Hearing Zhao Xing Chen’s order, Meng Hong and the others turned pale in horror. They had never expected for things to take such a dramatic turn.
Chen Yue’s face turned pale in shock and she stepped forward to intervene, “Senior Brother Zhao, this is a misunderstanding!” While speaking, she tried to pull Zhao Xing Chen.
Zhao Xing Chen shook her away and impatiently stated, “Go away!” Chen Yue was directly shaken back to one side, almost falling to the ground.
“Junior Sister Chen!” Meng Hong hurriedly stepped forward to help, but Chen Yue promptly avoided him. Seeing this, Meng Hong’s face turned ashen and became a little listless.
Zhao Xing Chen glanced at her and coldly snorted. Afterwards, he turned his attention to Yang Kai and gloomily stated, “Brother Yang, this Commander considered you a genius and had every intention of recruiting you, but unfortunately, Brother Yang didn’t appreciate it. Since that’s the case, this Zhao will have to invite Brother Yang to my Scarlet Star’s dungeon for a chat!” He waved his hand and shouted, “Apprehend them. If they try to resist, kill them!”
The moment he said this, a dozen or so people rushed over and tried to capture Yang Kai, Meng Hong, and the others.
The three Great Moon Province disciples were suddenly at a loss. They wanted to resist, but at the end of the day, this was Scarlet Star’s territory. If they really couldn’t resolve this, their end would not be good.
On the contrary, the few people who tried to arrest Yang Kai suddenly groaned in unison and flew backwards, smashing the tables and chairs in the lobby.
Zhao Xing Chen cried out in shock, “You dare fight back?”
Scarlet Star had been gaining momentum for the past few days, and in this Star City, Scarlet Star cultivators ran amok. No one dared to provoke them, so Zhao Xing Chen never thought that someone would actually do something to his men in public, rooting him to the spot.
Yang Kai scoffed, “You dare to attack this King, so why wouldn’t this King dare to attack you? Come!”
He stretched his hand towards Zhao Xing Chen as a fierce suction emerged from his palm. The next moment, Zhao Xing Chen flew uncontrollably towards Yang Kai, who grabbed him by the neck and pressed him onto the table. A scorching heat radiated from Yang Kai’s arm as he looked at Zhao Xing Chen in contempt, “You dare to act presumptuous before this King with your feeble skills?”
Zhao Xing Chen became angry out of shame, “You’re dead! Dead! Do you know who I am? Scarlet Star’s Fifth Manager is my brother-in-law! Boy, let go of me or else!”
He kept screaming and struggling, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t free himself. The big hand holding his neck was like an iron hoop, sealing off all his strength.
Zhao Xing Chen was stunned. He too was an Emperor Realm cultivator and had even condensed five Elements into his Dao Seal. He never thought that he would be suppressed and have no power to fight back against another Emperor Realm cultivator!
Their own Commander was captured so easily, so the Scarlet Star cultivators didn’t know what to do. They looked at each other and stood rooted in their spots.
Zhao Xing Chen slapped the table and angrily shouted, “Why are you still standing there? Are you still not going to help this Commander?”
Helpless, everyone could only rush over; however, they couldn’t even get within ten metres of Yang Kai before they were sent flying, crashing into the ground and crying out in pain.
Meng Hong and the others were stunned while Chen Yue slightly opened her mouth with a worried look on her face.
Although she knew Yang Kai was amazingly strong and had personally witnessed him face hundreds of members of Emperor Heaven alone, she never thought he would be daring enough to attack others here.
However, the arrow was already fired. It was too late for her to stop it now. All she could do was worry. She wanted to persuade Yang Kai, but didn’t know where to start.
“I advise you to quickly release and kowtow to me! Otherwise, you won’t see the sunrise tomorrow!”
Although Zhao Xing Chen was in a miserable state, he was still acting headstrong. He was relying on his identity as a minor Commander of Scarlet Star, believing that Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to do anything to him.
“You want me to kneel and kowtow to you?” Yang Kai sneered before suddenly lifting his hand and kicking Zhao Xing Chen, “Then you should kneel first!”
Many cultivators in the lobby turned pale one after another and dared not stay here for another moment. They all paid for their drinks and ran out.
Before leaving, some people looked at Yang Kai with pity and shook their heads sighing, thinking that he would come to regret this sooner or later. An elderly man even tried his best to persuade Yang Kai, “Young Man, quickly escape from here before things turn bigger. If you don’t leave now, it will be too late; after all, this is Scarlet Star’s territory!”
Yang Kai just smiled at the elderly man, who couldn’t say anything after seeing his attitude.
In the blink of an eye, all the guests in the lobby had run away, leaving a pale shopkeeper trembling in fright! A Junior Commander of Scarlet Star was beaten in his inn; he wouldn’t be able to escape punishment now. His inn was likely never going to open again.
Having been forced to kneel by Yang Kai, Zhao Xing Chen was still wailing for a while. He glared at Yang Kai with incomparable hatred and roared, “This Commander will remember today’s shame, and will make you pay for it a thousand times over!”
“I’ll be waiting!” Yang Kai indifferently nodded.
Yue He’s obsession only grew stronger as her beautiful eyes flickered with an unusual gleam, staring straight at the side of Yang Kai’s face.
Zhao Xing Chen turned his head and shouted, glaring at the dumbstruck Chen Yue, “You stupid slut, do you only know how to sit there and watch? Don’t you know how to save me!?”
Chen Yue’s face turned pale when she heard this. She puckered her lips as she looked at Yang Kai pleadingly, “Senior Brother Yang…”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Sister Chen, don’t be ridiculous. You and I just met by chance, I really don’t deserve the honour of being addressed as Senior Brother by you. Please don’t ever address me as such again.”
Chen Yue’s face turned even paler after hearing this. She knew that Yang Kai was drawing a clear line with her. She couldn’t help but feel bitter, but then again, she and Yang Kai had nothing to do with each other from the very start. They only got to know each other through Meng Hong.
Unable to beg Yang Kai, she could only turn to Meng Hong.
Meng Hong clenched his fists before lowering his head and saying nothing.
Seeing this, Chen Yue sighed in her heart. She didn’t have the face to say anything.
“Since you can’t help me at all, what’s the use of keeping you with me, you slut,” Zhao Xing Chen angrily rebuked.
Yang Kai gave Chen Yue a cold look, “Your choice of men is truly terrible!” Chen Yue trembled after hearing this as her head dropped to her chest.
Yang Kai slapped Zhao Xing Chen once again, knocking out a few of his teeth in the process as half of his face swelled up. Yang Kai looked at him coldly and stated, “If you dare to speak another word, I will kill you right here and now!”
Zhao Xing Chen’s eyes turned red and widened in anger. Obviously, he was unwilling, but his fist was smaller than Yang Kai’s, so he had no choice but to choke down his anger.
The lobby fell into silence for a moment, leaving only the sound of Yang Kai drinking at his own leisure.
Yue He looked left and right before she giggled and asked, “How are things going to end now?”
The likes of Zhao Xing Chen weren’t even worth her attention. Not to mention Zhao Xing Chen, even the Fifth Manager above him was nothing in her eyes. Yue He might not even look straight at him, but they were inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary after all; more importantly, this place was Scarlet Star’s turf. Since Yang Kai had created such a scene, it would definitely not end that easily.
“I can understand that you acted like this because of your friends, but you have created quite a big scene.” Yue He continued via transmission, “If we want to leave, we must leave now. Once the news about this spreads, we won’t be able to leave no matter what.”
Yang Kai replied after hearing this, “Do you think I did this for Meng Hong?”
“You didn’t?” Yue He asked back.
Yang Kai thought for a moment and replied, “It’s a part of the reason, but the main reason is that he was eyeing my treasures. Since they aren’t willing to give up, I have no choice but to set up my prestige, and let them know that no one can covet my things.” Saying so, he proudly smiled, “Besides, if I want to leave, how can the likes of Scarlet Star stop me?”
He was proficient in the Dao of Space and could easily come and go as he pleased unless Scarlet Star had set up a shocking Grand Array that could isolate space!
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing, keep it up then,” Yue He sneered sarcastically as she shot him an angry glare.
Scarlet Star’s Junior Commander Zhao Xing Chen was beaten and forced to kneel in public; this news spread like wildfire across the Star City. Many people couldn’t believe it; after all, who would dare to do something like that to Scarlet Star’s men in this Star City? But the people who spread the news said that they saw it with their own eyes and that Zhao Xing Chen was still kneeling at the inn.
Some people who didn’t believe the news came to watch it secretly. After one glance, they realized it was just as they had heard. They all found it a little bizarre, and what was even more shocking was that the person who beat Zhao Xing Chen was still here.
In the backyard of a certain mansion in the northwest corner of the Star City, there was a small bridge over a creek and some artificial mountains of strange sizes and shapes. An incredibly fat man with fish food in his hand stood by the pond, attracting the fish to compete for the feed.
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching cry came from the courtyard. The fat man’s hand trembled the moment he heard this cry as a pained look appeared on his face, like he was having a sharp headache.
The sound of crying quickly approached as a well-endowed woman wearing luxurious jewellery appeared. Who knew what she had encountered, but tears kept rolling down her face, making her look extremely pitiful.
She arrived before the fatty and knelt down with a thud, heartrendingly weeping, “Husband, you must seek justice for me.”
The fatty turned his head and looked at her speechlessly. He sprinkled all the fish food in his hand before helping the woman up and consoling her, “If you have something to say, get up and say it, why are you crying?”
The woman didn’t get up though and wailed, “Husband, if you don’t agree to seek justice, this Mistress will not get up.”
The fatty rubbed his forehead in headache and asked, “Did your brother cause some kind of trouble again? Didn’t I give him the Junior Commander position last time, what do you want me to do this time?”
The woman looked up and woefully replied, “Husband, how do you know that it’s about Xing Chen? Did someone tell you about it?”
The fatty angrily rebuked, “Why would you come looking for me unless it’s for your idiot brother? Tell me, what is it this time?”
The woman couldn’t let this rest, “Husband, you shouldn’t blame Xing Chen, he didn’t cause trouble this time, rather someone else provoked him! The guards who went with him came back and told me that he was beaten by someone!”
The fatty coldly snorted, “He was bound to be beaten sooner or later thanks to his shitty character! I told you a long time ago that you should control him a little, and prevent him from making trouble everywhere!”
The woman cried, “Xing Chen didn’t cause trouble this time! The guards said that someone named Yang Kai bullied him. Not only did he beat Xing Chen, but he also forced him to kneel in public by shattering his knees. His face was beaten so badly that he spat teeth!” As she described her little brother’s condition, she once again became despondent and couldn’t stop crying.
“Xing Chen has been forced to kneel?” A sinister and ferocious look flashed across the fatty’s face when he heard this.
If Zhao Xing Chen had just been thrashed, it would only mean that he was weaker than his opponent, but if he was being forced to kneel, that would be a complete humiliation. Regardless of his character, Zhao Xing Chen was a Scarlet Star Junior Commander, and more importantly his relative, whether he liked it or not. Abusing Zhao Xing Chen like this was tantamount to slapping his face. As Scarlet Star’s Fifth Manager, how could he take this lying down?
Seeing this, the woman quickly repeated what she had heard, of course after heavily embellishing the details.
The fat man coldly snorted, “Good, you stay here, I’ll go see who is so bold!”
After saying this, he went out, carrying his hands behind his back. At the same time, the woman behind him shouted aloud, “Husband, you must bring back Xing Chen, if he met any kind of misfortune, I won’t be able to live.”
“I know, I know,” The fatty waved impatiently.
After gathering his men, the fatty left his mansion and headed straight towards the inn.
Within an incense stick of time, the fatty and his men had arrived at their destination.
When he arrived at the door, the fatty saw his battered and bruised brother-in-law, Zhao Xing Chen, kneeling on the ground. He also found three men and a woman in the room standing to the side while a man and a woman sat at a nearby table. The young man sitting on the chair was drinking wine calmly and leisurely, like he cared nothing about the world around him.
The fatty paid no attention to the others, but when he saw the woman sitting, he couldn’t help but frown.
Yue He had visited the Star City many times before, and as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she was not some nameless character. Even if the higher-ups of Scarlet Star had never dealt with her personally, they all recognized her.
In the outside world, the fatty wouldn’t dare to provoke a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master willfully; after all, he was only a Fourth-Order Master. Although there was only a single Order of difference between the two, there was a wide gap in their true strength.
However, they were inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary now. The Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog suppressed and sealed all universes, so no matter what Order of the Open Heaven Realm they were outside, in this place their strength was greatly suppressed.
When the fatty walked into the restaurant, the entire restaurant shook with his steps.
Yang Kai turned his head to look, and saw a plump ball of meat slowly approaching. Every time his foot landed on the ground, the entire building quaked. Yang Kai’s pupils couldn’t help but shrink at the sight of this.
He had never seen someone this fat in his entire life. This man’s height and girth were basically identical. At first glance, he looked like a rolling ball of meat. His facial features were squeezed together because of all the fat, making it hard to distinguish them.
[Who in the world is he?] Yang Kai looked surprised.
Yue He knew that Yang Kai had been in retreat refining pills and knew nothing about the outside situation, so secretly informed him, “He is Scarlet Star’s Fifth Manager, Chen Tian Fei. He cultivates some unique Secret Art, and everyone calls him Fatty Chen Tian!”
Zhao Xing Chen, who was kneeling on the ground, also noticed Chen Tian Fei’s arrival and was immediately overjoyed and shouted, “Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, save me!”
While speaking, he struggled to get up.
“Did I tell you to get up?” Yang Kai coldly snorted and flicked his wrist, shooting a beam of energy out. Zhao Xing Chen immediately screamed and crashed to his knees once again as fresh blood spurted out of his thigh, unable to stand up anymore.
Chen Tian Fei kept approaching, but the fat on his face trembled a little as a cold gleam flickered across his long and narrow eyes.
Very soon, Chen Tian Fei arrived before the table and stood there like a mountain of meat, blocking all the light and giving everyone an invisible pressure.
Meng Hong and the others couldn’t help but be taken aback at the arrival of such a character. At the same time, they were secretly worried for Yang Kai.
“Brother-in-law…” Zhao Xing Chen miserably raised his head and looked at him pleadingly, his face filled with humiliation.
“Waste!” Chen Tian Fei coldly snorted and waved his hand, taking out a chair from his Space Ring. He placed the chair behind him and sat down.
His chair appeared to be custom-made. It was very wide and incomparably strong; ordinary chairs would not be able to take someone his weight and size.
After being seated, Chen Tian Fei leaned back on the chair and greeted, squinting his eyes, “Lady Yue He, it’s been a long time.”
“Manager Chen,” Yue He gave him an amiable smile.
Chen Tian Fei continued, “Lady Yue He, haven’t you gone overboard a bit this time? You should have left a little room for negotiation so as to not bring any harm to your companions! If my brother-in-law really did something stupid, it would have been fine to beat and scold him a little. Killing him would have been excessive, but making him kneel like this doesn’t make sense either!”
Yue He gazed at him and stated, pursing her lips into a smile, “Manager Chen, you are speaking to the wrong person. This has nothing to do with me, it was all done by my Young Master. If you want to say something, you should speak to him.”
“Young Master?” Chen Tian Fei was shocked and now focused his gaze on Yang Kai.
When he saw Yue He here, he made a prejudgment that Yue He was in charge, but he had never expected a ‘Young Master’ to appear out of nowhere.
[This young man doesn’t look like anything special. I really don’t know why a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master is addressing him as Young Master!]
After pondering for a while, Chen Tian Fei asked, “May I ask Little Brother’s name?”
Yang Kai smiled at him and introduced himself, “Yang Kai!”
Chen Tian Fei nodded lightly, “So you’re that Yang Kai!”
Previously, his concubine kept shouting about someone named Yang Kai beating his brother-in-law, only now did he come to know that the assailant was sitting right before him.
“Does Little Brother Yang have anything to say to this King?” Chen Tian Fei asked.
Yang Kai glanced at him and asked, raising his eyebrows, “What’s there to talk about?”
Chen Tian Fei’s facial fat trembled. It looked as if he was smiling, “You hurt someone under me, but instead of running away, you have been sitting here and waiting for this King. Doesn’t it mean that you have something to say?” His tone turned colder, “Or is it that Little Brother doesn’t take my Scarlet Star seriously, and feels that you can come and go freely in this Star City. If you are thinking along these lines, then you have made a big mistake.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and stated, “Manager Chen is quite easy to talk to. Then I won’t beat around the bush either.” Yang Kai’s face turned serious as he continued, “I want to join Scarlet Star!”
When Yue He heard this, she turned her head and gazed at him in shock. Yang Kai never told her about any of this, and even Meng Hong and the others looked surprised.
Chen Tian Fei chuckled after hearing this, “Join Scarlet Star? You injured my Scarlet Star’s Junior Commander and have yet to give this King a satisfactory explanation, and now you want to join my Scarlet Star? Little Brother, what do you think my Scarlet Star is?”
“Manager Chen wants an explanation, right? Then I will give you an explanation!” Yang Kai stated and raised his hand, gently pressing it towards Chen Tian Fei.
A doubtful look appeared on Fatty Chen Tian’s face. He also raised his big fatty palm and pressed it towards the oncoming palm.
The palms came into contact with each other silently and uneventfully as if they just touched each other lightly.
Yang Kai retracted his palm, picked up the glass of wine, and swirled it playfully.
Chen Tian Fei’s plump figure trembled all of a sudden as the fat on his body rippled like waves and the chair under his heavy and plump butt shattered into pieces.
Afterwards, Chen Tian Fei’s face turned redder, as if he was being cooked from the inside. Steam even rose from the top of his head.
Chen Tian Fei let out a furious cry and stomped his foot on the ground, causing the floor of the restaurant to collapse. At the same time, a surge of heat gushed out from Chen Tian Fei’s pores, along with a lot of sweat.
In an instant, Chen Tian Fei looked like he had been fished out of the water, drenched all over. Not only that, but his plump body also seemed to have shrunk by half, making his tight clothes a little loose.
Chen Tian Fei looked at Yang Kai in horror as the fat on his face kept pulsating.
“Does Manager Chen find this explanation satisfactory?” Yang Kai asked without so much as raising his head to look at him.
Chen Tian Fei gazed at him deeply and then turned his gaze at Zhao Xing Chen, who had been kneeling there. And under Zhao Xing Chen’s desperate gaze, he nodded and stated, “It’s enough.”
“Brother-in-law!” Zhao Xing Chen’s face turned ashen in an instant. He had been counting on his brother-in-law to avenge him. Who knew that things would take such a turn? Chen Tian Fei just said ‘it’s enough’ and that was it. Where was his revenge? Perhaps he would not be able to wash today’s shame for the rest of his life.
“Shut up!” Chen Tian Fei coldly snorted. He took out another chair from his Space Ring with a wave of his hand, put it under his butt and stated, looking at Yue He, “Lady Yue He, your Young Master is impressive. He has a bright future ahead of him!”
Yue He smiled triumphantly, “Obviously.”
Chen Tian Fei then turned his gaze at Yang Kai, “Little Brother Yang, you have been waiting for me here just to join Scarlet Star, am I right?”
“Indeed!”
Chen Tian Fei asked, “Can I ask why? With Little Brother Yang’s ability, you can roam freely in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and have anything you want. Why choose my Scarlet Star?”
Yang Kai replied with a grin, “It’s just a coincidence, there is no special intention behind this, but if you really want to know the reason I want to join, I want to find something. Scarlet Star has a lot of people, which will make it easy for me to find what I want.” He had condensed his Wood, Fire, and Earth Elements. More importantly, he found the Power of Earth in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Naturally, Yang Kai wanted to find other Open Heaven materials while Scarlet Star happened to have no shortage of manpower and information.
“Just because of this?” Chen Tian Fei still couldn’t believe it.
“Just because of this!”
Chen Tian Fei looked at him seriously for a while. Afterwards, he nodded and added, “I understand Little Brother Yang’s intention, and Scarlet Star also welcomes the addition of someone as talented as you. This King can induct you into Scarlet Star. As for the position, how about the position of Junior Commander like Xing Chen?”
The kneeling Zhao Xing Chen was dumbfounded after hearing this.
The man who thrashed him and forced him to kneel was not only accepted into Scarlet Star by his brother-in-law himself but was also given the position of Junior Commander. That would put Yang Kai on an equal footing with him.
[How can this be considered revenge?]
“Junior Commander?” Yang Kai looked at Chen Tian Fei with a shadow of a smile.
Chen Tian Fei asked curiously, “Are you not satisfied? Little Brother Yang, I admit that you are pretty talented, but at the end of the day, you have just joined Scarlet Star. You haven’t made any contributions. The position of Junior Commander is already the very limit that this King can promote you to. It’s absolutely impossible for me to advance you to the position of the Great Commander.” He switched the topic of conversation, “But if Lady Yue He wants to join Scarlet Star, the Great Commander post is open to her!”
Yue He chuckled and remained non-committal.
Scarlet Star had a few Managers, and the strongest of them were just on par with her, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, that’s all. How could she be content with the position of Great Commander, listening to someone else’s orders?
“I don’t want to be a Junior Commander, nor am I interested in being a Great Commander.”
Chen Tian Fei asked in amazement, “Then what does Little Brother Yang want?”
Yang Kai looked at him with shining eyes, “I want to be a Manager of Scarlet Star!”
The moment he stated his demand, everyone was shocked. Even Yue He looked at him in a daze, wondering whether she had heard it wrong.
“You want to be a Scarlet Star Manager?” Chen Tian Fei looked at Yang Kai in astonishment. He looked completely surprised, just like Yue He, and wondered if he had heard incorrectly. He was already being very generous by offering Yang Kai the position of Junior Commander, but he had never expected this boy’s appetite to be so big that he directly demanded the position of Manager.
Chen Tian Fei had never seen such an arrogant person, so he couldn’t help but be a little outraged.
“Manager Chen thinks I’m not qualified?” Yang Kai looked at him, squinting his eyes.
Chen Tian Fei replied with a serious look on his face, “All seven Managers of my Scarlet Star are Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although you are pretty good, it still doesn’t change the fact that you haven’t reached the Open Heaven Realm. If we let you take the Manager’s post without sufficient strength, how would you be able to convince the public?”
Yang Kai stated, wagging his finger, “There are no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins, so talking about Realm with me is pointless!”
Chen Tian Fei quickly added, “Be that as it may, my Scarlet Star has never had a Manager who had not reached the Open Heaven Realm since its founding!”
“There are always exceptions, aren’t there?”
Chen Tian Fei stared deeply at Yang Kai as a faint glow slowly emerged from his body, but after a while, he burst into laughter, “Little Brother Yang, you are pretty ambitious, you have opened this King’s eyes today! It’s not impossible for you to be a Scarlet Star Manager, but my Scarlet Star has its own rules. If you wish to be the Eighth Manager, you need to get the consent of four of the current Managers!”
“Then I’ll request Manager Chen to take me to meet the other Managers,” Yang Kai smiled.
Chen Tian Fei narrowed his eyes and added with a smile, “I can take you to them, but whether you can get their approval or not will depend on your own ability.”
“But of course!” Yang Kai gently nodded before standing up and assuming an inviting posture, “Please.”
A reluctant and malicious smile slowly crept up on Chen Tian Fei’s face as he stood up and walked out.
Yang Kai followed closely after him, with Yue He right behind him. The Great Moon Province disciples didn’t dare to stay here either, and followed suit one after another.
“What are you doing?” Yue He asked via Divine Sense, “Are you really going to meet Scarlet Star’s Managers?”
“Of course? Otherwise, how will I get their approval?”
Yue He angrily rebuffed, “Can’t you see that Fatty Chen Tian has something else in mind? You are venturing into a Dragon’s den! And even if you really become a Manager of Scarlet Star, how will that benefit you? I really can’t understand what’s going through your mind.”
“You’ll know when the time comes,” Yang Kai casually replied.
Yue He asked with a snort, “You really love chaos, I wonder how you survived until now?”
“Of course, because this Young Master is blessed by the Heavens!” Yang Kai assumed a calm and composed stance.
Yue He was outraged!
She kept her anger aside though and quickly told him about everything she knew. Yue He might not have met Scarlet Star’s seven Managers, but she had heard about them. For instance, Lady Qin was proficient in the Dao of Music while Gan Hong was a Master of assassination. Then there were the Ou Yang twins, who had cultivated together since childhood and were both Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, allowing them to act as one body and one soul. They were extremely hard to deal with, to the point that even Yue He would find it stressful if she ran into them outside.
In addition to these four, there was also Bei Yu Shan, who possessed extreme physical strength. Du Niang Zi, whose entire body was poisonous, was not a woman to be trifled with. Many Open Heaven Realm Masters that were in the same Realm as her had tragically died at her hands.
Counting Chen Tian Fei, the Managers of the Scarlet Star could be said to each have unique skills, and none of them could be offended easily.
As for the Head Manager of Scarlet Star, rumour had it that he had been trying to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but no one had heard about him for many years. No one knew whether he had succeeded or not, but if he had, he would become a character who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Proprietress. Even Yue He would have run as far away from him as possible if she were confronted by him.
Yue He kept chattering all the way, instilling all the information she had into Yang Kai’s head.
Yang Kai silently memorized every piece of information.
Very soon, everyone arrived before an audience hall. The door of the audience hall was extremely thick, and was about a hundred metres tall. Chen Tian Fei stepped forward and pushed the door, which opened a little with a creaking sound.
“Little Brother Yang, please come in, almost all my Scarlet Star’s Managers are inside!” Chen Tian Fei assumed an inviting gesture with an inscrutable smile on his face.
Yang Kai glanced at him before exhorting Yue He and the others, “You guys wait outside.”
Saying so, he headed inside.
Yue He promptly appeared at his side, “I’ll go with you!” How could she let Yang Kai go into the Dragon’s den all by himself? She had already decided to advance and retreat together with him, so she had no reason to back down now.
On the other hand, Meng Hong and the others knew that their strength was insufficient. Even if they followed Yang Kai inside, they would likely be more of a burden than a help, so they all stood at the door, obediently waiting.
The heavy door closed again, blocking the inside view from outsiders.
The huge hall was completely dark, and the moment the door shut, some clanking sounds echoed as masses of flames lit up everywhere. The flickering light of the flames revealed some figures sitting on the chairs around the hall, creating shadows that danced like a group of devils. The atmosphere of the entire hall had turned dark and gloomy at this moment as well.
There weren’t that many people in the hall. Apart from Yang Kai and Yue He, there were only five others in total, each sitting on their respective seats. Chen Tian Fei’s figure shook as he arrived next to another empty chair and sat down.
A sweet voice suddenly echoed in the empty hall, “Fatty Chen, is this the brat who wants to be my Scarlet Star’s next Manager? After listening to such nonsense, you brought him here just like that?”
Not only did the woman’s voice sound sweet, but it also carried with it a pleasant scent, making anyone who sniffed it have a sweet taste in their mouth!
“Poison!” Yue He’s face slightly changed as a five-coloured film suddenly appeared over the surface of her body, protecting and isolating her from the surroundings. She looked around and found that the speaker was a petite woman. She appeared to be seventeen or eighteen years old and looked quite cute and obedient, but Yue He recognized her at a glance. She was Du Niang Zi of Scarlet Star; only she could display such a marvellous poisonous technique.
Du Niang Zi was just a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but using just her terrifying poison, she had once killed a Fifth-Order, two Fourth-Order, and three Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. She had become famous after that incident and no one dared to underestimate this charming woman who seemed to remain perpetually young.
Yue He looked over at Yang Kai with worry, but saw that he was completely fine. Not only was he not showing any signs of being poisoned, but he was also looking at Du Niang Zi with interest.
She couldn’t help but wonder how Yang Kai was resisting her poison.
Yue He didn’t know about the extremely rich Dragon Blood flowing through Yang Kai’s body. The Dragon Clan had a strong resistance towards all forms of poison. Not to mention the poison technique secretly cast by Du Niang Zi, even if he swallowed her most potent poison, he would not be in any trouble at all.
What’s more, Yang Kai had also condensed his Wood Element from the essence of the Immortal Tree and his Fire Element from the Golden Crow’s True Fire. Even if a little poison managed to enter his system, it would be easily eliminated by these two energies.
When Du Niang Zi spoke, Chen Tian Fei chuckled, “Don’t underestimate Little Brother Yang, this King suffered a bit of loss at his hands just recently. If this King’s guess is right, he has condensed a Sixth-Order Fire Element!”
Only a Sixth-Order Fire Element Power could make him suffer when he received Yang Kai’s palm. Under that palm, Chen Tian Fei felt a scorching energy invading his body and it took him a lot of effort to expel it.
Of course, Yang Kai hadn’t used his full strength, otherwise, Chen Tian Fei would not have mistakenly judged it as Sixth-Order.
“Sixth-Order Fire Element!”
As soon as this was brought to light, the Scarlet Star Managers were all shocked.
Being able to condense a Sixth-Order Fire Element showed how impressive Yang Kai’s abilities were. Most people couldn’t bear the pressure of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven material, More importantly, Sixth-Order materials were invaluable and priceless enough for all Open Heaven Realm Masters to compete for them. Generally, only those who belonged to top forces were qualified to condense Sixth-Order materials.
“Little boy, you’re quite ambitious!” Du Niang Zi couldn’t help but re-examine Yang Kai, “Are you trying to reach the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
Yang Kai grinned at her, showing his white fangs, “First one!”
“What first one?” Du Niang Zi furrowed her brow. She had a bad premonition as if she was being targeted by a poisonous snake, which made her hair stand on end.
“Why are you talking so much nonsense with him? Let’s just kill him and get it over with. How dare he disdain my Scarlet Star! A trivial Emperor Realm trash shamelessly wants to be my Scarlet Star’s Manager? Ridiculous!”
From a seat on the right, an icy voice came from an ethereal figure. There was someone sitting there, but it looked like a constantly distorting shadow, making it extremely difficult to see his face. Even his voice was erratic. He was none other than Gan Hong, the one Yue He mentioned was proficient in assassination!
“Second one!” Yang Kai nodded.
A thunderous voice came from the left side, reverberating in the hall, “Is there something wrong with your head, Brat? What first one, second one?”
Yang Kai ignored this voice and looked at Chen Tian Fei, asking, “Manager Chen, it’s different from what you said. Didn’t we come here to discuss my admission into Scarlet Star and making me a Manager? These Managers don’t seem to be very keen on it.”
Chen Tian Fei looked at him with a smile and replied, “That’s right, but this King said before it that if you want to be a Scarlet Star Manager, you need the approval of four Managers at the very least. But now, it seems that no one agrees with this idea. Furthermore, since ancient times, Scarlet Star has only ever had seven Managers. We really don’t have an extra seat for you to sit on. So… I’m afraid that you will have to give up on this idea.”
If Yang Kai had agreed to be a Junior Commander, Chen Tian Fei would more than welcome it. Having someone as strong as Yang Kai under him would also be good news for Chen Tian Fei. He could naturally forget about Yang Kai beating Zhao Xing Chen in the face of such benefits.
However, Yang Kai’s audacity and greed were higher than the Heavens themselves. He didn’t even place any importance on a Junior Commander or Great Commander position and wanted to stand on equal footing with Scarlet Star’s true leaders.
How could Chen Tian Fei agree to such a thing? He invited Yang Kai here to lure him into a trap. Now that the Scarlet Star Managers were gathered here and the Spirit Array of the hall had been activated, Yang Kai could not escape. He didn’t need to pretend to be polite and compliant now.
Yang Kai nodded when he heard this, “I understand what Manager Chen means, you mean to say that Scarlet Star will always only have seven Managers?”
“You can say that!” Chen Tian Fei slightly smiled.
“That makes things easy.” Yang Kai also grinned, “I just have to kill one of you and take his or her seat.”
Just as he stated this, he kicked the ground as he flew towards Du Niang Zi like a Great Peng spreading its wings.
Yang Kai was decisive in his actions, acting the moment he declared his intentions.
No one had expected him to be so ruthless. Everyone thought that Yang Kai’s hands and feet would be tied here, leaving him at their mercy. His life and death would be completely up to them. No one had thought that he would be the first to launch an assault.
“Impudence!”
“Preposterous!”
Everyone angrily shouted as they flew off their seats one after another. Especially Gan Hong, the moment his figure moved, he disappeared into the darkness in a flash.
The Ou Yang Brothers, who had been sitting still like a mountain, also moved swiftly. Their auras became connected, giving the impression that they had turned into one person, mutually strengthening one another.
Chen Tian Fei’s plump and round body bounced like a ball, flying straight at Yang Kai.
*Dong dong dong…*
The towering Bei Yu Shan strode forward, shaking the hall every time his feet touched the ground. His body suddenly grew to more than twenty metres tall and his muscles radiated a tremendous might. He stood right before Du Niang Zi like a hill and smiled wickedly at Yang Kai before throwing a punch at him.
A boom reverberated inside the hall, deafening everyone’s ears, Bei Yu Shan’s punch was so strong that it could shatter a mountain.
In front of everyone’s disbelieving eyes though, instead of trying to dodge or evade, Yang Kai threw a punch of his own, meeting fist-to-fist with his enemy.
Yue He’s beautiful face turned pale as she shouted, “Be careful!”
She was anxious like an ant on a hot wok. She had informed Yang Kai before that Bei Yu Shan was born with great innate strength that could crush mountains. How could Yang Kai be thinking of taking this punch head-on? Wasn’t that tantamount to bringing disgrace to himself?
The others couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight of this.
Among the Managers of Scarlet Star, Bei Yu Shan was the strongest in terms of pure physical power. He had a Special Constitution, giving him innate brute strength comparable to exotic beasts. Within the same realm, no one could block his punch. Not to mention that he was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and Yang Kai was just an Emperor Realm Junior. Although there were no Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Grand Ancient Ruins, and Bei Yu Shan was unable to exert his full strength here, he still had his foundation. An ant couldn’t compete with an elephant in physical strength, could it?
It was simply an impossible feat!
Only now did Chen Tian Fei realize how headstrong and unyielding Yang Kai was! He had gone to such great lengths to bring Yang Kai here, but it seems he was acting too cautiously. Had he known this would happen, he would not have bothered coming up with such an elaborate scheme!
All kinds of thoughts flashed across everyone’s mind as the remaining Scarlet Star Managers abruptly stopped, watching patiently. It looked like they could all predict what would happen next.
A deafening explosion suddenly rang out…
What happened after the clash made everyone’s face twitch violently. When the two fists clashed with each other, it wasn’t the smaller Yang Kai who was sent flying, but the twenty-metre-tall Bei Yue Shan.
His enormous body flew out like a sack and crashed straight into the rear wall, creating a huge indent. At the same time, the entire hall quaked violently.
Yang Kai’s figure just shook a little before he continued charging forward without losing any momentum.
“Impossible!” Chen Tian Fei almost bit his tongue off in shock. His long and big eyes were narrow because of all the fat on his body, but they were now widened bigger than a bull’s eyes. What he was seeing had simply subverted his expectations. He simply couldn’t believe it.
The Ou Yang Brothers and Lady Qin also lost their wits!
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai arrived within a hundred metres of Du Niang Zi, grinning from ear to ear.
Apparently, Du Niang Zi had failed to realize her predicament as her thoughts had been thrown into chaos. When she came to her senses, Yang Kai’s grim smile was right in front of her face.
Her expression involuntarily changed as she promptly opened her mouth and breathed a pink mist at him. At the same time, she shattered the chair behind her as she retreated back.
The mist was extremely poisonous. Even an Open Heaven Realm Master would not be able to resist it if he or she was struck. If one couldn’t remove the poison in time, they would be reduced to a pool of pus.
Yang Kai charged straight into the mist, however, his body swaying slightly the next moment. Obviously, he was affected by the poison.
Du Niang Zi couldn’t stop giggling, “Boy, I have to hand it to you, you actually sent that brute flying, but this Great Aunt’s Soul Devouring Smog isn’t so easy to deal with. You can slowly enjoy the pain of your Soul melting!”
Just as she stated this though, her eyes widened in shock as she stared in Yang Kai’s direction in horror.
Inside the pink smog, Yang Kai opened his mouth and took a deep breath, directly inhaling like a whale swallowing water. Afterwards, he looked towards Du Niang Zi as his eyes glowed with a dazzling light, shaking Du Niang Zi’s Soul!
Du Niang Zi couldn’t help but scream as her tender figure rapidly fled back.
“Where do you think you are going?” Yang Kai coldly snorted and stretched his hand towards her before clenching it. The next moment, Space Principle fluctuations undulated as Yang Kai caught Du Niang Zi by her slender neck, ignoring the distance between the two, and slowly pulled her before him.
Du Niang Zi struggled hard, but the big hand that had grabbed her neck remained unmoving.
Suddenly, Du Niang Zi’s figure exploded with a bang as poisonous liquid flew everywhere, splashing all over Yang Kai.
Immediately after, sizzling sounds echoed in the hall as Yang Kai’s clothes melted away, revealing his slender yet well-proportioned muscles. In addition, there was a film of khaki light over the surface of his body. When Du Niang Zi’s highly toxic poison splashed on this khaki film, it was unable to corrode it at all and just slid down it.
“You…” Du Niang Zi’s reconstituted figure stared at Yang Kai in horror. She really couldn’t understand why the poison she was so proud of had no effect on this boy.
“Earth Element Power!” Yue He covered her mouth in shock and murmured to herself, looking at the khaki-coloured aura around Yang Kai.
[If memory serves me right, Yang Kai told me a few months back that he had only condensed his Wood and Fire Elements, so where did this Power of Earth come from? And it seems to be of High-Order as well; otherwise, how could it resist Du Niang Zi’s poison so easily?]
She couldn’t help but think about the time when Yang Kai had disappeared in the Crouching Dragon Mountains for twenty days. Could it be that he condensed his Power of Earth during that time?
“Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?” Yang Kai stared coldly at Du Niang Zi.
Du Niang Zi’s pupils immediately dilated. She was so horrified that she couldn’t even speak. She was shivering like a quail in the cold winter. The poison she was proud of had no effect on Yang Kai, leaving her without any other options.
“My turn!” Yang Kai cruelly smiled as he stretched out and pinched Du Niang Zi’s cherry-red lips. Afterwards, he brought his head closer to her, and under her terrified gaze, he took a deep breath as his chest and abdomen ballooned.
“Fire Dragon’s… Flaming Breath!”
Yang Kai spat out a scorching hot jet of flame straight into Du Niang Zi’s body from less than an arm’s length away. Naturally, it was the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Du Niang Zi instantly started screaming in pain, writhing left and right, but she couldn’t break free from Yang Kai’s grip. All the poison on her body splashed out randomly, but Yang Kai didn’t even try to dodge or evade it. He let the poison fall on him while depending on his Power of Earth to defend himself.
“Stop!” Chen Tian Fei shouted as his round and plump body turned into a ball of meat, slamming straight at Yang Kai.
The others also violently attacked Yang Kai at that moment.
When they saw Yang Kai being enveloped by the Soul Devouring Smog earlier, they all thought that everything was settled. Yang Kai was going to die for sure and they instantly relaxed, but they had never thought that their brief moment of laxity would result in Du Niang Zi’s capture. How could they dare to hesitate any longer?
