Regardless of whether they wanted to or not, since Yang Kai had rushed in, they had no choice but to follow. Fortunately, the three of them were Divine Spirits so they had inherently strong resistance towards Demon Qi corruption and did not need to fear it in the short term. However, nobody dared to make any assumptions if they were exposed to this Demon Qi for an extended period. Besides, what worried them the most was Yang Kai as who knows what treachery Lei Gu had prepared in advance to deal with him? It would be a miracle if Yang Kai could survive for this long after plunging headlong into such an obvious trap.

As soon as they stepped into the Demon Qi, the three Divine Spirits felt their hearts sinking. That was because they immediately lost sight of each other. The Demon Qi was swirling in all directions and completely disoriented them, making it impossible to distinguish North from South. Even up, down, left, and right confused.

Burst of screams rang in their ears, further disturbing their senses. Moreover, murderous intent came from all directions while black shadows that were barely perceptible flitted around them like fish, moving so fast that one couldn’t grasp their traces.

The Demons could bring out their full power in this environment while the three Divine Spirits had to remain on guard while protecting themselves against the corruption of the Demon Qi. If this situation continued for long, it would become extremely unfavourable for them.

The three of them were duty-bound though, so as soon as they entered this place, they kept calling out Yang Kai’s name in hopes of receiving a reply. Unfortunately, each of them now felt as though they were the only person left in this world, so how could anyone else exist close to them?

Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s figure flitted through the darkness. He kept speeding forward as Murong Xiao Xiao’s screams resounded in his ears. She sounded like she was fighting somebody. He tracked the sounds and followed in the direction it was coming from, but even so, he couldn’t find anybody.

All of a sudden, Murong Xiao Xiao let out a blood-curdling scream which then stopped abruptly. The veins in Yang Kai’s forehead twitched in response and he paused mid-motion. His surroundings were completely silent, and no matter how he tried to listen, he couldn’t hear a single voice anymore. It seemed something tragic had happened to her since her scream that came to such an abrupt end just now. As a result, Yang Kai’s expression twisted and he raised his hand to summon out the Myriads Sword.

Yang Kai’s Emperor Qi surged and a powerful sword wave flashed out as he roared, “Lei Gu, face me!”

Obviously, Lei Gu didn’t react at all and instead, another scream came from the place where the sword wave had passed.

Yang Kai was stunned for a moment. He could tell that the voice belonged to Xiao Bai Yi. Rushing over, he saw a person leaning against a tree, dressed in familiar white robs now stained red in blood. This man used his hands to press against the wound but couldn’t seem to stop the blood from flowing out, a crimson pool gathering below him.

“Xiao Bai!” Yang Kai walked up to Xiao Bai Yi and called out in a trembling voice.

Xiao Bai Yi looked up, his complexion utterly bloodless. When he saw Yang Kai, he smiled sorrowfully, “Junior Brother Yang…”

“Your injury…” Yang Kai stared blankly at the injury on Xiao Bai Yi’s body. The injury stretched from Xiao Bai Yi’s shoulder all the way to his abdomen and was clearly caused by a sword strike. In addition, traces of Yang Kai’s Emperor Qi remained in the wound.

Yang Kai was dumbfounded.

“Junior Brother, don’t blame yourself…” Xiao Bai Yi smiled at Yang Kai, blood trickling out from the corner of his mouth, “I was dying anyway. You need to escape. You have to run as far away as you can.”

However, Yang Kai remained frozen to the spot as if somebody had cast a Binding Technique on him, his eyes fixed on the sword wound on Xiao Bai Yi’s body. His gaze trembled lightly and his face filled with shock, fear, and guilt. He never expected that the random attack he unleashed would hit Xiao Bai Yi.

Chapter 3263

“Run!” Xiao Bai Yi suddenly mustered his strength and shouted. That violent movement affected his injury and the Emperor Qi wrapping around his body immediately collapsed. The boundless Demon Qi poured into his body through his nose, mouth, and open wound. Consequently, he showed signs of demonification within a short period of time.

A roar of pain and rage came out of his mouth as he tried his best to maintain his last shred of clarity. His eyes trembled intensely as they were gradually replaced by a pitch-black darkness. Just before his eyes were filled with black, he suddenly smiled bitterly and desperately called upon his strength. Subsequently, his body swelled and exploded in a loud explosion. Pieces of meat and blood splattered in all directions. It was as though a flower of blood had bloomed under that tall tree.

Yang Kai looked up to the sky and roared. His howl was filled with grief and fury. The Emperor Qi in his body surged fiercely, and his eyes turned red. All of a sudden, the howling stopped abruptly. He looked around coldly and spoke in a sinister voice, “Lei Gu, I swear if I don’t rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces I won’t be surnamed Yang anymore!”

When his words rang out, he heard Lei Gu’s laughter ringing in his ears. He went mad with rage, and the Myriads Sword in his hands shone brightly. Wave after wave of light slashed out, slicing through the darkness before disappearing from sight. As Yang Kai vented his anger through those sword waves, his emotions seemed to become more and more unstable. His eyes also became redder and redder and he looked like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. It was utterly terrifying.

“Senior Brother Yang…” A gentle yet uncertain voice rang out from behind him.

He didn’t even bother looking. Spinning around, he slashed out with his sword, releasing a three-metre long sword wave that broke through the protective layer of Emperor Qi around that person and sliced through them like butter.

Glaring in that direction, he saw Murong Xiao Xiao looking at him in a daze. She was covered in blood, and her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief. Then, a line of blood appeared from the centre of her brow down to her chin. Her body split into half with a small explosion, her blood and internal organs scattering all over the ground, dying on the spot.

Yang Kai breathed heavily. His blood-coloured eyes froze for a moment, but that was all the reaction he showed. The black Qi around him churned and poured into his body without leaving a trace; however, he didn’t seem to notice it. It didn’t take long before he was filled to the brim with Demon Qi.

Lei Gu’s voice sounded again, “How does it feel to slaughter your own people? How does it feel to succumb to demonification?”

Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to those words, he simply waved the Myriads Sword in his hand around mechanically.

One by one, both familiar and unfamiliar faces appeared around him from all directions, but all of them were mercilessly split in half by him. He single-handedly killed all within a dozen meters of himself. Corpse after corpse quickly piled up on the ground.

Yang Kai did not know how long had passed when he finally leaned against the Myriads Sword breathlessly. His entire body was swirling with black Qi. Even his eyes turned pitch-black. He went on a rampage, venting his emotions wildly, but nevertheless, it was impossible to maintain such an uncontrolled burst of strength for long even if he was a Second-Order Emperor.

Meanwhile, two figures stood tall in the darkness. They were looking in Yang Kai’s direction through the dense layers of Demon Qi. They were none other than Lei Gu and Feng Ming.

“It should be done now, right?” Feng Ming asked.

Lei Gu frowned, seeming a little uncertain. Judging by the situation, there shouldn’t be any major problems. Even so, he shook his head just to be on the safe side, “He bears the blood of the Dragon Clan, which has a natural resistance towards Demon Qi. It is better to be careful and wait for a little longer.”

Feng Ming said, “It’s not as if there has never been a precedent for a member of the Dragon Clan undergoing demonification before. Besides, his bloodline is not pure. If he was in a stable mental state, he might have been able to resist for a bit, but he accidentally killed one of his own and formed a Heart Demon as a result. Trapped in this boundless Demon Qi, it is rare enough that he was able to persist for such a long time despite facing internal and external disturbances. I’m sure he has already completely succumbed to demonification by now.”

Lei Gu nodded, “That may be true, but…”

He still seemed to be hesitating.

Feng Ming took the initiative to suggest, “I’ll go and test him. Someone like him is a rare find. If I can make use of him, it will surely be of great help in the future.”

“En, act carefully!” Lei Gu warned.

Feng Ming nodded and flew over in the direction Yang Kai was located. He did not let his guard down as, although he was almost certain that Yang Kai had been completely demonified, he remained cautious and vigilant. The Demon Qi in his body fluctuated quietly and he was prepared to retreat at any time.

As Feng Ming walked forward, the boundless Demon Qi parted to open a path for him on its own and revealed the scenery shrouded in the darkness. When there were less than thirty metres between him and Yang Kai, he carefully observed the latter’s situation while creeping forward little by little. It didn’t take long for him to arrive one metre in front of Yang Kai. Feng Ming’s hands transformed into claws and he struck at Yang Kai’s chest without any warning. His claws that were rippling with power sliced through the air with an audible sound, looking quite powerful at a glance.

The tip of his claws pierced Yang Kai’s chest a full finger length deep with a slashing sound, and blood instantly splattered all over; even so, Yang Kai remained motionless as though he couldn’t feel any pain at all.

Feng Ming couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. [It’s certain now. He has completed the Demon Transformation. I said it, didn’t I? He didn’t even hesitate to kill so many people; moreover, those were all his ‘comrades’. How can he resist the Demon Qi’s corruption under the influence of such a great Heart Demon? Judging by external appearances, this little brat is definitely under the influence of Demon Qi. My actions just now were the final test. If he was only pretending to be under the Demon Transformation, he would surely react to a fatal attack. It can only mean that we succeeded since he had no reaction whatsoever.]

On the other hand, Lei Gu let out a breath of relief when he saw this scene. [With this, I can finally finish my mission here. I was wondering how to report to the higher ups about the failure in the Southern Territory, but this mistake can be completely offset now that we managed to capture Yang Kai. Not only is he a Master in the Dao of Space, but he also seems to have the blood of the Dragon Clan. He will surely be useful in the future.]

Feng Ming withdrew his hand. The blood on Yang Kai’s chest flowed freely, but his expression remained wooden and he seemed oblivious to his circumstances. Feng Ming circled around Yang Kai, carefully examining the latter and nodding repeatedly, “Good, good, good.”

Coming back to stand in front of Yang Kai again, Feng Ming suddenly took out a black box from his pocket. That box was made from unknown materials that were neither gold nor jade. When he opened the box, a seed-like thing inside the box was revealed. The seed was also pitch-black in colour. It was only the size of a mung bean, but there were Spiritual Energy fluctuations coming from it. It was as though this was not a seed but a person.

Feng Ming stretched out a hand to pick up the seed; then, he slowly pressed it against Yang Kai’s brow. The moment the two came into contact, the pitch-black seed stuck to Yang Kai’s forehead. It desperately squeezed itself into his head as though it was alive and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, a figure appeared inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. The figure was wrapped in black Qi and its features were constantly distorting, so much so that one could not make out its facial features clearly.

“Is this how you possess the others?” A voice suddenly rang out.

The black figure was shocked and when it turned its head to look in the direction of the voice, it saw Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar floating quietly above the Knowledge Sea. Yang Kai was holding a long sabre in his hand and looking in this direction with a grin full of ridicule and mockery.

“You weren’t corrupted!?” A hoarse voice rang out. It was difficult to tell whether the voice belonged to a male or a female, but it carried a strong sense of disbelief in it.

How could it not realize that it had been tricked the moment it saw Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar? If Yang Kai had been completely demonified, his Soul Avatar would also reflect it. Under such circumstances, it would only need to consume his Soul Avatar to possess his body.

[How can this be? His physical body has clearly completed the Demon Transformation! It’s not a lie that he was consumed by the Demon Qi, so how is he preserving his consciousness? He even turned it to his advantage by waiting for me here! More than that, he didn’t even react when Feng Ming attacked him just now! How could he be so sure that Feng Ming wouldn’t take his life? He truly is reckless!]

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Yang Kai grinned at the black figure, revealing a mouthful of fangs.

The black figure flickered and transformed into a black mist, intending to escape Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. Unfortunately, Yang Kai dominated everything in this space. It was easy to enter, but leaving would require his permission or a stronger force to tear down the defences of his Knowledge Sea. Although the black shadow was powerful, it was ultimately just a Demon Spirit. Without the support of a physical body, it could not exert its full strength, so how could it break through the defences of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea? For a moment, it dashed about desperately like a beast trapped in a cage with no hope of escape. It couldn’t even send word to the outside world.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai pointed his Soul Splitting Saber at the black figure from far away with a cold expression. Locked onto like that, the black figure clearly felt a sense of catastrophe looming over it. Even though it did not have a physical body, it felt cold all over. It was rather decisive though, and knowing that it could not escape from Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, it decided to turn around and lunge at him instead. It was determined to bring Yang Kai down with it.

“Cut!” A shout rang out, and at the same time, the Soul Splitting Saber shuddered slightly and transformed into a blade of light. Slashing out in front, the light landed on that black figure’s body and a blood-curdling scream rang out as it was split into two and exploded into nothingness.

After Yang Kai got rid of the Demon Spirit that had invaded his Knowledge Sea, his expression became solemn and his Soul Avatar left his Knowledge Sea. Inside the darkness, Yang Kai opened his eyes and moved his pitch-black eyes. A faint expression appeared on his face that had been stiff all this while.

Feng Ming stood in front of Yang Kai with his hand behind his back. He nodded when he saw the changes, “Let’s go.”

Without even the slightest doubt, he turned around and left.

Yang Kai watched Feng Ming’s back. He was extremely tempted to stab Feng Ming to death but resisted the impulse.

Passing through the thick Demon Qi, the two of them soon arrived in front of Lei Gu. Feng Ming smiled and declared, “It’s done.”

Likewise, Lei Gu was smiling brightly. He nodded repeatedly while looking at Yang Kai. Yang Kai cupped his fists and greeted Lei Gu, “Sir.”

At that moment, the smile on Lei Gu’s face froze. Similarly, Feng Ming looked surprised and turned to look at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai felt his heart lurching at the sight as he keenly realized that he had blown his cover. [It was just one word! Is saying ‘Sir’ such a big deal?]

Before Yang Kai could even finish his thought, Lei Gu and Feng Ming suddenly split up in two directions and backed away hurriedly, so Yang Kai acted equally decisively. He immediately manipulated the Space Principles around him and caused the surrounding space to instantly solidify. He simultaneously shot out a Moon Blade at Lei Gu and Feng Ming respectively. Since the attack was made hurriedly though, he failed to bring out his full strength.

Lei Gu proved his strength as a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master as he broke through the spatial blockade, his movements only slightly hindered, and avoided the Moon Blade by a hair’s breadth.

Chapter 3264

On the other hand, Feng Ming was not as fortunate. He was imprisoned by the Space Principles and before he could recover from his shock, the Moon Blade sliced through him. A gaping crescent-shaped hole immediately appeared in his chest, and his internal organs could be seen clearly from his wound.

He looked down at the hideous gaping wound in his chest and widened his eyes in shock. He could barely believe what he was seeing. This was the body of a Second-Order Emperor, no different from Yang Kai, but it had been reduced to this state from just from a single attack. Although part of the reason was that he had been caught off guard, the other party’s strength was still clearly overwhelming.

If he had really been Feng Ming, this attack would have robbed him of his mobility and left him as good as dead; however, he was a Demon Spirit who possessed a body to live, so even though he received a fatal wound, he did not collapse immediately. Instead, a large amount of Demon Qi emerged from the wound on his chest, wriggling as it tried to patch up the hole.

Meanwhile, Lei Gu gave a loud roar after dodging the Moon Blade. He used all his strength and managed to fully break free from the constraints of the Space Principles and retreated with a look of horror, trying to escape into the darkness. As long as he could avoid Yang Kai’s sudden assault, he would be able to conceal himself again. Yang Kai would never find him amidst all this boundless Demon Qi.

How could Yang Kai let Lei Gu do as he wished though? After sending out two Moon Blades, he raised his hand and tossed out a small, pitch-black beast about thirty centimetres long. That small beast looked no different from an ordinary puppy, but a terrifying light that gave off a sense of joy and excitement shone in its eyes the moment it appeared. It was the Abyssal Returner!

After Yang Kai returned from the Frozen Earth, he let Ah Wang roam free in High Heaven Palace. He did not bring it along with him on his trip to Dragon Island as there wasn’t much point, but having said that, the enemies he was currently facing were Demons and Demon Spirits. Ah Wang happened to be their nemesis, so how could Yang Kai not bring her along? When he returned to High Heaven Palace previously, he had summoned her and quietly slipped her into the Small Sealed World.

Lei Gu was slightly startled when the Abyssal Returner appeared. He did not understand the reason why Yang Kai had taken out a small, weak beast at this point in time; nevertheless, he couldn’t help feeling an innate sense of fear coming from the depths of his heart at this moment, as though he had encountered his natural enemy.

The Myriads Sword shook and transformed into a sword net that enveloped Lei Gu and blocked his escape while Ah Wang rushed to Lei Gu’s side in an instant and its mouth split open widely. The small dog’s head suddenly became bigger than a house, and inside its maw was an abyss of pure chaos as it moved to swallow Lei Gu.

“Abyssal Returner!” Lei Gu was shocked and paled considerably. He had not recognized the Abyssal Returner just now because things had happened too suddenly, but how could he not realize it when faced with this abnormality? It turned out to be an actual Abyssal Returner!

The Abyssal Returner was a legendary existence in the Demon Realm, and any member of the Demon Race who had lived for long enough would know of its horror. The Abyssal Returner in front of him might not be on the same level as that terrifying existence that threatened to devour the entire world, but it still carried a trace of the Abyssal Returner’s bloodline. That trace, however, was enough to make any Demon tremble at the mere mention of it.

That large, pitch-black mouth was emitting an extremely horrifying aura that caused Lei Gu’s entire body to go cold with fear just looking at it. Combined with Yang Kai’s sword net restraining his movements, he had no means of escape.

When he saw that he was about to be brutally swallowed by the Abyssal Returner, Lei Gu suddenly stretched out his hand. A figure appeared out of nowhere and stopped in front of him. That figure had long, fluttering hair; clothes that whipped about in the wind; an exquisite face accompanied by a cold expression; and eyes that were completely pitch-black. 

Gao Xue Ting!

Yang Kai’s eyes widened in shock and he frantically dispersed the sword net he erected around Lei Gu. He had guessed that something bad had happened to Gao Xue Ting, and now, it seemed that his guess was right. She and Luo Chen must have been corrupted by Demon Qi and undergone demonization as a result.

Gao Xue Ting stood before Lei Gu motionlessly, with no intention of resisting at all, so how could Yang Kai bring himself to hurt her? When he pulled back, he saw that Ah Wang’s mouth was still closing in, seemingly planning to devour both Lei Gu and Gao Xue Ting together!

Yang Kai didn’t even stop to consider it as his figure flickered, appearing next to Ah Wang and kicking her away. In response, the Abyssal Returner let out a pitiful whimper as she was sent flying. 

Yang Kai’s face twitched involuntarily when he turned back to glare at Lei Gu again and curse, “Despicable!”

On the other side, Lei Gu had taken advantage of this gap to press his hand against the top of Gao Xue Ting’s head, Demon Qi surging up wildly as he threatened to kill her at any moment.

Lei Gu did not experience the slightest joy of escaping from death though as the muscles on his face were twitching uncontrollably and his gaze fixed on Yang Kai, practically spitting fire from his eyes. He couldn’t believe his grand plans had all been foiled by this damn brat!

He had been deceived earlier because Yang Kai’s acting had been too real, not even dodging when Feng Ming tried to gouge out his heart! [How was he so sure that Feng Ming was only testing him!?]

At this moment, Lei Gu was more like a beast trapped in a corner, struggling to survive. He had been forced to take Gao Xue Ting hostage to prevent his death. This was not how it was supposed to go. They conspired for so many years and planted so many Demon Seeds. Under normal circumstances, they should have wiped out or corrupted hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite disciples in the Southern Territory by now, then quietly turned the entire Southern Territory into a Demon Paradise.

Unfortunately, the plan began to fall apart when Yang Kai appeared. As a result, Lei Gu was forced to change his strategy. The worst part was that Yang Kai had managed to summon so many powerful reinforcements within just a single day, causing his plans to lose all hope of success. In the end, Yang Kai even plotted against him and nearly managed to infiltrate their ranks. It was only natural that Lei Gu’s mood was as terrible as could be. [He disappeared for more than ten years! Why did he have to show up again at such a critical juncture to ruin my plans?!]

“Release her!” Yang Kai flicked the Myriads Sword and pointed it at Lei Gu.

Lei Gu stared at Yang Kai with an insidious expression.

Yang Kai returned the stare without showing any weakness. Seeing that Lei Gu had no intention of compromising though, he secretly felt troubled. He had previously considered this possibility; however, he could hardly rescue Gao Xue Ting first when he didn’t even know where she was.

As he had suspected, Lei Gu had taken her hostage. What frustrated Yang Kai the most, though, was that she was currently being controlled and had no intention of resisting Lei Gu. On the contrary, she was under Lei Gu’s complete control.

A soft whimpering sound entered Yang Kai’s ears as Ah Wang got up from the side and whined at him, looking extremely aggrieved. When she saw that Yang Kai had no intention of paying any attention to her though, her small round eyes spun around for a bit then landed on Feng Ming.

Feng Ming had been heavily injured but had used his Demon Qi to seal his wound. It didn’t seem like his life was in danger, but even so, he couldn’t help feeling terrified under Ah Wang’s stare as she quietly trotted closer towards him.

Ah Wang crouched low to the ground, her small eyes observing Feng Ming for a moment before she suddenly pounced without any warning.

Feng Ming’s expression changed drastically and he moved his feet to dodge aside, but somehow, Ah Wang’s mouth was already looming over him from the sky. The stench of blood filled his nose as he screamed, “Save m…!”

The shout was cut off abruptly as only the sound of Ah Wang’s audibly gulping could be heard. A bulging lump that was visible to the naked eye travelled down her throat and all the way into her belly. She had swallowed Feng Ming once before when her bloodline had first been stimulated, but unfortunately for her, she had been too weak at the time. Feng Ming managed to escape from her mouth and avoided death by relying on his strong cultivation and assistance from his allies on the outside.

Many years had gone by now though, and Ah Wang had grown significantly since then. Moreover, she devoured a large amount of Demon Qi and many of the Demons back in the Revolving World, all of which had been transformed into her own strength. On the other hand, Feng Ming, who had been possessed by a Demon Spirit and turned into a Demon, was naturally suppressed when facing an awakened Abyssal Returner. Most importantly, Feng Ming had just been severely injured by Yang Kai, so how could he resist? As a result, he was swallowed up in one bite.

A myriad of expressions flashed across Lei Gu’s face as he watched the Abyssal Returner warily out of the corner of his eyes, his face twitching slightly.

After devouring Feng Ming, the Abyssal Returner licked her lips with her tongue and turned to stare at Lei Gu eagerly, as if she wanted to swallow him too. She had not eaten anything that was to her palate ever since returning from the Revolving World as it was rare to encounter a Demon, so it was only natural that she wanted to eat her fill today.

She was also annoyed that Yang Kai did not allow her to do so. Nevertheless, she did not dare to act rashly and could only settle for an appetizer. Opening her large mouth again, an extremely strong suction came from within her mouth and the tumultuous Demon Qi in the air began pouring into her mouth, causing the amount of Demon Qi in the surroundings to decrease at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“You can’t escape,” Yang Kai looked at Lei Gu indifferently. “Surrender and I might be willing to spare your life!”

Lei Gu calmly replied, “Do you take me for a fool?”

Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Your life has no value to me.”

Lei Gu said grimly, “That might be the case, but her life is different.”

While speaking, he put some strength into his hand gripping the top of Gao Xue Ting’s head, causing a pained expression to flash across her face.

Yang Kai gritted his teeth and growled, “What do you want?”

Lei Gu asked, “Why weren’t you corrupted?”

This question had been bothering him all this while, and he couldn’t help wanting to understand. Yang Kai’s various actions up until now clearly indicated that he was being corrupted by the Demon Qi. Even now, his entire body was wrapped in the Demon Qi, so how was he able to maintain his consciousness without succumbing to it?

As long as Lei Gu couldn’t figure out the answer to this question, he simply could not be at ease.

“What can this pitiful Demon Qi do to me?” Yang Kai sneered. The Ancient Demon Qi sealed in his dantian was of extremely high density and purity. Comparatively, the Demon Qi in his surroundings was nothing. Even without the Ancient Demon Qi, his Half-Dragon body had a strong immunity to Demon Qi. Saying so, Yang Kai snorted and with a flicker, the Demon Qi invading his body was forced out and he immediately returned to his original state.

“What about the Heart Demon?” Lei Gu’s face twitched.

Yang Kai sneered, “What Heart Demon?”

Lei Gu said, “You killed so many people. Moreover, many of them were your friends…”

Yang Kai scoffed, “Did you think you could shake my mind with a paltry illusion?”

“How did you know?” Lei Gu grumbled. The people that Yang Kai killed had truly been nothing but illusions; however, they would seem extremely life-like in this boundless Demon Qi that dulled one’s senses. Even if Yang Kai had some doubts, watching his fellow comrades and friends die at his hands should have affected his mind unless he had a heart as cold and hard as steel, or he had some way to distinguish between the truth and the lies.

“Xiao Bai!” Yang Kai showed an enigmatic smile.

“What?” Lei Gu frowned, obviously not understanding Yang Kai’s answer.

“If you still don’t understand, then stop asking, it only reveals your ignorance.” Yang Kai snorted coldly.

In fact, when he first encountered Xiao Bai Yi here, Yang Kai had not been able to distinguish whether what he saw was real or fake either. He had to admit that Lei Gu’s trick was amazing. However, Yang Kai knew something was wrong the moment he uttered the name ‘Xiao Bai’.

Xiao Bai Yi would never accept being called ‘Xiao Bai’, no matter the circumstances, and would only have sternly reiterated his full name, as if he would not be able to die happily if he did not.

Chapter 3265

Before entering this mountain valley, Yang Kai had suspected that Lei Gu was leading him into a trap. The most obvious sign was Murong Xiao Xiao’s screams. Her screams had been increasingly urgent, and the intention behind those screams could not be more obvious.

Needless to say, he rushed into the mountain valley alone in a fit of ‘uncontrollable rage’ just to see what Lei Gu was up to. After that, he simply went with the flow and achieved what he wanted in the end. He had baited Lei Gu out of the shadows; unfortunately, he now had to act cautiously or Gao Xue Ting would suffer the consequences.

Whilst their conversation was going on, the Demon Qi in the mountain valley had reduced drastically. All of it had flowed into Ah Wang’s belly. As the darkness gradually dissipated, the original scenery in the mountain valley gradually emerged once again. Many figures stood tall while the ground was littered with countless corpses. The entire mountain valley was no longer green and lush like before. Looking around, the place was a mess, and the ground was practically stained red with blood.

Thousands stood in the centre of the mountain valley protected by a number of Spirit Arrays that were flickering slightly. These people were the cultivators from all over the Southern Territory who came to participate in the Martial Gathering and they were the only group of people that had yet to succumb to the Demon Qi. It could be seen that they only managed to hold out until now by relying on those Spirit Arrays. Nevertheless, every one of them was pale, regardless of their cultivation. They were clearly reaching their limits. On the other hand, tens of thousands of Demons gathered around this group of people, besieging them.

The sudden disappearance of the boundless Demon Qi surprised everyone.

*Shua shua shua…*

The sounds of something slicing through the air rang out as powerful auras emerged one after another and shot into the mountain valley. It was none other than the reinforcements Yang Kai brought with him. When Fan Wu and the others saw that Yang Kai was safe and sound, they quietly let out a breath of relief; however, their attention was quickly drawn towards Lei Gu.

Everybody could see that Yang Kai was currently confronting Lei Gu, while Lei Gu was holding a woman hostage. The woman also seemed to have experienced demonification and it was unclear what her relationship with Yang Kai was.

“Little Xue Ting!” Wen Zi Shan’s voice called out, the expression on his face never having been more solemn. In the time it took for him to fling his purple robes out of the way, he had already arrived next to Yang Kai and was now staring at Lei Gu deeply. There was no need to ask anything; he already understood the situation in front of them.

Lei Gu’s expression was dark as he slowly swept his gaze over his surroundings only to see enemy Masters standing in all directions. He instantly understood that the battle was lost and his plans were a complete failure. Thus, he couldn’t help nursing a grudge in his heart. Although he had tens of thousands of demonified cultivators on his side still, the difference in strength was too great. In addition, they had not been demonified for long so they required precise control and would be unable to play a significant role on their own. The only thing they could be used for was to create a distraction.

“Do you think you can escape?” Yang Kai looked at Lei Gu and lightly continued, “Do you believe me when I say I can make you disappear so thoroughly that not even bones remain with just a simple order?”

Lei Gu laughed, “Of course I believe you, but I can drag her down with me before I die. If you don’t believe it, you can try me.”

Yang Kai nodded, “I believe you.”

Pausing for a moment, Yang Kai continued, “Like I said, your life means nothing to me. Let her go and I will spare you.”

“You can’t!” An angry roar rang out. It was the Holy Master of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Ma Qing. He was covered in blood, and nobody could tell whether it was his own or someone else’s. His expression was savage as he stared at Lei Gu coldly, “He is the culprit behind all of this, we cannot let him escape. It’s clear that he has been plotting this for a long time. If we can capture him, we might still be able to get some information out of him.”

Both Yang Kai and Wen Zi Shan turned around to stare at Ma Qing in unison.

Ma Qing glared furiously, “If you let him escape today, the Southern Territory might face another catastrophe in the future. What do you think, Golden Envoy Xiao?”

Xiao Yu Yang furrowed his brow together without saying anything. Essentially, he agreed with what Ma Qing was saying and he also knew that Ma Qing’s words were not coming from selfish intentions. The Southern Territory had been hunting and suppressing Demon Spirits for more than ten years now and originally thought that they had more or less wiped them out. Even if one or two had escaped the purge, so few Demon Spirits would not be able to cause any trouble, but how could they have known that the entire Orthodoxy Temple had fallen to the Demon Spirits without anyone noticing?

Nobody knew who the mastermind behind this grand conspiracy was, nor what this conspiracy was ultimately hoping to achieve. If they could capture Lei Gu, there would certainly be some hope of obtaining some useful information from him. With that, they would be a little more prepared in the future. At the very least, they could find out who else among the Masters in the Southern Territory were being possessed by Demon Spirits.

Based on that point alone, they could not let Lei Gu escape. Unfortunately, Xiao Yu Yang knew that the decision was not in his hands. It was true that he was a Golden Star Envoy of Star Soul Palace who could act as its representative, and under normal circumstances, none of the cultivators of the Southern Territory would dare to disobey him if he issued an order, but right now…

Xiao Yu Yang turned and glanced at the unfamiliar faces of the many Masters around him, smiling bitterly in his heart, [I don’t think anything I say at this moment will change the situation. Yang Kai and Wen Zi Shan obviously want to save Gao Xue Ting from Lei Gu. I will only humiliate myself if I step forward and openly oppose them.]

When Ma Qing saw that Xiao Yu Yang was not saying anything and immediately understood what the latter was worrying about. Thus, he stopped putting his hopes in Xiao Yu Yang and instead turned to look at Wen Zi Shan, “Temple Master Wen, I understand your feelings, but I hope that you can consider the bigger picture. The survival of the Southern Territory must be our top priority. You are the Temple Master of Azure Sun Temple, everything you say and do will become a model to the billions of cultivators in the Southern Territory. Please think twice!”

With such a heavy responsibility to bear, Wen Zi Shan showed a pained expression as he asked slowly, “Brother Ma, what would you do if it was Madam Qi in this situation instead?”

Madam Qi was Ma Qing’s wife, a Second-Order Emperor, and was at this moment, standing right next to him. Ma Qing’s face twitched in response to this question, but he gritted his teeth and declared, “Sacrifices for the greater good are necessary!”

His voice was filled with sorrow, as if he had truly given up on Madam Qi, and as soon as those words left his mouth, the woman next to him dressed in palace robes couldn’t help but tremble and slightly lower her eyes.

Wen Zi Shan gave a wry smile, “Brother Ma, I admire your valiance…”

“Shut him up!” Yang Kai snapped as he suddenly shot a look at Fan Wu.

Fan Wu’s figure flickered and appeared in front of Ma Qing in the next instant, raising his hand to knock Ma Qing out.

Ma Qing was shocked and the longsword in his hand bloomed with countless sword shadows that shot towards Fan Wu. In response, Fan Wu simply snorted and released a wild aura from his body, causing Ma Qing to feel as though he was dragged into an ancient world. The Emperor Qi in Ma Qing’s body became disordered, and his sword technique collapsed as a result.

Meanwhile, Fan Wu’s hand that was reaching out towards Ma Qing bypassed the sword shadows like a butterfly fluttering among the falling flower petals and accurately struck Ma Qing’s chest. The power contained in his fingertips was extremely astounding, enough to kill Ma Qing at any moment.

The people from Heavenly Martial Holy Land were shocked as they never expected their Holy Master to be subdued in a single move. Fortunately, the other party had no intention to kill; otherwise, Ma Qing would not be standing there alive at this moment. Ma Qing might have consumed a lot of his strength previously, but he was still a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. How could he be defeated so easily?

“A Divine Spirit!” Ma Qing’s eyes bulged as he stared at Fan Wu blankly with a look of disbelief. The man standing in front of him was a genuine Divine Spirit! Although he had never met Fan Wu before, Ma Qing could not be mistaken about the unique aura coming from the other party. This person was a Divine Spirit that had assumed human form.

Ma Qing didn’t know what Divine Spirit this man was, but he knew that he wouldn’t be a match for him even if he was at his peak, let alone in his current condition. What horrified him even more was that a Divine Spirit was obeying Yang Kai’s commands. [W-What is going on? How can Yang Kai order a Divine Spirit around?]

Fan Wu looked at Ma Qing coldly, “I’m not in a good mood right now, so don’t force me to kill you!”

He poked Ma Qing lightly in the chest, making Ma Qing stagger several steps backwards from the force.

Ma Qing opened his mouth again; however, Madam Qi, who was standing next to him, tugged at his sleeve to warn him, so in the end, he just let out a long sigh. He could tell that the Divine Spirit in front of him was not bluffing. This man really would kill him if he stepped out of line again.

Thousands of cultivators from the Southern Territory and tens of thousands of Demons faced each other in the mountain valley, but it was completely silent. It was almost as if all eyes were fixed on Yang Kai and Lei Gu. Those two were the keys to resolving this situation.

“Alright. Now, we can talk.” Yang Kai’s gaze passed over Gao Xue Ting and stared directly at Lei Gu, “If you want to die, I’ll grant your wish right now. I guarantee there won’t be a shred of you left.”

Wen Zi Shan’s eyes flashed at those words, and his heart leapt into his throat. Luckily, Lei Gu did not move, showing no intention to kill.

Yang Kai smiled lightly at this sight, “It looks like you want to live after all! Good, it must not have been easy for you to possess a body and come back to life. Moreover, you even managed to possess a Third-Order Emperor, the height of luxury. Who would die willingly under such circumstances?”

Yang Kai’s gaze became sharp as he waved his hand around and continued, “Look around. Do you think you have a chance to leave here today?”

“Are you threatening me!?” Lei Gu coldly snorted.

Yang Kai replied, “I just want you to recognize the reality of your situation. Oh right, I forgot to introduce you, do you see that man standing over there? He is a Divine Spirit from the Eastern Territory, Fan Wu. That is Divine Spirit Cang Gou, and last but not least, this beautiful woman is Divine Spirit Luan Feng. As for them, they are the thirty-two Monster Kings serving under them…”

When Luan Feng heard those words, her lips twitched faintly, while on the contrary, it was the thirty-two Monster Kings who revealed fierce expressions and pushed their Monster Qi to press down on Lei Gu.

Meanwhile, many of the cultivators in the Southern Territory felt extremely frightened as well. It was shocking enough when they watched Ma Qing being subdued by Fan Wu in a single move. Even so, it wasn’t until this moment that they realized that there was not just one Divine Spirit here, but three! In addition, there were also thirty-two Monster Kings!

[What kind of force is this!? It’s practically unheard of and never seen before! Even Star Soul Palace couldn’t bring out such a powerful force, right?] What made them slightly more at ease was that the Divine Spirits and Yang Kai seemed to get along pretty well, so there was no need to worry that they would cause trouble for the Southern Territory.

“Additionally, there are more than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters from the Northern Territory with me…” Yang Kai pointed to the other side where those he had brought here from the North raised their heads and puffed out their chests proudly, not willing to look weaker than those Monster Kings.

Lei Gu shouted angrily, “You think that’s enough to scare me!?”

Yang Kai replied lightly, “I’m not trying to scare you. I just wanted to let you know that we still have room for negotiation.”

“Negotiation? Negotiate what?” Lei Gu snorted. Even while he was speaking, he kept a firm grip on Gao Xue Ting, refusing to give anybody a chance at silently taking him down.

“You want to live, and I want that woman, so the solution is simple. I let you go, and you let go of her.”

Lei Gu sneered, “Let me leave first. Once I confirm my safety, I will let her return.”

Yang Kai laughed coldly, “Do you think that’s possible?”

Wen Zi Shan interjected in their conversation, “I will replace her. You can take me as your hostage instead. I will even allow you to pour your Demon Qi into me!”

Chapter 3266

Upon hearing those words, Lei Gu sneered, “Why should this King do something so unnecessary?”

Gao Xue Ting was the best hostage he could get his hands on, so there was no need to exchange her for Wen Zi Shan. Additionally, the risks would be too great. Putting aside the question of whether there would be any accidents in the process of the exchange, even imbuing Wen Zi Shan with Demon Qi was questionable as he was a Minor Realm stronger than Gao Xue Ting.

The fact that there weren’t any other Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters among the cultivators that had been corrupted by the Demon Qi was a testament to this reality. It wasn’t that Lei Gu and Feng Ming didn’t want to corrupt them, it was simply that it was too difficult to actually execute such a plan. That was why they settled for second best and focused on those in the First and Second-Order Emperor Realm first.

“What do you want then!?” Wen Zi Shan no longer had his usual free-spirited demeanour. His expression had never been this solemn before, “All I want is for her to be safe. Just tell me whatever conditions you have!”

Lei Gu snorted, “I told you. Let me go free. I will let her go once I reach a safe place.”

“That’s impossible!” Wen Zi Shan slowly shook his head, “There is no guarantee that you will do what you say. How can I trust you?”

Lei Gu answered in a calm and leisurely manner, “You can only take that gamble if you want her to be safe. At worst, this woman will simply lose her life.” He let the Demon Qi in his hand flow and Gao Xue Ting immediately groaned in pain.

“Stop!” Wen Zi Shan burst out, raising his hand to stop Lei Gu, his expression changing drastically at the same time.

Lei Gu was about to reply when Yang Kai interjected, “I can’t agree to your proposal, and you won’t agree to my proposal either. Fine then, let’s both compromise.”

Lei Gu shifted his gaze to look at Yang Kai, “Let’s hear it.”

Yang Kai put his hands behind his back, “I’ll let you go, but I will be following behind you. When we reach a place you think is safe enough, you will hand Senior Sister Gao back to me. This is my final offer, if you still think that is unacceptable, then there’s nothing else to talk about anymore.”

Lei Gu didn’t answer but his eyes flickered. Meanwhile, Wen Zi Shan felt as though his heart was about to burst from his chest. He secretly circulated his Emperor Qi and prepared to attack immediately if he noticed anything wrong. The situation in the mountain valley seemed to have frozen over. There was no sound and no movement. Time never seemed to have flowed so slowly before.

Yang Kai did not know how long had passed, but taking a deep breath, he said, “I guess that’s a no.”

While speaking, he raised his hand high and shouted, “Monster Kings, heed my command!”

*Hong…* An overpowering Monster Qi erupted into the sky. At the same time, all thirty-two Monster Kings moved to surround both Lei Gu and Gao Xue Ting. All paths of retreat in every direction were blocked off. The eyes of every single Monster King were gleaming with bloodlust and eagerness filled their faces.

“I will count to three. If he still doesn’t answer, then shred him to pieces!” Yang Kai stared at Lei Gu coldly. Raising a finger on the hand he was holding up as he shouted in a firm manner, “One!”

Wen Zi Shan’s body tensed. Both his fists tightened and relaxed repeatedly in a never-ending cycle, feeling indescribably anxious.

“Two…” A second finger was raised.

Murderous intent flowed out from thirty-two Monster Kings and shrouded Lei Gu. The Monster Qi in each and every Monster King’s body was bubbling with ferocity. They didn’t care for Lei Gu or Gao Xue Ting as these two were both strangers to them. At this moment, they were only acting on Yang Kai’s orders, and since he had commanded them to rip Lei Gu to pieces on the count of three, then that was what they were going to do. They couldn’t care less about whether Gao Xue Ting would live or die.

Shrouded by the murderous intent from thirty-two different directions, the Demon Qi covering the surface of Lei Gu’s body became agitated. Despite being in the Third-Order Emperor Realm, he would not survive an assault from thirty-two Monster Kings working together. He would only die a brutal death the moment the fight began.

He stared at Yang Kai deeply, trying to look into the depths of his soul. He was hoping to see even the slightest hint of hesitation or bluff, but he was disappointed to see that Yang Kai’s expression remained undaunted. There was only a firm determination in those eyes, so just as the third finger was raised halfway, he finally succumbed, “Only you are allowed to follow.”

“Agreed!” Yang Kai put down his hand and clasped it behind his back, looking as calm as could be. However, the people standing behind him could clearly see that his hand was slightly shaking. It was obvious that he was not as calm as he seemed on the surface. Thus, they couldn’t help feeling some doubt. [If Lei Gu had not said anything, would Yang Kai really have allowed the thirty-two Monster Kings to charge in?]

“Make way!” Yang Kai waved his hand and the thirty-two Monster Kings surrounding Lei Gu immediately stepped aside to open up a path for him.

Fan Wu, Cang Gou, and Luan Feng couldn’t help sighing when they saw this. [Those are the Monster Kings under our command. Since when has a Human ever been allowed to order them around? The worst part is that these useless guys are just obeying everything he says like it’s natural! They don’t even show the slightest bit of hesitation! How absolutely infuriating!]

“Please,” Yang Kai gestured with his hand.

Lei Gu said unhurriedly, “You better mean what you say. If I discover you leaving any traces behind for them to track us down, or if I notice any of their auras following us… You will bear the consequences of your actions!”

“Don’t worry; just put your heart back into your belly,” Yang Kai laughed mockingly.

Lei Gu coldly snorted in response. Pushing his Demon Qi, he wrapped Gao Xue Ting in it before he rushed out along the gap in the encirclement. Yang Kai followed closely behind him at a leisurely pace.

In the blink of an eye, the two figures disappeared from everybody’s sight.

Looking in the direction those two left, Wen Zi Shan became hesitant. He was worried about Yang Kai chasing after Lei Gu alone and wanted to secretly follow after them. Even so, what Lei Gu said before made him cautious about acting recklessly lest he brought harm to them. If he accidentally exposed his aura and Lei Gu noticed, Gao Xue Ting would surely lose her life. He could also track them from a distance, but he couldn’t grasp their exact direction if they were too far away. Unfortunately, Yang Kai would probably have no chance to leave any clues behind.

Ma Qing sighed, patted Wen Zi Shan on the shoulder, and said, “Brother Wen, I’m sure that boy will do everything he can to definitely bring Elder Gao back since he was the one who came up with this proposal in the first place. You should just wait and see.”

After saying that, Ma Qing saw that Wen Zi Shan was not going to respond and could only walk back to the others. He glanced at his wife and disciples, and asked with concern, “Are you all alright?”

The group of disciples nodded their heads in response, while on the other hand, Madam Qi stared at him coldly. Her chilling stare drilled into him and made a sheen of cold sweat ooze out of his forehead. Parting his lips, he asked, “Darling, what’s wrong?”

In response, Madam Qi flicked her sleeve, turned around, and walked away, speaking in a frosty voice, “When we get back, you will write a letter of divorce for me. Holy Master Ma, you have a great and righteous justice, I’m afraid a lowly woman like me might drag you down in the future. So, let us go our separate ways and never cross paths again, lest I spoil your reputation one day.”

Cold sweat poured down Ma Qing’s forehead as he hurried to catch up with her, “Darling, why do you say something like this?”

He knew that the words he had spoken earlier to try and persuade Wen Zi Shan had greatly hurt his wife. [I was just saying that because of the situation. Why is she taking it so seriously?]

On the other side, Wen Zi Shan, who had been standing in silence for a long time, finally closed his eyes in pain. Despite hesitating for so long, he did not have the courage to chase after Yang Kai and Lei Gu and now, it was too late to do anything. He could only pin all his hopes on Yang Kai and pray that he could bring Gao Xue Ting back safely. It was just that the sliver of hope was too slim. Yang Kai’s strength might be extraordinary, but Lei Gu was not weak. Lei Gu was a Third-Order Emperor and Gao Xue Ting, who had been demonified, was also under his control. He simply couldn’t think of how Yang Kai had any means of getting Gao Xue Ting back safely.

Just as he was mulling over those thoughts, Wen Zi Shan sensed somebody walking over to his side and tugging at his sleeves. He opened his eyes and lowered his head to look, only to see a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl who was so delicate that she looked like she had been carved out of jade looking up at him with pure, clear eyes.

“You are…” He looked at her suspiciously. Even though she looked like a mere child, Wen Zi Shan did not dare to take her lightly. That was because he had seen this little girl in action just now. The aura coming from her was so dense that even he felt inferior to her. He did not understand why so many monsters had gathered around Yang Kai. Putting aside the ability to easily mobilize three Divine Spirits and thirty-two Monster Kings, even a little girl like this was extremely powerful. Not to mention, there was also that black puppy that could swallow Demon Qi. It was simply one weird thing after another.

“Do you want to follow them?” Liu Yan asked.

Wen Zi Shan’s expression brightened, “Can you track their whereabouts?”

Liu Yan shook her head, “I can’t.”

Wen Zi Shan’s eyes immediately dimmed again, but to his surprise, Liu Yan pointed to the side and continued, “But, he can!”

Looking in the direction she was pointing, he saw a Stone Man standing there quietly, grinning at him.

“Him?” He looked confused. This Stone Man seemed a little different from the other Stone Men, more agile and intelligent. When the Stone Man saw Wen Zi Shan looking at him, he beckoned, “Follow me!”

Then, he reached out and pointed at the three Divine Spirits, “The three of you come along too.”

Fan Wu and the two others glanced at each other but did not question any further. They simply nodded in agreement. After that, the Embodiment turned to leave. Liu Yan quickly followed and Wen Zi Shan no longer hesitated, following closely behind her. Behind them came the three Divine Spirits.

They moved as swift as the wind, the mountains and rivers passing by below them. This group of people all belonged to the strongest cultivators in the Star Boundary, so their flying speed was naturally not slow. After flying for a while, Wen Zi Shan spoke up suspiciously, “Is this the direction they went?”

“Shh!” Liu Yan turned her head and shushed him, raising a finger and pressing it against her lips.

Wen Zi Shan felt his face twitching slightly, but did not dare to ask any more questions. He had no choice except to follow them sullenly, hoping that they were going in the right direction.

Throughout their journey, the Embodiment took the lead while the rest of them did their best to conceal their auras while following behind him. He took many twists and turns, as if there was no pattern to his actions. Only Liu Yan and the Embodiment were unwavering in their faith while tracking Yang Kai down. Wen Zi Shan and the three Divine Spirits were completely clueless as to what was going on as they had neither sensed Yang Kai nor Lei Gu’s aura during this pursuit. Hence, they had no way of telling if they were heading in the right direction.

What made Wen Zi Shan even more anxious was that Embodiment would sometimes remain in a certain spot for a time before moving again. During this period, there were no signs that the Embodiment was searching for anything at all. It was almost as though he had gotten tired and simply decided to take a break before flying off in a random direction.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai strolled leisurely through the air with his hands behind his back ten thousand kilometres away. He was following closely behind Lei Gu. In the beginning, Lei Gu had tried to throw Yang Kai off his tracks; however, he realized that this was impossible after a few attempts.

Chapter 3267

Yang Kai could not compare to Lei Gu based on speed of flight alone as there was still a difference in cultivation of a Minor Realm between them; however, Yang Kai had his Space Techniques and could literally leap across space with them. Despite how Lei Gu desperately tried to put some distance between them, Yang Kai would always catch up in an instant. There was no way he could get away from Yang Kai; thus, he stopped his worthless efforts after trying several times.

Even so, Lei Gu was cautious enough to keep changing directions during his flight, and he even deliberately circled a few times around certain areas to make sure nobody was tracking them from behind.

On the other hand, Yang Kai left Lei Gu to do as he pleased and did not say anything, he simply followed Lei Gu at a distance not too far away.

Unfortunately for Lei Gu, he probably never imagined that Yang Kai had something like his Embodiment. Yang Kai didn’t even need to leave behind any clues as the connection between Soul and the Embodiment was the best guide that could ever exist. The Embodiment could sense his presence and vice versa from across vast distances, more than far enough for outsiders to never notice.

Lei Gu finally confirmed that there were no pursuers following behind them after two days. Then, he went all out and flew in a certain direction at full speed. He flew for another two more days before a wide swamp appeared in front of them. It was so vast that one could not see where the swamp ended.

[To think we ended up at the Southern Swamp.] Yang Kai did not know whether Lei Gu came here by accident or on purpose, but the Southern Swamp was where the first Demon Cave had appeared. Since Lei Gu came here, it was clearly not without reason. He either had other helpers hiding here and wanted to borrow their strength to deal with Yang Kai, or he wanted to use the topography here to conceal himself completely and escape. In either case, Yang Kai could not allow Lei Gu to proceed any further into the Southern Swamp; therefore, he moved to block Lei Gu’s path before he truly entered.

Lei Gu’s figure stopped abruptly, his large hand still pressed against the top of Gao Xue Ting’s head as he coldly snorted, “What are you trying to do?”

Yang Kai sighed lightly, “I’ve allowed you to travel tens of thousands of kilometres already, it’s time we put an end to this. I’ve fulfilled my end of our deal, now it’s your turn.”

Lei Gu calmly replied, “This is not enough!”

Yang Kai curled his lips, “You have been running for days and confirmed there are no pursuers other than me. Release Senior Sister Gao, and we can go our separate ways!”

Lei Gu scoffed, “I’ll be the one to decide when I release her. It’s not up to you to decide.”

Yang Kai became impatient, “Are you saying I have to keep following you around so long as you refuse to release her? Lei Gu, don’t go too far; otherwise, I might just doubt your sincerity. My patience is at its limit, if you refuse, then I can only make my move here and now.”

Lei Gu frowned. Turning his head, he looked around and muttered, “Well, we’re already here anyways, so I don’t think anybody will be chasing after me anymore.”

“Good, now return Senior Sister Gao to me.” Yang Kai stretched out his hand.

Lei Gu grinned, “I can give her back to you, but can you receive her? I don’t know where you get your confidence from, but it’s two against one right now. Aren’t you afraid this King might work together with your precious Senior Sister Gao to kill you?”

Yang Kai looked undisturbed, “You can go ahead and try!”

Lei Gu threw his head back and laughed at the sky, “Little brat, talent makes a person conceited. En, this King admires you very much. Why don’t you join the Demon Race instead? With your talent and ability, you will surely have a bright future. Becoming a Great Emperor won’t just be a faraway dream.”

Yang Kai wore a look of frustration, “Stop wasting my time. Hurry up and release her! Don’t force my hand!”

Lei Gu’s smile disappeared as he coldly snorted, “Since you insist… Here! Take her!” Saying so, he reached out and gently pushed Gao Xue Ting on the back. Following that, she flew towards Yang Kai.

Gao Xue Ting arrived in front of Yang Kai in an instant; however, the Demon Qi on the surface of her body suddenly swelled like mad before he could catch her. An incredibly dangerous aura spread out from all over her body and she even spread her arms wide as if she was going to embrace him.

“Shameless!” Yang Kai yelled angrily. He knew Lei Gu would never release Gao Xue Ting so easily. Just as Lei Gu mentioned before, he could control her and use her to fight Yang Kai. Even so, Yang Kai never imagined that Lei Gu would command Gao Xue Ting to self-destruct. If he allowed her to self-destruct, then everything he did until now would have been for nothing. Moreover, it was impossible for him to come out unscathed at such a close distance. The power behind the self-destruction of a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master was absolutely terrifying. Following that, Lei Gu would be able to take the opportunity to kill.

Fortunately, Yang Kai had not come unprepared. At a fleeting moment of anger, Yang Kai’s left eye transformed into a golden shaft of light. His Spiritual Energy surged outward like a tidal wave and enveloped Gao Xue Ting completely within it. At the same time, he spread his palms and summoned the Sealed World Bead which he gripped tightly. Controlling the Sealed World Bead, he opened an entrance and a huge vortex appeared in front of his palm.