In the blink of an eye, Chen Tian Fei, the Ou Yang Brothers, and Bei Yu Shan, who had just crawled back up, charged straight at Yang Kai. Each of them summoned their artifact or used Secret Technique to attack Yang Kai.
“Hou…”
Beastly roars suddenly resounded through the hall as two enormous figures, one red and one black, appeared out of thin air. One breathed fearsome flames to defend against the enemies, while the other spattered toxic and sticky mucus everywhere, forcing the Scarlet Star Managers to flee.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon had taken the stage!
The two 300-metre-long exotic beasts coiled around Yang Kai, guarding him with an airtight defence. All the oncoming attacks were blocked by the two exotic beasts!
Chen Tian Fei and the others were immediately flabbergasted.
Yang Kai still continued to breathe flames at Du Niang Zi, whose screams were gradually becoming hoarse. She was staring at Yang Kai with a pleading look in her eyes.
Unfortunately for her, Yang Kai remained unmoved.
Suddenly, sonorous and melodious chimes rang out as if someone was plucking the strings of a guqin. When these chimes entered everyone’s ears, they found themselves in an illusion, making them uneasy. It was none other than Lady Qin, who had taken out her guqin at some point and plucked its strings with her soft and tender hands gently, creating invisible sound attacks!
Yue He let out a light snort and arrived before Yang Kai in a flash. She summoned her Little Flower Umbrella and twirled it. The next moment, ripples emerged from the umbrella one after another, spreading into the surrounding.
The melodious and sonorous zither music immediately became discordant, causing Lady Qin’s pretty face to involuntarily sink!
With the two exotic beasts on the defence, and Yue He blocking the front, Scarlet Star Managers couldn’t do anything at all. They wanted to rescue Du Niang Zi, but they couldn’t find any openings. All they could do was helplessly watch Du Niang Zi suffer miserably, much to their frustration.
The sharp screams slowly became faint before they ceased to exist. Du Niang Zi’s vitality had disappeared into thin air in just a dozen breaths.
The next moment, Yang Kai shut his mouth, cutting off the scorching flames. As he shook Du Niang Zi a little, her body jiggled left and right as if she had no bones left. And along with all the shaking, bloody foam flowed out of her seven orifices, along with her internal organs.
“First one!” Yang Kai threw Du Niang Zi’s corpse aside as if he was throwing away a piece of garbage.
The hall sank into complete silence. The Scarlet Star Managers’ eyes fiercely trembled as their gaze alternated between Yang Kai and Du Niang Zi’s corpse. They couldn’t believe that Du Niang Zi, who had been with them for hundreds of years, actually died just like that.
Moreover, she died a miserable death at the hands of an Emperor Realm Junior!
If they were outside, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been Du Niang Zi’s opponent at all as she was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Not to mention a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, even if he was up against a First-Order or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would have to escape at the first sight of them.
But the special environment of the Grant Ancient Ruins Boundary allowed Yang Kai to flaunt his skill before these Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Small Universes in their bodies were suppressed and sealed, making it impossible for them to mobilize their World Force. As such, killing these Open Heaven Realm Masters was now as easy as killing Emperor Realm cultivators.
In the hall with the flickering flames, Yang Kai’s cold and piercing voice chilled the hearts of the Scarlet Star Managers.
Only now did everyone realize what Yang Kai meant by ‘first one’. Du Niang Zi was the first to offend Yang Kai, resulting in her being the first to be killed.
If there was the first, then there was a second…
Suddenly, a light clang rang and sparks flew about as Gan Hong’s figure mysteriously appeared beside Yang Kai out of thin air, slashing diagonally at him with the curved blade in his hand.
The Power of Earth around Yang Kai’s body was unable to block this attack completely, allowing Gan Hong’s sharp blade to leave a long gash on Yang Kai’s waist, drawing fresh blood from the cut.
However, Gan Hong, who had finally appeared again, looked stunned, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
That was because his attack didn’t have the intended effect. A forearm-length gash might appear terrifying, but his sneak attack should have cut Yang Kai in two.
When his curved blade cut through Yang Kai’s body, Gan Hong instantly realized that the physique of this young man was unreasonably strong and firm. Yang Kai’s sturdy body could actually withstand his attack that could even split the Heavens and the Earth.
Horrified, Gan Hong’s figure flickered as it disappeared into the darkness once again, immediately retreating.
His concealment technique was unparalleled, so even a Master who was one or two Orders higher than him might be unable to track him.
While he was making a quick retreat, his eyes happened to meet Yang Kai’s gaze, and the next moment, his heart clenched as he saw a golden vertical pupil suddenly appear in Yang Kai’s left eye. The sight was extremely daunting. Under the gaze of this golden pupil, Gan Hong couldn’t help but feel an invisible pressure bearing down on him.
The next moment, he saw a ghastly smile creep up on Yang Kai’s lips, who raised his hand and summoned a long spear into his grasp. However, Gan Hong failed to notice Yang Kai’s next move. All he saw was a spear coming at him as its sharp tip rapidly enlarged in his vision. The murderous intent emanating from the tip of the spear made his Soul shudder.
Gan Hong’s face turned pale and he promptly raised his curved blade to parry the oncoming thrust.
With a deafening clap, Gan Hong felt a tremendous force passing through the curved blade as his skinny figure was sent flying. In a flash, he felt like a boat caught in a stormy sea, at risk of capsizing at any moment.
Gan Hong shouted as his concealment technique was disrupted, “Save me!”
At the same time, a figure hurriedly rushed towards Chen Tian Fei.
Chen Tian Fei’s facial fat twitched wildly at the sight of this and he secretly cursed Gan Hong for putting him in danger; however, he really couldn’t just sit by and not save the latter. Chen Tian Fei’s figure transformed into a ball of meat as it rolled straight towards Yang Kai, carrying an unstoppable momentum with him.
The Ou Yang Brothers’ aura became interlinked with each other. One controlled fire, and the other controlled ice, creating an ice-fire attack that flew straight at Yang Kai.
In response, the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s figure moved to block them.
Lady Qin plucked her guqin’s strings once again, but the sound attack was blocked by Yue He. The two women were locked in a heated contest.
As for the Earth Dragon, its mouth chomped as it sprayed sticky mucus towards Bei Yu Shan. Bei Yu Shan might have the strength to flip mountains, but facing this exotic beast that was like a slippery loach, he was having a difficult time as he was unable to break the Earth Dragon’s defence.
The entire hall was in chaos as various kinds of energy were wreaking havoc.
Chen Tian Fei hurriedly shouted, “Little Brother Yang, please stop, we can talk about this!”
“Whatever there is to talk about, we can do it later!” Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile. Looking at the ball of meat rolling towards him with unparalleled force, he thrust his spear straight towards it. The next moment, a black ball appeared on the tip of the spear before shooting ahead as terrifying Space Principle fluctuations undulated.
A deafening explosion rang out as space shattered, forcing Chen Tian Fei back. Every time he stepped back, his plump body shrank visibly. His clothes started to become loose and oversized as his entire body was drenched in sweat, as if he was just pulled out of the ocean.
After finally regaining his footing, Fatty Chen Tian looked like an ordinary-sized man, the only difference being that his face was extremely pale.
When he looked around, his now thin face couldn’t help but twitch.
Because he saw that Gan Hong had already been pushed to the wall and was unable to retreat anymore, a panicked look on his face.
Yang Kai’s eyes shone with brilliance as he thrust out his spear.
Gan Hong shouted in horror. He was an Open Heaven Realm Master, but in the Ancient Ruins Boundary, he couldn’t display his full strength. He couldn’t be any more vexed.
He mustered up all the strength he could bring out and poured it into the curved blade in his hand before hacking down. Immediately after, a peerless sword aura shot straight at Yang Kai like a torrential river.
However, the Azure Dragon Spear shattered through the curved blade before a light squishing sound rang out. The next moment, it was as if time had frozen.
Chen Tian Fei’s brow twitched hard as he stared at the scene painted on the wall, feeling as bitter and frustrated as if he had eaten bitter gourd.
The Ou Yang Brothers also stopped moving together while Lady Qin stopped playing her zither. Bei Yu Shan also turned to look.
To everyone’s surprise, on the tip of Yang Kai’s spear hung a somewhat scrawny figure. It was none other than Gan Hong.
The Azure Dragon Spear had pierced through Gan Hong’s chest and out his back. Yang Kai grabbed the spear with one arm and lifted it up high. His current stance made him look like a figure from legend, causing the remaining Scarlet Star Managers’ eyes to tremble in disbelief.
“Ke…” Gan Hong lightly coughed and spurted blood before he warned with difficulty, “If you kill me… Head Manager will not let you off.”
Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at him with a grin, “Are those your last words?”
Gan Hong’s eyes widened as he roared, “You dare?”
Yang Kai shook his arm a little as violent energy passed along the Azure Dragon Spear, invading Gan Hong’s body and wreaking havoc.
Gan Hong let out miserable screams, but only for three breaths before falling silent.
Yang Kai’s grim and ghastly voice reverberated the next moment, “See whether I dare or not!”
Yang Kai flicked his spear, but not a single drop of blood spilled. Afterwards, he turned around and looked at the remaining Managers, smiling slightly as he casually commented, “Second one!”
Lady Qin’s finger trembled, accidentally plucking the string as an ethereal chime echoed in the hall. The Ou Yang Brothers’ faces turned cold, whereas a tight frown appeared on Bei Yu Shan’s brow. Chen Tian Fei was drenched in a cold sweat from head to toe.
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile, “Manager Chen, you look much better now.”
Yang Kai was being honest. Chen Tian Fei looked handsome in his thin state, but because he cultivated some strange Secret Art, he had to maintain his fat body. Now that all of his fat had disappeared, he had regained his handsome and elegant appearance.
Chen Tian Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in the face of Yang Kai’s teasing, wearing a complicated look on his face.
Yang Kai looked around as he rested his spear on his shoulders and stated, “Manager Chen just said that Scarlet Star only ever has seven Managers, and there aren’t any seats available for me. Fortunately, there are seats available now, and I want one of them, do you have any objections?”
No one answered, in fact, no one dared to speak at will. Everyone was on tenterhooks, afraid that Yang Kai would attack again.
After this battle, the Scarlet Star Managers realized that this boy was a complete lunatic. He wasn’t even afraid of challenging Open Heaven Realm Masters when he was just an Emperor Realm Junior. More importantly though, a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters were beaten black and blue by him. If word about this incident got out, they would not be able to lift their heads in public ever again.
“This is your territory, so we will follow your rules. Manager Chen also said before that if I want to be a Manager of Scarlet Star, I need the approval of four or more current Managers! So ladies and gentlemen, please state your opinion, do you agree or disagree!”
Chen Tian Fei and the others were filled with unspoken criticism after hearing this. [So you know you are on our turf?]
Although they had hearts full of complaints, they had no choice but to give it serious thought.
Both Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong were dead. Although they had some friendship with these two, it wasn’t deep enough for them to seek revenge against this madman who could easily kill the two of them.
Furthermore, Yang Kai’s combat power was quite terrifying. If they could really have him as a Scarlet Star Manager, it would greatly benefit Scarlet Star.
So, after some pondering for a moment, Chen Tian Fei was the first to raise his hand and declare, “I agree!”
Melodious chimes of zither rang as Lady Qin agreed with a smile, “I agree too!”
The Ou Yang Brothers looked at each other and nodded their consents.
Bei Yu Shan stood there scratching his head. He looked at Du Niang Zi’s corpse and agreed in a humming voice, “Then, I agree too.”
Chen Tian Fei immediately cupped his fists and welcomed Yang Kai, “Little Brother Yang, welcome to Scarlet Star, everyone will be one family from now on. There will be times when we will have to rely on you, please don’t refuse!”
Yang Kai calmly smiled, “Very good.”
The nearby Yue He suddenly stated, “I also want to be a Scarlet Star Manager!”
Seeing everyone turn their gaze at her, Yue He assumed a stance that said that it was a matter of course, “Your Scarlet Star is short of two Managers, can’t I make up the number?”
Chen Tian Fei blinked his eyes in dumbfoundedness before agreeing with a smile, “Of course, you are very welcome!”
They had been trying to make Yue He join Scarlet Star for some time now, but she had always been ambiguous with her responses. Now, she was asking to join Scarlet Star of her own accord, so why would they refuse?
And as she had brutally mentioned, Scarlet Star was short of two Managers, so they needed to fill the numbers. Not to mention, Yue He herself was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, someone stronger than Chen Tian Fei and the others, making her more than qualified.
After the fight, two top positions in Scarlet Star had changed hands. Yang Kai and Yue He joined Scarlet Star as the Sixth and Seventh Managers respectively. Even though the others weren’t exactly happy about this situation, their strength had indeed been boosted. Chen Tian Fei and the others could also accept this result.
Now that Yang Kai was a Manager of Scarlet Star, he didn’t need to act wantonly arrogant anymore. Yang Kai straightened his clothes, put away the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, and started chatting with Chen Tian Fei and the others.
After a while, Yang Kai asked, “What about the Head Manager? I’m a new member of Scarlet Star, don’t I have to greet him?”
Chen Tian Fei smiled lightly, “Head Manager is in retreat year-round. Even we don’t see him often, so why would he care about overseeing us? If the opportunity presents itself, I will introduce Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. He couldn’t help but be a little curious about Scarlet Star’s Head Manager. He didn’t participate in this fight at all, like a hidden Dragon that shows its tail but never its face. Who knew if it was as Yue He had said, that he was trying to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Outside the audience hall, the Great Moon Province disciples were waiting with bated breath. They were surrounded by a few Scarlet Star cultivators who were glaring at them, their gazes filled with malicious intent.
Meng Hong and the others felt like they were on pins and needles, but there was nothing they could do.
The door of the main hall remained closed, so they had no idea what was going on inside. Be that as it may, Meng Hong could vaguely tell that Yang Kai and Yue He had definitely entered a Dragon’s den.
Just when Meng Hong and the others were feeling restless, the door of the main hall suddenly opened wide.
Meng Hong was startled and hurriedly raised his head to look; however, what he saw next blew his mind away. Yang Kai walked right out of the door in the lead, with Yue He closely following behind him. Furthermore, a handsome and kind-looking middle-aged man was accompanying them. The middle-aged man was quite strange as his clothes were quite loose and his face was a little pale, but he was still maintaining a smile.
When they arrived before everyone, the middle-aged man finally spoke, “Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager, please stay at your previous inn for a few days while I arrange things here. I will notify you when I am done; then, you can move in. If you have any requests, feel free to let me know and I will ask someone to meet them.”
Yang Kai smiled and stated, “Do as you see fit, I don’t have any special requests.”
The middle-aged man replied, “Then this Chen will look after the arrangements. If Sixth and Seventh Managers don’t like them, they can always be changed.”
“Many thanks, Manager Chen!” Yang Kai cupped his fists slightly.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement before calling Meng Hong and the others over and walking off towards the inn.
After they had travelled a fair distance, Meng Hong couldn’t hold his curiosity and finally asked to confirm his guess, “Brother Yang, was that Chen Tian Fei of Scarlet Star?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded his affirmation.
Meng Hong was quite surprised, “How did he become like that? Wasn’t he fat before?”
Yue He pursed her lips into a smile and replied, “Of course, he was beaten to the point he lost weight. His foundation is damaged now. Who knows how long it will take for him to recover.”
[He became thin from being beaten?]
The Great Moon Province disciples looked at each other in confusion. They thought that Chen Tian Fei was beaten to this point by Yue He, imagining a great battle between two equal opponents must have happened in the hall, otherwise why would Chen Tian Fei be following her and Yang Kai so mildly?
“What’s this Sixth and Seventh Manager about?” Meng Hong asked in confusion.
Yang Kai replied, “Yue He and I have joined Scarlet Star, we will be Managers from now on.”
“Joined Scarlet Star?” Meng Hong was shocked. He had heard Yang Kai mention being a Scarlet Star Manager at the inn, but he didn’t expect for it to come true, and so quickly. Nevertheless, it was good news for them. Yang Kai and Yue He could provide them with better shelter as Scarlet Star Managers.
Meng Hong sighed in admiration, looking at Yang Kai who had joined the top echelons of Scarlet Star as an Emperor Realm cultivator. When he compared himself with Yang Kai, how he couldn’t even make the woman he had a crush on love him back, and how she gave herself to another man instead for a better sense of security, Meng Hong couldn’t help feeling a little sad and ashamed.
Yang Kai could tell what was going through his head with one look at his state, but he had no idea how to comfort Meng Hong; all he could do was pat him on the shoulder.
When they returned to the inn, Zhao Xing Chen was nowhere to be found. The entire inn was in shambles and the manager of the inn was sitting behind the counter, feeling sorry for himself. When he saw Yang Kai and the others return alive though, his eyes involuntarily widened.
Everyone else returned to their room while Yue He ran to Yang Kai’s room and sat at his table, resting her cheek on her palm and staring at Yang Kai with an obsessed look on her face.
Yang Kai completely ignored her. In his opinion, she was completely crazy and it was better not to provoke her.
But Yang Kai was a little concerned about one thing, so he couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t Scarlet Star have seven Managers? There were seven people in the hall though, right? Together with their Head Manager, wouldn’t that make it eight people?”
Chen Tian Fei, Bei Yue Shan, the Ou Yang Brothers, and Lady Qin altogether made it five, and including Gan Hong and Du Niang Zi who were killed, it was seven.
Yue He pursed her lips into a cute smile, “The Ou Yang Brothers advance and retreat together as one soul in two bodies, so they are always considered as one.”
Yang Kai suddenly understood. He threw a Dragon Blood Pill into his mouth and closed his eyes to refine it.
“I have a question too!” Yue He suddenly turned around and sat at the edge of the bed. A sweet and seductive smell wafted from her as she looked at Yang Kai with her beautiful eyes.
“What is it?” Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked at her.
Yue He asked, “Have you already condensed your Earth Element?”
“Yes!”
“I knew it!” Yue He softly sighed. She had guessed that the defensive shield around Yang Kai’s body was created by his Earth Element, but it was confirmed at this moment, “Did you get it from the Crouching Dragon Mountains?”
After thinking about it, she realized the only time Yang Kai had a chance to condense his Earth Element was during the twenty days he went missing back in the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range.
It was just that she couldn’t understand what he had found.
“Why do you ask?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.
“Seventh-Order?” Yue He asked nonchalantly, staring straight at him.
Yang Kai closed his eyes, too lazy to answer her.
Yue He sighed and continued, “I guess you didn’t listen to my warning. Do you know that you are digging your own grave?”
Yang Kai snappily responded, “If you have something to say, speak up. I’m just gathering my Five Elements, how is that the same as digging my own grave?”
Yue He opened her lips but stopped just when she was about to speak. Finally, she looked away and muttered, “When you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, you can ask Lan You Ruo. If she wants to tell you, she will naturally tell you. If she doesn’t want to, come to me then.”
Then she switched the conversation topic and sternly warned, “Let me repeat it again, do not let others know that you have condensed Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm materials; otherwise, no one in the entire 3,000 Worlds can guarantee your life, not even Lan You Ruo!”
Saying so, she swiftly left the room.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. Yue He had warned him about this before, but she always spoke vaguely. There appeared to be some unspeakable secret about this subject!
Yang Kai was filled with doubts, wondering what was so dangerous about what he was doing.
Yue He only thought that he had refined Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm materials, but if she knew that he had actually gathered stronger Elements, she would definitely go crazy.
Yang Kai didn’t completely trust Yue He, but he could tell that she held no malice towards him. [I guess I have to ask the Proprietress after leaving this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.]
Scarlet Star’s management was very efficient and in just two days, Chen Tian Fei had already arranged Yang Kai’s new mansion.
He personally came to the inn to guide Yang Kai and Yue He to their residences; after all, they were the Sixth and Seventh Managers of Scarlet Star now. If they continued living in a common inn, it would be detrimental to Scarlet Star’s face.
The mansion was big and its location was good. It wasn’t any worse than the other Managers’ homes.
Chen Tian Fei led Yang Kai and Yue He around the mansion and introduced its facilities. After a while, they arrived at a hall where the host and guests took their seats, while maids served them tea and water.
Chen Tian Fei sat right below the host’s seat, smiling brightly, “Are the two of you satisfied with the mansion? If you aren’t, just inform this Chen and I will have the adjustments made to your specifications.”
In just two days, he had gained a lot of weight already, so the fat on his face shook when he smiled.
Yang Kai nodded and replied, “Manager Chen is thoughtful, everything is perfectly fine.”
As far as he was concerned, this mansion was just a temporary stopover, there was no need to be too particular about it.
Chen Tian Fei responded, “That’s good.” Saying so, he lightly coughed, and clapped his hands, “Come in.”
Two people walked in immediately, one man and one woman. The man was limping when he walked. He was none other than Zhao Xing Chen who had his knees broken by Yang Kai before.
Obviously, he had taken some precious pills over these two days; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to heal so quickly.
When he saw Zhao Xing Chen, Meng Hong, who had been standing behind Yang Kai, had no change in his expression, but when he saw the woman, a complicated look inevitably appeared on his face.
The woman was none other than Chen Yue.
The two walked in one after the other. Zhao Xing Chen had a flattering smile on his face, while Chen Yue was staring at her feet. Her hair was hanging over her head, covering her face. Only the Heavens knew what kind of expression was on her face at the moment.
“Greetings, Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager!” Zhao Xing Chen’s face was still slightly bruised, and several of his teeth were missing, so when he spoke, his words were a little slurred.
At this moment, he possessed none of the arrogance he had two days ago. He put a smile on his face that was uglier than crying, and assumed a flattering stance.
Chen Yue also elegantly bowed and greeted in a mosquito voice, “Greetings Sir and Madam.”
Yang Kai looked at Chen Tian Fei with a shadow of a smile, “Brother Chen, what’s the meaning of this?”
Chen Tian Fei replied solemnly, “Sixth Manager, this brat had eyes but failed to see and offended you before. Although you have taught him a lesson, in the end, he is still guilty of offending you. My Scarlet Star has strict rules, and anyone who dares to go against their superior deserves severe punishment! Today, I made this brat come and apologise to you. Whether you want to kill him or cripple him is your choice. This King won’t interfere!”
His words were quite eloquent, making him appear just and fair.
Zhao Xing Chen was startled after hearing this and immediately looked at him and cried pitifully, “Brother-in-law!”
“You still have the gall to call me brother-in-law!?” Chen Tian Fei coldly snorted, “This King has lost all face thanks to you! I told you a long time ago not to use your status as a Junior Commander to cause trouble. I told you that there is always someone better than you, but you didn’t believe me. You bastard, you are lucky that you ran into Sixth Manager who showed you mercy. If it was someone more ruthless, you would have died many times already!”
He then turned to Yang Kai and proclaimed, “Sixth Manager, I will leave him to you. If you want to kill him, you can do so. I, Chen Tian Fei, won’t stop you.”
Saying so, he really closed his eyes, giving the impression that his heart would not grieve for what he couldn’t see.
Zhao Xing Chen was horrified. Realizing that he could not count on Chen Tian Fei, he could only kneel on the ground and beg Yang Kai, “Sixth Manager, please spare me. I must have been possessed at the time and failed to see the truth, offending Sixth Manager which deserves capital punishment! This waste has learned his lesson and will never repeat this mistake again! Sixth Manager, please spare me!”
While begging, he kept kowtowing again and again. After a few moments, he started bleeding from the spot on his head that was banging against the floor.
Yang Kai looked at him indifferently, only declaring after a good while, “Commander Zhao, there is no grudge between you and I. Even if there is, you have just offended this King, and this King broke your legs in return. The matter is settled. If you want to live, it’s not me that you should beg!”
Zhao Xing Chen was startled when he heard this, but the next moment, he realized what Yang Kai meant and quickly acted upon it. He turned to Meng Hong and squeezed a smile as he sadly begged, “Brother Meng…”
Zhao Xing Chen’s mournful cries pulled the absent-minded Meng Hong back to reality. He looked up and saw Zhao Xing Chen looking at him, pitifully and pleadingly. He couldn’t help but recall how he bluntly spoke and showed off the day before yesterday.
Suddenly, he had mixed feelings.
He knew that Yang Kai was giving him a chance to avenge himself, so he glanced at him gratefully.
Be that as it may, Zhao Xing Chen wasn’t bowing to him because of Meng Hong’s own strength, and he had already made peace with the fact that the woman he loved had already become someone else’s. Meng Hong had no intention of getting entangled with him, so there was an indifferent look on his face, like his interest had worn out.
Zhao Xing Chen continued in trepidation, “Brother Meng, please let me off on account of the many times we’ve helped each other in the past. This Zhao knows his mistake and will never repeat it.”
Meng Hong still remained silent. He just kept staring at him indifferently, as if he was watching a clown’s performance.
The two remaining Great Moon Province disciples, on the other hand, were outraged. One of them stepped forward and cursed angrily, “Shameless bastard, you and our Eldest Senior Brother called each other Brothers, but you seduced our Eldest Senior Brother’s woman behind his back, and you still have the gall to beg for mercy now!?”
He then looked at Meng Hong and shouted, “Eldest Senior Brother, let me kill him!”
Zhao Xing Chen was shocked. Before he came, Chen Tian Fei had told him that it was up to him whether he lived or died. Chen Tian Fei had told him that he couldn’t afford to offend the new Sixth Manager. Yang Kai had personally killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong back in the main hall with minimal effort. If Zhao Xing Chen really got into trouble, Chen Tian Fei would be like a clay idol fording the river, hardly able to save himself.
If not for this, why would Zhao Xing Chen follow Chen Tian Fei here and apologize? If the other party made his move, he could not depend on his brother-in-law.
Knowing that his life or death depended all on Meng Hong, Zhao Xing Chen threw his pride aside and quickly stated, “Brother Meng, it’s a misunderstanding. Sister Chen Yue and I are still pure, nothing has happened between us! If you don’t believe me, you can ask her.”
He then turned his head and looked at Chen Yue, who just lowered her head, slightly trembling.
Zhao Xing Chen hurriedly added, “Brother Meng, I brought Chen Yue here to give her back to you. Let’s just treat it like nothing has happened, and everything is as before?”
“Shut up!” Meng Hong, who had not spoken a word till now, suddenly cursed. He glared at Zhao Xing Chen with flames of anger in his eyes as he continued, grinding his teeth, “Zhao Xing Chen, what do you think Junior Sister Chen is? She is a person, not some object that can be traded back and forth at will! By acting like this, aren’t you disgracing her sincerity!”
Zhao Xing Chen’s mouth opened wide but had no idea what to say. He thought to himself that Chen Yue was just trying to climb up the ranks, so how could there be any sincerity at all? It was quite evident that Meng Hong still had feelings for Chen Yue though, so if Zhao Xing Chen really spoke what was in his mind, he would die right here and now.
After Meng Hong was finished shouting, he suddenly waved his hand and stated, “Get out, I don’t want to see you again in the future.”
He wasn’t completely ruthless. First, it wasn’t him who made Zhao Xing Chen bow his head and beg him for mercy; rather, he was riding on Yang Kai’s coattails. Second, Yang Kai had just become Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, so if he really killed Zhao Xing Chen, it would definitely cause Yang Kai some trouble. At the very least, Chen Tian Fei would definitely be outraged because of this. He might have said all those things before, but if Zhao Xing Chen was really killed right before him, he would definitely not be pleased.
Zhao Xing Chen was overjoyed after hearing this, and a smile immediately bloomed on his black and blue face, “Many thanks, Brother Meng! Many thanks!” Then he turned to Yang Kai and thanked him, “Many thanks, Sixth Manager!”
“Why are you still here!?” Chen Tian Fei kicked him and knocked him onto the ground.
Zhao Xing Chen didn’t even bother to get up and quickly crawled out of the hall. He was elated that he could escape with his life today.
As soon as he left, Chen Yue was left standing alone in place, her presence incredibly conspicuous. Her charming face was pale and her tender body was trembling slightly. Who knew whether it was because of fear or she was just extremely ashamed?
Meng Hong glanced at her before heaving a slight sigh and not saying anything. He then cupped his fists to Yang Kai before turning around and leaving.
Seeing this, Chen Tian Fei chuckled, cupped his fists and bid his farewell, “Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager, this Chen has other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first. I have left some people in the mansion for the two of you to use. Just tell them if you have any orders.”
“En, I won’t see you off!” Yang Kai gestured with his hand and stated.
Chen Tian Fei nodded before getting up and walking away.
“How should we deal with her?” After Chen Tian Fei left, Yue He motioned to Chen Yue, who was still standing to the side with her head lowered.
Yang Kai rolled his eyes. He had no idea how to deal with this woman. Originally, Meng Hong should have been the one to deal with her, but he left without saying a word. Yang Kai truthfully didn’t want to get involved in this mess.
“Figure it out yourself,” Yang Kai also left after throwing out this sentence.
In the inner courtyard, Meng Hong was standing by the pond alone, quietly watching the fish swimming in the clear water below.
The two Great Moon Province disciples were standing not too far away from him. They were looking at Meng Hong’s back with worry pasted on their faces.
Hearing footsteps, they turned around, and upon seeing that it was Yang Kai, one of them asked in a low voice, “Senior Brother Yang, will Eldest Senior Brother be okay?”
The other Great Moon Province disciple was also worried, “I heard that people who become heartbroken have very high chances of developing a heart demon. Can the Elder Brother overcome this hurdle?”
The Great Moon Province disciple, who had spoken first, angrily stated, “That slut should have been killed. Her death would have ended all these troubles. What’s the use of keeping that opportunistic slut? She would just be disturbing Eldest Senior Brother’s state of mind in vain!”
The other disciple shook his head, however, and commented, “It’s not like you don’t know that Eldest Senior Brother still has feelings for her. If you really kill her, you should be ready to face Eldest Senior Brother’s wrath!”
“Then what should we do?”
Yang Kai rebuked, confounded, “Stop arguing, I will go take a look.”
The Great Moon Province disciples looked at Yang Kai as if they saw their saviour, “Senior Brother Yang, you must persuade Eldest Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai remained noncommittal. He couldn’t rashly agree to this kind of request. Love was the most difficult thing to see through. Meng Hong had to rely on himself to understand it. It didn’t matter what the others’ opinions about this were.
After a few steps, Yang Kai arrived by Meng Hong’s side and stood silently. He glanced at him, and to Yang Kai’s surprise, Meng Hong’s expression wasn’t that bad; at least not as bad as he had imagined.
Before Yang Kai could speak, Meng Hong asked, “Brother Yang, are you worried about me?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “Your two Junior Brothers are worried about you developing a heart demon.”
Meng Hong slightly smiled and replied, “That should not happen. Although I like Yue’er, she is free to make her own choices. It is not my decision to make. I just feel sad for her. She didn’t choose the right person, and in the end, she was abandoned.”
“As you said, that was her own choice.”
Meng Hong nodded lightly, “Yes, everyone rises or falls along with the times just like the fish in the pond. In the end, they couldn’t escape from the shackles of time.”
After a bout of silence, Meng Hong continued, “Brother Yang, I want to become stronger!”
Yang Kai turned his head and looked straight at him, “Everyone grows stronger as they keep treading upon the Martial Dao.”
Meng Hong turned around and gazed at Yang Kai with passionate eyes, “I want to grow even stronger!”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He knew that although Meng Hong was saying that he was fine, Chen Yue’s affair had indeed affected him; otherwise, how would he have such an idea? People always desire more strength after suffering setbacks.
“There is no Open Heaven Realm in the Grand Ancient Ruins. If you want to become stronger, you can only continue to gather your Yin, Yang, and Five Elements in order to break through to the Open Heaven Realm once you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary,” a pleasant voice suddenly rang in their ears. It was none other than Yue He who was coming over. She came to Yang Kai’s side and stood there as her hair gently danced along with the wind, brushing against Yang Kai’s face.
Yang Kai brushed her hair away, nodded and added, “There are many Open Heaven Realm materials in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, which should be able to meet your needs. Brother Meng, what Order of Elements have you condensed?”
Meng Hong replied, “Third Order!”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding; after all, Great Moon Province wasn’t a powerful force. Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang who Yang Kai had met before were both Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Meng Hong, as a disciple of Great Moon Province, could naturally only access Third-Order materials.
“Before, I used to think that the Third Order was enough, but now it seems that Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are just ordinary characters in the 3,000 Worlds. I have to become a higher Order Master!”
Yang Kai frowned after hearing this, “Brother Meng, if I’m not mistaken, you should have already condensed several Elements.”
As the Eldest Senior Brother of Great Moon Province, it was impossible for Meng Hong to remain in the Emperor Realm forever. He should have already condensed three or more Elements into his Dao Seal, and since his foundation was laid, he had no choice but to continue moving forward. He couldn’t turn back.
Meng Hong replied with a nod, “En, I have condensed four Elements.”
“Then how would you…” Yang Kai looked puzzled.
Just then, Yue He remembered something and her face slightly changed as she muttered, “Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water?”
Meng Hong nodded solemnly as a jade bottle appeared in his palm with a flip of his wrist.
“You’re courting death!” Yue He’s face turned extremely serious.
Yue He continued, “You should also know that to reach the Open Heaven Realm, you need to condense the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements into your Dao Seal before splitting Heaven and Earth apart in your body to form a Small Universe. Only with the power of a Small Universe can one be called an Open Heaven Realm Master. Once a cultivator has condensed a certain Order Power, it cannot be changed. The final Order of a cultivator is always the lowest Order Element they have consolidated. For example, if one has condensed six Third-Order Elements, and one Second-Order Element, then the Open Heaven Realm they can achieve is Second-Order. It will not change just because the other six Powers are Third-Order.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I know.”
The process of reaching the Open Heaven was like building a barrel to hold, one can only fill up to the height of the shortest board in the barrel.
Yue He continued, “But there were always some people in the world who are not satisfied with the Order of Elements they condensed and want to climb to a higher Order when they have achieved the Open Heaven Realm. Except, their foundation has already been laid, so how can they change it at will?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown and ask, “If it can’t be changed at will, does that mean it can still be changed?”
Yue He confirmed with a nod, “En, and the surest method is by using Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water. Once someone takes it, the Power of Yin, Yang and Five Elements they had condensed will be completely stripped from their Dao Seal. If one manages to survive the stripping process, they will gain a chance to start over!”
“How dangerous is it?” Yang Kai asked worriedly. Only now did he understand Meng Hong’s plan. He obviously wanted to use the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water to start condensing his Open Heaven Elements again.
Yue He sneered upon hearing this, “The danger depends on the number of Powers the person who consumes it has already condensed. The fewer Powers gathered, the smaller the risk. If one has only condensed a single Element, the chances of success is basically 50%.”
“50% after condensing just one Element?” Yang Kai couldn’t help but turn pale, “What if one has gathered four?”
Meng Hong just said that he had already condensed four Open Heaven Realm Elements, so the chances of success were probably much smaller.
“About 10%,” Yue He replied in a solemn voice.
10%!
Yang Kai was horrified. It really was akin to courting death.
Yue He looked at Meng Hong with a sneer, “Even so, are you really going to do this?”
Meng Hong clenched the jade bottle in his hand and calmly nodded, “I have already made up my mind!” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Brother Yang, please don’t try to dissuade me, I have been thinking about this for a long time, I just didn’t have the courage to go through with it until now. Furthermore, even if I had taken the risk before, there was no way for me to acquire enough precious materials with Great Moon Province’s strength. But it’s different here. We are in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, which is a vast treasure trove. Brother Yang, you might not know, but in the few months you were in a retreat, I frequently heard stories of people finding Fourth-Order, Fifth-Order, and even Sixth-Order materials. This is my opportunity. If I don’t give it a try, I will regret it for the rest of my life!”
Yang Kai remained silent. If Meng Hong was just acting on impulse because of Chen Yue, then he might try to dissuade him; after all, it wasn’t wise to take such a big risk right now. However, Meng Hong just said that he had been contemplating this course of action for a long time, but he just didn’t have the courage to go through with it.
This time, everything that had happened had just given him the push he needed to make up his mind.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai gave his encouragement, “Since you have said as much, then I can only wish you all the best.”
He then turned to Yue He and asked, “What will happen if he fails?”
Yue He solemnly replied, “Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water cleanly strips the Power of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements from one’s Dao Seal. If one fails, their Dao Seal will shatter. What do you think would be the consequences of that?”
If one’s Dao Seal got shattered, what else could happen? One would either lose their life or have their cultivation permanently crippled.
“I’m a little curious, where did you get Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water? Although it’s not rare, it’s not something you can get your hands on as an Emperor Realm cultivator. Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water is basically as valuable as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm material.” Yue He furrowed her bow.
Meng Hong replied with a smile after hearing this, “I accidentally acquired it many years ago and decided to keep it. I wasn’t willing to sell it as I thought that I might need it someday.”
It was quite apparent that Meng Hong’s decision wasn’t on a whim, he really had been planning for this for a long time.
Yang Kai stated, nodding, “Brother Meng, since you have already made up your mind, I won’t try to dissuade you. If there is anything I can help you with, feel free to speak.”
Yue He scoffed, “You can’t help him with anything except finding him a quiet place.”
Meng Hong requested, “Brother Yang, I request you to keep this a secret from my Junior Brothers. If I am successful, I will explain to them in person. If it doesn’t work out… then I ask Brother Yang to burn my corpse and hand over my remains to my Junior Brothers to take back to Great Moon Province.”
Meng Hong had just handed over his will; obviously, he too didn’t have much confidence in himself.
Yang Kai suddenly wanted to dissuade him, but he had no idea how to start. [If I was in Meng Hong place and I had such an opportunity, how would I have chosen?]
[I’m afraid even if I knew that there was just a 10% chance of survival, I would still have gone through with it!]
“When are you planning on starting?” Yang Kai asked.
Meng Hong replied, “There is no day better than today.”
He was very resolute, so Yang Kai had no choice but to find him a secluded cultivation room. He then arranged a powerful isolation Array together with Yue He so that Meng Hong would not be disturbed by the outside world during his ordeal.
The Great Moon Province disciples had no idea why Meng Hong suddenly decided to enter retreat, but they thought it might be related to Chen Yue’s incident, causing them to hate her even more.
Outside the cultivation room, Yang Kai and Yue He got busy and finally managed to arrange everything.
Yue He softly sighed, staring at the secret room, “It’s pointless to worry, so don’t bother. It will take him anywhere from three days to half a month to complete the process; when the time comes, you will know the result.”
Yang Kai nodded and stated, “Let’s hope for the best.”
Suddenly he remembered something and asked, “How did you deal with Chen Yue?”
Yue He replied, “I decided to let her stay. We can’t drive her away, can we? She is weak, and if we drive her out, she would get devoured till not even her bones were left within a few days.”
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter, “You’re quite kind.”
Yue He coldly snorted and stated, “You can easily tell that Meng Hong still has feelings for that Chen Yue girl. If we drive her away, how could Meng Hong rest at ease? We can only leave her for Meng Hong to deal with.”
Yang Kai nodded his appreciation, “Good job.”
Yue He sweetly smiled and elegantly bowed, “Many thanks for the compliment, Young Master!”
“What’s gotten into you?” Yang Kai flicked his sleeve and left with his hands crossed behind his back, leaving Yue He giggling.
Before leaving, Chen Tian Fei said that he had left some people in the mansion for him to use. Yang Kai soon met the Commander of these people, a man called Guo Zi Yan.