Gao Xue Ting, whose body was churning with Demon Qi and who had fallen into a state of danger, plunged headfirst into the vortex as though she was swallowed up by an invisible beast and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, Yang Kai sent his consciousness into the Sealed World Bead without pausing and urged the power of the Small Sealed World to suppress Gao Xue Ting, only feeling relieved when he saw the Demon Qi on the surface of her body showing signs of stabilizing.

A huge force struck Yang Kai’s chest and abdomen with a loud bang at that moment and he felt an intense pain spreading across his body, causing his consciousness to abruptly return to the outside. Coughing up a mouthful of Golden Blood, Yang Kai’s face paled and looked rather weak. Nevertheless, he took advantage of the impact to withdraw a few thousand metres, opening up some distance from his attacker.

A few thousand metres away, Lei Gu looked at Yang Kai in amazement. He was holding a ball hammer in his hands, and his eyes were filled with surprise. Gao Xue Ting had disappeared right under his nose, making him doubt his own eyes.

Using Gao Xue Ting’s self-destruction to cause some damage to Yang Kai, then seizing the opportunity to take Yang Kai’s life could be said to have been a foolproof plan unless Yang Kai kept his distance from her without regard for her life; however, Lei Gu saw that Yang Kai showed no signs of avoiding her. Instead, Gao Xue Ting abruptly disappeared just before self-destructing, causing Lei Gu’s plans to go awry. Be that as it may, he reacted quickly and swiftly continued with the second part of the plan even though an unexpected accident had occurred. Taking advantage of the moment when Yang Kai was distracted, he struck him with his ball hammer.

Needless to say, Lei Gu had not held back with his attack, and it should have been absolutely impossible for a Second-Order Emperor Realm to survive such a blow. Yang Kai would definitely be smashed into pieces. Unfortunately, something even more unexpected occurred. Yang Kai didn’t die. The sound of bones breaking rang out loudly, a large indentation appeared in his chest, and his aura weakened considerably. Nevertheless, he survived.

It was at this moment that Lei Gu realized he had underestimated the toughness of Yang Kai’s physique. He had once seen Yang Kai in his Half-Dragon Form, so he immediately understood that he had underestimated the heritage of a Half-Dragon’s Body. However, now that things had come to this, Lei Gu had no intention of backing down either. [How long can he last with such a heavily wounded body even if he has his Space Techniques? The reason the plan for the Southern Territory failed is all because of him! How can I let him go free? He must be killed, here and now!]

Their gazes met. Lei Gu’s eyes were cold and stern, but also burned with murderous intent. On the other hand, Yang Kai’s aura was weak and his complexion was pale. Even so, he was smirking. When he grinned though, he accidentally moved in a way that aggravated his wounds; thus, he spewed out another mouthful of Golden Blood.

Lei Gu lifted his ball hammer and pointed at Yang Kai, “Little brat, you ruined this King’s plans! For that reason, today will be the day you die!” As soon as the words left his mouth, the ball hammer turned into a stream of light and appeared above Yang Kai’s head. Wrapped in a Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power, the hammer smashed down, shattering the surrounding space before it even landed.

Yang Kai took a deep breath and lifted his hand, summoning out the Mountains and Rivers Bell to block the ball hammer.

A loud clang rang out, followed by a shock wave visible to the naked eye that spread wildly, seemingly splitting the world into two like an invisible blade. The Mountains and Rivers Bell flashed wildly and was sent flying, but the ball hammer’s attack was successfully blocked.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai couldn’t withstand this impact in his injured state and his body began to fall, causing him to plunge into the muddy swamp waters. He was a complete mess, but he did not dare to remain in one place for long. Thus, he hurriedly rushed into the sky. Whilst collecting and stowing away the Mountains and Rivers Bell, he turned and fled in the direction he came from.

Even a tiger could be bullied by a dog if it leaves the mountains, and a Dragon may be teased by a shrimp if it finds itself in shallow waters. When the strong become weak, even the weak can take advantage and gain from it. At this moment, Yang Kai’s heart was full of grief and anger.

If he had been at his peak, he would not have been afraid of Lei Gu even if the latter was a Third-Order Emperor. If he was lucky, he might even be able to kill Lei Gu; however, he was distracted for a moment when he had to suppress Gao Xue Ting and prevent her from self-destructing. During that moment, he was hit in the chest by Lei Gu’s Emperor Artifact. His internal organs had all been shifted, and if not for his Half-Dragon Body being able to withstand the force of that blow, he would have been smashed to pieces already. Still, the injuries he sustained were rather serious. How could it be so easy to take the full-powered blow of an Emperor Artifact wielded by a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master? The flow of Emperor Qi in his body was unstable, and it was inconvenient for him to use his strength at the moment. Even if he used the Mountains and Rivers Bell to block his opponent’s attack, it was only dragging out his final moments.

If he did not escape immediately, he would lose his chance to escape as soon as Lei Gu caught up to him. Yang Kai was feeling quite depressed at the moment, [If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have hidden Liu Yan in the Small Sealed World. Lei Gu would be a dead man walking with Liu Yan, that little killer, around. Now, I can only buy time until my reinforcements arrive. That will mark the end of Lei Gu. It’s too bad I didn’t have the chance to kill him myself, but for now, I can only keep him occupied.]

While flying, Yang Kai suddenly heard a loud noise coming from behind and felt a terrifying pressure descending from the sky. He looked up and had a sudden impulse to curse. Dense hammer shadows were falling down from above. It was clear that Lei Gu was truly incensed and had no plans of letting Yang Kai leave this place alive.

Yang Kai took a deep breath, enduring the pain all over his body and pushed his Space Principles. As the hammer shadows rained down from the sky, they smashed huge holes in the ground one after another. Simultaneously, Yang Kai was smashed to pieces. However, Lei Gu suddenly turned his gaze to the side and looked in a different direction.

Not too far away, Yang Kai’s figure appeared out of nowhere. It was obvious he had used his teleportation Divine Ability to avoid receiving that fatal attack.

Lei Gu was so furious that he roared. He had long heard that those who were proficient in the Dao of Space were unparalleled when it came to escaping. At this moment, he realized that this reputation was well deserved. At the same time, he also inferred from the distance of the teleportation that Yang Kai was an arrow at the end of its flight. Yang Kai was incapable of using similar means of escape for more than a few more times; therefore, he immediately soared into the sky and chased Yang Kai like maggots on rotting bones, refusing to let Yang Kai escape. He Roared, “Little brat, where are you trying to run!?”

Rather than becoming angry, Yang Kai was happy when he heard those words. He had been a little worried that Lei Gu would not come after him. If that had happened instead, he would have needed to turn back to keep Lei Gu’s attention on him. That would have been far too dangerous in his current state since he could not fight with his full strength.

Chapter 3268

[Fortunately, Lei Gu seems fixated on killing me. He has no intention of letting me escape, which honestly saves me some effort.] Yang Kai took some time to grab a handful of Spirit Pills and stuffed them into his mouth. Then, he cursed Lei Gu incoherently with his mouth full, “Are you sick in the head!? If you continue chasing me, I won’t hold back anymore!”

Lei Gu sneered, “Little brat, today next year will be your death anniversary! Are you satisfied with the burial place I chose for you?” While speaking, the ball hammer in his hand turned into many streams of light and shot out.

Yang Kai could only dodge those attacks awkwardly as he had no way of retaliating whatsoever. Those attacks brushed past his body dangerously on several occasions, and he only managed to evade them by using his Space Divine Abilities. Any other person with such a heavily injured body would not have been able to escape from the fury of a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. Nevertheless, it was a miserable and pathetic sight to watch, which put Lei Gu in a good mood.

Back at Orthodoxy Temple, Yang Kai had summoned hundreds of reinforcements to surround Lei Gu. Now the tables had turned, and Lei Gu could finally rub it in Yang Kai’s face as to how unpredictable the future could be.

Still, he had to admit that Yang Kai’s survival skills were first-class. His Space Divine Ability was unpredictable when used and truly made one envious. If not for the fact that Lei Gu knew not everybody could cultivate Space Principles, he might have spared Yang Kai’s life in order to capture him alive and thoroughly interrogate him about his specific cultivation methods. It was also precisely because of this that Lei Gu’s determination to kill Yang Kai grew stronger and stronger. If he did not take the opportunity to kill Yang Kai now, he might not get another chance to do so again in the future.

Despite how long the cat-and-mouse chase had been going on, Yang Kai was still alive and kicking. The tenacity of his vitality was beyond imagination. Even so, Lei Gu could see that Yang Kai would cough up a mouthful of Golden Blood every time he used that instantaneous movement Secret Technique. It was too heavy a burden and Yang Kai was unable to withstand the cost for much longer.

“Little brat, this King can give you a painless death if you stop right now, but if you continue to run, this King will make you beg for death!” Lei Gu threatened while pursuing.

Yang Kai was so furious that smoke seemed to be coming out of his ears as he snapped back with a grievous look, “The world is vast, but if you don’t run now, you won’t get another chance to escape again! Did you really think I came here alone!?”

Upon hearing those words, Lei Gu looked shocked and involuntarily paused in the middle of controlling his Emperor Artifact. Nevertheless, he soon came back to his senses and roared in anger, “It doesn’t matter how glib-tongued you are! Don’t even think about escaping alive today!”

He believed that Yang Kai was merely bluffing. [I’m sure there were other pursuers behind us when we first left Orthodoxy Temple together, but it’s impossible that anybody managed to track us after all the effort I put in these past few days to erase my tracks. Even if we had pursuers, they would long ago have been thrown off my trail. This boy is simply trying to scare me! It’s obvious that he is a spent arrow that has reached the end of its flight!]

“Good, good, good! You don’t seem to believe me! Well, just you wait and see!” Yang Kai pressed his hand against his chest. Feeling a strong wind coming from behind, he hurriedly manipulated the Space Principles to repeat his same old trick again; however, when he attempted to teleport, an intense pain spread from his chest and left him feeling breathless. Even the Emperor Qi circulation in his body became chaotic, and as a result, he couldn’t use his Space Divine Ability.

This development shocked him greatly. His Embodiment had already laid out a trap with Liu Yan and the others up ahead and was waiting for him to lead Lei Gu into it, but if he was killed by Lei Gu in this place, all this effort would be in vain.

This was neither the first time Yang Kai suffered such severe injuries nor the first time he found himself in such a miserable state while being chased; however, this was his first time coming so close to death.

At the critical moment, he spun around abruptly and exhausted all his strength to slash the air with the Myriads Sword. All the colours in the world faded, and only the light of this sword remained. When the ball hammer smashed down, the sword wave collapsed and blood sprayed out. The sounds of bones breaking came from both Yang Kai’s arms, and his entire body was thrown backwards like a sack.

Despite adding new injuries on top of his old injuries, Yang Kai made the most accurate response at the most critical moment and managed to save himself from certain death. Borrowing the force of the ball hammer’s blow, he opened some distance between himself and Lei Gu. He then flicked his hand and brought out the two Wood Spirits from the Sealed World Bead.

It was obvious that Mu Zhu and Mu Lu did not understand what was going on and thus had blank looks on their faces when they appeared.

“Help me!” Yang Kai struggled to speak, a spurt of fresh blood coming from his mouth as he did.

Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were shocked by the sight but quickly turned to look at Lei Gu who was chasing them from behind. How could they not realize that Yang Kai was being hunted down after seeing all this? Glancing at each other, they did not hesitate to use a Secret Technique and their bodies suddenly dissipated into bits of light that gathered behind Yang Kai’s shoulder blades. A moment later, a set of delicate wings appeared behind him.

Whenever the Wood Spirits and the Stone Spirits fought together side by side, the Wood Spirits would use this method to assist the Stone Spirits, giving them the ability to fly, so this was not an unfamiliar tactic. With a flutter of those wings, Yang Kai shot forward with an incredible speed like an arrow shot from a string.

Lei Gu, who was chasing Yang Kai from behind, was startled at this sight and stared extremely suspiciously at the scene before him. [What was that? I was just about to kill him! How did he suddenly grow a pair of wings!? Preposterous! Worse, his speed increased dramatically now that he has that pair of wings!]

Furious, Lei Gu stowed away his ball hammer and pushed the Demon Qi in his body hard. It was unclear what Secret Technique he used, but he shot forward at a high speed in the next moment, stubbornly pursuing Yang Kai’s trail.

Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were clueless about the situation. All they knew was that Yang Kai was evading capture, so they used all their strength to fly. Unfortunately, Lei Gu was determined to kill Yang Kai, so how could they shake him off their trail? The distance between the two sides quickly narrowed, causing the two Wood Spirits to feel anxious. In response, the wings they transformed into flapped faster and faster.

Yang Kai weakly directed them towards a certain spot before closing his eyes to circulate his Secret Art and refine the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pills he swallowed a moment ago. A quarter of an hour passed as the cat-and-mouse chase continued. When they passed a valley surrounded by mountains though, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes.

Behind them, Lei Gu felt alarm bells ringing in his heart all of a sudden when he flew into the mountain valley. His entire body was practically screaming with a sense of extreme danger and crisis, which caused him to stop suddenly and look around with a vigilant expression.

A thousand meters away, Yang Kai also came to a halt and turned around, spat out a mouthful of blood, and stared at Lei Gu leisurely, “Go on; chase me! Why aren’t you chasing me anymore?”

A quarter-hour of recovery combined with his own powerful restorative abilities gave him some slight relief, and although he was still far from healed, he was not as weak as he had been before.

Lei Gu looked at Yang Kai coldly when he heard the words before hurriedly turning around to leave, but at that moment, a figure shot out from behind him. Fan Wu blocked Lei Gu’s path of retreat, standing there with his hands behind his back as he flatly declared, “This path is closed.”

Lei Gu’s eyes narrowed.

Without breaking a stride, he swerved to the left only to have the same thing happen again. Another figure appeared in that direction. It was a woman dressed in white palace clothes. 

Lei Gu looked to the right and similarly saw a man with a lean body and short stature appear as silently as a ghost.

His heart sank deep into the abyss at the sight of these three. He knew who they were as Yang Kai had specially introduced them to him a few days earlier. These three were all Divine Spirits.

[How is this possible!? They were waiting to ambush me here! Judging from Yang Kai’s previous actions, I was truly foolish to allow him to lead me directly into a trap like this.] There was only one thing he couldn’t understand. [How did they communicate with each other in secret? I didn’t see Yang Kai taking out any communication artifacts nor did I detect any traces of Yang Kai leaving behind clues.]

[Three Divine Spirits…] Lei Gu couldn’t even bring himself to smile bitterly. One Divine Spirit was already too much for him, much less three of them. At that moment, even his guts were filled with regret. [If I had known this was going to happen, I would have escaped directly into the Southern Swamp. Why would I have tried to hunt Yang Kai down? Now what? I fell headfirst into his trap and won’t be able to escape anymore…]

Even at such a critical juncture where his life was at stake, Lei Gu remained decisive. There were Divine Spirits to his left, right, and behind him. All three of them were not opponents he could win against. Thus, he rushed forward as it was the only path he had left if he wanted to survive. Yang Kai in his current state was certainly no match for Lei Gu at all.

Yang Kai remained motionless as Lei Gu rushed at him aggressively; however, a sardonic smile lifted the corner of his lips.

Lei Gu immediately had a bad feeling as he realized that Yang Kai was hiding a trump card still, but he was an arrow released from its string already and could not stop anymore. The Demon Qi around him flared and transformed into a giant palm that tried to grab Yang Kai.

[As long as I capture this boy, I can make those three Divine Spirits hesitant to act. That way, I can do the same thing as before and get away from here safely.]

The giant Demon Qi palm swept through the air, but just as it was about to capture Yang Kai, a petite figure suddenly appeared from behind his back. That figure was a seven-or-eight-year-old girl that was beautiful and adorable. However, what the little girl did next scared Lei Gu so much that his soul nearly escaped from his body.

Opening her mouth, the little girl blew out a breath of raging flames that seemed capable of burning everything in the world to ashes. When the giant Demon Qi palm came into contact with those flames, it was reduced to cinders. That wasn’t all; the flames turned into fire blades mid-air and struck Lei Gu.

An aura of death enveloped Lei Gu, and his expression changed drastically. Although he couldn’t figure out what kind of fire this was, he knew that he could not afford to be touched by it.

Summoning out his ball hammer again, Lei Gu made it expand to the size of a house and used it to block above his head. The fire blades slashed against the ball hammer but failed to break through its defences. However, Lei Gu noticed that a small flame was still burning on the ball hammer when he withdrew his Emperor Artifact, and no matter how much energy he poured into it, he couldn’t put out that fire. That fire continued to burn the ball hammer until it wildly flashed.

“I told you; I won’t hold back anymore if you continue chasing me, but you refused to listen to *Cough, cough, cough…*” Yang Kai clutched at his chest as he choked. He wanted to taunt Lei Gu a little more, but unfortunately, his body refused to do what his head wanted, and he had no choice but to give up on that thought.

Lei Gu’s face turned ashen. He, too, knew that there was no way he could escape from this place alive. The hatred in his heart was so strong that nothing could ever soothe it.

“Kill him!” Yang Kai waved his hand gently.

Four figures rushed towards Lei Gu from all sides, their thick murderous intent locking him in place.

Cornered, Lei Gu held up the ball hammer and roared, “The Demon Race shall never die!”

With that defiant shout, the Demon Qi in his body surged wildly and his body swelled up rapidly.

When Fan Wu and the others saw this, they all stopped in their tracks and hurriedly retreated.

Chapter 3269

Following a loud explosion, Lei Gu exploded into a cloud of blood.

Fan Wu and the others were shocked and impressed by his resolve. Even if they knew they were bound to die, not many in this world would choose to self-destruct. If they had been in his shoes, they would surely choose to die fighting. Even if the final outcome was predetermined, who would know what the results might be if they didn’t at least try to resist?

[Is the Demon Race so fanatical?] The three Divine Spirits shuddered at the thought. While they were caught up in their thoughts, Yang Kai suddenly flew down weakly and began searching among Lei Gu’s remains.

Luan Feng frowned and landed lightly next to him, asking in a somewhat annoyed tone, “What are you looking for? Why aren’t you healing your wounds?”

Yang Kai coughed lightly and explained, “As long as their Demon Heart remains, a Demon will not die!”

Back in the Thousand Illusions Dreamworld, Yang Kai had dealt with the Demon Race for years and understood just how tenacious the Demon Race’s vitality was. Even if the body had been destroyed, they could revive again as long as their Demon Heart was not destroyed; therefore, one must completely destroy all Demon Hearts to really kill those from the Demon Race.

Although Lei Gu had resolutely chosen to self-destruct, Yang Kai still had to guard against him feigning death to escape. Fortunately, he did not find anything similar to a Demon Heart after searching around for a while. It would seem that being possessed by a Demon Spirit was a little different from being born as a member of the Demon Race.

Nevertheless, he made Liu Yan burn down the entire area just to be safe. Only then did he let out a breath of relief. Even if Lei Gu planned to escape just now, there was no way he could revive again after being incinerated by Liu Yan’s Phoenix Fire.

Then, the Embodiment and Wen Zi Shan came over from the sidelines. They had remained in hiding a little further away so that they could guard against Lei Gu’s escape. Who could have known that they would have no chance to participate? 

Nonetheless, it was only thanks to the connection between the Embodiment and Yang Kai that they managed to pull off this trap safely and catch Lei Gu off guard. If that were not the case, Yang Kai would not have agreed to follow Lei Gu alone so readily. The Embodiment had been his greatest trump card.

When the few people gathered, they didn’t say much. Yang Kai was severely injured and required immediate treatment; however, he made a single statement to Wen Zi Shan before disappearing, “She’s fine…”

Yang Kai immediately handed the Sealed World Bead to Liu Yan for safekeeping before entering the Small Sealed World to heal his injuries. The existence of the Sealed World Bead was his biggest secret and trump card, but there was not as much of a need to deliberately keep it secret anymore as he had grown stronger. Besides, Fan Wu and the others would not publicize this matter, so it wasn’t a big deal if the secret of the Sealed World Bead was exposed to them. Likewise, Wen Zi Shan was someone he could trust.

Wen Zi Shan wanted to ask Yang Kai more about Gao Xue Ting, but he couldn’t find the opportunity to do so. Before he could ask anything, Yang Kai had already disappeared into the strange bead. Such an item must be one of Yang Kai’s cards and Wen Zi Shan was tactful enough to not pry further. Nonetheless, he knew that answers would have to wait.

Unfortunately, he could not simply just stand around waiting. He was still a Sect Master and had duties to perform, especially during such a crisis. What’s more, he was not the only one eager to go back.

The thirty-two Monster Kings were still back at Orthodoxy Temple, and who knows what sort of trouble they would have caused by now? One should not be fooled by their appearances. Although they acted docile in front of Yang Kai, each one of them was truly an unruly individual; therefore, nobody wanted to stay here for too long.

It was then that the Embodiment spoke up. He told Wen Zi Shan to head back first while the rest would stay and check the area to make certain that Lei Gu was truly dead.

Inside the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai appeared in the medicine garden and sat cross-legged before the Immortal Tree while Mu Zhu and Mu Lu used their Secret Technique to guide its essence to treat his injuries.

He had used the Immortal Tree to treat his injuries many times before, but he mostly consumed the leaves directly. There were not many leaves on the Immortal Tree in the first place, so it was almost bald after it was plucked over the years by him. He didn’t dare to touch the rest of its leaves for fear that he might damage the foundation of the Immortal Tree. Fortunately, the Wood Spirit Clan’s mysterious methods could pull the vitality from the Immortal Tree and pour it into his body without harming the Immortal Tree.

Supplemented by his strong physique and powerful restoration ability, Yang Kai was almost fully recovered within three days and felt delighted by the speed of recovery. Without the assistance of the two Wood Spirits, it would have taken him at least a month to recover from the injuries he sustained this time.

In his joy, he generously praised Mu Zhu and Mu Lu for their magical methods. He complimented them so much that the two Wood Spirits were blushing furiously and feeling extremely shy.

After he recovered, he finally had the time to deal with Gao Xue Ting. Gao Xue Ting had been infected by Demon Qi and both her body and mind had been demonified. Afterwards, she was controlled by Lei Gu and nearly self-destructed. It was only thanks to Yang Kai pulling her into the Small Sealed World and suppressing her in time that she managed to survive.

With a flicker, Yang Kai came to the area where a number of houses remained. Gao Xue Ting was currently being suppressed in one of these huts. Pushing open the door and entering, Yang Kai was slightly taken aback because she suddenly turned to look at him with a pair of pitch-black eyes when she noticed somebody approaching her. Then, she made a strange sound from her throat and looked at him with a hideous expression as if she wanted to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

That change in her behaviour made him frown. Based on his previous observations, the Demons in Orthodoxy Temple were divided into two types. One was like Lei Gu and Feng Ming who were possessed by Demon Spirits. These Demons were complete Demons and possessed sentience. They were also fully dedicated to the Demon Race.

The other type was those like Gao Xue Ting and the others from the Southern Territory that had been infected by Demon Qi and underwent Demon Transformation. They did not have the ability to act and think independently and needed to be controlled by the former type of Demon.

Now, however, Gao Xue Ting was clearly showing some signs of independent thought. However, that was not her own consciousness. Judging from that hideous expression, it was a reaction formed after she was demonified.

Yang Kai walked over to her and looked at her with a complicated expression. He called out to her a few times in a soft voice, but she did not react at all. She only continued to growl and struggle against her restraints. If not for the fact that her cultivation had been suppressed, she might have already lunged at him.

It made Yang Kai wonder whether the rest of the Demons with no consciousness would also become like this, acting based on their instincts, if enough time had passed after they were demonified. If that was the case, then the situation at Orthodoxy Temple might be a little tricky.

No longer hesitating, Yang Kai’s aura changed abruptly. It became ancient and desolate, almost as if he had walked out of a scroll depicting the primordial world. He formed a seal with his hands and began chanting at the same time. Following that, a ray of light penetrated Gao Xue Ting’s body. It was the Bloodlust Spell, one of the most commonly used Shamanic Spells and a method proven to be very effective at resisting Demon Qi corruption.

Red light shone brightly in an instant as the Blood Essence in Gao Xue Ting’s body was stimulated. She looked like she was covered in a layer of red light, and a tinge of pain flashed across her face. Concurrently, the boundless black Qi oozing out from the surface of her body intertwined with the red light as both tried to destroy each other.

Then, Yang Kai began chanting the Demon Exorcism Spell. A cold light descended from the sky, cleansing both Gao Xue Ting’s body and her mind. A hissing sound rang out as wisps of black smoke escaped from her body as if it had met its natural enemy, soon dissipating into nothing.

Yang Kai stood in front of Gao Xue Ting with a solemn expression, impatiently casting the Demon Exorcism Spell. As time passed, the Demon Qi flowing out of her body became less and less dense and the black and red light that had been flickering unsteadily began to show signs that the red light was taking dominance.

Finally, the blackness in her eyes faded away and she blinked blankly as her vision focused. Soon after, Gao Xue Ting saw Yang Kai standing in front of her with a smile, a peculiar ancient aura lingering around his figure.

“Junior Brother…” Gao Xue Ting called out softly, seemingly extremely weak.

“Senior Sister Gao, you’re awake!” Yang Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After such a long delay, he had been worried that she could no longer be saved. Fortunately, the Ancient Shamanic Spells seemed to still be quite effective against Demon Qi so his efforts had not been in vain.

“Why are you…” Gao Xue Ting was still feeling very confused about her situation. She only knew that her entire body was very weak at the moment. Moreover, traces of an unsettling power remained in her meridians and her body.

“Senior Sister, do you remember what happened?” he asked while looking at her.

“What happened…” She frowned, her thoughts a confused mess.

“At Orthodoxy Temple during the Southern Territory Martial Gathering!” He reminded her.

Gao Xue Ting was jerked awake when she heard those words and her pupils contracted as she anxiously said, “There’s a conspiracy going on at Orthodoxy Temple! Junior Brother, hurry up and warn the Temple Master!”

Yang Kai hurriedly comforted her, “Senior Sister Gao, calm down. The conspiracy at Orthodoxy Temple has been thwarted. Lei Gu and Feng Ming have also been brought to justice.”

“Lei Gu and Feng Ming are dead?” Her expression changed before quickly asking, “What were they planning?”

Yang Kai countered her question with another question, “How much do you remember, Senior Sister?”

She shook her head slowly, “I’m not sure. That night, Junior Brother Luo and I received an invitation from Elder Feng… Feng Ming to visit his residence to discuss our cultivation experiences. More than twenty others were there with us, but after drinking something, we all fell asleep and couldn’t wake up.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly. Whatever it was that demonified Gao Xue Ting and the others should have been in that drink. He had previously wondered how a group of Emperor Realm Masters could fall to the Demon Transformation so easily. As long as one of them noticed a hint of something strange, they only needed to push their Emperor Qi to defend themselves. That should have allowed them to fight back to some extent. In the worst case, they could still have raised a fuss and alerted others.

It now appeared that Feng Ming had used a method similar to poisoning to inject Gao Xue Ting and the others with Demon Qi from the inside. There was no way they could have defended against that and probably never would have imagined that Feng Ming would do something like this. After all, they had all known each other for many years, making it easy for Feng Ming to deceive them and get them to lower their defenceless.

“Where is Junior Brother Luo?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shook his head. He had not seen Luo Chen since that night at the mountain peak ambush and only knew he too had been demonified.

“And where is this place?”

Yang Kai smiled, “It’s a Sealed World. Senior Sister Gao, please rest peacefully. We will arrive back at Orthodoxy Temple soon.” After saying that, he took out a bottle of Emperor Grade recovery pills and placed it next to her. She had been corrupted by Demon Qi, which damaged her foundation, and she nearly self-destructed under Lei Gu’s command. Although Yang Kai had forcibly suppressed this self-destruct, Gao Xue Ting would still have suffered some damage.

She did not act reserved around him, picked up the jade bottle, took out a Spirit Pill, and stuffed it into her mouth. While refining the medicinal efficacies of the pill, she asked, “What exactly happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai sighed. Sitting cross-legged opposite her, he briefly recounted everything that happened over the last few days. Her expression changed constantly as she listened as she never imagined that the Southern Territory Martial Gathering would be involved in such a terrifying conspiracy.

Yang Kai’s tone was calm and collected, but nevertheless, Gao Xue Ting realized that if he had not come along on this trip and mysteriously rallied a large number of reinforcements from the Northern and Eastern Territories, the Southern Territory would have been finished. If Orthodoxy Temple’s conspiracy had succeeded, there would have been hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters and tens of thousands of elite who experienced demonification who would then scatter throughout the Southern Territory. In time, the entire Southern Territory would have been turned into a Demon Paradise.

He appeared in the next chapter as though he knew nothing and wasn’t here.

Original parts changed:

Then, Embodiment sneaked over from the side. He had remained in hiding a little further away so that he could guard against Lei Gu’s escape. Who could have known that he would have no chance to shine? Still, it was only thanks to the connection between him and Yang Kai that they managed to pull off this trap safely and catch Lei Gu off guard. If that were not the case, Yang Kai would not have agreed to follow Lei Gu alone so readily. Embodiment had been his greatest trump card.

When the few people gathered together, they didn’t say much. Yang Kai was severely injured and required immediate treatment. They also still had to clean up the mess back at Orthodoxy Temple. The 32 Monster Kings were still at that place. Who knows what sort of trouble they caused by now? One should not be fooled by their appearances. Although they acted docile in front of Yang Kai, each one of them was truly an unruly individual. Therefore, nobody wanted to stay here for long and immediately returned in the direction they came.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai handed the Sealed World Bead to Liu Yan for safekeeping before hiding in the Small Sealed World to heal his injuries. The existence of the Sealed World Bead was his biggest secret and trump card, but it was no longer a need to deliberately keep it secret anymore as he grew stronger and stronger over time. Besides, Fan Wu and the others would not publicize this matter, so it wasn’t a big deal if the secret of the Sealed World Bead was exposed to them.

There was no need to explain as Liu Yan and the others travelled back to Orthodoxy Temple. On the other hand, Yang Kai came to the medicine garden and sat cross-legged under the Immortal Tree while Mu Zhu and Mu Lu used their Secret Technique to guide the essence of the Immortal Tree to treat his injuries.

Chapter 3270

Orthodoxy Temple was one of the top three Sects in the Southern Territory, but it was now a chaotic mess. There were broken ruins everywhere and traces of the great battle from before were clearly visible.

The remaining cultivators camped separately on the numerous mountain peaks in the area. All their faces were filled with a lingering sense of fear. They couldn’t help shuddering slightly whenever they recalled the experience they went through over the past few days.

On the other hand, the people from the Northern Territory tirelessly went around to check on some of the Emperor Realm Masters of the Southern Territory. The thirty-two Monster Kings from the Ancient Wild Lands occupied an entire Spirit Peak alone. They had managed to procure a lot of food and wine from somewhere and they were celebrating merrily, having the time of their lives. Their celebrative atmosphere formed a stark contrast with the gloom and depression among those from the Southern Territory. To those of the Monster Race, the life and death of these Humans were none of their concern. They would never have intervened in the affairs of the Southern Territory if they had not followed Yang Kai here.

Meanwhile, the people of the Southern Territory were glad that the current situation between the Humans and the Monster Kings was only as such. It was no lie to say that each and every one of those Monster Kings was not to be trifled with. Moreover, most of the Monster Race had innately violent personalities. Conflicts might arise if they were to co-mingle with the Humans, and there was nobody here that could stop them if it came to that; thus, nobody objected to their actions; they could drink and have fun all they want if that was what they wanted to do.

A few days passed just like that. Murong Xiao Xiao quietly floated in mid-air and monitored the surroundings for any commotion. All of a sudden, her expression became stern as she carefully studied something that appeared on the horizon. A moment later, she happily shouted downward, “They’re back!”

*Shua…* 

Wen Zi Shan’s figure suddenly appeared beside her. He looked nervously in that direction and saw several figures rushing towards them at a high speed. Yang Kai was in the lead, followed by the seven-or-eight-year-old little girl, then the three great Divine Spirits of the Eastern Territory, and… no one else. Seeing this, Wen Zi Shan’s complexion suddenly became as pale as could be, and his fists clenched tightly together.

Similarly, Murong Xiao Xiao seemed to have realized something and her pretty face changed slightly, her eyes reddening.

“Temple Master!” Yang Kai flew over to Wen Zi Shan and cupped his fists. He then noticed that Wen Zi Shan and Murong Xiao Xiao’s expressions were a little off, so he couldn’t help feeling worried for a moment, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Zi Shan hesitated a moment before speaking up, “You’ve worked hard.” He then opened his mouth again as if he had a question he wanted to ask but didn’t dare to, lest he heard an answer he did not want to hear.

Murong Xiao Xiao asked the question on his behalf in a choked-up voice, “Where is Senior Sister Gao?”

Only then did Yang Kai understand why these two had such solemn expressions. It turned out to be related to Gao Xue Ting’s safety. His expression became serious, and he said in a low voice, “Senior Sister Gao, she…”

Upon hearing those words, Murong Xiao Xiao promptly covered her mouth with her hands as large, pea-like tears slid down her cheeks as she broke down in tears.

Yang Kai instantly felt speechless. [I haven’t even finished talking. Why are you crying? I already told him before that she is fine… He should have shared this piece of information with you. Why are you immediately assuming the worst?]

Turning to glance at Wen Zi Shan, he discovered that Wen Zi Shan had an extremely mournful expression that looked more sorrowful than death itself, he even swayed unsteadily on his feet as though he would collapse at any time.

“Senior Sister Gao was injured, but it’s nothing too serious.” Yang Kai finally finished his sentence. At the same time, he stretched out his hand to summon Gao Xue Ting from the Small Sealed World.

Gao Xue Ting looked a little confused, suddenly being brought to a new place, but she quickly pushed her Emperor Qi to steady herself. Lifting her head to look around, she asked curiously, “Junior Sister, what happened to you?”

Murong Xiao Xiao’s tears were still flowing down her face, but her eyes widened and she looked at Gao Xue Ting stupidly for a moment before she burst into laughter and called out softly, “Senior Sister Gao!”

Gao Xue Ting nodded lightly before looking at Wen Zi Shan and furrowed her brow slightly, “And what’s wrong with you?”

Wen Zi Shan gulped with some difficulty and walked over to her slowly, looking as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. He finally came to a standstill when he stood in front of her, then he reached out a hand to stroke her face.

A blush instantly crept onto Gao Xue Ting’s face as she leaned back slightly and bit her red lips lightly, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t move!” Wen Zi Shan shouted, causing her body to stiffen as she obediently stayed still and allowed that large hand to press against half of her face. A slight tremor came from that hand, making her feel confused, but when she realized that he was tremendously worried about her safety, a shy expression immediately appeared in her eyes. Even so, her heart felt incredibly warm.

[How many years has it been since he last looked so worried? The last time was probably during that incident when I was just a child where I snuck out to play and nearly got myself eaten by a Monster Beast…] Lost in her memories, Gao Xue Ting felt like time had reversed for a moment as bits and pieces of memories of their time together over hundreds of years flashed through her mind.

In the next moment, he pinched her cheek hard as though he wanted to pull her flesh off and with widened eyes he asked anxiously, “Does it hurt?”

Yang Kai, who had been watching the show from the side with great relish, palmed his forehead and couldn’t bear to look straight at them anymore.

The blush receded from Gao Xue Ting’s face and an icy cold light flashed from her eyes. Her leg came out from under her skirt and swiftly kicked Wen Zi Shan in the stomach, sending him flying with a loud bam. Her expression remained frosty as she coldly snorted, “Does it hurt?”

Wen Zi Shan doubled over in pain, his hand clutching at his abdomen. Even so, he was smiling happily, “It hurts! It hurts! It hurts to death!”

“What is wrong with you!?” She rubbed at her cheek and turned to look at Murong Xiao Xiao, “I’m fine. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Murong Xiao Xiao nodded repeatedly and vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice. A moment later, her expression darkened again, “Senior Brother Luo, he… he fell.”

Yang Kai’s expression shifted slightly, “Senior Brother Luo died?”

Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks again. Although Yang Kai had suspected as much, he still couldn’t help feeling a little forlorn when he heard the news. He and Luo Chen had not interacted much, but they were both from Azure Sun Temple after all. It was only natural to feel a little saddened by this news.

“What about Xiao Bai?” Yang Kai asked. Although he was sure that what he ‘killed’ before was just an illusion, he didn’t know the specific details about how Xiao Bai Yi was faring.

Murong Xiao Xiao replied, “Senior Brother Xiao was slightly injured, but it’s nothing serious.”

At that moment, Wen Zi Shan regained his usual composure and sighed softly, “The Southern Territory… Has suffered heavy losses in this incident.”

Yang Kai raised his gaze and looked at the people down below. Sweeping the surroundings with his Divine Sense, he got a vague grasp of the current situation. Great losses were certainly suffered. Approximately a third of the several hundred Emperor Realm Masters had lost their lives. Similarly, about half of the tens of thousands of elite disciples were dead too. The Southern Territory would need at least five hundred years to recover from such a catastrophe.

“What’s the situation over there?” He suddenly pointed his finger at the mountain valley where the Martial Gathering was held and was currently wrapped in countless layers of vines. At a glance, the entire mountain valley looked like a ball made out of vines. Furthermore, a dreadful and terrifying pitch-black Demon Qi continued to churn within, even dyeing some of the vines black.

Hundreds of petite Wood Spirits were surrounding the mountain valley and seemed to be continuously using Secret Techniques while under the protection of the Stone Spirits.

Wen Zi Shan explained, “It’s the doing of the Wood Spirits you brought with you. They seem to have a way to suppress the Demon Qi, so we placed all those that were demonified there.” After saying that, he sighed, “But, that’s not a solution. What they are doing doesn’t solve the root of the problem. Those people will be completely corrupted by Demon Qi, sooner or later, and when that happens… There’s nothing we can do for them anymore.”

“I’ll go and take a look,” Yang Kai said before rushing in that direction.

Ma Qing and Xiao Yu Yang were guarding this area as well. Nobody knew how effective the Wood Spirits’ methods were, so if those demonified cultivators went wild and began acting violent, somebody would need to be around to subdue them.

Those two had naturally noticed Yang Kai’s return a long time ago, but they had a duty to fulfil; hence, they could not go over to ask about the situation. When Ma Qing saw Yang Kai coming over, he anxiously asked, “Is he really dead?”

“Lei Gu is definitely dead.”

Both Ma Qing and Xiao Yu Yang’s expressions brightened hearing those words and they both nodded, “Good!”

Who knows what would happen in the future if Lei Gu was allowed to escape? Since Lei Gu had been brought to justice, then this matter was more or less settled. The only issue left to deal with were these demonified cultivators. They were rather troubled by this issue. There were many such cultivators here, at least ten thousand of them. It was one thing to kill them off in battle; however, they had captured these tens of thousands of Demons that they could neither kill nor release. It was extremely troubling, to say the least. Besides, practically every Sect had disciples among these ten thousand. Who could harden their hearts and slaughter every one of them? While they were borrowing the power of the Wood Spirits to suppress the Demon Qi with mysterious methods, it was only a temporary solution rather than a permanent cure.

Xiao Yu Yang thoughtfully asked, “Elder Yang, do you have a way to awaken the consciousness of these Demons?” He had seen that Gao Xue Ting had returned safely and soundly, which served as the basis for his conjecture. Gao Xue Ting had previously been demonified, and yet she currently looked no different from normal. That could only mean that the Demon Qi in her body had been purged somehow. The only ones who could do something so mysterious were either Yang Kai or the three Divine Spirits. Having seen what Yang Kai was capable of, Xiao Yu Yang had higher expectations of him than the three Divine Spirits.

“I’ll try,” Yang Kai nodded. He would have done the same even without Xiao Yu Yang saying anything. Turning to look at Mu Na, who was standing not too far away, Yang Kai called out, “Matriarch, please withdraw your Secret Technique.”

Mu Na nodded when she heard those words before coordinating with the other Wood Spirits. The vines that were wrapping around the mountain valley soon retracted and revealed the situation inside.

Ten thousand Demons stood there motionlessly as Yang Kai studied them for a moment. [If my guess is right… Not enough time has passed since they were demonified, so they don’t have the ability to act independently for the time being. They can’t move unless they are being controlled by a Demon Spirit. Good, that will make things a bit easier for me.]

With a slight shift of his body, Yang Kai stood in the sky above the centre of the mountain valley. He gave a wave of his hand and brought out several Demons in the Emperor Realm who had been suppressed in the Small Sealed World all this time. These Demons were the ones who attacked him on top of the mountain previously and subsequently got knocked out, captured, and suppressed inside the Small Sealed World by him. Now that he was about to exorcise the Demon Qi, it was only natural to bring them out so that he could treat them too.

When all the preparations were complete, Yang Kai took a light breath and simultaneously closed his eyes. In front of everyone’s fixed gazes, his eyes jerked open and the aura around his body underwent an unbelievable change, becoming extremely ancient and desolate.

Xiao Yu Yang and Ma Qing both watched in amazement. Exchanging a glance, the two of them could both see the other was completely at a loss about what technique could be so peculiar.

When a difficult-sounding chant rang out, Yang Kai slowly lowered his fingers and pointed. A faint light bloomed at the tip of his fingers and a circle of light suddenly fluctuated and spread out, sweeping across the bodies of the ten thousand cultivators below.

Chapter 3271

It was as though somebody had sprinkled a pinch of salt into a frying pan. When that light dissipated, an incredible scene appeared. The bodies of those ten thousand Demons were glowing bright red as though they had been pumped full of vitality. Their auras concurrently increased with great momentum.

The expressions on Wen Zi Shan, Ma Qing, and Xiao Yu Yang’s faces changed drastically all at once to reveal extremely horrified expressions. Ma Qing even blurted out, “What Secret Technique is that!?”

This Secret Technique was simply unheard of and never seen before. When that red light flared brightly, the auras of those ten thousand Demons increased significantly, increasing their overall strength to a whole new level in an instant. A Secret Technique like this was simply a miracle. Just imagine; if two groups of people were evenly matched in battle and one side suddenly received the support of this Secret Technique, the outcome of the battle would become a foregone conclusion. Not to mention, Yang Kai’s Secret Technique could cover ten thousand people at once.

Neither Ma Qing, Xiao Yu Yang, nor Wen Zi Shan had ever seen anything like it before; thus, all three of them were dumbfounded.

On the other hand, the Three Divine Spirits, who had followed along, glanced at each other in surprise with Cang Gou frowning as he muttered, “Why does that seem like…”

The words that came after that were too soft to hear despite Ma Qing, Xiao Yu Yang, and Wen Zi Shan listening intently.

Fan Wu nodded in agreement, “It does look like it.”

Luan Feng furrowed her delicate brow deeply as she commented, “It can’t be. How could he possibly cast that technique?”

Although the three of them had never seen this Secret Technique before, they had seen something similar in the memories passed down to them through the inheritance of their Divine Spirit Source, making them uncertain.

Their conversation went back and forth, leaving Ma Qing and the others dying of curiosity. They were almost at the point where they wanted to scratch their cheeks in frustration. [If you have something to say, say it clearly! Why do you have to act so mysterious about it!?]

Nevertheless, they did not dare to act so presumptuously in front of the three Divine Spirits.

At this moment, the chanting coming from Yang Kai’s mouth suddenly changed. He pointed downward again and a clean and pure light at the tip of his fingers flared out brightly. The tens of thousands of Demons all groaned in pain when the milky white light swept over them. Following that, traces of Demon Qi began to leak out of their bodies and dissipate into nothingness.

Ma Qing stared wide-eyed, “He actually did it!”

It wasn’t that they had not tried to force out the Demon Qi from the bodies of these demonified cultivators before, it was just that nothing they tried had succeeded. The strange Demon Qi was very hard to deal with, and even if they managed to expel some of it, they couldn’t purge it completely, much less extract it with ease like Yang Kai had just done. They could only perform painstaking cleansings one by one, but Yang Kai had covered ten thousand people all at once with his strange Secret Technique. The gap between these two methods were incomparable.

“An Ancient Shamanic Spell!” Fan Wu exclaimed softly, looking shaken. It had only been a suspicion before, but he was certain now. It was no Secret Technique that Yang Kai was casting, but a genuine Ancient Shamanic Spell!

“An Ancient Shamanic Spell?” Ma Qing widened his eyes and looked at Fan Wu curiously before he humbly asked, “Brother Fan, do you mean to say that this Secret Technique is an inheritance from ancient times?”

Fan Wu glanced sidelong at Ma Qing before promptly ignoring the latter. He was a Divine Spirit; moreover, each and every one of the Monster Kings under his command could rival a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master in power. Ma Qing himself was nothing but a mere Third-Order Emperor Realm Master. In the Ancient Wild Lands, Ma Qing’s status would at best be equal to Fan Wu’s subordinate, so how dare he act so friendly! It would be strange if Fan Wu did not ignore Ma Qing.

Seeing the disdain in Fan Wu’s eyes, Ma Qing’s face flushed red in response; unfortunately, he was helpless since he knew the other party’s strength. As such, he didn’t dare to act out here, making him feel incredibly embarrassed.

Wen Zi Shan secretly laughed in his heart but spoke calmly on the surface, “That little boy is extremely blessed. To think he even got his hands on some Ancient Secret Techniques. This will be a great help to us.”

Fan Wu replied indifferently, “This has nothing to do with obtaining Ancient Secret Techniques.”

“What do you mean?” Wen Zi Shan looked at Fan Wu curiously. 

Perhaps it was because of his relationship with Yang Kai, but Fan Wu’s attitude towards him wasn’t as aloof. As such, Fan Wu pondered for a moment before explaining, “It’s not like there are no Ancient Secret Techniques inherited from the ancient times in the Star Boundary, but have you ever seen anybody use them before?”

Wen Zi Shan frowned, “No, I have not. Perhaps those who had inherited them treasure them so greatly that they hide those techniques away?”

Luan Feng laughed lightly, “No, in fact, it’s simply not possible to cultivate them.”

Wen Zi Shan was taken aback by those words and couldn’t help asking, “Why?”

Luan Feng explained, “Every era has its own unique World Principles. Accordingly, the corresponding Secret Techniques of those eras correspond to those specific World Principles. A Shamanic Spell is something from ancient times and can only be cultivated in an environment with World Principles akin to those ancient times. The World Principles in the Star Boundary of today simply cannot meet the requirements for the cultivation of those Secret Techniques.”

Ma Qing and Wen Zi Shan looked at each other, “There’s something like that?”

Although their cultivations were quite high and they were rather knowledgeable, they had never heard of such a theory before. Only beings like Divine Spirits, who were peculiar existences that had inherited memories of their ancestors through their Sources would grasp such concepts.

Xiao Yu Yang nodded lightly, “I have heard the Great Emperor mentioning something similar before. The Great Emperor once said that there was no way for the many Secret Techniques of our current era to bloom if we were to enter a new era.”

Fan Wu nodded, “Exactly.”

Ma Qing uttered in astonishment, “But… That means Elder Yang managed to successfully cultivate and cast a technique impossible to cultivate or cast… How did he do it?”

[That’s right. How was this possible?] Ma Qing wasn’t the only one who couldn’t figure it out. Even the three Divine Spirits did not understand. They even suspected that Yang Kai had encountered other opportunities when he was roaming the Ancient Wild Lands. Perhaps, these Ancient Shamanic Spell were something he successfully cultivated there.

The reason why the Ancient Wild Lands received its name was that it was a place that inherited the aura of the Ancient Star Boundary. It remained unchanged over the aeons, so the World Principles in the Ancient Wild Lands were slightly different from those of the rest of the Star Boundary.

Ordinary cultivators were suppressed to a certain extent upon entering the Ancient Wild Lands because of this variance in World Principles. If there was any place in this world where Yang Kai could cultivate an Ancient Shamanic Spell, it would be the Ancient Wild Lands.

However, Fan Wu and the others had never heard of any inheritance related to Shamanic Spells in the Ancient Wild Lands. Furthermore, the time Yang Kai spent in the Ancient Wild Lands was not that long, so the question remained, just where did he cultivate these Ancient Shamanic Spells?

“Since the three of you know that these are Ancient Shamanic Spells, do you know which specific Spells he is using?” Ma Qing asked again.

Fan Wu replied, “If my guess is correct, then the first one he casted is called the Bloodlust Spell.”

“Bloodlust Spell?” Ma Qing raised an eyebrow in response.

Fan Wu continued, “It stimulates the Blood Essence in a target’s body and can greatly increase that person’s physical strength for a certain period of time. I believe you can use similar Secret Techniques yourselves.”

Ma Qing was taken aback. After feeling so envious of that Secret Technique for such a long time, it turned out to be a Secret Technique like that. It was only natural that they knew similar Secret Techniques. In fact, most cultivators could master such Secret Techniques, let alone the few of them. It was only a matter of how useful such a technique was. Be that as it may, stimulating one’s Blood Essence might increase one’s strength for a short period of time, but they would be weakened after using it and forced to recuperate for varying lengths of time as a result.

“This is one of the fundamental Shamanic Spells that the Ancient Barbarian Race used in order to survive,” Luan Feng continued, “The Ancient Barbarian Race did not cultivate the Martial Dao we currently thrive on. Only a few of them had the aptitude to cultivate Shamanic Spells while the rest focused on Body Tempering. It was also said that some of them could achieve Sanctification purely through Body Tempering. Such Masters had power no less than those of the Great Emperors of today. It is precisely because of the strong bodies of the Ancient Barbarian Race that they could withstand the Bloodlust Spell time and time again and survive in the harsh environments of that era. With the current physical prowess of most cultivators in the Star Boundary today, I’m afraid they won’t be able to bear the effects of the Bloodlust Spell more than a handful of times before permanent damage is done to their foundations.”

“I can’t believe that such a technique used to exist.” Ma Qing sighed. Upon learning the truth behind the Bloodlust Spell, there was no need to covet it anymore as it could only be used if one had a strong enough body to support it.

“The three of you are really well-informed.” Despite knowing that the three Divine Spirits only learned about this through their Source Inheritances, it didn’t hurt to maintain good relations with them. Besides, it was not as if flattery cost anything.

Although Fan Wu and the others did not bother to explain the second Spell, everyone understood that it was probably similar to a heart purifying technique; however, it seemed to be more effective than that and could almost be said to be the nemesis of Demon Qi.

Yang Kai patiently performed the Demon Exorcism Spell over and over again. Low roars and howls of pain rang out endlessly from the mountain valley while at the same time, traces of Demon Qi escaped from the bodies of the ten thousand cultivators and melted quickly like snowflakes under the scorching sun.

Half a day later, the situation of the ten thousand in the mountain valley was much better than before. Some of them were gradually regaining their senses; thus, they sat down cross-legged and coordinated with Yang Kai’s Spell to speed up their recovery.

After an entire day, Yang Kai had no choice but to stop and rest for a while. The continuous use of the Demon Exorcism Spell nearly exhausted his entire reserve of Emperor Qi. He consumed several Emperor Spirit Pills and took out some Source Crystals to recuperate before continuing with his efforts an hour later.

It took three whole days for all the Demon Qi within the bodies of those ten thousand cultivators in the mountain valley to be completely purified. Unfortunately, not all of them could be saved. At least a thousand of them had been completely corrupted by Demon Qi and even Yang Kai’s Demon Exorcism Spell could not save them. Performing this spell now only caused harm to them without any healing effect.

For a time, the mountain valley was filled with a miserable aura. The cultivators that had recovered were taken away by their Elders or comrades to rest in a different area. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu Yang and the others had long concluded what had to be done regarding the remaining thousand Demons. Since they could not be rescued, then they could only give them a painless death.

Xiao Yu Yang personally took action, flattening the entire mountain valley in a single move, burying the one thousand Demons together in an instant. Then, the scene became even more tragic than before, and soft sobbing sounds could be heard everywhere. All the major Sects that came to participate in the Southern Territory Martial Gathering this time, regardless of whether they were strong or weak, all had suffered serious losses. Some of the worst-hit Sects were nearly wiped out, leaving only a few survivors left alive.

Azure Sun Temple also suffered some losses. One Emperor Realm Elder died, and among the disciples who came to participate in the Martial Gathering, nearly half of those in the Origin King Realm and Origin Returning Realm had perished while slightly fewer Dao Source Realm disciples had died. If Wen Zi Shan had not noticed that something was wrong and immediately taken measures to protect the disciples, the results would have been much worse.

Many lamented how this event had destroyed the foundations of the Sect or clan.

“Elder Yang, we still need your assistance with these people.”

While Yang Kai was resting, Ma Qing, Wen Zi Shan, and Xiao Yu Yang came to meet him together. There was a group of Emperor Realm Masters escorting two groups of people behind them. There were not many people in these two groups. One group had eight people in it, while the other had a dozen.

On the surface, nothing peculiar stood out about these people. It was just that their cultivations had been sealed. The group of eight on the left had gloomy expressions and looked like dead men walking. On the other hand, the dozen people on the right were yelling about injustice. Most of these people were in the Emperor Realm but some were weaker as well.

Chapter 3272

The Abyssal Returner, Ah Wang, had also followed them over. She was currently being held in Liu Yan’s arms and was baring her fangs and growling at the second group of a dozen people. Those dozen seemed to be extremely afraid of her and each one of them had eyes that were filled with a deep sense of fear.

Yang Kai glanced at them pensively. Fixing his gaze on the first group of eight people, he asked, “Have they all been possessed by Demon Spirits?”

Wen Zi Shan nodded with a grim expression, “Yes. Do you think you can save them?”

“It will be difficult.” Yang Kai shook his head slowly. Although he had not tried it before, he knew that those who had been possessed by Demon Spirits were fundamentally different from those who were corrupted by Demon Qi. Even if he used Ancient Shamanic Spells on them, the chances of success were slim to none.

“Please give it a try,” Ma Qing begged. One of those people was an Elder of Heavenly Martial Holy Land and Ma Qing could not bring himself to watch such a tragic ending.

Yang Kai nodded, “En. But please don’t get your hopes up, Holy Master Ma.”

“Please make every effort, Elder Yang.” Ma Qing smiled bitterly.

Yang Kai got up, walked over to those Demons, and studied them closely. If he had to be honest with himself, he could not detect any traces of corruption from these people even now, they all just looked like ordinary Humans. It was no wonder that the entire Southern Territory was still in the dark about the situation when Orthodoxy Temple had already fallen.

Those eight people included men and women, young and old. Yang Kai circled around them once and randomly stopped in front of a young man. When their gazes met, the young man’s eyes revealed his nervousness.

Yang Kai smiled at the young man and began chanting. He then touched a finger to the young man’s forehead and a milky white light on his fingertip burst out, penetrating into the young man’s head.

The light was cleansing and that young man suddenly began shaking all over in fear. His expression became savage and horrendous and a beast-like howl came out of his mouth as he struggled even harder than before. Nevertheless, he was helpless. He had many seals placed on his body, so how could he escape?

Under the Demon Exorcism Spell, Demon Qi soon burst forth from the young man’s body. Although the Demon Qi in his body began to dissipate at a constant rate as the Demon Exorcism Spell took effect, his Spiritual Essence also wilted accordingly. His complexion turned deathly pale and in a very short period of time, he was sweating so profusely that he looked like he had been fished out of the sea. His clothes were soaked through and after a while, his eyes rolled back and he completely lost consciousness.

Yang Kai stopped and stood there, slowly shaking his head.

Seeing this scene, Ma Qing and the others let out a long sigh. They had mentally prepared themselves before they asked, but they could only give up when they saw that Yang Kai’s methods could not work on these people.

These cultivators had been possessed by the Demon Spirits after all and their own consciousness had long been devoured. Hence, they had been fundamentally changed from the roots up. The Demon Exorcism Spell Yang Kai cast was capable of removing Demon Qi from their bodies, but it was simultaneously damaging their Souls. Even if he purged all the Demon Qi, it would simply turn them into walking corpses without a functioning consciousness of their own.

That was something Yang Kai knew best as the memory of the time when Feng Ming had taken out a Demon Seed and tried to attack his Knowledge Sea before in order to possess his body was still fresh in his mind.

“They can’t be saved.” Yang Kai turned to Ma Qing and asked, “Did you get any useful information from them?”

Wen Zi Shan sighed, “No. These guys are all tight-lipped and not afraid of death, so we couldn’t get anything out of them at all.”

“Is that so?” Yang Kai stretched out his hand to Liu Yan who immediately walked over and handed the Abyssal Returner in her arms to him. Holding Ah Wang in one hand, Yang Kai stood in front of a demonified cultivator and swept his gaze over them, “If you want to live, tell me what you were plotting. If your information turns out to be useful, I might just spare your life.”

The eight people, aside from the young man that had lost consciousness, looked at him quietly, but nobody answered.

Yang Kai nodded, “You truly do not fear death. Very good.”

While speaking, he gently patted the Abyssal Returner on the head. The black puppy roared wildly in response before it suddenly stuck its head out, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed up one of the Demons standing in front of her in a single gulp.

Upon seeing that scene, Ma Qing and the others jumped in fright. Although they had witnessed what the strange black puppy was capable of before, it was still a shocking sight. It wasn’t strange for a Monster Beast to prey on Humans, but the key point was that the Abyssal Returner did not feed on Humans but only Demons. Moreover, it was completely immune to demonification. Not too long ago, it even devoured all the Demon Qi in the mountain valley.

Wen Zi Shan wore a thoughtful look. He had known about the existence of the Abyssal Returner for some time now after all. Gong Yue was the one to discover this Abyssal Returner in Azure Sun Temple back then, and at the time, it had tried to devour Feng Ming in one bite. More than a dozen Emperor Realm Masters working together to attack it had also had their attacks all swallowed into its belly before those same attacks were spat back out. According to Gong Yue, the little beast seemed to have the bloodline of a legendary Monster Beast from the Demon Realm; thus, it was not strange for it to have such a bizarre ability.

When one of the Demons was swallowed down, the rest of the Demons became agitated. They glared at the Abyssal Returner as though they were looking at their natural enemy, their eyes filled with horror and fear; however, their cultivations were all sealed so they couldn’t run even if they wanted to.

Yang Kai looked at them in a leisurely manner and said indifferently, “Take your time to think it over. Whoever has made up their minds can go ahead and talk. This Yang always means what he says; as long as you can provide me with some useful information, you may survive.”

While he was speaking, the Abyssal Returner opened its mouth again and swallowed up another Demon. Yang Kai didn’t say anything else after that and simply walked down the line, step by step, with Ah Wang in his arms. Whenever he arrived in front of a Demon, Ah Wang would devour that Demon in one gulp. Just like that, she ate five Demons in the blink of an eye and there were now only three left, their eyes filled with hatred, but none of them speaking a single word.

Looking at the situation, Yang Kai sighed in frustration, “Truly a bunch of stubborn and rigid people.”

Turning to look at Ma Qing and the others, he added, “I’m afraid we won’t be getting anything out of them.”

Ma Qing replied with a cold expression, “In that case, there’s no reason to let them live anymore.”

If they were not demonified, he might have suggested trying to use Secret Techniques such as the Soul Scouring Technique on them to investigate the secrets of their minds; however, this was related to the Demons, so who would dare do that? What if they were infected by the Demon Qi as a result? The potential gains were not worth the risks.

Since there was no point keeping these Demons alive, then they could only get rid of them once and for all. Ah Wang swallowed the remaining three Demons into her belly in one swift motion. Nevertheless, she still looked unsatisfied and her gaze now turned towards the other dozen people standing to the side.

“And, what’s up with them?” Yang Kai asked curiously.

“You have to ask that pet of yours.” Wen Zi Shan frowned, “She keeps barking at them. We don’t know what’s wrong with them either.”

When the dust of the battle in the mountain valley settled, all the major Sects summoned the remaining survivors to help collect the remains of the injured and dead, but to their surprise, the Abyssal Returner suddenly ran up to a cultivator and barked at him non-stop. In view of the spectacular performance of the Abyssal Returner previously, Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing became alert and ordered that cultivator to be detained.

Who could have known that the Abyssal Returner would continue making its way through the crowd, sniffing out these dozen people? Subsequently, that led to the current situation they were facing right now.

“I have been unfairly accused, Temple Master Wen! I am a disciple of Blue Cloud Sect! Why am I being detained like this!?” A young woman with a youthful-looking face complained bitterly, trying to defend herself. The rest also began talking all at once, agreeing with her statements.

Yang Kai said, “Whether something is wrong or not, we only need to test it out to know.” Striding forward, he came to stand directly in front of the young woman.

The young woman instantly reacted in fear, trying to step back as she spoke in a horrified voice, “W-What are you trying to do!?”

Yang Kai didn’t waste any time on talk and simply reached out his hand to grab her head while casting the Demon Exorcism Spell. When he began chanting, the young woman’s expression changed greatly and she wailed as wisps of black Demon Qi poured out of her body.

When everybody saw this, their expressions sank.

“There really is something wrong with them…” Ma Qing looked stern.

Similarly, Wen Zi Shan also had an expression of lingering fear as he turned a look of wonder at the Abyssal Returner. [If not for this little beast’s strange behaviour, I’m afraid everybody would have been deceived again.]

When was a person most relaxed and unguarded? It was when they emerged victorious after a difficult battle. When the dust settled over the battle of Orthodoxy Temple, nobody expected Demons to still be hiding among them. Nobody had the means to distinguish between the Humans and the Demons either, so if these people had been allowed to leave this place alive, a second or a third Orthodoxy Temple could have appeared in the future.

Yang Kai continued checking these dozen people, one by one and soon determined that every single one of them had been quietly taken over by a Demon Spirit. Nobody knew whether they had been possessed before the battle or whether it happened during the commotion. Seeing as these dozen people came from different backgrounds and had varying cultivations, it was probably the latter.

There was nothing much to say since these people had been possessed and it didn’t take long before all of them ended up in Ah Wang’s belly.

Wen Zi Shan said, “Should we let your pet look around again? Just in case there are still some Demon Spirits left…”

Previously, they had no way of determining who had been possessed by a Demon Spirit, but now that they had a weapon like the Abyssal Returner on their side, it was only natural that they screened the remaining survivors carefully.

Yang Kai nodded, “That’s probably for the best.”

After saying that, he tossed the Ah Wang to Liu Yan, “Take her out for a walk.”

Liu Yan took the Abyssal Returner, turned around, and left.

Not far away, Wu Chang watched the entire scene with a stoic expression while in his heart, tumultuous waves were brewing.

When everybody ran into each other at the gates of Orthodoxy Temple just slightly over a month ago, he had spoken disdainfully to Yang Kai. He arrogantly believed that Yang Kai still did not have the qualifications to face him, but who could have imagined that in just the span of a month, that opponent he looked down on would be speaking to his Sect’s Holy Master on equal terms? Moreover, Yang Kai had, more or less, single-handedly resolved the entire Orthodoxy Temple incident. If not for him, almost all of the Southern Territory’s Masters and elite disciples would have been wiped out.

While thinking about how Yang Kai had casually gathered and brought more than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters as reinforcements here, Wu Chang’s thoughts drifted to the unruly thirty-two Monster Kings, then to the three Divine Spirits who obeyed Yang Kai’s every word…

For somebody as proud as Wu Chang, those thoughts made him feel a pang of helplessness. At some point in time, this person, who was supposedly one of his peers, had gone far beyond his reach. They were now two people living in two different worlds.

When he thought back on the arrogant words he uttered more than a month ago, he discovered that he had been acting absolutely ridiculous and childish back then. At the time, Yang Kai probably didn’t even put him in his eyes.

Wu Chang couldn’t help feeling a deep sense of frustration in his heart, like he had made a fool of himself in front of everyone.

Chen Wen Hao stood beside Wu Chang, seemingly aware of the changes in his Junior’s heart, and patted him on the shoulder, “Everyone has their own path to walk. He is just truly blessed. He is a rare existence that only appears rarely throughout history. He is not someone anybody can compare to.”

Wu Chang sighed softly, “I know.”

He paused for a moment before he continued, “I’m going to enter retreat upon our return. After achieving a breakthrough in my cultivation, I’m going out to wander the world.”

Chen Wen Hao turned and glanced at Wu Chang; then, he nodded in agreement, “Good.” 

Flowers grown in a greenhouse cannot withstand the harsh elements of the outside world.

Chapter 3273

Yang Kai strolled over to the main gates of Orthodoxy Temple and headed directly to a small slope. Lowering his head, he studied the cold corpse lying there and a trace of sorrow flashed across his eyes. The corpse was covered in a layer of ice, so it showed no signs of decay or being eaten by wild beasts even though several days had passed.

The fatal injury was located on her chest. Yu Zhuo had been pierced by some kind of sharp weapon, such as a sword, and judging by the injury, Yang Kai could tell that she had not suffered any pain before she died. It was just that her wide-opened eyes were still full of fear and helplessness still.

“Palace Master!” Hua Qing Si walked over and called out softly.

“Why are you here?” Yang Kai asked. Squatting down, he brushed his hand over the cold corpse. The layer of ice melted instantly and he gently closed Yu Zhuo’s eyelids before tidying up the messy strands of hair stuck to her forehead.

“Elder Ji asked me to guard this place,” Hua Qing Si replied as she secretly observed Yang Kai’s expression and realized that what Ji Yao said was correct. [Palace Master really does know this dead woman. I wonder what kind of relationship they had? The guilt and sorrow on his face indicates that their relationship was not quite one of normal friendship but not at the level of romance between a man and a woman either.]

He nodded at those words. When Ji Yao passed the border of Orthodoxy Temple’s Sect Defending Array and charged into battle with him, he noticed her casting a Secret Technique to freeze Yu Zhuo’s body. Sadly, they were facing an imminent battle at the time, and he had no time to worry about anything else. It wasn’t until everything was resolved that he had the time to come and check on the situation here.

The dead were gone; nevertheless, Yu Zhuo’s laughter and smiling face constantly appeared in his mind. If she had not died in this place, the possibility of her becoming an Emperor Realm Master one day was very high based on her performance in the Martial Gathering. Unfortunately, one had to overcome many obstacles in the Martial Dao, and the slightest bit of carelessness would mean death.

Yang Kai could not say that he had much of a friendship with Yu Zhuo, and during this incident, the Southern Territory had suffered casualties numbering from twenty to thirty thousand. Even Azure Sun Temple lost more than a third of its top disciples. Nevertheless, Yu Zhuo’s death was the only one that made him feel truly regretful and sad.

It was an inexplicable feeling. Looking at this person in front of him, he recalled the scene where she suddenly turned around and waved goodbye at him after he refused to meet with her that day. Who could have expected that that moment when she turned around to leave would be their final goodbye?

“Palace Master, the people over there are her Sect members. They seemed to be waiting to collect her body.” Hua Qing Si had waited for some time before finally reminding him when she saw that Yang Kai showed no signs of moving.

Lifting his head, Yang Kai saw about ten individuals standing anxiously not too far away. The person leading them was a young woman who looked to be in her thirties and the group behind her were all women. Each of these women wore a depressed expression while some of the younger ones were weeping softly.

“Bring them over.” Yang Kai nodded.

“Understood,” Hua Qing Si responded and walked over in that direction. She arrived in front of that young woman leading the group, spoke a few words, and then brought them over with her.

“Luo Sha Sect Qin Pei greets Elder Yang,” The leading young woman bowed, her eyes reddening instantly when they swept over Yu Zhuo’s corpse. However, she held back her tears somehow since Yang Kai was in front of her.

Yang Kai glanced at this group and discovered that Qin Pei had the highest cultivation out of them. Even then, she was only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. There was only one other woman in the First-Order Dao Source Realm among the others while the rest were Origin Kings or Origin Returning Realm Juniors.

“Are you Yu Zhuo’s fellow Sect members?” He asked.

Qin Pei nodded, “Yes. I am Yu Zhuo’s Senior Sister.”

“Where is your Sect Master?” Yang Kai looked at her and asked. Although Luo Sha Sect was neither a large nor powerful Sect, he recalled that they at least had a Sect Master in the Emperor Realm. Moreover, their Sect Master was the one to lead them here to participate in the Martial Gathering.

Qin Pei lowered her head and replied in a choked-up voice, “Sect Master fell as well.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, the few girls whimpering behind her couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out wailing.

Luo Sha Sect was an all-female Sect, and an all-female Sect would always draw much attention from the outside world. It was inevitable that some lustful men would try to get their hands on a Sect like that. In the past, Luo Sha Sect had a Sect Master in the Emperor Realm protecting them while they also had alliances with the surrounding Sects and clans, so they were fairly safe from assault.

Unfortunately, their Sect Master had died a tragic death and only two among all the disciples in the Dao Source Realm who came to participate in Martial Gathering survived. It could be said that the foundation of Luo Sha Sect had been severely damaged. It would be hard for them to gain a foothold in the Southern Territory again. Furthermore, the female disciples of Luo Sha Sect would face a worrying fate if word got out about their situation. Combined with their grief, how could this group of women hold back their sorrow when they thought about what the future held for them?

Yang Kai was silent.

Qin Pei took out a cloth bag suddenly from her Space Ring and handed it to him.

“This is…” Yang Kai glanced at her questioningly.

Wiping away her tears, Qin Pei forced a smile to her face, “A few days ago, Junior Sister Yu Zhuo asked me to keep an eye out for seeds and to collect them if I found any. I think she wanted to give them to you. I was a bit late in collecting them, so I didn’t have time to hand them to her before…”

Yang Kai pursed his lips and reached out his hand to take the cloth bag, but when he held it, that small bag somehow felt extremely heavy.

Qin Pei added, “Junior Sister Yu Zhuo admired Elder Yang very much. Just recently…” She couldn’t continue speaking anymore. Covering her mouth with her hand, she broke down sobbing while the dozen or so girls behind her also covered their faces and wept with grief.

Under these circumstances, even Hua Qing Si was affected by the situation and her eyes slightly reddened.

A while passed before Qin Pei managed to collect herself again. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and said, “It was a blessing for Junior Sister Yu Zhuo to meet Elder Yang before her death.”

Yang Kai’s hand that was holding the cloth bag clenched slightly and his chest felt incredibly tight and stuffy.

Qin Pei waited a moment before continuing, “Elder Yang, if you don’t mind, I would like to bring Junior Sister’s body back to the Sect for burial.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly in response, unable to speak.

Only then did Qin Pei crouch down and gently stroke Yu Zhuo’s hair. Afterwards, she placed Yu Zhuo’s corpse into her Space Ring.

“Many thanks, Elder Yang!” Qin Pei bowed again and turned to leave with the rest of her Sect members.

“Wait,” Yang Kai reached out his hand and called for her to stop.

Turning back, Qin Pei asked, “Is there anything else you need, Elder Yang?”

“What are your plans for the future?” He asked, looking at her.

A look of confusion flashed across Qin Pei’s eyes before she shook her head. She had been worrying about this issue over the past few days. Now that their Sect Master was dead, what was going to happen to the roughly thousand disciples of Luo Sha Sect? The person with the highest cultivation left in the Sect was an Elder in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm who had stayed behind to guard the Sect. Unfortunately, such strength was not enough to protect their foundation. There were several Sects and clans that Luo Sha Sect was allied with, but it no longer had the protection of an Emperor Realm Master so forget about providing shelter and protection, those allies would likely be the first to try and swallow up Luo Sha Sect.

Therefore, Luo Sha Sect’s fate was certain and the only way to gain safety was to somehow bring in a powerful and influential external force to shelter them. Be that as it may, doing so might just be inviting a wolf in the flock of sheep. All those scruples to consider had left the Sect’s future looking rather bleak.

“Do you plan to revive your Sect, or merge it with another?” Yang Kai asked, “If it’s the latter, I can help introduce you to a reliable force. Both the Southern Territory and the Northern Territory are fine. You will have limited choices in the Southern Territory, but you can choose any Sect you want to join in the Northern Territory.”

Upon hearing those words, Qin Pei’s eyes lit up, “Elder Yang, are you willing to help Luo Sha Sect?”

Yang Kai replied, “Yu Zhuo and I… Can be considered friends. Although she has passed, I cannot just stand by and do nothing when her Sect is in trouble.”

Qin Pei couldn’t help feeling beside herself with joy when she received an affirmative answer. Similarly, the dozen or so disciples of Luo Sha Sect looked at Yang Kai in amazement. In their experiences, Emperor Realm Masters had always stood far above people like them. One did not have the right to speak with Emperor Realm Masters on equal terms unless one was also in the Emperor Realm. That was why they had been standing so far away and did not dare to come forward while Hua Qing Si was watching over Yu Zhuo’s body; it was because she too was an Emperor Realm Master.

Although their Sect Master could be considered amiable when she was still alive, her status as an Emperor Realm Master was still intimidating and nobody dared to act presumptuously in front of her.

They were already so cautious around a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, so what more needed to be said about a Second-Order or Third-Order Emperor? Moreover, Yang Kai was an Elder of Azure Sun Temple. That title itself carried more weight than an ordinary Emperor Realm Master in the Southern Territory. For that reason, Qin Pei had been rather cautious while speaking to Yang Kai just now. Who could have known that the other party would be so approachable? He even claimed that he was friends with Yu Zhuo.

The simple word ‘friend’ was a very big deal; after all, how many Emperor Realm Masters would willingly acknowledge a mere Dao Source Realm cultivator as a friend? Even if there were any, they would be very rare cases. If Yu Zhuo had heard those words, who knows how ecstatic she would have been? 

At the thought of Yu Zhuo though, Qin Pei’s expression filled with sorrow again as she resolutely stated, “I want to revive the Sect!”

Luo Sha Sect was the place where they grew up together. It was also home to this group of young girls. If they could preserve and revitalize their Sect, who would be willing to abandon their home and seek shelter somewhere else?

The group of women behind Qin Pei all nodded vigorously.

“Hmm…” Yang Kai pondered for a moment before asking, “Has Luo Sha Sect ever hired a High-Rank Guest Elder before?”

Qin Pei shook her head. There was only one Emperor Realm Master at Luo Sha Sect, so if they were to hire a High-Rank Guest Elder, they had to choose from those that were in the Emperor Realm; however, most Emperor Realm Masters were attached to their own Sects, so who would go to Luo Sha Sect just to be a High-Rank Guest Elder there? On the other hand, hiring a Dao Source Realm cultivator in such a position was completely redundant.

“Hire me then. I’ll be Luo Sha Sect’s High-Rank Guest Elder from now on,” Yang Kai forced a slight smile onto his face.

Qin Pei was stunned by those words and after realizing the implication and meaning behind them, she knew that Yang Kai was lending them his assistance in order to save their Sect. Even so, she never expected him to use such a method to help them. She thought that he would, at best, announce to the public that their Sect was under his protection so that people with malicious intentions would be deterred from harming them, she never imagined that he would be willing to abase himself and become a High-Rank Guest Elder at Luo Sha Sect.

[We are talking about a High-Rank Guest Elder! Even though it comes with the title of ‘Honoured Guest’, it is tantamount to becoming attached to Luo Sha Sect! If the Sect ever encounters trouble, he will have no choice but to help us!]

Seeing as Qin Pei was not answering, Yang Kai touched his nose awkwardly and said, “Does the Luo Sha Sect only allow women to join? If that’s the case, I can recommend somebody else for you. Her cultivation is no worse than mine.” Naturally, he was referring to Ji Yao. He was certain that Ji Yao would not mind lending them her name.

“No! That’s not it!” Qin Pei hurriedly waved her hands in denial. [Are you joking!? Even if Luo Sha Sect really had such a rule, rules were dead while people were alive!] Who was Yang Kai? He was the saviour of the Southern Territory, a Master who could assemble a force of more than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters, thirty-two Monster Kings, and even three Divine Spirits at will! Moreover, he was a powerful Emperor Realm Master himself! Just one of those titles would be enough for no one in the world to dare look down on him… With someone like him as a High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect, who will dare try to harm them?

Chapter 3274

“Elder Yang, it is Luo Sha Sect’s greatest blessing if you are willing to come and serve as the Honoured Guest of our Sect. It’s just that our Sect is slightly on the poorer side so we don’t have much in terms of income either. About what we can offer as compensation… It may be unfair to you, Elder Yang.” Qin Pei’s voice got softer and softer the more she spoke, blushing furiously by the end of her sentence. She was truly worried that they could not afford to hire Yang Kai. It would have been one thing if he had been an ordinary Emperor Realm Master, but the key point was that he was not an ordinary Emperor Realm Master. If they really hired him… It would be embarrassing to pay him too little, but Luo Sha Sect simply could not afford to pay him more.

Yang Kai held up the cloth bag in his hand that was filled with seeds and commented lightly, “This is enough.”

Qin Pei looked at him with a mixture of emotion and gratitude. That bag of seeds was nothing special and had cost her less than a hundred Source Crystals in total. She knew that Yang Kai would never have agreed to such a poor deal if not for his consideration towards Yu Zhuo. [It seems he really considers Yu Zhuo as his friend.]

Qin Pei felt both sad and grateful at the same time, [If Yu Zhuo was still alive, she would have been incredibly ecstatic to learn of this.]

Then, Qin Pei suddenly asked, “About Azure Sun Temple…” [He is an Elder of Azure Sun Temple, so will they allow him to be a High-Rank Guest Elder at Luo Sha Sect?]

To which Yang Kai replied, “It’s alright, Temple Master Wen won’t object to this.”

“Many thanks, Elder Yang,” She bowed deeply.

He raised his hand and said, “Bring your Sect members and find a place to rest for now. I will travel with you to Luo Sha Sect once I finish handling matters here.”

“Yes,” Qin Pei responded respectfully before leading the group of women away.

Afterwards, Yang Kai turned to Hua Qing Si and instructed, “Inform me when the Great Emperor arrives.”

Yang Kai had asked an elderly man to head to Star Soul Palace to report the situation and ask for assistance, and based on his estimations, it should be almost time for them to arrive. Xiao Yu Yang had already set off to meet up with the Great Emperor, so it would only take two days at most.

Hua Qing Si nodded before watching Yang Kai leave.

Things at Orthodoxy Temple were more or less settled by now. With Ah Wang’s ability to distinguish between Humans and Demons, there was no need to worry about the existence of more hidden Demons. Hence, it was not proper for the Emperor Realm Masters of the Northern Territory and the Monster Kings of the Ancient Wild Lands to remain here for much longer. Yang Kai summoned them over and led them back to where he had set up the Space Array before sending them all back.

The people from the Northern Territory were much more cooperative this time around, especially after seeing what kind of force Yang Kai was capable of summoning at whim. They stayed when he asked them to stay and left when he asked them to leave without any complaints whatsoever. On the other hand, the Monster Kings of the Ancient Wild Lands looked at him with reluctant gazes, as though he was a piece of meat pie that they didn’t want to let go of. If not for the three Divine Spirits watching nearby, they would have rushed over to try and win him over a long time ago.

When he was sending them away, the Monster Kings’ expressions became more and more resentful; meanwhile, the female Monster King, Du Mi’er, became more openly affectionate. She even brazenly teased him, “Sir, come over to the Ancient Wild Lands whenever you are free to visit me. I will miss you greatly.”

Luan Feng’s expression immediately darkened while Fan Wu and Cang Gou also had worried looks on their faces as they constantly sighed in their hearts.

It was a lot of work, but Yang Kai finally managed to send everybody off before he turned around and sighed, “Junior Sister Yao, why are you sneaking around? Do you take me for a blind man?”

Ji Yao appeared from behind a tree not far away and walked over to him. Not many people from Ice Heart Valley had joined this expedition, but when he sent those from Ice Heart Valley back, Yang Kai had not seen Ji Yao around. A slight check with his Divine Sense immediately told him that she was hiding close by, but he didn’t expose her until now.

When their gazes met, he asked helplessly, “Aren’t you going back?”

Ji Yao said, “I want to accompany you.”

While speaking, she took the initiative to take his hand and lead him in a certain direction with light movement. Her jade-white hand was so soft that it almost felt boneless to the touch, and it was extremely smooth and pleasant to feel. An enticing scent lingered at the tip of Yang Kai nose, making him relax involuntarily and feel refreshed. He did not know what Ji Yao wanted to do, but he did not resist and allowed her to pull him along.

They soon arrived on a certain mountain peak. Currently, Orthodoxy Temple was all but empty. The surviving cultivators who came to participate in Martial Gathering were mostly concentrated in the mountain valley while almost all of Orthodoxy Temple’s disciples were dead, so the buildings on top of this mountain were all deserted.

Yang Kai did not know whether it was a coincidence that Ji Yao chose this mountain or not, but it happened to be the place where the people from Azure Sun Temple had been staying previously.

Heading straight into one of the rooms, Ji Yao closed the door before she finally released Yang Kai’s hand. Then, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and just stood there. At the same time, her heart rate suddenly began to speed up.

Yang Kai turned to look at her, and seeing her posing as though she was at his mercy, he failed to stifle his laughter and asked, “What are you doing?”

Ji Yao opened her eyes and looked at him, answering his question with another question, “What do you want to do?”

Her expression seemed to say ‘you can do whatever you want with me.’

Yang Kai felt a little speechless all of a sudden. [You are the one who dragged me here, so why are you asking me what I want to do?]

Nevertheless, an idea suddenly came to mind and he guessed what she was thinking, the very thought warming his heart a little as he chuckled amusedly, “I’m not that weak.”

Ji Yao stared at him with wide eyes. He couldn’t tell whether she believed him or not, but he soon pulled her into his arms while her guard was lowered, and she instantly stiffened, exclaiming in shock, “Didn’t you say…”

To which Yang Kai grinned, “I’m not that weak, but since you’ve already offered a meal, it would be rude to not eat.”

He exerted some strength, and the two of them fell back onto the bed.

Ji Yao suddenly felt desperate to cry but was unable to shed any tears. Her entire body trembled, and she could feel a large hand fondling her body. Those fingertips felt like they were imbued with lightning and everywhere they touched became stimulated. It made her nerves that were already strained even tenser than before.

Hot and heavy breaths travelled upward from her lower abdomen, brushing against her chest and her neck. At last, his breath blew against her face. Ji Yao quickly closed her eyes, and her long lashes trembled uncontrollably. In the next moment, she felt her lips being violated unscrupulously as a suppressed voice escaped from her throat.

Yang Kai’s actions this time were extremely rough, clearly having no intention of being gentle. His hands kneaded her body so hard that she felt a slight tinge of pain and the force on her lips made her feel like she was going to suffocate. It felt as though she could die at any moment.

A long while later, their lips parted and Ji Yao gasped for breath. Although she had not opened her eyes, she could feel a sharp gaze drilling into her. It made her blush furiously as a result, and she did not dare to open her eyes to look at him. Just as she thought that it was impossible to escape from him, he unexpectedly lay down sideways, rested his head on her lower abdomen, and stopped moving for a while.

Ji Yao opened her eyes suspiciously, then sat up slowly and moved his head to her lap. Lowering her head to study his face, she met his gaze and he smiled at her, and she asked, “Are you feeling better?”

While speaking, she reached out and slowly tidied his slightly dishevelled hair that had gotten tangled. Her actions were as gentle as if she were caressing her lover.

Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed her soft hands. Placing her cool hands into his palm, he gently patted her and said, “When we go back, I’ll go and talk to Senior Bing Yun.”

Ji Yao’s tender body trembled and she nervously asked, “Talk to her? What… for?”

Yang Kai lifted his gaze to look at her and answered matter-of-factly, “Of course, it’s about us. I believe Senior Bing Yun won’t be opposed.”

He was not willing to have so many lovers all over the place; however, his mentality had changed a little after the incident with Yu Zhuo. He no longer wanted to be indecisive and instead gained some extra determination.

The blush on Ji Yao’s face immediately faded and she became rather pale instead as she muttered, “Don’t.”

Yang Kai was surprised and asked back, “Don’t?”

She shook her head, “Don’t tell Honoured Master.”

Yang Kai was completely stunned for a moment, then he smiled again, “Do you think Senior Bing Yun is blind? I’m afraid she has seen through your feelings a long time ago. It’s just that if you really continue like this, then you will be the one who suffers. As you know, I still have Su Yan and the others…”

“I know. But, don’t tell the Honoured Master.”

Yang Kai was very curious now and couldn’t help asking, “Why?”

“There’s no why. In any case, you are not allowed to say anything.”

Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Things have already reached this point, so why do we need to hide it? We might as well come clean and be upfront? Won’t that be better?”

Ji Yao, however, kept silent and shook her head repeatedly.

Yang Kai’s heart sank, and he felt a little hurt as he asked, “Is it that you don’t want to be with me…”

“No, that’s not it.”

He continued, “Are you aware that what we are doing right now is considered having an…”

Out of consideration for her pride, he could not bring himself to finish his sentence.

But to his shock, she lowered her head at those words and muttered, “So what if we’re having an affair? Things are fine as they are right now…”

He stared at her in amazement, wishing fervently that he could open her head to see what was going on inside.

Seeing the way he was looking at her, Ji Yao suddenly responded coldly, “If you let anybody know about us, I will shut myself in retreat until I die and never meet with you ever again.”

Shocked, Yang Kai quickly tried to soothe her, “Alright, alright. I won’t say anything.”

Only then did her expression go back to normal. She sat there quietly, lowering her head to stare at his face, her eyes filled with tenderness in the silent room. Yang Kai lay on her supple thighs, his entire body was wrapped in a faint fragrance, feeling all the tiredness he accumulated over the past few days melting away. Both his body and mind were completely relaxed.

Yang Kai did not know how long had passed, but opening his eyes abruptly, he took out a communication artifact from his Space Ring and poured some Divine Sense into it. A moment later, he stood up, “The people from Star Soul Palace are here.”

“Your hair!” Ji Yao shouted.

His hair was currently a dishevelled mess, and if he went out looking like that, everybody would know what he had been up to. Thus, he hurriedly sat down on the edge of the bed. Kneeling behind him, Ji Yao tidied up his hair before pulling him to his feet and straightening out the wrinkles in his clothes with a serious expression, causing Yang Kai to smile and reach out to pull her into a hug.

In response, Ji Yao warily put her hand against his chest and frowned, “Business first.”

Before she could finish speaking though, he leaned down and kissed her, but only briefly. A short while later, the two of them walked out of the palace together and flew towards the mountain valley.

Somewhere in the mountain valley, Wen Zi Shan, Ma Qing, and the other leaders of the Southern Territory had gathered together. Xiao Yu Yang, who had previously gone to meet the Great Emperor, was back too. In addition, there was a burly elderly man who certainly could not be called young despite having a head of black hair and a dense aura surrounding him. There was also a white-haired elderly man with sharp and gleaming eyes. These two were none other than Great Elder Lei Hong and Second Elder Xue Zheng Mao of Star Soul Palace, both of whom were Third-Order Emperors. If they included Xiao Yu Yang, then there were three Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in Star Soul Palace. It could be seen just how amazing the heritage of a Great Emperor Sect was from this alone.

Silavin: 50 Chapters this week!
This week, we picked up a new novel and I’m cheeky enough to place novels down below to increase viewership. I’m also experimenting with a new business model. Not sure if it’ll work out.

You get 50 chapters, I get to shamelessly promote. One hand washes the other. See? Yang Kai has taught us well. So, in the future, when someone ask why you read this, just say. ‘For life lessons.’

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3275

This group of people had clearly learned about what happened in Orthodoxy Temple on their way here and at this moment, they were scowling with solemn expressions. When they heard the sound of something slicing through the air, they turned to look in the direction and Wen Zi Shan muttered, “Yang Kai is here.”

It was not Lei Hong and Xue Zheng Mao’s first time meeting Yang Kai as they had met each other before when the latter went to Star Soul Palace to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, but at this moment, they were feeling rather astonished. If Xiao Yu Yang had not told them everything in advance, they would not have believed that Yang Kai had single-handedly resolved the entire Orthodoxy Temple incident.

He was able to gather so many reinforcements in a single day; moreover, he was capable of arranging a Cross-Territory Space Array. A talent like him was simply blinding. Thinking back on it, Lei Hong and Xue Zheng Mao paid no attention to him when he entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda at Star Soul Palace; however, they now had to regard him as an equal.

“Temple Master, Holy Master Ma, Golden Envoy Xiao…” Yang Kai landed and greeted them, one by one. Then, he bowed to Lei Hong and Xue Zheng Mao in greeting.

Lei Hong and Xue Zheng Mao exchanged a glance with each other before they both bowed so low that their backs were almost parallel to the ground, “Elder Yang, you turned the tide and rescued many of our fellow Southern Territory cultivators from a great catastrophe. We of Star Soul Palace are extremely grateful to you.”

Protecting the Southern Territory was Star Soul Palace’s responsibility, but they never imagined that they would be completely oblivious to a conspiracy of this scale going on inside Orthodoxy Temple. Their ignorance resulted in heavy casualties across the Southern Territory and it was a huge blow to the prestige and reputation of Star Soul Palace. If the conspiracy at Orthodoxy Temple had succeeded, however, it wouldn’t just end with Star Soul Palace losing face, it could have shaken the very foundation of the Southern Territory. For that reason, their gratitude at this moment was extremely sincere.

Yang Kai raised his hand to stop them, “Please, you are being too polite. I was only doing what I should have done.”

Sighing, he continued, “It’s a pity that everything happened so suddenly and I couldn’t react swiftly enough, or the Southern Territory would not have suffered such great losses. I am truly ashamed.”

Xue Zheng Mao shook his head in response, “If it wasn’t for Elder Yang, the Southern Territory would have been in far greater trouble. It’s all thanks to you that so many people survived this ordeal.”

Yang Kai smiled modestly, “It’s thanks to some friends I know; I don’t dare take credit for it.”

Xue Zheng Mao and Lei Hong fell silent. They used to look down on Yang Kai in the past. They had not liked him or taken him seriously the last time he visited Star Soul Palace because another Elder of Star Soul Palace, Tan Jun Hao, had died at his hands. Regardless of whether Tan Jun Hao was guilty of committing a crime or not, he was still an Elder of Star Soul Palace and had close ties with both of them. Therefore, Yang Kai’s act of killing Tan Jun Hao was equivalent to insulting Star Soul Palace. Although the Great Emperor had been tolerant and did not hold this act against Yang Kai, Xue Zheng Mao and Lei Hong had been unable to let it go. They had always secretly despised Yang Kai for what he had done. It wasn’t until today that their impression of him changed for the better. He was neither arrogant nor ill-natured despite his astonishing means and strength. It was no wonder he could advance so much faster and farther than his peers.

“Is everyone from Star Soul Palace here?” Yang Kai glanced at a group of people standing not far away. Emperor Realm Masters were abundant among them, at least a hundred in total. With so many Emperor Realm Masters present, it was clear that they did not solely belong to Star Soul Palace and were probably gathered from a number of other Sects as well.

Xue Zheng Mao looked ashamed as he replied, “When we heard the news, we travelled day and night to reach this place as fast as possible while along the way summoning up all those from other Sects we could. Unfortunately, we were still one step too late.” The main reason was that Star Soul Palace was too far away from this place; moreover, the person who went to report the news had also taken several days to arrive at Star Soul Palace which was why they only arrived now.

Upon arrival though, they learned that the matter had been resolved and they had rushed here for nothing. Nevertheless, they couldn’t just return home empty-handed like that. It was true that Orthodoxy Temple’s conspiracy had been foiled, but the incident this time had to be investigated thoroughly.

“Where is the Great Emperor?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously. He saw neither hide nor hair of the Great Emperor anywhere. Logically speaking, such a major event would warrant the Great Emperor making an appearance personally. Yang Kai sent somebody to report to Star Soul Palace in hopes that the Great Emperor himself would show up. As long as Bright Moon Great Emperor came, Lei Gu’s plans would not have stood a chance whatsoever.

As soon as those words left Yang Kai’s mouth though, Wen Zi Shan and Ma Qing also showed doubtful expressions, with the latter asking, “That’s right. Why don’t we see the Great Emperor?”

Xue Zheng Mao replied, “When the Great Emperor heard that everything had been resolved, he immediately returned to Star Soul Palace.”

Everybody felt a little speechless at those words. [If you’re already here, then why didn’t you come and check on the situation? It’s not like this is a trivial matter. Don’t you think you should see it for yourself? But, the Great Emperor actually turned back halfway… How odd of him.]

Even if they thought so, since this was related to the Great Emperor, nobody dared to say anything.

Yang Kai casually asked, “Did Princess Lan Xun not come along?”

Lei Hong answered, “Her Highness is currently in retreat, but thank you for your concern, Elder Yang.”

Yang Kai made a non-committal sound in response.

Xue Zheng Mao added, “Although the Great Emperor did not come, the Great Elder and I will be enough to handle things here now. There are some things we would like to ask you, Brother Yang.”

He quietly changed the way he addressed Yang Kai to ‘Brother Yang’, which showed how much warmer he was towards him now.

Yang Kai cupped his fists, “Elder Xue, please ask anything you want. I will explain to the best of my ability.”

Xue Zheng Mao nodded and said, “We’ve heard the general story from Elder Xiao, but we are clueless about what happened on your end. If you don’t mind telling us, Brother Yang…”

Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Good, it’s like this. During the banquet on the last day of the Martial Gathering, I suddenly received a thought message from Luo Chen of Azure Sun Temple asking me to go somewhere with him…”

He then briefly recounted the story of how he was led outside by Luo Chen without hiding anything, including the fact that he had been ambushed and nearly assassinated.

“In fact, there’s something I want to ask you.” Yang Kai frowned deeply, still unable to shake the lingering sense of fear that remained whenever he recalled the events of that night.

Xue Zheng Mao seemed pensive, “What is it?”

Yang Kai said, “The person who tried to assassinate me that night was far too skilled. I didn’t even notice him when he was standing right behind me. Furthermore, he became even more elusive after I counterattacked. His body dissipated into a cloud of smoke, and he was completely unaffected by brute force. Somebody like that can’t be completely unheard of. I wonder if any of you have any impression of somebody like that in the Southern Territory.

If anything had slipped through the cracks during this incident, it was the assassin that had attacked him. Yang Kai had been severely injured by this person, yet he never even caught a glimpse of that person’s face. He couldn’t even tell if that person was a man or woman. He had truly suffered a great loss this time; however, he was certain that that person was a Third-Order Emperor. Moreover, that person was well versed in the art of assassination. He even suspected that that person was one of those existences who was almost a Great Emperor that Yang Yan mentioned to him.

According to Yang Yan, there were a few old monsters in this world that had reached the limits of their cultivation and could not improve any further. They were stuck at a bottleneck, unable to become Great Emperors due to the limits of the world. Most of these people lived in seclusion or quietly immersed themselves in their cultivation, rarely showing themselves. It would make sense if the person who attacked Yang Kai had been a Master like that. It was just that Yang Kai did not sense any Demon Qi coming from that person. In other words, that person was not acting under the influence of demonification, so why were they colluding with Orthodoxy Temple?

Everybody frowned when they heard those words with Ma Qing being the first to speak up, “Such methods are truly unheard of.”

He turned to look at Wen Zi Shan, “Do you have any ideas?”

Similarly, Wen Zi Shan shook his head slowly.

Xue Zheng Mao on the other hand suggested, “Perhaps… it was not done by someone from the Southern Territory.”

Lei Hong looked shocked and muttered, “You don’t mean…”

Yang Kai looked at them and frowned, “Do you two have some sort of idea?”

Xue Zheng Mao pondered in silence for a long while before he explained, “Such a mysterious and powerful assassination technique cannot be cultivated overnight. As far as I know, there is only one place in this world that can produce someone like that.”

Upon hearing those words, Ma Qing and Wen Zi Shan seemed to think of something too and were dumbfounded as a result, “That’s impossible… isn’t it?”

Likewise, Yang Kai realized what they were suggesting, “Elder Xue, you are talking about the West…”

Xue Zheng Mao immediately raised his hand to stop Yang Kai, “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions without any evidence.”

Yang Kai understood what Xue Zheng Mao was worried about, so he dropped the topic. Nevertheless, it seemed quite possible now that he had been reminded of that place. The assassination techniques used by that person were extraordinary, and most ordinary people were incapable of even possessing such ability.

A cultivator in the Third-Order Emperor Realm who was proficient in assassination; all these signs were pointing to that specific force. But… why would they involve themselves in the affairs of the Southern Territory? Not to mention, they were colluding with the Demons too.

Lei Hong furrowed his brow, “It shouldn’t be them. That place is located in an entirely different Territory. Why would they do this?”

“Let’s leave this matter aside for now. Pay more attention to what you say in the future and don’t let your guard down either. Brother Yang, you were lucky to escape alive. If that person had targeted anyone else with such intent…” Xue Zheng Mao shuddered and did not finish his own sentence.

An enemy hidden in the dark was the most terrifying kind. The person who ambushed Yang Kai had been extremely proficient in the art of assassination, and if the target had been anyone other than Yang Kai, then they would have a hard time falling asleep at night. Be that as it may, the other Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters believed that they could handle it since even Yang Kai managed to escape from that person alive. The only problem was… just because they would be okay did not mean their fellow Sect members would be as lucky. After all, how many Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters were there?

There were simply too few clues. Yang Kai had only fought with that person for a brief moment and couldn’t be sure if they were man or woman, so what clues could they go on?

Next, Yang Kai talked about what happened after the assassination attempt. The others were incredibly amazed upon confirming that he was capable of arranging Cross-Territory Space Arrays. Although they had investigated the Space Array before coming here, a conjecture was not the same as verifying the truth. It was thanks to that Space Array that Yang Kai managed to gather so many reinforcements within a day and save those trapped in Orthodoxy Temple.

The situation Yang Kai described was not that different from what Xiao Yu Yang and the others already knew. The only difference was that they had been unaware of what he personally experienced. When they learned that he had gone to the Southern Swamp with Lei Gu and even managed to set up a trap to kill Lei Gu, they sighed in amazement again.

There were not many Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters in any one place, so most had built up some degree of friendship with each other. Hearing that Lei Gu had been possessed by a Demon Spirit, lost his conscious mind and autonomy, and eventually suffered a tragic end naturally made them feel a bit sad inside.

The next step was to deal with the survivors of the major Sects in the Southern Territory. With time, what happened in this place gradually spread to the entire Southern Territory. The Masters guarding their respective Sects rushed to Orthodoxy Temple upon receiving the news to get a better grasp of the situation and confirm the number of casualties they suffered. For that reason, people were entering and exiting Orthodoxy Temple every day. In less than 10 days, Orthodoxy Temple became peaceful again as those that could leave had left.

The Southern Territory would probably be stuck in a period of recovery for a long time after this incident.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3276

If anybody were to ask who had benefited the most from the incident at Orthodoxy Temple, it had to be Yang Kai. Practically all the Sects, large or small, across the entire Southern Territory now owed him a favour. It had also elevated his name and reputation to an unbelievable level.

Sect Masters and Patriarchs specially came forward to thank Yang Kai profusely. Ultimately, they would say something along the lines of, ‘Don’t hesitate to speak up if you need anything in the future. We will do our best to assist you.’ Regardless of if those words were sincere or not, all his future actions in the Southern Territory would never be hindered again with these promises.

After a busy period lasting for half a month, Orthodoxy Temple finally became peaceful again. Those that were supposed to leave, left and the enormous Sect suddenly became empty. It was hard to imagine that this place used to be bustling as one of the top three Sects in the Southern Territory.

At this moment, Yang Kai was already on his way to Luo Sha Sect with Qin Pei and the other young female disciples. It was only natural that he did not delay matters since he had promised to become their High-Rank Guest Elder, and now that he was in the Southern Territory, he might as well settle this matter first. He was originally a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple, and now, he was going to serve as the High-Rank Guest Elder of another Sect as well. In theory, what he was doing was rather inappropriate.

There had never been any known precedent of any other Emperor Realm Master doing this before.

However, Wen Zi Shan was not particularly bothered by this. He probably heard something from somewhere. On the contrary, he even told Yang Kai not to hesitate if there was anything he could help with, which Yang Kai was naturally very grateful to hear.

Compared to a top Sect like Azure Sun Temple, Luo Sha Sect could only be regarded as second-class or even third-class in the Southern Territory. Even so, it was stronger than the previous Blue Feather Sect or Thousand Leaves Sect because it had an Emperor Realm Master overseeing it. However, everything was different now that the Sect Master of Luo Sha Sect had fallen and many of its elite disciples in the Dao Source Realm had been killed, leaving its overall strength greatly reduced. It could almost be said that if Yang Kai had not intervened, the Sect would not last for more than half a year before being swallowed up by another great force nearby.

The cultivation among this group of women was uneven so some would obviously be able to fly faster than others. Since Yang Kai did not want to waste too much time, he decided to take out his Flowing Clouds Shuttle and brought everyone aboard to head towards Luo Sha Sect. The Flowing Clouds Shuttle was a flight type Emperor Artifact that Hou Yu had tailored for his use; therefore, there was no need to explain just how fast it was.

After flying for seven days, a Spirit Mountain appeared in the distance and Qin Pei pointed to the front to announce, “We’re here.”

Yang Kai looked around and discovered that the place occupied by Luo Sha Sect was not bad. Needless to say, it could not compare with Orthodoxy Temple or High Heaven Palace; however, it was more than enough for a small force like Luo Sha Sect.

After everyone disembarked, Yang Kai put away the Flowing Clouds Shuttle. When the women saw the familiar sight, and smelt the scent of home, they felt relaxed, but soon recalled their fellow Sect Sisters that had died and their own near-death experiences. Each and every one of them couldn’t help feeling as though they had passed through a great trial and a sense of sorrow washed over them, nearly causing them to burst into tears again.

Yang Kai felt troubled when he saw this as he was quite helpless to do anything about a woman’s tears; as such, he hurriedly changed the topic, “It looks like news of your Sect Master’s death has spread.”

Qin Pei was taken aback by his words for a moment, but she immediately understood what he meant after taking a look at the surrounding area. At this very moment, Luo Sha Sect’s Sect Defending Array was activated. In addition, many stealthy figures were hiding among the trees outside the Spirit Array. Qin Pei could sense the auras of many Dao Source Realm Masters among those figures.

Feeling a bit startled, Qin Pei realized that what Yang Kai said was true. News of the Sect Master’s death had truly spread and the surrounding great forces that used to be allies of Luo Sha Sect couldn’t wait to get their hands on their property. Otherwise, why were the mountains and forests crawling with so many spies?

Qin Pei felt a great disgust in her heart seeing this; after all, many disciples of Luo Sha Sect had married into these great forces that used to be their allies. When the Sect Master had been alive, they often interacted with each other and helped one another; however, those ugly faces were revealed so quickly the moment the Sect Master died. It was extremely hurtful and made her heart turn cold, leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

While her thoughts were drifting though, Qin Pei suddenly felt a terrifying aura burst out of Yang Kai. That invisible and intangible aura radiated through the surroundings, covering a vast region in an instant. The aura was majestic, but also filled with a cold murderous intent that sent chills down one’s back. The dozen or so young women shivered in unison when they were covered with this aura and couldn’t help staring at Yang Kai in fear.

After interacting with each other for so many days, these women had thought that Yang Kai was very different from the Emperor Realm Masters they had heard about in rumours. He was approachable and easy to talk to. A few female disciples also asked him some questions regarding cultivation and he had answered them with great patience; thus, the disciples of Luo Sha Sect had benefited greatly from just talking to him. Worried that he might not have time to rest, Qin Pei had issued a strict order so that the disciples did not disturb him. If not for that, Yang Kai would not have had any time to rest whatsoever during their return trip.

But, at this moment, that amiable young man had turned into an existence similar to a bloodthirsty and vicious devil. Just the aura leaking out of him made it hard for them to breathe while at the same time, their hands and feet grew cold with fear. Only then did they realize that an Emperor Realm Master would always be an Emperor Realm Master, no matter how friendly they were with each other. They were people they could only look up to.

*Puchichi…* 

The birds in the forest took flight in alarm, but despite fluttering their wings, they couldn’t move. It was as though an invisible force had stolen their ability to fly from them and they all crashed to the ground.

At the same time, the figures hidden in the forest retreated, one after the other, as though they were facing a great enemy. They didn’t even bother to remain hidden anymore and immediately activated their Movement Skills to flee from this place.

News of the Sect Master of Luo Sha Sect’s death in Orthodoxy Temple had spread throughout the area; after all, much time had passed since it first happened. It was impossible to conceal that fact with so many witnesses. Many had also heard that an Emperor Realm Master had agreed to serve as a High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect. What’s more, that Emperor Realm Master seemed to be the Second-Order Emperor Yang Kai, who became famous during the Orthodoxy Temple incident.