Yang Kai was now Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, so they had to allocate a little manpower to him, even if just to keep up appearances.
In Scarlet Star, Guo Zi Yan was also a Great Commander-level figure. He was a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so he wasn’t weak. In the outside world, he might not even pay any attention to Yang Kai, a trivial Emperor Realm Junior. Unfortunately, they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary now and Yang Kai had the strength to kill Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong. Guo Zi Yan had no choice but to lower his head, even though his cultivation was higher!
After a few questions and answers, Yang Kai had a slight understanding of Guo Zi Yan’s character; in short, he was a rather taciturn person. Originally, he was Du Niang Zi’s subordinate, but since Du Niang Zi was already dead, the resources under her were naturally divided among the other Managers, leaving Guo Zi Yan for Yang Kai.
Guo Zi Yan didn’t have many subordinates, but they weren’t few either. He had a total of a hundred or so people under him. The entire team was under Yang Kai now. Ignoring loyalty, at least he could order around these people.
Needless to say, Yang Kai went to see his hundred new subordinates with Guo Zi Yan.
The reason why Yang Kai wanted to join Scarlet Star and take the position of Manager was because he wanted to use Scarlet Star’s resources and manpower to search for the Open Heaven Realm materials he needed. More people would lead to more information. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was filled with high-quality precious treasures, but it would be difficult for him to find them all on his own. Scarlet Star was different. With this Star City as their base, their influence spread in all directions rapidly. Nothing within a radius ten thousand kilometres could remain hidden from Scarlet Star’s eyes.
Scarlet Star was itself a relatively loose organization, with all kinds of people of varying strength and temperaments. As such, many of its members had unruly personalities.
When they heard that the new Sixth Manager was only an Emperor Realm Junior, they didn’t pay much attention to him. The hundred or so people stood in their positions, completely relaxed. But when Yue He, who was with Yang Kai, arrived, everyone instantly paid attention to her. After all, Yue He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Such a Master could be considered a hegemon in the 3,000 Worlds, and all cultivators had an instinctive awe towards the strong.
Yang Kai didn’t care too much about this, and after a few words, he ordered Guo Zi Yan to take these hundred or so people out and gather intel. He ordered him to report any news about High-Order materials to him right away!
Guo Zi Yan naturally complied.
The next few days remained uneventful.
Yang Kai took Dragon Blood Pills every day to purify his Dragon Vein while spending his time comprehending his Wood and Fire Elements. He had learned an Innate Dragon Technique from the Dragon Bead he refined, but Yang Kai vaguely felt that he still could not bring out the full might of his Wood and Fire Elements.
From the energy gathered from the Immortal Tree essence and Golden Crow’s True Fire, he should also be able to produce powerful Divine Abilities! If he could successfully comprehend the mysteries of these powers, then his strength would definitely increase by leaps and bounds and he would be able to deal with more powerful enemies in a more relaxed manner.
Every day, Yang Kai would go and check up on Meng Hong. Unfortunately, since he entered retreat, Meng Hong’s cultivation room had remained completely silent. With the Array blocking everything, Yang Kai had no idea what was going on inside.
The Great Moon Province disciples were completely oblivious to what Meng Hong was doing; as such, they didn’t show much concern either.
Today, Yang Kai went to check up on Meng Hong in his spare time, but he saw Yue He coming over as well.
When their eyes met, Yue He shook her head.
Yang Kai stated with a frown, “It’s been eight days.”
Yue He heaved a soft sigh, “I’m afraid he was more unfortunate than fortunate.”
“Isn’t there any way to help?”
Yue He replied, “Once he took the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water, it became solely up to him whether he lived or died. Outsiders can’t interfere. Even if you go in, you will only be disturbing him, causing him greater danger.”
Yang Kai sunk into silence. Since Yue He said as much, he couldn’t provide any help even if he wanted to.
“Wait two more days. If he still doesn’t come out, it means he has failed. Then we will have to collect his corpse,” Yue He brushed her hair back behind her ear.
Just as she was finished speaking, Yang Kai suddenly looked up, staring at the secluded room’s heavy door.
With his Divine Sense, he seemed to sense some subtle movements inside the cultivation room.
Yue He too had noticed it by now and turned her head to look at Yang Kai in surprise.
After a while, the Array arranged around the room was slowly deactivated. Yang Kai raised his brow and went forward, opened the door, and walked in.
Yue He followed close behind.
There was a strong scent of blood in the air, and everything inside the room was in a mess, as if several violent energies had fought chaotically within.
A figure was sitting cross-legged in the centre of the cultivation room, his head drooped as his black hair was hanging loose, covering his entire face. Meng Hong was in an extremely miserable state at the moment, his entire body covered in dried blood.
By the looks of it, he had suffered a lot.
Furthermore, his aura was quite weak. Yang Kai couldn’t tell whether he had succeeded or failed.
A little worried, he stepped forward and called out gently, standing right before Meng Hong, “Brother Meng?”
Meng Hong slowly raised his head. His face was dark, sunken, and extremely pale, but there was a glint in his eyes. He looked at Yang Kai as the corners of his lips slowly rose into a smile, “The Heavens have blessed me!”
A heavy weight was immediately lifted off Yang Kai’s shoulder and he broke into laughter, “Brother Meng is truly blessed with good fortune!”
In a situation where he was meant to die nine times out of ten, Meng Hong had carved a way out. Yang Kai might not have any idea what Meng Hong had gone through these eight days, but judging by his state and the state of the room, he could tell that Meng Hong had constantly been wandering between life and death.
After making him take a few pills and adjust his breathing, Yang Kai finally sent Meng Hong back to rest.
The Great Moon Province disciples were summoned and Meng Hong explained the entire ordeal to them personally. A look of fear immediately appeared on their faces and one of them rebuked their Eldest Senior Brother for not even saying anything to them before taking such a big risk. What would they do if he had an accident? The other Junior Brother was indignant, clamouring to kill Chen Yue for causing disturbing thoughts in their Eldest Senior Brother’s mind.
While they were raising a fuss, Yang Kai and Yue He withdrew, leaving the three Fellow Brothers to talk it out.
Over the next few days, Meng Hong’s condition improved gradually. The Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water had stripped him of the four Third-Order Elements, allowing him to return to the state when he had just condensed his Dao Seal, which was equivalent to gaining a chance to start over. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that not everyone could have.
This time, Meng Hong would naturally not act arbitrarily.
A few days later, Yang Kai went to visit Meng Hong again to ask about his future plans.
Meng Hong replied, “Since I have wiped clean my Third-Order foundation, naturally I want to achieve a higher order. Fourth-Order is too low, while Sixth-Order is beyond my capability. If I could become a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it would be worth the risk I took.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded after hearing this. Meng Hong’s ambition wasn’t big compared to his own, but for a disciple of Great Moon Province, the Fifth Order was absolutely a luxury. After all, any Fifth-Order material would cost 1.5 million Open Heaven Pills, so seven materials would cost at least 10 million Open Heaven Pills. Great Moon Province might be able to collect this sum if they were willing to sacrifice greatly for hundreds of years, but it was meaningless to do so if they couldn’t find sellers for such materials.
It should be known that even with the backing of the Proprietress, Bai Qi could only achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
If Meng Hong could achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, then he would have the chance to reach the Seventh-Order in his lifetime, ascending beyond the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm. He would have a chance to appreciate the scenery from the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.
Furthermore, Meng Hong had also said that Sixth-Order materials weren’t something that he could withstand.
Someone had told Yang Kai before that condensing Higher-Order Elements wasn’t necessarily the best for a cultivator. Everyone had their own tolerance limit, and if one exceeded that limit, they might lose their life in vain before reaching the Open Heaven Realm.
Meng Hong had judged that he could at most bear Fifth-Order Elements, which was also the limit most cultivators could bear. If he went for higher Order materials, whether it was his body or Dao Seal, both would be unable to bear it.
“If it’s Fifth Order, I can give Brother Meng something!” Yang Kai stated with a flip of his hand. The next moment, a hot aura appeared in his palm, as if he was holding a small sun.
Meng Hong’s expression froze as he exclaimed, “Sun’s True Fire! Is this… something you got from the Sun Star?”
He had also seen Sun’s True Fires before; after all, he was among the Great Moon Province disciples present when the Sun Star was extinguished. He had followed Wei Que to search for the Sun’s True Fire, so Meng Hong recognized it at a glance.
Yang Kai replied with a nod, “Yes, it’s from that Sun Star.”
Yang Kai had not only seized the Golden Crow carcass right under the nose of many Open Heaven Realm Masters, but also pocketed a lot of Sun’s True Fires at the Fourth and Fifth Order. However, he didn’t have that many Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fires, just three. They had been lying useless all this time in his Space Ring, but since Meng Hong needed it now, Yang Kai would not be stingy.
Meng Hong kept staring at the Sun’s True Fire in a daze. He wanted to refuse, but at the same time, was really reluctant too.
Great Moon Province had also obtained a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, but instead of letting their disciples use it, they decided to exchange it for a batch of Fourth-Order materials. Owing to this careful planning, Great Moon Province would be able to raise a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master someday in the future. When that happened, Great Moon Province would be able to have a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master assume command of the Sect, allowing them to barely become a Second Class great force.
After observing Meng Hong’s words and expression, Yang Kai smiled and stated, “Brother Meng, please accept it for now and think of it as a loan. You can pay me back in the future if the opportunity presents itself.”
After Yang Kai had said so, Meng Hong couldn’t refuse anymore, so he immediately nodded, “Thanks are not enough for this kindness, this Meng will definitely not disappoint Brother Yang’s intentions.”
Urging his Qi, he wrapped the Sun’s True Fire and accepted it. In an instant, a wave of heat blew against his face, making Meng Hong involuntarily groan as his expression changed slightly.
He was used to dealing with Third-Order materials, which he could still handle with ease. Now, when he came in contact with a Fifth-Order material, he knew that not everyone could absorb these high-quality materials. If one’s foundation was lacking even a little, he or she would quite possibly get burned to death by this scorching heat once they began absorbing the Fire Element Power.
Meng Hong was secretly glad that he didn’t have overly lofty goals and only aimed for the Fifth Order. He made a wise decision.
Leaving Meng Hong to refine the Sun’s True Fire and condense his Fire Element, Yang Kai summoned the two Great Moon Province disciples to stand guard for him before finally leaving.
Passing through the corridor, Yang Kai saw a familiar figure sweeping the fallen leaves in the courtyard, which startled him slightly.
The other party seemed to have noticed him too. Chen Yue looked up and when their eyes met, she promptly lowered her head and greeted, “Sixth Manager!”
Yang Kai lightly nodded, having no intention of talking to her. Yue He had let her stay for Meng Hong to deal with. Unfortunately, Meng Hong had been in retreat all this time and now that he had a Sun’s True Fire to refine, perhaps he could care less about personal affairs for a short time.
Just as Yang Kai was about to leave, Yue He hurried over, “Guo Zi Yan was here. His men have found a Yuan Magnetic Mountain.”
“Yuan Magnetic Mountain?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Yue He explained, “A Yuan Magnetic Mountain nurtures Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones, which are Metal Element materials.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “What’s the location?”
He had just finished gathering his Earth Element, so the next on the list was Metal. At this time, Guo Zi Yan had timely sent a message, making Yang Kai feel as if pies were falling from the sky.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but wonder whether there was a Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain that was Seventh-Order or above.
Yue He handed him a jade slip which he promptly scanned with his Divine Sense. The next moment, he found a map with a spot marked a few tens of thousands of kilometres away from the Star City.
Yue He added, “Not just our people have discovered the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, but many other people have also found it. According to Guo Zi Han, some Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones have already been extracted.”
“What Order?” Yang Kai asked.
“Third-Order, Fourth-Order, Fifth-Order, all of them.” Yue He seemed to know what he wanted to ask. After she was finished speaking, her red lips moved again as she added, “Fifth-Order materials are very rare even in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. You better not expect too much.”
Yang Kai remained non-committal, “I’ll go take a look. Meng Hong is focusing on condensing his Fire Element, so you stay here and oversee things.”
“I don’t care about his life or death.” Yue He disdainfully spat. She then turned to Chen Yue and ordered, “I’ll leave it to you!”
Chen Yue blinked in stupefaction as she pointed at herself and asked, “Me?”
When she looked up though, she saw that Yang Kai and Yue He were nowhere to be found.
After leaving the mansion, Yang Kai soared into the sky, found his bearings after a moment, and then flew off with Yue He closely following behind.
In the corner of the Star City, two figures were quietly standing, staring in the direction Yang Kai and Yue He left. One of them was a middle-aged man, who was wearing a golden crown and a python robe. He was incredibly fat. This fat man was none other than Chen Tian Fei of Scarlet Star.
As a Scarlet Star Manager, Chen Tian Fei also had thousands of people under him; however, at this moment, he was standing behind a middle-aged man.
“That’s the new Manager?” The middle-aged man suddenly asked.
“Yes, it’s him. His name is Yang Kai,” Chen Tian Fei respectfully replied. His cultivation had recovered over these days, allowing him to regain his original fat layers. At this moment, his face was red and radiant.
Observing the other party’s expression and bearing, Chen Tian Fei cautiously asked, “How should we deal with him, Head Manager?”
The middle-aged man was Scarlet Star’s hidden Dragon who showed his tail but never his face, the Head Manager. Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong had tragically died at Yang Kai’s hands, yet this Head Manager had never made an appearance. However, he had come out for some reason today.
“What do you think I should do?” The Head Manager indifferently asked.
Chen Tian Fei pondered and replied, “Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong lost their lives at his hands before he forced us to recognize him as a new Manager. However, word of it has already spread. If we don’t give an explanation to the people below, I’m afraid it will be difficult to convince the public.”
“You want to kill him?” The Head Manager asked.
Chen Tian Fei replied, “It will be up to Head Manager’s discretion!”
The Head Manager continued, “If what you said is true, that this little brat killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong in such a short time, then he is a rare genius. It’s not possible to kill him with Scarlet Star’s current power.”
Chen Tian Fei was shocked, “Head Manger, you are also not sure about it?” He was very surprised by this. He thought that the Head Manager would not spare Yang Kai once he left his retreat. If not, how could the rest of the Managers so easily compromise? But judging by what the Head Manager has said, it was actually impossible to kill Yang Kai now.
[Are we really going to let him occupy the magpie’s nest and take the position of Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong?]
The Head Manager indifferently added, “He was able to kill Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong while stopping all of you. He is already invincible in the Emperor Realm. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, this King has no confidence in defeating him!”
Chen Tian Fei’s eyes couldn’t help but widen. Although Scarlet Star was a loose organization, the Head Manager had near absolute control as his strength was immense and his vision was acute. Much to Chen Tian Fei’s surprise though, this man even stated that Yang Kai was invincible in the Emperor Realm!
Since Yang Kai could get such an evaluation from the Head Manager, it was evident that he was truly outstanding.
Chen Tian Fei considered and asked, “Head Manager, you mean…”
“Let’s wait and see!” The Head Manager turned around and headed towards his place of retreat, his voice drifting back, “It won’t be too late to deal with him after we have left the Grand Ancient Ruins. He is just an Emperor Realm Junior after all.”
Chen Tian Fei cupped his fists, “Head Manager is wise!”
The Yuan Magnetic Mountain was tens of thousands of kilometres away from Scarlet Star’s base, which was far beyond the range of Scarlet Star’s influence. Yang Kai and Yue He flew all the way, taking more than an hour to reach their destination.
In front of them was a rolling mountain range. It wasn’t too long, nor was it too high, and its peaks were sparsely distributed. Yang Kai scanned it with his Divine Sense and found many auras of cultivators in the mountain range.
Before he could get close though, Yang Kai felt an extremely strange energy lingering in the surroundings. The energy gave off a Metal Attribute aura; however, it wasn’t exactly like a Metal Element. It felt extremely strange. It was changing every moment. Sometimes it was pulling and sometimes pushing, and sometimes it even felt like it was swirling.
Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “Yuan Magnetism Force?”
Yue He replied with a nod, “Yuan Magnetism Force is unpredictable. If you can use the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone to refine your Metal Element, you might be able to comprehend a Yuan Magnetism Divine Ability.”
After hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. He became more and more sure that he had not fully mastered the Immortal Tree and Golden Crow’s True Fire Power, so he was looking forward to this Yuan Magnetic Mountain.
A figure soon rushed over. It was none other than Guo Zi Yan.
Apparently, he got the news and came to greet Yang Kai and Yue He.
When he got closer, he cupped his fists and greeted, “Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager!”
Yang Kai lightly nodded, “How’s the situation here?”
Guo Zi Yan reported, “We have gained a little, but it’s not worth much. A few Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones at or below Third-Order.”
“Let me see.” Yang Kai stretched his hand towards him.
Guo Zi Yan handed him a plate-size stone without any objection. Yang Kai checked it out and found that it was pitch-black. At first glance, it didn’t seem special, but after a thorough inspection, he could feel the abundant Power of Metal inside.
The Yuan Magnetism Force in this stone was a lot more obvious than he had felt in the ambient air.
Yang Kai slightly nodded before handing the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone back. He then looked down and saw many figures rushing about here and there.
Guo Zi Yan quickly reported, “Sir and Madam, news about the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones has already spread, so many people are rushing over. This humble servant has also summoned all our nearby people, but we only have thirty or so in total. With just this many people, the scope of our search is limited. Do I need to send messages to the other Managers and ask them to bring some more people for support?”
Yang Kai glanced at him and indifferently declared, “No need, since the news has already spread, they will come if they want to. It will be useless if they don’t want to come.”
Guo Zi Yan thought to himself, [Many people have already got the news about the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, but the other Managers might not have received word so far. We have not seen the other Managers until now, so who knows if they don’t want to come or they are on their way.]
After flying with Guo Zi Yan for a while, they landed on the top of a certain mountain. Everyone here was busy. Thirty or so men under Yang Kai’s command were gathered here and the mountain was laden with many pits, some of which were quite deep. From the shallower pits, faint clinking noises could be heard. Obviously, everyone was trying hard to dig up Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones.
Yang Kai turned to look at Guo Zi Yan and asked, “How did you distribute the profits in the past?”
Guo Zi Yan replied, “Everything everyone obtained would be collected and evaluated before rewards were distributed according to respective contributions. But generally speaking, Managers take about half for themselves!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Such a distribution might have been used in the past, but Yang Kai was not going to follow suit.
“Relay my order, any Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone below Fifth-Order our people find belongs to the one who unearthed it, they don’t need to turn it over. This King only needs Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones of the Fifth Order and above. If anyone dares to pocket them, they will be shown no mercy!”
Guo Zi Yan’s expression turned serious upon hearing this, “Sixth Manager, are you serious?”
Yang Kai may have only wanted Fifth-Order or above Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones, which sounded a bit ravenous at first, but it should be known that their group had been searching this place for some time now and had yet to find a single Fifth-Order Divine Stone. On the other hand, they had found quite a few Third-Order Divine Stones already.
In other words, Yang Kai was taking the risk of returning empty-handed. On the contrary, the thirty or so subordinates could keep everything below the Fifth Order.
From another point of view, this was very beneficial to the thirty of them; after all, if Yang Kai followed the previous practice just like Du Niang Zi, even if they found a Fifth-Order Divine Stone, they would not have any share in it.
Yang Kai stated, “If I ask you to relay my order then relay it. Why do you have so many useless questions?”
Guo Zi Yan immediately cupped his fists and responded, “Yes, Sir!”
The order was quickly disseminated to everyone, causing the thirty or so men to be extremely elated. They immediately started searching even harder. Even Guo Zi Yan rushed into a nearby pit and disappeared.
Yue He looked at Yang Kai and asked, “What are you going to do with the Fifth-Order Divine Stones?”
She knew that Yang Kai had condensed Seventh-Order Elements, so she was a little puzzled at the moment.
“I have my uses for them,” Yang Kai casually responded.
The Fifth-Order materials might not be of any use to him, but he had many friends and relatives in the Star Boundary who would eventually enter the Outer Universe. They would definitely need them at that time. Yang Kai’s own starting point was very high, so naturally, lower Order materials were not of interest to him. The Fifth Order was barely the threshold that could interest him.
It didn’t hurt him to plan for the future early on. What’s more, the Fifth-Order materials were quite valuable even if he didn’t personally use them.
Yang Kai next looked around and found a spot with no one around before waving his hand and releasing the Earth Dragon.
His Divine Sense surged as he communicated with the Earth Dragon for a time. The Earth Dragon turned around and plunged into the ground soon after, quickly drilling an enormous pit.
The Earth Dragon was an exotic beast that lived underground, so it was simple for it to open a pit. Loud rumbling noises came from inside the pit that quickly faded away. The solid rock couldn’t resist the corrosion of the Earth Dragon’s mucus.
The Earth Dragon alone was equivalent to hundreds of people in this environment.
Yang Kai didn’t remain idle either. He exhorted Yue He to guard the spot while he followed the Earth Dragon underground. The moment Yang Kai jumped into the pit, he started scanning with his Divine Sense.
It didn’t take him too long to find a Third-Order Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone and put it into his Space Ring.
With the Earth Dragon leading the way, Yang Kai easily penetrated a thousand meters into the mountains. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had remained untouched for thousands of years, breeding many rare and precious treasures. There were a lot of Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones in the Yuan Magnetic Mountains, and the deeper he went, the denser the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones became.
In just half an hour, Yang Kai had already found six Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones. Unfortunately, their Order wasn’t very high. The highest Order materials he had found were of Third-Order, the others were either First or Second-Order.
Yang Kai wasn’t picky, however, and put them all into his Space Ring. Although these Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones weren’t useful for him, they could be sold for some Open Heaven Pills.
Now, all the Open Heaven Pills in his possession had been used to buy the herbs in the Star City; even Yue He had to fork out some of her pills too, which made Yang Kai a little embarrassed.
As the Earth Dragon continued to explore, Yue He’s voice suddenly rang in Yang Kai’s ear, “Come out, something has happened!”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow when he heard this. He stopped chasing after the Earth Dragon and disappeared from the spot in a flash of Space Principles.
When he reappeared, he had already arrived at the peak.
He gazed down as a slight frown appeared on his brow. He saw Yue He and Guo Zi Yan standing in the lead, while their men stood behind them. But at this moment, they were surrounded by another group.
The size of that group was quite big, about three or four hundred in total, giving them a ten-to-one advantage. The people leading the other group also looked quite strong. In just one glance, it was quite evident that they would not be easy to deal with.
The two groups were confronting each other, weapons drawn, the atmosphere heavy.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but frown. There seemed to be some kind of conflict here, but as he had been following the Earth Dragon to search for Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones down below, he had no idea what exactly transpired.
His figure flickered as he arrived beside Yue He the next moment and asked, indifferently looking at the other group, “What happened?”
Yue He bitterly smiled as flipped her hand. The next moment, a fist-size Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone appeared in her hand. Although this Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone appeared pitch-black, it also gave off an everchanging gleam from its surface. A strange force was lingering around the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone, which was no different from the Yuan Magnetism Force Yang Kai had felt before.
Yang Kai raised his brow, “What Order?”
In just one glance, he could tell that this Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone was a little different than the others he found so far. It was completely different from the Third-Order Divine Stones he had found before. Although this Divine Stone was much smaller, it was of extremely high Order.
“Fifth-Order!” Yue He replied, “One of the men found it and shouted in excitement, drawing them here.” While speaking, she turned her head and glanced at a lean man beside her.
Obviously, this Fifth-Order Divine Stone was found by this man. At this moment, the man was looking quite guilty, secretly blaming himself for being too careless. He got too excited and couldn’t stop himself from shouting; after all, he had never seen a Fifth-Order material before.
[So it’s a case of having evil intentions at the sight of someone else’s wealth!]
Yang Kai quickly understood what was happening. He reached out and took the Fifth-Order Divine Stone and stuffed it straight into his Space Ring. He then patted the lean guy on the shoulder and praised, “Good job, I will note your merit down!”
The man looked at Yang Kai in a daze after hearing this. His face was filled with excitement. He was thinking that the Manager would blame him for being careless, but instead of getting blamed, he was praised.
The new Sixth Manager seemed a little different…
At this moment, a person on the other side stepped forward and shouted in fury, “It’s you, you little bastard!”
While speaking, he was grinding his teeth, as if there was some kind of unforgivable enmity between the two.
Yang Kai looked up and found this man to be a little familiar. Apparently, he had seen him somewhere before. He took a closer look and couldn’t help but grin as he stated, “What a small world, we meet again.”
Surprisingly, the other guy was none other than Bie Jian whom he had run into back in the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range a few months ago.
Since Bie Jian was here, Yang Kai didn’t need to think about which great force these people belonged to, it was no doubt Thunder Light.
In the Crouching Dragon Mountain Range a few months back, Bei Jian, leading a group of Thunder Light disciples, had collected a lot of Dragon treasures, but in the end, he was intimidated by Yang Kai with the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flood Dragon, and forced to hand over everything he had gathered and retreat empty-handed.
At that time, Bie Jian didn’t have many people with him and he had no choice but to bear the disgrace before the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon. Every time he thought about that day, his heart would burn with fury and hatred. He secretly vowed to take revenge the next time he met Yang Kai.
Unfortunately, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was vast, and he had no idea where Yang Kai was, so he couldn’t talk about revenge. He had never thought that he would run into him in the Yuan Magnetic Mountains today. When he came face to face with his enemy, his eyes turned red in anger.
After recognizing Yang Kai, Bie Jian sneered, “Little brat, you will get what you deserve today! I told you a long time ago that you should always leave a way out for yourself, and not be ruthless, but you just had to insist. I’ll see how you will escape with your life today!”
On the Crouching Dragon Mountain that day, Bie Jian believed that the other party was stronger than him, and had proposed to divide the Dragon treasures harvested in half, but Yang Kai refused. In the end, Bie Jian had no choice but to hand over everything and back away helplessly.
When he met Yang Kai on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain today, he naturally wanted to vent all his hatred and make him pay for the disgrace he had suffered that day.
Yang Kai chuckled, “We will see if you have what it takes or not.”
“Do you know him?” An elderly man beside Bie Jian asked doubtfully. He could tell that there was some kind of grudge between Yang Kai and Bie Jian.
Bein Jian replied with a scoff, “Brother Zhu, do you remember me telling you about the Crouching Dragon Mountains?”
The old man surnamed Zhu raised his brow after hearing this, “Is he the one you were talking about?”
“Yes, it’s him!” Bie Jian continued, grinding his teeth, “At that time, he had used two powerful exotic beasts to deter us, so this King had no choice but to lower his head. I have been searching for him for several months, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find him. I didn’t expect to run into him here.”
The old man surnamed Zhu nodded, “In that case, you don’t need to care about being civil.” He looked up at Yang Kai and demanded, “Brat, I heard that you obtained many Dragon Blood Flowers from the Crouching Dragon Mountains, honestly hand over those Dragon Blood Flowers along with the Fifth-Order Divine Stone you just found, and we might let you keep your life. Otherwise, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death!”
Dragon Blood Flowers could enhance one’s physique, so there was no Open Heaven Realm Master who wouldn’t desire them. When one’s cultivation had reached the Open Heaven Realm, cultivators focused first on slowly improving their Order while also improving their physiques. Dragon Blood Flowers were an excellent treasure for Body Tempering. If they could grab those Dragon Blood Flowers, the old man surnamed Zhu was confident that he could improve his physique by several levels. Even if he couldn’t improve his Order, his strength would be greatly enhanced.
As for the Fifth-Order Divine Stone just now, he couldn’t miss it either. The Fifth-Order Divine Stone was worth at least 1.5 million Open Heaven Pills.
“Sir Zhu, Sir Yang is my Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, do you want to start a war with my Scarlet Star by being so aggressive?” Guo Zi Yan stepped and sonorously shouted.
As soon as he made this remark, both Bie Jian and the old man surnamed Zhu were taken aback.
The old man surnamed Zhu glanced at Guo Zi Yan before asking, “Are you a member of Scarlet Star?” Whether it was Thunder Light or Scarlet Star, they had been ruling the Star City for tens of thousands of years and crossed swords multiple times during this period. As a Great Commander of Scarlet Star, Guo Zi Yan wasn’t an unknown figure, so the old man surnamed Zhu had naturally seen him a few times, though he hadn’t paid much attention to him.
It was only when he said those words that the old man finally glanced at him.
Guo Zi Yang quickly replied, “Yes!”
Bie Jian was taken aback even more so, “Wasn’t Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager Du Niang Zi? When did this brat become your Sixth Manager?”
Guo Zi Yan replied, “Du Niang Zi has already fallen, this is my Scarlet Star’s new Sixth Manager!”
Bie Jian and the old man surnamed Zhu looked at each other after hearing this. They couldn’t believe that Du Niang Zi was actually dead. She was a Master of poison, so even the two of them didn’t dare to provoke her easily. They couldn’t understand how she died? Who had killed her?
However, since Guo Zi Yan, a Scarlet Star Great Commander, had said so, it must not be wrong.
Bie Jian scoffed, “Scarlet Star has really regressed. You actually made an Emperor Realm brat your Sixth Manager? Was there no one available in Scarlet Star?”
The old man surnamed Zhu also snorted and added, “So what if you belong to Scarlet Star? It’s not like my Thunder Light hasn’t fought with your Scarlet Star before, so who needs to fear whom?”
Guo Zi Yan’s face turned cold as ice, “Are you two not going to give us face?”
The old man surnamed Zhu and roared angrily, “What face do you even have? Enough with the nonsense, if you don’t want to die, hand over your things right away!”
Bie Jia raised his hand and calmly addressed, “Guo Zi Yan, let me guide you to the right path, are you willing to listen to me?”
Guo Zi Yan agreed with a frown, “Sir Bie Jian, if you have anything to say, just get on with it.”
Bie Jian smiled at Yang Kai and continued, pointing at Yang Kai, “He is going to die today, and no one can save him! If any of you don’t want to die, just obediently surrender and join my Thunder Light, perhaps you might live!”
There were just over thirty people around Yang Kai, but Thunder Light had dispatched more than 300 people this time. There was a ten-fold difference in number. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was akin to a completely one-sided situation. No matter how strong Yang Kai might be, he wouldn’t get out of this safely!
However, Bie Jian wanted to enjoy Yang Kai’s desperation before he killed him. Bie Jian wasn’t worried about the choices of Scarlet Star’s members. If they surrendered, they would naturally be shown mercy, but if they remained bullheaded, they would be killed together with Yang Kai!
When it came to life or death, people would always make a wise choice.
“I will only count to three, those who don’t step forward in three breaths will be killed without mercy!” Bei Jian raised his finger and counted in a long drawn-out manner, looking triumphantly at Yang Kai, “One!”
Just as he shouted, the thirty or so people behind Yang Kai immediately broke into a clamour. All of them were terrified and their faces had turned ugly.
“Two…” Bie Jian shouted again, raising another finger.
The 300 or so Thunder Light members secretly circulated their strength, as if they were preparing to kill the enemy at any moment. The silent pressure made most of Scarlet Star’s members’ faces turn pale.
In just a breath, someone couldn’t bear the threat of death and jumped out from behind Yang Kai and shouted, “I surrender, I surrender, don’t kill me!”
One turned into two, and in an instant, eight people had rushed out to surrender.
Guo Zi Yan’s teeth cracked as he angrily cursed, exasperated by their disappointing performance, “You fools! We have been fighting Thunder Light for so many years that the blood feud between us cannot be resolved! You won’t have good days ahead of you after your surrender. It’s better to follow the Managers and fight our way out. Even if you die here, don’t disgrace my Scarlet Star’s name!”
As soon as he stated this, the people who were still a bit eager to surrender immediately quashed this idea. Guo Zi Yan was right, Scarlet Star and Thunder Light had been fighting for many years, so the enmity between the two had reached an unforgivable level. In the future, even if they managed to preserve their lives by surrendering, their days would be worse than death in the future. It might be better to die now than live on in misery.
But not everyone thought so. After the initial eight people, nearly ten people had rushed to Thunder Light’s side after them.
Yang Kai already had a small number of people under him, but now, nearly twenty people had surrendered to the enemy, leaving only about a dozen people behind him. This formed a sharp contrast against the hundreds of Thunder Light members.
Guo Zi Yan’s eyes turned red in rage as he glared at the defectors. He wanted to charge at them and tear them to pieces, but now he couldn’t even save himself, so how would he have the energy to kill those traitors?
Bie Jian broke into laughter, looking extremely proud, “Those from Scarlet Star are just a bunch of trash! They become like a fist of loose sand after just a little threat from this King. How could they achieve big things with such weak spines!”
The Thunder Light members burst into laughter.
Bie Jian’s face suddenly turned cold as he stated with a snort, “This King despises traitors more than anything. They take no responsibility for their cowardice at all and can betray their comrades at any moment. What’s the use of keeping such people alive? Kill them all!”
Just as he ordered this, the expression of the twenty or so cultivators who had defected to Thunder Light greatly distorted; however, before they could beg for mercy, all kinds of artifacts or Secret Technique rained down on them.
They didn’t even have the chance to scream as they all died then and there!
A bloody smell filled the air as twenty or so mutilated and incomplete corpses lay on the mountains as energy waves slowly spread into the surroundings.
The dozen or so people standing behind Yang Kai shuddered in fear. They were secretly glad that they hadn’t defected; otherwise, their corpses too would be lying on the ground. At the moment, their life and death was still in their hands, albeit their chances were slim in front of an enemy dozens of times stronger than them.
Guo Zi Yan stared and stated, “You went back on your word!”
Bie Jian chuckled, “So what?”
Guo Zi Yan ground his teeth in hatred. Although he hated the defectors and wanted to kill them to vent his anger, he still couldn’t help but feel sad and angry at the sight of them being killed by Thunder Light like this.
He secretly regretted it. [If I had known this would happen, I would have sent a message to the other Managers, asking them to bring more people over. Now, we are surrounded by hundreds of people. I’m afraid we are doomed today!]
As this thought crossed his mind, Guo Zi Yan approached Yang Kai and whispered, “Sir and Madam, when the fight begins, you should immediately leave. This humble subordinate will bring up the rear. I just hope that if you get a chance in the future, you will avenge us!”
Yang Kai glanced at him before patting his shoulder and stated, “I never like leaving revenge to the future.”
Guo Zi Yan was stunned, “Sixth Manager…”
Yang Kai smiled at him, “You are pretty good.”
No matter what, Guo Zi Yan didn’t betray him; also, based on what he had said just now, he was willing to cover Yang Kai’s retreat while risking his own life. Thus, Yang Kai would definitely repay his loyalty! Before, he only thought that Guo Zi Yan was taciturn, but now, Yang Kai realized that his character wasn’t bad. Apparently, Scarlet Star had assigned him a pretty good Great Commander.
Yue He pursed his lips and chuckled, “You haven’t seen our Sixth Manager’s skills, today you will have your eyes opened!”
Guo Zi Yan was completely confused as he stared at these two new Managers in a daze. They were surrounded by hundreds of people and their lives were hanging by a thread, but they were still able to talk and laugh like this, filled with confidence.
Although he had no idea where Yue He was getting this confidence, Guo Zi Yan’s pride was also aroused so he quickly declared, “Sir and Madam, just relay your order and this subordinate will tread through oceans of fire and rivers of blood!”
*Pa pa pa…*
Bie Jian chuckled and started clapping, “What a great display of loyalty! How touching!” His face suddenly sank as his voice turned colder, “But what does it matter? You all will be dying here today!”
“Who will live and who will die remains to be seen. You should not jump to conclusions so soon!” Yang Kai grinned and grabbed the Six Fated Paths Bag from his waist and shook it. The next moment, a behemoth suddenly appeared with a thump.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon’s roar reverberated across the sky, its 300 metres tall body surrounded by a scorching hot aura!
It overlooked the world with its house-sized head.
Each and every Thunder Light member turned pale in fright, sensing the fearsome power of this ferocious creature, especially those who had followed Bie Jian to the fight the Scarlet Flood Dragon back in the Crouching Dragon Mountains in the past. Their faces were particularly pale.
Last time, when they fought with the Scarlet Flood Dragon under the leadership of Bie Jian, they had the numerical advantage, and yet they were still thrown into disarray. If Bie Jian didn’t decisively retreat, perhaps many would have lost their lives that day.
Past experiences always guided one’s future decisions, so how could they not be afraid after seeing the Scarlet Flood Dragon at this moment?
“It’s this damn thing again!” Bie Jian’s face turned black. He never expected the Scarlet Flood Dragon to actually be by Yang Kai’s side. When he didn’t see the Scarlet Flood Dragon or the Earth Dragon here, he naturally thought that the two exotic beasts had already left Yang Kai. Now, he discovered that Yang Kai could summon them at will!
The old man surnamed Zhu, on the other hand, had his eyes lit up. He stared at the Six Fated Paths Bag in Yang Kai’s hand and greedily stated, “That’s a pretty good treasure you have there, boy!”
He could tell that the bag was a storage artifact that could hold living creatures at a glance; otherwise, how could the Scarlet Flood Dragon appear here?
Yang Kai stared deeply at him before a smile appeared on his face and he waved his hand, “Kill them!”
A Dragon Roar reverberated across the sky as the Scarlet Flood Dragon rushed out. It opened its mouth wide, breathing raging flames, attacking the Thunder Light members. The scorching flames that could burn down the world swept through the sky and the earth in a flash.
Thunder Light had too many people, so the Scarlet Flood Dragon didn’t even need to aim, all it needed to do was breathe its scorching flames.
Every time the Scarlet Flood Dragon made a move, the Thunder Light members would be thrown into panic.
Bie Jian shouted fiercely, “Spread out, be careful with this bastard!”
Even if he timely warned them, some people were still too late to avoid the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s attack. It was mainly because the Scarlet Flood Dragon had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, so none of them were prepared for it.
The scorching flames instantly covered seven or eight people, and before they could even scream, they were reduced to ashes.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon didn’t stop of course, and as it was breathing fire, its enormous body turned around before charging through the scattered Thunder Light camp, dividing the hundreds of people into scattered groups.
Its strong and powerful tail swept around with a fearsome momentum, swatting through the Thunder Light members. The tail attack was so strong that anyone who tried to block it ended up dying while those who were brushed by it were left injured.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon attack sent the Thunder Light fleeing.
However, after just three breaths, the Scarlet Flood Dragon was showered with attacks from all directions. The disadvantage of its large size was that it was a huge target that couldn’t be missed.
Attacks that could destroy the Heavens and the Earth landed on the Scarlet Flood Dragon, scattering away its fiery aura. Its sturdy scales fell off as it became bloody and injured in a flash.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon roared in pain; however, the pain did not make it shrink back and instead aroused its ferocious nature even more. It opened its jaws and spat flames again as it charged forward.
Miserable screams resounded again as a dozen or so Thunder Light disciples in the forefront were reduced into balls of fire all at once, rolling on the ground in pain.
In the midst of this chaos, Yang Kai also made his move.
He manipulated Space Principles such that the space within a radius of a thousand metres became as viscous as a swamp, making it difficult for his enemies to move freely or circulate the energy in their bodies.
At the same time, he waved his hand to shoot out pitch-black Moon Blades one after another, sending them flying in all directions.
Everyone standing before these blades was cut in half.
A nauseating bloody smell filled the air as severed limbs and blood flew everywhere. The small hill had turned into a purgatory in a flash!
Guo Zi Yan was dumbstruck, and so were the dozen or so Scarlet Star members left. Only Yue He wasn’t surprised and she watched Yang Kai’s movements intently; however, an unusual gleam could be found in her pretty eyes.
As far as those from Scarlet Star were concerned, everything they were seeing was impossible.
Although they had already heard from different sources that the new Sixth Manager had killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong to take their positions, at the end of the day, they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.
Not to mention, the other Scarlet Star Managers completely suppressed all news about Yang Kai’s feat as this kind of scandal was not to be spread out.
Therefore, except for a few people, no one knew about Yang Kai’s fearsome strength.
At this time, when Guo Zi Yan saw Thunder Light’s cultivators being mowed down like wheat in a field, none of them being able to stop that strange dark crescent moon-shaped attack, he realized just how terrifying this new Sixth Manager of theirs was. Even if someone tried to form a defensive shield around them, it would still be broken through just as easily, and they would still die like everyone else.
The crescent moon-like attack was emanating terrifying Principle fluctuations and appeared quite unfathomable. It was definitely beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
In just ten breaths, more than thirty people had lost their lives at Yang Kai’s hands, all of them dying extremely tragically. His battle record was even crueller than the Scarlet Flood Dragon.
[Our new Sixth Manager is so powerful!]
Guo Zi Yan stared blankly as his heart started racing, making his mouth feel parched. Soon, he summoned a long stick-like artifact and started charging forward.
Yue He, however, pulled him back and asked, staring at him, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to help!” Guo Zi Yan replied without thinking.
Yue He scoffed, “How can you help? If you really go over, he would have to take care of you. Stop making trouble and stay behind me!” Saying so, she grabbed Guo Zi Yan’s collar and threw him back.
Guo Zi Yan was speechless…
But after thinking about it, he also knew that the Seventh Manager was right. Although he was strong, they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary after all, so he couldn’t exert any World Force from his Small Universe. He really couldn’t provide any help in this situation. If he really rushed over, he would only be adding to the chaos.
He was unwilling, but Guo Zi Yan had no choice but to be patient.
Yue He chuckled, “If he really needs help, I would go help him. It’s still not your turn, so just sit back and watch!”
She didn’t know Yang Kai’s actual limit, but she knew that he was a Master of the Dao of Space. If he really couldn’t win a fight, he could easily run away, so she wasn’t worried about his safety at all.
While the two were talking, nearly thirty more people lost their lives. They were either killed by the Scarlet Flood Dragon or beheaded by Moon Blades. Not a single one was left wounded, all lost their lives on the spot!
It had only been a few dozen breaths, but Thunder Light had lost over sixty people already. Even if Thunder Light had a numerical advantage, they couldn’t withstand such a terrifying rate of loss.
The old man surnamed Zhu’s eyes widened in anger while Bie Jian was also on tenterhooks. Neither of them thought that Yang Kai’s strength would be so astonishing. They thought that they would have an absolute advantage with so many people on their side and Yang Kai would easily be killed. They had never thought that their men would instead be killed instead like leaves falling from the trees in autumn.
[Is he really an Emperor Realm cultivator?] If they hadn’t witnessed it with their own eyes, they would have never believed it.
But the facts were right in front of them. A Human and a Scarlet Flood Dragon had actually charged into the hundreds of Thunder Light members alone, and forced the latter to flee in panic!
“What are you all so afraid of!? He is just one person, fight back, you fools!” Bie Jian angrily shouted.
The old man surnamed Zhu also roared.
With their concentrated efforts, Thunder Light’s side finally stabilized. They were caught off guard by the Scarlet Flood Dragon, and when Yang Kai’s quick attack drew rivers of blood, the Thunder Light members were greatly frightened. Now, after hearing Bie Jian and the old man surnamed Zhu’s rallying shouts, they finally began to compose themselves.
There was only one person and one beast on the other side. No matter how strong he was, two palms couldn’t block four fists!
After paying the painful price of a hundred casualties, Thunder Light’s side finally managed to organize itself, forming small teams and working together.
Deafening explosions rang one after another on the small hill, causing the World Energy to be thrown into chaos. Violent shockwaves of different kinds of energies wreaked havoc, shattering space and collapsing the surrounding world.
Countless attacks landed on the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s enormous body, causing it to roar in pain again and again. Its enormous body flipped around as its red scales were blasted off. Its entire body was covered in wounds and bleeding!
Not only was the Scarlet Flood Dragon under siege though, but even Yang Kai couldn’t escape from the enemy barrage.
With attacks pouring down on him from every angle, Yang Kai had no room to escape, not that he was trying to!
His body shook and his Dao Seal released a thick and solid Power of Earth, forming a diamond-shaped transparent shield around him, leaving no openings.
The diamond-shaped shield was radiating a Great Dragon’s majesty and was constantly rotating around Yang Kai. It was completely impenetrable!
Dragon Shield!
When he was absorbing the Earth Dragon Bead’s Earth Element in the Crouching Dragon Mountains, Yang Kai had comprehended this Secret Technique from it!
This technique should be an Innate Dragon Technique of the Earth Dragon stored inside its Dragon Bead.
For other people, even if they had obtained that Dragon Bead, they might not be able to comprehend the Dragon Shield Secret Technique. At most, they could only gather its Earth Element Power. But Yang Kai had Dragon Blood flowing through his veins, so it was a matter of course for him to comprehend the Dragon Shield Secret Technique.
This was the first time Yang Kai had faced enemies using this technique.
He had no idea about its effectiveness, so he secretly gathered his Space Principles and prepared to use Nihility at any moment!
Immediately after the Dragon Shield Secret Technique was cast, deafening rumbles followed as attacks rained down on Yang Kai. All of a sudden, dazzling gleams filled Yang Kai’s vicinity and he was nowhere to be seen.
Bie Jian couldn’t stop laughing at the sight as he scoffed, “Let’s see how you will survive this!”
He was overjoyed. Yang Kai’s previous performance had been completely shocking. He had never seen such a ferocious Emperor Realm Junior before, and if such a character was allowed to grow, no one in the world would be able to rival him. At that time, the first person he would kill would probably be Bie Jian.
But even a genius with outstanding talent needed time to grow. If he fell before developing, he wouldn’t be considered anything.
Hundreds of attacks landed on Yang Kai at once, so Bie Jian didn’t believe the former could survive this. Even an Open Heaven Realm Master might raise the white flag in surrender, not to mention Yang Kai who was just an Emperor Realm cultivator.
“Sixth Manager!” Gao Zi Yan cried in shock.
Yue He’s face was completely calm. Although she stood in her spot looking all calm and composed, her tightly clenched fist clearly betrayed her.
She couldn’t help but be nervous. There were too many Thunder Light cultivators, so the number of attacks that struck Yang Kai was equally great. Each and every Secret Technique and artifact attack was displayed with full strength. No one could take such a barrage head-on.
Yang Kai was completely submerged in attacks.
When the shockwaves and dazzling flashes finally dispersed though, a brave and heroic figure stood before everyone’s eyes. The figure was completely unscathed; there was not even a crease on his clothes.
Bie Jian’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets while the old man surnamed Zhu couldn’t help but cry out loud, “Impossible!”
Yue He let out a long breath, and patted her towering peaks in relief. At that moment, she was so nervous that her heart had almost jumped into her throat.
The Thunder Light members were also dumbstruck. They all thought that Yang Kai would definitely die without even leaving behind a corpse after that wave of attacks. It never occurred to them that not only would he not die, but he not even be wounded.
[How did he do that?]
Yang Kai pursed his lips into a fierce grin.
The Dragon Shield technique really lived up to his expectations. It was tough and durable. Although it failed to block all the attacks directed at him, its effectiveness exceeded his estimations by a large margin. In the end, it was an Innate Secret Technique of a True Earth Dragon. It was condensed from the Power of Earth refined by a Great Dragon Bead, making it truly extraordinary.
It resisted more than half of the attacks of over a hundred people before shattering. The moment the Dragon Shield shattered, Yang Kai immediately used Nihility to merge with the Void, avoiding the remaining attacks.
If not, how could he remain unscathed?
The chaotic energy and the dazzling flashes obscured his movements, making everyone mistakenly think it was all thanks to the Dragon Shield he used. Even Yue He thought so.
The Thunder Light members despaired. If the Dragon Shield Secret Technique was so strong, who could possibly hurt Yang Kai?
Bie Jian’s brow wildly twitched as he ground his teeth so hard that they were almost crushed. When he raised his eyes though, his gaze happened to meet Yang Kai’s playful eyes.
Instinctively, his heart clenched as a dangerous premonition gripped his Soul. Bei Jian hurriedly fled away without a moment of hesitation.
“Where do you think you are going?” Yang Kai shouted as he raised his hand, summoning the Azure Dragon Spear. He then thrust the spear in Bie Jian’s direction as he bravely charged towards him!
A deafening dragon roar reverberated across the sky as the long spear swept away everything in its path. Anyone who blocked its way was killed on the spot. Over a dozen Thunder Light disciples were unable to avoid Yang Kai’s charge in time and were blown away into blood mist.
In an instant, the distance between the two shortened as the Azure Dragon Spear’s tip rapidly grew bigger in Bie Jian’s eyes while the aura of death enveloped him.
Bie Jian’s Soul almost left his body as he felt a chill shoot up his spine. He promptly shouted, “Brother Zhu, save me!”
At the same time, he swung the long sword in his hand, releasing a sword wave that blotted up the sky and shot straight towards Yang Kai.
At the juncture of life and death, Bie Jian managed to squeeze out all the strength he could. When he swung the sword in his hand, he summoned a small banner-like artifact in another hand. That artifact immediately enlarged and formed a dazzling halo around him.
The banner-like artifact was a one-time consumable and was definitely not cheap.
When the old man surnamed Zhu heard Bie Jian’s cry and turned to look, he saw Yang Kai thrusting out his spear, causing Bie Jian to back up again and again. Enraged, he roared, “Junior, you dare?!”
Just as he shouted, he punched towards Yang Kai’s back.
The punch was followed by howling winds and surging storms. The next moment, an enormous fist shadow struck Yang Kai.
Yang Kai staggered, but his spear didn’t falter for even a moment. Under the fearsome momentum, Bie Jian’s sword wave was shattered as the Azure Dragon Spear continued forward without losing speed, stabbing straight into the white halo protecting Bie Jian.
The all-conquering Azure Dragon Spear was surprisingly unable to directly pierce through the white halo, which appeared extremely weak but was evidently extremely resilient. It caved in under the Azure Dragon Spear’s attack, but surprisingly it blocked the fatal thrust.
Bie Jian’s eyes were filled with fear as he broke out into a cold sweat, but at this critical moment, the ferocity hidden in the depths of his heart was stimulated. He advanced instead of retreating, stabbing towards Yang Kai’s eye with his sword. The sword tip was surrounded by a piercing sword aura and obviously carried a lethal power.
Yang Kai coldly snorted and shouted, “Break!”
The Dao Seal in his body shone brightly as a raging Fire Element Power poured into the Azure Dragon Spear, heating it to the point it turned red hot like smouldering lava.
With a deafening crash, the white halo enveloping Bie Jian suddenly tore apart as the Azure Dragon Spear plunged straight into Bie Jian’s shoulder. At the same time, Bie Jian’s sword thrust brushed past Yang Kai’s brow.
Fresh blood splashed on both sides as Yang Kai’s vision instantly blurred.
The next moment, Bie Jian staggered with a look of unwillingness on his face. His aim wouldn’t have been off had Yang Kai’s explosive spear thrust not knocked him off balance. His sword would not have just slashed past Yang Kai’s brow, but instead directly stabbed into his eye.
However, he had missed his one opportunity, and it would never come again.
In the fleeting clash, both sides ended up injuring each other. The scene was extremely tragic.
The old man surnamed Zhu didn’t give Yang Kai any room to breathe and led a team of disciples to attack him from behind. The old man had his axe raised over his head at some point and swiftly chopped down at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai promptly turned around and thrust out his spear, striking the axe blade. A tremendous recoil immediately passed through the axe, causing the old man surnamed Zhu’s eyes to widen. The axe flew out of his grip as the recoil pushed him back.
[Strong!]
The old man surnamed Zhu happened to have the foundation of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he was still pushed back by Yang Kai’s attack. The Thunder Light disciples who followed him weren’t so lucky though.
Yang Kai unleashed a barrage of thrusts, killing an Emperor Realm cultivator with each spear, sweeping through the Thunder Light members and killing over a dozen people on the spot.
*Hong long long…*
Another round of attacks flew towards Yang Kai from every direction, but this time, Yang Kai’s figure distorted as he disappeared from the spot before the attacks could even reach him.
All the attacks hit nothing but air!
Using Instantaneous Movement, Yang Kai appeared right in front of Bie Jian and thrust his spear out.
Bie Jian’s face turned ashen. He was able to block Yang Kai’s spear before because of his powerful artifact, but how could he have another such artifact on him? Still, he quickly condensed all his strength to resist this blow.
To Bie Jian’s surprise, however, the circulation of his strength was quite sluggish. He immediately noticed the abnormality in his body. He had no idea when, but a raging heat had at some point invaded him and was now flowing along the meridians of his body, wantonly burning everything in its path.
In the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint, Bei Jian guessed what had happened. [There must be some strange energy condensed on his spear that injured me.]
But what was the point of knowing that now? The scorching heat was potent enough to make his blood boil and had spread through his entire body, making it impossible for him to mobilize his full strength.
Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear split the air and pierced into Bie Jian’s forehead before coming straight out of the back of his head.
Bie Jian’s eyes instantly widened before his figure froze on the spot. Even now, he still couldn’t believe that he, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, would die at the hands of an Emperor Realm Junior. His heart was filled with unwillingness, but he was unable to turn the tables now. The only thing left to do was regret.
“If you reincarnate, remember to keep your eyes open and clearly see who you can and cannot offend!” Yang Kai stared at him indifferently. The Azure Dragon Spear in his hand shook as Bie Jian’s head exploded the next moment, while his headless corpse fell to the ground.
[Sir Bie Jian was killed!]
[He was killed by an Emperor Realm cultivator!]
All the Thunder Light members who saw this scene were horrified. They were all stupefied and didn’t dare to take any rash action. All of them witnessed Yang Kai madly slaughtering their comrades, so how could they have the guts to take any action?
In a flash, within a thousand metres of Yang Kai, everything went silent.
A thousand metres away, the 300-metre-long Scarlet Flood Dragon was rampaging, angrily roaring as it ceaselessly fought with another group of Thunder Light disciples.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was an Ominous Beast native to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and was fairly strong. It had killed a lot of people during the battle, but at the end of the day, it was still just one beast. Its strength was already declining as its entire body was covered in bloody wounds. Who knew how many of its scarlet scales had fallen off?
The most terrifying wound was left by an attack that almost cut it in half!
It was surrounded by over a hundred people at all times, attacked by Earth-shattering techniques again and again, draining its strength ceaselessly.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was in danger and roared with anger!
Yang Kai looked over and coldly snorted. He instantly teleported above Scarlet Flood Dragon’s head, which was as big as a house, and set the Azure Dragon Spear beside him, standing it erect while his hands formed a set of seals!
As his hand seals changed, a mysterious force swirled around Yang Kai.
Suddenly and slowly, a low voice resonated in everyone’s ears, “Time Flows on Infinitely, Like a Mighty Stream, Like an Unending Dream!”
Yang Kai pushed his palms out, and in a flash, time froze. Everyone’s thoughts stagnated for a short moment, and even Yue He and the others from Scarlet Star, who were watching from a distance, felt their thoughts slow slightly.
By the time they recovered, the palm had already landed.
Yang Kai had launched his attack towards the densest crowd of enemies, catching about twenty people in the Time Flies Seal’s range. Under the erosion of time, those twenty had their hair turn grey and fall out in an instant. Their bodies withered as their vitality drained.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon swept them a Divine Dragon Tail Sweep, smashing these twenty or so people into a bloody mist!
Invincible and unstoppable!
Thunder Light had come in a very threatening manner, but not only did they lose over a hundred members, they even lost a Manager like Bie Jian. They had suffered a huge loss today.
The old man surnamed Zhu ground his teeth. He then turned his head and looked at Yue He and the others, who had been watching the battle from a distance, before raising his arm and ordering, “Follow me!”
[I can’t beat that filthy beast or that boy Yang Kai, but I can take the lives of those Scarlet Star members! As long as I can take these people down, no one will be able to claim that Thunder Light lost one-sidedly. If I can capture them, I can even negotiate with that Yang Kai to at least let my remaining subordinates and I retreat.]
With just one order, several dozen people gathered in an instant, rushing towards Yue He and the others under the old man surnamed Zhu’s lead.
Scarlet Star’s dozen or so members were still immersed in the shock of what they just witnessed today, and were unable to return to their senses for a long time. They all thought that they would die today, but none of them expected their Sixth Manager to be so strong!
The Scarlet Star members were pleasantly surprised and excited after everything they witnessed. Everyone had a bright and happy look on their faces. They were even more glad that they didn’t defect, otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten the chance to witness such a magnificent battle.
As soon as they turned their heads and saw the old man surnamed Zhu rushing over with several dozen more people, they immediately became tense.
Just because the Sixth Manager could kill hundreds of people easily on his own didn’t mean that Thunder Light was easy to deal with. Rather, it was just because he was ridiculously strong.
They had fought with Thunder Light countless times, and both sides had killed their fair share of the other’s members. Naturally, Scarlet Star knew how difficult and powerful Thunder Light was.
Several dozen Masters were coming at them, and more importantly, they were led by the old man surnamed Zhu. How could so few members of Scarlet Star be their opponents?
Each and everyone turned their gazes at Yue He and Guo Zi Yan, waiting for their orders.
Guo Zi Yan clenched his long stick-like artifact as his blood started boiling. Judging by the look on his face, he was very eager to fight. Having seen the strength of the Sixth Manager with his own eyes, he couldn’t wait to follow behind him to kill, throwing away any notion of his own safety.
On the other hand, Yue He’s face turned extremely solemn as she took a step forward and ordered, “Don’t make any rash moves!”
While speaking, she summoned her little flower umbrella artifact and slowly started spinning its handle. The little flower umbrella slowly rotated, and as it did, it rapidly enlarged, instantly covering the dozen or so people behind it. At the same time, silk thread-like projections dropped down from the edge of the umbrella, turning into an invisible barrier.
The old man surnamed Zhu, who was leading the charge, grit his teeth and let out a war cry at the sight of this. The next moment, he swung the axe in his hand. Immediately after, the several dozen people following behind him also triggered their artifacts and cast their Secret Techniques.
Instantly, numerous ripples appeared on the protection barrier around the Scarlet Star members, as if pieces of stone were thrown into a calm lake, creating a series of waves.
Yue He formed hand seals as she poured her strength into the little flower umbrella madly, but even if she had the foundation of the Fifth-Order Open Heaven and the defence of the little flower umbrella was strong, it couldn’t last for long.
In just ten breaths, the little flower umbrella had already started flickering and its glow had dampened. The barrier around everyone was on the verge of breaking.
Perhaps the shield around everyone would be completely broken at any moment, and when that happened, except for Yue He and Guo Zi Yan, who were Open Heaven Realm Masters and might be able to escape, the remaining members of Scarlet Star would die without a complete corpse.
After somehow maintaining the shield for another three breaths, Yue He couldn’t hold in anymore and shouted at Yang Kai, “Young Master, if you don’t help me now, I’ll die!”
“Fine!” Yang Kai took a step from the head of the Scarlet Flood Dragon, and by the time his foot fell, he was already above the old man surnamed Zhu. The next moment, Space Principles flared as he thrust the Azure Dragon Spread down.
A spinning black ball the size of a fist appeared at the tip of the spear. It was radiating an aura that could annihilate everything in its path.
Feeling its destructive power, the old man surnamed Zhu’s face greatly changed. He raised his hands high and hefted his axe over his head to block the oncoming spear.
With a loud bang, the black ball at the tip of the Azure Dragon Spear ballooned all of a sudden, sweeping across a range of several hundred metres before rapidly shrinking back and disappearing the next moment. Everything within a range of several dozen metres, including space itself, had disappeared, leaving only a tiny black hole radiating the aura of nihility and chaos.
The edges of the black hole undulated as the Void was slowly repairing itself under the influence of the local World Principles.
But a dozen or so Thunder Light disciples within the radius of destruction had disappeared without a trace, not even able to let out a scream before they perished.
Thousands of metres away, the old man surnamed Zhu’s brow twitched wildly, staring at the black hole in awe and terror.
Just now, he saw an opportunity to escape and did so without hesitation. Otherwise, he too would have been seriously injured, if not dead. He glanced at the axe in his hand and realized that its spirituality had been severely damaged.
After the first attack, Yang Kai attacked twice more, killing over a dozen more Thunder Light disciples. The rest immediately fled, thereby resolving the crisis Yue He and the others were facing.
Yang Kai looked back and saw that the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s situation had also stabilized. Yang Kai’s short help relieved a lot of the pressure it was facing. At the moment, it was filled with fury as it kept biting and flicking its tail, chasing and killing the Thunder Light disciples around it, completely ignoring its own tragic injuries.
At the end of the day, it was an Ominous Beast, one that went completely feral after losing its sanity.
Yang Kai, holding his spear, looked at the old man surnamed Zhu and pointed its blade at him as he grinned, “Old dog, time for you to die!”
The old man surnamed Zhu was completely regretful. Their group had started off with two Open Heaven Realm Masters and hundreds of Emperor Realm disciples, but they were still slaughtered by Yang Kai and the Scarlet Flood Dragon. Now, half of their group was either dead or mortally wounded. How could the rest still have the courage to continue fighting?
In his heart, he was secretly cursing Bie Jian. [How the Hell did he offend this little monster? He is too terrifying! With him in Scarlet Star, what can Thunder Light do to compete with them?]
He might be thinking all kinds of things, but he didn’t stop for a moment. His figure burst into a mist of blood as he fled into the distance, leaving a streak of bloody light behind.
Having realized that things had taken a turn for the worse, the old man fled straight away. He didn’t even bother about the hundred or so Thunder Light disciples who were still alive.
When the old man surnamed Zhu had already run away, how could the disciples under him have the courage to continue fighting? They abandoned their opponents and scattered away like birds and beasts.
Staring at the streak of bloody light shooting towards the horizon, Yang Kai mocked with a grin, “You want to run? Do you really think you can escape from this King!?”
Yang Kai gripped his spear and began to condense his Space Principles to give chase; however, right then, an unexpected change occurred.
A mournful cry came from the depths below, and the next moment, the ground quaked before a beam of light suddenly shot into the sky from somewhere near the top of the mountain. Everyone within a thousand kilometres could see it clearly.
Immediately after the beam of light emerged, an enormous body some 300 metres in length also appeared. It was none other than the Earth Dragon released by Yang Kai before.
The Earth Dragon had been looking for the Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones under the mountain. Yang Kai hadn’t summoned it even during the fight, it simply came out on its own.
However, who knows what the Earth Dragon had encountered underground, but it was covered in wounds. It kept shaking its head and flicking its tail as the mysterious light kept shooting into the sky, raining blood and screaming constantly!
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank and he couldn’t help but turn his head to look. He didn’t have the time to hunt down the old man surnamed Zhu now.
Suddenly, swishing sounds rang out as the artifacts lying on the ground flew through the air, as if an invisible hand had grabbed them and threw them towards the mysterious beam of light.
These artifacts were all owned by Thunder Light disciples who had lost their lives at the hand of Yang Kai and the Scarlet Flood Dragon. After their death, these artifacts were scattered on the ground, and no one had shown any interest towards them.
Not only these unowned artifacts though, but even the artifacts in the hands of those who were still alive were all drawn over by an invisible force. It appeared as if they wanted to throw themselves into the beam of light.
Yang Kai saw quite clearly that there were quite a few Thunder Light disciples who were fleeing when the artifacts in their hands were suddenly sucked away. What’s more, no matter how hard they tried to summon back their artifacts, it was all in vain.
On Scarlet Star’s side, the long stick in Guo Zi Yan’s hand was also shaking. It scared Guo Zi Yan greatly who immediately put it away, a look of surprise filling his face.
All the artifacts that were sucked into the light dimmed down in a matter of few breaths, greatly losing their spirituality and turning into nothing but scrap.
“Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!” Yue He tenderly cried as her pretty eyes looked at the mysterious beam shooting into the sky. In a momentary lapse of her concentration, the damaged little flower umbrella returned to its original state and flew straight towards the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
Yue He was greatly shocked and cried miserably, “My umbrella!”
She reached out to grab it, but all she caught was air. She then used her Divine Sense to recall it, but the little flower umbrella was also not listening to her commands. After this momentary delay, it was already too late to give chase.
Seeing that her little flower umbrella was about to be taken away by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light just like all the other artifacts, Yue He’s eyes turned red. The little flower umbrella was very meaningful for her. It was gifted to her by a very important person in her life and she had always regarded it as her most precious treasure. She was already distressed over the fact that it got damaged today, but now that she was about to lose it completely, her beautiful face couldn’t help turning pale.
A figure suddenly flashed in her field of vision as a hand grabbed the little flower umbrella, preventing it from being sucked in by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
Yue He was pleasantly surprised and her pretty eyes focused on the figure. She felt heartfelt gratitude towards him that could not be described in mere words.
Mid-air, Yang Kai, grabbing the little flower umbrella, furrowed his brow slightly. Although he had stopped this artifact at the critical moment with his Instantaneous Movement, he could obviously feel an unbelievably strong pull coming from the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, trying to yank the little flower umbrella away from his hand.
[This Yuan Magnetic Divine Light is quite strange!]
The figure flickered again as Yang Kai arrived before Yue He and handed her the little flower umbrella.
Yue He took it with a smile and bowed to him, “Thank you, Young Master!”
She didn’t risk giving the little flower umbrella a thorough check but quickly put it away instead.
Even Yue He’s little flower umbrella was almost sucked away, but Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear didn’t move, which was quite puzzling.
“How can a pile of scrap metal be compared with this King’s artifact!” Yang Kai snorted. Having said that, it was only after being reminded by Guo Zi Yan that he realized that his Azure Dragon Spear was indeed not affected by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
So to say, although the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was impressive, it wasn’t omnipotent. At the very least, an artifact of the Azure Dragon Spear’s level could ignore its pull.
When Guo Zi Yan and the other Scarlet Star members heard this, they were beyond belief. They realized that their Sixth Manager really didn’t have any humility; however, thinking about the phenomenal strength he had just shown them, he really had all the qualifications to boast.
The Thunder Light disciples had already escaped, leaving over a hundred mutilated corpses on the mountain. A thick and nauseating smell of blood was lingering in the air as the ground was littered with pieces of flesh and severed limbs, depicting the fierceness and cruelty of the previous battle.
Yang Kai commanded, “Clean up the battlefield!”
Guo Zi Yan cupped his fists and responded, “Yes, Sir!” He took the command very sincerely.
Before, when he was assigned under Yang Kai, Guo Zi Yan was just obeying orders from his superiors without much thought. In fact, he didn’t think that Yang Kai deserved to be the Sixth Manager; after all, Yang Kai was just an Emperor Realm Junior while he was a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. How could he be subservient to Yang Kai?
However, it was an order from the top, so he had to obey it. Setting aside what expression was on his face, he hadn’t submitted to Yang Kai in his heart.
Now though, having witnessed Yang Kai’s strength with his own eyes and watching him butcher Bie Jian like a dog while forcing the old man surnamed Zhu to flee, Guo Zi Yan felt ashamed of his inferior strength. At the same time, he felt lucky to be able to follow someone as strong as the Sixth Manager.
It wasn’t just him, all the surviving Scarlet Star disciples were looking at Yang Kai with reverence.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found after it gave chase to the fleeing Thunder Light disciples. Yang Kai couldn’t recall it, but he wasn’t worried about its safety. Even though it was seriously injured, it was an exotic beast in the end. It had pretty strong inherent restorative abilities, and once it had vented all its anger, it would return on its own.
The dozen or so Scarlet Star members began cleaning up the battlefield, gathering the Thunder Light disciples’ Space Rings.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was staring at the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, which shot straight into the sky. All the artifacts had been taken away by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and had been reduced to dust. Just based on this, the fearsome might of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was quite apparent.
When he probed it with his Divine Sense, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light gave off the same fluctuations as the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones he had found, but far denser and more concentrated.
The Earth Dragon moved its enormous body as it flew towards Yang Kai and landed before him. Its huge mouthparts were squirming, and its entire body was covered in horrendous wounds, as if it had been cut by thousands of knives. There was almost no place intact on its body and it was almost severed in two in several places, revealing its wiggling internal organs.
If the Scarlet Flood Dragon had suffered such injuries, it probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on. The Earth Dragon’s injuries were far more serious than what the Scarlet Flood Dragon had suffered at the hands of Thunder Light disciples, but fortunately, it was an Earth Dragon so its vitality was extremely tenacious.
Even an ordinary Earth Dragon might survive after being cut into two, let alone an Ominous Beast that had evolved in this unique environment.
Therefore, although its injuries were far more serious than that of the Scarlet Flood Dragon, its life wasn’t in danger. Nonetheless, the Divine Sense fluctuations it was transmitting were filled with grievance, like a child who was beaten by others when it was away from home and had come back to complain.
Yang Kai found it both irksome and funny at the same time. He knew that the Earth Dragon had been digging a hole in the mountain, but he had no idea how deep it went before it forced this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to appear. Obviously, it was hurt by the Divine Light, otherwise, it would not have suffered such hideous wounds.
Yang Kai threw a few healing pills into its wiggling mouth, as well as two Dragon Blood Pills before the Earth Dragon finally quieted down.
“Young Master, since such a strong Yuan Magnetic Divine Light is shooting up from this mountain, there must be a high-quality Yuan Magnetism Divine Stone down below!” The nearby Yue He stated.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow and rebuffed with a look of disgust on his face, “Can you act normally?”
Every time she called him Young Master, he felt like she was acting crazy. A powerful Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master being so subservient was unnerving.
Yue He stared at him with her pretty eyes and replied, “Young Master for a day is a Young Master for life.”
Yang Kai was rendered speechless by her reply. He was too lazy to care about her any further and pondered for a moment before asking, “What do you think the Order of this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light is?”
Yue He replied without giving it another thought, “Sixth-Order!”
Yang Kai gently nodded. It was in line with his judgment too. If the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was of higher Order, he would have been prompted by his Dao Seal to absorb it in order to refine his Metal Element.
After having condensed his Earth Element, it was time to condense his Metal Element.
Unfortunately, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was still a little lacking, which made Yang Kai sigh. But in any case, Seventh-Order and above treasures were extremely rare. He was already lucky to have found the Immortal Tree, the Golden Crow’s True Fire, and the Great Earth Dragon Bead. It wasn’t that easy to find treasures of the Seventh Order and above. Everything depended on one’s luck and opportunity.
“Young Master, are you not going to absorb it?” Yue He asked, looking at him.
“You already know my thoughts, so why ask?” Yang Kai lightly snorted.
Yue He sighed in her heart. She wished Yang Kai would gather the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so even if Yang Kai’s foundation were completely laid, he could only advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. After that, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything.
Yang Kai’s eyes gleamed, looking at the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light shooting into the sky.
Although he did not want to use it to condense his Metal Element, if he could collect it, he could use it to cultivate a powerful Divine Ability.
Yang Kai had witnessed the fearsome might of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light with his own eyes. Even an exotic beast like the Earth Dragon couldn’t stand the damage caused by it. Furthermore, it pulled away many artifacts the moment it appeared. If he could use the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to cultivate a Divine Ability, its power would surely be extraordinary.
Unfortunately, even the cleverest woman couldn’t cook a meal without rice. He couldn’t use the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to cultivate a Divine Ability without the corresponding Secret Art.
“Can you use it?” Yang Kai asked.
Yue He shook her head in denial. “I can’t.”
She obviously knew what Yang Kai was asking about, so afterwards, she added, “But you can find a way to collect it first and then plan how to use it later.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I guess I can only do this for now.”
Saying so, his figure flickered as he flew straight towards the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, arriving at the top of the mountain in a flash.
The pit drilled by the Earth Dragon wasn’t small, but the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light shooting out of the pit showed no signs of abating. It was proof in itself of how abundant the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was.
Yang Kai shook the Fated Paths Bag and immediately caused it to enlarge. Afterwards, he flipped it over and placed it over the pit, covering it entirely.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that was shooting into the sky disappeared in the blink of an eye, pouring into the Six Fated Paths Bag.
Yang Kai observed it for a while before he set his mind at ease, standing there and waiting.
He had no idea if the Six Fated Paths Bag could withstand the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so what he did just now was just a trial, and it seemed to be working.
The Six Fated Paths Bag could grow bigger or smaller depending on his will, and its interior space was extremely mysterious. It could easily house both the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Floor Dragon, so it could collect the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light too.
Guo Zi Yan flew over and handed Yang Kai a bunch of Space Rings as he reported, “Sixth Manger, this is everything.”
Yang Kai gave a nod before putting all the Space Rings away. He didn’t have the time to check them now, so he decided to take inventory of their contents after he had returned to the Star City.
Guo Zi Yan glanced at the Fated Paths Bag covering the pit before speaking in a low voice, “Sixth Manager, do you want to send a message back?”
“Why should I send a message back?” Yang Kai glanced at him.
Guo Zi Yan replied, “There are a lot of people here, investigating the sudden change that occurred. Although you are strong, there are too many people gathered on this Yuan Magnetic Mountain. I’m afraid…”
“You’re afraid that two fists can’t block four hands?”
Guo Zi Yan added, “That is one of the reasons. The other is that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light appeared, so there must be a lot of high-Order Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones down below. We have only a few members, so I’m afraid…”
Yang Kai replied, “We are tens of thousands of kilometres away from the Star City. It will be too late by the time they reply.”
Guo Zi Yan thought about it and agreed. If he sent a message back, by the time Scarlet Star provided reinforcements, the issue at hand would have already been settled.
He cupped his fists and continued, “Sixth Manager, if you really need something, you don’t need to worry about anything. Our men will take care of it.”
Yang Kai nodded in agreement.
While the two were chatting with each other, many people could be seen approaching from afar. Apparently, everyone had been alarmed by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and had come to check out what happened.
The first to arrive was a group of over a dozen people. The leader of this group was a burly bald man. There was a fierce look on his face and he was radiating an evil aura.
He landed on the ground and swept his gaze around, his eyes flickering when he saw Yue He’s beautiful figure. The next moment, a flash of greed flickered in his eyes as he wiped the drool at the corner of his mouth and asked, “Brat, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light just appeared here, did you see it?”
Yang Kai calmly replied, “I didn’t see it.”
The burly man shouted angrily, “Nonsense! The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was so obvious, how could you possibly not see it? Are you blind?”
Guo Zi Yan, leading the dozen or so Scarlet Star members, stood behind Yang Kai, looking at the burly bald man in pity.
[If this guy knew that the Sixth Manager had just killed hundreds of Thunder Light disciples, he wouldn’t dare act so aggressively.]
A cultivator suddenly approached the stalwart bald man and whispered something in his ear, glancing at the Six Fated Paths Bag.
The bald man turned his gaze towards the Six Fated Paths Bag before ordering, pointing at the bag, “Kid, is that thing yours? Take it off, I want to check it.”
“Just because you say so, I need to obey? Who do you think you are?” Yang Kai sneered.
The bald man’s expression turned grim upon hearing this, “Brat, do what I tell you to do while I’m asking nicely, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Yang Kai glanced at him indifferently. The next moment, he raised his hand as the Earth Dragon, who was healing from its wounds on another mountain, rushed over. It was extremely fast and was already standing before them in the blink of an eye. Its condition was a lot better than before, but it still looked pretty miserable.
Be that as it may, the fearsome aura it was radiating, the mucus dripping from its wiggling mouth, and its 300-metre-long body was a huge deterrent.
The burly bald man was instantly flabbergasted. Gulping nervously, he stared at the Earth Dragon in a daze. He couldn’t help but back away in fear while the dozen or so people following behind also looked terrified.
“Scram or die!” Yang Kai coldly glared at them.
A look of humiliation instantly appeared on the bald man’s face; nonetheless, he was intimidated by the might of the Earth Dragon and dared not attack.
Fortunately for him, groups of cultivators flew over and landed in the vicinity one after another.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds had gathered atop the small mountain, and as time passed, more and more arrived.
Everyone who came later furrowed their brow. Although everyone knew that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light would definitely attract all the people in the vicinity, the number was still far beyond what they had imagined. From time to time, Divine Sense fluctuations could be felt as people were secretly discussing with one another.
Suddenly, the burly bald shouted, “The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light is inside that bag. What are you guys waiting for!?”
He quickly stepped back as he shouted, trying to hide in the crowd.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai didn’t give him a chance and stared at him as a grim smile appeared on his lips, “Kill him!”
The Earth Dragon behind Yang Kai shot out like an arrow fired from a bow. Its enormous mouth had completely covered the position where the burly bald man stood.
The burly bald man screamed out loud before everything went dark.
When the Earth Dragon lifted its head from the ground, the burly bald man was nowhere to be found. Not only him, but a dozen or so people around him had disappeared in an instant. Only miserable screams could be heard coming from the Earth Dragon’s belly.
Everyone around was horrified at the sight of this. Some people silently backed away, moving as far away as possible from the Earth Dragon. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t display their full strength, so it was really difficult to deal with this kind of Ominous Beast. No one wanted to fight against it.
An elderly man looked at Yang Kai as a slight furrow appeared on his brow, “Friend, that man just spoke a single sentence, and you killed him for that. Isn’t that too much?”
The old man had a calm and composed aura, but the look on his face was serious; obviously, he was an Open Heaven Realm Master and there were many people behind him, as many as thirty.
Someone recognized the old man and whispered, “It’s Orchid Union’s Manager Hu Yi.”
Hundreds of thousands of people were swallowed into the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog and fell into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so in addition to the three great forces of the Star City, Thunder Light, Scarlet Star, and Sword Pavilion, other cultivators knew that it was best to stick together. This gave birth to many big and small organizations, just like how Ding Yi timely raised his flag and established Emperor Heaven. Orchid Union was also a similar influence established in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Such great forces were like fish in the river, countless in number.
Most of the great forces didn’t have Open Heaven Realm Masters; after all, the Open Heaven cultivators weren’t pebbles by the roadside that could be seen at will. Only a few great forces had Open Heaven Realm Masters leading them.
Although Orchid Union didn’t have many people, Hu Yi was a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was strong and could subdue the public.
“Senior Hu is right, this boy regards human life like nothing. He doesn’t seem like anything good,” another young man agreed, looking at Yang Kai with a sinister gaze.
“Profound Clouds Society’s Boss, Liao Yi Bai!” Someone identified the young man.
Liao Yi Bai raised his head with a proud look on his face.
“Young man, I advise you to remove the bag; otherwise, it will be difficult to dissuade the crowd,” another great force’s Manager stated.