It was just that nobody knew the authenticity of the news. That information came from within Luo Sha Sect itself, so it was not trustworthy. It might have been a rumour Luo Sha Sect spread in order to protect itself; therefore, it was only natural that they came to verify the information. If the news turned out to be true, then it wasn’t too late to make adjustments to their plans. If the news turned out to be fake, then Luo Sha Sect was a juicy piece of meat that everybody wanted a bite of. Luo Sha Sect did not have a long history, but it still had nearly a thousand years of accumulation. The Sect would certainly have built up a small fortune by now. Not to mention, the thousand or so female disciples themselves were a huge source of wealth.

Unfortunately, upon feeling Yang Kai’s Emperor Realm aura, all their delusions and dreams were destroyed in an instant. These spies realized that the news was true and that the man known as Yang Kai, who had shined brightly in the Orthodoxy Temple incident, had come to Luo Sha Sect. Whether he was here to be the High-Rank Guest Elder or not, nobody would dare to lay a hand on Luo Sha Sect with him around.

These spies couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Luo Sha Sect was an all-female Sect, and Yang Kai was a man who managed to get his foot in the door. That was the most tantalizing fantasy a man could ever have.

Looking down at the figures below them that were fleeing like stray dogs, Qin Pei’s expression became extremely complicated. She even saw several familiar figures among them. She knew the names of those people and which great forces they came from. When the Sect Master was still alive, she had interacted with those people and built up some friendships with them. Even so, it was precisely these ‘friends’ that couldn’t wait to lay their hands on Luo Sha Sect after learning of its misfortune. Clenching her fists tightly, Qin Pei had a sudden realization: Only the strong are qualified to survive in this world!

“Let’s go,” Yang Kai’s voice brought her back to the present. The terrifying aura around him had vanished at some point in time and he was back to his former friendly and warm self.

Some of the female disciples with lower cultivation straightened their backs and gently patted themselves on the chest in relief. Glancing at each other, they stuck out their tongues but looked at Yang Kai’s back with a little more awe than before.

“Sir, please wait for a moment. I will ask Great Elder to open the Spirit Array immediately,” Qin Pei said as she took out a communication artifact and contacted somebody.

Several moments later, the Sect Defending Array gradually deactivated and Qin Pei quickly led the group inside, heading towards an open square on top of a certain mountain.

A charming woman who looked to be in her thirties stood on the platform. She had a curvy figure and a dignified temperament. She was the prime example of a noble lady. The pale blue dress she was wearing was extremely simple, but that only emphasized the lines of her body even more. The aura around her indicated that she was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master.

She was the Great Elder of Luo Sha Sect, Tao Ying Ruo, and behind her stood hundreds of girls wearing pink uniform dresses. They were split into two sides, and every one of them was beautiful; however, they were all silent. At this moment, they were looking up at the sky with wide and beautiful eyes full of expectation and curiosity.

Yang Kai landed with Qin Pei a moment later and, sweeping a glance around, he smiled slightly. [Luo Sha Sect sure values me highly. There are only a thousand disciples in the Sect, but they mobilized more than 70% of them just to welcome me. It looks like everybody is here, except for those in retreat and those with duties to fulfil.]

While he was busy settling all sorts of matters back at Orthodoxy Temple, a disciple in the Dao Source Realm had hurriedly returned to Luo Sha Sect to report that Yang Kai had offered to serve as a High-Rank Guest Elder, allowing Luo Sha Sect to make preparations in advance.

Qin Pei stepped forward and spoke to Tao Ying Ruo quietly, after which Tao Ying Ruo strode forward and gave an elegant bow, “Luo Sha Sect’s Tao Ying Ruo greets Senior. Many thanks for coming today.”

Yang Kai raised his hand and smiled, “Great Elder, please don’t stand on ceremony, we will all be one family in the future.”

Upon hearing those words, Tao Ying Ruo finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she had long heard that he was coming to serve as their High-Rank Guest Elder, she still couldn’t quite believe it. He was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, a man whose influence spread across the entire Southern Territory. Even if it was because of Yu Zhuo, there was no need for him to come to Luo Sha Sect to take on this burden. For that reason, Tao Ying Ruo had been extremely uncertain before meeting Yang Kai in person and couldn’t help wondering if he had any other intentions towards them. Many had their eye on Luo Sha Sect after all, and they would have no way to resist if he had malicious intentions.

Now though, Tao Ying Ruo felt much more assured when she saw that he was polite, courteous, approachable, and genial.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3277

“I’m sure you know the reason for me coming here,” Yang Kai went straight to the point.

Tao Ying Ruo nodded, “Sect Master unexpectedly passed away, leaving Luo Sha Sect without a leader. Sir, thank you for coming to serve as a High-Rank Guest Elder of our Sect and protect its foundation at this time. It is a great blessing for Luo Sha Sect and our greatest honour. This Mistress and all Luo Sha Sect disciples are eternally grateful and will forever obey Sir’s commands.”

While speaking, she gave another low bow again.

Yang Kai, however, waved his hand casually, “That’s not necessary. From now on, you can continue administering Luo Sha Sect as you have been, I am simply lending you my name.”

Lifting her gaze to look at him, Tao Ying Ruo looked like she was about to speak again when he cut her off, “I know the current crisis Luo Sha Sect is facing, but I am not familiar with Luo Sha Sect’s inner workings. It would be inappropriate for me to suddenly start dictating how the Sect operates. That’s all there is to it. Great Elder, there is nothing more to say.”

Upon hearing those words, Tao Ying Ruo finally understood that Yang Kai really had no interest in interfering with Luo Sha Sect whatsoever. It was only because of his guilt towards Yu Zhuo that he came all the way out here to protect them.

Tao Ying Ruo felt extremely grateful and any residual worries she had disappeared. She was not afraid that Yang Kai was planning some elaborate plot to gain their trust before taking advantage of them; after all, his cultivation was no secret. If he really wanted something from them, no one in Luo Sha Sect could resist. Combined with his current reputation, nobody in the Southern Territory would stand up for them even if he did do something excessive to them. 

[There really is such a man in this world…]

For a moment, a strange look crept onto Tao Ying Ruo’s face as she studied him. She had intentionally phrased her words in a suggestive manner just now to subtly probe Yang Kai’s intentions, but the results were quite surprising to her.

At that moment, Qin Pei suddenly spoke up in reminder, “Great Elder, we should invite Sir inside to rest. He has had an arduous journey here.”

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Tao Ying Ruo’s face as she embarrassedly spoke, “This Mistress has been negligent. Please come inside, Sir.”

While speaking, she stepped to the side to give way.

Yang Kai nodded and strode forward with his gaze fixed straight ahead. Hundreds of female disciples on either side of the road turned their gazes on him, their beautiful eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny. Meanwhile, Tao Ying Ruo secretly observed him and saw that he walked with a powerful gait and gave off a naturally imposing aura. But the most remarkable thing was that he didn’t even glance at any of the female disciples here, not even in the slightest. This wasn’t due to arrogance or feigned indifference, he simply wasn’t moved in the slightest even when faced with so many readily available beauties. At that moment, Tao Ying Ruo finally managed to put her heart back into her chest and stop worrying.

After inviting Yang Kai into the palace to talk, Tao Ying Ruo had tea served. The few remaining disciples in the Dao Source Realms also accompanied them so that they could get to know each other better. Luo Sha Sect used to have one Emperor Realm Master and thirteen Dao Source Realm cultivators, but after the incident at Orthodoxy Temple, they lost their Sect Master, who was their only Emperor, and more than half of their Dao Source Realm cultivators.

At present, there were only five Dao Source Realm Masters left. Tao Ying Ruo, who was in the Third-Order, had the strongest cultivation among the five, followed by Qin Pei and another in the Second-Order Dao Source Realm. The remaining two were only in the First-Order Dao Source Realm. With its current strength, Luo Sha Sect couldn’t even compare to the past Blue Feather Sect, so it was only natural that the surrounding great forces couldn’t wait to conquer or assimilate them.

Yang Kai truly knew nothing about Luo Sha Sect other than what Qin Pei had told him during their trip here. Luo Sha Sect did not have a long history as its founder was none other than the late Sect Master, Yu Luo Sha. Its entire history was less than a thousand years, which for a Sect, was quite short.

Most of the disciples were orphans who had basically been brought back by disciples who were travelling outside. Generally, the atmosphere in the Sect was rather harmonious as the relationship between Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters was kind and friendly. Even if they had minor disputes with each other, it was nothing serious. In addition, Luo Sha Sect held jurisdiction over a nearby city, and most of the Sect’s income came from there along with a local mineral lode.

Since Yang Kai was going to become a High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect, Tao Ying Ruo naturally wanted him to know more about it; therefore, she prepared a full inventory of the Sect’s holdings and began explaining many things to him, one by one. Under normal circumstances, the position of a High-Rank Guest Elder was inferior to that of an actual Elder; however, Yang Kai’s cultivation was so much higher than hers and Luo Sha Sect would be taking shelter under his protection in the coming future, so they subconsciously considered themselves lower in status than him. If he was not a man, they might have even asked him to assume the position of Sect Master.

There were so many reports, however, that Yang Kai soon became sleepy just from listening to them, and when Tao Ying Ruo saw this, she couldn’t help sighing in her heart as she truly realized how overly suspicious and pessimistic she had been before. Just looking at Yang Kai, it was clear he thought it was nothing but a bother to control Luo Sha Sect. It made it seem her previous worries about him having malicious intentions were utterly ridiculous.

Nevertheless, it was precisely for this reason that Tao Ying Ruo was feeling more and more at ease with Yang Kai. With a man like him, who wanted nothing from them, protecting Luo Sha Sect, there was no need to fear that they would not be able to revitalize the Sect given enough time. Tao Ying Ruo paused her reports and tentatively asked if he wanted to be an official Elder at Luo Sha Sect, but he quickly declined the offer; thus, she immediately gave up on the idea.

“We have made preparations for the Grand Canonization Ceremony in advance. This Mistress was planning to hold the ceremony in half a month. Can you wait that long, Elder Yang?” Tao Ying Ruo asked.

Yang Kai pondered for a moment after hearing those words then nodded, “Good.”

He could guess her intentions. It was nothing more than wanting to make a grand statement with this Grand Canonization Ceremony; after all, Tao Ying Ruo had ordered people to spread the news that he was coming to serve as a High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect already. Unfortunately, those were nothing but words and nobody believed what she said entirely. On the other hand, a Grand Canonization Ceremony was different. It was an extremely formal event and as soon as it took place, it would show definitively that Yang Kai was part of Luo Sha Sect.

Yang Kai had the feeling that Tao Ying Ruo was going to send out many invitations and invite many people over to witness the ceremony. This wasn’t a big deal for him though, so he left it up to her. Her actions carried no malicious intentions nor greed after all, she was simply doing it for the sake of protecting Luo Sha Sect.

Seeing that Yang Kai had no objections to her plans, Tao Ying Ruo smiled and stood up, “In that case, please rest here for a few days, Elder Yang.”

After saying that, she signalled Qin Pei with a look.

Qin Pei immediately stood up and said, “Elder Yang, please follow me.”

Yang Kai nodded, stood up, and said his goodbyes to the others before following Qin Pei out of the palace.

Luo Sha Sect might not occupy a large area, but it was not small either. It was naturally not as grand as High Heaven Palace which had over a hundred Spirit Mountains, but even so, it had about twenty or thirty Spirit Peaks. Yang Kai followed Qin Pei, flying all the way to the highest Spirit Peak with the densest World Energy. They landed lightly in front of several beautiful buildings atop the Spirit Peak where more than ten female disciples immediately stepped forward to greet him.

Qin Pei waved at them to indicate for them to forgo the formalities. Then, she pointed to Yang Kai and said, “This is our Luo Sha Sect’s High-Rank Guest Elder, Elder Yang. Serve him diligently in the future.”

“Yes!” The dozen or so female disciples replied respectfully with one of the more courageous young women among them sneakily raising her gaze to peek at Yang Kai before quickly lowering her eyes.

Only then did Qin Pei turn around to look at Yang Kai, “This used to be the place where Sect Master lived. When Senior Sister Tao heard that Elder Yang was coming, she ordered it cleaned up. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you find anything undesirable and I will do my best to fix it.”

Yang Kai was slightly surprised and asked, “The place where your Sect Master used to live? Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

This was their Sect Master’s residence, so how could he, a mere High-Rank Guest Elder, stay here? Although Yu Luo Sha was gone, it would certainly appoint a new Sect Master in the future. Wouldn’t he be usurping something that rightfully belonged to another by staying here?

Pursing her lips, Qin Pei smiled, “This was what Senior Sister Tao decided. Elder Yang, please don’t refuse.”

Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment before he nodded, “Very well. Many thanks, Junior Sister Qin.”

Hearing him addressing her in such a manner, Qin Pei couldn’t help being stunned for a moment. Nevertheless, she soon broke out into a wide smile, “Senior Brother Yang, please have a good rest. If you require anything at all, please let these disciples know and they will fulfil all your needs.”

After bowing, Qin Pei took her leave. Even so, Yang Kai couldn’t help but get the feeling that the way she looked at him just before she left spoke volumes. Moreover, the last sentence she spoke was extremely enticing. A group of female disciples serving him who would meet all his needs… It was difficult not to overthink things.

Rubbing his chin, Yang Kai turned and glanced at the dozen or so female disciples standing before him. His gaze caused them to lower their heads immediately in response, while on the contrary, his eyes lit up brightly.

Leaving aside the cultivation of these young women, each and every one of them had exquisite beauty and a voluptuous figure. This was no surprise as Luo Sha Sect was an all-female Sect, so finding a few pretty faces among them was not a problem.

Yang Kai had not noticed before, but now that he got a closer look, he realized that these disciples each had a different flavour of beauty. Some were dignified, some were seductive, some were vivacious, some were innocent. The most notable were the two women standing at the head of this group. One of these young women had watery and lovely eyes, as though they were inherently covered in a layer of mist. When he fixed his gaze on her, she quickly lowered her head shyly while biting her red lip. Her every movement exuded a strong sense of allure, tempting a person to hold her in their arms and make her their own.

Yang Kai had seen many people who possessed innate charm, but this young woman was quite outstanding even among them, only second to Shan Qing Luo, his Beguiling Demon Queen. This woman was not deliberately trying to act seductive and enchanting, but instead had a kind of naturally overflowing allure that stimulated a man’s desire.

Yang Kai was somewhat surprised. He had no idea if Luo Sha Sect had Charm Techniques in their library, but if it did, then this girl would obtain twice the result with half the effort if she cultivated them.

Meanwhile, the other lead woman gave Yang Kai a sense of purity. Her entire person seemed to contain no trace of mortal trappings, making her appear weak and gentle, arousing an instinct to protect her. It was as though just looking at her was blasphemy. Unfortunately, it was precisely this level of purity that made a man want to defile her.

Needless to say, all of these young women had clearly been carefully selected from among the disciples of Luo Sha Sect, with the two in front probably being the most attractive out of all the thousand female disciples in Luo Sha Sect.

Realizing what was happening, Yang Kai smiled wryly to himself. [It looks like Tao Ying Ruo took great pains for my sake.]

Tao Ying Ruo arranged for these two seductresses to be sent here and supplemented the idea with the words Qin Pei uttered before she left. If he had the slightest inclination, he could easily sleep with these two disciples, and if anything more were to happen between them… He would surely give more consideration to Luo Sha Sect in the future.

[Women… They really like to overthink things.] Nevertheless, he could understand Tao Ying Ruo’s and the upper management of Luo Sha Sect’s thinking; after all, from a purely practical standpoint, there was nothing worthy of Yang Kai’s attention or interest in Luo Sha Sect aside from their beauty.

This could be said to be a trap to ensnare him with a beautiful woman; however, Yang Kai could not blame them for doing this. Besides, it was better to have so many beautiful women accompanying him than being all alone or having a bunch of old men serving him. At the very least, it was very pleasing to the eye.

“Disciple Ran Yi Rou greets Elder Yang,” The pure female disciple bowed generously.

Immediately following that, the other woman, who was so charming that she was practically dripping with it, hurriedly bowed too, “Disciple Yu Ke Ran greets Elder Yang.”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3278

The voices of these two women were a reflection of their temperaments. One was elegant and graceful while the other was sweet and pleasant. Yu Ke Ran’s voice, in particular, made Yang Kai feel as though his bones became lighter and it filled his entire body with a sense of ecstasy.

The cultivation of both women was not high, but it was not bad either. They were both in the Third-Order Origin King Realm, which was only one step away from the Dao Source Realm. With the current condition Luo Sha Sect was in, those in the Dao Source Realm were truly the pillars of the Sect. Tao Ying Ruo’s willingness to ‘offer’ these two women went to show just how much importance she attached to Yang Kai. She could not act indifferent to him; after all, the safety of the Sect was tied to him. Forget these two disciples, she would even offer herself up to him if he really had any intentions.

Yang Kai nodded, “You must be aware of this King’s circumstances, so there’s no need to be so formal. Let’s get along with each other, okay?”

“We dare not,” Both women lowered their heads.

Yang Kai smiled slightly but did not force them, simply turning around and heading inside. When Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran saw him enter the palace, they quickly followed after him while the rest of the disciples remained outside.

Upon entering the palace, the two women followed Yang Kai wherever he went. They only spoke when he asked them something and at other times, they remained silent and assumed an attitude suitable for disciples. Although Ran Yi Rou acted warm and friendly on the outside, Yang Kai could feel the tension and anxiety coming from both of them.

These two women had been ordered to serve Yang Kai, and before coming here, they had received a direct order from Tao Ying Ruo in no uncertain terms that they could not refuse any request Yang Kai might make of them. They were no longer children, so they naturally understood what Tao Ying Ruo meant. They had grown up in Luo Sha Sect, and although they encountered some men on their travels outside, those men had all made them feel extremely uncomfortable. The looks those men gave them were lustful and possessive; moreover, none of those men fit their ideals. They even formed an instinctive rejection of other men as a result. However, Luo Sha Sect was their home and they could not stand idly by when it was in peril.

When they accepted this task, they had resigned themselves to their fate. How could they treat an Elder who could do anything he wanted with them at any time as an equal? It was only natural that they were cautious of him.

This place used to be where Yu Luo Sha, the late Sect Master of Luo Sha Sect, had lived; therefore, the décor was on the feminine side. Be that as it may, most of these traces had been removed under Tao Ying Ruo’s instructions. Most of the items inside the palace should have been newly purchased, though a faintly feminine scent still lingered around the place.

It didn’t take long before Yang Kai finished touring the palace, and afterwards, he leisurely walked out again, leading the two young women around Luo Sha Sect as he explored aimlessly. Although it had been a long trip here, Yang Kai had not found it strenuous so he was in no hurry to rest. Since he was going to be shielding Luo Sha Sect from now on, he had to learn more about this place. Besides, it was also a kind of life experience to appreciate a different scenery and custom once in a while.

There were twenty-six Spirit Peaks, large and small, in Luo Sha Sect, each one having its own specialty, so Yang Kai started with Luo Sha Peak where he was staying.

While he was touring, Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran accompanied him. They answered all his questions but did not speak unless spoken to. It wasn’t until they reached a certain place that Ran Yi Rou had to speak up, “The Restricted Area is located up ahead. We disciples are unable to accompany Elder Yang inside. Please forgive us.” While speaking, she and Yu Ke Ran both stopped walking.

“Restricted Area?” Yang Kai stopped and looked up ahead, but could not detect anything special about this place. Nodding, he continued, “Let’s go somewhere else then, since this is a Restricted Area.”

Every Sect had its own Restricted Areas, and Luo Sha Sect was no different. Most ordinary disciples had no right to enter such places.

Yu Ke Ran followed up, “Elder may enter if he wishes to.”

Yang Kai pondered for a moment before commenting, “Would that not be inappropriate?” 

[They already mentioned that this is a Restricted Area, so how could I just stroll inside?]

Yu Ke Ran smiled sweetly, two small dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth, “It’s okay. Martial Aunt Tao has already said that Elder Yang is allowed to go anywhere he wishes in Luo Sha Sect.”

Since they had already said so, Yang Kai didn’t hold back. In any case, whatever secrets Luo Sha Sect might be hiding probably wouldn’t be of much interest to him, so he might as well casually check out what the Restricted Area was like. Nodded, he instructed the two women, “Wait for me here. I’ll be right back.”

“Understood!” The two women respectfully bowed, but by the time they looked up again, Yang Kai was gone. Turning to look at each other, the two of them secretly felt stunned. Although they could not say they met many Emperor Realm Masters in the past, they had at least encountered a handful before. Even so, none of those Emperors had ever given them such a profound and mysterious impression. Compared to Yang Kai, their late Sect Master didn’t even feel like she was on the same level.

With that thought in their hearts, Yu Ke Ran secretly sent a Divine Sense transmission, “Senior Sister, Elder Yang seems to be quite amicable.”

The two of them had been on edge for the past few days; after all, Tao Ying Ruo had suddenly assigned them to serve the new High-Rank Guest Elder who would be arriving soon at Luo Sha Sect. In addition, she had warned them about many things. They had been somewhat worried that the person coming here might be a rough-tempered and violent man. It wasn’t until they met Yang Kai that they realized he was completely different from what they were imagining. He was not ugly, rather, he was on the handsome side. Plus, his personality seemed to be extremely relaxed and easy-going.

“Elder Yang might be easy to get along with, but we must not overstep our boundaries,” Ran Yi Rou replied with a stern expression, “You better stop talking so much as well, or, if you must, then you should change your voice a little. Otherwise, Elder Yang might think that you are trying to seduce him.”

Yu Ke Ran blushed at those words and looked like she was about to cry, “But this is how I naturally speak! What should I do?”

Ran Yi Rou looked at Yu Ke Ran with a troubled expression, “You’re doing it again…” [Forget a man, even I feel my heart racing when I hear her voice!]

That sweet and gentle melody was like an invisible little hand that continuously stroked at a person’s heart.

Yu Ke Ran lowered her head with an anxious look, “Good. I won’t talk in front of Elder Yang anymore.”

Ran Yi Rou sighed, “The Sect is currently taking shelter under Elder Yang’s protection, while you and I have been assigned to serve him. We are currently representatives of the Sect. Of course I know what you are like since we have been sisters for so long, but Elder Yang has only been here for a day, so if he misunderstands your actions, he might look down on both you, me, and the Sect.

“En en, Senior Sister is right.” Yu Ke Ran looked up and nodded repeatedly. Stretching out her hand, she pinched her lips and muttered, “I will act like a mute from now on!”

Ran Yi Rou shook her head, “You don’t need to go that far. If Elder Yang asks you anything, you should still answer him.”

“Good,” Yu Ke Ran nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice. Then, she suddenly thought about something, bit her red lip softly, and whispered, “Senior Sister, there’s something I want to ask…”

“What is it?” Ran Yi Rou saw the strange expression on Yu Ke Ran’s face and suddenly got a bad feeling.

Yu Ke Ran hesitated for a moment, clearly feeling shy, before she eventually stuttered, “W-When night comes… if Elder Yang really… really…”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence anymore.

Ran Yi Rou was also blushing furiously and she swiftly reached out and poked Yu Ke Ran in the head, speaking to her through gritted teeth, “You silly girl! What are you thinking!?”

Yu Ke Ran clutched at her head with both hands, “But, Martial Aunt Tao said all that! Besides, it’s not like you don’t know… Those Emperor Realm Masters have countless wives and concubines, and I heard that every night, they…”

“Every night, they… What?” Ran Yi Rou’s voice trembled slightly. She could feel her cheeks burning like they were on fire when she asked that question.

“Aren’t satisfied unless they have a woman beside them…” Yu Ke Ran lowered her head and blurted out a few words.

Ran Yi Rou fell silent. Yu Ke Ran looked up and tilted her head to look at her Senior Sister before reaching out her hand and waving them in front of Ran Yi Rou, calling out, “Senior Sister…”

Ran Yi Rou chuckled faintly, “The joining of Yin and Yang is a part of the Grand Dao, pure and natural. If it really comes down to that, is he not worthy of us given his status and position? In fact, we would be the ones seeking that which is beyond our station!”

Yu Ke Ran’s eyes suddenly twinkled with stars as she directed a look of admiration towards Ran Yi Rou, “Wow! Senior Sister, you are so open-minded!”

Ran Yi Rou reached out and pinched Yu Ke Ran’s cheeks. Gritting her teeth slightly, she chided, “It’s all because you keep asking so many silly questions! You are not allowed to ask any more! Don’t talk about this anymore either.”

Yu Ke Ran’s eyes were watery as she was in so much pain that her tears threatened to fall as she begged, “Senior Sister, please forgive me! I’m sorry, okay?”

…..

The so-called Restricted Area was just a mountain valley located behind Luo Sha Peak. Yang Kai walked around and found nothing worthy of attention. The World Energy here was not much richer than any other area, and there was nothing in the mountain valley that could increase one’s cultivation progress. That made him feel rather curious. If it was a Restricted Area, then it must have some sort of secret hidden within. However, the mountain valley seemed completely ordinary no matter how he checked.

Glancing around, his eyes eventually landed on a certain cliffside. If there was anything worthy of attention in this mountain valley, then it could only be this cliff. The cliff was as smooth as a mirror and it was hard to imagine how it could have been formed.

Yang Kai stepped forward and knocked on the cliff lightly, quickly determining that this was not the work of man, but a mystery of nature. Thus, he couldn’t help marvelling at the formation of the cliff. Nevertheless, the cliff was just an ordinary cliff and he did not discover any hidden barriers or alcoves.

It wasn’t that he was deliberately prying into Luo Sha Sect’s secrets, it was purely out of curiosity. Besides, Tao Ying Ruo had said that there was no place in Luo Sha Sect off-limits to him, so there was no reason to restrain himself when they were being so generous.

After investigating for a while though, Yang Kai returned to where he came from with a sullen expression. He was certain that the mountain valley was just an ordinary mountain valley, and the cliff was also just an ordinary cliff. There were no secrets to speak of in there.

[Why is such a place a Restricted Area?] He was puzzled. Needless to say, he could probably learn the truth if he asked Tao Ying Ruo about it. Briefly considering for a moment though, he decided to forget it. [What I can find depends on my own ability. If I deliberately ask about it after I’ve failed to discover anything, won’t it seem like I am coveting their secrets?]

When Yang Kai returned, Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran were still standing in the same spot where he left them earlier, but when he walked up to them, he couldn’t help giving them a second glance as both women were blushing and there was an unusual air about them. It made him reluctant to look away. They were obviously aware of this too and seemed a little apologetic.

Afterwards, Yang Kai continued to tour Luo Sha Sect under the guidance of the two young women. They occasionally encountered disciples patrolling along the way, most of whom had seen Yang Kai before while those who hadn’t could infer his identity from the attitudes of Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran, so it was only natural that they were allowed to move freely without any hindrance.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3279

Half a day later, Yang Kai finished touring the entire Luo Sha Sect. Then, he headed straight out the main gate, bringing Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran outside with him.

Inside the main hall, the five remaining Dao Source Realm Masters of Luo Sha Sect were busy preparing for the Grand Canonization Ceremony. All of a sudden, a female disciple walked in, came to Qin Pei, and whispered a few words to her regarding the traffic and the main gate.

Qin Pei waved the female disciple away and let out a light laugh, “Our High-Rank Guest Elder sure isn’t one to sit around idly.”

Tao Ying Ruo asked, “What happened?”

Qin Pei replied, “He went out with two disciples.”

Tao Ying Ruo’s eyes lit up when she heard those words, “Where did he go?”

Qin Pei explained, “Supposedly, he is just taking a stroll around. He probably headed towards Luo City.” 

Luo City was a city within the jurisdiction of Luo Sha Sect with a population of about a million. Most of Luo Sha Sect ’s income came from this city.

“He went to Luo City…” Tao Ying Ruo fell silent for a moment, thinking hard. A moment later, her beautiful eyes became brighter, and she nodded, “Good. That’s good.”

Several Dao Source Realm Masters looked at her with curious expressions while Qin Pei asked, “Senior Sister, what do you mean…”

Tao Ying Ruo put down the invitation card in her hand, took a sip from her teacup, and said, “We are taking such great pains to prepare for the Grand Canonization Ceremony and sending out so many invitations for what reason?”

Qin Pei thought for a while before commenting, “To build up publicity.”

After their Sect Master, who was the only Emperor Realm Master they had, passed away, Yang Kai had voluntarily asked to become their High-Rank Guest Elder. How could Luo Sha Sect not take advantage of such a good opportunity? They had to create as much momentum as possible right now so that none of the great forces surrounding Luo Sha Sect dared to look down on them in the future.

Tao Ying Ruo nodded, “Yes, and all of this is based on Elder Yang’s reputation. The ceremony is simply us borrowing his name to create a shield for ourselves, but it is different if he makes an appearance on his own. Elder Yang’s trip to Luo City is equivalent to announcing his relationship with Luo Sha Sect in advance. Let’s see who dares to look down on our Sect after today?”

When the Dao Source Realm Masters heard that, their eyes lit up and Qin Pei asked, “Senior Sister, are you saying that Elder Yang is doing this on purpose?”

Tao Ying Ruo nodded and smiled, “If not, why didn’t he just take a good rest after arriving here? It seems we’ve received another huge favour from him.”

When realization dawned on the others, they all had looks of gratitude on their faces.

Two days later, Yang Kai returned with Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran. Since then, he stayed on Luo Sha Peak to cultivate in retreat and did not come out again. Even so, the effect of his little trip soon became apparent. Although Luo City was managed by Luo Sha Sect, most of the shops in the city were not owned directly by them. Many of the great forces in the surrounding areas had established businesses in the city, so when Yang Kai took Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran with him for a stroll through town, those with ears and eyes couldn’t ignore the trio even if they wanted to and it was only natural that they report such news back to the forces behind them.

Meanwhile, the disciples of Luo Sha Sect who returned after delivering invitations reported back that the various great forces that received them all treated them with the utmost courtesy. Those forces all stated that they would attend the Grand Canonization Ceremony and some of them even sent out their Emperor Realm Masters to personally accept the invitations. All these signs indicated that the crisis Luo Sha Sect had been facing was over. With Yang Kai’s protection, nobody else dared to target Luo Sha Sect again.

When the news was reported back to Luo Sha Sect, Tao Ying Ruo and the others were beside themselves with joy. They poured even more effort into preparing the Grand Canonization Ceremony, so much so that their preparations for this event were grander than the succession ceremony of the Sect Master. Then again, Luo Sha Sect had no leader right now. They had no Emperor Realm Masters among their ranks and there was nobody with the qualifications to become Sect Master either. For the time being, Tao Ying Ruo was temporarily taking on the duties of the Sect Master as the strongest among them and only when she became an Emperor would she officially assume the position of Sect Master.

One day, Tao Ying Ruo was busy with something when Yang Kai suddenly came over uninvited. She did not dare to be disrespectful toward the great hero who saved Luo Sha Sect; thus, she hurriedly invited him in and personally served him tea.

After taking her seat, Tao Ying Ruo asked, “Elder Yang, have you gotten used to living here? Are there any issues with how our disciples’ service?”

Yang Kai smiled and waved his hand casually, “I’m used to roaming the world, so where I live makes no difference to me. Yi Rou and Ke Ran are also very hardworking.”

“That’s good.” Tao Ying Ruo smiled, “If there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to let them know.”

There was one thing Tao Ying Ruo was rather curious about though. According to the daily reports from Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran, Yang Kai had been cultivating ever since he returned from Luo City the other day and had not met them at all since that day.

It seemed men who were indifferent to the beautiful women in front of them really existed in this world! Just this point alone was enough to gain Tao Ying Ruo’s respect and admiration. She was certain that Yang Kai understood her intentions behind sending Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran to him and nothing would stop him if he had the desire to possess them. Be it Ran Yi Rou, Yu Ke Ran, or the other female disciples, none of them would have resisted his advances.

As time passed, however, Tao Ying Ruo became more and more satisfied with this High-Rank Guest Elder. Despite giving them so much, he did not ask for anything in return. What else but gratitude could she have towards somebody like that?

“I came here today because I wanted to ask you something, Acting Sect Master.” Yang Kai had a solemn expression.

Tao Ying Ruo replied, “Elder Yang, please don’t hesitate to speak freely. Everyone in Luo Sha Sect will comply with your wishes.”

Yang Kai laughed heartily, “It’s not such a big deal. It’s just that I wish to leave something behind in Luo Sha Sect.”

“Something?” Tao Ying Ruo was curious.

Yang Kai explained, “I’m sure Acting Sect Master has heard about how this King cultivates the Dao of Space and can arrange Cross-Territory Space Arrays, yes?”

Tao Ying Ruo nodded in response. This information was no longer a secret after the incident at Orthodoxy Temple. Yang Kai had brought in more than two hundred Emperor Realm Masters, three Divine Spirits, and thirty-two Monster Kings as reinforcements in the span of a day, and what allowed him to do that was a number of Cross-Territory Space Arrays. If not for this, how could Yang Kai have travelled back and forth between the Eastern Territory, the Northern Territory, and the Southern Territory in just one day?

When Tao Ying Ruo heard Yang Kai mentioning this though, she couldn’t help but brighten up suddenly and excitedly say, “Elder Yang, you don’t mean…”

Yang Kai nodded, “En. I would like to set up a Space Array in Luo Sha Sect that connects directly to High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. As you know, I can’t stay here year-round. I will be leaving once the Grand Canonization Ceremony is over, so Luo Sha Sect will have to rely on itself in the future. Still, it is better to plan ahead. If Luo Sha Sect runs into any kind of danger one day and I am not around to help, you might not be able to defend yourselves on your own. But, it will be a different story if you have a Space Array here. You will be able to go to High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory to ask for help at any time.”

Even though Tao Ying Ruo had some guesses, she still felt extremely grateful when she heard Yang Kai speak about this. If she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t as if she had not considered this possibility before. Since Yang Kai was willing to come and serve as the High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect, she felt there was also a chance she could successfully ask him to connect Luo Sha Sect and High Heaven Palace for long-term and effective protection. Unfortunately, she did not know what it took for Yang Kai to arrange such a Space Array. In her mind, something as mysterious as a Cross-Territory Space Array would surely consume a massive amount of resources and it might be so costly that even selling the entire Luo Sha Sect would not be enough to cover the expense. More importantly, she did not want to give Yang Kai the impression that she was being excessive or greedy.

She could never have imagined that Yang Kai would bring it up himself, and for that reason, she immediately exclaimed happily, “Elder Yang, you really are a good person!”

Yang Kai laughed out loud, “It’s no big deal. It’s just that I still need your agreement to do this, Acting Sect Master.”

“Of course! Of course, you can!” Tao Ying Ruo quickly nodded, nearly losing all the composure she gained after so many years of cultivation. At this moment, she looked like a child who had just received a new toy and wanted to show off and celebrate. But then, she suddenly thought of something and asked, “But, what will you need, Elder Yang? Please write up a list of materials and supplies and I will have my people collect them.”

“I don’t need much. It’s enough if you can bring me some Space Spirit Crystals or Space Spirit Jades.” He had gathered a lot of the materials required to arrange Space Arrays and in fact had more than enough to set up a hundred of them in his possession. Even so, he felt it would be for the best if he accepted some of their kindness since they offered it.

“Good, I will think of a way to gather these two items.”

“There is one more thing. Do you have any suggestions regarding where I should arrange the Space Array?”

The place chosen as the location of the Space Array should be a place that was tightly guarded.

Tao Ying Ruo understood this and asked, “Where do you think would be suitable to set up the Space Array, Elder Yang?”

Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “I’ve toured the entire Luo Sha Sect, and the most suitable place to arrange the Space Array would be in the Restricted Area behind Luo Sha Peak… but that’s a Restricted Area after all…”

Tao Ying Ruo immediately waved her hand, “If Elder Yang thinks that place is suitable, then please proceed, this Mistress has no objections.”

She agreed to it so readily that Yang Kai was taken aback but still nodded, “Good. I’ll arrange it there then.”

All of a sudden, Tao Ying Ruo broke out into a wide smile and asked, “Elder Yang, since you visited the Restricted Area before, were you perhaps disappointed?”

Yang Kai looked slightly embarrassed as he coughed, “I’m not disappointed per se, I’m just a little curious about it.”

Tao Ying Ruo pursed her lips in amusement and nodded, “It’s normal to feel disappointed. There is generally nothing special about the Restricted Area, but if you really want to know its secrets, Elder Yang should visit it on a night with a full moon.”

Yang Kai raised his brow, “The night of a full moon?”

Shaking her head, Tao Ying Ruo explained, “I don’t know the exact details either. I only heard Sect Master mention it once when she was still alive. Only during the night of the full moon will unimaginable changes occur in the Restricted Area. Elder Yang, if you wish to learn more, there will be a full moon in five days.”

“En, then I’ll have to take a good look when the time comes.” He suddenly became interested. When he investigated the Restricted Area previously, he had been greatly disappointed at the results, but to his surprise, there was a special condition behind the Restricted Area and it would not reveal its mysteries unless those conditions were met. This immediately aroused his curiosity, so he made up his mind to take a closer look at the Restricted Area on the night of the full moon five days later.

It could be seen that Luo Sha Sect had left itself completely unguarded to him in order to repay the favour they owed to him. Putting himself in their shoes though, he could understand their thoughts; after all, a one-way relationship where only he kept giving could not be sustained for long.

After asking a few more questions, Yang Kai was surprised to learn that Tao Ying Ruo herself had never been to the Restricted Area during a full moon; therefore, she had no idea what would appear. It seemed Yu Luo Sha was the only one qualified to step foot into the Restricted Area of Luo Sha Sect.

Yang Kai said his goodbyes to Tao Ying Ruo and went directly to the mountain valley of the Restricted Area. He proceeded to take out a large number of materials and got to work. Half a day later, the Space Array was completed and he casually refined a Transmission Token before calling both Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran over. Telling them the purpose of the Transmission Token, he taught them the method to activate the Space Array then told them to report everything to Tao Ying Ruo.

With this Space Array in place, Luo Sha Sect had nothing to worry about anymore. Once Tao Ying Ruo received the Transmission Token, she immediately came to thank Yang Kai in person and he decided to let her experience the cross-territory teleportation, sending her directly to High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. 

The experience amazed her so much that she couldn’t calm down for a long time.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3280

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The trees were verdant in the mountain valley of the Restricted Area and the air was refreshing as a spring day. Meanwhile, Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged, looking up at the sky.

Night fell, and the weather was still clear, allowing the bright moon and glowing stars to gently illuminate the surrounding valley. There was nothing out of place in the surroundings and as time flowed by, the full moon slowly climbed high into the sky. At that moment, a strange power began subtly fluctuating. The power was so weak that Yang Kai would not have noticed it if he had not been paying close attention.

“Is this it?” Yang Kai muttered to himself under his breath. Focusing, he began paying more attention to his surroundings than before. He was extremely curious about the strange changes that only occurred in the Restricted Area of Luo Sha Sect on the night of a full moon. Under his perception, a sense of calm fell over the mountain valley again, almost as if the fluctuations just now were nothing but an illusion. A few moments later though, the same strange fluctuations appeared again. It was much clearer than before, but disappeared again in a flash.

“Where is it coming from?” Yang Kai pondered as he studied his surroundings with great interest, his eyes shining brightly. The third wave of fluctuations soon appeared, and this time around, he was prepared. Instantly, Yang Kai cast his gaze in a certain direction and was stunned. When he visited this place five days ago, a certain cliff in this place had left the biggest impression on him as it was clearly naturally formed but was as smooth as a mirror; now though, it would appear that the strange energy fluctuations were coming from this extremely flat cliff wall.

Yang Kai was surprised and thoroughly scanned the entire cliff with his Divine Sense, wondering if there was some sort of sophisticated barrier that had escaped his prior investigation; however, he found nothing even after careful study.

Fortunately, the frequency of the appearance of the peculiar fluctuations increased over time until, finally, a wondrous scene appeared on the smooth wall of the cliff. It was as though the cliff wall had transformed into a mirror, a blurry and somewhat vague one. Following those changes in the cliff wall, a sizable amount of World Energy appeared out of nowhere and filled the entire mountain valley to the brim.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised as a brief scan of his surroundings told him that the World Energy in this mountain valley was now no inferior to Spirit Lake Palace’s Heaven Grade Cultivation Rooms located just outside of Maplewood City. If an ordinary cultivator were to cultivate in this place, a day’s effort in this place would be equivalent to 10 days’ worth of effort in other places.

That was not the case in the mountain valley during the day as the World Energy here was not much stronger than the surrounding region; thus, it was simply amazing for this place to experience such shocking changes on the night of a full moon. Nevertheless, Yang Kai had the feeling that this change was simply scratching the surface of this mystery. The most important revelation might still lie in that smooth cliff wall, so he focused his gaze and stared intently at the cliff in hopes of stumbling upon its hidden secrets.

A moment later, Yang Kai made a soft exclamation of surprise because he witnessed something inexplicable coming from the light pulsing from the cliff wall. As his attention focused, the folding and flipping light transformed into a set of characters, and the more he focused, the clearer the words became. Not daring to be negligent, he carefully wrote down this text.

After a while, he realized that this was an extremely profound Secret Art, astonishing him greatly. On the night of a full moon, a Secret Art would appear on this sheer cliffside in the mountain valley of Luo Sha Sect’s Restricted Area. If he had not seen it for himself, he would never have believed it.

Yang Kai could not get a complete picture of the Secret Art; however, a careful study revealed that it was a cultivation technique suitable for women. It was somewhat similar to Luo Sha Sect’s core inheritance in fact, and upon further thought, Yang Kai surmised that the Secret Arts that were cultivated in Luo Sha Sect probably came from this cliff wall.

In the past, Yu Luo Sha probably discovered the anomaly in this place and obtained this opportunity, which allowed her to cultivate until she became an Emperor Realm Master. It was precisely because of this reason that she established Luo Sha Sect here.

While Yang Kai was immersed in his thoughts, the scenery on the cliff wall changed again. It was no longer a wall of vague and distorted text but instead a vague figure. That figure seemed to be dancing atop the cliff under the moonlight; however, that figure revealed mysterious Divine Abilities with every move it made, mesmerizing anyone who watched it. If a person immersed themselves in this dance to gain enlightenment, they would surely be greatly rewarded.

Yang Kai did not know how this strange scene was formed. It might have been man-made, or it could have been caused by nature, he could only say that the world was truly full of surprises.

Immersing his mind into the dance, he carefully comprehended its secrets. Confirming what he learned, one by one, turned out to be very rewarding in itself; thus, he couldn’t help sighing in amazement. Yu Luo Sha was extremely unlucky it seemed. Given enough time, she would definitely have become a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master if she continued studying this opportunity. It was a pity that she died in Orthodoxy Temple and passed away before she had the chance to flourish. Nevertheless, Yang Kai understood why Yu Luo Sha had turned this place into a Restricted Area, even barring Tao Ying Ruo and the others from approaching it.

It was always better to keep these sorts of things for one’s exclusive use, and if news about this were to leak out, many would have coveted it for themselves. This was in part due to Yu Luo Sha’s selfishness, but it was also just human nature. Then again, Yu Luo Sha was only a First-Order Emperor Realm, which showed that her comprehension of this Secret Art was far from sufficient; otherwise, it was impossible for her growth to stop in this Realm with such an opportunity in her hands.

All of a sudden, the light coming from the cliff disappeared, vanishing without any warning. Yang Kai, who was immersed in various stages of comprehension, noticed the change and turned his head to look in a certain direction. His gaze was penetrating, almost as though he could stare directly at something through the barriers of space.

Frowning in thought for a moment, he stood up and vanished from where he was standing, arriving at the edge of the mountain valley by the time he reappeared again. He quietly stared at the space in front of him and Space Principles fluctuated wildly as he slowly reached out both hands. Then, his hands disappeared as he inserted them into the Void.

“Open!” Following a loud shout, space was ripped apart and a Void Crack appeared on the spot which Yang Kai plunged headfirst into. The surroundings were filled with nothingness and chaos and there were terrifying Void Turbulences surging everywhere. Anyone who came here would find it difficult to move freely and the slightest bit of carelessness would cause them to be devoured by the Void Turbulence, losing their way forever.

Yang Kai was not afraid of this place, however, as it wasn’t his first time coming to such an environment. The Principles around his body oscillated, and the Void Turbulences surging towards him were guided by an invisible force to slide around his body. Immediately following that, he enveloped his Divine Sense in the Space Principles before spreading it out in all directions to investigate his surroundings carefully.

A long while later, Yang Kai revealed a disappointed look, slowly shook his head, and returned to where he came. Upon his return to the mountain valley, he suddenly realized that the night had passed without him knowing and it was now almost daytime. Standing in place, he looked around and lifted his head to look at the sky. Then, he looked back at the smooth cliff wall in the distance, a thoughtful expression flashing across his face. An extremely bold conjecture formed in his heart. If he had guessed correctly, then he had a vague understanding behind the changes in the mountain valley of the Restricted Area. It was a pity that he had failed to grasp the truth behind the phenomenon all night. It wasn’t until it was almost over that it dawned on him. If he wanted to thoroughly understand this phenomenon, then he would have to wait a month until the next full moon to study it again. As such, he couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated. Nevertheless, he quickly came to terms with his frustrations when he thought about the benefits he gained from this venture.

Upon Yang Kai’s return to Luo Sha Peak, Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran both welcomed him back respectfully. They immediately bowed when they saw him. He passed them and headed directly into the room, his voice floating out, “Inform me when it’s time for the ceremony.”

“Yes.” Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran responded respectfully.

For the next few days, Yang Kai remained behind closed doors to cultivate and didn’t take a single step outside. It wasn’t until the day of the ceremony that he dressed in formal robes with Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran’s help.

It was not his first time experiencing a Grand Canonization Ceremony as he had participated in one at Azure Sun Temple before. Speaking of which, it was rather amusing that, while both times were the same Grand Canonization Ceremony to become a High-Rank Guest Elder, it only became increasingly grand each time.

Any other Sect would not have held such a large ceremony like this even if they hired a High-Rank Guest Elder; at most, they would send out an announcement to the surrounding Sects that were on good terms with them, telling those Sects something along the lines of ‘this person is now the High-Rank Guest Elder of our Sect. Please show some respect if you run into them in the future’.

On the contrary, Yang Kai was highly valued by both Azure Sun Temple and Luo Sha Sect. Leaving aside Azure Sun Temple for the moment, Luo Sha Sect’s very future was tied to him, so how could they not hold a grand celebration for him?

Guests from all around came to offer their congratulations. It wasn’t just those from the nearby great forces who had received invitations who came as many people whom Luo Sha Sect had never even had dealings with before appeared. Facing a stream of Emperor Realm Masters who arrived uninvited, the disciples in charge of welcoming guests in front of the main gate were under a lot of pressure. Similarly, Tao Ying Ruo, Qin Pei, and the others didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as they did not expect so many people to attend the Grand Canonization Ceremony.

There were only five Dao Source Realm Masters in the entire Luo Sha Sect now, but even so, they had no choice but to send out three of them to welcome guests at the front gate while the other two were busy ushering people into the ceremony grounds. They were so busy that their feet barely touched the ground and they couldn’t excuse themselves from their duties. Nevertheless, they knew the reason these people came without invitation was not out of respect for Luo Sha Sect but for Yang Kai.

After such a long time, news of the incident at Orthodoxy Temple had spread throughout the entire Southern Territory. Not to mention, most of the influential Sects in the Southern Territory had been involved in the incident. All those who survived that incident basically owed Yang Kai a life debt; therefore, it was only natural that they come to offer their congratulations on this occasion.

The disciples in charge of recording down the gifts various guests brought were almost numb from shock by the generosity of these offerings. The giant pile of precious treasures left the group of Luo Sha Sect disciples, who had little experience in the outside world, feeling utterly dumbfounded. Even their hands holding their brushes trembled as they recorded down the gifts.

There were so many guests that the seats originally prepared for the ceremony were far from enough. Tao Ying Ruo urgently mobilized the disciples of Luo Sha Sect to increase the number of seats by nearly five times, which barely made up for the insufficient supply.

On that day, the thousand or so disciples of Luo Sha Sect, regardless of their cultivation, worked around the clock with no time to rest at all. After the ceremony, the records showed that hundreds of Emperor Realm Masters had come to offer their congratulations to Luo Sha Sect. In addition, there were countless other cultivators with varying cultivations who came as well. The total number of guests reached around fifteen hundred, a number so large it was greater than the total number of members of Luo Sha Sect. This truly showed Tao Ying Ruo and the others what it meant by ‘being influential’.

The ceremony was held as scheduled, and under countless congratulatory wishes, Yang Kai became Luo Sha Sect’s High-Rank Guest Elder. When his position was confirmed, Tao Ying Ruo and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3281

The ceremony only lasted for a day, but it wasn’t until 3 days later that Luo Sha Sect sent away all the guests and finally quieted down again. For the past 3 days, Yang Kai had been mingling among the various Emperor Realm Masters. He had no other choice. Since he was now the High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect, he had to act as befitting his position, becoming a bridge to create many connections between Luo Sha Sect and the other Sects here to attend this ceremony.

These results made Tao Ying Ruo and the others beside themselves with joy. It could be said that things had already exceeded their reasons for hiring Yang Kai as a High-Rank Guest Elder in the first place. Nobody in the entire Southern Territory would ever dare to touch Luo Sha Sect again in the future. With Yang Kai as their golden signboard, Luo Sha Sect need only take its time to develop in a steady manner and would definitely get a chance to make its comeback in the future.

This was something Yang Kai no longer needed to consider. He had High Heaven Palace already and it was only because of Yu Zhuo that he offered protection to Luo Sha Sect, so it was impossible for him to stay here for long.

He originally planned to leave immediately after the ceremony. In any case, he had left a Cross-Territory Space Array here, so if Luo Sha Sect were to run into some sort of problem, Tao Ying Ruo could head to High Heaven Palace for help. However, he had to delay his departure a little longer because of the matter in the mountain valley of the Restricted Area. Yang Kai planned to wait until the next full moon to thoroughly study the phenomenon before leaving.

On the other hand, Tao Ying Ruo went to Luo Sha Peak with a few of her Junior Sisters in the Dao Source Realm. After Ran Yi Rou announced their arrival, Yang Kai received them in the guest hall. The five Dao Source Realm Masters lined up and bowed.

Then, Tao Ying Ruo said, “Elder Yang, Luo Sha Sect will never forget the great kindness you showed us. If you ever need anything in the future, Luo Sha Sect will never refuse your requests.”

Yang Kai helped them up and waved his hand casually, “Acting Sect Master, you are being excessive. I am also a member of Luo Sha Sect now, this is just a part of my duties.”

Tao Ying Ruo shook her head and gratefully exclaimed, “Luo Sha Sect is truly lucky to have you, Elder Yang.” While speaking, she shot a glance at Qin Pei.

Qin Pei stepped forward and held out a Space Ring with both hands to Yang Kai.

“This is…” He took it and gave her a curious look.

Qin Pei replied, “These are the congratulatory gifts from all the guests at the ceremony. The disciples have made a record of the gifts on this jade slip so Elder Yang can browse through it to see if there is anything missing.”

Luo Sha Sect was technically gifted these things, but Tao Ying Ruo and the others knew their place. Those people had not given these gifts out of respect for Luo Sha Sect but rather out of respect for Yang Kai, so they could not keep any of them and decided to hand everything over without keeping a single item.

“There really are quite a lot of good things in here,” Yang Kai casually glanced through the items and smiled, not refusing the gifts and putting them into his Space Ring. This was an unimaginable wealth for Luo Sha Sect, but it was nothing much in his eyes. High Heaven Palace was now in charge of the entire Northern Territory and its annual income was beyond imagination, so what was this single ring in comparison?

He had no intention of sharing these gifts with Luo Sha Sect because he knew that even if he mentioned it, Tao Ying Ruo and the others would never agree to accept them. These women were not that brazen. Besides, as the saying went ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’.

If Luo Sha Sect wanted to expand in the future and obtain sufficient cultivation resources, then they needed to have a stable long-term income source. Of course, Yang Kai had already planned for this and spoke up, “Acting Sect Master, you should take a trip to High Heaven Palace when you have the time and meet with my Head Manager there. Perhaps, you can discuss with her to find a way to benefit Luo Sha Sect. That way, you won’t lack resources for your disciples’ various cultivation needs in the future.”

Tao Ying Ruo’s eyes lit up when she heard those words, “Many thanks, Elder Yang. I will visit in a few days.”

He nodded, “When you go there, please let her know that I will be staying here for another month and will return after.”