With these three people speaking up, the rest of the group immediately became emboldened. Everyone had seen the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light appear, so they had rushed over to investigate, but when they arrived, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was nowhere to be seen. Originally, they had been somewhat puzzled, but the bald man’s shout before his death had enlightened them.
Although they didn’t know what was so special about this bag, it was the most suspicious thing on this mountain. It was definitely this thing that had blocked out the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so how could they be willing to accept it? For a moment, the crowd was filled with rage. Even though the Earth Dragon had killed more than a dozen people at the outset, they were still cursing at Yang Kai.
Liao Yi Bai stared greedily at the Six Fated Paths Bag. A bag that could block the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was definitely extraordinary, and in this situation, this bag could actually collect the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. This trip to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain would not have been in vain if he could obtain this bag.
Thinking so, Liao Yi Bai angrily shouted, “Brat, are you taking this bag away or not?”
The loud noise lingered in Yang Kai’s ears, but he remained calm, the threats around him like a cool breeze. Hearing the loudest shouts, Yang Kai turned to look at Liao Yi Bai, “So what if I take it away? So what if I don’t?”
Liao Yi Bai coldly snorted, “If you take it away, everything will be fine, but if you don’t, you’ll have to bear the consequences.”
Yang Kai grinned at him, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, “I’ll wait and see!”
Displeased, Liao Yi Bai turned to Hu Yi and asked, “Senior Hu, what do you say?”
Hu Yi stated in a low voice, “Since this boy is so stubborn, let’s see what kind of end he will face after causing public outrage.”
Liao Yi Bai burst into laughter, “That’s exactly what I want. A mere Emperor Realm cultivator dares to speak so arrogantly here, he really doesn’t know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is! Does he really think he can do whatever he wants just because he has this beast? We might as well join forces to capture this beast first before carefully teaching him how to show proper respect!”
“Good!” Hu Yi nodded his agreement.
Liao Yi Bai summoned his spear with the shake of his hand and pointed it towards the Earth Dragon, shouting, “Kill!”
Saying so, he was the first to rush forward and thrust his spear out at the Earth Dragon. Although this spear was not as powerful as Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear, it was still quite extraordinary. Following right behind him were the people from Profound Clouds Society.
As soon as he made his move, a hundred or so other people present immediately launched their attacks at the Earth Dragon, especially the Open Heaven Stage Masters.
However, not everyone was attacking. Most of the cultivators present still maintained a wait-and-see attitude; after all, they had no grievances with Yang Kai before, so at this time, they were unwilling to offend him easily.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had already injured the Earth Dragon, leaving it quite miserable, so now that these countless attacks had struck it causing its blood to splash everywhere, in pain, it opened its mouth and spewed its corrosive mucus everywhere at random.
Many cultivators were caught off guard and were hit by the sticky mucus, causing them to cry out in pain. It was too late for them to retreat as the sticky mucus was extremely corrosive and instantly melted their flesh, revealing their white bones.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people had died.
Hu Yi, Liao Yi Bai, and the other Open Heaven Stage Masters were all shocked. Originally, seeing the Earth Dragon riddled with wounds, they had thought it was a soft persimmon, but who would have thought that this fellow would be so ‘slippery’? Many of their attacks landed on it, but none of them caused significant damage. On the contrary, many of their allies suffered heavy wounds after it retaliated.
They really didn’t know how this strange beast had suffered such grievous injuries.
However, since they had already taken action, it was naturally impossible for them to back down now. The deaths of these dozen or so people didn’t cause them to retreat and instead attracted even more to attack.
Seeing this, Yue He couldn’t help but take action, while Guo Zi Yan and the others were also filled with righteous indignation, each of them secretly circulating their strength, waiting for Yang Kai’s command to rush forward.
Yang Kai raised his hand to stop them and whispered, “It won’t die so easily.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Earth Dragon shook its head and flicked its tail before plunging into the ground, creating a large hole, and disappearing.
If it had been in its peak state, it would have been able to hold out for a while against the hundred or so people’s attacks, but now that it was seriously injured, how could it be a match for them?
If it couldn’t beat them, it would naturally flee. The Earth Dragon’s instinctive reaction was to burrow underground, so everyone’s attack hit nothing but air. The death of more than a dozen people had been in vain.
Looking at the huge hole in the ground, no one dared to pursue, all of them standing there stunned.
In the crowd, a figure suddenly appeared. It was Liao Yi Bai, who was rushing straight towards the Six Fated Paths Bag with one hand holding a spear and the other reaching towards it with an excited expression.
Seeing that the Fated Paths Bag was shaking non-stop, it was obvious that it had already collected a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Liao Yi Bai secretly made up his mind that he would immediately flee after snatching this bag. As for the rest, he couldn’t be bothered with them. This bag was a treasure, and the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light stored inside was also a treasure. His harvest would be excellent as long as he could succeed!
Although his movements were fast, it was impossible for him to hide from the observation of the Open Heaven Stage Masters present. Seeing this, they secretly cursed Liao Yi Bai for being so quick to act as all of them swiftly used their respective Movement Skills and chased after him.
The space in front of the Six Fated Paths Bag trembled as a figure appeared like a ghost. Liao Yi Bai, who was charging at the forefront, looked up and saw that it was that stubborn Emperor Realm brat from before.
Immediately, he shouted in anger, “All who dare block my way will die!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his spear and thrust it forward with an unstoppable might.
If it was an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator facing such a thrust, they would not be able to do anything other than dodge; Yang Kai obviously had no intention of doing so.
“A spear user? I’m also a spear user!” Yang Kai smiled at Liao Yi Bai, stretched out his hand, and gripped the Azure Dragon Spear. With a wave of his hand, Yang Kai also thrust out his spear in a simple way without any fancy movements.
Liao Yi Bai was enraged at the sight of this. A mere Emperor Realm brat actually dared to be presumptuous before him? From another perspective, it meant this boy simply didn’t put him in his eyes; otherwise, how could he have so boldly thrust his spear forward?
Enraged, Liao Yi Bai poured all his strength into his spear, determined to kill Yang Kai on the spot.
In the blink of an eye, the two spears collided as a violent shock wave spread outward. Liao Yi Bai, who was originally full of confidence, had his eyes bulge in shock.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the long spear in Liao Yi Bai’s hand shattered and its fragments flew everywhere.
Immediately afterwards, Liao Yi Bai’s figure suddenly came to a stop in mid-air as he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Looking down, he saw a long spear piercing through his chest, coming straight out of his back.
He couldn’t help but gulp in fear before looking up at Yang Kai, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“You’re nothing much,” Yang Kai lifted his nose and looked up at him arrogantly.
Liao Yi Bai opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but how could Yang Kai give him a chance? With a wave of his Azure Dragon Spear, a burst of power swept out, causing Liao Yi Bai’s body to explode into a blood mist that scattered everywhere.
Yang Kai waved his hand and took Liao Yi Bai’s Space Ring, stuffing it into his own without even looking at it.
Everyone fell silent!
Everyone stared at Yang Kai, dumbfounded, unable to regain their senses for a long time.
The Open Heaven Stage Masters who had followed behind Liao Yi Bai and were preparing to snatch the Six Fated Paths Bag all felt a chill run down their spines as they froze in place, not daring to move forward.
None of them could believe what they were seeing. An Open Heaven Stage Master was actually blown into smithereens by a single spear thrust from an Emperor Realm Junior? Not even Liao Yi Bai’s artifact remained intact! Was this young man really an Emperor Realm cultivator? Was he some kind of High-Rank Open Heaven Stage Master in disguise?
However, under the perception of their Divine Senses, Yang Kai really didn’t have the aura of an Open Heaven Master. On the contrary, traces of him being only an Emperor Realm cultivator were extremely obvious.
Guo Zi Yan sneered in his heart. [A ragtag mob wants to make an enemy out of the Sixth Manager? They’re really overestimating themselves!]
The hundreds of Thunder Light cultivators, who had ganged up on Yang Kai before, had been half slaughtered. Even a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Bie Jian had died on the spot, let alone a piece of trash like Liao Yi Bai.
It was undeniable that Guo Zi Yan had never imagined that an Emperor Realm cultivator could possess such terrifying combat strength before today. Everything he had seen had completely toppled his understanding of the Martial Dao, but the hot blood surging in his veins told him that compared to Du Niang Zi, he was more willing to serve under Yang Kai. Being able to follow such a leader was not an opportunity everyone could have.
The corners of Hu Yi’s eyes twitched as he stared at Yang Kai, and then at the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand, asking bitterly, “What did you do?”
In that confrontation just now, none of them had been able to see what had happened clearly. In an instant, all they saw was Liao Yi Bai, who was at the front of the crowd, suddenly coming to a stop. The next thing they knew, he exploded.
Everything happened too quickly!
“I just killed a piece of trash!” Yang Kai held his spear with one hand, exuding an imposing aura like he alone could handle everyone as he coldly swept his gaze across the battlefield, “Who else wants to die?”
No one dared to move. Having witnessed Liao Yi Bai’s end, seeing how he was killed on the spot, no one among the remaining Open Heaven Realm Masters dared to act rashly. At the very least, until they understood the true strength of this spear-wielding young man, no one dared to provoke him.
All of them felt extremely aggrieved in their hearts. This damned Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary with its damned Rolling Fog, if not for this, how could a mere Emperor Realm Junior be worthy of their attention? He would have long been dealt with by the crowd.
The people from Profound Clouds Society were both angry and depressed. Their leader had been killed right before their eyes and had even been called trash, yet they didn’t even have the strength to avenge him.
Thousands of people on the mountaintop were all silent at this moment, only the sound of the Six Fated Paths Bag vibrating constantly was heard.
In Yang Kai’s perception, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that had been shooting up from underground was pouring straight into the Six Fated Paths Bag, filling it. At this moment, the bag was about half full.
Yang Kai didn’t know if he could fill up the entire Six Fated Paths Bag, but he was still quite excited.
In this strange silence, a loud bang rang out as a huge pit appeared in the ground. The Earth Dragon, which had previously burrowed into the earth, suddenly poked its head out and swallowed a few cultivators, catching them off guard, before drilling back into the ground with lightning speed.
It had been miserably beaten up by these people and had to hide underground; but now, it had come out to stir up trouble. Obviously, it was holding a grudge.
Everyone was shocked and quickly flew up into the sky.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters glanced at each other, communicating with each other via Divine Sense. Even though they knew that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was under the bag, they had no choice but to helplessly watch it be taken away. Naturally, they all felt depressed.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his eyes and looked towards the distant sky.
He noticed densely packed streaks of sword light flying over from the west. The sword light in the lead was like a meteor, piercing across the Heavens. This group was still a few hundred kilometres away, but the sword intent had already reached them, filling the air.
Feeling this awe-inspiring sword intent, everyone couldn’t help turning to look in that direction. When they saw what was happening, Hu Yi and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters’ eyes lit up.
“Sword Pavilion’s people are here,” Guo Zi Yan’s expression became serious as he quickly whispered to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded slightly in understanding.
In the previous Star City, there were originally three great forces, Thunder Light, Scarlet Star, and Sword Pavilion.
In terms of numbers, Sword Pavilion had the least. Thunder Light and Scarlet Star on the other hand were about equal in size, but it was Sword Pavilion that had the greatest overall strength. In the Star City, Sword Pavilion controlled almost half of the shops and territory, while the remaining half was divided between Scarlet Star and Thunder Light. From this, it could be seen just how strong Sword Pavilion was.
The three great forces of the Star City had been fighting each other for millennia, so when Guo Zi Yan saw the overwhelming sword light approaching, he immediately recognized these people.
Everyone from Sword Pavilion cultivated the Sword Dao and had strong murderous intent. Their fighting style was ruthless, and they were famous throughout the Star City. Unless they had no other choice, no one was willing to fight against Sword Pavilion.
Yang Kai had forced his way into Scarlet Star and had fought with Thunder Light earlier. He had never had any conflicts with Sword Pavilion.
However, news about the Yuan Magnetic Mountain had spread far and wide, so it was only natural for Sword Pavilion disciples to rush over to investigate. After all, both Scarlet Star and Thunder Light had arrived.
For some unknown reason, Hu Yi and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters had all gathered together to welcome Sword Pavilion.
As the sword light flashed over, figures appeared in front of everyone one after another.
The leader of this group was a man with a fiery red head of hair and a beard. He was bare-chested and had a dignified look on his face. Behind him was a woman dressed in palace robes and a young man.
These three people were exuding the aura of the Open Heaven Realm, indicating their status as Masters. Each of them possessed an overwhelming sword intent, especially the red-haired man in the lead. Standing there, he was like a peerless sword, its sharpness intimidating all around him.
The woman in palace robes didn’t exude such an overbearing aura, but her beauty was extraordinary. She was extremely fair and had voluptuous peaks. Her eyes were bright and limpid. Her hair was casually tied into a bun. On the other hand, the young man was handsome and a fiery glint could be seen in his eyes every time he blinked, like there was a fire burning in their depths. He was carrying a blue long sword on his back and his long robes were flapping along with the wind, giving him a heroic air.
Guo Zi Yan was afraid that Yang Kai didn’t know how powerful these three people were, so he quickly introduced them, “Sixth Manager, those three are leaders of Sword Pavilion. The red-haired is Zhong Fan, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the woman is Lu Xue, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and the young man is Luo Qing Yun, also a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, indicating that he understood, but he was a little surprised in his heart. He was surprised by the fact that Zhong Fan was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. [Doesn’t it mean that he is on par with the Head Manager of Scarlet Star?]
He wondered what Zhong Fan’s ranking in Sword Pavilion was.
A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could be considered a powerhouse in the 3,000 Worlds, enough to occupy a Spirit Province and establish a Sect of their own.
On the other side, Hu Yi and the others went up to him and said something to Zhong Fan. The next moment, Zhong Fan glanced at Yang Kai, his eyes flickering with aggression.
A moment later, Zhong Fan nodded slightly and flew towards the top of the mountain, followed closely by the Sword Pavilion disciples.
Not many people from Sword Pavilion had come this time, only a few dozen, but when these people gathered together, they gave off a silent pressure. The Sword Intent that constantly lingered around them caused everyone on the mountaintop to unconsciously distance themselves from them, lest they be injured by the Sword Intent.
“Is there really a Yuan Magnetic Divine Light underneath this bag?” Zhong Fan glanced over at Yang Kai, but didn’t take him seriously, instead focusing on the Six Fated Paths Bag itself.
Hu Yi stepped forward and stated, “No one saw it, but the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light did appear here. This bag is the most suspicious thing here.”
“If you think it’s suspicious, why don’t you check?”
Zhong Fan’s question caused Hu Yi and the others to feel extremely awkward. Who didn’t want to check it? It was just that the leader of Profound Clouds Society, Liao Yi Bai, had just tragically lost his life right there, so who would want to follow in his footsteps? If it weren’t for Sword Pavilion’s sword light shooting over, they really had no idea how to deal with this situation.
Seeing everyone remain silent, Zhong Fan knew that they must have suffered some kind of loss; after all, the bloodstains and mutilated corpses on the ground had already explained everything to him.
He couldn’t help but snort.
Luo Qing Yun stared at the Six Fated Paths Bag with a burning gaze and chuckled, “This bag is a pretty good treasure!”
He finally turned his gaze towards Yang Kai, and asked warmly, “Friend, is this your bag?”
Yang Kai replied with a nod, “Yes!”
“This bag is pretty good, are you willing to part with it?” Luo Qing Yun asked.
“No!” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
“Don’t be so quick to refuse. Why don’t you hear the price before deciding.”
“No matter what price you offer, the bag is not for sale.”
Luo Qing Yun shrugged and said, “If that’s the case, then forget it. I hope you won’t regret it later.”
As soon as the word ‘forget it’ left his lips, Luo Qing Yun transformed into a streak of sword light, shooting straight at the Six Fated Paths Bag like a bolt of lightning.
“You court death!” Yang Kai shouted angrily as he quickly pushed his Space Principles, causing the space within a thousand metres of him to become extremely viscous.
Luo Qing Yun’s cry of surprise rang out from the sword light. Obviously, he hadn’t expected Yang Kai to be so powerful. The sudden change in space had actually caused his movements to become sluggish.
The next moment, Yang Kai had thrust his spear straight towards the sword light.
A sword cry rang out as Luo Qing Yun unsheathed the sword on his back. In an instant, Sword Qi filled the air as Sword Intent soared to the Heavens.
No one was able to see what was happening clearly. Only a series of crisp clangs and sparks could be heard and seen as Luo Qing Yun was sent flying back while Yang Kai stood in front of the Six Fated Paths Bag with his spear in hand and a malevolent look on his face!
This exchange was so fast that it dazzled everyone’s eyes. No one knew who won or lost, but judging from the expressions of Yang Kai and Luo Qing Yun, it was the latter who must have suffered a small loss. At this moment, Luo Qing Yun was staring down at his long sword, a pained look flashing across the depths of his eyes. The long sword’s lustre was a little dimmer than before, obviously having suffered some damage from the previous exchange.
Zhong Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly, whereas Lu Xue was shocked and Hu Yi and the others’ faces turned ashen.
Even a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm like Luo Qing Yun had been unable to do anything to Yang Kai and had even suffered a small loss in a frontal confrontation. Liao Yi Bai, a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, had apparently not died in vain.
“Brat, you dare damage my sword’s spirituality?!” Luo Qing Yun suddenly raised his head with a fierce look appearing on his face.
That short exchange had actually damaged his sword’s spirituality. Although it wasn’t too serious, it was still enough to make his heart ache. It would take him at least a few months to recover it.
“A waste with a piece of scrap metal dares to act so arrogantly? If you dare come here again, I’ll kill you,” Yang Kai’s voice turned colder as he thrust the Azure Dragon Spear forward.
When Yang Kai saw this fellow’s dignified appearance just now, he really didn’t expect him to suddenly launch a sneak attack. He almost lost the Six Fated Paths Bag. Although he had refined the Six Fated Paths Bag and it wasn’t impossible to snatch it back, if it got snatched, it would definitely ruin his plan to obtain the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
“Junior, you have some skill, no wonder you speak so arrogantly!” Zhong Fan’s expression sank as he took a step forward. His imposing aura gave the impression that he could topple the mountains and overturn the seas as he coldly continued, “But are you really going to make an enemy out of my Sword Pavilion?”
Yang Kai, on the other hand, acted as if he had heard nothing and simply stared at him coldly, “This King is Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, while you are a leader of Sword Pavilion. In terms of status, we are on equal footing, so don’t call me Junior. Moreover… even if I made an enemy out of your Sword Pavilion, so what?”
As soon as these words came out, the entire crowd went into an uproar. Hu Yi and the others stared at Yang Kai in shock, all of them thinking that this man had gone crazy. [A mere Emperor Realm Junior dares to act so arrogantly in front of Zhong Fan? Does he not know how to write the word ‘death’? Zhong Fan is a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who is also proficient in the Sword Dao! He has probably killed more people than this brat has ever seen in his life, yet he still dares to provoke him like this?]
Luo Qing Yun couldn’t be bothered to be angry with him as he turned to Lu Xue and asked, “Is this boy stupid?”
Lu Xue’s face was cold, but her voice was gentle, “He probably has something he can rely on.”
“Good!” Zhong Fan shouted, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a brave boy. Since that’s the case, this King will teach you the consequences of opposing my Sword Pavilion.”
As soon as Zhong Fan’s voice fell, flames suddenly engulfed his body. No one knew what kind of Secret Art he cultivated, but it was extremely hot and violent.
Zhong Fan raised his hand as a long sword appeared in his grip. At first glance, this long sword looked somewhat similar to the Myriads Sword that Yang Kai had used many years ago, both of them belonging to the same heavier long sword class, a true work of art.
However, this sword was obviously of a much higher grade than the Myriads Sword.
As soon as this sword appeared, Zhong Fan’s aura completely changed. The raging flames wrapped around his sword like a snake, causing the temperature of the entire mountain to rise sharply.
Hu Yi and the others all wore excited expressions, secretly rejoicing in their hearts. Yang Kai’s imposing aura had left them frightened before, but now, when they saw Zhong Fan take action, they were naturally filled with anticipation.
However, at this moment, a chorus of shouts suddenly rang out from afar.
“Emperor Heaven, Emperor Heaven, never submit!”
Along with the shouts, innumerable streaks of light shot over from the distance, shouting loudly as they flew, as if they were afraid that no one would know that they were coming.
Everyone looked over with strange expressions and the tense atmosphere suddenly became stagnant.
However, after seeing the number of people who had come, many people’s expressions changed slightly. Even the three leaders of Sword Pavilion couldn’t help but turn solemn.
It wasn’t surprising though as there were simply too many people flying over at once. At a glance, there were at least seven or eight hundred people, perhaps even a thousand.
There were only about a thousand people gathered on this mountaintop in total.
The leader of this group was a young man with an arrogant look on his face and a giant sword on his shoulder, his nose pointing towards the sky. Before he even arrived, his voice had already reached them, “Emperor Heaven lays claim to this place, all unrelated people should retreat!”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as a strange expression appeared on his face.
Ding Yi was like a ghost haunting Yang Kai. No matter where he went, he would always run into him. It was obvious that he had been living quite well recently and had gathered many subordinates, his self-confidence once again soaring.
Ding Yi’s words were a bit pompous, so naturally, no one liked it and looked unhappy. As for Zhong Fan, he just coldly snorted.
In the blink of an eye, Emperor Heaven’s thousand or so members had already arrived. Ding Yi suddenly came to a stop, and so did the people from Emperor Heaven behind him, neatly arranging themselves into several square formations. At first glance, they seemed quite well-trained, and with so many behind him, it made Ding Yi stand out like a crane amongst a flock of chickens, only raising his profile even further.
However, there was no Open Heaven Realm Master among their group. After all, Emperor Heaven was founded on the idea of breaking free of the oppression of Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Ding Yi took out his sword and pointed it towards the front before loudly declaring with a condescending attitude, “I heard that there were some Open Heaven Realm Masters here bullying an Emperor Realm Brother?”
If this were the outside world, he wouldn’t have dared to speak so arrogantly in front of Open Heaven Realm Masters. He would have probably bowed to them long ago. Only a special environment like the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary gave him the chance to speak so arrogantly.
He also enjoyed this feeling of being the centre of attention. This illusion of being in control of everything made him extremely infatuated.
“Brothers, what do you think we should do?” Ding Yi shouted aloud.
“Emperor Heaven, Emperor Heaven, never submit!” Emperor Heaven’s members shouted in unison.
Ding Yi grinned, “That’s right! May I know which friend is being bullied? Don’t be afraid, since this Ding is here, I will ensure your safety!”
Zhong Fan turned around and asked, “Who is this guy?”
The woman in palace robes, Lu Xue, stepped forward and whispered a few words to Zhong Fan, whereupon Zhong Han nodded his understanding. Only now did he realize that this was the same Emperor Heaven that had been in the limelight recently. Emperor Heaven’s name had been spreading far and wide, attracting quite a few people to join it. Rumour even had it that at its peak, it had over five thousand members, but for some reason, only a thousand had come here today.
When Zhong Fan was speaking, Ding Yi also noticed Yang Kai and couldn’t help but have his eyes widen, “It’s you!”
“We meet again,” Yang Kai grinned at him.
Ding Yi wore a strange expression as he hesitated!
After escaping from the Beast Tide, Ding Yi led his men to a mountain valley and happened to run into Yang Kai and his group who were resting there. They had some unpleasant experiences and were nearly killed by Yang Kai on the spot. It wasn’t easy for them to survive that ordeal, but after that, Ding Yi ordered that if anyone from Emperor Heaven saw Yang Kai again in the future, they must not clash with him.
He hadn’t expected to see this fellow again today!
Recalling Yang Kai’s scorching palms and the miserable state of the people he had killed, Ding Yi couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive.
However, since he had led a thousand people here today, it was not impossible for him to take revenge for what happened that day, many months ago.
Pondering for a moment, Ding Yi seemed to have made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and stated, “Since there is an Open Heaven Realm Master here today, this Ding won’t argue with you about the grievances we had that day. Quickly come over here, this Ding will ensure your safety, he won’t let you suffer any harm. In front of this Ding, no Open Heaven Realm Master can ever bully an Emperor!”
Who knew what had happened to him in the past that made him so hostile towards those of the Open Heaven Realm? Surprisingly, he didn’t even want to pursue his grievances with Yang Kai and instead chose to protect him.
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes flickered with a bright gleam as he found this guy’s simplicity somewhat cute. A smile appeared on his lips as he refused, “No need, I’ll just stand here and see who dares to attack me.”
Ding Yi was stunned for a moment before giving him a thumbs up, “You’ve got guts! This Ding admires someone as courageous as you the most. I’ll definitely befriend you.”
He then stepped forward, glaring at Zhong Fan and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters as he declared, “All of you, either scram or die!”
It was quite boastful for him to say this, but whether or not these thousand people had the ability to do so was something to be seen.
However, despite facing an enemy several dozen times stronger than them, the several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples didn’t show the slightest bit of fear; instead, they stared coldly at Emperor Heaven’s group.
Zhong Fan sneered at Ding Yi, “A frog in a well dares to boast in front of me? Who gave you the courage to act so arrogantly in front of Open Heaven Realm Masters like us?”
“So what if you’re an Open Heaven Realm Master?” Ding Yi didn’t take him seriously at all, “It’s not like I haven’t killed any Open Heaven Realm Masters recently. They still die if their head is cut off.”
Zhong Fan’s face sank, “Junior, are you sure you want to get involved in this matter? In that case, I’ll behead you first!”
Saying so, he suddenly shouted, “Sword Formation!”
*Ceng ceng ceng…*
The sound of swords being unsheathed rang out continuously. The auras of the several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples, led by the three Open Heaven Realm Masters, suddenly interlinked with each other. In an instant, the wind and clouds surged as their Sword Intents filled the air, churning the void and whipping up a violent wind.
“Junior, accept your death!” Zhong Fan shouted angrily as he transformed into a streak of sword light and flew forward, closely followed by the dozens of Sword Pavilion disciples who were using some Secret Technique together.
In an instant, dozens of Sword Pavilion disciples set up a Sword Formation that transformed into a stunning sword light and slashed towards Ding Yi!
Ding Yi was struck with panic as he promptly retreated and waved his blade, shouting, “Attack!”
The thousand or so people behind him did not hesitate, each of them using their own Secret Techniques and artifacts to attack the Sword Pavilion Formation.
The next moment, deafening rumbles filled the air as the world went pale. The ground quaked and the surrounding World Energy became turbulent. The stunning sword light flashed wildly, but its momentum didn’t decrease as it slashed towards Emperor Heaven’s group.
Miserable screams rang out instantly as more than a dozen Emperor Heaven members lost their lives in just a single blow, falling from the sky like dumplings.
The sword light danced about, sweeping in and out of Emperor Heaven’s group like it was being swung by an invisible hand, killing as it went. More importantly, no one was able to stop it.
Ding Yi never stopped roaring orders, but the Emperor Heaven members were all Emperor Realm cultivators; as such, they weren’t that strong. Although they were attacking together and had a vast numerical advantage, against such a powerful and practised Formation, how could they possibly be Sword Pavilion’s opponent?
Watching his Emperor Heaven members dying and a rain of blood falling from the sky, Ding Yi’s eyes turned bloodshot; however, he didn’t abandon his subordinates and flee. He was in the lead and proved he did not fear death, but the difference in strength could not be made up for with numbers alone.
If they wanted to destroy the Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, it would be impossible to do so without a few hundred casualties, but Ding Yi wasn’t sure that Emperor Heaven could last until then.
“Aren’t you going to help? He provoked such a powerful enemy for you,” Yue He approached Yang Kai and asked.
Yang Kai glanced at the battle in the sky before turning his attention to Hu Yi and the others and muttered, “I can’t leave now!”
If he left, the Six Fated Paths Bag would definitely be lost.
Yue He pouted her lips, “Heartless man!”
Yang Kai sneered, “That Ding Yi has his own plans, do you really think he’s just standing up for me?”
If Ding Yi could defeat Sword Pavilion, Emperor Heaven’s reputation would definitely soar. At that time, he wouldn’t have to worry about others joining him. Still, Ding Yi had indeed helped Yang Kai a little this time; otherwise, he would have had to face Sword Pavilion alone.
Yang Kai observed the power of this Sword Formation and believed that it would take him some effort to defeat it if it was turned against him.
Therefore, Yang Kai didn’t plan to sit back and do nothing, he was just waiting for the right time to act.
As the battle continued, everyone who saw the might of the Sword Pavilion’s several dozen disciples couldn’t help becoming absent-minded. With such a powerful Sword Formation, who in this world could stand against them?
Emperor Heaven had already suffered more than a hundred casualties in less than half a cup of tea’s time. On the other hand, Sword Pavilion’s side was completely unscathed. The stunning sword light’s momentum was still as strong as ever, sweeping through Emperor Heaven’s group without impediment. All who came into contact with this sword light were either injured or killed.
Ding Yi continued giving orders while leading the fight, somehow managing to stabilize the situation, decreasing Emperor Heaven’s casualties.
Once the battle began, regardless of the reason, both sides’ eyes turned red with bloodlust. It would only come to an end when one side was completely defeated.
After an incense stick worth of time, Ding Yi let out a muffled grunt and retreated as a forearm-length wound appeared on his chest, nearly killing him on the spot.
He quickly circulated his strength to suppress his injuries, but the Sword Intent radiating from his wounds was causing him great pain and difficulty.
At that moment, Yang Kai’s voice suddenly rang out in Ding Yi’s ears, “Tell your people to put away their artifacts.”
Ding Yi was startled and turned to look at Yang Kai, only to see him staring at him.
Although he didn’t know what Yang Kai meant by this, Ding Yi decided to take a leap of faith and shouted, “Stow your artifacts!”
Saying so, he swiftly stored his broadsword.
Although Ding Yi had given such an order, the Emperor Heaven members all acted differently. From this, it could be seen just how lax their discipline was. If Zhong Fan were to say the same thing, the Sword Pavilion’s disciples would have definitely obeyed.
However, Yang Kai didn’t care anymore. He could sense that the space inside the Six Fated Paths Bag was already filled with Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and would soon reach its limit.
After sending his message to Ding Yi, Yang Kai raised his hand and burst into maniac laughter, “I’ll deliver you a big gift!”
Saying so, he stowed away his Fated Paths Bag.
A mystical and ever-varying beam of light soared into the sky as the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light reappeared!
The distorted beam tore a hole in the sky, revealing itself to everyone within a thousand kilometres.
Suddenly, a cry rang out from the crowd, “Ah, my sword!”
With a woosh, a long sword flew straight towards the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, behind it was a shocked cultivator staring blankly, unable to fathom how his long sword artifact, which was clearly held in his hand a moment ago, flew out on its own.
“What’s going on!”
“How!”
A series of panicked cries rang out from the crowd, and all the cultivators who had summoned their metal artifacts paled. It couldn’t be helped either as a tremendous suction force had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pulling away their artifacts.
Everyone else also stared up at the sky in shock as they saw numerous artifacts flying towards the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light at an astonishing speed.
After a moment of hesitation, the cultivators who had lost their artifacts quickly formed hand seals and tried to recall them by urging their Divine Sense.
Nonetheless, they couldn’t summon their artifacts back! The pull of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was too powerful, and since it had already been taken away, it was no different from throwing a meat bun at a dog. It was already a lost cause.
The first person who saw his sword being pulled into the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had no time to feel sad before his face suddenly turned pale. He grunted and spurted a mouthful of blood as his face immediately became pale.
The long sword was connected to his Soul, and after being washed away by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, it quickly lost all spirituality and began to disintegrate, causing his Soul to suffer damage. Such damage would take at least a year or two to recover from.
*Pu pu pu…*
Countless people spurted blood one after another as more and more were injured. Only the cultivators who had not refined their artifacts deeply didn’t suffer any serious injuries, all they lost was their prized artifacts, which still put a pained look on their faces.
“It’s the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!” Someone exclaimed, “That Yuan Magnetic Divine Light actually has the power to pull away artifacts! Everyone, be careful!”
Not everyone’s artifacts had been taken away, Hu Yi and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters were still desperately resisting the strange movements of their artifacts, so when they heard this, their expressions all became serious. They quickly put away their artefacts, and finally prevented them from being lost.
In a short period of time, all the artifacts that had been taken away dimmed down and became a pile of scrap metal without any spirituality.
“This Yuan Magnetic Divine Light is actually able to pull artifacts, doesn’t that mean the Sword Pavilion disciples are in danger?” Someone muttered.
Hearing this, everyone seemed to realize something and quickly turned their attention from the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to the battlefield.
After taking a look, they were dumbfounded!
The Sword Formation that had been rampaging through Emperor Heaven’s group had been broken at some point and numerous streaks of light were now flying towards the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light from the Sword Pavilion group. No matter how much the Sword Pavilion disciples tried, they were unable to recall their swords.
Everyone from Sword Pavilion cultivated the Sword Dao and used special Secret Techniques to refine their swords. It could be said that these swords were closely connected to the lives of the Sword Pavilion’s disciples. Most of the Sword Pavilion disciples’ skills were related to their swords.
At this moment, when their swords had been taken away, the Sword Pavilion disciples were like tigers whose teeth and claws had been pulled out. Not only that, but they had even lost the swords they had been cultivating with their entire lives, so the Sword Formation naturally collapsed.
“What’s going on?” Luo Qing Yun’s face was filled with horror. The sword in his hand hadn’t been taken away; after all, he was an Open Heaven Realm Master and his foundation was not something an ordinary Emperor Realm cultivator could compare to. The moment he noticed something was wrong, he gripped his sword tightly, but at this moment, the sword in his hand was waving around uncontrollably, wanting to fly out of his grip. He was completely focused on his sword, so how could he be in the mood to kill?
“It’s the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!” Lu Xue shouted, her pretty face turning gloomy.
“What a vicious brat!” Zhong Fan lowered his head and glared at Yang Kai, who was laughing madly.
Previously, Yang Kai had crazily shouted that he would deliver them a big gift, but no one had expected that this gift would actually be a death sentence to Sword Pavilion! With just this one move, he had condemned dozens of Sword Pavilion elites to their graves!
In the time it took for the spark to fly off a flint, Zhong Fan roared, “Follow me!”
Taking the lead, he put away his artifact and charged towards the weakest point of the crowd as his body surged with Sword Intent.
However, the Sword Pavilion disciples had relied on the might of their Sword Formation to slaughter their way through the thousand or so members of Emperor Heaven, so now that their Formation had been broken, it would not be easy for them to escape.
*Pu pu pu…*
A series of dull thuds rang out as the Sword Pavilion disciples spurted mouthfuls of blood and became dispirited.
Unlike the crowd down below who had received varying degrees of backlash from the destruction of their artifacts, the Sword Pavilion’s disciple’s very lives were at stake. Their swords were refined using various special Secret Techniques and were closely linked to their lives. Once their swords were destroyed, it gave them a devastating blow.
As the swords were drawn into the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and their light dimmed, the dozens of disciples of the Sword Pavilion had their Souls shaken and suffered heavy injuries!
Ding Yi was flabbergasted!
Previously, when Sword Pavilion had set up their Sword Formation, they looked extremely majestic and awe-inspiring. Emperor Heaven had a thousand men on their side, but they were still cut down like vegetables and were unable to fight back at all. The anger and frustration in his heart couldn’t be described in mere words. Ding Yi had already begun considering retreating, thinking that provoking this group of a madman from Sword Pavilion was not worth it, but after Yang Kai sent him a strange message, the situation had suddenly taken a turn!
After a series of sword lights flew out from the Sword Pavilion disciples’ hands, the unstoppable Sword Formation actually collapsed on its own! Immediately after, many of the Sword Pavilion disciples spat out mouthfuls of blood and their faces went pale as if they had suffered heavy injuries.
There was no need for him to hesitate. Ding Yi raised his hand before waving it down and grinning fiercely, “Kill them!”
As he finished speaking, he took the lead and charged forward, his entire body was covered in a golden light that exuded boundless sharpness and caused others to shiver in fear. Shockingly, he was using his Dao Seal’s Metal Element Power to enhance his attack.
Strictly speaking, although Ding Yi’s cultivation wasn’t very high, his strength was still quite good amongst the Emperor Realm. Just from the quality of his Metal Element, one could tell that an ordinary Emperor Realm Master wasn’t his opponent. Moreover, it was quite apparent that he had condensed the Power of a Fourth or Fifth-Order Open Heaven material. Perhaps after spending a few months in the Great Ruins Boundary, he had his own opportunities!
With a single punch, the sky changed colour.
Since their leader had already set an example, how could those from Emperor Heaven shrink back?
With a loud bang, a series of Secret Techniques flew towards the Sword Pavilion disciples from every single direction, one after another.
Having lost their swords, the Sword Pavilion disciples’ strength had been greatly reduced, and after suffering heavy blows to their Souls, how could they resist such a dense barrage of attacks? If the Sword Formation was still functioning, they naturally wouldn’t fear these scattered attacks, but it had been disrupted when they lost their swords.
Despair flashed across the Sword Pavilion disciples’ eyes as none of them were able to avoid this attack. All they could do was desperately circulate their strength to form defensive barriers.
In an instant, layers of brown-coloured light appeared on the bodies of the Sword Pavilion disciples, all of them were clearly using their Earth Elements. Some of them even developed Divine Abilities related to the Earth Elements they had condensed, especially Zhong Fan, who was in the lead. He held a giant shield in his hand that was congealed from pure Earth Element Power that looked extremely solid.
However, in the face of countless attacks, their efforts were meaningless.
In a flash of light, the Sword Pavilion disciples’ defences were shattered. Even Zhong Fan’s giant shield couldn’t endure.
One attack after another hit the Sword Pavilion disciples, causing them to scream in pain as their fleshly bodies were reduced to a blood mist, not even leaving bones behind!
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the Sword Pavilion disciples had died. Even Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and Lu Xue were injured, their bodies drenched in blood, wounds riddling their figures!
The members of Emperor Heaven were ecstatic.
Just now, their side was being slaughtered by the Sword Pavilion’s Formation, causing them much grief and anger, so now that they had a chance to take revenge, they naturally spared no effort.
After the first round of attacks, the second round arrived!
“Sword Pavilion’s group is finished,” Hu Yi watched helplessly as this thought flashed across his mind, his face extremely pale. Ever since he had broken through to the Open Heaven Realm, he had not placed an Emperor Realm Junior in his eyes. To him, all Emperor Realm cultivators were nothing but ants whom he could kill at will, but today, after seeing the Sword Pavilion disciples running for their lives and witnessing Zhong Fan, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, fleeing like a stray dog, he finally realized that the saying ‘many ants could bite an elephant to death’ wasn’t an empty talk!
After all, this was the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary!
The culprit behind this entire debacle was none other than the young man with his hands behind his back.
Although Emperor Heaven was the murderer, at the end of the day, the death of the Sword Pavilion disciples was all the fault of this young man. If he hadn’t released the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light just now, how could Sword Pavilion have fallen so easily?
Turning his head to look at Yang Kai, Hu Yi felt a chill run up his spine. This young man had killed Open Heaven Realm Masters like slaughtering chickens and dogs, and now he had obtained this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. In the future, who in the Great Ruins Boundary could be his opponent?
Screams rang out again as Emperor Heaven’s second round of attacks wiped out all the remaining Sword Pavilion disciples, leaving only the three Open Heaven Realm Masters who were still trying to escape.