“Good.”

For Tao Ying Ruo and the others, it didn’t matter how long Yang Kai wanted to remain in Luo Sha Sect; after all, they had already given him unfettered access to even the mountain valley of the Restricted Area. What else was there that they could not give to him? In fact, it was best if something could spark between him, Ran Yi Rou or Yu Ke Ran. It was a pity that this wish was never realized.

For the next twenty days, Yang Kai remained behind closed doors. Forget Tao Ying Ruo and the other Dao Source Realm Elders, even Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran did not see him at all.

In the blink of an eye, one month had passed and it was once again the night of the full moon.

Yang Kai arrived at the mountain valley of the Restricted Area early that evening, looked around, and couldn’t help frowning. The last time he came here, the moon had been bright, and the skies were clear. Unfortunately, the weather was not good today and dark clouds covered the sky, making the whole world dark. There was no moonlight coming down at all.

Seeing this, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little worried. He did not know whether the changes in the weather would have any impact on the Restricted Area; however, if it was as he had guessed, then the weather wouldn’t make much of a difference.

He waited quietly for night to fall, and soon that familiar feeling appeared again. Yang Kai’s expression brightened as he became more and more certain that his previous conjecture was correct. This time around, he didn’t pay any attention to the smooth cliff because there was nothing unusual about it since there was no moonlight tonight. Instead, he came directly to the place he noticed last time near the end of the phenomenon.

It didn’t take long before another weak energy fluctuation appeared. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Thus, he widened his eyes and stared intently at the forming Void Crack in front of him, his heart filling with a sense of excitement. It turned out to be exactly as he had guessed! When the fluctuations appeared, an almost undetectable tear in space appeared at this location. It was just that this tear was so fleeting that the fluctuations ended abruptly and became unnoticeable as a result.

Yang Kai noticed this anomaly previously, but his mind had been immersed in the smooth wall cliff and it wasn’t until the last moment that he shifted his focus. As a result, he had failed to track the source of those fluctuations.

There must be something hidden in the Void Crack here. That unknown existence would break through space on the nights of a full moon, causing a tear to appear in the mountain valley. Then, under the refraction of the moonlight, it would project some of what was happening inside the Void Crack onto the smooth cliff wall. In other words, the root cause of this phenomenon was not in the cliff wall but in the Void Crack.

Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling excited as he was looking forward to discovering the mystery hidden in this Void Crack. Even if other people had noticed this anomaly, they probably couldn’t do anything about it, but it was different for him, he was proficient in the Dao of Space. As long as he could trace the source of the phenomena, he could directly tear space open and enter the Void Crack to investigate.

Although he had also torn an opening in the space previously, the Void Crack was an unpredictable place and he could not follow the faint trail. Even if he tore open space in the same spot at another time, he still couldn’t find the root cause of the phenomena.

After several more fluctuations, the fleeting space tear could finally be traced back to its source. It was as fine as a strand of hair, and if it had been anyone else, even a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, they would not have noticed anything amiss if they came here.

Yang Kai no longer hesitated. Space Principles flared up and he inserted his hands into the tear and violently pried it open before slipping into the Void Crack.

Inside the Void Crack that was filled with chaos and nothingness, he was stunned for a moment as he stared blankly at something straight ahead and almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Many signs had led him to form a conjecture that there might be something hidden inside the Void Crack and his guess turned out to be correct. He did indeed discover something when he followed the trail and investigated the source; however, what was hidden in this place was not some unique treasure or mighty weapon that he had imagined. It turned out to be a person. Moreover, it was a woman! At least, she should be a woman… A man wouldn’t wear such flowery robes.

This woman was sitting cross-legged in the Void. She was so emaciated that she was practically just skin and bones; her eye sockets were sunken inward; her hair was greyish white; and her eyes were dim and dull like those of a dead fish. Even the life aura coming from her body was so weak that it felt like she could die at any time.

Yang Kai was shocked, extremely shocked! [How can there be a woman in this place!?]

He knew well just how dangerous the Void Crack was as even someone like him might die if he lost his way, much less someone who knew nothing about the Dao of Space. Therefore, he never imagined that there would come a day when he would encounter a random woman in the Void Crack!

Judging by her appearance, she was probably one of those unlucky people who got lost in the Void, just like how it was depicted in the rumours. Who knows how long she had been lost in this place for her to become so thin? It must be said that a person who could enter a Void Crack should not be that weak, and since they were relatively powerful, they would naturally carry some Spirit Pills or Source Crystals for restorative purposes.

From the looks of this woman and the traces he could sense around him, Yang Kai hazarded a guess that she had been trapped in this place for more than ten thousand years. At the very least, it had been several thousand years. If not, her body would not have shrunk so badly. He could practically imagine what had happened to her with just a single glance. She had been trapped in the endless Void and over the years, every single resource inside her Space Ring had been consumed. With no other options, she could only rely on the vitality of her physical body to stay alive. Who knew how many years had passed since then? Almost all of her flesh and blood had been consumed as a result, leading to her current starved and emaciated appearance.

[Who is she? And, how did she get trapped in this place?] What shocked Yang Kai even more though was that she was still alive! The vitality coming from her body was weak indeed, like a candle in the wind that could get snuffed out at any moment, but she was certainly still alive. That was because when he looked at her, those dull eyes suddenly moved. The movements were very stiff, as though they had not moved in a very long time; nevertheless, they immediately fixed on him.

When their gazes met, those eyes shone with a desperate look of joy and disbelief. At the same time, a gurgling sound came from her throat. Under those circumstances, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling rather shaken by the situation.

The woman in front of him parted her lips that were as dry as tree bark several times, but no sound came out of her mouth. Even so, that slight movement caused her already weak vitality to be exhausted at an incredible pace. The light in her eyes instantly dimmed as a result. Yang Kai couldn’t help breaking out in a cold sweat, scared that this woman might die just like that. After a moment of hesitation, he took out a Spirit Pill from his Space Ring, held it between his fingers, and walked over to her.

The woman’s gaze was immediately attracted to the Spirit Pill in his fingers. She looked like a starving ghost that had spotted food and even her weak breathing became ragged.

Yang Kai secretly sighed to himself. Even though he could barely feel any power coming from this woman now, she had managed to persist in the Void for thousands of years. That indicated that her true strength must have been absolutely terrifying at its peak. Be that as it may, a mere Origin King Grade Spirit Pill could now make her show such a desperate look. She no longer had any form of elegance that came with being a powerful Master, which made him sigh in pity at the sight.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3282

If Yang Kai had to be honest, for a moment, he didn’t know how to deal with this situation where he encountered a woman in the Void Crack. He didn’t even know if she was good or evil. If this woman turned out to be a heinous and evil existence, then wouldn’t he be helping a tyrant by rescuing her? But, if the other party had accidentally fallen into this place and was trapped as a result, then it would be too cruel to just sit and watch without doing anything.

For this woman in front of him, he was definitely her last chance for survival. If he decided to ignore her and walk away, she would die without a doubt; therefore, he decided to restore a little bit of her vitality first before anything else. It would not be too late for him to make his decision after learning more about her origins and temperament.

Walking over, he handed the Spirit Pill over to the woman. That woman that was all skin and bones, stared at the Spirit Pill desperately. She tried hard to swallow it but didn’t even have the strength to open her mouth; thus, she could only look up at him beggingly.

Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and suddenly felt that he was being overly cautious. It didn’t matter even if the woman in front of him used to be incredibly wicked. In her current state, she wouldn’t recover even if she spent hundreds of years recuperating. With no other choice, he stretched out his hand, pried her mouth open, and stuffed the Spirit Pill into it. Then, he used his Emperor Qi to help her swallow it. The woman’s eyes flashed with gratitude before she closed them and adjusted her breathing.

Yang Kai didn’t remain idle, pressing a hand against her shoulder and carefully pouring his Emperor Qi into her body to help her refine the medicinal efficacies of the Spirit Pill, regardless of her consent. At the same time, he immediately gained a full understanding of the condition her body was in. What he discovered was extremely shocking, to say the least. He did not know what kind of cultivation this woman had back in her heyday, but right now, her entire body was withered, and her meridians had almost completely atrophied. There were many parts that were obstructed, and he needed to focus so that he could carefully direct the flow of his Emperor Qi; otherwise, he could inadvertently cause her to explode and die.

Needless to say, a mere Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was not enough for this woman to recover fully. Even if he helped to refine all of its medical efficacies, it only allowed her to stabilize her wavering vitality. There were no changes whatsoever to her emaciated appearance, but her dead fish eyes brightened considerably.

Yang Kai suddenly felt rather emotional. It was said that even ants would fight desperately to survive; so what more needed to be said about a Human? Even so, he felt that it might be better to die if a person were to be trapped in such a place for thousands of years. At the very least, it would end things quickly. Being trapped in this place was simply an endless life of suffering, and yet, this woman had survived. What kind of indomitable will and determination would be needed for her to do so? This woman’s mental strength must be unimaginably strong for her to persevere under such conditions.

When the Origin King Grade Spirit Pill was completely refined, the woman stared straight at him again with eyes that were full of longing. It was obvious that she was hoping he would give her more Spirit Pills, but Yang Kai pretended not to understand and simply stood there scratching his face.

Seeing that her pleading gaze was not going to yield any results, she did not pressure him further and simply closed her eyes again. After recuperating for some time, she opened her mouth and an unintelligible sound came from within. It was clear that it had been too long since she last spoke. Even with a Spirit Pill to help stabilize her vitality, she was still incapable of forming a full sentence and only after trying for a long time did she finally force out some broken words, “Ma… many… thanks!”

Even though it was only two simple words, they seemed to exhaust all her strength and she fell silent again after uttering them.

Yang Kai nodded and smilingly said, “It was nothing. May I know how I should address you?”

The woman was startled, and a confused look appeared in her eyes. Yang Kai observed her reactions and thought to himself, [It can’t be that she has been trapped in this place for so long that she forgot her own name, right?]

Fortunately, she soon forced out a few words with great difficulty, “Sheng… Yu… Zhu!”

Something like a name was a brand that existed throughout a person’s life. Even if it had been momentarily forgotten, the memory of it would always return with some thought. Yang Kai was taken aback by her name for a moment as it was somewhat peculiar to him. Thinking about it carefully though, none of the people that he had ever interacted with had this surname, nor had he heard of it before today.

“This Junior’s name is Yang Kai,” He cupped his fists and continued, “I currently serve as the High-Rank Guest Elder of Luo Sha Sect. By coincidence, I found something strange in the Restricted Area of the Sect and followed the traces to this place. I did not expect to meet you here. Is the abnormality in Luo Sha Sect’s Restricted Area caused by you?”

Sheng Yu Zhu nodded in response. Yang Kai could not tell if she was a person of few words or if it was just difficult for her to speak at the moment.

“As I thought…” Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter. Various instances in the Restricted Area had led him to guess that the root cause was within the Void Crack, and upon seeing Sheng Yu Zhu in this place, he immediately concluded that the anomaly had indeed been man-made. Trapped in this place, she had used some kind of powerful Divine Ability to send clues out of the Void Crack. If anybody were to come across these clues, they would surely become curious about it, and if they could trace them back to the Void Crack, then they would surely encounter her.

It was just that the only person in this world, aside from Yang Kai himself, that could notice such a subtle clue would have to be Li Wu Yi of Spirit Beast Island. That was because they were the only two proficient in the Dao of Space and were capable of perceiving such a tiny tear in space, much less enter the Void Crack.

If this weren’t the case, Yu Luo Sha, the former Sect Master of Luo Sha Sect, would not have been oblivious for so long. She simply thought that the anomaly in the Restricted Area was a blessing from the Heavens that was bestowed upon her.

It could be said that whatever Yu Luo Sha learned from the smooth cliff wall was deliberately left behind by Sheng Yu Zhu. By all accounts, Yu Luo Sha could be considered Sheng Yu Zhu’s unofficial disciple. In fact, all disciples of Luo Sha Sect could be considered Sheng Yu Zhu’s disciples.

Looking at Sheng Yu Zhu’s current condition, it was obvious that she no longer had the ability to execute such a plan, so Yang Kai was certain that this was something she had done thousands of years ago. It had been maintained through some mysterious means all this while, allowing it to appear whenever there was a full moon and cause inexplicable changes in the Restricted Area.

“How long have you been trapped in this place?” Yang Kai asked the question he was most curious about.

Sheng Yu Zhu slowly shook her head. “I can’t… remember…”

That truly was a saddening answer and Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing on her behalf. The fact that she no longer remembered how long she had been trapped in this place indicated that it had been a very, very long time.

“Do you understand Space Principles?” Something else came to mind suddenly. That space tear couldn’t appear in the mountain valley of the Restricted Area for no reason. It could only be man-made.

Sheng Yu Zhu replied, “I was… trapped… for… too long… so… I could… only… think of… a solution… myself.”

After a long pause, she continued strenuously, “I only… understand… a little.”

Yang Kai nodded in understanding. The tear in space had been far too small, as fine as a strand of hair. Yu Luo Sha had been cultivating in the Restricted Area for several hundred years and still failed to notice it. If Yang Kai had not been proficient in the Dao of Space himself, it would have been impossible for him to discover it.

It was reasonable for Sheng Yu Zhu to claim that she only comprehended some small bits of the Dao of Space. If she had zero understanding of it, she could not have created that space tear, while on the other hand, she would have widened the tear enough so that she could escape from this place had she been more proficient in it. Yang Kai had the feeling that Sheng Yu Zhu only had the barest understanding of the Dao of Space and was far from grasping its essence.

“Little Brother…” Sheng Yu Zhu called out.

“Do you have something to say?” He looked at her.

She continued, “Since… you managed to come here… that means you… can tear open space. Can you… bring me out of here?” As she spoke, her ability to express herself gradually became smoother and her hoarse voice also became more and more fluid. It was just that she was still very weak. Nevertheless, her eyes were burning with hope when she asked that question. A person finally appeared in front of her after so many years of waiting; moreover, it was obvious at a glance that this person was proficient in the Dao of Space. If she wanted to get out of this place, she could only put her hopes in him, so how could she not grab hold of such a good opportunity?

When he heard her question, Yang Kai rubbed his chin with a troubled look, “But I don’t know whether you are a good person or a bad person.”

Sheng Yu Zhu blinked, “Will you believe me if I say that I’m a good person?”

Yang Kai shook his head and replied seriously, “Naturally not.”

Sheng Yu Zhu replied, “If I were a bad person, I would not have been deceived back then nor exiled to this place to never see the sky ever again.”

Yang Kai shook his head once more though, “You don’t have any proof. What if you turned out to be a heinous villain? I can’t let you out.”

Sheng Yu Zhu sighed, “How can I prove whether I am good or evil? I don’t even know how many years I have been trapped in here. The people I used to know are probably all dead by now. Even if they are still alive, you might not necessarily know who they are. Don’t tell me you plan to go out and inquire about my origins?”

“Why not?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “May I know the names of the people you used to know? Uhh… If you think they couldn’t have survived until now, then don’t mention them. Just choose a few of the ones who seem like they are long-lived.”

Sheng Yu Zhu let out a light laugh, “You certainly are being cautious.”

Yang Kai could only solemnly reply, “Forgive me, but this is necessary.”

After considering the question for some time, the first name that came out of Sheng Yu Zhu’s mouth shocked Yang Kai to his core, “Is Wu Kuang still alive?”

Yang Kai’s eyes bulged and a myriad of expressions flashed across his face, “Wu Kuang? Which Wu Kuang?”

She glanced at him pensively, “You seem to have heard his name before. Does that mean he succeeded?”

Yang Kai was drenched in cold sweat as he asked once more, “Which Wu Kuang are you referring to?”

Looking at him with a profound expression, she replied, “The one you’re clearly thinking of, the one who cultivates the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.”

Yang Kai was so shocked that his complexion paled and he couldn’t help shouting, “Are you acquainted with Wu Kuang!?”

Sheng Yu Zhu chuckled in response, “Of course. It’s all thanks to him that I am trapped in this place.”

“What?” Yang Kai felt as though he had lost his ability to think. This woman in front of him, who was all skin and bones, was trapped in this Void Crack by Wu Kuang!? In other words, wouldn’t that make her a person from the same generation as Wu Kuang!? For a while, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a chill all over.

He had previously guessed that she had been trapped in this place for a very long time, at least a few thousand years, maybe even ten thousand years; however, ten thousand years was nowhere near long enough if she truly turned out to be from the same era as Wu Kuang. She would have been trapped in this place for several tens of thousands of years!

Just thinking about the possibility made him shudder in fear. How could a person not go mad after being trapped in this chaotic nothingness for tens of thousands of years? Moreover, she constantly tried to send out messages to the outside world in hopes of attracting a person to rescue her. This woman named Sheng Yu Zhu was definitely an extremely old monster!

All of a sudden though, Yang Kai felt something amiss about her words and sneered, “Do you think I’m easy to deceive just because I’m young?”

Sheng Yu Zhu was puzzled, “What do you mean?”

She did not understand the reason why Yang Kai seemed to have suddenly turned hostile to her.

Yang Kai scoffed, “Wu Kuang was known as the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor. He was the most powerful Master in the history of the Star Boundary, his cultivation unrivalled. How are you still alive if he really plotted against you? Are you going to tell me that you are also a Great Emperor?”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3283

That was clearly impossible. If Sheng Yu Zhu was truly a Great Emperor, she would have ripped open this Void Crack and escaped a long time ago. Great Emperors inherited the blessing of the world and were existences recognized by the Heavenly Way itself, so they could not be trapped in the Void Crack.

“He really succeeded,” Sheng Yu Zhu murmured, the expression on her face seemingly a little strange. Pausing for a moment, she continued, “It’s not strange for you to misunderstand. It’s just that… when he trapped me in here, he wasn’t a Great Emperor yet.”

Yang Kai’s mouth fell open so wide an egg could easily be stuffed into it. The amount of information in those words was simply overwhelming. Wu Kuang had been famous for tens of thousands of years and his title as Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was known to everyone across the entire Star Boundary. Just how long ago did he become a Great Emperor? Yet, what Sheng Yu Zhu was saying was that she had been trapped in this place since before Wu Kuang even became a Great Emperor.

Now, the question was, how long had she been trapped in this place? It had to be said that the Great Emperor War took place nearly twenty thousand years ago, and it only happened a long time after Wu Kuang rose to the position of Great Emperor.

In other words, Sheng Yu Zhu had been trapped in this place for at least thirty thousand years, likely even longer. She had been unable to escape from this place for such a long time, and even after painstaking effort, she could just barely scratch the surface of the Dao of Space to open a tear in this Void Crack to pass a message to the outside world.

Yang Kai almost suspected that she was lying. How could anyone possibly survive for so long in a place like this all alone!?

Unexpectedly, Sheng Yu Zhu ignored him and continued talking to herself, “Back then, Wu Kuang and I were equals in terms of strength and we both aspired to become Great Emperors. It was precisely because of this that I was set up by Wu Kuang.”

Yang Kai’s eyes shone with a brilliant light, “You were competing with Wu Kuang for the position of Great Emperor?” [What a heroic act that is! To think that this woman was such a supreme Master! It’s hard to imagine. In her era, she must have been quite a prominent figure.] 

Sheng Yu Zhu smiled bitterly, “I was tricked by him before I could get that far and I’ve been stuck in the Void ever since.”

Yang Kai looked at Sheng Yu Zhu sympathetically, “Your grudge must run deep…”

Disputes on the Grand Dao typically had a no-holds-barred approach, so what Wu Kuang did could not be considered despicable or shameless. Although Wu Kuang was by no means a decent person, in this case, it could only be said that Sheng Yu Zhu made a blunder.

The hatred formed from having one’s Grand Dao stolen away was absolutely irreconcilable. Nevertheless, Sheng Yu Zhu spoke about this matter in quite a bland manner. She didn’t seem to hold any resentment or hatred, which made Yang Kai’s opinion of her rise significantly. If she had such a broad mindset, he felt she couldn’t be that bad.

Through her words, Yang Kai was certain of what her cultivation had been in the past. She was probably one of those existences Yang Yan mentioned before, the ones half a step away from becoming a Great Emperor. The only reason such Masters failed to become Great Emperors was that they could not receive the recognition of the world. They were by no means comparable to ordinary Third-Order Emperors and could target the position of Great Emperor at any time to replace one of the current Ten Great Emperors if the conditions were right.

Sheng Yu Zhu swept her gaze over Yang Kai and stated, “Seeing that you are in the Second-Order Emperor Realm even though you don’t look that old, you will probably compete with those just below the top of the world given enough time.”

Yang Kai responded in a dead serious manner, “That is what I am working towards.”

She nodded, “Good. With an ambitious nature like that, you will surely earn a place in the world in the future.”

Pausing for a moment, she continued, “You didn’t answer my question. Is Wu Kuang still alive?”

Yang Kai sighed and shook his head, “He’s dead!”

Of course, this was a lie. Although Wu Kaung’s body was destroyed, his Soul endured and was now locked in a strange partnership with Duan Hong Chen. They were sharing the same body and it could be said that he was not quite alive but not quite dead either. The reason Yang Kai answered this way was to see how Sheng Yu Zhu would react to the news. If she showed any abnormal reaction whatsoever, he would have to seriously consider whether or not to bring her out.

Sheng Yu Zhu was obviously stunned for a time upon hearing his answer and asked in a daze, “He’s dead?”

Yang Kai solemnly replied, “Heaven Devouring Great Emperor brought chaos to many Lower Star Fields. Everywhere he went, innocents perished and countless Stars were destroyed. The other Great Emperors could not bear watching any longer, so they banded together to slay him in the Shattered Star Sea.”

She looked directly at him and asked, “When did all of this happen?”

“About twenty thousand years ago.”

“It’s been so long…” Sheng Yu Zhu wore a complicated expression on her face for a time before she sighed sadly, “He succeeded as the Heaven Devourer and died as the Heaven Devourer. Such is the cycle of cause and effect, the consequences of his actions.”

Yang Kai commented, “You should be happy, Senior.”

To which Sheng Yu Zhu nodded, “I should be happy… I knew he would suffer a tragic fate one day, but I never imagined that he would die under the besiegement of all other Great Emperors… Forget it, since he is dead, whatever grievances I had with him are now behind us. Let’s not talk about him anymore. What about Duan Hong Chen, Yao Jun, Zhan Wu Hen, and Chu Tian Ji? Do you know any of them?”

Yang Kai vividly felt cold sweat dripping down his back as his expression twitched slightly as he replied, “Senior Hong Chen is a role model for all cultivators in the Star Boundary, and I have had the honour of meeting him a few times. I have also met Senior Serene Soul Great Emperor, Yao Jun, once before. But who are Zhan Wu Hen and Chu Tian Ji?”

Of the four names that popped out of her mouth, two of them were Great Emperors, and although Yang Kai had no idea who Zhan Wu Hen and Chu Tian Ji were, he had a vague guess of their identities.

Sheng Yu Zhu elucidated, “Zhan Wu Hen cultivated the Iron Blood Record and was the most combative of those four. Perhaps he is known by another name now while his real name has been forgotten by the world. As for Chu Tian Ji… He’s a no-good scammer as far as I am concerned, but it seems he gained some insight into Heaven’s secrets.”

The cold sweat was now practically raining off Yang Kai’s back when he heard her explanation and he weakly said, “Senior, the people you mentioned might be referring to Iron Blood Great Emperor and Heavens Revelations Great Emperor.”

At the same time, Yang Kai lamented in his heart. [There’s no doubt that she is an Old Monster who has lived for tens of thousands of years! All the people she knows are Great Emperors! But that’s not that surprising either. I asked her to mention people that might still be alive after all, so it’s only natural that she chose to name the strongest amongst those she once knew. And the most powerful people she knew back then would not be little known existences if they managed to survive until today.]

With this level of contacts, how powerful her cultivation was didn’t matter anymore. Who would dare to slight her after she left this place? Even if the Great Emperors ran into her, they would probably have to show her some respect as a peer.

“So, they have all become Great Emperors…” A nostalgic look appeared in her eyes as if she was recalling her past memories from a long, long time ago. Nevertheless, she quickly recovered from her reverie and smiled, “They aren’t dead yet, right? You only need to ask one of them what kind of person I am. They will surely tell you.”

“They are indeed all still alive.” Yang Kai wiped the sweat away from his brow before continuing bitterly, “But, the Great Emperors rarely show themselves to the world, so someone like me won’t be able to meet them on a whim.”

Of the four Great Emperors, Duan Hong Chen was probably still confronting Wu Kuang in the Ancestral Domain.

On the other hand, Iron Blood Great Emperor was an elusive person who rarely made an appearance even though he was currently in charge of the Star Court. The last time he made an appearance was in the Western Territory. Unfortunately, he refused to meet Yang Kai and even destroyed his Cross-Territory Space Array while intercepting Lin Yun’er during the teleportation.

Yang Kai had the feeling that even if he encountered Iron Blood Great Emperor again, the latter would not be happy to see him; after all, he almost abducted Lin Yun’er from him back then.

As for Serene Soul Great Emperor… It went without saying that Yang Kai would never meet him voluntarily. Yang Kai had some friction with Yao Jun’s daughter, Yao Lin, in the Ancient Wild Lands of the Eastern Territory previously and nearly killed her as a result. In the end, the Soul Descend of Serene Soul Great Emperor appeared to resolve the incident. The feud between them was neither too big nor too small, and it was quite magnanimous of Serene Soul Great Emperor to not pursue the matter. How could Yang Kai deliver himself up to Serene Soul Great Emperor on a silver platter now though?

Finally, Heavens Revelations Great Emperor supposedly lived in seclusion in Heavens Spying Valley; however, Yang Kai didn’t even know which Territory Heavens Spying Valley was located in.

When it came down to it, Sheng Yu Zhu’s contacts were simply too high for him to reach. One should not be fooled by her emaciated appearance and her weak manner of speaking. Even if she had fallen from her peak, she was still no ordinary person. Her connections spanned tens of thousands of years, and all the people she knew were now extremely influential figures in the Star Boundary.

“Then what are we to do? I don’t think anyone else can verify my identity…” Sheng Yu Zhu felt a little helpless. Too much time had passed. If it had only been thousands of years, or a little under ten thousand years, things would have been much easier. The lifespans of Emperor Realm Masters were long, so she might have been able to name a few others for Yang Kai to check with, but it had been tens of thousands of years since she was trapped here, so how many of her contacts would have survived until the present? Almost all those who lived until the present were Great Emperors.

Yang Kai pondered for a while before declaring, “It’s alright. I’ll bring you out, Senior.”

Sheng Yu Zhu was astonished and asked, “Weren’t you afraid I might be a wicked person?”

To which he smiled at her in a carefree manner, “Even if you are an evil person, you have been trapped in this place for tens of thousands of years, so how much of your strength could possibly be left? Even if Senior wanted to wreak havoc, you are powerless to do so. Besides… If you turn out to be a heinous villain, then Wu Kuang’s fate will be your future.”

Since she knew so many of the Great Emperors, those Great Emperors would also know what kind of person she was. If there really came a day when she tried to turn the world upside down, the Great Emperors would not sit idly by; hence, there was no need to worry about her causing any trouble as far as Yang Kai was concerned.

Sheng Yu Zhu was extremely grateful, “Many thanks!”

Pausing for a moment, she added, “But, I’m not the kind of person who likes owing other people favours. Since you saved my life, I must give you some form of repayment.”

Yang Kai solemnly replied, “This is just a slight effort for me, Senior, please don’t worry about it.”

He wasn’t trying to act modestly as what he said was simply what he truly thought. On top of that, Yang Kai felt that Sheng Yu Zhu would not have anything valuable on her. Even if she had some sort of precious treasure, did he really need them? The Mountain and Rivers Bell in his possession was priceless enough to attract even the interest of Great Emperors, so it was impossible for her to produce an artifact more precious than that.

Sheng Yu Zhu shook her head with some difficulty and continued, “Let me finish speaking. It won’t be too late for you to reject me afterward.”

Her expression seemed to say that it was something so tempting that he would not refuse.

This aroused Yang Kai’s interest, so he cocked his ears and listened intently.

“I mentioned this before, but your cultivation is quite impressive despite how young you are. Given enough time, you will surely compete for a position at the summit of this world. As such, have you ever wondered why there are only Ten Great Emperors in the world?”

Yang Kai answered promptly, “This Junior once heard from someone that the world is like a bottle filled with sand and stones, and that bottle has a limited capacity. It is unable to accommodate the existence of more than ten Great Emperors at a time as they are the biggest stones of all, but I don’t know if it is true or not.”

This time, it was Sheng Yu Zhu’s turn to be surprised as she exclaimed, “You actually know about this…”

“It’s just something I heard.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.

She nodded affirmatively, “Indeed. This world is a bottle that can only hold ten Great Emperors at a time. If you want to become a Great Emperor, you can only wait for a position to open up and then compete against the best in the world to obtain that spot!”

Yang Kai sighed, “Only the Heavens know when that will happen.”

The lifespan of a Great Emperor was incredibly long, to the point where, unless they died of some unexpected circumstances, no position would be vacated for thousands or tens of thousands of years. Several Great Emperors were born after the Great Emperor War, but that was only thanks to Wu Kuang. Several Great Emperors died at Wu Kuang’s hands in that great battle. Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, Flower Shadow Great Emperor, Night Shadow Great Emperor, and Bright Moon Great Emperor all rose to their positions after that battle.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3284

When it came down to it, these people had Wu Kuang to thank for their positions. If not for Wu Kuang’s rampage in the past, they would never have gotten the chance to become Great Emperors.

“But, there will always be a chance, right? A Great Emperor is not immortal after all,” Sheng Yu Zhu smiled. She might have been a beauty with a sweet smile back in her heyday, but her current appearance was not suitable for showing a smiling face. It only made her look uglier than if she had cried instead, “Your greatest advantage lies in your youth.”

Yang Kai nodded, “What Senior says makes sense.” Up until today, it had only been a little over a hundred years since he started cultivating; moreover, it was not a problem for him to reach the Third-Order Emperor Realm or even the stage that was half a step away from becoming a Great Emperor with his aptitude. He had a long life ahead of him, so it was not impossible for him to stand at the top when the time came.

Sheng Yu Zhu leisurely stated, “If such a day really comes… I’m just saying; if such a day really comes, I will tell you how to become a Great Emperor.”

Yang Kai’s entire body stiffened for a moment at those words and his eyes gleamed brightly as he stared at her, “Senior, you know the secret to becoming a Great Emperor?”

This had been a question he had always been wondering about. He only knew that he had to master World Force in order to become a Great Emperor but he didn’t know anything more than that. Nevertheless, what kind of existence was a Great Emperor? Even if he could master World Force, he might not succeed in becoming one. On the contrary, what Sheng Yu Zhu just said gave him an infinite sense of hope.

Sheng Yu Zhu replied, “I might have stood a chance if I had not been plotted against by Wu Kuang back then. I’ve experienced something similar once before, so how could I not know something?”

Yang Kai suddenly had the impulse to grab at his ears and scratch at his cheeks. He was itching to know more, so much so that he was tempted to use force to pry the secrets out of her mouth. If he could understand the secrets to becoming a Great Emperor, then he would be one step ahead of the others when the time came. Be that as it may, he was not a person who could not distinguish between right and wrong. Sheng Yu Zhu was simply reciprocating a favour, so how could he go against his original intentions? Nevertheless, he had to admit that the repayment she was giving him was extremely valuable. It might sound rather vague and unreliable, but it was still worth more than any artifact in the world.

Yang Kai grinned sheepishly, “Can’t you just tell me now?”

Even though he knew the possibility was slim, he still had to try asking. Who knows? She might teach him everything out of goodwill.

Unfortunately, Sheng Yu Zhu just slowly shook her head, “There’s no point in telling you if the time isn’t right. You should just focus on cultivating for now. Opportunities will come to those who are prepared.”

Nodding, he did not force the issue. Then, his expression suddenly changed as he asked, “I might be competing against Senior when that time comes. Aren’t you worried that you might raise a strong contender against yourself?”

Even if an opportunity presented itself, it was a very slim chance. It was impossible for something like the battle at the Shattered Star Sea to occur again where several positions for Great Emperor suddenly became vacant. For somebody as superior as a Great Emperor, the death of any one of them was a world-shaking matter in itself; therefore, even if an opportunity presented itself in the future, chances were that it would only be for one spot. What Sheng Yu Zhu was doing was equivalent to creating a strong rival for herself. Moreover, this rival would know everything she knew.

Sheng Yu Zhu laughed when she heard his question though, “Disputes in the Grand Dao are matters of life or death. Besides, did you really think that you and I will be the only ones fighting over that spot? When that time comes, all those qualified in the world will sense it. We might even be able to work together against them when the time comes.”

“So that’s how it is, Senior,” Yang Kai’s doubts were assuaged. He had to admit that what Sheng Yu Zhu said was reasonable. When the time came, all the hidden Old Monsters cultivating in some corner of the world would swarm towards this chance, so what difference would one more person make? On the contrary, forging a friendship now might allow them to work together to fend off their enemies in the future before having a final showdown between themselves at the last moment.

Taking all this into consideration, Yang Kai no longer hesitated. Cupping his fists, he said, “Senior, this Junior is grateful for the kindness you have shown me. Now then, let’s leave this place.”

“Thank you,” Sheng Yu Zhu nodded gently. Despite doing her best to suppress the trembling in her voice, it was still shaking noticeably. It could be seen just how emotional she was at the moment. She had been trapped here for tens of thousands of years after all, and if she did not leave soon, she would really turn into a pile of bones.

Knowing that it was difficult for her to even move, Yang Kai did not act reservedly. He walked over, apologized slightly, then reached out to pick her up. Sheng Yu Zhu was extremely light, making Yang Kai sigh in pity as he felt as if he was carrying a mere skeleton.

To think that an existence that was only half a step away from becoming a Great Emperor would find herself in this position. Just how much hardship had she suffered over the years? She didn’t even know what she did to offend Wu Kuang so greatly that he would set such a trap for her before she even had the chance to fight for the position of Great Emperor.

Space Principles surged as Yang Kai opened a corridor along the path he came from and returned to the mountain valley in the blink of an eye.

When the rich World Energy rushed in from all sides, Sheng Yu Zhu couldn’t help but moan in his arms. Her dull gaze immediately bloomed with a shocking brilliance. [How many years has it been!? How many years has it been since I last felt the existence of World Energy!?]

There had only been an endless nothingness and chaos in the Void, and if not for her Secret Techniques that protected her body, she would not have survived for so many years in there.

Yang Kai clearly felt her body trembling slightly in his arms and could at least somewhat understand her feelings; thus, he deliberately brought up a different topic, “This place is Luo Sha Sect, which is located in the Southern Territory. Senior, you would not have heard of it before, but this Sect has just been attacked and the majority of its Masters fell as a result. I had some connections with a certain member of this Sect, so I came here to serve as a High-Rank Guest Elder to shelter them. Senior, if you don’t mind, you can stay here for the time being to recuperate. Why don’t you figure out your plans after you recover a little more?”

“This body is barely alive, so anywhere is fine.” Sheng Yu Zhu didn’t seem to care about such matters as she breathed in the surrounding air greedily, as if she had just been reborn.

Yang Kai nodded, “Since Senior doesn’t mind, I will make the arrangements.”

“Wait a moment,” Just as Yang Kai was about to leave this place, Sheng Yu Zhu suddenly patted him on the arm to stop him. Even though he didn’t know the reason why, he still stood there motionlessly.

At this moment, it was almost dawn and the sun was rising from the East. After waiting for a short while, a gentle light slowly enveloped the land. Sheng Yu Zhu was staring into the distant horizon at that moment, and when she saw the first rays of sunlight, her eyes were filled with a miserable and slightly emotional look as she muttered, “I never thought I’d have the chance to see this again.”

Yang Kai felt a little dumbfounded when he heard those words. He thought she had something important she needed to do immediately upon returning to the outside world, but how could he have known that she wanted to stay here to watch the sunrise? It had to be said that no matter how long they lived, women would always be women…

Having said that, Yang Kai truly admired her. If he had been trapped in the Void Crack for tens of thousands of years, he was certain his personality would have warped dramatically, or more likely, he would have gone insane even if he somehow managed to survive through various means. However, Sheng Yu Zhu had held onto who she was throughout all those aeons of suffering. It could be seen just how strong her mental fortitude and perseverance were.

Yang Kai had no doubt that as long as she recovered to her peak, he might not be a match for her when the battle for the Grand Dao occurred. [Perhaps, nobody in the world will be able to stand against her. But, so what? She doesn’t even mind sharing one of her greatest secrets with me, so how can I, as a man, cower now? As someone also pursuing the Grand Dao, one who understands things thoroughly should simply forge straight ahead.]

Looking to the East, Yang Kai suddenly felt a sense of pride. The small exchange he had with Sheng Yu Zhu made him feel a kind of urgency. Opportunities were indeed for those who were prepared. Although he had no idea when that ethereal opportunity would appear, he had to obtain the qualifications to fight among the best in the world before that happened. If he didn’t even have the qualifications to join that battle, then he could only watch as the opportunity passed him by. In the end, strength was the key to everything.

Yang Kai spent some time watching the sunrise with Sheng Yu Zhu before bringing her back to Luo Sha Peak. Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran were shocked when they saw him coming back with a woman who was nothing but skin and bones. The main reason was that Sheng Yu Zhu’s current image was too horrible to look at. Even so, they didn’t dare to ask anything and respectfully arranged for Sheng Yu Zhu to be settled in one of the rooms under Yang Kai’s instructions.

When the two young women left, Yang Kai finally said, “Senior, please recuperate here. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

Sheng Yu Zhu did not act pretentiously and asked bluntly, “Can you lend me some Source Crystals and Spirit Pills? I will pay you back in the future.”

Yang Kai’s top priority was to swiftly improve his strength and finish his preparations in advance; on the other hand, Sheng Yu Zhu wanted to restore her strength as quickly as possible. Yang Kai did not know if her cultivation had experienced regression after being trapped for tens of thousands of years, but after surviving such an ordeal, she would certainly gain some benefits as well. With her perseverance and determination, it would not be too difficult to regain her former might.

Sheng Yu Zhu spoke in a light-hearted manner, but Yang Kai did not mind her attitude. Taking out an empty Space Ring, he placed a few million High-Rank Source Crystals and some useful Spirit Pills into it for her before handing it over.

When Yang Kai came out of the palace, he encountered Tao Ying Ruo, who had rushed over in a hurry.

“Elder Yang,” Tao Ying Ruo bowed and glanced inside the palace. It was obvious that she had received some news and came to get a better understanding of the situation.

Yang Kai lightly replied, “Acting Sect Master, you came at just the right time. There’s something I need to tell you.”

He was just about to tell her about Sheng Yu Zhu so that she knew Sheng Yu Zhu would be recuperating in Luo Sha Sect for the foreseeable future, but before he could even say a word, he received a Divine Sense transmission from Sheng Yu Zhu, “Tell her to come in.”

Yang Kai was slightly taken aback for a moment before he smilingly said, “Acting Sect Master, please go inside. Senior seems to have something to say to you.”

“Senior…” Tao Ying Ruo was shocked. In her opinion, Yang Kai was already a superior existence, but to think that he would call somebody else by the title ‘Senior’! Could it be that he brought back a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master from somewhere!? According to the report from Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran, that person seemed to have trouble moving about and her aura was very weak. Moreover, she is so emaciated that she was practically just skin and bones. How can a person like that be Yang Kai’s Senior?

Although those thoughts went through her mind, Tao Ying Ruo did not dare to be disrespectful. Asking to be excused, she hurriedly walked inside.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai waited outside quietly. Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran walked over at that moment, knelt at his feet, and firmly declared, “Please forgive us, Elder.” They both lowered their eyes demurely and looked extremely pitiful.

Yang Kai looked down at them in surprise, but after some slight thought, he couldn’t help chuckling lightly. He guessed that these two girls were afraid that he might blame them for reporting to Tao Ying Ruo. Having said that, even if they had not done so, he would have had to visit Tao Ying Ruo anyway. This place was Luo Sha Sect after all, so it was not appropriate for him to bring a stranger here for no reason. Helping them up, Yang Kai casually comforted them with a few words and eventually got them to relax.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3285

Tao Ying Ruo only came out after a long time.

Yang Kai turned to look at her, and he was surprised to see that her face radiated a healthy glow, as if something good had happened to her.

A curious Yang Kai asked, “Why does Acting Sect Master look so happy?” He wondered in his heart what Sheng Yu Zhu had told her that made her appear so elated.

Without answering his question, Tao Ying Ruo saluted him elegantly and uttered, “Many thanks, Elder Yang, you are truly the greatest fortune of Luo Sha Sect.”

Yang Kai rubbed his nose and asked doubtfully, “What do you mean?”

A smiling Tao Ying Ruo replied, “Elder has brought our Ancestral Founder back with you, so you are truly our lucky star.”

“A-Ancestral Founder?” Yang Kai was shocked, while Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran widened their mouths in disbelief. They didn’t understand why an Ancestral Founder had appeared out of nowhere. Wasn’t the Ancestral Founder of Luo Sha Sect the previous Sect Master, Yu Luo Sha?

While they were puzzled, Yang Kai immediately understood what had happened. If he wasn’t mistaken, all the cultivation techniques of Luo Sha Sect were passed down to them by Sheng Yu Zhu. Although she had only intended to attract others’ attention to save herself, the inheritance she had passed down was undeniable. Yu Luo Sha was considered her disciple, so all the people in Luo Sha Sect were her descendant disciples as well.

Nevertheless, Yu Luo Sha wasn’t aware of this fact.

The reason Sheng Yu Zhu pointed it out to Tao Ying Ruo was that she wanted to make use of this place to restore her strength. Although Luo Sha Sect wasn’t powerful, it was still a Sect, and with the support of so many people in the Sect, she would be able to restore her power quicker.

“This Mistress has confirmed that Senior is indeed the source of all the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques of our Sect. Previously, Senior was trapped inside the Restricted Area by some wicked criminal. Although our previous Sect Master learned all her techniques, she couldn’t find out where Ancestral Founder was held captive, which caused her to have to keep suffering hardship for many years. Elder Yang, it is thanks to you that Ancestral Founder was saved. All of us from Luo Sha Sect are grateful to you.”

Nothing else in a Sect was more reliable than the relationship between a Master and Disciple. Tao Ying Ruo had confirmed that their previous Sect Master, Yu Luo Sha, was able to reach the Emperor Realm because she had learned techniques from Sheng Yu Zhu. Thus, the fact that Sheng Yu Zhu was the Ancestral Founder of Luo Sha Sect was undeniable. Therefore, even though it was the first time they met, and Sheng Yu Zhu appeared very frail, Tao Ying Ruo still immediately acknowledged her identity and treated her politely as their Ancestral Founder.

“It’s just a coincidence. Congratulations,” Yang Kai put on a smile.

“To you as well.” Tao Ying Ruo winked at him, “Elder Yang is also a part of our Luo Sha Sect.”

“Quite right.” Yang Kai guffawed. After the Grand Canonization Ceremony, Luo Sha Sect’s Brand had been imprinted on him, and no one could deny this fact.

Following that, Tao Ying Ruo turned solemn and uttered, “I hope that Elder Yang can keep this whole matter a secret. Our Ancestral Founder doesn’t have much strength at the moment, and it will take her a long time before she can restore herself.”

“Of course,” Yang Kai nodded and secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Initially, he was worried that if he left Sheng Yu Zhu in Luo Sha Sect, Tao Ying Ruo and the others might be against it. He had planned that if Tao Ying Ruo showed any signs of displeasure, he would send Sheng Yu Zhu to High Heaven Palace for her to recuperate; however, he didn’t expect that Sheng Yu Zhu would play such a card and make it known to them that she was their Ancestral Founder. It seemed that she was willing to stay in this place as well.

Certainly, there was no way Luo Sha Sect wouldn’t welcome her now. Tao Ying Ruo must have realised that since Sheng Yu Zhu was able to help someone reach the Emperor Realm despite the fact that she was going through such hardship at that time, her cultivation must have reached the top of this world. If she was willing to give them a hand, Luo Sha Sect would definitely rise rapidly and in the future, they would even grow into one of the top Sects.

“The two of you are forbidden to speak of what you’ve seen and heard here today on pain of death!” Tao Ying Ruo turned around and shot a glare at Ran Yi Rou and Yu Ke Ran.

“Yes,” They immediately saluted her as they wouldn’t dare to disobey. At the same time, they realised that they had stumbled upon possibly the greatest secret of their Sect.

After chatting with Yang Kai for a bit, Tao Ying Ruo hurriedly left this place. She was probably going to share this news with the other Dao Source Realm Elders. This was indeed top secret, but Luo Sha Sect had only five Dao Source Realm Masters now, so while some secrets must never be revealed, some matters needed to be known.

After Yang Kai was done with the matters in Luo Sha Sect, he didn’t have the intention of remaining any longer. Although it would take Sheng Yu Zhu a long time to recover, everyone knew that Luo Sha Sect was under his protection, so no one would dare to find fault with them.

The next day, he bid farewell to Sheng Yu Zhu and Tao Ying Ruo.

What surprised him was that after only one day, Sheng Yu Zhu’s condition had improved tremendously. Although she still looked skinny, and her vitality was still weak, she already looked much better than one day ago. The relationship between Luo Sha Sect and her ensured that Yang Kai could leave this place with peace of mind.

Since Sheng Yu Zhu had acknowledged that she was the Ancestral Founder of Luo Sha Sect, she certainly wouldn’t harm this place.

Yang Kai then returned to High Heaven Palace in Northern Territory.

Atop High Heaven Peak, Yang Kai summoned Hua Qing Si and asked her about the recent situation in the Sect and the Northern Territory. He was told that it was business as usual in the Sect, and the more than one hundred thousand disciples had been diligently cultivating. Although they had brought some people to assist the Southern Territory previously, High Heaven Palace only sent a small number of individuals; therefore, many of them were not even aware of what had happened.

On the other hand, after those who were hesitating still in the Northern Territory witnessed Yang Kai’s inconceivable influence, none dared to oppose him anymore.

Previously, Yang Kai had joined forces with the other three top Sects to establish dominance over the Northern Territory. Given their incredible power, they were able to suppress all those unwilling with ease, but many people were still unresigned. However, after what happened in Southern Territory, these people wouldn’t dare to make a fuss again, though they were still unresigned. Now, almost everyone in the Northern Territory had kowtowed to Yang Kai and it could be said that High Heaven Palace was the only superpower in the Northern Territory right now.

Meanwhile, Dragon Tiger Sect and Profound Cloud Pavilion had been wiped out.

These two Sects were on par with the former Luo Sha Sect in terms of strength, each having a single Emperor Realm Master as their leader with about one or two thousand disciples each. They were considered second or third class Sects; however, one month ago, both of the Sects were uprooted. The Emperor Realm Masters and their disciples were all killed.

“Was this our doing?” Yang Kai gazed at Hua Qing Si seriously and asked.

With a helpless smile, Hua Qing Si shook her head and replied, “It has nothing to do with High Heaven Palace directly, but it is somewhat related to you.”

Yang Kai repeatedly blinked, “Me? Why don’t I even know that it has something to do with me?” 

He had been staying in the Southern Territory during this period of time, and he had not returned to the Northern Territory, so what did these people’s deaths have to do with him? If it was someone else who told him this, he would have refuted them immediately; however, the person who spoke was Hua Qing Si, and she wasn’t someone who would spout nonsense.

Hua Qing Si went on to explain, “Palace Master, don’t you remember that when the Emperor Realm Masters in the Northern Territory gathered up some time ago, the people from those two Sects were absent? At the time, you said that they never needed to appear again if they were reluctant to do so.”

Yang Kai touched his chin and mumbled, “Did I say that?”

At that time, he was in quite an anxious state, enraged by the fact that Yu Zhuo was dead, so it wasn’t strange that he had said something out of anger; however, he really didn’t remember what he had said at that time. Moreover, even if he had said so, it shouldn’t be an issue. The people from those two Sects were able to reach High Heaven Palace within the time limit, but they didn’t show up, which went to show that they had no regard for his orders at all. They had practically disobeyed High Heaven Palace’s command even though they had sworn to do so just before.

Yang Kai had indeed intended to settle accounts with them after everything was settled, but that was just his personal thoughts and he had not given any orders regarding it. At this point, he had even forgotten about it, but he had never expected that the two Sects had been already destroyed.

Hua Qing Si continued, “About a month ago, Mi Qi rallied the forces of more than ten Sects of different sizes to uproot the two Sects. They even beheaded the two Emperor Realm Masters and sent us the wealth that the two Sects had accumulated over the years.”

“What!?” Yang Kai bellowed, “Who told him to act so boldly!?”

Hua Qing Si hung her head low and replied, “Palace Master, even though you might not really have meant it when you said those words, some people might have taken them seriously.”

At that, Yang Kai was lost for words. If that was the case, the two Sects had indeed been destroyed because of him.

Hua Qing Si went on to ask, “So, you didn’t intend to settle accounts with them and Mi Qi was simply overstepping his bounds? Do you think we should punish him?”

The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “How should I punish him?”

She replied, “That’s up to Palace Master. If you think Mi Qi has crossed the line, you can cripple his cultivation and make him apologise to bring justice to the deceased. Or, we can release an official statement to say that this matter has nothing to do with High Heaven Palace, and it was all Mi Qi’s doing.”

Yang Kai uttered dispassionately, “What’s the point of cultivating if apologies are useful? Moreover, Mi Qi has already done it, so if we cripple his cultivation now, it’s akin to telling everyone that we were in the wrong.” He paused for a moment, “Sister Hua, you seem somewhat displeased.”

Hua Qing Si lowered her head and replied, “I wouldn’t dare to. Nevertheless, thousands of people lost their lives.”

With a frown, Yang Kai said, “Sister Hua, please don’t beat around the bush. You’re making it look like we’re not close to each other.”

After a sigh, Hua Qing Si raised her head to look at him and uttered, “Palace Master, you’ve made a name for yourself since young, and your cultivation is powerful. Now, you’re also the leader of the entire Northern Territory, so I’m worried that you’ll be blinded by your successes and fail to adjust your mindset appropriately. Just like what has happened this time, you might believe that the deaths of those people have nothing to do with you.”

Yang Kai quietly listened without interrupting her.

Seeing this, Hua Qing Si went on to explain, “In truth, those people were killed because of you, even if you didn’t mean what you said. Do you now understand the weight your words carry through this incident?”

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai was stunned.

Just like what she had said, he didn’t think that the demise of those two Sects had anything to do with him. He simply felt that Mi Qi had crossed the line by misinterpreting what he had said; however, upon listening to Hua Qing Si’s explanation, he realised that he was at fault as well.

Given his current power and prestige, a simply off-handed comment from him was enough to destroy two Sects and kill thousands of people. Nevertheless, he couldn’t accept the fact that so many had lost their lives just because of what he had said. At that instant, it was as if he could see that his hands were drenched in the blood of innocents.

Hua Qing Si then uttered, “Palace Master is now a leader of so many, so I hope that you’ll be more careful with your words and meticulous in your work in the future. Please take this incident as a learning experience.”

Yang Kai’s expression changed as he replied, “I’ll take your words to heart.”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3286

Seeing as Yang Kai was willing to accept her advice, Hua Qing Si heaved a sigh of relief. Even though she might appear disrespectful, she still had to point it out to him. She was worried that while Yang Kai had gained immense power, he’d also go through some unexpected changes. The increase in power and authority could awaken the dark nature in some people; however, now it seemed that Yang Kai hadn’t changed one bit.

Therefore, Hua Qing Si directly advised, “If we want to unite the entire Northern Territory, we can’t rely solely on our immense power. That is the tactic we have to use in the initial stage, but if we want to be respected as a leader, we have to gain the people’s trust. Although violent suppression might be effective at first, it will cause the people to be resentful of us. The demise of two Sects is no trivial matter. Recently, many Sects in the Northern Territory have been worried that we might target them next. Even though we don’t have that intention, they might not believe it.”

Narrowing his eyes, Yang Kai uttered, “Mi Qi has truly crossed the line by acting recklessly this time, so he should be punished.”

Hua Qing Si cupped her fists and replied, “Palace Master, you’ve indeed made a wise decision. How do you plan to punish him?”

Yang Kai questioned her instead, “Sister Hua, do you have anything in mind?”

After giving it a thought, she uttered, “Despite Mi Qi’s intentions, he still misinterpreted your will and committed a mistake. If we punish him too severely, the others might think that we’re too timid. However, if we punish him too lightly, that will be meaningless. I think that we can force him to resign from his post and have him spend his retirement years in Full Sky Sect from now on.”

Yang Kai pursed his lips, “Sister Hua, your consideration is indeed comprehensive…”

Hua Qing Si pouted, “Just tell me straight away if you think I’m trying to remove a person who has contributed a lot to our Sect. It’s written all over your face.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Despite what Yang Kai had said, that was truly what he felt in his heart. Two reasons contributed to their successful occupation of the Northern Territory. First, they were powerful enough. Second, they had joined forces with three other top Sects to suppress resistance in the Northern Territory. During the process, Mi Qi had made significant contributions. After witnessing the power of Yang Kai and High Heaven Palace, he even personally went into action, leading Emperor Realm Masters from Full Sky Sect to suppress the other great forces.

Now that everything was settled, if they forced him to resign, it was akin to removing a contributor to their success.

Hua Qing Si uttered, “Mi Qi isn’t a particularly conniving man, but he’s too aggressive, so it’s hard to control him. If we can take advantage of this incident and deal a blow to him, we can plant a puppet in Full Sky Sect and gain full control of it.” 

This was her true intention.

Among the four top Sects in the Northern Territory, Ice Heart Valley was close to Yang Kai, while Fire Dragon Palace regarded him as a true leader. The only variable was Full Sky Sect. If they could remove Mi Qi and support a Sect Master that they could control, they’d be able to rule over the Northern Territory without any further worries. By then, whatever order High Heaven Palace gave, the other three top Sects would follow, and the other great forces would never dare to go against them.

Certainly, Yang Kai had seen through her intentions. At that instant, he felt that he had made the right decision by appointing her to be Head Manager. Although her cultivation wasn’t the greatest, she had grown up in Star Soul Palace and learned a lot from there; therefore, she was able to handle such matters with ease.

Without any opposing views, Yang Kai let her deal with this matter.

After the discussion, Mi Qi’s fate was decided. Hua Qing Si would bring the three Monster Kings to Full Sky Sect, and Mi Qi wouldn’t even dare to resist them.

Then, Hua Qing Si stated, “You also have to personally visit Orthodoxy Temple.”

Yang Kai asked, “Does it have something to do with the Outer Astral Wind?”

Every top Sect had their own foundational secrets. In the Southern Territory, Star Soul Palace had the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Azure Sun Temple had the Divine Ascension Mirror, Orthodoxy Temple had the Outer Astral Wind, and Heavenly Martial Holy Land had the Martial Intent Temple. All of them were precious.

Although Orthodoxy Temple had been destroyed, and all their disciples were killed, their heritage wasn’t ruined. Besides the Cultivation Paradise and the wealth they had accumulated over the years, the Outer Astral Wind was also highly valuable.

However, after consulting with Star Soul Palace’s Elders, they had taken out all of Orthodoxy Temple’s wealth and distributed it to the Sects in Southern Territory to compensate for their losses.

Meanwhile, Yang Kai was granted the land upon which Orthodoxy Temple was built.

In the battle against Orthodoxy Temple, Yang Kai had single-handedly saved tens of thousands of cultivators from the Southern Territory, so his contribution was undeniable. If he had any demands, those from the Southern Territory would have to give it serious consideration.

At that time, Yang Kai didn’t ask for anything else other than Orthodoxy Temple’s territory.

Although Star Soul Palace was reluctant, they still had to give in to Yang Kai. On the other hand, Azure Sun Temple wouldn’t hold Yang Kai back. If he took over Orthodoxy Temple’s territory, they would gain some benefits as well. Since the other two Sects had agreed to it, the opinion of the Holy Master of Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Ma Qing, didn’t matter anymore.

Therefore, Orthodoxy Temple’s land was Yang Kai’s private property now.

He had thought about relocating Luo Sha Sect to Orthodoxy Temple; after all, Orthodoxy Temple had many grand Spirit Mountains which were comparable to the Main Peaks in High Heaven Palace. If Luo Sha Sect could move to that place, it would be beneficial for their future development.

However, after giving it a thought, he decided to give up on that idea. In fact, the future prosperity of the Luo Sha Sect had nothing to do with him. He wanted to protect them because he wanted to set his mind at ease, and now that they had Sheng Yu Zhu, that burden was completely lifted.

Furthermore, High Heaven Palace had too many disciples. Although their foundation was robust, having more than a hundred thousand disciples was still unbearable for them. There were no other Sects that had this many disciples.

Orthodoxy Temple could help share their burden; moreover, they had a precious area like the Outer Astral Wind, which could help cultivators temper their bodies.

Yang Kai knew better than anyone the importance of having a robust body. When there was an attempted assassination previously, if he hadn’t had a sturdy physique, he would have been killed instantly, unable to turn the situation around.

Anyone else wouldn’t be able to make use of such a precious piece of land even if they had obtained it; after all, High Heaven Palace’s base was in the Northern Territory, while Orthodoxy Temple was located in the Southern Territory, making it virtually impossible for one force to manage both places.

However, it was a different case for Yang Kai. He had connected the North and the South via Space Arrays, so no matter which side was in trouble, the other side could come to the rescue quickly, unless hostile forces somehow snuck in and destroyed the Space Arrays.

During Yang Kai’s stay in Luo Sha Sect, High Heaven Palace had been slowly assimilating Orthodoxy Temple’s foundation, building a Branch Sect in the Southern Territory.

Preparations were needed if they wanted to achieve this goal, so Hua Qing Si had sent Nanmen Da Jun over first to build a new Sect Defending Array around Orthodoxy Temple. When the Spirit Array was ready, they could start moving their disciples over. 

Hua Qing Si intended to relocate about fifty thousand people to that place to alleviate the burden on High Heaven Palace; after all, these cultivators had followed Yang Kai from Heng Luo Star Field to this place, so their cultivations were rising rapidly and they had an insatiable need for World Energy. With more than a hundred thousand people within the palace, there just wasn’t enough for everyone. By diverting half the disciples to this new space, the burden on High Heaven Palace would ease.

“The Outer Astral Wind is indeed very mysterious. I’ve been there once and realised that it is the perfect tool to help temper our bodies. Monster King Xi Lei is guarding that place now, so its safety isn’t an issue; however, Palace Master still needs to personally arrange a Space Array there.”

“En, good,” Yang Kai nodded.

After a sigh, Hua Qing Si went on to state, “We have too few Emperor Realm Masters in the palace. A Branch Sect has been set up in the Southern Territory, but I’m worried that we don’t have enough powerful Masters to watch over both places. Some people might try to snatch our territory from us if we cannot show enough strength.”

There were more than ten Emperor Realm Masters in High Heaven Palace. Besides Yang Kai and Liu Yan, they were the three Monster Kings, Ji Ying, Hua Qing Si, Bian Yu Qing, Nanmen Da Jun, Hou Yu, and Ye Hen, who had just recently reached the Emperor Realm. This number of Emperor Realm Masters was already inconceivable for such a young Sect, so anyone in Yang Kai’s shoes would be over the moon. However, strictly speaking, Ji Ying, Nanmen Da Jun, and Hou Yu were specialists, so Yang Kai wouldn’t let them go to war unless there was no other choice as they were more valuable acting behind the scenes.

On the other hand, the three Monster Kings were fairly powerful, but they were from the Ancient Wild Lands in the Eastern Territory, not raised in High Heaven Palace. Moreover, they were from the Monster Race. As for the others, they were all First-Order Emperors.

Apart from that, High Heaven Palace had a limited number of Dao Source Realm cultivators, so although it appeared mighty, only insiders knew the limits of its power and it would take them a long time to rectify this.

“I’ll settle this issue,” Yang Kai darted his gaze around as an idea sprang into his mind.

Hua Qing Si took a glance at him and understood what he was thinking, so she put on a smile. 

After the discussion, Yang Kai decided to head to Orthodoxy Temple the next day. Then, he moved and disappeared from the place.

The next day, Yang Kai, whose expression was dark, and Hua Qing Si set off on their journey together.

“Palace Master, didn’t you get a good rest last night?” Hua Qing Si observed his expression and teased him with a smile.

Yang Kai shot her a glance and grinned at her, “Of course, I couldn’t take a rest with a beautiful woman in my embrace.”

Hua Qing Si blushed and rebuked, “Shameless!”

Nevertheless, she didn’t expose his lie. As the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, Hua Qing Si was aware of everything that was going on in the palace. Last night, Yang Kai had indeed wanted to spend the night with one or more of his wives; after all, he had just come home after a long period working outside, so he wasn’t willing to leave his wives alone. However, as far as Hua Qing Si knew, all his attempts failed miserably last night.

Xia Ning Chang was engrossed in learning the Alchemic Way from Ji Ying, so she had no time for Yang Kai at all. In fact, after Yang Kai arrived on Medicine Pill Peak, he was immediately chased out by Ji Ying. If anyone in High Heaven Palace had the guts to disobey Yang Kai, it would be Ji Ying. Alchemists hated it when they were interrupted during Alchemy, and Ji Ying was Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s disciple, so although he was normally a benevolent person, his attitude became vastly different when it came to Alchemy.

On the other hand, Su Yan had gone to Ice Heart Valley, so they couldn’t meet up as well.

Under the arrangement of Ying Fei and Xie Wu Wei, Shan Qing Luo had gone to the Ancient Wild Lands where the environment was better suited for her to cultivate.

And as for Xue Yue, she was currently in the middle of a secluded retreat.

Yang Kai had four wives, but he had to spend the entire night by himself, so he was indeed quite pitiful. However, he wasn’t willing to let anyone know what had happened, and in order to not hurt his dignity, Hua Qing Si decided not to expose his little lie.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3287

Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si arrived in the Southern Territory nearby Orthodoxy Temple through the Space Array. After they stepped off, Yang Kai turned around and destroyed the array that he had spent quite some effort building.

Since he was going to set up a new Space Array within Orthodoxy Temple, this one didn’t have to be kept.

Following that, they entered the Temple together. After scanning the place with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai realised that many people were moving around inside the grounds, about a thousand in total. These people were all sent by Hua Qing Si to assist Nanmen Da Jun in surveying the area and arranging the new Sect Defending Array.

At this moment, Nanmen Da Jun was floating in mid-air as he looked around and gesticulated. He also seemed to be muttering something as he appeared focused.

Realising that a few people were approaching him, he turned to look at them and turned solemn in an instant, “Palace Master, Head Manager.”

After a nod, Yang Kai stood beside him and looked down at the view as he asked, “How is it?”

Nanmen Da Jun asked, “What do you mean?”

Yang Kai explained, “How long will it take before the new Sect Defending Array is set up?”

After giving it a thought, Nanmen Da Jun replied, “The Spirit Array of Orthodoxy Temple is already quite powerful, so we don’t have to tear it down and start from scratch. Just give me a month and I’ll be able to arrange a prototype array. Then, we’ll modify and adjust it within six months.”

“Good. You’re the expert in this field, so please take care of it. If you need anything, just ask our Head Manager.”

Nanmen Da Jun grinned at him, “Without the Head Manager’s support, I wouldn’t have been able to give you this promise.” He was the Chief Array Master in High Heaven Palace now, and whenever he was arranging Spirit Arrays for the Sect, Hua Qing Si basically gave him all the people and materials he needed; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy to arrange new arrays for a top Sect.

Although Nanmen Da Jun was fairly famous in the Northern Territory in the past, he was only one man, so there were many things he couldn’t achieve despite the fact that he had the skills and knowledge. Now that he had the support of High Heaven Palace though, there were no Spirit Arrays in this world that he couldn’t arrange, unless it was beyond his imagination.

All of a sudden, Nanmen Da Jun felt that his life had been great so far. He could work towards achieving his goals, and nothing else gave him greater pleasure than that. Having stayed in High Heaven Palace for several years now, he had already decided to settle down permanently.

Even if Yang Kai wanted to chase him away now, Nanmen Da Jun would have to give it serious consideration before leaving; after all, without High Heaven Palace’s unlimited support, even an Array Master like him wouldn’t be able to achieve much alone. Going to another Sect was an option, but no other Sect in this world was able to give him the support High Heaven Palace could offer.

It was the same case for Hou Yu. In the past, after she was ‘captured’ by Yang Kai, she had attempted to flee many times. Nevertheless, as time passed, she had also decided to settle down in High Heaven Palace. That was because everyone in High Heaven Palace was polite to her and gave her enough respect and authority. She and Nanmen Da Jun were also fully supported in pursuing their respective fields. It would be hard for them to look for another employer that offered such favourable terms.

Both Nanmen Da Jun and Hou Yu had even taken in some disciples from High Heaven Palace to nurture them. They searched for the most talented people to inherit their skills, and as such, their connection with High Heaven Palace had become even tighter.

There were three special Spirit Peaks in High Heaven Palace now. Medicine Pill Peak, Artifact Peak, and Spirit Array Peak. Each peak had outstanding disciples studying on it. Taking those from Thousand Leaves Peak who cultivated the Dao of Puppetry into consideration as well, the disciples from High Heaven Palace were spoiled for choice. If they didn’t want to pursue the Martial Dao, they could still choose to follow the Alchemic Dao, Dao of Artifact Refining, Dao of Spirit Arrays, or Dao of Puppetry.

After motivating Nanmen Da Jun for a bit, Yang Kai left the place alone.

There were quite a few Restricted Areas in Orthodoxy Temple, but the most heavily guarded one was undoubtedly the Outer Astral Wind. This place was protected by layers of arrays, so anyone who tried to break into it would be severely injured or even killed.

Nevertheless, after Nanmen Da Jun arrived, he immediately cracked these Spirit Arrays; therefore, at this moment, Yang Kai was able to walk around the Restricted Area without any hurdles as he was amazed by the view. He had heard about how wondrous the Outer Astral Wind was, but this was his first time seeing it.

The Restricted Area was located in a long valley. Looking from above, one could see nothing else but a grey world that didn’t seem to have an end. Wind could be heard howling through the valley, and anyone would be horrified by just listening to it. Many marks were left on the cliffs that seemed to have been formed by sharp weapons, but in fact, these marks were all left by the Outer Astral Wind.

Yang Kai sized up the place with narrowed eyes for a bit before probing it with his Divine Sense. At that instant, he could feel countless blades cutting into him. The omnipresent Outer Astral Wind seemed able to slice his Divine Sense into dust, and if it weren’t for his Divine Sense being unusually strong, Yang Kai would have been injured already.

Without any hesitation, he stepped into the valley, after which, it seemed like he had entered a different world. The air around him was moving rapidly as it screeched. The invisible wind seemed to have turned into a million sharp blades that repeatedly slashed at him.

The clothes he was wearing couldn’t protect him at all, and even the Emperor Qi around him was useless as the wind passed right through it to cut his skin.

Yang Kai was amazed by this discovery. It was no wonder that this place was said to help temper the body. Even someone like Yang Kai was unable to protect himself with his Emperor Qi, let alone others. If anyone wanted to endure this pain, they would have to rely on the strength of their own body to do so. The question was, where did this Outer Astral Wind come from? 

Yang Kai had a sturdy physique, so he wasn’t afraid of these wind blades as he endured and stepped forward.

The further he went, the stronger the wind became. Holes of different sizes started appearing on the cliffs. The big holes could accommodate seven to eight people, while the small ones could only allow one person in.

Yang Kai deduced that these caves were left behind by the previous generations of disciples from Orthodoxy Temple. It was quite dangerous to cultivate here, so if a disciple realised that they couldn’t take it anymore, they could seek shelter in these caves to recuperate.

As Yang Kai proceeded further, the wind became more violent; however, he remained unperturbed as a glint flashed across his eyes. [This is indeed a good place. With this, the disciples from High Heaven Palace can conveniently practise Body Tempering. If they come here to cultivate for some time, their bodies will become robust, and as long as their bodies are strong, they will have an easier time cultivating and fighting.]

The valley was long. Yang Kai had been walking for an hour, but the end was still nowhere in sight. Nevertheless, the Outer Astral Wind around here was starting to feel a bit painful. Sometimes, it even caused some minor cuts on his skin, but such cuts would soon disappear thanks to his incredible restorative abilities.

Just then, a suppressed roar could be heard from the front. Yang Kai listened to it and put on a smile as he quickened his pace.

A moment later, a gigantic figure that was about 70 metres long and 50 metres tall came into sight. Lightning could be seen flashing around its body as it exuded a ferocious aura. This humongous figure looked like a rhino at first glance with a pointed horn on its head as it kept writhing about. As the wind whisked across it, blood was seen streaming down its huge figure, but it remained standing tall and roared in a deafening voice.

As the huge figure was panting heavily, it noticed someone approaching and immediately turned to look at him. Its eyes which were as large as two washbasins had turned bloodshot.

When their eyes met, Yang Kai nodded gently and stepped into the cave on the side. What was strange was that right after he entered the cave, all the wind attacking him seemed to disappear.

A moment later, a burly figure entered the cave as well. It was none other than Xi Lei. Appearing embarrassed, Xi Lei uttered, “Sir, what are you doing here?”

It was embarrassing for him that Yang Kai had accidentally seen his true form. He was from the Monster Race, but he had rarely revealed his true form since he gained the ability to assume Human Form. Only when he was in a life-or-death battle with mortal enemies would he revert to his Monster Beast Form.

Although he wasn’t in a battle against anyone just now, he still appeared battered as he had to resist the ravages of the Outer Astral Wind. Naturally, he didn’t want anyone to see him in such an embarrassing state.

“I’m here to see what the Outer Astral Wind is about,” Yang Kai put on a smile and hinted at him with his hand.

After that, Xi Lei sat down with his legs crossed as he shook his head and uttered, “This is a nice place. Sir indeed made a wise decision to take over this whole area.”

Yang Kai arched his brow, “You think this place is good?”

Xi Lei replied, “Of course. Given more time, my body will become even more robust.”

Yang Kai nodded, “If it’s also useful for a Monster King, then it’s indeed a good place.”

With a grin, Xi Lei uttered, “However, this place is quite dangerous. Anyone who tries to enter without enough strength is simply asking for death.” Upon finishing his words though, he appeared shocked as he recalled that Yang Kai had been standing not far from him earlier, but the latter appeared calm and collected, unlike how battered he was.

It was then he realised that Yang Kai’s body was much sturdier than his, which made him feel dejected. He was a Monster King from the Ancient Wild Lands, and his power was among the top three of the thirty-two Monster Kings, so it was inconceivable that his body wasn’t as strong as a Human’s.

The reason he, Ying Fei, and Xie Wu Wei regarded Yang Kai as their leader was that the latter was close to the Heavens Order’s descendant. After the Blood Gate reopened, they could probably get close to her through Yang Kai.

However, as they came into contact with Yang Kai more and more, they realised that he was no ordinary Second-Order Emperor Realm Master himself. If they got into a one-on-one battle with him, none of them were confident they could defeat him.

Furthermore, he had even subdued a woman from the Dragon Clan! At the thought of this, the three Monster Kings were convinced that he was truly powerful.

After a nod, Yang Kai replied, “Since this place is useful for you, then please stay here to cultivate and keep watch over it.”

A smiling Xi Lei said, “That’s exactly my intention.”

Suddenly, Yang Kai changed the topic by asking, “I’m only familiar with the three of you among the thirty-two Monster Kings of the Ancient Wild Lands. What are the temperaments of other Monster Kings like?”

Xi Lei stroked his chin for a moment before he replied, “Those guys… Are difficult to deal with. For example, Xiong Kai Shan might appear simple-minded, but in fact, he’s extremely sinister.” It seemed that he was conned by him before, so he appeared resentful of him. Then, Xi Lei put on a licentious grin, “Nevertheless, those female Monster Kings are attractive, especially Hu Fei. I heard that she has a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s bloodline. Tsk…” 

Suddenly, his body shook as he straightened his face, “Sir, if you come across that devilish woman, you must be careful and not be deceived by her. Her skill in seduction is unrivalled in this world.”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

p.s: Don’t join the Patreon yet. Wait till the start of the month, So Wednesday.

Chapter 3288

One hour later, Yang Kai stepped out of the cave and continued moving forward.

Xi Lei watched him from behind until the latter disappeared from his sight, after which he heaved a sigh.

In this valley Restricted Area, the further one went, the more pressure one would feel. The pressure in the place he sat was the maximum of what Xi Lei could endure; otherwise, it wouldn’t be useful to temper his body. Nevertheless, he wasn’t strong enough to go any further.

On the other hand, Yang Kai was still able to amble into the distance and leave him behind, so it was apparent that his body was unbelievably robust. Xi Lei secretly heaved a sigh of frustration; after all, he was a Monster King, but he was no match for a Human. Stimulated, he growled and stormed out of the cave before he turned back into his true form and continued resisting the ravages of the Outer Astral Wind.

In the deepest part of the valley, Yang Kai was bleeding incessantly from innumerable cuts on his skin. Nevertheless, the wounds healed quickly thanks to his amazing restorative power, forming an endless cycle. 

As he explored further into the valley, there were no more caves on the cliffside. He made a guess that no one had actually reached so far into the valley since the founding of Orthodoxy Temple, so it was not strange that there were no more caves.

After walking for one more hour, he reached the true end of the valley. At that instant, Yang Kai could feel a strange fluctuation of Space Principles coming from the front.

Realising something, he raised his head, only to see that a thousand metres away from him, there was a Void Crack that was several tens of metres long hovering above the end of the valley. It looked like a scar in the world that could never be healed.

Horrible wind could be felt coming from the Void Crack as it stormed towards the valley.

Yang Kai realised where the Outer Astral Wind in this Restricted Area was coming from: It blew out of this Void Crack. The World Principles were self-restorative, for example, if Yang Kai tore space apart, the torn space would be rapidly healed by the World Principles.

However, the Void Crack before his eyes seemed to have been around for a very long time, and it wasn’t clear what place it was connected to. The Outer Astral Wind just kept blasting out of it, and World Principles here weren’t even able to repair this tear, which allowed the Void Crack to remain indefinitely.

The sight amazed Yang Kai and he had the urge to go in and explore. He wanted to find out what place the Void Crack was connected to that allowed this harsh wind to keep blowing out of it incessantly.

Having made up his mind, Yang Kai manipulated the Space Principles and appeared before the Void Crack before plunging in without hesitation.

A short moment later, he rushed out of the Void Crack, his entire body drenched in blood. Golden blood splattered mid-air as Yang Kai retreated several thousand metres before he finally felt safe again. Turning to look at the Void Crack, he was still reeling from the shock, but at the same time, he was extremely excited.

After he rushed into the Void Crack earlier, he realised that it was filled with Outer Astral Wind, and the power of this wind was more potent than what filled the valley. As soon as he came into contact with the wind, Yang Kai was severely injured. If he hadn’t immediately retreated, all his flesh would’ve been peeled from his bones in a short moment. Regardless of how sturdy his body was, he would have lost his life if that happened.

Although he only remained in the Void Crack for a moment, Yang Kai could feel an extraordinary aura inside. It was an aura that seemed able to destroy everything in this world, and it was clearly the source of the Outer Astral Wind.

Orthodoxy Temple had been around for more than ten thousand years, and the Outer Astral Wind existed far before the founding of the Sect. Nevertheless, everything happened for a reason in this world, and it was the same for the Outer Astral Wind. There was no way it would blow through the valley for tens of thousands of years without a reason.

The source of the wind was hidden in the Void Crack.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai wasn’t even sure what this source was, nor did he have the ability to seize it. However, undeniably, that must be a supreme treasure inside that might even be able to make Great Emperors wary.

Yang Kai was tempted to take it out, but after evaluating his own power, he still decided to leave in a dejected manner. He wasn’t powerful enough to take the treasure out. Perhaps he had to wait for his cultivation to reach the peak of this world sometime in the future before he could do that.

A moment later, he returned to where Xi Lei was. Seeing him, a shocked Xi Lei asked, “Sir, what happened to you?”

At this moment, Yang Kai appeared battered as his dried Golden Blood was caked around his body like a layer of gold. Even his aura was unstable, making it apparent that he was injured.

Yang Kai coughed lightly and replied, “Just a small accident happened. It’s too dangerous further down the road, so I suggest that you be extra careful.” Upon finishing his words, he snuck into a nearby cave and adjusted his breathing. 

Xi Lei appeared solemn and didn’t suspect his words at all. Even Yang Kai had suffered such a setback up ahead, so what would happen to him, an individual weaker than Yang Kai? 

After Xi Lei was warned, he decided not to move further into the valley before he was fully prepared.

Half a day later, Yang Kai stepped out of the cave in a clean set of clothes and left the Restricted Area in a crestfallen manner after bidding Xi Lei farewell.

Upon meeting Hua Qing Si and Nanmen Da Jun, they chose a suitable location in Orthodoxy Temple to set up a Space Array. A passionate Nanmen Da Jun decided to assist him and put aside his own task.

In the past, the reason Nanmen Da Jun decided to stay in High Heaven Palace was that he had witnessed how Yang Kai was able to arrange a Cross-Territory Space Array, so he wanted to study under him. Unfortunately, even though he had grasped the basics of arranging a Space Array, and he could make a proper-looking one, the array wasn’t able to transport people through the Void.

Nanmen Da Jun only realised that he had fallen into a pitfall after years of studies, that only Masters in the Dao of Space were able to arrange functional Space Arrays.

Nevertheless, this didn’t dampen his enthusiasm to study it. On the Grand Dao, one principle led to many others. An Array Grandmaster like Nanmen Da Jun was able to figure out many things from seemingly unrelated studies and the experience and information he gained were useful to him in many ways.

With his help, the Space Array was arranged far more easily. Since this place would be the Branch Sect of High Heaven Palace, and more than fifty thousand disciples would stay here, the Space Array couldn’t be too small. Yang Kai consumed countless Space Spirit Crystals and Space Spirit Jades to build a large-scale array that could transport more than a hundred people at once.

It took Yang Kai an entire day to get everything done, and after he connected the Space Array to the network, he bid farewell to Hua Qing Si and Nanmen Da Jun.

When his figure appeared again, he was already in the Ancient Wild Lands. After leaving the humble Tree Cave, he paid a visit to Elder and Mu Na to thank them for their help previously. At the same time, he had also brought many gifts for the two clans.

In the war against Orthodoxy Temple, the Stone Spirit Clan and Wood Spirit Clan had made tremendous contributions. During the initial perilous situation, they tracked down and killed a number of Demon Spirits, causing the other demonified cultivators to lose their ability to act. After the battle ended, the Wood Spirit Clan also used their Secret Techniques to suppress the Demon Qi within the bodies of more than ten thousand demonified cultivators, which allowed Yang Kai purify the Demon Qi corrupting them and save many of the top cultivators in the Southern Territory.

These two clans were peace-loving, so if it weren’t for Yang Kai’s request, they wouldn’t have stepped out of this land place where they had been living for generations and gotten involved in such a conflict. Certainly, Yang Kai would never forget this favour of theirs.

After some small talk, he got to the main topic. “Elder, you’re a knowledgeable man, so I want to ask you about someone.”

Elder replied with a smile, “I’ve merely lived for a long time. Who is it that you wish to know about?”

“Elder, have you heard the name Sheng Yu Zhu before?” Asking about Sheng Yu Zhu wasn’t the main reason for Yang Kai’s visit, but he believed that he should inquire about her anyway. Although he didn’t think Sheng Yu Zhu was a wicked person, he still had to be careful; after all, she had made him some promises so finding out more about her would also be beneficial for their future cooperation.

Stone Spirit Clan members enjoyed a very long life, and Elder could even be said to be the oldest living being in the entire Star Boundary, which was why Yang Kai decided to ask him about it.

“Sheng Yu Zhu?” Elder repeated the name and shook his head. “I’ve never heard of her name before.”

“You’ve never heard of her?” Yang Kai was stunned.

Elder replied, “If it’s a unique name that shook the world, as long as I had heard of it before, I will never forget it. What’s special about her that makes you so concerned?”

After a sigh, Yang Kai uttered, “This is what happened…”

He went on to tell them what happened in Luo Sha Sect, but he left out the promises Sheng Yu Zhu had given to him. Despite that, Elder and Mu Na were still startled upon hearing his narration.

A shocked Elder exclaimed, “I can’t believe such a person exists in this world!”

An amazed Mu Na covered her mouth and said, “She survived in the Void Crack on her own for tens of thousands of years? That’s very shocking indeed.” She paused for a moment, “She’s quite pitiful…”

After a nod, Yang Kai uttered, “I find it shocking as well, that’s why I’ve decided to ask Elder about it.”

Elder shook his head, “I’ve indeed never heard her name before though.”

A glint flashed across Yang Kai, “Elder, you mean something is off about her background?”

Elder, however, chuckled and replied, “Not really. Although I’ve lived for a long time, I don’t know everything in the world. Since who knows how many years ago, our Clan have been living in seclusion in the Ancient Lands. I don’t know much about the struggle to reach the peak of the Grand Dao, as I’ve only heard of some rumours about it. I don’t even know who took part in the battle at that time. However, since she was able to name several Great Emperors, she is probably not lying. So, she might really be from that period of time. Do you think she’s a good or evil person?”

After shaking his head, Yang Kai replied, “I can’t sense any ill intentions from her.”

Elder uttered with a smile, “It’ll be alright, then. She’d been confined for several ten thousand years, so I’m sure not much of her cultivation is left. Even if she’s an evil person, she’s still not a Great Emperor. If she dares to commit any outrageous crimes, those who stand higher than us will deal with her.”

Yang Kai bowed his head, “That’s what I thought as well, which was why I decided to bring her out of that place; otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared to do such a thing. I would have tried to find out more about her first.”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3289

After bidding farewell to Elder and Mu Na, Yang Kai headed to Luan Feng’s palace.

Outside Phoenix Nest Palace, two majestic-looking Monster Commanders were guarding the place as they exuded thick malevolent aura. All of a sudden, a figure flashed across their eyes and landed on the ground in front of them.

Upon seeing that, one of the Monster Commanders, who had a large mouth and nose, growled, “Who goes…”

He gulped down what he was about to say though as he made out Yang Kai’s face.

Yang Kai was a famous figure in the Ancient Wild Lands. Besides the Monster Kings, their subordinates such as Monster Commanders, Monster Generals, and other soldiers also knew who he was.

Furthermore, he had broken into Phoenix Nest Palace several times, but Luan Feng had never been able to do anything to stop him. That was why everyone in the palace was aware of a scourge like him.

Previously, after Luan Feng returned to the palace, she gave the order that if they saw Yang Kai again, they should kill him immediately while she would take full responsibility.

Despite her order, the Monster Commanders would never have the guts to do this. Even those who were able to battle against him wouldn’t dare to do so, let alone those who were no match for him.

Therefore, upon seeing Yang Kai, the two Monster Commanders, who were guarding the palace, directly ignored Luan Feng’s order and cupped their fists before one of them said with a fawning smile, “So it is Senior Yang.”

If Luan Feng saw this sight, she would probably be enraged.

After a grunt, Yang Kai put his hands behind his back and calmly walked past them. If any outsider saw this, they would have thought that Yang Kai was just returning to his own home.

Seeing this, the Monster Commander who spoke earlier hurriedly raced after him and uttered in a fawning manner, “Sir, what might be the purpose of your visit?” 

As he spoke, he quickly hinted at the other Monster Commander with his gaze, telling him to immediately inform Luan Feng about this.

The problem was that Yang Kai would always come to Phoenix Nest Palace every time he arrived in the Ancient Lands, and his arrival would certainly mean disaster. Luan Feng was still raging over what had happened during his previous visit, so they didn’t expect that Yang Kai would come again after only a short period of time. Hence, they were worried that he would stir up trouble again.

Although Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of Luan Feng, it didn’t mean that they were just as fearless. If Luan Feng decided to vent her anger, they were the ones who would suffer.

“Why should I tell you?” Yang Kai shot him a look and pushed him away as he walked forward. Upon being pushed, the Monster Commander almost fell to the ground, but he didn’t dare to get mad. Left with no choice, he followed Yang Kai around and tried to delay him as much as possible.

Naturally, he wasn’t able to hinder Yang Kai, but this Monster Commander’s attempts still angered Yang Kai who grabbed his collar and hurled him away. A group of maidservants who were coming over when that happened saw this and widened their eyes as they scattered away in all directions as they screamed.

Yang Kai rubbed his nose and muttered with a dark expression, “What’s wrong with them?” 

He looked around and realised that no one else was in sight, so after a sneer, he inhaled deeply and shouted, “Lady Feng, this Yang has come to see you!”

His loud and clear voice spread across the entire Phoenix Nest Palace. Anyone who wasn’t deaf should be able to hear him; however, it was apparent that Luan Feng didn’t want to see him, so she didn’t reply.

With a grin, Yang Kai darted his gaze around and checked the surroundings with his Divine Sense. Following that, his figure flickered and he appeared again in a certain courtyard.

In the courtyard, a delicate-looking young girl was playing by herself. Noticing something, she looked up to see Yang Kai staring at her with a grin and was shocked. Upon closer inspection though, she uttered, “Oh! I know you!”

After a nod, Yang Kai replied with a smile, “I remember you as well. Nice to see you again little girl.”

The young girl before his eyes was none other than Luan Feng’s daughter. In the past, not long after he arrived in the Star Boundary, Yang Kai had to flee from Blue Feather Sect to Maplewood City. Sometime after, while hunting for treasure, he happened to come across Luan Feng’s daughter, who was surrounded by a group of people. It was when he witnessed the power of Divine Spirits and saw Luan Feng’s true form for the first time, which left a lasting impression on him.

However, Yang Kai had never expected that their fates would be intertwined in such a way, as they were still in regular contact with each other now. Luan Feng was noble and aloof existence in the past, but now, they could be considered equals.

It had been several dozen years since the incident, but Luan Feng’s daughter still hadn’t grown up. It wasn’t that she was suffering from arrested development but rather that it would take her a long time to reach maturity as a Divine Spirit.

Yang Kai had always wondered who her father was, as he had never heard that Luan Feng had a partner. The question now was where her daughter came from. It wasn’t like she broke out from a boulder.

“Your name is Tian Long, right?” Yang Kai asked her with the best kindly smile he could manage.

Tian Long nodded and pointed at him, “Your Yang Kai, the wickedest evilest bad bad man in the world!”

Yang Kai’s smile froze as his face twitched, “Who told you such nonsense!”

“Mother told me!” Tian Long replied with an innocent expression.

A frustrated Yang Kai uttered, “She was spouting nonsense. How am I the evilest bad man in this world?”

Tian Long tilted her head and grinned at him, “Mother told me that when I grow up strong I have to beat you up. Are you powerful?”

Yang Kai drew a deep breath. [Don’t mind her. She’s just a child… But Luan Feng, just you wait!] 

He replied with a forced smile, “You’ll find out whether or not I’m strong when you grow up.” His eyes flashing a cunning light, he swiftly changed the topic, “Are you on your own?”

Tian Long darted her gaze around and replied with a beam, “Do you have your eye on me or something? You better be careful or I’ll burn you!”

Pretending to be shocked, Yang Kai exclaimed, “Oh no no! I might be burned to death!”

“Hehehe!” Tian Long covered her belly and giggled, “You look funny when you lie!”

The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he thought he was indeed foolish. Tian Long might appear to be a little girl, but she had actually lived for several dozen years, so he only had himself to blame for the humiliation he received by treating her as if she was an ordinary kid.

After a nod, he uttered, “Tian Long, you come from a noble background, and you have a bright future ahead of you. However, you’re still a child now so you really should have a companion to play with. Why don’t I help you with that! I have a little friend who could play with you, so you won’t feel lonely anymore.”

Tian Long curled up her lips and replied in a haughty manner, “That will depend on whether she’s qualified or not.”

A smiling Yang Kai said, “Would a Fire Phoenix be qualified?”

Tian Long was stunned for a moment before she replied with a smile, “You’re lying. How are you able to look for a Fire Phoenix to keep me company?”

Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m not lying to you. We have a Fire Phoenix in High Heaven Palace. She’s a little girl who is about the same age as you, so I believe both of you will have many common interests; after all, you two come from the same Race.”

“Is that true?” Tian Long appeared tempted.

“Of course.”

After giving it a thought, Tian Long pressed her lips together, “I know what you’re up to; however, if what you’ve said is true, I’ll forgive you.”

“You’ll find out whether or not it’s true after you follow me to High Heaven Palace.” Yang Kai kept persuading her, “We have a lot of fun stuff in High Heaven Palace as well.”

Tian Long grunted, “I’m not interested in playing games, but…” She appeared hesitant. Apparently, she was attracted to the idea of meeting the Fire Phoenix he had just told her about.

“Enough!” A cold voice suddenly shouted. Hearing that voice, Tian Long raised her head before leaping up and throwing herself at the beautiful woman, who was clad in an imperial dress, with a grin. After wrapping her arms around the woman’s thigh, she lifted her head and called out, “Mother!”

Luan Feng’s expression was so cold that it was as if a layer of frost could be scraped off her face. As she stroked her daughter’s head, she shot a contemptuous look at Yang Kai, “You would even target a child? How can you be so shameless!?”

Yang Kai replied with a faint smile, “Lady Feng, what are you talking about? I didn’t do anything to little Tian Long. I just think that she’s quite lonely, so I want to get her a playmate.” Then, he turned to look at Tian Long, “You can ask your mother whether what I’ve said is true or not.”

As expected, Tian Long turned her eyes up and asked, “Mom, he said that there’s a Fire Phoenix in his palace that’s about my age. Is that true?”

An infuriated Luan Feng bellowed, “He’s a vile liar! How can you believe him?”

Yang Kai’s expression darkened, “Lady Feng, I can’t pretend that I didn’t hear that. You know the truth as well. It’s not like you haven’t met her before. Apart from you, the Monster Kings from the Ancient Lands, Brother Fan, and Cang Gou have all seen her. It’s fine if you want to educate your child, but you shouldn’t slander me to do so.”

Luan Feng said through clenched teeth, “You only have yourself to blame!”

Yang Kai replied, “If I hadn’t done this, how would I be able to meet you? You’ve decided not to see me this time, right?”

Luan Feng was so enraged that her chest was heaving, “Do you think you can bully me just because I’m a woman? Is that why you come to Phoenix Nest Palace every time?”

A surprised Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean? I feel like we are good friends and have many common interests, which is why I always come to see Lady Feng first.”

Luan Feng yelled, “Who is friends with you!? Go bother Fan Wu or Cang Gou if you want to make friends!” She was exasperated at the fact that during Yang Kai’s previous visits to the Ancient Wild Lands, he had always headed to Phoenix Nest Palace instead of going to look for Fan Wu and Cang Gou, so she couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

After a sigh, Yang Kai continued, “I’ve always been sincere to you, but you just don’t seem to treasure our friendship.”

To that, Luan Feng snorted disdainfully, “Haha…”

Yang Kai straightened his face and uttered, “You shouldn’t get mad, it will ruin your beauty.”

Luan Feng bellowed, “It’s none of your damn business!” 

She was a Divine Spirit as well as a woman, but she was so enraged at the moment that she even uttered some foul language, which went to show how annoyed she was.

Yang Kai rubbed his nose, “I’ll have some tea served, then. We’ll talk about other things after you calm down.”

“Scram as far as you can! We don’t welcome you here!” Upon finishing her words, Luan Feng brought Tian Long away.

Yang Kai pressed his lips together and decided not to tell her about the purpose of his visit for now, as Luan Feng was on the brink of blowing her top. If he irritated her further, he might lose more than he could gain, as women could be unreasonable when they became enraged; therefore, he decided to wait for her to calm down first.

With this thought in mind, he went on to stay in Phoenix Nest Palace without any invitation. Nobody served him, as all the maidservants and guards in the palace stayed away from him as if he was air. Nevertheless, he was unperturbed as he entered a room to meditate and just waited.

After a few days, Luan Feng was still nowhere in sight, but Yang Kai wasn’t in a rush and would just take a stroll sometimes, as though this was really his home.

Naturally, Luan Feng couldn’t really ignore his presence and had instructed some people to keep an eye on him, but upon learning what he had been doing, she was truly incensed.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3290

“Do you have nothing better to do?” 

Luan Feng only decided to meet Yang Kai in the side hall after a month. With a cold expression, she asked, “I heard that you have High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory. As a Palace Master, shouldn’t you be taking care of your Sect instead of coming to the Ancient Wild Lands?”

Yang Kai replied with a grin, “It’s business as usual in the palace, so it makes no difference if I’m not there.”

Luan Feng went on to question, “What about the Southern Territory? What happened there had some serious implications, as even Demons appeared. Perhaps there’s a secret plot brewing. Don’t you want to get to the bottom of it?”

Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “My foundation is in the Northern Territory, and what happened in the Southern Territory was just a coincidence. Whatever plot is brewing over there, I’m sure the Masters of the South will deal with it, so I don’t have to worry about it.”

Luan Feng glowered at him, “Spill it. What do you want?”

“Let’s drink some tea first,” Yang Kai lifted his teacup and hinted at her.

She grunted, “Stop beating around the bush! I have no time to waste on you!”

After taking a sip, Yang Kai put the cup down and appeared hesitant, “Lady Feng, if you insist, I’ll tell you the truth.”

Luan Feng sneered and had the urge to curse at him, but she eventually managed to hold it in thanks to her noble temperament. She had never met such a shameless person before and even suspected that his skin was thick enough to fend off her Innate Divine Abilities.

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai replied, “The reason I’m here is that I have a request for you.”

“Out with it already,” Luan Feng closed her eyes and waited for him to make some ridiculous demand, desperately trying to contain her urge to roast him alive with her World Extinguishing Black Flames.

“I need to borrow some people from you,” Yang Kai uttered.

“Who do you want to borrow? How many people?” Luan Feng narrowed her eyes.

Yang Kai directly said, “I want to borrow some Monster Kings. Just three of them will do. There are three Divine Venerables, so you each only need to lend me one. I guess it should be alright.”

“Haha…” Luan Feng laughed.

With a straight face, Yang Kai asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Luan Feng replied seriously, “If I don’t laugh, I might not be able to contain the urge to kill you.” Despite her smiling face, her tone was horrifying.

“En,” Yang Kai uttered.

*Peng…* 

Luan Feng broke the table in front of her with her palm as the tea splattered everywhere. After that, she said through gritted teeth, “Yang Kai, don’t go too far! Do you think you can do whatever you want in the Ancient Lands just because you have the support of that Heavens Order’s descendant?”

Yang Kai rubbed his nose, “That’s not what I think…”

“How dare you say so!” Luan Feng was exasperated, “If that’s not what you think, why do you have no regard for this Queen and the Ancient Lands at all? Humans have always been prohibited from entering this place, but you just come and go as you please! You’ve even left a Space Array here so you can appear at any time! I can ignore all that, but how can you break into this Queen’s palace and squat here like it’s your own house!? Do you have no regard for this Queen at all!?”

Yang Kai just hung his head low and waited for her to vent out her anger. After she calmed down, he flashed a grin at her, “Lady Feng, it isn’t as serious as you think. That’s not what I meant. I truly respect you.”

Luan Feng sneered, “Do you think I will believe you?”

A solemn Yang Kai replied, “I only speak the truth.” As he said so, he patted his own chest as if he wanted her to believe that he was sincere.

Luan Feng’s chest heaved as she had the urge to slap him to death. She wouldn’t have been so enraged if she could do just that of course. Earlier, she said that Yang Kai was arrogant because he had the support of Heavens Order’s descendant, but she simply said that out of anger. In reality, she knew that even without that Heavens Order’s descendant, she still wouldn’t be able to expel him.

During her last meeting with Ying Fei and the others, she had heard a shocking piece of news. Yang Kai seemed to have gotten together with a Pureblood Dragon Girl. Furthermore, he had visited Dragon Island and come back alive.

Luan Feng had no idea what had happened on Dragon Island, but the fact that Yang Kai was even still alive meant that he couldn’t be taken lightly. After a snort, she swung her sleeve and uttered, “Whatever you say, this Queen will never grant your request.”

With a bitter expression, Yang Kai said, “Lady Feng, please don’t be so stingy. I just need three more Monster Kings. There are still 29 Monster Kings in the Ancient Lands. If you lend me three more, there’ll still be 26 of them. This is just a small favour, and it wouldn’t affect your rule over the Ancient Lands.”

Luan Feng was so angered she started laughing, “How do you have the nerve to say that you just want three more? We already lent you three previously! What do you regard Monster Kings as? The Ancient Wild Lands is vast, but we only have 32 Monster Kings in total, if you keep asking for more, we won’t have any left in the end! No, I’ll never lend you more of them!”

Yang Kai cupped his fists, “This is the last time I’ll borrow them from you, I swear. If I come here to make such a request again in the future, you can call me a liar or whatever you want.”

Luan Feng shot him a glare as she didn’t believe him before suddenly asking, “This Queen is curious about why you need three more Monster Kings. Aren’t Xi Lei and the others enough to help guard High Heaven Palace?”

After a sigh, Yang Kai explained, “They are enough to help protect High Heaven Palace; however, you already know what happened in Orthodoxy Temple. I happened to take over its lands in the Southern Territory after that incident and plan to make it into a Branch Sect of my palace. Therefore, I need more Monster Kings to assist me in ensuring its security. If this wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have come over to bother you.”

A shocked Luan Feng asked, “You’ve taken over Orthodoxy Temple? How did those from Star Soul Palace even agree to it?”

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “It’s just a plot of land with no owner, why would they be unwilling to let me have it?”

After a nod, Luan Feng uttered, “Boy, you’re quite ambitious. You’re doing well in the Northern Territory, but now you’re even expanding your power to the Southern Territory.”

A helpless Yang Kai replied, “I’m left with no choice.” In this, he was telling the truth. If it weren’t because there were too many disciples in High Heaven Palace, he wouldn’t have tried to acquire Orthodoxy Temple.

Seeing that Luan Feng was showing some signs of compromise, he hurriedly went on to persuade her by saying, “That’s what happened. Lady Feng, please agree to my request. I only need three more Monster Kings.”

Luan Feng replied dispassionately, “This Queen has made herself clear, I will never agree to it. You’ve already asked so much from us, and each time we’ve agreed, don’t go overboard!”

Realising that she was determined, Yang Kai frowned, “Are you really not going to lend them to me?”

She uttered coldly, “Don’t make me repeat my words.”

After a nod, Yang Kai replied, “Since you’ve said so, I won’t force you.”

Luan Feng was suddenly at a loss for words, as she didn’t expect that he would back down so easily. Before she could even celebrate her victory though, Yang Kai asked, “By the way, who were the Monster Kings that had sworn allegiance to Divine Venerable Shi Huo in the past?”

“Why are you asking…” Before Luan Feng finished her words, she suddenly thought of something, and with that, she narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth.

Yang Kai grinned at her as he summoned out his Embodiment, who played along with him and carried himself in a majestic manner. Yang Kai pointed at him and said to Luan Feng with a smile, “Although Shi Huo is dead, his inheritor is right here, and he intends to regain control of the northern part of the Ancient Wild Lands. Please help me inform Fan Wu and Cang Gou about it. Also, tell those Monster Kings and Monster Commanders who are originally from the North to return.”

The Embodiment grinned at Luan Feng at the right moment, and when she saw this, her expression darkened as she said through clenched teeth, “So, this was your plan.”

After a sigh, Yang Kai replied, “I’m left with no choice. Please forgive me.”

Luan Feng raised her blemish-free chin and said, “But so what? Do you think he can gain a footing here in the Ancient Lands just because he has refined Shi Huo’s Source? Yang Kai, don’t be so naive.” If she gave in to him now, those from the Ancient Lands wouldn’t have the courage or strength to ever oppose him again. That was because their persistence and defence had been repeatedly shattered by him.

Yang Kai said impassively, “This King is eternally grateful to the Ancient Lands and the three Divine Venerables for your help in the battle against Orthodoxy Temple, and I am willing to be on good terms with you all; however, if you insist on hindering me, then don’t blame me for being ungrateful. Everyone in this world strives to achieve greater heights. I’m curious to find out how the other 29 Monster Kings will react once they find out that you three are stopping them from reaching a brighter future.”

Luan Feng was incensed as the colour drained from her alluring face, “Do you have no conscience at all? How dare you threaten me!?”

Yang Kai went on to remind her, “Lady Feng, I only need three Monster Kings to help protect my Branch Sect in the Southern Territory. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”

Luan Feng was lost for words as she darted her gaze between Yang Kai and the Embodiment. Feeling bitter in her heart, she knew that she would be unable to stop him. Yang Kai had threatened her with this Shi Huo inheritor, who did have the right to occupy the northern part of the Ancient Wild Lands. Once that happened, if Yang Kai demanded that the eight Monster Kings return to the North, Luan Feng and the others were powerless to stop him. Moreover, to the Monster Kings, working under Yang Kai would mean a better future for them. If the Divine Venerables insisted on hindering them, they would be displeased, and it’d be disastrous for the Ancient Lands.

Seeing as her expression had flickered, Yang Kai knew that he had achieved his goal and said with a grin, “Lady Feng, there’s something I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

Luan Feng bellowed, “You’ve delighted in slighting this Queen all along! Is there anything in this world that you don’t dare to this Queen!?”

After a cough, Yang Kai replied, “It seems that you have some misunderstandings about this King. In any case, I’m sure you’ll come to recognize my sincerity as time goes by. Let’s stop talking about me and discuss Tian Long.”

Luan Feng’s expression turned cold in an instant as murderous intent exuded from her figure, “If you dare to do anything to her, this Queen will never let you off!”

She could give in to him on many issues, but her daughter was her reverse scale. The fact that Yang Kai even mentioned Tian Long was enough to enrage her.

Yang Kai threw his hands in the air and uttered, “Lady Feng, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t intend to do anything to Tian Long. No matter how despicable you think I am, I would never threaten a mere child. I just think that even though she was born by you, it’s not guaranteed that she’ll be able to inherit everything from you. Yes, she has a noble bloodline, but there are exceptions to everything in this world, right?”

Luan Feng said in a haughty manner, “She is this Queen’s daughter, so there’s no way she’ll turn out to be weak.”

After a nod, Yang Kai went on to say, “Good, but even if Tian Long was able to inherit everything from you, would that truly satisfy you? Don’t you want her to stand on your shoulders and achieve even greater heights?”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3291

Luan Feng’s expression turned serious when she heard those words, “What do you mean?”

Yang Kai replied calmly, “Lady Feng, you’ve said it yourself that this King has the support of Heavens Order’s descendant. I don’t think I need to tell you what Heavens Order did in the past. Surely you must know there are countless Divine Spirit Sources in Heaven Order’s Palace. The reason those Monster Kings from the Ancient Lands are so respectful to me and do whatever they are told is that they hope to become Divine Spirits in the future.”

“How do you have the nerve to boast that you’re living off a woman?” Luan Feng shot him a disdainful look.

Ignoring her mockery, Yang Kai went on to say, “This King considers himself pretty lucky. I inadvertently took in a young girl many years ago, never expecting that she would turn out to be the descendant of the famous Heavens Order. Furthermore, her bloodline accidentally awakened. I’m not trying to boast to you, but Ruo Xi is pretty obedient toward me. After she comes out from Blood Gate, she’ll not reject any requests that I have.”

“What does that have to do with Tian Long?” Luan Feng frowned.

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “If this King is not mistaken, Lady Feng is only a variant species of the Phoenix Clan, a branch clan at best, yes? Since that’s the case, there’s still some difference between you and a pureblood Phoenix. Heavens Order killed countless Divine Spirits in the past, including Dragons and Phoenixes so, as you can see, there must be Phoenix Clan Sources in her palace.”

After he finished speaking, he picked up the teacup to cover his face while examining Luan Feng’s expression and, as expected, she appeared tempted. Knowing that she couldn’t resist this offer, he was elated.

A moment later, Luan Feng uttered, “Are you sure you can help Tian Long get into Heavens Order Palace?”

Yang Kai immediately replied, “I’m sure Ruo Xi will not reject me if I make this request.”

Luan Feng took a deep breath and gently nodded, “Boy, the reason I’m not willing to lend you more Monster Kings isn’t that I am selfish. You’re a Human, after all, so if you have too many Monster Kings as your subordinates, you’ll be regarded as siding with the Monster Race, which will be terrible for your reputation.”

Yang Kai replied confidently, “Lady Feng, many thanks for your concern, but without sufficient strength, everything else is meaningless.”

Luan Feng looked away, “Fan Wu and Cang Gou might not agree to it.”