From this, one could see the difference between the Open Heaven Realm and the Emperor Realm. Under the effects of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, they were still able to control their swords and protect themselves from the barrage of attacks.
“You want to leave?” Ding Yi’s aura locked onto the fleeing Zhong Fan as he shouted angrily, “Leave your life behind first!”
As he spoke, he sent out another punch towards Zhong Fan. This punch was filled with Metal Element Power and was quite terrifying!
Zhong Fan hurriedly turned around, clenched his teeth, and pointed his finger, sending a stream of Sword Qi to greet the attack.
With a loud bang, space warped and his finger energy was shattered, causing Zhong Fan to spit out a mouthful of blood as his figure flew backwards. Emperor Heaven’s two rounds of attacks had already injured him and now, he was forcefully exerting his strength. He was almost no match for Ding Yi at the moment.
Luo Qing Yun quickly supported him and exchanged a glance with Lu Xue. The two of them then turned into two streaks of sword light, wrapping themselves around the three of them before instantly breaking through Emperor Heaven’s blockade and fleeing into the distance.
Several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples arrived under the leadership of three Open Heaven Realm Masters in an aggressive and overbearing manner, but after an incense stick of time, all of them were either dead or fleeing for their lives.
Of the dozens of Sword Pavilion members who had come, there were only three people left. Even Zhong Fan, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, had suffered heavy injuries and nearly died on the spot.
On the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, everyone was silent except for those from Emperor Heaven, who were cheering loudly, causing the world to tremble. Ding Yi was even laughing wildly, like he was the ruler of the world and nobody could stop him.
Many people were unhappy with his arrogant attitude, but it was undeniable that after this battle, Emperor Heaven’s prestige would reach new heights and its name would spread far and wide. In this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, there was definitely a place for him now.
Many of the thousand people present were already looking at Emperor Heaven with glistening eyes, wondering if they should join it.
After laughing madly, Ding Yi came back to his senses and wanted to thank Yang Kai, but when he looked down, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen, along with the dozen or so people who had been standing behind him.
“Where is Brother Yang?” Ding Yi asked the person beside him.
No one knew. Everyone was busy chasing after the Sword Pavilion disciples just now, so how could anyone pay attention to others?
On the other hand, one of the Emperor Realm Masters on the ground pointed below and replied, “They entered the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.” He clearly saw that when Zhong Fan and the others fled, Yang Kai led the dozen or so people around him into the sinkhole.
Ding Yi turned his head and saw that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was still shooting out from the hole created by the Earth-Dragon. His eyes couldn’t help narrowing as he secretly admired Yang Kai’s boldness. He had just witnessed the might of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and not only did it possess the power to pull in artifacts, but also to damage said artifacts critically in short order. How could jumping into this light result in a good end?
However, very soon, an unyielding thought emerged in his heart.
If Yang Kai could have the courage to jump down, why couldn’t he?
More Importantly, since such an intense Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was shooting out from the sinkhole, there must be High-Grade Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones below! It was a precious treasure trove!
Without any hesitation, he waved his hand, “Follow me!”
Leading the way, Ding Yi rushed towards the hole and arrived in the blink of an eye.
After approaching it, Ding Yi was able to sense how terrifying this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light truly was. When his Divine Sense made contact with it, it was immediately shredded, causing his head to ache.
Ding Yi couldn’t help gulping hard, wondering if he should wait and see what the situation was like later. If he couldn’t ‘eat the meat’ and ended up getting himself into trouble, it wouldn’t be worth it.
A cultivator beside him also came over with a nervous look and asked, “Leader, jumping in here is probably a bit dangerous, should we wait a little first?”
If this man hadn’t said anything, Ding Yi would have really waited, but since he was trying to build a reputation for himself and was now being dissuaded, Ding Yi became stubborn and declared, “What are you waiting for? There must be some kind of great treasure down there. Don’t you see that Brother Yang has already gone down? He must have gone to clean out all the riches. This Ding will go down first, the rest of you follow, no one is allowed to back down!”
The man’s face immediately became bitter.
After Ding Yi finished speaking, he grit his teeth and leaped forward, diving straight into the sinkhole. In order to avoid any accidents, he even pushed his Earth Element Power to protect himself, preparing for any consequences with whatever he had available.
However, just as he jumped down, he suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream and shot out of the sinkhole like an arrow.
Under everyone’s eyes, Ding Yi appeared a thousand meters away, but they were all shocked after seeing his current state.
At this moment, the Earth Element Power surrounding Ding Yi’s body had already been shattered. Not only that, but his clothes were also in tatters and countless tiny wounds covered his body. His blood had almost dyed his entire body red. Hovering in mid-air, Ding Yi’s eyes were filled with shock and fear.
Everyone gasped in astonishment.
Although everyone knew that this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light wasn’t something that could be easily rushed into as all of the artifacts had lost their spirituality and become scrap metal when they came into contact with it, none of them had ever imagined that it would be so terrifying.
Ding Yi had not even been able to last a breath before he was reduced to such a miserable state. If he had stayed inside for even a little longer, wouldn’t he have died without a complete corpse?
If even he was like this, what about the young man surnamed Yang and the dozen or so people around him?
“I’m afraid that brat is doomed,” an Open Heaven Realm cultivator whispered to Hu Yi. It had been half a cup of tea since Yang Kai had jumped into the sinkhole with his dozen or so followers, but there had been no movements even after such a long time. How could he be safe and sound?
A smile finally appeared on Hu Yi’s stiff face as he muttered, “Very good!”
Witnessing Yang Kai kill Liao Yi Bai with a single move, Hu Yi had become extremely wary. It would have been fine if this man was an Open Heaven Realm Master, but Yang Kai was just an Emperor Realm Junior.
This kind of unconventional existence was a great blow to him, so he was naturally happy to see him die.
“Sir, are you alright?” One of Emperor Heaven’s members rushed over to Ding Yi and asked.
Ding Yi raised his hand and said, “I’m fine!” Although he said so, his face was still filled with fear. It was fortunate that he had acted quickly; otherwise, he really might have been in trouble. Thinking about how Yang Kai had been inside for so long, he immediately came to the same conclusion as Hu Yi and the others. Yang Kai probably had lost his life.
With this thought in mind, Ding Yi’s expression brightened, and he waved his hand, ordering, “Encircle this sinkhole, kill anyone who dares trespass without mercy!”
If Yang Kai were to die, then the treasures below would be left untouched. This Yuan Magnetic Divine Light couldn’t go on forever, it had to stop at some point. As long as Ding Yi waited until then, he could lead the members of Emperor Heaven down to plunder the treasures below, thereby benefiting the most.
After receiving the order, Emperor Heaven quickly gathered around the sinkhole, completely surrounding it in the blink of an eye.
This action naturally drew the ire of the crowd, but those from Emperor Heaven were not afraid. Even though the surrounding cultivators were glaring at them angrily, they remained completely calm and composed.
At the same time, inside the sinkhole, as the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light washed over them, a group of more than a dozen people wrapped in Yang Kai’s Earth Element Power continued to descend.
Contrary to what Hu Yi, Ding Yi, and the others thought, not only was Yang Kai not dead, but he wasn’t even injured. Not only him, but the dozen or so Scarlet Star members were also unharmed. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was unable to break the defense of his Earth Element.
Yang Kai had now gathered his Wood, Fire, and Earth Elements, but he still didn’t know what Order these three Elements were, and neither could he ask anyone else about it. All he could do was try to figure it out himself.
If the Wood Element Power from the essence of the Immortal Tree was classified as Ninth-Order, then the Golden Crow True Fire and Earth Dragon’s Dragon Bead could probably be classified as Eighth-Order.
In other words, he now possessed at least one Ninth- Order and two probable Eighth-Order Elements.
However, this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was only Sixth-Order, so under the protection of an Eighth-Order Earth Element Power, how could Yang Kai and the others be harmed?
Although this was the case, Yang Kai was consuming a great deal of energy on this journey. Nonetheless, he had no choice but to constantly channel his Earth Element Power from his Dao Seal; otherwise, even if he remained unharmed, everyone else would be in danger of being killed, including Yue He. After all, her Elements were only Fifth-Order, so there was no way she could resist this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
“A Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone!” A disciple exclaimed as they kept falling, obviously seeing the treasures lining the cave walls.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and took the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone. Looking at it, he saw that it was only a Fourth-Order material, so he didn’t pay it any mind and simply tossed it into his Space Ring.
Who knows how deep the hole the Earth Dragon had dug was, but it was still drawing out Yuan Magnetic Divine Light hidden underground. As they continued to descend deeper into the cave, they occasionally discovered some Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones.
Yang Kai had collected more than a dozen pieces along the way, but the best was still just Fourth-Order, while the others were basically Second or Third-Order, so they weren’t worth much.
After descending about thirty thousand meters, the space below suddenly became bigger and everyone felt as if they had fallen into a sea of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
In just two breaths of time, the group of people once again rushed out of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light sea.
The next moment, a beautiful world appeared right before their eyes.
Shockingly, this was a giant underground cavern. The various parts of the cavern were flashing with a dense light, each of which represented a Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone.
Looking up again, above the cave, rays of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light gathered together and illuminated the vast cave.
This was obviously the source of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that had broken through the surface and shot into the sky.
Earlier, Yang Kai had used his Fated Paths Bag to collect an entire bag worth of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so he hadn’t expected there to still be so much left even after erupting for so long!
This situation made everyone’s heart ache. If they had more artifacts like the Fated Paths Bags, they might be able to collect more.
Yang Kai had thought about using the Sealed World Bead to collect the rest, but after trying it out during his descent, he had no choice but to give up. After the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light entered the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai sensed it came under a bit of pressure. It didn’t matter if he collected a little, but if he collected too much, the Sealed World Bead would collapse.
Estimating the amount of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light left in this cave, it would run out after another incense stick worth of time. Once that happened, the people above would definitely come down to plunder the treasures.
In other words, Yang Kai and the others didn’t have much time left.
“Sixth Manager, we’ve struck it rich this time!” Guo Zi Yan looked around and cheered. Just from what he could see, there were more than a dozen Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. Although he didn’t know what Order they were, just this number was enough to excite him.
Not to mention, this underground cavern was extremely vast. As long as they continued searching, they would definitely discover something good.
“Let’s move,” Yang Kai suggested calmly.
The reason why he had brought these dozen or so Scarlet Star members down here was, first, he was considering their safety. He had offended many people before, so it was definitely not safe to leave them outside. The other reason was that he needed people to collect these Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. Since he had already anticipated that there would be treasures below, how could Yang Kai not come up with a few plans?
The dozen or so Scarlet Star members rushed out excitedly and began gathering under his command, rushing towards everywhere something was glittering.
Yue He didn’t say a word and simply walked towards the most dazzling Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, and quickly put it away into her Space Ring.
While he sent others to collect the treasures, Yang Kai didn’t remain idle. Under the influence of his Divine Sense, each and every single Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone was detected, not leaving a single stone unmarked.
The members of Scarlet Star were quite self-aware. Every time they found a Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, they would deliver it to Yang Kai before turning around to look for more.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones underground were indeed different from the ones outside. They were of exceptionally high quality, with the lowest being Fourth-Order and most being Fifth-Order.
“Sixth Manager, over here!” Guo Zi Yan suddenly shouted from a thousand metres away, appearing to have discovered something.
Yang Kai followed the voice and arrived beside him in a flash.
“Sixth-Order, Sixth Manager, this is definitely Sixth-Order!” Guo Zi Yan’s face lit up as he pointed to a Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone embedded in the cave wall.
The divine light from the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone appeared to be taking a tangible form, similar to the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that was shooting out of the sinkhole.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and felt it for a moment before nodding, “It really is Sixth-Order.”
Guo Zi Yan’s breathing became heavy, and he almost wanted to weep from joy. He had never seen such a high Order material in his life. Although the previous Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was also technically Sixth-Order, it was extremely dangerous. One had to have the ability to negate the dangers of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light before they could refine it. This Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone in front of him was different. It also contained the power of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetism, but this Metal Element Power was much safer to cultivate with.
In his excitement, he also felt a bit depressed when he recalled how someone with no background like him and a mediocre aptitude had no choice but to use Second-Order materials and achieve the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm. In his lifetime, he could only reach the Fourth-Order at best.
If he could turn back time, he would definitely not make such a hasty decision and would instead wait for his own opportunity.
For instance, many Emperor Realm Masters in Scarlet Star had yet to even condense their Dao Seals or had just formed them, so they could find and make use of the many opportunities in the Great Ancient Ruins Boundary to break through to higher initial Orders. The precious treasures here were much richer than in the outside world, and there were also numerous opportunities to be found. As long as one could leave the Great Ancient Ruins Boundary alive, breaking through to the Third-Order or even Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm would not be a problem.
Compared to his Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, their future achievements would naturally be higher.
“Extract it,” Yang Kai ordered.
Guo Zi Yan nodded and collected his thoughts before starting to dig. A moment later, he was holding a plate-sized Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone in both hands.
“Sixth Manager, this holds enough Power for one person to gather their Metal Element, possibly even more than that,” Guo Zi Yan cried in excitement. Although this Sixth-Order material didn’t have much to do with him, he was naturally quite excited since he had personally found and dug it out.
A Sixth-Order material was worth at least 15 million Open Heaven Pills. If he had this many Open Heaven Pills, he wouldn’t have to worry about cultivation for the rest of his life.
“It’s acceptable,” Yang Kai added indifferently before storing it away.
Yang Kai and the others didn’t have much time left. Once the Yuan Magnetism Divine Light Sea above them was completely exhausted, the thousands of people gathered on the Yuan Magnetism Mountain would definitely come down to investigate and plunder, so everyone hurried up.
Each of them had a great harvest of Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. There was no shortage of Sixth-Order materials here, and this underground cavern was extremely large, stretching out in all directions.
It was impossible for the dozen or so Scarlet Star members to clear out this place in the allotted time, but their harvest was naturally not small since they were the first ones here.
After agreeing to meet up here later, Yang Kai had Yue He lead those from Scarlet Star to search in one direction while he flew in another alone.
Along the way, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and ignored all the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones below Third-Order, collecting only those at or above Fourth-Order.
The cavern was indeed expansive. Yang Kai had been flying forward for a whole day, but he still hadn’t reached the end of this network of caves. Furthermore, he would run into forks from time to time that made him dizzy.
After such a long time, the people on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain should have long ago come down, but this underground space was large enough for them to search through for some time.
After another day, Yang Kai finally reached a dead end.
Over the past two days, his harvest could be said to be enviable. He had collected more than a hundred Fourth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, thirty Fifth-Order, and four Sixth-Order.
In terms of value, just the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones he had found these past two days were worth over 100 million Open Heaven Pills, and this was only his own income. Even if Yue He and a dozen Scarlet Star members’ harvests were not as good as his, it wouldn’t be small either.
The only flaw was that he couldn’t find any Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones above Sixth-Order.
Yang Kai had thought that this Yuan Magnetic Mountain would have materials at the Seventh-Order or above, but he didn’t know if it was because of his bad luck or because he was searching in the wrong direction but he had not found any treasures like that.
At this moment, it was too late to change directions and search. More than two thousand people from up above had rushed in, so no matter how many treasures there were underground, Yang Kai would not be able to obtain them.
He didn’t know if anyone else had found a Seventh-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone.
Pondering for a moment, Yang Kai suddenly thought of something and grinned silently as he crossed his arms behind his back and calmly walked back.
Halfway up the road, a group of a dozen or so people appeared in front of him. When they saw someone in front of them, all of them couldn’t help being shocked as the person in the lead shouted, “Who goes there?”
With this shout, the dozen or so cultivators all secretly gathered their strength and prepared to attack.
Yang Kai walked over at a leisurely pace, but he didn’t make any overt movements or show any hostility, causing these people to be somewhat uncertain of his intentions.
When they got closer and saw Yang Kai’s face, the leading cultivator asked in surprise, “It’s you! You didn’t die?”
Previously on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, everyone had thought that Yang Kai and the dozen or so Scarlet Star cultivators were dead for sure; after all, they had gone down for so long without any sign of movement, so how could they possibly be safe?
Only now did he realize that Yang Kai was actually alive and kicking.
“Why would I die?” Yang Kai chuckled.
The cultivator who had just spoken muttered to himself for a moment before forcing a smile and cupping his fists, “Sir Yang’s strength is immeasurable, we all admire you.”
Although they were both Emperor Realm cultivators, this man didn’t dare act arrogantly in front of Yang Kai. He had personally witnessed the miserable death of Liao Yi Bai under Yang Kai’s spear.
For a moment, they felt somewhat uneasy. Now that they had encountered this God of Slaughter in such a place, the other party might covet their treasures, and if a conflict really broke out, the dozen of them would not be able to resist.
Unexpectedly though, Yang Kai simply nodded and walked past them.
The dozen or so people all secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at each other, suddenly feeling a sense of absurdity.
“Oh right.” Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at them.
“What instructions does Sir Yang have?” The leading cultivator respectfully asked.
“Don’t bother going that way, there’s nothing good there, pick a different direction,” Yang Kai suggested before quickly disappearing.
Only when Yang Kai’s footsteps disappeared did they realize that he had really left.
Someone asked, “What does he mean?”
“Idiot, he came from over there. He must have taken the good stuff first.”
Only then did the person who asked this question understood, “No wonder we only found Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones below the Third-Order along the way. It turns out they are leftovers that he didn’t take”
Fortunately, Yang Kai was in a hurry and didn’t have any interest in materials below the Third-Order; otherwise, they would have been unable to find anything along the way.
“Let’s move in a different direction!” The leading cultivator didn’t hesitate any longer and quickly led his group to the nearest fork and entered another cave.
As Yang Kai walked back the way he came, he encountered many cultivators, some in groups of three or five, some in groups of ten, some even in groups of thirty or fifty. All of them were surprised with Yang Kai’s survival.
When people with brains saw Yang Kai walking towards them, they immediately changed the direction of their search.
After spending another day, Yang Kai finally returned to the entrance.
Looking up, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that had gathered at the top of the cave had indeed disappeared. If not for that, how could the people on the surface of the Yuan Magnetic Mountain have come down alive?
Yue He and the others were still nowhere to be seen. They were probably still searching for more Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones.
Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry. He looked around before flying over to a stone pillar. The top of this stone pillar was a smooth surface, enough for dozens of people to stand on, and only a few dozen meters away from the entrance.
From time to time, people would fly down from above. Obviously, they were cultivators who had received the news and wanted to take a share of this place.
When these people saw Yang Kai sitting alone on the stone pillar, they couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised, but none of them thought too much about it. With their interests at stake, none of them had the time to care about others and all went off in different directions.
After waiting for less than half a day, two fierce auras descended from the sinkhole above Yang Kai’s head. Sensing these familiar auras, Yang Kai opened his eyes and saw two giant creatures, the Earth Dragon, and the Scarlet Flood Dragon, flying down one after another and circling around Yang Kai. Each of them were sending out vague messages and information, which was really annoying.
The two Ominous Beasts had put in a lot of effort and were both injured.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had injured the Earth Dragon, but it had mostly recovered over the past few days with its powerful vitality. The Scarlet Flood Dragon, on the other hand, had been injured by those from Thunder Light and had chased after them in a fit of rage. It was unknown where it had gone, but it had finally returned.
“Stop quibbling!” Yang Kai was rendered a bit speechless by these two. Although they couldn’t speak, their Divine Senses were constantly sending out vague messages.
He had no choice but to throw out two Dragon Blood Pills to calm them down, whereupon each of them found a quiet place to lie down and refine the medicinal efficacies.
Yang Kai also swallowed a Dragon Blood Pill and closed his eyes to study the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Elements, hoping to comprehend some kind of Divine Ability from them.
Another day later, Yue He and the others returned, all of them wearing bright smiles on their lips, obviously having gained a lot.
Sensing Yang Kai’s aura, Yue He’s eyes lit up as she led everyone to the stone pillar and handed over a Space Ring, “Young Master, this is our harvest.”
Yang Kai looked at her with some surprise, not expecting her to hand over all her gains to him.
Yue He, on the other hand, was smiling as if it was only natural.
Yang Kai accepted the Space Ring and sent his Divine Sense into it to investigate, but his anticipation soon turned into disappointment.
Yue He and the others’ harvests weren’t small, at least thirty percent more than Yang Kai’s, and they hadn’t even let go of any Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones below Third-Order. They had probably collected everything they could get their hands on.
The remaining Fourth-Order, Fifth-Order, and Sixth-Order materials were all there. But there was nothing at Seventh-Order!
Seemingly sensing Yang Kai’s thoughts, Yue He sent a Divine Sense transmission, “There are so many Low and Mid-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones stored under this Yuan Magnetic Mountain, it’s likely that it couldn’t produce a High-Order Divine Stone.”
These words made some sense, but Yang Kai was obviously unwilling to accept them.
Putting away the Space Ring, Yang Kai looked at the Scarlet Star group and declared, “You’ve all done well. After we return, if you have any requests, feel free to make them. Whether it’s a Fifth or Sixth-Order, as long as you have the ability to refine them, this King will not be stingy.”
The dozen or so survivors were the ones who hadn’t fled in the face of the hundreds of Thunder Light cultivators. Putting aside their loyalty, at the very least, they had some courage.
As soon as Yang Kai said this, everyone’s breathing became heavy, and Guo Zi Yan also exclaimed, “Sixth Manager, you don’t need to do this!”
Yang Kai claimed that he would freely gift them Fifth-Order and even Sixth-Order materials. Although not everyone had the ability to refine a Sixth-Order material, there were still those who could refine Fifth-Order materials. This was enough to show Yang Kai’s generosity and boldness.
Not to mention, these dozen or so people hadn’t done anything much all this time. Against the provocation of Thunder Light, it was Yang Kai who had single-handedly killed and routed them. All in all, it was all thanks to Yang Kai’s protection that they were able to survive. Following Yang Kai into the depths of this underground world was nothing more than searching and using some physical strength.
In fact, if it weren’t for Yang Kai using his Earth Element Power, none of them would have been able to get down here in the first place.
Exerting a small amount of strength to gain such massive benefits was something he had never even dared to imagine before.
“This harvest is not small, and this King is not someone who likes to enjoy things alone. Since you are all my people, this King naturally hopes that you can quickly grow up so that you can help this King in the future.”
Seeing that Guo Zi Yan still wanted to say something, Yang Kai raised his hand and said, “It’s settled, no need to say anything more.”
Guo Zi Yan sighed and cupped his fists, “Then this humble subordinate will thank Sixth Manager on behalf of his Fellow Brothers!”
The dozen or so people also cupped their fists with excitement, “Many thanks, Sixth Manager!”
All of them stared at Yang Kai with fiery eyes, once again feeling that following such a Manager was a blessing. If the previous Du Niang Zi was here, she would never be this generous.
Then again, with Du Niang Zi’s ability, she probably couldn’t even reach Yang Kai’s toes.
Yang Kai added, “Some of you may have already refined different Elements, so you should have some plans for your future, but this King will give you a word of advice, whether or not you have refined any of the Yin, Yang, or Five Elements, you should try your best to refine high quality materials. Although your foundation won’t allow you to reach a higher initial Order, Higher-Order Elements might still decide your fate in a battle.”
For example, a cultivator who had refined a Third-Order Fire Element before would reach the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm at best; as a result, if one’s wealth were insufficient in the outside world, they would only seek out Third-Order materials to refine their remaining Elements.
However, this was the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If one chose to refine a Fourth-Order or Fifth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Force, although it wouldn’t help them break through to the Fourth or Fifth Order Open Heaven Realm as they could only reach the Third-Order at best, when using their Metal Element Power, they would be able to draw out more strength, thereby increasing their lethality
Guo Zi Yan said, “Sixth Manager is right.”
A Scarlet Star disciple stood up and stated, “Sixth Manager, I only want a Fourth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone.”
“I also want a Fourth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone,” someone else requested.
The rest of the people also began making their requests. All of them were basically at the Fourth-Order. Only two of them remained silent for a long time before saying that they wanted Fifth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones.
Many cultivators in this world were constrained by their financial resources, so their initial Open Heaven Order was not their real limit.
For example, Meng Hong!
Previously, he had refined Third-Order Open Heaven materials, but his limit was actually Fifth-Order. It was just that a force like Great Moon Province was unable to satisfy his needs.
There were some who went over their aptitude as well of course and were unable to bear the pressure of refining such materials, resulting in severe backlash and often times, death.
Generally speaking, as long as one’s aptitude was good, refining Fourth-Order materials would not be a problem. If one’s aptitude were excellent, they would have a chance of refining Fifth-Order materials. As for the Sixth-Order, only true elites with an extremely good foundation and aptitude could refine them.
Of the dozen or so people present, nearly ten of them had stated their requirements, leaving only a few of them with envious looks.
They had already condensed their Metal Elements, so these Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones were naturally useless to them.
Yang Kai continued, “In the future, if we have any other gains, feel free to ask. This King will not mistreat you.”
Everyone was thrilled and cupped their fists in thanks.
Guo Zi Yan was now more than happy to offer his loyalty. This new Sixth Manager was so powerful and so generous to his subordinates, it was really rare in this world. It was also the blessing of these people to have such a superior.
Turning his head to the left and right, Guo Zi Yan asked, “Sixth Manager, there are many treasures here, how about this humble subordinate leads some people to continue to look for them?”
“There’s no need, just wait here, someone will naturally come to deliver them themselves.” Yang Kai waved off.
Guo Zi Yan was stunned, unable to understand what Yang Kai meant.
On the other hand, Yue He blinked and looked at Yang Kai, then at the special position where they stood, and then at the cave entrance a few dozen meters away, her face filled with horror as she asked, “Are you trying to block the way and rob others?”
Yang Kai grinned, “This tree was planted by me, and this road was opened by me. If they want to cross this road, they have to pay the toll. Whoever dares to say no will be killed and buried!”
Yue He was speechless. Even those from Scarlet Star were speechless. [The Sixth Manager is truly bold, he actually dares to do such a thing!]
However, since the Sixth Manager had decided to do so, they could only obey and stand behind Yang Kai to showcase their power and influence!
Although three days had already passed since the appearance of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, there were still people flying down from above and exploring the depths.
No one had left this place yet, but it was about time for some to try to depart. Although this underground area was vast, it couldn’t withstand the search of thousands of people. Since they had already excavated all the places they needed to, who would be willing to remain underground without any benefits?
As expected, after less than half a day, a few streaks of light flew over from a distance and soon arrived, preparing to fly through the entrance to leave.
However, how could Guo Zi Yan, who had long since learned of Yang Kai’s plan, give them this opportunity? He immediately stepped forward and raised his hand while ordering, “Halt!”
The oncoming people promptly stopped. When the light around them receded, a group of six figures appeared. One was an older man while the others were young men and women. From the looks of it, they should be from the same force and had probably been sucked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog when they were working in the Star City.
All six of them wore vigilant expressions as they secretly circulated their strength.
However, when the older man saw Guo Zi Yan’s appearance, he couldn’t help but be shocked and quickly looked towards Yang Kai, discovering that it was indeed the God of Slaughter.
The old man smiled bitterly in his heart as he had personally witnessed this young man kill Liao Yi Bai. So, at this moment, he knew that the six of them were not this young man’s opponent.
If it was a blessing it, was not a curse, and if it was a curse, it couldn’t be avoided. The old man cupped his fists and greeted, “So it is Sir Yang. This Old Master has been disrespectful. May I ask what advice Sir Yang has?”
Yang Kai, who was sitting cross-legged on the stone pillar, opened his eyes and looked at the old man plainly, “I don’t dare offer any advice, I only have one request, please take out your Space Rings for me to inspect.”
As soon as these words came out, the old man’s expression changed as a young man behind him shouted angrily, “Why?”
No cultivator was willing to hand over their Space Rings to others to be searched. Everyone’s Space Rings were private and had many of their secrets, so if they were given to others for probing, wouldn’t they be exposed?
Another young girl gritted her teeth and rebuked, “In your dreams!”
The elderly man raised his hand and stopped the youngsters behind him from speaking. He then looked at Yang Kai and forced a smile, “Sir Yang, please understand that although this Old Master and these unfilial disciples have searched the underground for several days, they haven’t found anything good. Even if we hand over our Space Rings, I’m afraid Sir Yang will be disappointed.”
Yang Kai replied indifferently, “Whether I’ll be disappointed or not, it will be apparent after I have checked.”
The old man frowned and added, “Sir Yang, how about this, we will give Sir thirty percent of our harvest and ask Sir to let us go, how about it?”
“Martial Uncle!” The young men and women behind him couldn’t help shouting. Their harvest this time wasn’t great, to begin with, so how could they be willing to hand over thirty percent of their harvest?
“I’ll only look at your Space Rings.” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
The old man’s brow wrinkled even more, hesitating for some time before gritting his teeth and raising his offer, “Forty percent!”
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to this.
“Fifty percent!” The old man took a step forward, seemingly having made up his mind, “If Sir Yang is still not satisfied, then this Old Master has nothing to say.”
Yang Kai still repeated the same sentence, “I’ll only look at your Space Rings!”
The young man who had just spoken shouted angrily, “Don’t go too far!”
Yang Kai glanced over coldly, “If I wanted it, all of you would be dead by now, how could I possibly allow you to continue quibbling?”
When the young man heard this, his face paled and he couldn’t help taking a few steps back. Thinking back to how the man before him had killed an Open Heaven Realm Master in a single move, he realized Yang Kai could kill them like they were ants.
The old man smiled bitterly, “Sir Yang, are you really going to keep insisting?”
Yang Kai was silent.
The old man nodded and added, “This Old Master understands. Sorry for disturbing Sir.” After cupping his fists, he waved his hand and ordered, “Let’s go.”
He turned around and headed in the opposite direction, leading his disciples, seemingly looking for another exit. He had been on edge, afraid that Yang Kai would try to stop him, but after they had walked quite a distance, Yang Kai showed no intention of taking action.
“That person is too much,” the young girl complained indignantly.
The old man stated, “You should now understand that in the 3,000 Worlds, strength is everything. Cultivate well in the future and don’t get distracted.”
The several disciples blushed in shame and nodded.
On the other side, Yue He asked, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll find another exit or forcefully open one?”
“They’re welcome to try,” Yang Kai replied indifferently.
They were 30,000 meters below ground, and because this was a Yuan Magnetic Mountain, the ground was extremely hard. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t display their true strength, it was near to impossible to forcefully create an exit.
Even if Yang Kai were to try it himself, he wouldn’t have a chance unless he used the Azure Dragon Spear.
It was only because the Earth Dragon was innately proficient in burrowing through the earth that it could drill a tunnel this deep into the Yuan Magnetic Mountain.
Time slowly trickled by as more and more people flew over from all directions, hoping to leave through the passage, but all of them were stopped by Guo Zi Yan.
More and more people continued to gather at the tunnel entrance. In less than half a day, there were already several hundred people gathered.
Yang Kai was sitting atop the stone pillar, completely calm and composed. The hundreds of people below him were all clamoring in rage, many of them glaring hatefully at him, but none dared to act openly aggressive, only cursing in their hearts.
As time passed, more people arrived, but none of them understood what was happening after seeing so many gathered. After asking around, they learned that Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager actually wanted to collect a toll before they could pass. Furthermore, what was even more shameless and presumptuous was that he asked to check the Space Rings of cultivators who tried to go before.
No one would agree to such a rude request; after all, what if Yang Kai snatched it away after they had handed over their Space Ring? There was no way they could defeat him, nor could they snatch it back, so although there were many people gathered here, none of them could leave.
Hu Yi was also here. Besides him, there were also several other Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The crowd’s eyes turned towards them, hoping that they could uphold justice.
Naturally, Hu Yi didn’t want to be the first one to stand out. He couldn’t wait to hide in the crowd, but with everyone watching, even if he didn’t want to stand out, he had no choice. After all, if an Open Heaven Realm Master didn’t stand up, how could he expect the Emperor Realm cultivators to speak up?
Raising his hand to calm everyone down, Hu Yi stated, “Everyone, please calm down. This Hu will go and inquire about Manager Yang’s intentions.”
The surrounding crowd cupped their fists, “Many thanks for your efforts, Manager Hu.”
Hu Yi sighed in his heart and raised his head to look in Yang Kai’s direction. Afterward, he turned his attention to the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, who were lying on the ground not too far away, pretending to be asleep. Hu Yi’s scalp went numb as he secretly gulped before waving his sleeve and flying up the stone pillar.
Guo Zi Yan and the others looked over coldly but didn’t stop him.
Hu Yi mounted the stone pillar, cupped his fists towards Guo Zi Yan, then cupped his fists towards Yang Kai, “Manager Yang!”
Yang Kai opened his eyes and looked at him, “Manager Hu, it seems you’ve thought things through. Please hand over your Space Ring.”
Hu Yi’s mouth twitched as he forced a smile, “Manager Yang, you must be joking, this Hu only came here to ask Manager Yang what the meaning of this is?”
Yang Kai asked indifferently, “What do you think?”
Hu Yi said, “It should be for the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones!”
“Since you know, why ask?”
Hu Yi’s face went stiff as he frowned, “Although I know, I’m afraid Manager Yang’s actions are not appropriate. Everyone spent a lot of time and effort to search for these Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, so who would be willing to hand them over so easily? Moreover, Manager Yang can’t stop everyone from passing through without any justification.”
Yang Kai raised his thumb and pointed upwards, “This tunnel was made by me! Isn’t that reason enough?”
Hu Yi was stunned for a moment before a wry smile appeared on his face. This tunnel really was created by Yang Kai; there was no way to refute this point.
Yang Kai snorted, “Without this King’s permission, all of you used the passage created by this King’s beast to search for Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones underground. It’s one thing if this King doesn’t pursue this matter, but now that I want to ask to share some of the benefits, you’re making excuses? What? Do you really think this King is easy to bully?”
“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!” Hu Yi quickly waved his hand, thinking that if this guy was a soft persimmon, no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary wasn’t. After a moment of silence, he added, “Manager Yang, what you say is also right. How about this, you give us a number, ten percent, twenty percent, or even thirty percent. If no one has any objections, we’ll hand over the portion that belongs to Manager Yang and you let us go.”
“A percentage? How would I know what you’ve found? What if you want to deceive me?”
“Absolutely not.” Hu Yi waved his hand.
“Do you dare guarantee it?”
Hu Yi’s expression became stiff. How could he guarantee such a thing? What if someone really was unwilling to pay up and simply took out some low-grade Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones?
“Don’t waste your breath. If you want to leave this place, take out your Space Ring and let this King examine it. After the inspection, I will naturally let you leave.”
Hu Yi stated, “Manager Yang’s actions are likely to provoke public anger.”
Yang Kai sneered, “It’s not the first time!”
Hu Yi shook his head and advised, “Times have changed. Before, everyone’s hearts were not united, but now everyone wants to leave. If Manager Yang insists on stopping us, will Manager Yang be able to stop these hundreds of people? Not to mention, there are even more who have yet to arrive.”
Yang Kai raised his hand and took out the Fated Paths Bag, grinning as he stated, “Does this King need to block the way? If anyone dares to try to force their way through, they will get a taste of this King’s Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!”
Hu Yi’s face paled as he suddenly remembered that this guy had collected a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. All he had to do was block the entrance and release the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light if they provoked him. No matter how many people there were, they wouldn’t be enough, and everyone would be killed.
Cupping his fists, he stepped back from the stone pillar.
The two of them didn’t try to suppress their voices, so, the hundreds of people down below heard them loud and clear. Many people were instantly filled with righteous indignation, thinking that Yang Kai had gone too far. It was true that his beast had created this passage, but there were so many treasures down below, so naturally, everyone who saw it would want to have a share. Now, he was even trying to block their way and rob them. How shameless!
However, not everyone thought so. Some cultivators were considering whether they should agree to Yang Kai’s request. In any case, they didn’t have any treasures in their Space Rings, so he might not be interested in them. The amount of Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones they had obtained this time wasn’t much, so although it was quite painful to give up some of them, it was better than being stuck here forever.
At that moment, swishing sounds rang as everyone immediately turned their heads. The next moment, they saw a dozen or so people covered in blood rushing towards the tunnel.
Guo Zi Yan took out a long stick and flew to the tunnel entrance, “Stop!”
The dozen or so people obviously recognized Guo Zi Yan and quickly stopped. The leader cupped his fists and asked, “What advice does Sir have?”
Guo Zi Yan repeated the words he had repeated countless times, “If you want to leave here, first hand over your Space Rings and let Sixth Manager examine them!”
Unsurprisingly, the dozen or so people who heard this couldn’t help becoming angry.
Just as they were hesitating, Yang Kai calmly said, “In ten breaths’ time, the people who are chasing you will arrive. Either hand over your Space Rings, and this King will let you go, or you can continue fleeing!”
The man in the lead’s expression changed as he turned his head to look back. Sure enough, he saw a streak of light rapidly flying towards them. He quickly thought about all kinds of things before asking, “Sir, could it be that everyone who wants to leave this place must hand over their Space Rings?”
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and pointed down, “Those who haven’t handed over their rings are all over there!”
The man looked down and saw nearly a thousand people gathered below.
In this moment of life and death, this man was quite decisive and nodded, “Good, since that’s the case, Sir, please have a look!” As he spoke, he took out his Space Ring and tossed it to Yang Kai.
Seeing their leader act in such a manner, the dozen or so people behind him also took out their Space Rings.
Yang Kai was extremely fast, and in front of everyone’s eyes, his Divine Sense swept over the dozen or so Space Rings before raising his hand and returning all of them, “You can go!”
The lead cultivator was stunned for a moment, but he didn’t have time to think about it. He simply cupped his fists towards Yang Kai and shouted, “Many thanks, Sir!”
Saying so, he led the dozen or so people behind him out of the tunnel and disappeared.
Three breaths after they left, a group of several dozen people came chasing after them. Seeing the group of people passing through the tunnel, they didn’t hesitate to chase after them, shouting, “Where do you think you’re going?!”
However, before they could approach the entrance, the Scarlet Flood Dragon, which had been sleeping on the ground, suddenly flew up. Its massive body completely blocked the entrance and it breathed out a mouthful of raging flames, scaring the several dozen or so people to the point of staggering back. Their faces, immediately pale.
Everyone below was also shocked.
From the looks of it, if Yang Kai really didn’t want to let them pass, he wouldn’t even need to use his Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Just the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon alone would be enough to seal the passage. Everyone immediately became frustrated.
The leader of the pursuers glanced at the Scarlet Flood Dragon and couldn’t help gulping before turning to Yang Kai and stating, “Sir Yang, we are members of Emperor Heaven.”
Yang Kai didn’t even look at him, “Call Ding Yi over to talk to me.”
The man’s expression froze. He couldn’t figure out what Yang Kai had to do with the people who had escaped and why he was protecting them, but he didn’t dare act rashly and quickly took out his communication artifact and sent a message to Ding Yi.
While he was busy, the Divine Senses of everyone below suddenly began communicating.
Just now, when Yang Kai was examining the Space Rings of the first dozen or so people, they had clearly seen him only inspect them for a moment before returning them untouched and letting them pass.
It was impossible for that group to have found nothing down here. There were so many Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones here that even if one or two of them had not found anything, the others must have found something. At the very least, they would have collected some Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones at the Third-Order.