Yang Kai grinned at her, “With Lady Feng taking action, why wouldn’t they agree to it? As far as I know, even though Fan Wu has always been the strategist among the Divine Venerables, Lady Feng is actually the most powerful.”

“Flattering me is useless!” After Luan Feng finished speaking, she rose from the chair and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Yang Kai stared at her alluring figure and asked.

“Just wait here. Whether or not they’ll agree to it, I’ll give you an answer in five days.”

Hearing that, Yang Kai knew that he could definitely get what he wanted, so he stood up and cupped his fists with a smile, “Many thanks for your help, Lady Feng.” 

All his persuasion so far was worth it; moreover, he knew that since he had made Luan Feng side with him, he would be able to obtain whatever he wanted from those in the Ancient Wild Lands in the future. However, if he couldn’t achieve his goal this time, he wouldn’t be able to get any benefits from here anymore.

Feeling over the moon, he returned to his room and waited.

Upon receiving the news, Cang Gou rushed over to Fan Wu’s palace. Three Great Divine Venerables had gathered together, but their expressions were dark.

“He’s crossed the line this time! Previously, we even went out to help him, but I didn’t expect that he’d make such an outrageous demand so soon after! He wants three more Monster Kings this time? Why doesn’t he just go to Hell!” Cang Gou was so enraged that it was as if he was preparing to get into a life-or-death battle with Yang Kai.

Fan Wu sighed, “We’ve always enjoyed a peaceful life in the Ancient Lands, but I never expected that we’d be suppressed by a rotten brat in the end. The Heavenly Way is truly unfair to us.”

A cold glint flashed across Cang Gou’s eyes, “Why don’t we kill him now so that there won’t be any more trouble in the future?”

Luan Feng shot him a look, “And face that Heavens Order’s descendant when she leaves the Blood Gate?”

Cang Gou flinched before he slumped in a dejected manner and muttered something. To Divine Spirits, the mere mention of Heavens Order was like when a mouse heard a cat meow. That was a kind of innate fear.

Fan Wu uttered solemnly, “Moreover, I don’t think we can easily kill him now.”

When Yang Kai first arrived in the Ancient Wild Lands, he had already showcased incredible combat prowess despite being just a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. Several dozen years had passed now, and given his aptitude, he must have become far stronger now, not to mention that he was proficient in the Dao of Space. If they couldn’t find a way to trap him first, ensuring he couldn’t flee, even the three of them were not confident of prevailing over him.

Furthermore, if they fell out with him, the consequences would be dreadful.

Cang Gou grumbled, “What should we do then? Do we just let him do whatever he pleases?”

Fan Wu turned to look at Luan Feng and questioned, “Lady Feng, how did your discussion with him go?”

Luan Feng lowered her gaze and spat, “I rejected him at first, but he shamelessly released that Stone Spirit that refined Shi Huo’s Source and threatened that he would let it occupy the northern lands, becoming the next Northern Divine Venerable. Moreover, that brat said he would intentionally spread word to all the Monster Kings that we were interfering. This Mistress really had no way out.”

“Shameless!” Cang Gou growled.

A glint flashed across Fan Wu’s eyes as he sensitively realised that Luan Feng was hiding something from them, but he didn’t ask her about it, as he knew that she wouldn’t tell him anyway. After a moment of silence, he sighed, “It seems that we’re unable to stop him.”

Luan Feng hesitated for a moment, “Although we can’t refuse him, it doesn’t mean we can’t cause trouble for him.”

Fan Wu gazed at her, “What do you mean?”

Luan Feng replied with a grin, “As both of you know, he has a wife called Shan Qing Luo who has inherited a Divine Spirit Source and is now a Half-Monster. Now, she’s cultivating in the Ancient Lands.”

Fan Wu and Cang Gou nodded slightly, as they were aware of this. Ying Fei had personally sent Shan Qing Luo to this place, and everyone in Ancient Lands had heard about her, so she wouldn’t face any danger in this place. The reason she had chosen to cultivate here was that the environment in this place was best suited for her.

Cang Gou’s gaze brightened, “You mean we should make a move on that Shan Qing Luo girl?”

Luan Feng shook her head, “No. I’ve met her before, and I quite appreciate her as a woman. She seems to have inherited a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s Source as well, so one day she will be one of the greatest Masters among our Monster Race. Since she’s from the same Race as us, there’s no reason for us to act aggressively with her.”

Cang Gou was puzzled and asked, “Since you don’t intend to deal with her, why did you mention her name?”

Luan Feng’s smile grew deeper as she continued, “That brat might try to act upright, but clearly he’s a promiscuous one. Do you know that he has four wives in total? Moreover, he’s in an ambiguous relationship with a woman from Ice Heart Valley, and he has gotten together with a woman from the Dragon Clan. If we count that Heavens Order’s descendant in…”

Cang Gou appeared to be longing for that kind of life as he grumbled, “Tsk. He’s quite lucky to have so many women.”

Fan Wu’s eyes flashed as he thought of something before uttering, “Having so many women is not necessarily a good thing.”

Luan Feng nodded, “That’s right. He met his four wives when they were younger, so they’re not very powerful, while that woman from Ice Heart Valley is a Second-Order Emperor. We’ve all met her before actually. She was that mad woman who terrorized our lands, but I’ve heard that she’s no longer crazy. The remaining two are that Dragon Woman and Heavens Order’s descendant. None among these women would be willing to accept being second.”

Cang Gou uttered, “What’s your saying is… If they came across each other…”

He could feel a chill running down his spine just thinking about it. A woman from the Dragon Clan and Heavens Order’s descendant were naturally born to be enemies, so it’d be quite the show if they met each other.

However, no one knew when Heavens Order’s descendant would come out of the Blood Gate.

A smiling Luan Feng said, “Before that happens, we can do something to add fuel to the fire. If he’s constantly troubled by women, that brat won’t have any energy left to stir up trouble in the Ancient Wild Lands again!”

Cang Gou asked, “How do we do that?”

Luan Feng grinned, “The chance is right before our eyes. Since he wants three Monster Kings, we’ll lend him three Monster Kings. It’s just that he might not be able to stomach them.”

While Cang Gou was puzzled, Fan Wu understood what she was trying to say as he ran his fingers through his beard with a smile, “That’s right. Lady Feng has a good point.”

“What are you two talking about? Can you make it clear to me?” Cang Gou scratched his head.

Fan Wu and Luan Feng grinned at each other.

…..

Three Monster Kings were soon selected as the Three Great Divine Venerables would respectively lend Yang Kai one each.

Inside Phoenix Nest Palace, Yang Kai stared at the three Monster Kings in disbelief as he was at a loss for words.

It wasn’t that these three weren’t strong. All 32 Monster Kings in the Ancient Wild Lands were powerful. The reason he was speechless was that all three of them were women. Furthermore, they were extremely charming and alluring women.

He was familiar with one of them. She was Du Mi’er, the Flower Monster that he had met in Luan Feng’s palace last time. She was excellent at serving people and Yang Kai had the opportunity to receive a massage from her previously. At this moment, she was looking lovingly at him.

Beside Du Mi’er was a stunning woman with rich curves and a naturally seductive expression. Only Shan Qing Luo could match her in terms of allure. Her two watery eyes seemed like two black holes that were able to suck anyone’s Soul in and trap it forever. Although she was just quietly standing there, she exuded an indescribable charm that made any man unwilling to move his eyes away from her.

“Hu Fei?” Yang Kai asked probingly.

Upon hearing that, the female Monster King was startled for a moment before she put on a smile and parted her lips, “I never expected Sir to recognise this Mistress.” Her voice was so soft and inviting that Yang Kai couldn’t help but shudder as he felt like all his bones had become lighter. She indeed lived up to her Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s bloodline, as every move she made was able to enchant a man. Yang Kai could even feel his lower reaches turning warm.

At that instant, he was torn between tears and laughter. He had just discussed all the Monster Kings with Xi Lei a few days ago and had been specifically warned to be careful of Hu Fei. Never did he expect that Luan Feng would send this woman to him.

Shooting a glance at Luan Feng but seeing her smiling back at him nonchalantly, he could only cough and turn back, nodding to Hu Fei as he replied, “Lady Hu Fei is quite famous. That’s why I recognise you.”

Hu Fei giggled, “I guess Sir means infamous. I’m sorry for what Sir has heard about me.”

Then, Yang Kai turned to look at the last Monster King. Her temperament was quite different from that of Du Mi’er or Hu Fei. She wasn’t soft and welcoming like Du Mi’er or as seductive and enchanting like Hu Fei, instead, she was an icy beauty. Her pupils were strangely vertical, which reminded Yang Kai of those of a snake. Nevertheless, he wasn’t afraid of the insidious feeling she gave off; rather, he had the urge to pounce on her as if he had been hypnotized. Even if he was gulped down by her in a single bite, he wouldn’t have any complaint.

Realising her identity, Yang Kai asked, “Chi Lian?”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3292

Chi Lian licked her scarlet lips as her eyes beamed with a radiant glow, “Sir, you do have an incredible memory. I never expected that you would recognise this Mistress as well.”

“Aha.. ha…” Yang Kai put on a hollow laugh and swept a glance over these three female Monster Kings.

They were all alluring women who were clad in revealing clothes. Their fair skin, plump peaks, and long legs were all greatly exposed, and the way they looked at Yang Kai suggested that they were eager to ‘eat’ him.

As a chill ran down his spine, Yang Kai turned to look at the smiling Luan Feng, who was clearly enjoying the good show, and asked, “Lady Feng, can I have a word with you?”

Luan Feng rolled her eyes as she went to the other side with him and questioned in an annoyed manner, “What’s the matter?”

A frustrated Yang Kai asked, “Lady Feng, are you all messing with me?”

Luan Feng put on a frivolous smile, “Whatever do you mean?”

Yang Kai stole a glance at the Monster Kings, “I ask you to lend me three Monster Kings, but… why did you send these particular three to me?”

Pretending to be clueless, Luan Feng asked, “Are you not satisfied with them? They’re considered quite powerful among the thirty-two Monster Kings. They might not be as powerful as Xi Lei in close combat, but you can ask Xi Lei to try battling against them and see who will turn out to be the winner.”

“I believe they’re strong, but this isn’t… appropriate.”

Luan Feng’s expression turned cold, “What do you mean? Even after this Queen took great pains to summon these three for you, now you don’t want them anymore? If that’s the case, you have to tell them about it yourself and see whether they’ll let you off.” 

In the meantime, she was elated in her heart. [This is the price you have to pay for oppressing us. Do you think I have no way to deal with you?]

“Please.” Yang Kai cupped his fists, “I know you’re a kind-hearted woman. Please replace them with the more… ordinary Monster Kings. The three of them are really too… Outstanding…” Even he found it hard to resist their charm and it was taking a good deal of his focus to ward off their seduction, so what else need be said about others? If Yang Kai really brought these three back with him, High Heaven Palace would descend into chaos. The male disciples would never be able to focus on cultivating.

Luan Feng shot him a glare, “This Queen found you three Monster Kings as you requested, but now you want to exchange them for others? Don’t you think your behaviour is too outrageous?”

After giving it a thought, Yang Kai muttered, “Perhaps… just a bit…”

“Scram back to your place if you don’t want them!” Luan Feng snorted and declared.

Yang Kai parted his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything in the end. As he looked at the three Monster Kings, who were staring hungrily at him, he heaved a sigh, “Nevermind. I’ll take them.”

Luan Feng scoffed, “You’re making it sound like you’ve been taken advantage of.”

She paused for a moment, “I’ve fulfilled your demand. Now, leave this place with them and don’t come back again unless it’s a truly urgent matter. After that Heavens Order’s descendant comes out of the Blood Gate, I’ll send someone to inform you.”

She seemed eager to chase him away, as she was truly incensed by his very presence. She could only feel at ease once he was gone.

Dawdling no further, Yang Kai clasped his fists together and uttered, “Please take care of my wife, then.” He didn’t look for Shan Qing Luo this time as he knew that she was going through intensive cultivation. Bothering her at this point wouldn’t do her any good.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that no one harms her,” Luan Feng impatiently waved her hand.

After bidding her farewell, Yang Kai and the three Monster Kings flew towards the place where Stone Spirits lived. It was then he realised that it was truly unbearable to have these three beautiful women around him. These three Monster Kings were extremely forward, and every word they uttered and every move they made seemed to be specifically to seduce him. Hu Fei, who had the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s bloodline, was especially attractive as her every move or smile was able to enthral any man.

Du Mi’er and Chi Lian were not easy to deal with either. While one was tender and affectionate, the other was insidiously cold. Surrounded by these three different types of women, Yang Kai felt as if he was suffocating. If he wasn’t loyal to his wives, he would’ve looked for a place and bedded these three right away.

After they arrived at the place where the Stone Spirits lived, a group of Stone Spirits gazed at the three women with widened eyes and then took a look at Yang Kai. Following that, they gave him a look that only men would understand.

Their actions made Yang Kai feel embarrassed, as this wasn’t the outcome he had expected. The reason he came to the Ancient Wild Lands this time was to borrow three Monster Kings to keep watch over Orthodoxy Temple; however, it had never crossed his mind that he would bring three enchantresses with him.

After giving it a thought, he realised that Luan Feng was up to no good. She must have intended to make these enchantresses devour him and then threaten him to get him to do whatever she told him to do.

He remained embarrassed when he returned to Orthodoxy Temple and, under the stunned gaze of Hua Qing Si, he introduced the Monster Kings to her and told her to help them settle in.

Before he left, he turned solemn and swept a glance over these three alluring women as he uttered, “After I’m gone, you have to listen to Manager Hua. The Human world is unlike the Ancient Wild Lands, and you won’t be able to be so carefree anymore. Since you’ve come to my territory, you’ll have to follow the rules. If you make any mistake, you will not be spared from punishment.”

Hu Fei smiled tenderly at him, “Sir, what are you talking about? We’re all very obedient.” 

As she spoke, she exuded a faint charming intent. Any other man would immediately be enchanted by her and wouldn’t be able to say any harsh words to her.

Nevertheless, Yang Kai had his guard up all along, as he had the intention to establish his authority here. As the golden pupil in his left eye started glowing, his Spiritual Energy surged towards Hu Fei and erased all her charming intent.

The expression on Hu Fei’s fair face changed drastically and after a grunt, her face became pale. Du Mi’er and Chi Lian quickly looked away as well as their watery eyes showed a sense of surprise.

At the same time, Yang Kai silently activated his Golden Divine Dragon Source Strength and engulfed the three of them in his Dragon Pressure. Following that, he extended his hand to touch Hu Fei’s delicate face.

Hu Fei widened her eyes in an instant as the sight before her eyes was inconceivable. Yang Kai was standing in front of her, but it was as if she was seeing a giant Dragon extending its Dragon Claw towards her, seemingly preparing to shred her to pieces. Faced with the claw, all her defence seemed as fragile as paper.

She couldn’t help trembling as the colour drained from her face.

Feeling the change in Yang Kai’s aura, Du Mi’er and Chi Lian appeared fearful as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

It seemed to be just a short moment, but also seemed to last forever before the three enchantresses felt that terrifying aura disappear. With a grin, Yang Kai pinched Hu Fei’s cheek, enjoying the soft feel of her skin as he said light-heartedly, “Be good girls now and help me protect this place. Do a good job and I’ll definitely reward you handsomely.”

The stunned enchantresses obediently nodded.

Yang Kai sniffed his own fingers then winked at Hu Fei before he laughed heartily and turned to leave.

After he was gone, Hu Fei and the others were finally able to heave a sigh of relief. Gazing around, they could see the shock in each other’s eyes. Earlier, they had followed Yang Kai all the way to this place and realised that he was quite mild-mannered, which was why they had become a little presumptuous; however, it wasn’t until what happened just now that they realised that Yang Kai was truly a horrifying monster. If they infuriated him, he would probably not go easy on them. The pressure just now was able to make them suffocate, a sensation they had never experienced even from the Divine Venerables.

After calmly watching everything that had happened, Hua Qing Si chose this moment to speak up, “This Mistress is Head Manager of High Heaven Palace Hua Qing Si. May I ask for your names?”

Hu Fei and the others snapped back to their senses upon hearing that with Du Mi’er answering first. They didn’t take Hua Qing Si lightly just because the latter was weaker than they were and instead appeared quite submissive.

Hua Qing Si memorised their names as she understood the reason they appeared so meek was that Yang Kai had managed to instil a sense of fear in them. Otherwise, it would be a pain in the backside for her to deal with these Monster Kings. 

The only people in High Heaven Palace that could rival them were Ying Fei, Xi Lei, and Xie Wu Wei. However, those three were Monster Kings from the Ancient Wild Lands as well, so they were all definitely familiar with one another. Hence, there was no way Hua Qing Si could make use of Ying Fei and the others to intimidate these three female Monster Kings.

Now that Yang Kai had disciplined them though, it would be much easier for Hua Qing Si to manage them. She had even decided that if they wouldn’t listen to her commands, she would tell Liu Yan to deal with them.

Liu Yan was second only to Yang Kai in High Heaven Palace. Even the Monster Kings were no match for her.

Now that they were joined by three more Monster Kings, they had enough people to protect their foundation. After Nanmen Da Jun was done with arranging the new Sect Defending Array, they could start relocating disciples to this place.

On the other hand, after Yang Kai left Orthodoxy Temple, he actually returned to the Ancient Wild Lands.

Upon leaving the place where the Stone Spirit Clan lived, he went to the location where Blood Gate had appeared in the past. This place was familiar to him, as he had a life-or-death battle against Shi Huo here, one where he was almost beaten to death. It was only thanks to the awakening of Zhang Ruo Xi’s bloodline and the fact that she had taken away Shi Huo’s Divine Spirit Source that the crisis was averted.

Following that, Zhang Ruo Xi and Xiao Xiao entered the Blood Gate, which disappeared afterwards. There had not been any news about them since then.

Some Monster Commanders had been stationed around the Blood Gate year-round. Yang Kai was interrogated when he arrived at this place, but after he told them his name, they all became obsequious.

He then went on to probe the area for a long time, but he couldn’t sense the Blood Gate’s aura whatsoever. Left with no choice, he could only put the matter aside for now.

The Blood Gate was connected to a Sealed World that was created by Heavens Order in the past. There was the Heavens Order Palace inside it where many Ancient Divine Spirit Sources were stored. Divine Spirits were rare these days, but they were much more common during ancient times. These Divine Spirits were born powerful, so they also tended to be reckless and brought chaos to the world.

According to ancient records, Heavens Order was born all of a sudden, after which she waged a great war. With the Heavens Order Sword in her hand, she slew countless Divine Spirits, including Dragons and Phoenixes. She was born from nature by coincidence, and it seemed that she was the archnemesis of all Divine Spirits.

During the era when Heavens Order lived, no Divine Spirit dared show its face, which allowed Humans to peacefully develop their civilization.

On the other hand, the Divine Spirits that were killed by Heavens Order had their Sources extracted and sealed within Heavens Order Palace, which was why the number of Divine Spirits had dwindled. These days, it was pretty rare to find any of them. Although many members of the Monster Race had inherited their ancestors’ ancient bloodlines, they couldn’t awaken their ancestors’ glories without their ancestors’ Sources.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3293

Yang Kai only left the Ancient Wild Lands after a couple of weeks.

On the outskirts of the Ancient Lands, there was a shabby desolate city where many cultivators had been staying. The Ancient Wild Lands were known for being dangerous, but due to the abundant natural treasures and its unique environment, many cultivators still loved to venture into the place. As time passed, a city where cultivators could take a rest appeared outside the Ancient Lands. This was how the desolate city came about.

In fact, Yang Kai had been to this place as well. At that time, he was there to look for a guide, eventually finding Old Ban, and with the latter’s lead, he was able to enter the Ancient Lands safely. It was also because of Old Ban that he got into a conflict with Serene Soul Great Emperor’s Daughter, Yao Lin. She might not be a truly evil person, but because she had always been doted on and spoiled, she had become rather haughty. With the protection of some top cultivators, she insisted on barging into the Ancient Lands and forced Old Ban to lead the way. However, she was taught a lesson by Yang Kai. Unresigned, she joined forces with Netherworld Sect’s Yin Le Sheng and ambushed Yang Kai at the entrance of the Ancient Lands Passageway, but Yang Kai turned the tables on them instead. At the critical moment, Serene Soul Great Emperor’s Soul Descend appeared which caused Yang Kai to pull back.

Arriving in this desolate city again, Yang Kai recalled his experiences with Old Ban.

At that time, he was grateful to Old Ban for bringing him to the Ancient Lands, and upon seeing that the latter was living a destitute life with his granddaughter, he decided to bring them to the Northern Territory. While his granddaughter had gotten into Ice Heart Valley, Old Ban had also found a job in a city that was under the Valley’s rule.

Yang Kai hadn’t met them for years, but he knew that Old Ban’s granddaughter must have come of age now. As a cultivator in Ice Heart Valley, her future was bright.

Nevertheless, he was just passing by the desolate city. After recollecting some old memories, he turned around to leave. His destination: Dragon Island.

What Sheng Yu Zhu had told him made him realise that increasing his strength was indeed a pressing issue. Although all ten Great Emperors were still alive and kicking, no one knew when the next chance to compete for that position would arrive. If that chance arrived but he wasn’t strong enough, it would be useless for him to cry over spilt milk.

Therefore, he had to quickly improve his strength and get prepared so that he wouldn’t be flustered at the last moment.

It had only been a short time since he reached the Second-Order Emperor Realm, so even if he decided to cultivate in seclusion, he wouldn’t be able to reach the Third-Order in a short period of time. Nevertheless, reaching the next order in his realm wasn’t the only way to increase his strength. To him, a breakthrough in his Dragon Transformation Secret Art and tempering his Dragon Vein would be more effective than reaching the next Minor Realm.

In order to achieve that, heading to Dragon Island would be his best option.

Moreover, Zhu Qing was still on the island. Previously, he had gone to a Lower Star Field through the Void Corridor that Wu Kuang had forcefully opened up. Yang Kai didn’t know what happened to Zhu Qing after that, or whether or not those from the island had continued making life hard for her. Hence, he couldn’t set his mind at ease unless he returned to the island to have a look.

If possible, he wanted to bring Zhu Qing out of that place, and if he couldn’t do that, he would have to arrange a Space Array on Dragon Island and connect it to High Heaven Palace; otherwise, it would be quite troublesome if he wanted to head to the island again.

However, before going to Dragon Island, he had to pay a visit to Spirit Beast Island first.

He had always wanted to discuss the Dao of Space with Li Wu Yi, as it was difficult to find someone else in this world who was also a Master in the same Dao as him. Moreover, Li Wu Yi was touted to be the strongest below the Great Emperors, so his mastery over the Dao of Space was certainly greater than that of Yang Kai’s. Nevertheless, in the past, Yang Kai wasn’t powerful enough to have this kind of discussion with him.

He had never received any formal guidance when it came to cultivating the Dao of Space, but if he could now converse with Li Wu Yi, he might obtain some unexpected gains.

Fortunately, both Dragon Island and Spirit Beast Island were located on the East Sea. Taking Serene Soul Palace into consideration as well, the collective heritage and power of the Eastern Territory was the best among the four territories in the Star Boundary. Nonetheless, these three great forces were not on good terms. For example, if Martial Beast Great Emperor and those from the Dragon Clan came across each other, it’d be considered lucky if they didn’t get into a scuffle, so there was no way they would join forces.

In the desolate city, a man watched Yang Kai leave with surprise. A moment later, he fished out a jade slip and ran a search inside it, after which, he put on a grin and muttered, “It’s really him.”

After storing the jade slip, he took out a communication artifact and infused his Divine Sense into it. Then, he spoke to someone, and upon getting the latter’s order, he clenched his teeth and walked in the direction Yang Kai had left.

However, he was only a Dao Source Realm cultivator, so there was no way he could tail Yang Kai. After he left the desolate city, he realised that Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen and as he blindly looked around, he appeared frustrated.

A moment later, a group of people flew towards him. The leading young man looked grimly at him and questioned, “Where is he?”

The man replied apprehensively, “Fort Lord, I don’t know where he is. His cultivation is too powerful, so I’ve lost him.”

The young man addressed as Fort Lord shot this man a glare upon hearing that, causing the man’s forehead to be covered in cold sweat as he uttered fearfully, “Forgive me for being useless.”

To the side, an old man added, “Fort Lord, that person was already a First-Order Emperor when we last saw him, while Xie San is only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm. So, it’s good that he has lost him. If that person realised that he’s being tailed, he would become wary.”

The young man’s expression turned milder as he bowed his head, “Elder is correct.” Then, he turned to look at the man who had given them the information, “Did you make out his face? Are you sure it’s him?”

The man replied steadfastly, “Yes, I’m certain it’s him. In the past, Fort Lord gave each of us a jade slip with his image in it, and I’ve always carried it with me. I wasn’t paying attention at first, but I suddenly realised that he looked familiar. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the others in the city. I’m sure I’m not the only one who spotted him.”

The Fort Lord replied dispassionately, “I believe you wouldn’t dare to deceive me. According to your observation, what’s that person’s cultivation?”

The man hesitated for a moment before replying cautiously, “He should be stronger than you are.”

Fort Lord narrowed his eyes, “Stronger than me? That means he’s a Second-Order Emperor at the very least. Damn!” He appeared resentful of Yang Kai, as though there was a blood feud between them.

The old man, who spoke earlier, was shocked, “If this Old Master is not mistaken, that person only entered the Emperor Realm in the Shattered Star Sea. Not many years have passed, but he’s already reached the Second-Order Emperor Realm. He’s indeed gifted…” He paused for a moment and cupped his fists, “Fort Lord, I believe we need to discuss this issue further. If he’s really a Second-Order Emperor, we from the Qi Family Fort can’t afford to offend him.”

If Yang Kai was present and heard this, he would definitely recall the name ‘Qi Family Fort’.

Qi Family Fort wasn’t considered a powerful force in the Eastern Territory, second-tier at best. The strongest person in the fort was only a First-Order Emperor. Qi Family Fort and Luo Sha Sect could be regarded as equals, though the former was slightly stronger than the other in terms of total power.

Due to the fact that they were not particularly strong, they could only occupy an area on the outskirts of the Eastern Territory. No one was interested in invading their territory, so they were able to develop peacefully.

The current Fort Lord was a gloomy-looking young man by the name of Qi Hai. Yang Kai had come into contact with him several times.

The first time, Yang Kai had obtained the Mountains and Rivers Bell and Phoenix True Fire in the Shattered Star Sea. Upon finding out about it, Qi Hai passionately invited him to visit Qi Family Fort. That was because Qi Hai’s wife had barged into the Ancient Wild Lands and was stricken with one of the Ten Extreme Poisons, Heavenly Frost Earth Rain. Her days were numbered, and she needed the Phoenix True Fire to help her dispel the poison. The reason Qi Hai took the risk to venture into the Shattered Star Sea at all was to look for the Phoenix True Fire, but Yang Kai had obtained it before he could do so, which was why he had his eyes on Yang Kai.

However, to Yang Kai at that time, the Eastern Territory was a faraway place, so he wouldn’t want to head to Qi Family Fort for no reason; therefore, he only gave a perfunctory reply that he’d go if he found time.

After that, Yang Kai arrived in the Eastern Territory by chance. When he reached the desolate city outside the Ancient Lands Passageway, Qi Hai immediately got the news. After all, Qi Family Fort was nearby, and the entire desolate city was under their attention and jurisdiction. At that time, Qi Hai was just the Young Fort Lord, but he still had many informants in the city.

Qi Hai placed some moles around the Ancient Lands Passageway to wait for Yang Kai. Eventually, one of their disciples really saw Yang Kai and passed Qi Hai’s word on to him.

If the Phoenix True Fire was with Yang Kai at that time, he wouldn’t have minded giving Qi Hai a hand, as it wouldn’t take him much effort to do so. However, the Phoenix True Fire had already been absorbed by Liu Yan at that point, and she had turned into a Phoenix egg. Furthermore, Liu Yan had been taken away by Jiu Feng to Spirit Beast Island to obtain the Phoenix Clan’s Inheritance, so Yang Kai wasn’t able to help Qi Hai. Also, the Phoenix True Fire was an important item, and Yang Kai was displeased that it was being spread that he possessed it and was also being stalked for it, so he rejected them right away.

To Yang Kai, they should look for a way to save the poisoned person instead of having eyes on his Phoenix True Fire. The incident didn’t matter to him, however, so he had forgotten about it over time.

Nevertheless, to Qi Hai, he could never forget about this. He was certain that Yang Kai had obtained the Phoenix True Fire, and it wouldn’t take him much effort to dispel the Heavenly Frost Earth Rain; however, Yang Kai still stone-heartedly rejected him, which caused his wife to pass away because of the poison.

After that, Qi Hai had transformed into an entirely different person, as he was no longer the soft-spoken Young Fort Lord. He had even paid a hefty price to get into one of the top Sects in the Eastern Territory in order to become strong so he could one day kill Yang Kai to get revenge for his deceased wife.

To him, while the poison might have killed his lover, it was Yang Kai who needed to be held responsible.

Therefore, upon learning that Yang Kai had appeared in the desolate city again, Qi Hai immediately rushed over to get his revenge and also ask Yang Kai why he was so cold-blooded at that time.

The Young Fort Lord in the past had become the Fort Lord of Qi Family Fort now, and his cultivation had reached the First-Order Emperor Realm. Just when he thought that he had the right to challenge Yang Kai though, his subordinate broke it to him that Yang Kai had reached a higher realm.

There was no way he was a match for a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master.

“We can’t afford to offend him, but it doesn’t mean the others can’t!” Qi Hai looked coldly into the distance, “I’m not the only one in the Eastern Territory that wants him dead. Since he has the guts to come back here, he shouldn’t even think about leaving this place alive!”

As he sneered, he fished out a jade slip and broke it to pieces, after which a beam of light shot into the distance.

Upon seeing that, the old man couldn’t help but sigh. The Young Fort Lord in the past and the Fort Lord before his eyes seemed like two different people. Since his woman’s death and after Qi Hai had joined that Sect, everything had changed. Nevertheless, he couldn’t criticize him, as getting revenge for his deceased wife was Qi Hai’s only wish. If he was stripped of that wish, life would be a living hell for him.

Well, I sorta get it. Anyways, he has a backup plan so his thought process isn’t that flawed. I guess he just really wishes to do it with his own hands. 

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3294

There were two islands on the East Sea, Dragon Island and Spirit Beast Island. Both islands were elusive, so without a rare opportunity, the average person would never be able to see them no matter how hard he tried to look for them.

Most thought that these places where incredibly powerful cultivators lived were indeed two islands; however, Yang Kai knew that Dragon Island was actually a Small World, and the entrance was beneath a particular area of the sea. Previously, if Yang Kai didn’t have Li Jiao as a guide, he wouldn’t have been able to reach the island at all.

This trip to Dragon Island was dangerous, as Yang Kai didn’t know how he would be treated when he returned. Perhaps he’d be regarded as an enemy; therefore, he had to pay a visit to Spirit Beast Island first.

What rendered him speechless was that after he visited some towns and asked around, he realised that no one knew where Spirit Beast Island was.

Then, he headed east and reached the seaside, but he still couldn’t get any useful information.

In a certain magnificent city that was built along the incredibly long coastline, many cultivators were seen walking to and fro.

Inside a restaurant, Yang Kai took a seat by the window on the third floor as he drank some wine on his own. Frustrated, he wondered where he could get Spirit Beast Island’s location from.

Just then, he caught a whiff of a woman’s fragrance as she took a seat across from him.

Yang Kai frowned and raised his head, only to see a woman with a smiling face that was as beautiful as a flower. Her fair skin made her look even more alluring and her tight-fitting blue clothes perfectly outlined her slim and delicate figure.

When their eyes met, Yang Kai’s gaze brightened up as he flashed a smile at her, “You are…”

“Brother Yang, it’s taken me some effort to look for you.” The woman across the table smiled at him.

“Sister Lan He!” Yang Kai finally recalled her name and felt elated as he had come across a familiar face in a foreign place, asking heartily, “Why are you here?”

Upon finishing his words, he smacked his head in frustration, “Oh! I’d forgotten that you’re from the Eastern Territory.”

Yang Kai would have forgotten Lan He if she hadn’t appeared all of a sudden. He didn’t have many friends in the Eastern Territory, as he had mostly stayed in Northern Territory and Southern Territory in recent years. Nevertheless, he had come into contact with some rising stars from other territories in the Shattered Star Sea.

Naturally, he had come across Lan He in the Shattered Star Sea as well. She was from Heavenly Wolf Valley in the Eastern Territory. In the past, Yang Kai had lent her a hand in the Shattered Star Sea. Later, both of them had fallen into a Void Crack at the same time, and it was Yang Kai who helped her escape. Otherwise, given her cultivation at that time, she would’ve become lost in the Void Crack forever. After that, Yang Kai had asked her to help look after a certain woman.

That woman was Ling Yin Qin, who left the Solitary Void Sealed World together with Yang Kai.

The Solitary Void Sealed World was where Bing Yun had been trapped for thousands of years. 

Ling Yin Qin and a man came across each other there and fell in love in the Solitary Void Sealed World. Unfortunately, her husband passed away in an accident. Before being trapped in the Sealed World, Ling Yin Qin’s husband had belonged to Heavenly Wolf Valley, which was the same Sect Lan He hailed from. After Ling Yin Qin escaped the Solitary Void Sealed World, she didn’t join Yang Kai and Bing Yun and instead opted to travel to Heavenly Wolf Valley in order to return her husband’s ashes to his birthplace.

Many years had passed since that time, so Yang Kai didn’t remember all the details; however, he remembered that Ling Yin Qin was a hospitable person. After Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun fell into the Solitary Void Sea, Ling Yin Qin was the first person they bumped into. In addition to shelter and passage aboard her ship, Ling Yin Qin had even loaned Yang Kai a High Grade Spirit Purifying Array, a precious memento of her husband, to use when he was in need.

After leaving the Solitary Void Sealed World, Yang Kai didn’t meet Ling Yin Qin again; after all, they were quite far away from each other. However, after meeting Lan He from Heavenly Wolf Valley in the Shattered Star Sea, Yang Kai asked her to look after Ling Yin Qin. Of course, Yang Kai didn’t even know if Ling Yin Qin had made it to Heavenly Wolf Valley at the time, so it really was just in case.

Yang Kai had never expected that he would have the chance to bump into Lan He again, so now that he had, with a faint smile, he uttered, “What a coincidence. Sister Lan, we haven’t met for ages.”

Nonetheless, Lan He shook her head, “I’m specifically here to look for you.”

“Really?” Yang Kai arched his eyebrows in surprise, “How did you know I was in the Eastern Territory?”

Lan He replied, “I’ve heard some news about you. Some people mentioned your name and said that you are looking for the route to Spirit Beast Island, so I knew that you would be somewhere close to the sea, which is why I came to this place to wait for you. It seems that I guessed right and you really did wind up here.”

Yang Kai blinked, “You heard news about me, and my name was mentioned specifically? That’s quite interesting. Sister Lan, where did you hear it from?” What Lan He had said contained some information that Yang Kai was concerned about, as he didn’t expect that some people were discreetly inquiring about him after he arrived in the Eastern Territory.

Lan He shot him a glare, “Are you just pretending to be clueless or are you really that ignorant?”

Yang Kai replied with a smile, “If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked.”

Lan He sized him up for a moment before sighing, “Good. Do you know that you’re in a perilous situation right now?”

A shocked Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean I’m in a perilous situation?”

After another sigh, Lan He explained, “I didn’t know you were this clueless. Let’s put it this way. Do you remember Brahma Holy Land?” Seeing that he appeared puzzled, Lan He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “You killed two of their Holy Sons in the Shattered Star Sea, how could you even forget about it? One of them was called Zhang Hao, and the other was Zhang Xian. Both of them were fellow brothers as well as rising stars of Brahma Holy Land.”

Yang Kai touched his chin, “Hmm, now that you’ve mentioned it, it does ring a bell.”

The corner of Lan He’s mouth twitched. [He can’t even remember who he killed! If Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian found out about this in Hell, they’d probably blow die all over again from anger.]

Yang Kai grinned at her, “I killed too many people in the Shattered Star Sea, so why would I remember these two specifically?” He was speaking the truth, as he had murdered countless rising stars in the Shattered Star Sea, each one of them possessing powerful backgrounds. Yang Kai naturally didn’t bother to remember all their names.

After giving it a thought, he uttered, “Sister Lan, you mean that those from Brahma Holy Land are searching for me?”

With a straight face, Lan He replied, “It’s not just Brahma Holy Land. Let me ask you, what kind of grudge do you have with Netherworld Sect? They’ve made a move as well.”

[Netherworld Sect? Tsk them again!] Yang Kai felt sick at the mere mention of that Sect. There were too many grudges between Netherworld Sect and him. Many years ago, Yin Le Sheng ambushed Chi Yue and him in the Starlight Corridor, and after that, he would find fault with Yang Kai whenever possible. When they met in the Shattered Star Sea, in order to find Xiao Xiao’s whereabouts, Yang Kai made a deal with Yin Le Sheng and spared his life. After getting information from Yin Le Sheng, Yang Kai went to the Ancient Wild Lands to look for Xiao Xiao. Following that, Yin Le Sheng appeared and joined forces with a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master from Netherworld Sect to ambush Yang Kai outside the Ancient Lands Passageway. 

Serene Soul Great Emperor’s Daughter, Yao Lin, was there as well. Despite that, Yang Kai was still able to escape with his life and had even killed Yin Le Sheng.

Yin Le Sheng was the former Sect Master of Netherworld Sect in Grand Desolation Star Field, and thanks to his own hard work, he had achieved a breakthrough and entered the Star Boundary, after which he joined Netherworld Sect’s main Sect in the Star Boundary. Sect Master Fu Bo had high hopes for Yin Le Sheng and even took him in as his Disciple. However, Yang Kai had killed Yin Le Sheng and a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master Elder of their Sect, which was why a blood feud had been formed between them.

Furthermore, Yang Kai had destroyed Netherworld Sect in Grand Desolation Star Field, so the feud was basically unresolvable now, only the destruction of one side or the other would end things now.

Lan He put on a helpless smile, “Brother Yang, you’re really something. Of the three top Sects in the Eastern Territory, you’ve offended two of them.”

Anyone else who had offended such great forces would never dare to show up in the Eastern Territory again. Fortunately, Yang Kai wasn’t from the Eastern Territory, so even though those from Brahma Holy Land and Netherworld Sect wanted to kill him, they couldn’t get the chance to do so. Now that Yang Kai had shown up in the Eastern Territory, however, they wouldn’t be able to hold back anymore. If they let this chance slip through their fingers, it would be hard to look for Yang Kai again in the future.

Therefore, after getting the news, the two great forces immediately went all out as they intended to kill Yang Kai in order to protect their reputation.

Yang Kai grinned, “If they don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke them. By the way, what’s the last top Sect in the Eastern Territory? Is it your Heavenly Wolf Valley?”

Lan He shook her head, “We only have two Second-Order Emperor Realm Masters, so we can’t be considered one of the top Sects. The last one is Ahan Temple.” Upon finishing her words, she suddenly looked at him in shock, “Please don’t tell me that you’ve also offended Ahan Temple. I’ve heard that Chi Gui is looking for you as well.”

Yang Kai gazed at her and said, “Do I look like I love to stir up trouble? Also, who is Chi Gui? Is he some kind of ghost?”

Lan He burst into laughter, “He’s not a ghost, but a rising star in Ahan Temple. He reached the Emperor Realm in the Shattered Star Sea, so you should have met him before. He’s a hot-tempered guy with long red hair.”

After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai seemed to recall that he had met such a person before. It was difficult to forget such flaming red hair after all. However, he soon shook his head, “There are no grudges between us.”

Lan He went on to say, “Then, maybe he just wants to have a fight with you. He’s a battle addict. In the past, he’d frequently look for Yin Le Sheng, Zhang Hao, and Zhang Xian to battle against. Now that all three of them were killed by you, Chi Gui has no more opponents in the Eastern Territory. Perhaps he wants to prove something by defeating you.”

Yang Kai snorted, “He’s targeted the wrong guy, then.”

Lan He uttered, “It’s not the right time for a small talk. Brother Yang, we shouldn’t stay here for too long. Two top Sects from the Eastern Territory have joined forces to search for you. Fortunately, you’re pretty fast and you’ve never stayed in one location for too long; however, the news that you’re here will quickly spread. If you don’t leave now, you won’t be able to do so after they arrive.”

Yang Kai sighed, “I just want to live a peaceful life, but these people just keep bothering me.”

Lan He was exasperated as she said forcefully, “This is an urgent matter. You need to leave with me now!”

Yang Kai questioned, “Huh? Where are we going?”

Lan He replied matter-of-factly, “Of course to Heavenly Wolf Valley. Where else can we go? I’ll bring you back to avoid them.”

Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he said with a smile, “Sister Lan, many thanks for your good intentions, but I won’t leave with you. Heavenly Wolf Valley is located in the Eastern Territory, so I don’t want your Sect to fall into trouble because of me.” 

There was no way Heavenly Wolf Valley was able to go against two top Sects of the Eastern Territory.

After he finished speaking though, he frowned and shot a look at a certain woman who had just come up to the third floor. The woman quickly looked away and took a seat at another table.

Chi Gui – The character used for Gui is ghost.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3295

Yang Kai heaved a sigh, “Sister Lan, how is your reputation in the Eastern Territory?”

Lan He questioned, “What do you mean?”

“Do you have many friends?”

With an elegant smile, Lan He replied, “En, I do have some friends.” She was a reputable person in the Eastern Territory. Although she wasn’t as famous as Chi Gui, she was one of the rising stars of this territory; otherwise, she wouldn’t have qualified for a chance to enter the Shattered Star Sea.

Furthermore, after Yin Le Sheng from Netherworld Sect and the two Holy Sons from Brahma Holy Land were killed by Yang Kai, Lan He had garnered even more attention. Now that she was a First-Order Emperor, naturally, many knew who she was.

“This will be troublesome then,” The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.

“What do you mean?” Lan He was puzzled.

Shaking his head, Yang Kai replied, “Nothing.” 

He wasn’t afraid of Netherworld Sect or Brahma Holy Land. He could ignore them if they didn’t come at him; however, if they dared to find fault with him, he would make it known to them that they had offended someone they couldn’t afford to provoke. However, now that Lan He had come all the way here to give him a warning in public, some people might see them together and inform his enemies about it.

Certainly, he could just leave, but Lan He’s actions had invited trouble to Heavenly Wolf Valley. If his enemies couldn’t find him, they might go over to Heavenly Wolf Valley to ‘ask’ about him, and Lan He would fall into trouble.

Naturally, Yang Kai couldn’t let her face such dreadful consequences as she was well-meaning. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her that she had made a mistake even though her intentions were good; therefore, he could only try to come up with a solution to make sure that Heavenly Wolf Valley could stay out of this mess.

While he was deep in thought, Lan He uttered, “Brother Yang, you have been inquiring about Spirit Beast Island, yes? Do you want to go there?”

Yang Kai’s gaze brightened up when he heard that, “Sister Lan, do you know how to get there?”

Lan He flashed a smile at him, “The location of Spirit Beast Island is top secret, so I’m not sure about it either; however, our Valley Master should know where it is.”

“Is there any connection between Heavenly Wolf Valley and Spirit Beast Island?”

Lan He explained, “Our inheritance is related to the Divine Spirit Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf. Many years ago, our Ancestral Founders found and raised a Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf’s descendant. Unfortunately, its blood wasn’t that pure, so it couldn’t showcase its ancestor’s glory. Somehow, those from Spirit Beast Island found out about it and sent a Beast Seeker to obtain that descendant from us. In exchange, that person gave us a Faith Token and told us that if there was ever a crisis we couldn’t resolve, we could take this token to Spirit Beast Island on the East Sea to seek help.”

“A Faith Token…” Yang Kai was elated upon hearing this, as he had finally found a way to enter Spirit Beast Island after a long time of searching. Just when he was clueless about how to head to the island, he unexpectedly got the information from Lan He.

The Beast Seeker she had just mentioned must be someone like Old Tao that he had come across in Full Sky Sect previously. Their job was to look for precious Monster Beasts around the world and bring them back to Spirit Beast Island to be nurtured.

Although it wasn’t a pureblood Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf that Heavenly Wolf Valley found, it was good enough for Spirit Beast Island to take it in. Those from Heavenly Wolf Valley were unable to nurture it, but that didn’t mean that those from Spirit Beast Island couldn’t.

Nevertheless, they didn’t take the Monster Beast for free. The Beast Seeker had left behind a Faith Token as compensation. To Heavenly Wolf Valley, this token was probably the greatest piece of their heritage. With this token in their hands, even the three top Sects of the Eastern Territory wouldn’t dare to harass them openly. That was because if Spirit Beast Island became involved, both Brahma Holy Land and Netherworld Sect would be in trouble.

Lan He put on a smile, “Brother Yang, do you understand why I’ve invited you to Heavenly Wolf Valley to take shelter now? I know you’re worried that I might bring trouble to my Sect, but everyone in the Eastern Territory knows that we have a connection with Spirit Beast Island. Even if they find out that you’ve gone to Heavenly Wolf Valley, there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Yang Kai nodded, “It seems I was indeed overly worried. Since that’s the case, this Yang will thank you for your help in advance.”

Lan He shot him a glare, “Brother Yang, do you not see me as a friend? If it weren’t for you, I would have lost my life in Shattered Star Sea and couldn’t have achieved the success I have today. I’ll always remember those who have helped me, not to mention that you’ve actually saved my life.”

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai replied, “Sister Lan, I’ll not forget this favour.”

Honestly, it was the least Yang Kai could do at that time as it was mainly because of him that Lan He had fallen into the Void Crack, and it didn’t take him much effort to get her out. However, even after so many years, she still came all the way here to give him shelter and took the risk of inviting trouble to her own Sect to repay him. This was indeed a big favour.

However, to Lan He, Yang Kai had undoubtedly saved her life, so both of them had done each other a favour. 

Hesitating no more, Yang Kai dropped some Source Crystals on the table and left the restaurant with Lan He.

After that, the woman, who was seated at a table near them, secretly fished out a communication artifact and infused her Divine Sense into it before talking to someone.

On the other hand, Yang Kai and Lan He were walking towards the exit of the city together.

Lan He suddenly frowned, “Brother Yang, your whereabouts have been exposed. Some people are following us now.”

With a faint smile, Yang Kai replied, “That’ll depend on whether they’re able to keep pace with us.”

Upon leaving the city, Yang Kai apologised to Lan He before suddenly grabbing her arm. Feeling his touch, Lan He shuddered slightly as her face blushed.

The next moment, however, her vision turned blurred as the world seemed to spin around her. When her vision became clear again, she realised that they were already at a different place. However, Yang Kai wasn’t done just yet. After repeating the same process a dozen times, Yang Kai let go of her arm and said with a smile, “Sister Lan, please lead the way from here.”

Lan He was still stunned as she turned around and realised that the city was nowhere to be seen. Then, she recalled that Yang Kai was a Master of the Dao of Space and a horrifying idea sprang into her mind.

[That was a Space Divine Ability, instantaneous movement!]

Because of Li Wu Yi, everyone in the Eastern Territory knew a thing or two about Masters of the Dao of Space. They were aware that Li Wu Yi was able to ignore the barriers of space and move from one place to another in an instant. This amazing Space Divine Ability was known commonly as instantaneous movement.

Nevertheless, most people had only heard about it but never seen it with their eyes, let alone actually experienced it.

However, at this moment, Lan He had experienced how it felt to teleport freely across space. Earlier, she seemed to be passing through the Void while she was in a dazed state. The experience was amazing yet terrifying.

With such a Divine Ability, no one in this world would be able to capture Yang Kai. It was no wonder that he had the guts to venture into the Eastern Territory alone and still appear calm. A shocked Lan He asked, “Brother Yang, are you already a Second-Order Emperor?”

She couldn’t figure out Yang Kai’s realm earlier because he wasn’t using any of his strength, but after he circulated his Emperor Qi, she immediately realised the realm he was in.

Yang Kai nodded, “It has only been a short time since I broke through.”

Lan He remained stunned for some time before uttering, “Brother Yang, you’re indeed a genius.”

Both of them were in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm when they came across each other in the Shattered Star Sea; however, what Yang Kai just showed her had truly amazed her. After she found out that Yang Kai had reached the Emperor Realm in the Shattered Star Sea, she knew that the sky was the limit for him.

Nevertheless, she had never expected that he’d achieve another breakthrough so soon.

Now, she was in the First-Order Emperor Realm, mainly thanks to the benefits she obtained from her trip to the Shattered Star Sea. Nonetheless, she wasn’t that confident of breaking through to the Second Order any time soon.

Each Minor Realm in the Emperor Realm was extremely difficult to climb. Countless rising stars had gotten stuck in the same Realm for years once they reached this point, and that was why there were so few top forces in this world.

A Sect could be considered a top force with just one Third-Order Emperor Realm Master assuming command. Nevertheless, the strongest person in Heavenly Wolf Valley was only a Second-Order Emperor.

Suppressing her shock, Lan He pulled herself together and identified the direction. Following that, she beckoned to Yang Kai and headed in the direction of Heavenly Wolf Valley.

…

In the seaside city, the hall where the city’s Space Array was located was bustling with people.

Many powerful Masters suddenly arrived at this place from all over, stunning the cultivators who guarded the array. They wondered whether there was some kind of special occasion today; after all, there were so many top cultivators gathered together.

Soon, the hall was filled with about thirty Emperor Realm Masters. It was apparent that these people came from different Sects. One group of them appeared grim as if they crawled up from the depths of Hell, giving off a discomforting feeling. The other group of people appeared more normal, but they all exuded a thick murderous intent. At that instant, the atmosphere in the hall was depressing.

“They’re from Netherworld Sect and Brahma Holy Land!” The guards gathered together as someone was able to recognise these people.

“Why are all of them here? Is there some kind of treasure that’s going to be born close by?” If that wasn’t the case, why would so many top cultivators gather together in this place? These were all Emperor Realm Masters who wouldn’t show up easily in public.

“I don’t think there’s any treasure here. It seems more like they’re here to kill someone.”

“Huh? Why does it take so many Emperor Realm Masters to kill someone? Who has the guts to have offended these people?”

“How would I know? Have you informed Sir City Lord about it?”

“Yes, he’s coming right now.”

The City Lord of this city was just a First-Order Emperor Realm Master, so with so many top Masters from two top Sects appearing suddenly, he certainly had to come over to look into the matter.

The news rapidly spread across the city, and soon, a short, fat old man, whose forehead was drenched in cold sweat, stepped into the hall. Upon sweeping a glance over the group before him, his legs turned to jelly as he almost passed out.

He didn’t believe it at first when he received the news; after all, there was nothing precious in the city that could attract the Emperor Realm Masters from Netherworld Sect and Brahma Holy Land to come here together. Now, he realised that there were indeed more than thirty Emperor Realm Masters in this place, and the auras of the two leading this group were so thick that he didn’t even dare to look them in the eyes.

He had some speculations about who these two people were. One of them must be the Sect Master of Netherworld Sect, Fu Bo, while the other should be the Holy Master of Brahma Holy Land, Xu Chang Feng.

Both of them were famous figures in the Eastern Territory, and it was surprising that they had appeared together in the same place.

The obese City Lord felt that more cold sweat was oozing out of his forehead just standing there. He knew that if he couldn’t handle this matter well, it would mean the end of his career as City Lord. Not daring to be disrespectful, he immediately went over to salute them.

Unexpectedly, both Fu Bo and Xu Chang Feng didn’t seem interested in replying to this fat man as they were currently asking a woman some questions.

A moment later, Fu Bo bellowed, “Waste!”

The woman hurriedly fell to her knees with a loud thud and said fearfully, “Mercy, please!”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3296

Although no one had bothered to reply to him, the fat City Lord wouldn’t dare to show any signs of displeasure. As he waited apprehensively on the same spot, he listened to their conversations. Some unfamiliar names and Heavenly Wolf Valley were mentioned.

A moment later, the Masters in the hall started leaving the place and no one had bothered to spare the fat City Lord a glance since the beginning. Soon, several dozen figures leapt into the air and flew away.

It was only then that the City Lord heaved a sigh of relief as his back was drenched in sweat. At that instant, he felt as if he had just escaped from death’s door.

He also realised that these top cultivators didn’t come to this place for him or the city he was in. They were just passing by. He wondered which fool had offended these two great forces and made so many top cultivators come together to hunt him, causing him to be a bit anxious. After cursing that person in his heart, the fat City Lord finally felt at ease.

Heavenly Wolf Valley was situated in a vast mountain valley, surrounded by extremely high mountains, with only one way to enter the valley.

As the most promising rising star in Heavenly Wolf Valley, Lan He held an important position within the valley. As she led Yang Kai to the gates, the disciples who guarded the entrance immediately saluted her, “Elder Lan!”

As they spoke, they sized Yang Kai up and speculated about his relationship with Lan He. This was the first time they saw Lan He bringing a man back to the valley after all.

“Are they Howling Moon Heavenly Wolves?” Yang Kai looked up at the huge statues on either side of the Main Gate. The sculptures that were several tens of metres tall were apparently that of a howling wolf, weathered by time.

In the past, Yang Kai couldn’t have guessed what Monster Beasts they were; however, after listening to Lan He’s explanations, he could easily guess that these statues were of Howling Moon Heavenly Wolves.

With a smile, Lan He nodded her head, “That’s right. Our Sect was founded based on the Ancient Divine Spirit, Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf. These sculptures were left behind by the first Ancestral Founder, so they’re about twenty thousand years old already.”

“They look imposing.” Yang Kai nodded and complimented them.

Divine Spirits were not to be underestimated. He might appear to be bold whenever he irritated Luan Feng in the Ancient Lands, as if he was able to deal with her with ease; however, he knew that if she ever lost her temper and decided to fight it out with him, he might not be able to defeat her.

As Divine Spirits, Howling Moon Heavenly Wolves were naturally powerful as well.

“Brother Yang, please.” Lan He smiled and invited him inside.

Yang Kai nodded and followed her into the valley.

As Lan He led the way, she uttered, “I’ll bring you to meet our Valley Master. If you want to head to Spirit Beast Island, you’ll need his help.”

Yang Kai asked hesitantly, “Will it be troublesome for you to speak with the Valley Master?”

With a smile, Lan He replied, “Don’t worry. He’ll agree to it.” She blinked, “By the way, I forgot to tell you that the Valley Master is my Master. Since I’ve agreed to it, there’s no way he’ll reject it.”

Hearing that, Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling.

There were about three to four thousand disciples in Heavenly Wolf Valley, scattered around the mountain valley. There were some Spirit Peaks in the valley as well, but they were much shorter than those mountains in the surrounding area. Inside the valley, World Energy was abundant and the scent of flowers permeated the air, so it could be considered a lively and beautiful place.

Moreover, Yang Kai could see that there were many wolves in the valley. Some of them moved in packs, while some of them were lone wolves. Some of them were even seen running around the mountain valley playfully. Nevertheless, the disciples in Heavenly Wolf Valley were not afraid of them, and some people even had wolves as their companions, which went to show that this Sect was truly intertwined with the lives of wolves. Yang Kai secretly heaved a sigh and thought that the Sect really lived up to its name, as their disciples genuinely treated these wolves as their companions.

While he was ambling forward, Yang Kai suddenly felt a ferocious aura sweeping over him as a wolf the size of an ox suddenly got in his way. Yang Kai was amazed because the wolf was a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast. In other words, it was equivalent to a Human Emperor Realm Master.

However, its aura wasn’t so strong, so it should be a Low-Rank Twelfth-Order.

What shocked Yang Kai was that he could sense a hint of Lan He’s aura from this wolf. Recalling what he had seen earlier though, he had a speculation in his mind.

As expected, upon seeing the giant wolf, Lan He beamed at it and went over to pat its head, “Xiao Wu, were you waiting for me?”

The wolf gently pressed its huge head against Lan He’s embrace as they appeared intimate with each other.

Lan He played with the wolf for a bit before she turned around and said, “Xiao Wu, let me introduce this Senior Brother to you. He was the one who had saved my life in the past, Yang Kai.” Then, she said to Yang Kai, “This is my Battle Wolf, Xiao Wu.”

As Yang Kai met with the wolf’s sharp gaze, the wolf nodded slightly to express its gratitude in a fairly human manner. Yang Kai knew that a Twelfth-Order Monster Beast must have gained sentience and could no longer be considered an ordinary Monster Beast. Cupping his fists, he uttered, “Greetings, Brother Wu.”

The wolf suddenly howled with a displeased expression, which stunned Yang Kai.

Lan He burst into a fit of giggles as she said in a joyful tone, “Brother Yang, Xiao Wu is a girl.”

After she finished speaking, a crackling sound was heard coming from the wolf as its figure contorted and transformed into a burly woman. She was one head taller than Lan He, and her frame was quite stocky. Her fingers appeared strong with razor-sharp nails and she was clad in a blouse and short skirt that exposed her stout thighs to the air. Her well-built muscles seemed to contain an explosive power as she waved her fists at Yang Kai and bellowed, “Are you blind or what!?”

At that instant, Yang Kai was utterly embarrassed. [I am not at fault… It’s difficult to tell whether a wolf is male or female in their beast form…]

Lan He leapt into the air and slapped her head, “You can’t be so impolite to him!”

It was only then that Xiao Wu pressed her lips together as she straightened her face and cupped her fists, “I’ve heard about you from Little He before. Many thanks for assisting her at that time.”

Yang Kai replied smilingly, “It was the least I could do, so there’s no need to thank me.”

Xiao Wu swept a glance over Yang Kai and gently pushed Lan He with her muscular shoulder before saying, “This brat is pretty good. Why don’t you take him in? You’re pretty mature now, so it’s about time you looked for a mate.”

Upon hearing that, Lan He was utterly embarrassed.

A stunned Yang Kai thought. [I’m not deaf. Shouldn’t she be speaking in a hushed voice if she wanted to say something like this? Why was she so loud?]

A blushing Lan He chided, “Stop spouting nonsense. Brother Yang is in a bit of trouble, so I’ve brought him here to look for my Master.”

“What trouble?” Xiao Wu asked curiously.

“It’s no use telling you about it. Stay right here. I’ll look for you later.” As she spoke, she hurriedly beckoned to Yang Kai. She was worried that Xiao Wu might say something shocking again if they stayed any longer.

Watching the two of them leave, Xiao Wu snorted as her figure contorted and turned back into a wolf before she ran across the field.

“Brother Yang, I’m so sorry. Xiao Wu doesn’t think before she speaks, so please don’t mind her,” Lan He said with a bashful expression.

Yang Kai put on a faint smile, “Xiao Wu is pretty interesting.”

Lan He explained, “I grew up with Xiao Wu from infancy. For the disciples of Heavenly Wolf Valley, given enough aptitude, we’re allowed to raise a Battle Wolf. To outsiders, they might just be helpers or tamed Monster Beasts, but to the disciples of Heavenly Wolf Valley, they’re Brothers and Sisters.”

Yang Kai said, “Why didn’t you bring Xiao Wu to the Shattered Star Sea then?”

Lan He shook her head with a helpless smile, “There was a limited quota of people that were allowed to enter the Shattered Star Sea. We only managed to obtain a small number of spots, so Xiao Wu couldn’t go.”

Yang Kai nodded. He had been to the Shattered Star Sea as well, so he knew that when the place opened up, only those with Star Seals would be allowed in.

As they spoke, the pair reached a certain hall. Lan He told Yang Kai to have a seat and got someone to prepare some tea before saying to him, “Brother Yang, please wait here. I’ll speak to my Master now.”

After Yang Kai nodded in acknowledgement, she turned around to leave.

Lan He directly landed on a certain Spirit Peak in Heavenly Wolf Valley a short time later and shouted, “Master! Master!”

A moment later, a light voice was heard coming from a quaint cottage, “In here.”

Lan He shuffled toward the source of the voice and saluted an elegant-looking middle-aged man, “Master.”

The middle-aged man was none other than the Valley Master of Heavenly Wolf Valley, Tang Sheng, as well as the strongest cultivator in their Sect, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master.

There was a Vice Valley Master called Qian Xiu Ying in the Sect who was also a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master, and the two happened to be a married couple. Tang Sheng had ascended to this realm earlier though, so he was slightly stronger.

Tang Sheng opened his eyes to look at his Disciple and felt gratified. Heavenly Wolf Valley wasn’t a top Sect, so it was difficult for them to get a disciple to reach the Emperor Realm. Lan He didn’t disappoint him though as she managed to reach Emperor Realm quickly, so as her Master, he was quite satisfied with her. With a smile, he asked, “Have you gained anything during your recent trip?”

Lan He replied, “I’ve experienced many new things and heard some interesting stories, but I haven’t managed to gain anything tangible.”

Tang Sheng flashed a smile at her, “Your experiences are crucial in making you stronger. Perhaps sometime in the future, something you saw or heard in passing will become a nutrient for your growth and the key to achieving a breakthrough. Perhaps even the least conspicuous of encounters will become the straw you can grasp at when you find yourself in a perilous situation.”

“Master is wise.” Lan He looked smilingly at him as she wasn’t as cautious as when a Common Disciple was facing their Master. Instead, she treated him like he was her Father and spoke openly, “I’ve actually come across such a straw this time.”

Tang Sheng asked curiously, “What do you mean?”

Lan He explained, “Master, do you remember Elder Ling?” As she spoke, she walked over and prepared a cup of tea for him.

Tang Sheng took a sip of it and said, “She’s an Elder in our valley, and we meet each other frequently, so how could I possibly forget her?”

Lan He walked behind him and massaged his shoulders as she said with a smile, “I mean, do you remember why Elder Ling came to our Sect in the first place?”

After a sigh, Tang Sheng said, “She came here for Wu An. She and Wu An were deeply in love with each other; otherwise, I wouldn’t have stretched the rules to take her in and even given her the position of Elder so readily.”

Ling Yin Qin wasn’t raised by Heavenly Wolf Valley, so the main reason she was taken in was that she had been married to one of their disciples, Wu An, in the past. Unfortunately, Wu An passed away in a Sealed World, but even after many years had passed, Ling Yin Qin had travelled a great distance to return her husband’s ashes to the valley for burial.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3297

To be precise, the deceased Wu An and Tang Sheng were Brother Disciples, which meant that Ling Yin Qin was in the same generation as Tang Sheng. So, she was senior to Lan He.

When Ling Yin Qin arrived at Heavenly Wolf Valley, she was only in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm. Fortunately, she had been given enough resources, and paired with her own aptitude, she was able to reach the Emperor Realm in just a few years, after which she was promoted to be an Elder by Tang Sheng.

Lan He said, “When I was in Shattered Star Sea, I came across a person who told me about Elder Ling. After I left that place, I told some people to find out Elder Ling’s whereabouts and fortunately, we soon got some good news and brought her back to the valley.”

Tang Sheng nodded, “Yes, I remember. Why? Did you want some kind of reward?” 

It was beneficial to the Sect to have even one more Emperor Realm Master, so Yang Sheng thought that Lan He was trying to get some benefits from him.

Lan He stuck out her tongue and replied, “No. I’m just saying that the person who told me about Elder Ling is called Yang Kai.”

Tang Sheng nodded and said, “I remember that he saved you by helping you escape from the Void Crack. You’ve told me about it before.” After he finished speaking, he thought of something and turned to look at her, “You said you met a life-saving straw while outside. Could it be…”

Lan He flashed a faint smile at him, “Master, you’re indeed intelligent. I indeed bumped into Brother Yang this time.”

“He’s in the Eastern Territory? Didn’t you say that he’s from the Southern Territory?”

“Yes, he’s from the Southern Territory, but he is here for some purpose.”

“Have you brought him back, then? He’s your saviour, after all. Since you’ve met him, you should properly thank him.”

Lan He replied, “Of course I’ve brought him back. He’s in the side hall now.”

Hearing that, Tang Sheng rose from the chair and shot her a glare, “Little girl, since you’ve brought him back, why did you beat around the bush just now? He’s your life’s saviour, so as your Master I must meet him and express my gratitude as well.”

Lan He said with a smile, “I’ve already thanked him.”

A solemn Tang Sheng rebuked, “He saved your life, so we can never thank him enough.”

Seizing the chance, Lan He said, “Actually, he’s here to ask for your help. I was worried that you wouldn’t agree to it, but it seems that I can be at ease now.”

Tang Sheng stopped in his tracks as he had a premonition all of a sudden. Turning around, he stared at her and said, “It seems that you’re up to something. Hmm, you even prepared tea and helped massage me. You must be up to no good!”

“That’s not true. Is your precious Disciple that kind of person in your eyes?” Lan He pouted with an aggrieved expression.

Tang Sheng snorted, “I know you well enough.” 

He paused for a bit, “It seems that it isn’t a small favour. What does he want?”

Lan He replied hesitantly, “Master…”

Tang Sheng demanded, “Just tell me straight; otherwise, I’ll punish you.” 

He shot a glance at Lan He’s head, which caused her to immediately cover it.

After giving it a thought, she decided to be straightforward with him, “He’s come to the Eastern Territory because he wants to visit Spirit Beast Island, but he doesn’t know how to get there.”

“Spirit Beast Island…” Tang Sheng’s expression changed as he realised something. Then, he nodded gently, “Good.”

Spirit Beast Island was elusive, so it was practically impossible for anyone to get there without any clues. Even the people in the Eastern Territory didn’t know where the island was located, much less an outsider like Yang Kai. However, Tang Sheng was aware of the way to get there, because a Beast Seeker from the island had left behind a Faith Token for them. By just bringing the token to the East Sea, they would be able to find the island.

With a smile, Tang Sheng replied, “It’s just a small favour. Since he saved your life before, I’ll personally lead the way for him to make sure that he reaches Spirit Beast Island.” The Faith Token was indeed their biggest safety charm, but if they were just making use of it to get to Spirit Beast Island without actually seeking assistance, it wouldn’t incur any losses for their Sect. If their Sect fell into danger in the future, they would still be able to use the token. It would also be good to take this chance to repay Yang Kai’s favour.

By doing so, they could also make friends with him. Tang Sheng had heard from Lan He that Yang Kai was a powerful young man with outstanding talent and aptitude. Furthermore, he was proficient in the Dao of Space, so his future was basically limitless.

Li Wu Yi was touted to be second only to the Great Emperors precisely because he was proficient in the Dao of Space. In the future, Yang Kai might just be as powerful as him; therefore, becoming friends with Yang Kai now would be beneficial for their Sect.

As these ideas flashed across Tang Sheng’s mind, he made a decision. It wasn’t that he was a scheming man, as anyone else would have had the same thoughts as he had. Moreover, as the Valley Master of Heavenly Wolf Valley, he had to consider what was best for the Sect above all else.

Upon hearing that, Lan He didn’t become elated. Instead, she looked cautiously at him and said hesitantly, “It would be good if the matter was so simple. However, Brother Yang is in a dangerous situation right now.”

“Hmm?” Tang Sheng looked doubtfully at her, “What do you mean?”

Lan He explained, “Honoured Master, don’t you remember what I told you? Brother Yang killed many people in the Shattered Star Sea, including the two Holy Sons from Brahma Holy Land, Zhang Hao and Zhang Xian.”

Tang Sheng’s expression changed slightly, “You mean, the people from Brahma Holy Land are coming for him?”

“Netherworld Sect is as well…” She spoke in an even lower voice.

“What?” Tang Sheng’s expression changed drastically this time.

It would still be manageable if only one of the top Sects was after Yang Kai, but now, two of them were hunting him down at the same time, so there was no way he could survive. Other people would have pushed such a troublemaker away immediately, but Lan He actually brought him back to her Sect instead.

Tang Sheng was so exasperated that he was at a loss for words as he pointed his finger at her.

Lan He said in an aggrieved manner, “Master, you told me before that we should repay any favour we receive, no matter how small it may be, to say nothing of the fact that Yang Kai had saved my life. If he hadn’t sent me out of the Void Crack, I would have died long ago.”

A frustrated Tang Sheng replied, “I did tell you this before, but it also depends on the situation, right? This is… You’re basically inviting trouble to our Sect!”

Lan He pouted, “We have the Faith Token from Spirit Beast Island don’t we? No matter how powerful the two great forces are, they wouldn’t dare to make a move on us.”

Tang Sheng was annoyed by the fact that she still didn’t understand the crux of the problem, “Yes, they won’t dare to attack us openly, but don’t forget that we live in the Eastern Territory and we do not just live inside our Sect’s borders! It isn’t like we can be presumptuous just because we have that Faith Token. If we offend two of the top Sects, we’ll never have peaceful days again. The disciples who have to go out for life experience or business will constantly be in danger. You’re really trying to drive me mad this time!”

A stunned Lan He asked, “What should we do, then?”

Tang Sheng paced back and forth in silence for a bit before a glint of determination flashed across his eyes, “Now, we can only deny that we have the token so that we remain uninvolved in this matter. After that, we’ll need to tell him to leave quickly.”

“But I already made him a promise…” Lan He gazed at Tang Sheng in disbelief, as she hadn’t expected that her Honoured Master would make this kind of decision. At that instant, she felt as if she didn’t know this man anymore.

Tang Sheng shook his head, “Your promise doesn’t matter. I’m the one who has the final say here.”

Lan He questioned in shock, “Master, do you want to make me go back on my word?”

“Impudence!” Tang Sheng turned around and growled at her with a grim expression. Following that though, he took a deep breath and tried to speak in a milder tone, “Little He, I hope you’ll understand your Master’s worries and think about the future of the thousands of disciples here. If possible, I wouldn’t want to do such a thing; however, if we lend our assistance now, we will be making enemies of two of the top Sects in the Eastern Territory, and our safety will no longer be guaranteed anymore. You’re someone who can see the bigger picture, so I’m sure you understand.”

Lan He opened her mouth with a bitter expression, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything in the end.

It had come to a point that she didn’t know how to face Yang Kai anymore; after all, she had made him a promise, but she now had to go back on her word, so she wasn’t sure how he would regard her.

Nevertheless, she knew that since her Master had made a decision, there was no way she could change his mind. After giving it a thought, she suggested, “Master, can you entrust the Faith Token to me for some time? I’ll leave the valley with him now and help him look for Spirit Beast Island. After finding the island, I’ll come back here.”

Tang Sheng shook his head, “If the two top Sects were not involved, such a plan would be acceptable; however, since they’re coming for that young man, you can’t. They’ll never let you off if you do this. What if you fall into fatal danger as a result?”

“But…”

“Enough” Tang Sheng raised his hand to cut her off, “Follow me to see him now.”

Left with no choice, Lan He followed him in a dejected manner.

On their way there, Tang Sheng fished out a communication artifact and sent a message to someone. A moment later, a woman in an imperial dress flew over. She was none other than the Vice Valley Master of Heavenly Wolf Valley, Qian Xiu Ying, Tang Sheng’s wife.

After casting a glance at Lan He, she said with a smile, “Little He, what’s going on? Why do you look so listless? Has your Master lectured you again? Tell me what happened, and I’ll stand up for you.”

However, Lan He just hung her head low without uttering a word.

After a sigh, Tang Sheng briefly told Qing Xiu Ying what happened and the decision he had made.

It was then that Qian Xiu Ying understood the reason behind Lan He’s sorrow. After giving it a thought, she commented, “This issue is indeed thorny.”

At the same time, she was displeased at Yang Kai in her heart. [Since he killed two Holy Sons from Brahma Holy Land and a Legacy Disciple from Netherworld Sect, he should just stay in the Southern Territory instead of coming to the Eastern Territory! Since he has come, he should have been more discreet instead of letting those two Sects find out his whereabouts. Moreover, our Sect has also been dragged into this mess. What have we done to deserve this?]

Despite her thoughts, she didn’t show any displeasure on her face, instead addressing Lan He softly, “Did he tell you why he’s going to Spirit Beast Island? Does he know anyone there?”

Lan He shook her head, “I have no idea.”

Tang Sheng chimed in, “Since this Yang Kai cultivates the Dao of Space as well, he’s definitely going there to gain some insights from Senior Li Wu Yi.”

Qian Xiu Ying nodded, “You’re right. It seems that he has nothing to do with Spirit Beast Island itself.”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3298

Logically, if Yang Kai had any special relationship with Spirit Beast Island, he would know how to get there instead of asking for their help.

With this thought in mind, Qian Xiu Ying gazed at Lan He and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Little He. I’m sure he’s a lucky person, so the two top Sects might not be able to harm him.”

Lan He lifted her head to look at her, “Martial Aunt, you mean…”

Qian Xiu Ying explained, “Those proficient in the Dao of Space are unmatched when it comes to escaping and tracking. Even if he’s no match for the two top Sects, he can still flee. Have you heard the rumour? In the past, Senior Li Wu Yi had somehow offended Flower Shadow Great Emperor and was hunted down by her, but in the end, he relied on his Space Divine Ability to escape from death’s door. You have to understand that Great Emperors are the most powerful Masters in this world. Although Senior Li Wu Yi is touted to be second only to the Great Emperors, there is still a clear difference between them. The fact that he was able to escape from Flower Shadow Great Emperor’s grasp shows just how amazing Space Divine Abilities are. Although this Yang Kai might not be as skilful as Senior Li Wu Yi, he must be able to keep himself safe.”

Upon hearing that, Lan He couldn’t help but recall that Yang Kai had showcased his instantaneous movement before. Suddenly, she found Qian Xiu Ying’s words to be sensible, as that Space Divine Ability was truly incredible. Yang Kai was able to move thousands of kilometres in the blink of an eye, so those from Netherworld Sect and Brahma Holy Land really might not be able to touch him.

With this thought in mind, Lan He could set her mind at ease a little, but the guilt she felt in her heart did not subside.

Upon reaching the side hall, Lan He didn’t enter because she was too embarrassed to face Yang Kai. So, she just waited outside with a dejected expression.

Seeing this, Tang Sheng and Qian Xiu Ying didn’t force her and let her stay outside.

When Yang Kai, who was inside the hall, noticed that a man and a woman were walking toward him, he immediately rose from the chair and turned to look at them, after which he was able to identify them.

On the way to this place, Lan He had told him about the situation in Heavenly Wolf Valley, so he knew that there were only two Second-Order Emperor Realm Masters in this Sect. The two people before his eyes must be the aforementioned Valley Master Tang Sheng and his wife Qian Xiu Ying.

The two were a perfectly matched couple, and as a guest, Yang Kai had to show enough respect, so he immediately cupped his fists and uttered, “Yang Kai greets Valley Master Tang, Vice Valley Master Qian. Please forgive my sudden intrusion without invitation.”

Tang Sheng guffawed at such forthright behaviour which was very different from the elegant façade most youths put up. Nodding, he walked over and said, “Young Master Yang, you don’t have to be overly polite with us. You are Little He’s saviour, which makes you Heavenly Wolf Valley’s honoured guest. There is nothing you need apologise for.”

Qian Xiu Ying also cupped her fists with a smiling face, “Greetings, Young Master Yang.”

Yang Kai was startled for a moment. Although the married couple appeared hospitable, their words gave him a feeling that they were trying to keep a certain distance from him. Then, he realised that he wasn’t close to Lan He, and it was the first time he met this couple, so he stopped minding it. However, when he looked out the hall and didn’t see Lan He, he felt that something was off.

“Have a seat, please.” Tang Sheng gestured at him as he and Qian Xiu Ying took the main seats before he called out, “Bring us some tea!”

Following that, a maidservant entered the place to get everything prepared.

Tang Sheng put on a polite smile and looked fixedly at Yang Kai, “I hear that Young Master Yang comes from the Southern Territory, yes?”

Yang Kai nodded, “In a certain sense.”

The married couple traded glances before Tang Sheng asked again, “Where does Young Master Yang reside now then? This Yang can see that you are a Second-Order Emperor, and with such cultivation at your age, the place you come from must be quite extraordinary.”

Yang Kai replied with a faint smile, “I’m a High-Rank Guest Elder of Azure Sun Temple.” 

He didn’t tell them that he was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace in the Northern Territory; after all, the couple was convinced that he was from the Southern Territory, so if he told them that he was a Palace Master in the Northern Territory, it would seem like he was inflating his own importance.

“Azure Sun Temple!” Tang Sheng was startled, “Do you mean the Azure Sun Temple that is one of the top three Sects in the Southern Territory?”

Yang Kai nodded, “There is only one Azure Sun Temple in the Southern Territory.”

Tang Sheng sighed, “This Tang has long heard about how famous Azure Sun Temple is. The three top Sects of Southern Territory, Azure Sun Temple, Orthodoxy Temple and Heavenly Martial Holy Land are each as powerful as the three top Sects in the Eastern Territory. All of them are the top forces in this world. Our little Heavenly Wolf Valley is simply not comparable to them at all.”

Yang Kai replied politely, “Valley Master, you need not be overly humble. Heavenly Wolf Valley is doing well and both you and Vice Valley Master Qian possess formidable power. I am certain your Sect will one day find itself among the top of the world.”

Tang Sheng guffawed, “Many thanks for your kind words.” He paused for a moment, “By the way, when I was young, I had set a goal to travel around all four territories in the Star Boundary one day. However, I was bogged down by many things, so I couldn’t realise my dream. In fact, I’ve never even stepped out of Eastern Territory before, so I feel a little embarrassed. Since you’re from the Southern Territory, can you tell me about the differences between there and here?”

Qian Xiu Ying also looked curiously at Yang Kai, seemingly very interested in hearing about this topic.

Yang Kai was startled for a moment. However, since he had a favour to ask of this pair, he decided to satisfy their curiosity. In fact, he had been to all four territories in the Star Boundary, and he had experienced the different cultures and customs of each one. Although he was much younger than Tang Sheng and Qian Xiu Ying, he did have more knowledge and experience than them when it came to such matters. At that moment, he started narrating his past experiences to them, which engrossed them in his stories as if they were able to go through his experiences for themselves. At the same time, they kept asking the young man many questions.

A long time later, Yang Kai could feel that his throat was dry, but the couple still seemed interested in finding out more. However, they didn’t seem to have the intention of talking about the Faith Token from Spirit Beast Island, which made him slightly frustrated. 

He knew that Lan He must have told them his purpose of visit, so he wondered what they were up to by asking about Southern Territory instead of discussing the token.

Finding a break in the conversation, Yang Kai decided to take the initiative, “Forgive me for being forward, but this Yang has come here today because I have a favour to ask of you.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sheng heaved a sigh, “Young Master Yang, I already know what your request is, as Little He told me about it; however, I’m afraid that I must disappoint you.”

Yang Kai was stunned, “You mean…”

With a bitter smile, Tang Sheng explained, “Long ago, our Ancestral Founders indeed obtained a Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf’s descendant, but it wasn’t a pureblood descendant and only possessed a faint bloodline from its ancestors, so it was nothing special. Somehow, those from Spirit Beast Island got the news and sent a Beast Seeker to our valley to obtain that Monster Beast and give us some compensation. All this is true; however, regarding the Faith Token, that is actually just a fabricated story.”

“A fabricated story?” Yang Kai was stunned. [How does one even think to fabricate such a story?]

Tang Sheng went on to say, “En, this story was specifically made up and spread far and wide to add a layer of invisible protection for our Sect so that the other great forces would be wary of us. Since this all happened thousands of years ago, those from Spirit Beast Island certainly have learned of it by now, but it is also true that they brought away our Monster Beast, and what was done did not harm their reputation. Given their power, Spirit Beast Island apparently didn’t want to bother making things difficult for my Valley. However, this Tang never expected that one day it would draw Young Master Yang here on false pretences. For this, I am truly sorry.”

Upon hearing his explanation, Yang Kai smiled helplessly. Earlier, he thought that luck was on his side, but he hadn’t expected that the Faith Token turned out to be a made-up story. Since he had found out about the truth, there was nothing else he could say. Realising something at that moment, he asked, “Is Sister Lan afraid to meet me because of this?”

After a sigh, Qian Xiu Ying explained, “Little He feels that she has broken her word to you and was too embarrassed to meet you.”

Yang Kai burst into laughter, “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sister Lan is thinking too much.”

Qian Xiu Ying went on to say, “Little He has always been an honest and upright girl. Over the years, she never forgot the fact that you had saved her life; therefore, after she bumped into you in the Eastern Territory, she wanted to repay that favour any way she could. However, she was never informed about the truth of this matter, so she really believed we had that Faith Token and brought you to this place as a result.”

Tang Sheng said, “It is all this Tang’s fault. At that time, our Ancestors simply wished to add a layer of protection for our Sect, but I didn’t expect that Little He would be hurt because of this one day. Please don’t blame her.”

A solemn Yang Kai replied, “I won’t.” 

If Lan He hadn’t warned him, he wouldn’t have even been aware that he had been targeted by Brahma Holy Land and Netherworld Sect.

Qian Xiu Ying suggested, “If you really want to head to Spirit Beast Island, you can walk around Seaside City. You might get a clue from there.”

Yang Kai nodded and thought that if he really couldn’t find the way to get there, he would just forget about it. His main reason for coming to the Eastern Territory was to head to Dragon Island, so going to Spirit Beast Island was optional.

Then, he recalled that Liu Yan had lived on Spirit Beast Island for a long time; however, she might not know the island’s location. That was because when Jiu Feng brought her away, she was still a Phoenix egg, and after that, she went directly to Dragon Island before following Yang Kai to the Lower Star Field.

Just then, Tang Sheng suddenly frowned and took out a communication artifact from his Space Ring. As his expression changed, he turned to look at Qian Xiu Ying.

Yang Kai observed his expression and could guess that he must have received an important message, so with a smile, he said, “If something has happened, please attend to it first. This Yang can see himself out on his own. If I have some free time in the future, I will certainly come here to pay you a visit again.”

Rising from his chair, Tang Sheng replied, “Please forgive this Tang’s lack of hospitality, but there is indeed something of importance that requires immediate attention. Since that’s the case, I won’t be overly polite and take my leave now.”

After he finished speaking, he left the hall with Qian Xiu Ying.

Yang Kai turned to look at their figures and touched his chin as a meaningful glint flashed across his eyes.

He wasn’t a fool. Although what Tang Sheng had said was logical and reasonable, his actions made Yang Kai feel that something was off. Yang Kai didn’t dare to judge whether they really had that Faith Token, but he was certain that they didn’t welcome him. Otherwise, the couple wouldn’t have left together. Even though there was an urgent matter, only one person was needed to handle it, so why would both of them leave together?

Furthermore, they didn’t even try to persuade Yang Kai to stay for a few days more. After he said that he would leave on his own, he could even feel that they were secretly breathing sighs of relief.

It was apparent that they were worried that Yang Kai would attract trouble to their Sect.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3299

If Yang Kai was in Tang Sheng’s shoes, he would have the same kind of worries as well; therefore, he didn’t have a reason to blame him, though he did feel slightly displeased.

Just then, a head stuck out of the door as their eyes met.

Yang Kai smiled and called out, “Sister Lan.”

Lan He hesitantly revealed herself as her expression appeared embarrassed, “Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai asked curiously, “Sister Lan, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Lan He lowered her head and stared at her toes, “Brother Yang, I’m sorry.” Yang Kai didn’t know whether there was really a Faith Token from Spirit Beast Island in Heavenly Wolf Valley or not, but she was aware of the truth. She knew that it wasn’t a fabricated story. Tang Sheng and Qian Xiu Ying had said so because they were worried that, by becoming friends with Yang Kai, it would bring trouble to the Sect.

If she had the final say, she wouldn’t mind giving him a hand. Although she was an Elder in her Sect, she couldn’t give Yang Kai any promises at this point. Likewise, she could not do anything that would betray her Sect. On the one hand, Yang Kai was her life’s saviour. On the other hand, Tang Sheng was her Master. She was utterly conflicted within herself as she thought about it. Facing Yang Kai, she felt so guilty that she didn’t dare to look him in the eyes.

Yang Kai walked up to and flashed a smile at her, “Sister Lan, you don’t have to apologise to me. I’m already grateful that you’ve informed me of what Brahma Holy Land and Netherworld Sect were up to. Since the Faith Token is just a fabricated story, it’s okay.”

After remaining silent for a moment, Lan He suddenly raised her head and said steadfastly, “Brother Yang, wait for a few days more. I’ll find a way to help you.”

Judging from her expression, Yang Kai knew that she wanted to plead with Tang Sheng to get the Faith Token; however, by doing so, mistrust might be formed between Tang Sheng and her. Therefore, Yang Kai said to her with a smile, “There’s no need for that. It’s not like I must go to Spirit Beast Island. It’d be good if I could go, but it’s also fine if I can’t. However, I’m sorry for making this kind of request that would trouble you.”

Lan He felt anguished as she listened to him. It was her Sect that was in the wrong, as Tang Sheng was worried that Yang Kai might invite trouble to them. Initially, when he heard of Yang Kai’s arrival, Tang Sheng was eager to meet him and had even said that he would personally lead him to Spirit Beast Island; however, upon learning that two top Sects of the Eastern Territory were after Yang Kai, he changed his attitude in an instant. Nevertheless, now, Yang Kai was consoling her instead.

“Where’s Big Sister Ling? Can you lead me to see her?” Yang Kai abruptly changed the topic.

“En. Please come with me,” As expected, Lan He’s attention was diverted as she directly agreed to it.

As they walked further into the valley, Lan He remained silent on the way. She would only reply to Yang Kai whenever he asked her some questions, and she didn’t look as lively as before. Apparently, she still felt extremely guilty.

……

Inside a grand palace, Tang Sheng and Qian Xiu Ying arrived in a hall where two individuals were waiting for them. One of them was a gloomy-looking elderly man who looked like he had just crawled out from the underworld. The other one was an authoritative-looking middle-aged man who was clad in a simple robe. By just standing there with his hands behind his back, he looked like a blade that was able to make the atmosphere in the hall heavy.

Seeing them, Tang Sheng and Qian Xiu Ying were flabbergasted as they walked over and cupped their fists, “Welcome, Sect Master Fu, Holy Master Xu. Forgive us for not greeting you earlier.” 

[These two have come over far too quickly!] It had only been a short time since Yang Kai arrived at this place, but these two people had already appeared here. Tang Sheng felt fortunate that he had the foresight to not agree to Yang Kai’s request; otherwise, they would never be able to avoid this mess.

These two were the Sect Masters of two of the top Sects in the Eastern Territory, and both of them were Third-Order Emperors. Since they had made a move together, it showed the stance of Netherworld Sect and Brahma Holy Land on this issue. Perhaps the top cultivators from both Sects had all been sent out as well.

As Tang Sheng sighed, he was worried that Yang Kai was doomed. It was hopeless even if he had Space Divine Abilities when faced with so many top cultivators. If they sealed off space all at the same time, at all corners, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to escape no matter what. Tang Sheng could only hope that Lan He wouldn’t blame him for this in the future.

The gloomy-looking Fu Bo remained unmoving with his eyes closed like an old monk that was meditating. Although he was currently in Heavenly Wolf Valley, and was technically an uninvited guest, he showed no regard for Tang Sheng at all.

On the other hand, Xu Chang Feng grunted slightly while still facing away from the couple as he said dispassionately, “Tang Sheng, how long has your Sect existed?”

The question might sound random, but Tang Sheng could sense that something was off about it as a chill ran down his spine. After giving it a thought, he replied, “Heavenly Wolf Valley has more than twenty thousand years of history.”

Xu Chang Feng nodded slightly as he turned around and said impassively, “Twenty thousand years. Your Sect’s current heritage was gained with much time and sacrifice. Your Sect once enjoyed a glorious period and was counted among the top forces in the Eastern Territory many years ago. It had also become desolate and was almost destroyed at several points. However, there must be something unique about your Sect that it’s able to last for more than twenty thousand years.”

Tang Sheng forced a smile, “Monster Beasts have the sharpest instincts when it comes to avoiding danger. We have Battle Wolves as our companions, so our instincts have become quite keen as well.”

Xu Chang Feng stared meaningfully at him for a while before he nodded, “Good. I’m sure you already know the purpose of Sect Master Fu and my visit.”

Tang Sheng’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat as he said, “Holy Master Xu, please rest assured, we won’t do anything to dig our own graves. My Disciple was too naive and inadvertently brought that young man back here, but we have no intention of sheltering him and he will leave soon.”

“Hmph!” Fu Bo suddenly snorted, “You couldn’t protect him even if you tried.”

Upon hearing that, Qian Xiu Ying couldn’t help but shoot a glare at Fu Bo as she was unresigned. [He’s indeed a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master as well as the Sect Master of a top Sect in the Eastern Territory, but he currently sits in our Heavenly Wolf Valley! As a guest, how can he act so haughty in front of us? We still have the Faith Token that can be used to seek help from Spirit Beast Island. I doubt Netherworld Sect will really dare to make a move against us. As long as we still have the token, and Spirit Beast Island is still powerful, we have no need to fear destruction.]

Sensing her stare, Fu Bo suddenly raised his sharp gaze and met her eyes as he put on a devious smile.

The next moment, the colour drained from Qian Xiu Ying’s beautiful face as a howling voice sounded in her eyes. Her Soul was shaken to the core, and she shivered terribly.

Tang Sheng stepped sideways to stand in front of his wife and said, “Sect Master Fu, what is the meaning of this? We have made our stance clear. We will not interfere in your conflicts, so threaten my wife no further.”

Fu Bo mocked coldly, “I could tell that your Wife was unresigned, so I just wanted her to face reality. What’s wrong? Are you unresigned as well?”

Tang Sheng was exasperated, but he didn’t dare to say anything more.

Xu Chang Feng chimed in, “Tang Sheng, your Sect Defending Array is able to seal space, correct?”

Tang Sheng subconsciously replied, “The Sect Defending Array of every Sect has such capability…” 

Upon finishing his words, he realised something as his expression transformed to one of horror, “Holy Master Xu, why did you ask such a question?”

Xu Chang Feng looked dispassionately at him and asked back, “What do you think?”

Fu Bo chuckled in an eerie manner and rose from the chair finally, “What Holy Master Xu means is that he wants you to activate your Sect Defending Array to seal this place so that brat can’t flee. I’m sure you’re aware of what that little brat is capable of.”

Tang Sheng’s expression changed drastically, “Do you intend to move against him inside Heavenly Wolf Valley?”

Xu Chang Feng stared at him coldly and declared, “This is the perfect place to erect his tomb. What’s wrong with that?”

“No!” Tang Sheng directly rejected him.

Fu Bo narrowed his eyes, “Tang Sheng, I suggest you think twice before speaking again. Having a head is a good thing, so don’t just treat it as an ornament.”

The two of them directly called Tang Sheng by his name and didn’t show him any respect at all. The couple was enraged at this treatment, but they wouldn’t dare to rebuke them. Faced with such mockery, even Tang Sheng couldn’t hold back his anger anymore. Even a common man would be infuriated after being mocked and disdained, let alone a Sect Master like him. He had made it clear to them that he wouldn’t protect Yang Kai, but he didn’t expect that these two would still be so overbearing, even threatening Heavenly Wolf Valley and trying to drag it into this conflict.

After taking a deep breath, Tang Sheng declared solemnly, “This Tang will never agree to your request. That young man saved my Disciple’s life once before. The reason she brought him back was that he had a favour to ask of us, but we rejected him, which has caused great grief and guilt to my Disciple. If I were to use our Sect Defending Array to seal this space and cause his death in our valley, my Disciple will definitely form a Heart Demon, and she will never be able to break through again. If you want to deal with him, you can do that anywhere in this world except my Sect. We will not protect him, nor will we interfere in your conflicts with him.”

“Are you sure you want to refuse us?” Xu Chang Feng stared at him with a piercing gaze.

Tang Sheng’s face twitched when he was faced with that threat. He knew that if he rejected them this time, their Sect would face countless troubles in the Eastern Territory in the future. Just like what he had told Lan He previously, with Spirit Beast Island’s protection, these people wouldn’t dare to openly make a move on them, but harming their Disciples and industries in secret was almost a given. Heavenly Wolf Valley was a big Sect with lots of expenses, and they had many businesses in the Eastern Territory. All of these assets would definitely be targeted.

Turning to look at Qian Xiu Ying, Tang Sheng only saw her shaking her head while seemingly whispering something to him.

Despite not hearing her clearly, Tang Sheng could tell she had spoken just one name, Lan He. 

Having made up his mind, Tang Sheng steeled himself and declared, “Holy Master Xu, please stop making things difficult for this Tang!”

Lan He had managed to come back from the Shattered Star Sea alive and reached a breakthrough to the Emperor Realm, so she was the hope for the Sect. Perhaps she might even ascend to the Third-Order Emperor Realm in the future. In other words, the rise or fall of Heavenly Wolf Valley hinged on her.

If Lan He’s Martial Heart was broken because of this incident, it would be the biggest loss for their Sect. As for the possibility of their businesses getting suppressed, they could only worry about it in the future.

Furthermore, Yang Kai was related to another Elder in their Heavenly Wolf Valley, Ling Yin Qin. If Yang Kai was killed in this valley, Ling Yin Qin would definitely grow resentful of their Sect as well. When that happened, it would mean that their Sect would lose the faith of two Emperor Realm Masters; Tang Sheng could never allow that to happen.

Upon hearing his reply, Fu Bo put on an eerie grin while Xu Chang Feng stared at Tang Sheng with an emotionless face for a moment. Upon concluding that the latter was resolute, he nodded slightly, “Forget it, then.”

With that, Tang Sheng was finally able to heave a sigh of relief. If Xu Chang Feng insisted on forcing the issue, he wasn’t confident he could reject him. This was the best outcome for Heavenly Wolf Valley. Although he couldn’t protect Yang Kai, he didn’t agree to use the Sect Defending Array to trap him either. At the very least, he hadn’t betrayed Lan He’s trust.

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.

Chapter 3300

At the back of Heavenly Wolf Valley, there was a serene place where a cottage had been constructed. This was Ling Yin Qin’s residence, where she lived a peaceful, secluded life.

According to Lan He, after she left the Shattered Star Sea, she started looking for Ling Yin Qin. Coincidentally, Ling Yin Qin had just reached the Eastern Territory. Upon meeting, Ling Yin Qin understood Lan He’s intentions, after which, she thanked her and followed her to Heavenly Wolf Valley.

At that time, she was still only a Third-Order Dao Source Realm.

With Lan He’s recommendation, Ling Ying Qin was able to join the Sect with ease and started living in the residence where her deceased husband used to live. She stopped caring about worldly affairs and started cultivating in seclusion. As time passed, she was able to reach the Emperor Realm. Seeing that she had a breakthrough, Tang Sheng conferred the position of Elder to her; however, everyone in the Sect knew that she wasn’t involved in the operations of the Sect, nor did she communicate with anyone. She spent most of her time doing her own things outside of her cottage. To those who were aware of her story, they were moved by her love for her late husband.

When Yang Kai and Lan He arrived at the place, Ling Yin Qin was seated with her legs crossed in front of a tombstone. The surrounding area was filled with grass and flowers. This was clearly where her husband’s ashes were buried.

Sensing their arrival, Ling Yin Qin opened her eyes. Upon seeing Lan He, who was leading the way, she flashed a smile at her, but after she saw Yang Kai, who was behind Lan He, she was startled for a moment before her expression turned pleasantly surprised.

“Elder Ling, you have a visitor,” Lan He walked over with a smile.

“Big Sister Ling, we haven’t met in ages,” Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fists.

“Yang Kai!” Ling Yin Qin was quite surprised, but the smile on her face was sincere as she asked, “Why are you here?”

“I was travelling the Eastern Territory and came across Sister Lan He. She invited me to Heavenly Wolf Valley, and I decided to visit you while I was here.”

Ling Yin Qin swept a glance over him and nodded, “We haven’t met in many years, and it seems that you’ve grown stronger.”

Yang Kai replied with a grin, “I heard that you’ve reached the Emperor Realm as well.”

Ling Yin Qin turned to look at the tombstone and uttered gently, “I have nothing better to do anyway, so I just cultivate every day. Come in, we can talk inside my house.”

She then passionately invited Yang Kai and Lan He into her cottage. The decorations inside were simple, with only a table, some chairs, and a bed, with no ornaments at all. However, this interior still gave off a refreshing feeling.

Ling Yin Qin started boiling a pot of tea for them and after they were seated, she started narrating the events of her journey from the Solitary Void Sealed World to the Eastern Territory in a somewhat sorrowful manner. At that time, she was only in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, so it took her several years to travel from one territory to the other. During her journey, she had encountered several life-or-death moments, but fortunately, luck was on her side as she had always managed to escape unscathed. Soon after she finally arrived in the Eastern Territory, she bumped into Lan He, who was looking for her.

Ling Yin Qin was grateful to Yang Kai. If he hadn’t told Lan He about her in the Shattered Star Sea, given her condition at that time, it wouldn’t be easy for her to join Heavenly Wolf Valley; after all, she didn’t grow up in the Sect. No great force would easily take in an outsider they were not familiar with. Heavenly Wolf Valley was fairly famous in the Eastern Territory, so a great force like it was normally very selective when accepting new blood. They would rather raise their disciples from a young age than take in a stranger.

After joining the Sect, Ling Yin Qin settled down and started living a life of seclusion and normally, no one would bother her.

As they spoke, she asked about Bing Yun and Liu Xian Yun, and upon learning that they were fine, she was finally able to be at ease.

Half a day later, Yang Kai rose from his seat and bid her farewell.

Ling Yin Qin tried to persuade him to stay for a few days more, while Lan He played along with her on the side; however, Yang Kai had found out Tang Sheng’s stance, so he wouldn’t stay in the valley any longer than necessary, lest he invite hatred towards himself. After coming up with a suitable excuse, he turned around and left.

Ling Yin Qin wanted to see him off, but he rejected her. In the end, she could only stand outside the cottage and watch him leave.

While flying alongside Yang Kai towards the exit, Lan He asked in a dejected manner, “Brother Yang, can’t you wait for a few days more? I’ll come up with a way.”

Yang Kai shook his head and replied with a smile, “There’s no need for that. I have something to do, so I won’t go to Spirit Beast Island for now.”

“But…” Lan He uttered.

However, before she could finish her words, a young man suddenly flew towards them from the side and called out to her anxiously, “Senior Sister Lan, Valley Master wants you to see him immediately. He has something he needs to tell you.”

Lan He nodded, “After I see Brother Yang off, I’ll go meet Valley Master.”

Nevertheless, the young man blocked her way and said solemnly, “Valley Master said that you must go over to see him now. It’s an urgent matter.”

Upon hearing that, Lan He knitted her brow. Realising something, she snorted, “I’m just seeing Brother Yang off, and I’ll go over soon. Can’t my Master wait for even a short while?”

The young man appeared embarrassed as he cupped his fists, “Senior Sister Lan, please forgive me. I’m just carrying out Valley Master’s order.”

Seeing that Lan He was about to rebuke this young man again, Yang Kai raised his hand and said, “Sister Lan, please go ahead. I still remember how to leave the valley, so you don’t have to see me off.”

“Brother Yang…”

Yang Kai waved his hand and shot towards the exit like a bolt of lightning as he was heard saying from afar, “The world is vast, but we’ll still meet again if there’s a chance.”

“Brother Yang, please be careful!” Lan He shouted from behind. After Yang Kai disappeared from her sight, she turned around and glowered at the young man.

Faced with her stare, the young man felt a crawling sensation on his scalp as he put on a fawning smile and explained, “Senior Sister Lan, Valley Master…”

“Hmph!” Lan He appeared displeased as she turned around and left in a different direction. She wanted to question her Master about the reason behind his actions. Yang Kai had saved her life before; however, not only was she unable to help him, but she was also not even allowed to see him off. How would she have the face to see him again in the future?

It had to be said that she was disappointed in the way her Master had treated Yang Kai.

Immediately after Yang Kai left the valley, he noticed a person flying toward him. Initially, he didn’t pay this person any mind, but just as they were about to pass one another, that person suddenly yelped in surprise. Then, he stopped flying and turned around as he shouted, “Is that you, Brother Yang?”

Yang Kai stopped in his tracks and whirled around. In his heart, he found it interesting that he kept bumping into one familiar person after another in the Eastern Territory.

The person who spoke earlier was flying back as he stopped tens of meters in front of Yang Kai. After taking a glance at Yang Kai, he uttered in surprise, “It’s really you, Brother Yang! Do you remember me? I’m Qi Hai! I heard that you’ve arrived at Heavenly Wolf Valley, which is why this Qi rushed over. I didn’t expect to come across you here on your way out.”

“Qi… Hai?” Yang Kai frowned. If the person in front of his eyes didn’t reveal his name first, Yang Kai wouldn’t have remembered him at all. His name and his familiar-looking face made Yang Kai recall what happened in the Shattered Star Sea and the Ancient Lands Passageway.

Upon hearing this, Qi Hai guffawed, “So Brother Yang still remembers this Qi. It is this Qi’s honour.”

Yang Kai took a glance at him and asked curiously, “Aren’t you from Qi Family Fort? Why are you all the way out here?” If he wasn’t mistaken, Qi Family Fort was located just outside the Ancient Lands Passageway and many people from the Fort resided in the desolate city outside the Lands.

Recalling that, he suddenly realised something. He had walked out of the Ancient Lands and passed by the desolate city, but not long after that, many people in the Eastern Territory became aware of his arrival. Even Lan He from Heavenly Wolf Valley had heard about it. Everything happened for a reason. Although Yang Kai didn’t cover himself up during his journey, supposedly, not many people knew who he was in the Eastern Territory. The problem now was who spread the news of his arrival.

Previously, Yang Kai had some doubts about this, but he didn’t really mind. It wasn’t until he met Qi Hai that the realisation dawned upon him, as the source of the news was right before his eyes.

[If that’s the case, why did Qi Hai not take the initiative to directly look for me instead?] Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and stared at him in a probing manner.

An unperturbed Qi Hai uttered seriously, “I’m here to find Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai asked dispassionately, “What for?”

Qi Hai put on a bitter smile, “For the same matter we originally discussed…” As he spoke, he suddenly bowed deeply and said respectfully, “Please have mercy and save this Qi’s wife. Her days grow slim and if she is not treated, she will pass away within a month.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Kai was shocked, “Your wife is still alive?” 

If he wasn’t mistaken, Qi Hai’s woman was stricken with one of the Ten Extreme Poisons, the Heavenly Frost Earth Rain. Yang Kai knew a thing or two about this poison and realised that it was indeed fatal. Anyone who was affected by this poison was practically incurable. Of course, if they could find the Phoenix True Fire, which contained a power that was as amazing as rebirth, there was still some hope of survival.

Nevertheless, a long time had passed since the incident. Qi Hai’s wife was struck with the poison before the Shattered Star Sea opened, so it had been at least twenty years now. How had she survived for twenty years after being poisoned by the Heavenly Frost Earth Rain? Was she a member of the Dragon Clan?

With a sorrowful expression, Qi Hai explained, “We have a treasure in Qi Family Fort that can freeze a person. My wife’s entire body and her vitality have been frozen, which is why she has survived till this day. However, as time passes, even this treasure loses its effectiveness. If she can’t be detoxified in time, she will…” As he spoke, his eyes were already drenched in tears and he appeared faithful to his wife, which caused Yang Kai to feel a bit depressed as well. Normally, men wouldn’t cry easily. Moreover, Qi Hai was an Emperor Realm Master, so what he was doing proved that he was indeed deeply in love with his wife.

If Su Yan or Xia Ning Chang had suffered this kind of ordeal, Yang Kai knew that he would be just as disheartened.

After pulling himself together, Qi Hai went on to say, “The last time Brother Yang appeared in the Eastern Territory, you mentioned ‘it’ was not with you and could not help…”

At that instant, Yang Kai appeared embarrassed, “It really was not with me at that time. So, I was unable to help you.”

Qi Hai said, “As long as you had the Phoenix True Fire, you could help my wife detoxify the poison. Did Brother Yang fail in your attempt to obtain the Phoenix True Fire in the Shattered Star Sea? But… how is that possible?” He was certain the Phoenix True Fire was in Yang Kai’s hands. It had to be. Everything Yang Kai said that day must have been a lie… If it turned out to be the truth, then everything he had been doing would be a farce…

Yang Kai shook his head, “Like I said, I obtained the Phoenix True Fire, but at that time, it wasn’t with me, so I was unable to help you even if I wanted to.”

I Am the Fated Villain

Pretty sure many of you have read the manhua. A few guys asked me to pick it up and one even offered a commission.

Well, I took it as an experiment to see what would happen if I uploaded at quite an impressive release rate from the start. Will be in red for this one. It will be 14 chapters a week.

Humanity’s Great Sage

Same author as Martial Peak. MoMo. We have been translating for awhile and it seems to be slowly gaining traction. Like Martial Peak, starts out slow and it is building up quite well.