However, Yang Kai really hadn’t taken anything.
What was going on?
If that was the case, they might be able to accept Yang Kai’s conditions. In any case, they wouldn’t suffer any real losses. At most, they would lose some face.
Therefore, after a brief hesitation, someone immediately flew up to the stone pillar and cupped his fists, “Sir Yang!”
Saying so, he handed over his Space Ring.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed the ring, sweeping it with his Divine Sense before tossing it back.
The man was overjoyed, “Farewell!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed up, and the Scarlet Flood Dragon made way for him.
This scene caused quite a number of people to burst into an uproar. If they had been mistaken before, this time, everyone was staring at Yang Kai carefully, not daring to be distracted. They didn’t dare to use their Divine Sense, and just relied on their eyes. From what they could tell, Yang Kai had indeed not taken anything from that man’s ring.
If there was a first, there would be a second. One cultivator after another flew up the stone pillar, either directly or nervously handing over their Space Rings. Basically, Yang Kai just scanned them and returned them.
After the inspection, all the cultivators left happily.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, more than a hundred people had left, but in front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai had not taken anything from their Space Rings.
Hu Yi and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered around. They couldn’t understand what was going on.
Previously, everyone had thought that Yang Kai wanted to take some benefits from their harvest, and he had even said as much, but now he was not taking anything. [What is the meaning of this? Is he looking down on these people’s gains, or is he looking for something specific?]
Regardless, Yang Kai’s actions were good news for most people.
Another person flew up to the stone pillar. He wore a flattering smile on his face. Just by his looks, he appeared quite shrewd. Obviously, he was far from a good guy. He handed over his Space Ring with both hands just like everyone else, waiting with bated breath.
Yang Kai gripped his Space Ring and smiled at him, “Is everything here?”
The man quickly replied, “It’s all there.”
“Are you sure?”
The man hesitated for a moment before quickly assuring with a nod, “I dare not lie.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted and stretched out his hand, grabbing towards him. Suddenly, a Space Ring flew out from his sleeve and fell into his hand.
“Then what is this?” Yang Kai stared at him coldly.
The man was immediately struck with panic. He had obviously used a Secret Technique to hide this Space Ring, but it had still been easily found.
“Sir, please spare my life, this lowly one was only careless for a moment!”
Yang Kai didn’t even look at him and simply waved his hand, “Scram.”
A burst of energy instantly sent the man flipping straight into the tunnel, leaving behind his Space Ring.
Standing at the entrance of the tunnel, the man stared at the Space Ring that had been snatched away. His heart was aching but he weighed his strength against his opponent before grinding his teeth and flying out.
Yang Kai glanced over the crowd below and stated, “If anyone dares to conceal anything, this King won’t kill you, but that man is an example of what will happen to you!”
Everyone’s expression became serious. Some of them had been thinking the same thing as the man just now. They thought that they had found something good and wanted to hide it secretly; but in this situation, how could they have the courage?
Yang Kai really hadn’t killed that man, but he had taken all of his possessions, so how was he supposed to survive in the Grand Ruins Ancient Boundary in the future?
Time passed slowly as one cultivator after another flew in front of Yang Kai, flying out one by one.
Previously, at least a thousand people had gathered on the mountaintop, and then a thousand Emperor Heaven members came. Later on, many more cultivators arrived, so at least three thousand cultivators had gathered down below here.
Although Yang Kai’s speed wasn’t slow, it still took him quite some time to finish scanning everyone’s Space Ring.
However, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yang Kai had searched through hundreds of Space Rings but hadn’t taken anything other than from the man who tried to hide a second Space Ring.
Hu Yi and the other Open Heaven Realm Masters were constantly communicating with each other, and at a certain moment, Hu Yi suddenly turned to a cultivator beside him and ordered via Divine Sense, “You go!”
The cultivator nodded and flew forward. After waiting for half an incense stick worth of time, the man’s turn arrived.
After handing over his Space Ring, the cultivator waited anxiously, but after Yang Kai finished examining his Space Ring, he smiled and praised, “A good harvest!”
He casually tossed the Space Ring back.
The man was stunned for a moment before quickly cupping his fists, “Many thanks, Sir!”
Inside his ring were two Fifth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. He had been worried that Yang Kai would take them, but now it seemed he had been overthinking things.
Turning around, he signalled to Hu Yi that everything went smoothly, to which Hu Yi gave a nod.
“It’s a blessing, not a curse, and if it’s a curse, we can’t avoid it. Let’s go,” Hu Yi stated.
Although it was embarrassing to have his Space Ring examined by an Emperor Realm Junior, it was impossible for him not to lower his head in the current situation. Whether he could leave or not depended on the other party’s will. With two Ominous Beasts standing guard at the tunnel entrance and the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light in Yang Kai’s grasp, no one could resist.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters were also getting a little impatient, so they all nodded in agreement.
Immediately after, several Open Heaven Realm Masters led their respective disciples towards the entrance.
After a quarter hour, it was finally Hu Yi’s turn. After handing over his Space Ring, Hu Yi quietly waited.
However, this time, Yang Kai finally did something different. With a surge of his Divine Sense, a plate-sized Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone appeared in front of him, which he quickly put into his Space Ring.
Hu Yi’s eyes bulged as he quickly shouted, “Manager Yang!” His heart ached as if a few kilograms of meat had been shaved from his body. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone Yang Kai had taken away was a Sixth-Order material, the only one Hu Yi had obtained on this trip.
Only now did he understand that Yang Kai’s refusal to take anything before was not out of mercy, but because he didn’t care about the gains of these people. His eyes were only focused on the Sixth Order and above.
“Do you have any objections?” Yang Kai looked up, playing with Hu Yi’s Space Ring in his hand.
Hu Yi’s eyes bulged as his face twitched for a long time before he gritted his teeth and replied in resignation, “I wouldn’t dare!”
He was afraid that if he were to say a single word, his Space Ring would disappear.
Yang Kai tossed back his Space Ring and calmly shouted, “Next!”
Hu Yi took back his Space Ring, and although he was angry, he had no choice but to glare hatefully at Yang Kai before flying towards the exit.
Seeing this, the people behind him naturally understood Yang Kai’s intentions. This guy wanted to monopolize the Sixth-Order and above Stones.
In a flash, some were happy while some were sad.
At this moment, a heroic figure flew over from afar and soon arrived on the stone pillar. It was none other than Ding Yi.
Seeing how lively this place was, he couldn’t help but scratch his head and ask, “Brother Yang, what are you doing?”
Yang Kai examined a Space Ring while grinning at him, “Blocking the road and robbing people.”
Ding Yi’s expression froze for a moment before he forced a laugh, “Brother Yang surely jests.” He thought Yang Kai was joking, but after taking a closer look, he found that there were many people waiting in line. When they arrived in front of Yang Kai, they took the initiative to hand over their Space Rings for him to inspect before he let them pass.
Ding Yi couldn’t help but tremble. If this wasn’t a robbery, then what was?
For a moment, his eyes were filled with admiration. He didn’t even dare to think about such a thing. Even though they were both Emperor Realm cultivators, only Yang Kai could pull off a stunt like this.
Moreover, so many people gathered here were actually cooperating obediently!
He was instantly overwhelmed by Yang Kai’s conduct.
Ding Yi asked, “Brother Yang, do you want me to help?”
Yang Kai tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying, “En, ask your Emperor Heaven members to line up behind you.”
Ding Yi was stunned, “My Emperor Heaven members also need to be inspected?”
Yang Kai stated, “No one is an exception.” He then pointed towards the front. Ding Yi looked over and discovered that this person was actually an Open Heaven Realm cultivator, but his expression was extremely ugly.
Ding Yi laughed, “No, Brother Yang, you see, Emperor Heaven, on the mountain before….”
“Indeed, I saved many of your Emperor Heaven’s lives before!” Yang Kai interrupted him before he could finish.
Ding Yi choked on his words as what Yang Kai said was the truth. If Yang Kai hadn’t released his Yuan Magnetic Divine Light at the critical moment, Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation wouldn’t have been destroyed so easily. In the end, both sides would have suffered heavy losses. Even if the Emperor Heaven members took down Sword Pavilion’s group eventually, they would have suffered heavy casualties to do so.
“Brother Yang, is this really necessary?” Ding Yi asked with a frown.
“Don’t worry, I won’t touch anything I shouldn’t take, I’ll only take what’s useful to me!” Yang Kai comforted him.
Ding Yi stood in place and hesitated for a long time before making up his mind. He grit his teeth and agreed, “Fine, Brother Yang, my Emperor Heaven will cooperate with you!”
Saying so, he turned around and flew down, ordering Emperor Heaven’s group to line up behind him.
One cultivator after another was allowed to pass through with their Space Rings after a check. Yang Kai’s intentions were completely exposed. Even if those cultivators managed to obtain a Fifth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, he wouldn’t touch them. Only the Sixth-Order and above would be taken away.
The reason for this was that Yang Kai had his own considerations. There were many Fifth-Order Divine Stones in the depths of this underground cave, so if he were to really snatch all of them, he would be going overboard. Even if he were to eat all the meat, the soup should be left for others. If he really took away Fifth-Order Divine Stones, he might incur the wrath of the masses and would be forced to fight it out with these thousands of people. At that time, he would slaughter them until rivers of blood flowed. As for the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, he absolutely could not let them go. Even if he could not use them now, there would always be a use for them in the future.
As a result, the cultivators who hadn’t managed to collect a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone were delighted, while the cultivators who had managed to obtain a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone were all frowning.
Some cultivators even took the initiative to take out the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones so that Yang Kai wouldn’t have to grab them. However, there were very few Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, so Yang Kai only managed to find a few after searching through more than a thousand people.
After arranging for Emperor Heaven and the others to be searched, Ding Yi flew over to the stone pillar and stared at Yang Kai as he searched through the Space Rings one by one. Ding Yi couldn’t help but lament in his heart. [A real man should be like this! When will I be able to act so domineeringly?]
Although he was now the head of Emperor Heaven and had thousands of subordinates, he still felt that he was a bit lacking compared to Yang Kai.
Emperor Heaven’s group arrived relatively late and could be considered the last group of people, but their numbers were huge, numbering around seven or eight hundred. Originally, there were a thousand of them, but many of them had perished during the battle with Sword Pavilion.
After Yang Kai was finished checking the Space Rings of Emperor Heaven and the others, a full day had passed.
Ding Yi cupped his fists with a look of envy, “Brother Yang has had a great harvest.”
He had been watching this place for more than a day and had personally seen Yang Kai take eight Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones from other peoples’ Space Rings. These Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones were worth 15 million Open Heaven Pills each, so eight were worth more than 100 million Open Heaven Pills.
Not to mention, a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone was simply priceless and could be sold for more than 15 Open Heaven Pills million.
Just sitting here had allowed Yang Kai to reap so many benefits so easily. It was truly enviable.
“Many thanks for Brother Ding’s cooperation,” Yang Kai smiled lightly. After this encounter, the small grudges between them had been resolved, and there was no deep hatred between them.
As he spoke, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged as the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon that had been lying low all this time suddenly crawled towards the depths of the cave.
Ding Yi was puzzled, “What are you doing?”
Yang Kai replied with a snort, “There are still people hiding here who think they can escape.”
Half a day later, two massive figures flew out from the underground cavern of the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. The Scarlet Flood Dragon was taking the lead, while the Earth Dragon was following closely behind, and standing atop the massive head of the Scarlet Flood Dragon were over a dozen figures.
After dealing with the people hiding in the depths of the cave, Yang Kai finally left.
Ding Yi had left long ago. Although the Divine Stones beneath the Yuan Magnetic Mountain had all been looted, that didn’t mean there weren’t any Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones left. The entire Yuan Magnetic Mountain stretched over thousands of kilometres, attracting countless cultivators to explore it.
Even though the rich underground trove had been completely plundered, the entire Yuan Magnetic Mountain was still filled with opportunities, though the quality of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones on the surface was inferior to those in the depths.
Ding Yi led hundreds of Emperor Heaven members and scattered them throughout the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. Not only that, but he even sent a message back to his headquarters, calling his remaining several thousand people over, taking control of over a hundred kilometres of the mountain range and digging it up.
Flying down from the sky, Yang Kai heaved a sigh.
Even till now, he was unable to find a Seventh-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone. The main reason he had tried to block the road and rob others was because of this, but in the end, he found nothing. Since he was unable to find one so deep under the mountain, it was highly unlikely that he would find one on the surface.
Yue He observed his expression and knew what he was thinking. She pursed her lips and asked, “Isn’t Sixth Order already quite good? Why force it?”
It was as if she couldn’t wait for Yang Kai to absorb the Sixth-Order Metal Element material and was constantly fanning the flames.
Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered with her and simply stared at several dozen people flying over from afar.
When these people arrived, they all cupped their fists and said, “Greetings, Sixth Manager, Seventh Manager!”
As they spoke, they wore fanatical expressions.
Yang Kai looked at Guo Zi Yan suspiciously.
Guo Zi Yan explained, “Sixth Manager, these are my remaining subordinates. They were quite far away from here before, so they weren’t able to come in time. When they arrived, we were already underground, so this humble subordinate took the initiative to have them remain above.”
Yang Kai felt relieved.
After becoming Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager, the force had sent over a hundred people to him. Only thirty or so people had been on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain before, and now the remaining people had joined them.
Compared to the thousands of Emperor Heaven members, these less than a hundred people were nothing, but these were the only men Yang Kai currently had.
“What’s the situation up here?” Guo Zi Yan asked one of the young cultivators.
The young man stepped forward and cupped his fists before replying, “Reporting to Great Commander, we have been searching for Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones for the past few days, but our harvest has not been great. The highest we found was a Third-Order Divine Stone.”
Saying so, he took out the Third-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone.
Guo Zi Yan turned to look at Yang Kai, who waved back.
Guo Zi Yan understood immediately, “Keep it for yourself.” He knew that Yang Kai had collected nearly twenty Sixth-Order Divine Stones, so how could he be interested in a mere Third-Order Divine Stone?
The young man was thrilled and hurriedly shouted, “Many thanks, Sixth Manager!”
Although he was the one who had found this thing, if Yang Kai insisted on taking it, he would have to offer it to him with both hands. Now that Yang Kai had told him to keep it, he was naturally happy.
Pondering for a moment, Yang Kai ordered, “Commander Guo, you stay here with your brothers. If any high Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones appear, send me a message immediately!” In the end, Yang Kai was still unwilling to give up. Although the chances of success weren’t high, what if someone really found a Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone at or above the Seventh Order on this Yuan Magnetic Mountain?
“Yes!” Guo Zi Yan nodded respectfully.
“Take this,” Yang Kai casually took out a bead and handed it to Guo Zi Yan.
Guo Zi Yan took it and asked suspiciously, “Sixth Manager, this is….”
“A Space Beacon.” Yang Kai took out another Space Beacon, “These two beads are connected with each other. Don’t put them into your Space Ring, carry them with you at all times.”
He didn’t explain too much.
Guo Zi Yan naturally accepted the order, looked to the side, and stated, “But Sixth Manager, although we have a few dozen people, we’re still too few in number. If we really find something good and have a conflict with others, without you, I’m afraid we won’t be a match.”
“Just speak your mind!” Yang Kai glanced at him.
Guo Zi Yan smiled embarrassedly and pointed to the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon next to him, asking, “This humble subordinate would like to ask Sixth Manager to leave one of them behind, preferably the Earth Dragon, so that if the situation turns sour, it can open a hole for us to escape.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh, “You have a quick wit. Good, I’ll leave them with you.”
Guo Zi Yan was overjoyed, “Many thanks, Sixth Manager!” He didn’t need to fear anything with these two beasts around unless one of the few great forces showed up in full force.
“Are you coming or not?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yue He.
Yue He pursed her lips and smiled, “Wherever Young Master goes, I go.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes and reached out to grab her arm. His Divine Sense surged as they instantly disappeared.
Everyone on Scarlet Star’s side was dumbfounded. None of them had seen how Yang Kai had disappeared. Even with their Divine Senses, they could no longer detect his aura.
“Space Divine Ability!” Guo Zi Yan was fascinated. Although the Grand Ancient Ruins was huge, it was possible to go anywhere with such a Divine Ability.
The young man from before came over with a sneaky look and whispered, “Great Commander, we heard some incredible news just now, but we don’t know if it’s true or false.”
“What did you hear?” Guo Zi Yan glanced over.
The young man chuckled meaningfully and replied, “Some people say that our Sixth Manager killed an Open Heaven Stage Master in a single move? It’s said that the Open Heaven Stage cultivator was also the leader of the Profound Clouds Society or something, called Liao Yi Bai. The rumours were quite detailed.”
Someone frowned and asked, “Great Commander, could it be that someone wants to kill our Sixth Manager? I’ve also heard that our Sixth Manager is very strong. He killed the two managers, Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong with just his Emperor Realm cultivation, and forcefully entered Scarlet Star. However, killing an Open Heaven Stage Master in one move is a bit too far-fetched.”
Guo Zi Yan coldly snorted, “It’s natural to feel disbelief when you did not see it with your own eyes.”
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the newly arrived group all changed as the young man asked in surprise, “Great Commander, it’s true?”
Guo Zi Yan said, “Sixth Manager’s divine might is unparalleled, this Commander saw it with his own eyes, how could it be false!”
Everyone gasped in shock. The dozens of people couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but they knew Guo Zi Yan was not one to spout nonsense.
A disappointed look appeared on Guo Zi Yan’s face, “Although this Commander is a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Sixth Manager can probably crush me with a single finger.”
The young man’s mouth twitched, “Great Commander, you’re being too modest.”
Guo Zi Yan slowly shook his head, “You’ve only heard that the Sixth Manager killed Liao Yi Bai with a single attack using his spear, but you don’t know that our Sixth Manager killed hundreds of Thunder Light disciples, and even killed Bie Jian as well.”
Everyone was dumbfounded, seriously staring at Guo Zi Yan, trying to see if he was joking.
On the other hand, the dozen or so people behind Guo Zi Yan, because they had witnessed the battle with their own eyes, were filled with an inexplicable sense of pride. Although Yang Kai had the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s help at the time, after giving it a second thought, they realized that the Sixth Manager was still quite powerful even without the Scarlet Flood Dragon!
The young man muttered, “If that’s the case, is Sixth Manager’s act of blocking the road and robbing everyone really true?”
Because there weren’t many people who had seen the battle with Thunder Light, not many people knew about it, but when Yang Kai killed Liao Yi Bai and robbed people underground, thousands had been there to witness it.
“Our Sixth Manager is an extraordinary person; we are lucky to have the chance to follow him.”
As soon as Guo Zi Yan finished speaking, a cultivator behind him added in an excited manner, “And he’s also very generous! Sixth Manager said that as long as our brothers needed something, whether it’s Fourth-Order, Fifth-Order, or even Sixth-Order materials, we can get them by just asking him for it. It will be the same in the future!”
“Fifth-Order, Sixth-Order? Really?!” Some people couldn’t believe it. A Fifth-Order material was worth 1.5 million, while Sixth-Order materials were worth at least 15 million Open Heaven Pills. How could such a thing be given away so easily? Just how generous was this Sixth Manager?
Guo Zi Yan smiled, “Whether it’s true or not, you’ll know after we return, but I don’t think Sixth Manager will go back on his word.”
He then clapped his hand as a solemn look appeared on his face, “Good, let’s not waste any more time. Get searching; maybe we can find some high-order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones.”
After saying this, Guo Zi Yan walked straight towards the Earth-Dragon. The Earth Dragon was an expert in digging holes, so although they had fewer people, their harvest might not be worse than others if the Earth Dragon was used well.
..…
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion back in the Star City, Yang Kai and Yue He appeared in a certain room.
Yue He was stunned for a moment before she turned around and asked, hesitating, “Is this the Star City?”
She still had some impression of Yang Kai’s room.
“En,” Yang Kai pushed open the door and walked out.
Yue He followed closely behind and exclaimed, “You can teleport tens of thousands of kilometres?”
The Yuan Magnetic Mountain was tens of thousands of kilometres away from here, but in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had actually brought her back here. Even someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Yue He couldn’t help but feel shocked.
Was the Dao of Space really this powerful? If so, who in this world could possibly kill Yang Kai? Unless the space around him was sealed and isolated, if he could teleport tens of thousands of kilometres in an instant, no one would be able to catch up to him!
“This King’s ability is not something you can imagine!” Yang Kai sneered, not telling her that he had used a Space Beacon to accomplish this feat. Before he left, Yang Kai had already left a Space Beacon in his bedroom, so naturally, he could come and go as he pleased.
Yue He asked bitterly, “Then why didn’t you teleport to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain before?”
Before, they had travelled quite a distance.
“I’ve never been to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, so how should I know its exact location?” Yang Kai casually replied.
Yue He thought about it and agreed. It was indeed difficult to teleport to places he had never been to. If something went wrong, it would be no laughing matter.
As the two of them spoke, they had already arrived in front of a certain secluded room. Two Great Moon Province disciples were standing in front of the room, waiting anxiously. When they saw Yang Kai, they immediately rushed over and greeted him, “Senior Brother Yang!”
“What’s the situation?” Yang Kai asked.
Before he left, Meng Hong had begun refining the Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire. Now that several days had passed, Yang Kai had no idea about the result or whether everything went smoothly or not.
The two Great Moon Province disciples slowly shook their heads, looking worried.
There was no way they wouldn’t be worried. Meng Hong was absorbing a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, and if he made even the slightest mistake, he would be consigned to a fiery damnation. Due to this, their hatred for Chen Yue only grew deeper. Their Eldest Senior Brother wouldn’t have suffered such a blow if it weren’t for her.
“He won’t finish so quickly,” the nearby Yue He interjected, “It’s only been a few days, how can there be any results? The speed at which one condenses their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements has a lot to do with their aptitude. It could take from ten days to half a month, or up to a year or more. You’ve also condensed a few Elements, so you should have… some experience…”
Saying so, Yue He’s beautiful eyes suddenly shrank as if she recalled something. Furthermore, she was staring at Yang Kai with a look of shock on her face.
Yang Kai had only spent about twenty days condensing what she imagined to be a Seventh-Order Earth Element Power back on Hidden Dragon Mountain. This speed was simply terrifying. When she was condensing her Fifth-Order Elements, the shortest amount of time she had taken was half a month, while the longest she spent was just over three months.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had condensed a Seventh-Order Element in just twenty days. Just how terrifying was his aptitude and foundation?
Yang Kai, on the other hand, didn’t notice her thoughts. He was thinking about the time when he was gathering his Elements and felt she had a point.
He then ordered the two Great Moon Province disciples, “Keep an eye on him at all times. If anything happens, inform me immediately.”
“Yes, Senior Brother Yang!” The two Great Moon Province disciples cupped their fists and gave a nod.
Yang Kai then returned to his room while Yue He followed closely behind him.
Yang Kai had also slowly gotten used to her presence and wasn’t worried too much about her. He then took out his gains from his trip to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain and started taking inventory.
Yang Kai’s harvest from the underground cavern of the Yuan Magnetic Mountain wasn’t small. He had not collected any Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones below the Third-Order, but had obtained more than 100 Fourth-Order, 30 Fifth-Order, and 4 Sixth-Order Divine Stones. Just this alone was worth more than 100 million Open Heaven Pills.
Yue He, Guo Zi Yan, and the others’ harvests were even greater. After all, they had more people with them.
Furthermore, Yang Kai also blocked the tunnel entrance and robbed everyone, collecting a total of 18 more Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. This was a terrifying amount, enough to even arouse the jealousy of the Cave Heavens and Paradises!
Only in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could one obtain such a terrifying harvest. In the 3,000 Worlds, one would never have such an opportunity.
Putting aside the Third-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, Yang Kai had obtained a total of 245 Fourth-Order, 73 Fifth-Order, and a whopping 26 Sixth-Order Divine Stones!
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones before Yang Kai were worth nearly 600 million Open Heaven Pills even at base market price!
But if Yang Kai really sold them, he would definitely gain far more than that.
He had suddenly become rich overnight!
Moreover, these kinds of precious treasures were highly coveted, so everyone would be interested in them no matter where he sold them. Moreover, it would attract a lot of attention.
“Young Master, you’ve struck it rich!” Yue He also smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. She was as happy with Yang Kai’s gains as if it was her own harvest.
Yang Kai was also in a good mood and all the depression from not being able to find a Seventh-Order Divine Stone was swept away as he burst into laughter, “It’s not bad.”
Yue He covered her mouth and giggled cutely, “If Young Master succeeds in the future, don’t forget those who led and saddled your horse.”
Yang Kai waved his hand generously, “Don’t worry, in the future, as long as I have something to eat, I won’t let you starve.”
Yue He’s beautiful eyes sparkled, “Then I’ll thank Young Master in advance.”
Yang Kai put away all the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones and took out the Fated Paths Bag. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones’ price could be calculated, but the value of this bag of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light could not be estimated so easily.
Its power was immense and unpredictable and few people in this world could resist it. At the very least, no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could!
However, although he had collected a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light in the Six Fated Paths Bag, Yang Kai was still somewhat worried about how to use it.
Normally, a cultivator could use this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to refine their Metal Element, and if they succeeded, its Order would definitely be Sixth-Order. However, there was probably no cultivator in this world who had the ability to absorb this kind of condensed Yuan Magnetic Divine Light into their Dao Seal. If they really tried to do so, it wouldn’t be long before their Dao shattered, crippling or killing them in the process.
“Do you have any good suggestions?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yue He. Although she was somewhat crazy, she was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. In terms of experience, Yang Kai couldn’t compare to her.
Yue He frowned and pondered for a long time before slowly shaking her head, “I can’t think of anything.”
Although she had previously advised Yang Kai first to collect the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and think of a way to use it in the future, she didn’t have any good ideas in the end. Instead, she wanted Yang Kai to absorb this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. With how freely Yang Kai was able to move in the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light before, she felt he should be able to do so.
However, saying these words would only invite ridicule, so there was no need to verbalize them.
Yang Kai was also at a loss as to what to do. Obtaining good things but not being able to use them really made him feel helpless. Moreover, if he didn’t quickly find a way to transfer the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light from the Fated Paths Bag to another storage vessel, he wouldn’t be able to use the Fated Paths Bag for himself.
He couldn’t possibly open the Fated Paths Bag and release the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light whenever he ran into an enemy, could he?
It wasn’t like it was impossible to do this, but if he really did so, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light would only last a few times before it was completely used up. It would simply be too wasteful.
The two of them looked at each other helplessly.
After a long time, Yang Kai finally gave up thinking about it. In the future, he could only release the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light when facing powerful enemies. If it was a waste, so be it. He couldn’t be too worried about it.
After telling Yue He to withdraw, Yang Kai entered retreat to comprehend the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Elements.
As the days passed, the news from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain gradually became more widespread.
The news of Yang Kai killing a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while only being an Emperor Realm cultivator spread like wildfire, and many people were unwilling to believe it; after all, such a thing was simply too bizarre. Even in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Open Heaven Realm Masters had the foundation of the Open Heaven Realm, so how could they be so easy to kill? Not to mention killing one in a single blow. Unless it was a sneak attack, such a feat should be impossible.
But at that time, many people had witnessed it with their own eyes, so everyone became a little suspicious and a little convinced.
Coupled with the fact that Yang Kai had later robbed so many cultivators below the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, relying on the power of his two Ominous Beasts and the power of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, forcing thousands of people to lower their heads and accept humiliation before being plundered by him. Yang Kai’s name quickly spread throughout the entire Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and completely caught the eye of the various forces, making him famous!
With some people fanning the flames, almost half of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary cultivators knew that the best Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain had basically all fallen into Yang Kai’s pocket, especially the Sixth-Order ones.
Rumour had it that in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, Yang Kai had obtained more than a hundred Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, and countless Fourth or Fifth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones.
Many people had never heard of Yang Kai’s name before, but after asking around, they easily found out that he was the new Sixth Manager of Scarlet Star.
For a time, countless eyes were focused on the Star City controlled by Scarlet Star. Every day, cultivators would rush over from all directions and in a flash, the Star City was raging like a storm as it was filled with people.
In the teahouses and restaurants around Yang Kai’s mansion, many eyes were paying close attention to even the slightest of movements.
People would even visit the mansion and report their names one after another.
The servants guarding the door had never seen such a scene before, so they quickly went to report, but since they couldn’t find Yang Kai, they could only look for Yue He. After receiving a few waves of cultivators, Yue He became quite annoyed.
These people had all heard that Yang Kai had obtained so many good things, so they had all rushed over to try to establish a good relationship with him. Each of them claimed to be extremely powerful and wanted to join Yang Kai’s forces. Those who knew their own limits only wanted a single Fifth-Order Divine Stone, while some braggarts demanded a Sixth-Order Divine Stone in exchange for their loyalty.
One or two was one thing, but every day there would be droves of people who came over to tout their own invincibility.
In a fit of anger, Yue He broke a man’s leg and threw him out the door, making the mansion much quieter.
..…
Inside a large hall, several figures were sitting quietly, each of them exuding a profound aura.
Other than the mysterious Head Manager, who was like a hidden dragon who showed his tail but never his face, the four remaining original Managers of Scarlet Star were gathered here.
Strictly speaking, Chen Tian Fei, Lady Qin, Bei Yu Shan, and the Ou Yang Brothers were five people, but as the Ou Yang Brothers always worked and voted together, they could be regarded as one Manager.
Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong had been killed by Yang Kai and had died in this very hall. Although it had been several days since that incident, the hall still had a lingering scent of blood to it.
On a special chair, Chen Tian Fei sat like a mountain of meat. There was so much fat on his face that even his eyes were barely visible.
Lady Qin gently plucked the strings of the ancient zither in front of her. The chime of the zither slowly rang in everyone’s ears. Everyone felt like an invisible hand had stroked their hearts, causing them to relax unconsciously.
Chen Tian Fei coughed dryly and asked, “I’m sure everyone has experienced the recent changes in the Star City?”
Bei Yu Shan muttered, “It’s bustling with activity.”
“That’s right, many people have entered the Star City,” Chen Tian Fei grinned meaningfully, “They’re all here for our Sixth Manager. I just don’t understand, does that brat not understand the principle of not revealing his wealth to the world?”
Ou Yang Bing added, “I didn’t believe the rumours at first, but recently I have had no choice but to believe them. If I had known earlier, I would have gone to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain to take a look.”
Chen Tian Fei stated, “It’s too late to regret now, everything has already entered his pocket.”
Ou Yang Lie demanded, “He is Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager. Since he has obtained such a rich harvest, he should at least hand over a portion of it, so why hasn’t there been any movement since he returned?”
Chen Tian Fei turned his head and glanced at him, “How about Manager Ou Yang go and ask him for his treasures then?”
Ou Yang Lie’s expression froze. How could he dare to make such a demand? He had personally witnessed Yang Kai killing Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong that day. Those two had not even lasted ten breaths in front of Yang Kai, so even if the two brothers joined forces, they would not be Yang Kai’s match.
Chen Tian Fei looked at him for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking, “Let’s not talk about how much Sixth Manager has gained, the important point is that he has offended many people at the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. Thunder Light’s Manager Zhu personally came to me and told me that he killed some two hundred of their Thunder Light disciples. Even Bie Jian tragically lost his life at Sixth Manager’s hands. Manager Zhu demanded Scarlet Star give them an explanation.”
“Thunder Light wants my Scarlet Star to give them an explanation?” Ou Yang Bing raised his brow.
“Give an explanation my ass!” Bei Yu Shan shouted angrily, “In the past, Scarlet Star and Thunder Light clashed many times, and thousands of our Scarlet Star’s members died at their hands, so why haven’t they come to give us an explanation for that? If you ask me, the Sixth Manager did a good job this time. This Old Master found that brat Bie Jian to be extremely annoying, but I just couldn’t find an opportunity to kill him! I’ll go and offer the Sixth Manager a toast later!”
Chen Tian Fei’s brow twitched.
On the other side, Lady Qin pressed down on the strings of her zither and asked, “What did the Head Manager say?”
Chen Tian Fei slowly shook his head, “Head Manager didn’t say anything.”
“He doesn’t care?” Ou Yang Lie asked.
Chen Tian Fei added, “We can ignore Thunder Light, but we need to be wary of Sword Pavilion.”
Bei Yu Shan was stunned and asked, “What does this have to do with Sword Pavilion?” Bei Yu Shan was quite tall and muscular, and his personality was quite straightforward too. He had been cultivating in seclusion for the past few days, so he didn’t know much about the outside world. If it weren’t for Chen Tian Fei summoning him, he wouldn’t have come out either.
Lady Qin softly replied, “I heard that Sword Pavilion lost several dozen disciples on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain because of our Sixth Manager, and that even their Sword Formation was broken. Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and Lu Xue escaped with heavy injuries and nearly lost their lives there!”
Bei Yu Shan’s eyes bulged as he asked wind incredulity, “Even that old bastard Zhong Fan was seriously injured? Was this also the handiwork of our Sixth Manager?”
As a Manager of Scarlet Star, how could Bei Yu Shan not know how terrifying Sword Pavilion was? Luo Qing Yun and Lu Xue were both Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but Zhong Fan was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Chen Tian Fei waved it off in denial and replied, “He didn’t take action personally, but this matter is directly related to him. It can even be said that the deaths of those Sword Pavilion disciples were all caused by Sixth Manager.”
“Did Sword Pavilion also send someone over to talk to us?” Lady Qin furrowed her brow. Just as Chen Tian Fei had said, Scarlet Star was not afraid of Thunder Light, but if they could avoid provoking Sword Pavilion, it was best to do so. After spending so many years together in the Star City, even they weren’t clear about the true extent of Sword Pavilion’s foundation.
“If Sword Pavilion had sent someone over, it would’ve been far better!” Chen Tian Fei sighed heavily, “Unfortunately, they didn’t.”
When Lady Qin and the others heard this, they couldn’t help but frown as a worried look blanketed everyone’s face.
“You also know how crazy those Sword Cultivators can be,” Chen Tian Fei added with a frown, “Sixth Manager used Scarlet Star’s name to provoke so many people on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain that now they are mortal enemies of our Scarlet Star. There’s no way this matter can be resolved peacefully. These past few days, my eyelids have been twitching violently, like a storm is brewing.”
“Sword Pavilion will never let this matter rest,” Lady Qin slowly shook her head.
Ou Yang Lie added, “This matter is difficult to handle. If it was just an injury, it would have been fine, but the key is that many people have died. Moreover, the Starfall Sword Formation is the foundation of Sword Pavilion. If this Sword Formation was broken, it would be equivalent to slapping Sword Pavilion’s face. Sword Pavilion will definitely not let this go.”
Ou Yang Bing continued, “Pass down the order, tell everyone to be extra cautious, especially of Sword Pavilion disciples. Stay as far away from them as possible. It’s best not to have any contact with them.”
Chen Tian Fei heaved a sigh, “I think so too. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have let that Yang bastard become the Sixth Manager. In just a few days, he has caused my Scarlet Star’s enemies to multiply several-fold! How can my Scarlet Star maintain its position in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future? Hateful!”
“What’s the point of regretting after the fact? When he killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong, who would dare say no?”
These words made sense. If they hadn’t agreed to Yang Kai joining Scarlet Star, Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong would not have been the only ones to die that day.
However, thinking about the current situation, Chen Tian Fei’s mouth was filled with bitterness as if he swallowed a mouthful of bitter gourd! In his heart, he decided that he would pay a visit to Yang Kai later and ask him to restrain himself a little in the future. Scarlet Star could not afford to make more enemies. If he were to incur public anger again, it would be difficult for him to continue living in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
After dispersing, Chen Tian Fei immediately rushed to Yang Kai’s mansion. Even all the fat on his body failed to stop him from moving quickly.
Soon, he arrived in front of Yang Kai’s mansion and couldn’t help frowning. With his Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, he could naturally perceive everything within a few thousand metres. Everyone’s eyes were glued on Yang Kai’s mansion, knowing that beyond the walls there were dozens of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetism Divine Stones. Since Yang Kai had taken all the most precious treasures in the entire Yuan Magnetic Mountain, who wouldn’t be jealous?
Even Chen Tian Fei felt jealous.
Some people were standing in front of the mansion. It was a group of people led by a Young Lord, who looked pretty arrogant. His nose was pointed straight towards the sky, giving the impression that he was second to only the Heavens themselves.
A guard-like cultivator shouted, “Call your Master out!”
Inside the main entrance, Chen Yue’s pretty face turned pale as she weakly asked, looking at this group of fierce-looking people, “Is there something I can help you with?”
Over the past few days, many people had come to visit Yang Kai. Each of them was scheming something, but after Yue He broke the legs of one of them and tossed him out in a fit of rage, it had become much quieter.
Surprisingly though, someone was here today, and the person who had come was far more aggressive than anyone before. What’s more, the person who had spoken just now clearly exuded the aura of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Chen Yue had never seen someone like him and was momentarily at a loss.
The guard replied, “Whether we want something or not is of no relevance to a mere servant. Now call your Master out.”
Although Chen Yue was somewhat scheming to climb up the social ladder and had some strength of her own, her worldly experience was lacking. At this moment, she couldn’t tell this group’s origins, so after informing him to wait a moment, she hurriedly went in to find Yue He.
She didn’t know that Yang Kai was in a retreat or that she couldn’t meet him face to face. After what had happened with Zhao Xing Chen, she was already thankful that she was still here, so how could she have the courage to see Yang Kai?
Yue He was currently doing her makeup in front of her mirror when she heard about the commotion. Her pretty face immediately turned gloomy as she snarled, “How annoying!”
Throwing down her tools, she angrily stated, “Let’s go see what kind of cat or dog it is!” She then lifted her long dress and walked out.
When they arrived at the door, Yue He frowned slightly.
Yue He’s eyesight wasn’t good enough to tell the opposite party’s details exactly, but as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she could tell at a glance that this person’s identity was quite extraordinary. After all, how could someone who could use an Open Heaven Realm Master as a guard be just an ordinary person?
Although she was facing two Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the opposite side, Yue He’s own strength was extraordinary, so she wasn’t too afraid of them.
“Who are you?” Yue He looked at the leading guard and asked, glancing towards the Young Lord behind.
Previously, when Chen Yue was speaking, this Young Lord’s nose was pointed up in the air. He didn’t even spare Chen Yue a glance, but when Yue He walked out, this Young Lord’s eyes actually lit up as he swept Yue He from head to toe, even clicking his tongue in delight. He looked extremely happy.
Yue He coldly snorted in her heart, but her expression remained unchanged.
Before the guard could speak, the Young Lord asked, “Are you the Master of this place? Wasn’t it a man?”
Yue He pursed her lips and smiled, “My Young Master is currently in seclusion, so he can’t come out to receive guests!”
“Young Master?” The Young Lord was shocked and looked at Yue He suspiciously, “Then you are…”
“Of course, I am the Young Master’s maid!”
When the Young Lord heard this, he immediately showed a pained look and shook his head, “What a waste, what a waste of a great beauty!”
This beautiful woman in front of him was actually someone else’s maid. He was afraid she had been defiled countless times, causing him a great deal of pain; however, after thinking about it, even if that was the case, what did it matter? He was just looking for some fun, not a wife. If he was unhappy in the future, he could just throw her away. He immediately smiled and made an offer, “Young Lady, do you want to abandon your Young Master and follow me? If you are willing to follow this Young Master, this Young Master can guarantee that you will leave this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary safely and have a bright future!”
As soon as these words came out, Yue He was still smiling, but the guard who had spoken earlier had a change in expression. They immediately approached the Young Lord and whispered, “Young Master, it’s best to not provoke her.”
“Why?” The Young Lord was puzzled.
The guard replied, “This humble subordinate observed her aura and found that she is a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master!” He couldn’t see Yue He’s exact cultivation, but he could not be mistaken.
“How is that possible?” The Young Lord was also shocked. No matter how indolent he was, he knew what being a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master meant. He couldn’t believe it because Yue He had just claimed that she was a maid!
Who could possibly use a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master as a maid? Even he only had two Second-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators as servants. How could the owner of this mansion be more powerful and prestigious than him?
The guard slowly shook his head, his expression solemn.
The Young Lord sneered, “So what if she’s a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master? Does she dare to hit me?” Although he said so, he no longer dared to look at Yue He so wantonly.
The guard turned his head and cupped his fist, adding, “Young Lady, please forgive us. We come from Azure Nether Paradise. I believe Young Lady has heard of it.”
“Azure Nether Paradise!” Yue He’s expression became serious. She had naturally heard of it. The 3,000 Worlds were ruled by 36 Cave-Heavens and 72 Paradises. Anyone who dared to attach ‘Paradise’ to their name must be one of the 72. Ordinary people could not afford to provoke them.
She had long seen that this group of people had some kind of background, but she hadn’t expected them to be from Azure Nether Paradise. Moreover, with two Open Heaven Realm Masters as guards, this young man’s status in the Azure Nether Paradise surely wasn’t too bad.
“So everyone is from Azure Nether Paradise. What brings you here?”
The Second-Order Open Heaven Realm guard replied, “It’s like this, my Young Lord is a great appreciator of talents. After hearing that the Master of this place is quite strong, he wanted to take him under his wing.”
“That’s right!” The Young Lord nodded and stated, “In this world, it’s easy to obtain a thousand gold coins, but it’s hard to find a true talent. This Young Master has taken a fancy to your Young Master. Please ask him to come out to see me. As long as he follows this Young Master in the future, once he leaves the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it won’t be a problem to bring him into Azure Nether Paradise.”
He wore a proud expression, believing that no one would refuse such a condition.
On the other hand, Yue He’s expression was extremely strange. Yang Kai was a Heaven-gifted genius, but now someone wanted to take him under their wing? Yue He had never seen such a shameless person in her life.
If it were anyone else, she would have broken their legs and driven them away right then and there, but these people in front of her were from Azure Nether Paradise, so Yue He couldn’t do anything to them. If she caused trouble for Yang Kai, it would be a disaster once they left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
“My Young Master is currently in retreat, why don’t you all go back for now and come when he exits?” Yue He suggested.
The young man, however, simply demanded, “Just call him out.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Yue He slowly shook her head.
The young man lashed out angrily, “Why is it not possible? It is his honour that this Young Master personally came to see him, he should appreciate it and give me face!”
Yue He sneered lightly as she gradually lost her patience. She was afraid of Azure Nether Paradise, not this pompous Young Master in front of her, so how could she take his threats seriously? This boy had repeatedly spoken rudely. If he really angered her, she wasn’t afraid of beating him up either.
The guard who had just spoken leaned forward and whispered something into the young man’s ear. The young man’s brow wrinkled, and his expression became gloomy for a moment before he spoke with a look of displeasure, “Fine, this Young Master will stay in the largest inn here. When your Young Master comes out of seclusion, call him over to see me immediately.”
Yue He nodded lightly, “Of course.”
The young man glanced at Yue He again, slowly shaking his head and sighing as he finally left.
Yue He turned her head and looked towards the distance, greeting with a smile, “Manager Chen, you’re here too!”
Chen Tian Fei was standing not far away and had not concealed his whereabouts. Naturally, Yue He would not fail to spot him.
Chen Tian Fei squinted as all his fat stacked up on his face squeezed together, leaving just two slight gaps where his eyes should be. His extremely stout body moved as he made his way to the entrance of the mansion before he cupped his fist and greeted in return, “Seventh Manager.”
He turned his head towards the young man, and asked, “Who was that?”
Yue He replied, “They claim to be from Azure Nether Paradise, but who knows whether it’s true or false?”
Chen Tian Fei added with a nod, “For a mere Emperor Realm Junior to be able to obtain two Open Heaven Realm Masters as guards, even if he isn’t from Azure Nether Paradise, his background must be quite astounding. What were they here for?”
Yue He covered her mouth, giggling, “He said he fancied my Young Master and wanted to take him under his wing. Don’t you think it’s funny?”
Chen Tian Fei chuckled and agreed, “He’s really overestimating himself.”
How could a freak like Yang Kai submit to someone else, especially in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Having personally witnessed Yang Kai’s might, Chen Tian Fei felt that there was probably no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary who could match him unless they fought with numbers or arranged powerful Arrays beforehand.
Chen Tian Fei thus changed the subject, asking, “Where is Sixth Manager?”
“Manager Chen is also here for Young Master?” Yue He wore a regretful expression, “Unfortunately, Young Master happens to be in retreat.”
Chen Tian Fei was stunned for a moment, thinking that Yang Kai had just returned from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain not long ago, so how could he have gone into retreat. Still, he nodded in understanding before saying, “Then I’ll say what I was going to tell him to you, Seventh Manager.”
Yue He invited, “Come in, let’s talk inside.”
At the end of the day, they were both members of Scarlet Star, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep him outside. Furthermore, Yue He also wanted to know what Chen Tian Fei’s intentions were.
After inviting him into the guest hall, Chen Yue served tea. Chen Tian Fei didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Yang Kai’s actions on Yuan Magnetic Mountain brought a lot of pressure to Scarlet Star. Thunder Light had already sent people to condemn him, demanding an explanation, otherwise they would take matters into their own hands. Chen Tian Fei also informed Yue He about how terrifying Sword Pavilion was in detail.
He spoke for a very long time, but in summary, he wanted Yang Kai to exercise some caution and restraint when he went out in the future. Yang Kai shouldn’t show off too much. Since he was the Sixth Manager of Scarlet Star, he should always consider things from Scarlet Star’s perspective.
Yue He naturally played along and said that she would pass on the message when Yang Kai came out.
Since he couldn’t meet Yang Kai, Chen Tian Fei had no choice but to leave.
After sending off Chen Tian Fei, Yue He turned around and warned Chen Yue that if anyone came knocking again, no matter who it was, they should not be entertained! Chen Yue repeatedly nodded.
Inside his cultivation room, Yang Kai’s consciousness was immersed in his Dao Seal, comprehending the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Element Powers.
The vitality of Wood and the oppressive might of Fire gave him a vague sense of enlightenment, but something was still lacking. It was as if there was a thin membrane in front of him, blocking his vision of the deeper secrets before him.
This feeling made his heart itch. Although he understood that as long as he pierced through this thin membrane, he would be able to see another layer of the world, there was nothing he could do at the moment.
Yang Kai also knew that opportunities couldn’t be forced, so he could only allow nature to take its course, repeatedly telling himself to calm his mind and clear his thoughts.
Days slowly passed away…
One day, Yue He, who was idly chatting with Chen Yue, suddenly frowned and turned her head to look outside.
Chen Yue asked, “What’s wrong?”
Her strength was still a bit low, so she didn’t notice anything unusual, but from Yue He’s expression, it was obvious something had transpired.
Yue He sneered, “A little rat broke in.”
Chen Yue was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing what was going on and couldn’t help feeling surprised. What kind of person was so bold as to dare trespass into someone else’s mansion? One had to know that this mansion had a Spirit Array barrier protecting it, so if an ordinary person wanted to enter, they would have to break through it forcefully.
However, she didn’t sense any unusual energy fluctuations; in other words, this person must be extremely proficient in Spirit Arrays. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to be so stealthy.
“Stay here, I’ll go take a look,” Yue He advised before disappearing.
A moment later, Chen Yue felt a faint energy fluctuation erupt from somewhere in the mansion before it quickly calmed down.
After a dozen breaths, Yue He walked in with a person in her hand and casually threw him to the ground.
Chen Yue looked over in surprise and saw that this person’s face was pale, and he still had some baby fat on his face. He was dressed neat and tidy, but still couldn’t be anything but a little fatty.
Judging from his appearance alone, he should be a very amiable person. Chen Yue couldn’t understand why such a person would trespass into someone else’s mansion.
“Great Aunt, let me tell you, just because I surrendered doesn’t mean I can’t fight back. I just don’t want to raise my fist against a woman.” The little fatty got up and straightened his clothes. Although he had been captured, he didn’t panic at all.
“Great Aunt?” Hearing this, Yue He’s brow jumped, and a cold light flashed across her eyes as she ground her teeth.
The little fatty shrank his neck and suddenly remembered something, quickly coughing and correcting himself, “Elder Sister!”
Yue He coldly snorted, “At least you know your place!”
The little fatty sighed in his heart, thinking that his Master was right. No matter what kind of woman it was, they would always care about their age and how others addressed them. His Master had advised him to always be careful when talking to women as it was quite normal for them to become angry for even a slight offence.
After understanding this, the little fatty cupped his fist and asked, “Elder Sister, may I ask where the Master of this place is?”
“Why are you looking for him?” Yue He glanced over. Regardless of whether this little fatty was trespassing or not, his appearance was so friendly and amiable that it made it impossible for others to feel any disgust.
The little fatty smiled faintly, assuming an air of mystery, “I’m here to give him an opportunity and ask for some benefits in return.”
“Opportunity?” Yue He’s expression became strange as she looked him up and down, “Are you trying to say that you come from some kind of Cave Heaven or Paradise, and want to recruit the Master of this place?”
The little fatty was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and denying, “That’s not gonna happen. Even if he wants to enter my Master Sect, it will depend on his aptitude and ability. If he doesn’t have the ability, he will never be able to enter.”
Yue He asked curiously, “Is your Master Sect very strict with its requirements?”
The little fatty nodded solemnly, indicating that this was no ordinary level of strictness.
“What’s the name of your Master Sect?” Yue He asked with a smile.
“Divine Cauldron Heaven!” Little fatty replied calmly.
Chen Yue’s beautiful eyes instantly went wide while Yue He’s laughter also came to an abrupt halt as she stared at the little fatty, thinking that she might have heard wrong.
Divine Cauldron Heaven was one of the 36 Cave Heavens and was one of the top forces in the 3,000 Worlds. Previously, a silk pants Young Master from Azure Nether Paradise had come to this place and Yue He had thought that his background was big enough, but who would have thought that the little fatty standing in front of her now would have an even bigger background?
Yue He was casually teasing him just now, not having expected him to really come from a Cave Heaven; as such, she couldn’t help asking solemnly, “Can you prove it?”
The little fatty fumbled around his pockets for a moment before taking out a black token and showing it to Yue He. On the token was a name: Xu Zhen!
Obviously, it was this little fatty’s name.
Xu Zhen flipped over the token, pointing the back of the token towards Yue He. Engraved on it was the image of a Divine Cauldron that was exuding an ancient and profound aura.
Yue He was thoroughly shocked. This was a genuine Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple Token. Although she had never seen one before, when she used her Divine Sense just now, she could clearly sense that there was an extremely powerful Divine Ability sealed inside this token.
Ordinarily, elite disciples of Cave Heavens and Paradises would have this kind of identity token on them. This token was not only a symbol of status, but also contained a life-saving Divine Ability bestowed upon them by their Master. It was impossible to fake such an item.
Even if Yue He were outside, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like her would still lose her life if she were to face the Divine Ability inside this token!
The person who had left a Divine Ability in this token was definitely a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master!
With such a background, regardless of whether Xu Zhen was really from Divine Cauldron Heaven or not, his identity would definitely not be too far off, so there was no need for him to pretend to be a disciple of another Sect.
Chen Yue and Yue He looked at each other and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
“So you are a Core Disciple of Divine Cauldron Heaven! I apologize for my previous rudeness.” Yue He’s attitude became a bit more polite. It was one thing to attack when she didn’t know the other party’s identity, but now that she did, she had to maintain proper etiquette.
“Elder Sister doesn’t need to worry about it, I came uninvited and offended the dignity of this place’s Master,” Xu Zhen laughed it off, not putting on any airs of a Cave Heaven disciple.
Yue He clicked her tongue in wonder. In the past, she had seen many cultivators who came from Cave Heavens and Paradises, but all of them had their eyes on the top of their heads, similar to that silk pants Young Master from Azure Nether Paradise who had come before. This was the first time she had seen someone like Xu Zhen, so she couldn’t help but feel curious.
Pondering for a moment, Yue He asked, “Did you just say that you wanted to give my Young Master an opportunity in exchange for some benefits?”
“Correct.”
“Can you elaborate?” Yue He asked.
The little fatty suddenly became somewhat embarrassed and rubbed his two fat hands together, with a flattering look on his face as he replied, “It’s like this, Elder Sister. I heard that the owner of this place obtained a lot of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, and all of the high Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones from the entire Yuan Magnetic Mountain were taken away by him, so I wanted to ask him for a piece!” Saying so, the little fatty lightly squeezed his fingers, indicating that he was only asking for just a little, and definitely not much!
Yue He asked, “Are you cracking a joke?”
Even if he was a Cave Heaven’s Disciple, this kind of request was a bit too impolite. A Sixth-Order material was extremely precious, yet this little fatty had come to ask for one without any prior relationship with Yang Kai. Wasn’t he thinking too highly of himself?
“I’m not kidding, I’m really not kidding.” Xu Zhen quickly waved his hand and added, sweating, “I also know how precious a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone is. As the saying goes, if you don’t deserve it, you won’t receive it, so I definitely won’t ask for it for free. If he can give me a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, I’ll give him an opportunity that will definitely be worth it.”
“What kind of opportunity?” Yue He asked. If anyone else said this, Yue He might not believe them, but Xu Zhen’s background was not small, so listening to him could prove useful.
Unexpectedly, the little fatty smiled and waved off his hand, “I can’t say it. It depends on whether this deal goes through or not, I will know it after meeting the Master of this place.”
“Young Master is currently in retreat and won’t be seeing anyone for the time being!”
Xu Zhen blinked and asked helplessly, “When will he come out?”
“It’s hard to say,” Yue He slowly shook her head. She didn’t even know why Yang Kai was in retreat, so how could she know when he would come out?
Xu Zhen couldn’t help but scratch his head. He had expected to see Yang Kai here and tell him about his intentions, but now that he couldn’t even see Yang Kai, he couldn’t help but worry.
“Elder Sister, can I wait for him here?” Xu Zhen turned to Yue He and asked seriously.
Yue He pondered for a moment before agreeing with a nod, “Alright.”
Apart from Yang Kai, who was in retreat, there was only her, Chen Yue, and a few people from Great Moon Province left in this mansion. The rest were weak maidservants, so it didn’t really matter if Xu Zhen stayed here or not.
Not to mention, Yue He also wanted to know if this little fatty was really from Divine Cauldron Heaven.
Hearing this, Xu Zhen was overjoyed and cupped his hands, thanking, “Many thanks, Elder Sister!”
Yue He covered her mouth and giggled, “You’ve got quite a glib tongue!”
She then turned her head, motioning to Chen Yue, “Find him a guest room.”
Chen Yue nodded and called out to Xu Zhen, “Please follow me.”
The next day, a scorching energy suddenly erupted from a certain spot in the mansion. Yue He was startled and immediately rushed over when she realized it was coming from where Meng Hong was in retreat.
However, when she arrived, she found Yang Kai already present. Obviously, the disturbance here had caught his attention, so he quickly came to investigate.
It had taken Meng Hong nearly a month to refine the Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, and it was only today that he was finally able to successfully absorb it. The Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal rumbled violently and he seemed unable to control it for the time being. Previously, he had only refined Third-Order materials, but now the Order had risen by two all of a sudden. Meng Hong was having a hard time getting used to it.
The eruption of that energy just now was due to him wanting to test his own strength, but in the end, he had been careless and almost burned down the mansion.
“Congratulations, Brother Meng,” Yang Kai congratulated with a smile.
Meng Hong stood up as the Fire Element Power surged from him. He was unable to control it properly still, but nonetheless, he respectfully cupped his fists and bowed to Yang Kai, “Meng Hong thanks Brother Yang for his great kindness. This favour is akin to giving me a new life and I will never forget it for the rest of my life!”
Yang Kai waved his hand casually and stated, “Breaking and rebuilding your foundation was your own decision. I only provided you with some materials, Brother Meng need not be so polite about it.”
Meng Hong slowly shook his head, “If I hadn’t witnessed Brother Yang’s divine might, how could this Meng know how vast the Martial Dao truly is? I wouldn’t have become brave after experiencing shame. If I can reach the Open Heaven Realm in the future, it will be all thanks to Brother Yang!”
Yue He pursued her lips into a smile as she intervened, “Alright, you two. Meng Hong, you’ve just condensed your Fire Element, so you should stabilize it first.”
Meng Hong nodded and agreed, “That was my intention.”
As they were talking, an unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted, “Oh, a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire, not bad, not bad.”
Yang Kai and Meng Hong both turned their heads and looked towards the source of the voice. The next moment, they saw a fair-faced little fatty slowly walking over, looking at Meng Hong with interest.
“Your Excellency, who are you…” Meng Hong was puzzled.
Yang Kai was also at a loss as he wondered, [Who is this little fatty? Why haven’t I seen him before?]
Yue He introduced, “Young Master, I forgot to tell you, this is….”
“I’ll do it myself,” Xu Zhen interrupted Yue He with a smile and walked over to Yang Kai. He looked up at him before cupping his fist and greeting, “Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple Xu Zhen greets Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai’s eyes constricted, “Divine Cauldron Heaven?”
Meng Hong also cried out in shock, “Divine Cauldron Heaven!?”
As his emotions fluctuated, a scorching heat wave of energy burst forth from his body. Fortunately, none of the people surrounding him were ordinary. Although this Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire was quite powerful, it could not harm them. Be that as it may, it was enough to make Meng Hong panic. He quickly took a breath and reigned in his Fire Element Power, secretly smiling wryly as he thought to himself that he really should hurry up and go into retreat. At the very least, he needed to be able to take out and withdraw his Fire Element Power freely; otherwise, he would accidentally injure the people around him.
“En!” The little fatty smiled and nodded.
Yang Kai turned to look at Yue He, his eyes clearly asking if it was true.
Yue He replied with an eye signal, ‘most likely!’ After all, she had seen the token before and verified Xu Zhen’s identity.
“So Brother Xu is a Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple, my apologies for being rude!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
“I came uninvited, Brother Yang. Please forgive me!” Xu Zhen’s amiable performance had left a good impression on everyone.
“May I ask why Brother Xu is here?” Yang Kai looked at him curiously.
Xu Zhen replied with a smile, “Previously, I informed this Elder Sister that I came here to give Brother Yang a fortuitous opportunity and also to ask for some benefits from Brother Yang! However, this Elder Sister said that Brother Yang was in seclusion and couldn’t be disturbed, so I waited here. Today, I finally have the chance to meet Brother Yang.”
“Opportunity? Benefits?” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly.
Xu Zhen asked, “Can we talk somewhere else?”
During this time, the other two Great Moon Province disciples also noticed the commotion and came over. Even Chen Yue was watching from afar. With so many people around, it really wasn’t a good place to hold a conversation.
Yang Kai nodded his agreement, “This way then!”
He turned to Yue He and ordered, “Find another cultivation room for Brother Meng.”
“En!” Yue He agreed.
Yang Kai then led Xu Zhen towards the guest hall.
Yue He was curious about what Xu Zhen was up to, so she quickly arranged for Meng Hong and rushed over, but she couldn’t find him when she arrived at the guest hall. She swept the mansion with her Divine Sense, and immediately discovered Yang Kai’s location. She then quickly arrived in front of a seclusion room.
Yang Kai stood outside with a look of anticipation, while Xu Zhen was nowhere to be found.
“What about that little fatty?” Yue He asked.
Yang Kai pointed to the room and simply said, “He’s inside.”
“What is he doing inside?” Yue He was puzzled, “Have you finished your discussion?”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded.
“What? Your discussion ended so quickly?!” Yue He was somewhat speechless. She had even rushed over to hear about it, “He said he wanted to ask for a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone…”
“That’s right. I gave him one,” Yang Kai nodded, “This guy is quite strong. If he wants the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, he should be trying to condense his Metal Element with it!”
To be able to condense Yin, Yang, and Five Elements with Sixth-Order materials, one’s aptitude had to be quite exceptional. It could even be said to be extraordinary. If not, it would be impossible for one’s Dao Seal to withstand the raw power of a Sixth-Order material. Meng Hong was Great Moon Province’s Eldest Senior Brother, and although Great Moon Province was not a particularly powerful force, Meng Hong was definitely its top talent, yet his limit was only Fifth Order, and even that carried a risk of failure.
However, Xu Zhen’s goal was to refine a Sixth-Order material, which showed the gap between them. In other words, Xu Zhen wanted to reach the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he initially broke through.
As for the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, all of the ones at Sixth Order had been taken by Yang Kai, so Xu Zhen had no choice but to come and find him.
Yang Kai was glad that he had taken away all the Sixth-Order Divine Stones that day; otherwise, he would have missed this opportunity. Xu Zhen had come uninvited, but he had solved a huge problem for him. If this matter was resolved successfully, Yang Kai would have another powerful card in his hands in the future!
“Are all Cave Heaven and Paradise disciples so amazing?” Yang Kai turned his head and asked. [If that’s true, wouldn’t there be plenty of Mid-Rank and High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Cave Heavens and Paradises?]
Yue He shook her head and replied, “How could that be possible? This Xu Zhen is able to refine Sixth-Order materials, so he must be a top figure amongst his generation. However, although those Cave Heavens and Paradises aren’t as exaggerated as you think, I’ve heard that an official disciple must at least be able to refine Third-Order Open Heaven materials. Those unable to refine at least Third-Order materials will be expelled or be reduced to ordinary servants or guards.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… that’s quite terrifying.” Yang Kai shook his head repeatedly. Their requirements were truly high if the Open Heaven Realm below the Third Order were completely discarded. Perhaps only they knew how deep their foundations had reached over the years.
“What did he offer you in return for you to actually give him a Sixth-Order Divine Stone!” Yue He was quite surprised by this. Previously, she had asked Xu Zhen what kind of opportunity he could give Yang Kai, but that little fatty refused to say anything, causing her to feel quite helpless, arousing the urge to kick him to death.
“Well, it’s worth it!” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “If you don’t have anything else to do, keep an eye on him. If there’s any movement, call me immediately!”
“En…”
Yang Kai then entered seclusion once more. This time, he had only come out because of the disturbance caused by Meng Hong. Since he had confirmed that Meng Hong was fine and had settled a matter with Xu Zhen, Yang Kai naturally wanted to go back to focus on cultivating.
As for Xu Zhen, Yue He would be able to keep an eye on him. Although being a Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple was quite extraordinary, Yue He was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, so watching over Xu Zhen was not a problem for her.
With these words from Yang Kai, Yue He obediently stood guard in front of the cultivation room without any complaints or regrets.
Although she was very curious about what Xu Zhen was doing inside and what kind of deal he made with Yang Kai, she didn’t dare disturb him because an Array protected and isolated the room.
Ten days passed just like that, uneventfully.
Chen Tian Fei had been living quite comfortably these past few days. Scarlet Star originally had seven Managers, until Yang Kai killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong. Although Yang Kai and Yue He had been immediately added in to make up the numbers, these two didn’t seem to care much about Scarlet Star’s affairs and only cared about their own business.
Of the remaining Managers, Bei Yu Shan had brute force but no brains, Lady Qin didn’t care about worldly affairs and only cared about music, while the Ou Yang Brothers were wise and capable, but unfortunately, they often went into seclusion to cultivate. Now that the Head Manager was in retreat, the entire Scarlet Star could be said to be under Chen Tian Fei’s control.
Although he wasn’t the Head Manager, he had a lot more power in his hands than what his post would suggest; so he felt great.
Chen Tian Fei was lying on a chair with two maids behind him inside his own mansion, gently fanning him. A soft and supple hand was holding a grape-like spirit fruit in its slender fingers beside him, carefully removing its peel, and feeding it straight into Chen Tian Fei’s mouth, “Dear Husband, can you do something about Xing Chen?”
Ever since Zhao Xing Chen had offended Yang Kai and was stripped of his position as a Junior Commander, he had been unable to recover from this setback and had been spending his days in bars and brothels.
Zhao Xing Chen’s older sister couldn’t bear the sight of this and felt sorry for him, so she wanted to use this opportunity to make Chen Tian Fei promote Zhao Xing Chen back to Junior Commander.
Chen Tian Fei replied with a sigh, “As long as Yang Kai is alive, I’m unable to help him. It’s Xing Chen’s fault for having eyes but failing to see. He got off easy even after offending such a man. He should be glad that he only lost his position as a Junior Commander.”
The woman continued, “Right now, in the whole of Scarlet Star, you have the final say…”
“Shut up!” Chen Tian Fei’s tightly shut eyes suddenly opened as he glared at Zhao Xing Chen’s older sister, “You… Don’t you know that your irresponsible words can bring trouble to us? Don’t speak nonsense!”
Although he had great authority now, the Head Manager was still above him. If the Head Manager heard this, he might be accused of disloyalty. At that time, who knows what the Head Manager would think of him?
This scolding caused the woman to tear up.
Chen Tian Fei doted on this concubine the most and couldn’t bear to see her like this, so he quickly consoled her, “Let’s wait a little longer, let’s talk about it after the limelight has passed.”
The woman gently wiped her eyes, “How long do we have to wait? This Mistress can wait, but I’m afraid Xing Chen won’t be able to. You’ve already seen what he looks like now.”
“Even the finest diamond must be cut multiple times for it to become beautiful! This might not necessarily be bad for Xing Chen!” Chen Tian Fei’s eyes narrowed into slits as a sharp light flashed across them, “What’s more, we don’t need to wait long. At most, we can wait until we leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. That Yang Kai can dominate inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but at the end of the day, he’s still just an Emperor Realm brat. Once we leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, what can he do?”
When the woman heard this, she sighed in her heart, knowing that there was nothing she could say to dissuade Chen Tian Fei. She ground her teeth in hatred, cursing, “This damned Yang Kai, he could have gone anywhere. Why did he have to come to Scarlet Star?”
Chen Tian Fei also smiled bitterly, but just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly became serious as he looked towards a certain spot in the sky.
At first, his expression was a bit puzzled, but soon after, his narrowed eyes slowly widened. After three breaths, his face was filled with shock as his fat body stood up.
“What’s wrong, Husband?” The woman didn’t understand; after all, her strength wasn’t high, only slightly stronger than her little brother Zhao Xing Chen. So, although she followed Chen Tian Fei’s line of sight, she didn’t see anything.
“Huge trouble is heading towards us!” Chen Tian Fei shouted and quickly took out his communication artifact. While contacting the other Managers of Scarlet Star, he strode out and warned, “Stay inside and don’t run around, activate all the Spirit Arrays!”
The woman was startled, knowing that something big must have happened; otherwise, Chen Tian Fei would not have warned her so sternly. She quickly contacted her little brother, Zhao Xing Chen, and asked him to come here to seek refuge.
However, she couldn’t understand what had happened to make Chen Tian Fei act like he was facing a great enemy.
Inside the Star City, some Open Heaven Realm cultivators passing through the streets seemed to have sensed something and looked into the distance as their expressions quickly changed.
At this moment, with a loud rumbling sound, a transparent Spirit Array barrier appeared around the entire Star City, instantly enveloping it. This seemingly solid barrier had at least seven or eight layers.
The others who hadn’t noticed the change in the Star City up until now immediately stopped and looked up, not understanding why Scarlet Star’s defensive Array had suddenly been activated.
Once this kind of protective Spirit Array was activated, it would definitely consume a lot of resources to maintain. It would normally not be activated unless it was absolutely necessary.
The streets were bustling with a crowd that was raising a clamour.
“What is Scarlet Star doing? Why did they activate the Grand Array?” Someone asked in confusion.
“Since they have activated the Grand Array, a powerful enemy must be attacking. If not for that, why would they activate it?”
“Enemy? What kind of enemy does Scarlet Star have in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
“Could it be that there’s another Beast Tide approaching?” The person who spoke turned pale.
It had been a long time since the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had opened and many people had encountered Beast Tides during this time. There were many Ominous Beasts in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and all of them were extremely violent and powerful. Many places where cultivators gathered had been flattened by Beast Tides, resulting in countless casualties.
Every time the words ‘Beast Tide’ were mentioned, the cultivators in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary would turn pale.
“It’s not a Beast Tide, look over there!” Someone’s voice trembled as he pointed in a certain direction.
Everyone’s eyes narrowed when they looked along the man’s finger.
In that direction, dense streaks of light were shooting towards them at an astonishing speed and in an aggressive manner. They were surrounded by a violent and sharp Sword Qi!
“Sword Pavilion! They’re from Sword Pavilion!” Someone recognized the ones who were approaching and shouted.
“How could there be so many people from Sword Pavilion? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
Sword Pavilion didn’t have many members, this was something everyone in the Star City knew, but at this moment, two or three thousand streaks of light were rushing over. Sword Pavilion couldn’t have so many disciples.
“The one in the lead is definitely Sword Pavilion, but it’s hard to say who is following behind them!”
“Is Sword Pavilion coming here for the Sixth Manager? I heard that several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples lost their lives because of him on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain!”
“Didn’t they say that they died at the hands of Emperor Heaven?”
“It was Emperor Heaven’s people and Ding Yi who killed them, but if it wasn’t for Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager releasing the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light at the crucial moment, Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation wouldn’t have been broken and their disciples wouldn’t have died so miserably. I was there at that time and saw clearly that Sixth Manager was laughing maniacally as he said he was going to give Sword Pavilion a big gift!”
“I see!”
“If the ones leading the charge are from Sword Pavilion, then the remaining people must be from Thunder Light?”
“Probably. Thunder Light has a deep grudge against Manager Yang. I heard that even Bie Jian had died at his hands.”
“Then, Scarlet Star is finished!”
Star City’s three great forces had coexisted for thousands of years, and although there had been some friction and conflicts between them, they had all been small skirmishes that had not harmed their foundation. But today, in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, because of a single person, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had joined forces and had come for him, so how could Scarlet Star resist?
Was the status quo that had remained the same for millennia really going to change in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?
Seeing that a storm was heading their way, some cultivators had already decided to leave this place and hide temporarily. Unfortunately, none of them were able to leave with the defensive Grand Array activated. For the moment, all of them gathered in front of the city gate shouting, creating a ruckus.
“Damn it, our new Sixth Manager has caused trouble for Scarlet Star,” a Scarlet Star disciple stated bitterly.
“What about Manager Chen and the others?”
“The defensive Grand Array has already been activated, Manager Chen and the others must already know the situation and are probably discussing countermeasures.”
While everyone was raising a hue and cry, the dense streaks of light had already arrived in front of the Star City.
When the light dissipated, nearly three thousand figures appeared in front of everyone’s eyes. These three thousand people didn’t say a word, but a boundless pressure descended from the sky, causing the entire Star City to fall silent!
Five figures stood quietly in front of the three thousand people, each of them exuding a powerful aura. They were giving off tremendous pressure to everyone.
Someone recognized that these five people were leaders from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light.
Three of them were from the Sword Pavilion, Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and Lu Xue. The other two were from Thunder Light, Zhu Li and Long Tai, all of whom except Zhong Fan were Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Only Zhong Fan was a Fifth-Order!
As everyone had guessed, it was Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light.
This time, Sword Pavilion had sent out more than three hundred people, which was roughly twenty to thirty percent of Sword Pavilion’s total strength. The entire Sword Pavilion only had a little over a thousand people. As for Thunder Light, it was likely that some of the disciples had stayed behind to guard their base, while the rest had come here.
With such a force, it was obvious they weren’t just here to take a stroll. Even if Thunder Light’s group was set aside, the three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples were more than enough to cause trouble. On the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, several dozen Sword Pavilion disciples were able to wantonly wreak havoc against Emperor Heaven’s thousand members, throwing them into chaos. If these three hundred people were to form a Sword Formation, no one could imagine how terrifying their might would be.
It was likely that they could easily wipe out the entire Star City.
Yue He happened to be hovering above the mansion with a tight frown on her brow.
She had also realized that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light were here to seek revenge on Yang Kai, but she hadn’t expected them to be so bold as to mobilize so many people just for him.
[Is this really necessary?]
Yang Kai was currently in seclusion, so he probably didn’t know anything about the outside world. Yue He was struggling with whether or not she should inform Yang Kai, but after giving it another thought, she recalled that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space. His Space Secret Techniques were strange and unpredictable, allowing him to move tens of thousands of kilometres in an instant. Although there were many people from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light here, he wouldn’t be in any danger if he wanted to escape.
Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light were likely to return in low spirits.
With this thought in mind, Yue He landed in the courtyard, no longer worrying about anything.
On the other hand, the two Great Moon Province disciples and Chen Yue, who had received the news, hurried over and looked at her nervously.
“It’s fine, go back to whatever you were doing,” Yue He casually dismissed them.
The three of them were speechless.
Inside Chen Tian Fei’s mansion, Zhao Xing Chen had already arrived. He looked drunk and his face was a little pale. He grabbed the woman’s arm in panic and shouted, “Elder Sister, where did Brother-in-law go? Tell him to take us away.”
“Take us away, why?” The woman shook off Zhao Xing Chen’s hand and threw him to the ground, gritting her teeth, “Why should we run? And just look at how drunk you are!”
Zhao Xing Chen shouted in panic, “Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s people are already here, if we don’t escape now, we won’t have a chance.”
The woman coldly snorted, “Are they here for you?”
Zhao Xing Chen shook his head dumbly.
The woman asked again, “Then who do you think they’re looking for?”
Zhao Xing Chen was stunned for a moment before his eyes lit up, “Sister, you mean…”
The woman sneered, “Every grievance has its perpetrator, every debt has its debtor. They naturally came to find the man who killed their people! Scarlet Star isn’t some weakling after all. As long as Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light can achieve their objectives, why would they suddenly start a war with Scarlet Star?”
“Elder Sister, you’re right,” Zhao Xing Chen nodded repeatedly. He quickly sobered up and asked as his eyes lit up, “Then what’s Brother-in-law’s plan?”
The woman shook her head, “I have no idea what’s on your Brother-in-law’s mind. He didn’t say anything before he left. What’s more, I’m just a woman, why would I care about all these things? All I know is that Scarlet Star wouldn’t abandon its foundation for one man.”
Zhao Xingchen clapped his hands, “I understand!”
He looked in the direction of Yang Kai’s mansion as a big grin appeared on his face, “Yang Kai, let’s see how you’ll escape this time!” His face lit up with joy at the thought of watching Yang Kai being cut to pieces by Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion.
At this moment, the Star City was once again thrown into chaos after an uncomfortable pause. Although Scarlet Star disciples were maintaining order, how could they control so many people? Everyone was clamouring for Scarlet Star to deactivate the defensive Grand Array and let them leave the city.
Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s 3,000-strong force had surrounded the Star City. If they really launched an attack, the entire Star City would be affected. At that time, all of them would most likely become collateral damage.
However, how could Scarlet Star’s side deactivate the Grand Array so easily? Before they could get a complete read on Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s intentions, rashly opening the Grand Array was no different from courting death.
This Grand Array was Scarlet Star’s final line of defence!
Inside the meeting hall, Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers were all in a terrible fix. The normally calm Lady Qin was no longer interested in playing her zither as her black brows happened to be knit tightly as she sat there like a bitter older woman abandoned by her husband of many years.
The entire hall was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.
“What should we do now? Everyone, let’s hear what you have to say.” Chen Tian Fei turned to the others.
Bei Yu Shan’s face was brimming with anger, “Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light aren’t taking my Scarlet Star seriously at all. They actually led so many people to attack us. I suggest that we gather all our disciples and fight them to the death! We should let them know that our Scarlet Star isn’t that easy to bully!”
“Are you being serious?” Chen Tian Fei couldn’t help cursing. Sometimes he really wanted to smash this guy’s head open and see what he was thinking.
Ou Yang Lie frowned, “What did Head Manager say?”
Chen Tian Fei slowly shook his head, “I’ve already sent a message to Head Manager, but I don’t know if it is because he is in a critical state of retreat but he still hasn’t replied.”
Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but furrow his brow. At this time, if the Head Manager didn’t step in, it would be difficult for them to handle the situation.
Ou Yang Bing added, “It’s also possible Head Manager feels that this matter has not reached the point where Scarlet Star’s survival is at stake. After all, the one who provoked Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light was not my Scarlet Star, but that guy!”
Chen Tian Fei corrected, “Although that’s the case, he is still Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager. His every word and action represents Scarlet Star. Whatever he does outside has been imprinted with Scarlet Star’s mark.”
Ou Yang Bing suggested, “No matter what, we must first figure out what Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light wants.”
As soon as these words were spoken, a vigorous voice rang out from outside, “Sword Pavilion’s Zhong Fan has come to pay his respects. I ask the Managers of Scarlet Star to show themselves!”
The sound was like the roar of a dragon. Although it was not loud, everyone in the Star City heard it clearly.
It seemed he was trying to use peaceful means before resorting to force.
Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had joined forces and had amassed around 3,000 people. Even if Scarlet Star had a defensive Grand Array, it would still be useless if so many were to attack this Star City. However, the fact that the other party had asked Scarlet Star Managers to meet undoubtedly confirmed many people’s previous speculations.
Scarlet Star wasn’t some weakling, so if Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light did rashly start a war, both sides would suffer heavy losses.
Inside the main hall, Chen Tian Fei and the others looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. Suddenly, Chen Tian Fei’s expression changed as he took out a communication artifact and a look of joy on his face, “It’s Head Manager!”
Lady Qin, the Ou Yang Brothers, and Bei Yu Shan instantly looked over.
Chen Tian Fei used his Divine Sense and quickly sent a message back.
Lady Qin’s red lips parted slightly as she softly asked, “What did Head Manager say?”
Chen Tian Fei put away his communication bead and said, “Head Manager has given us the full authority to handle this matter, he won’t interfere.”
[What’s the meaning of this?] The Managers were confused.
At this moment, Zhong Fan repeated his previous invitation, but this time he sounded a little impatient.
Lady Qin sighed and suggested, “No matter what, let’s go meet him first.”
“That damn Brat, he caused trouble outside and actually wants my Scarlet Star to clean up his mess,” Ou Yang Lie cursed. Compared to Ou Yang Bing, his temper was more volatile.
When Zhong Fan shouted for the third time, five figures rose from the Star City’s center and rushed over.
“It’s the Managers of Scarlet Star!” Someone shouted.
“They finally came out. If they didn’t come out now, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would surely have attacked us.” Another person secretly wiped away his cold sweat. If the situation really developed to such a point, they would not have been able to escape from this predicament either.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Chen Tian Fei and the others flew a thousand meters away from Zhong Fan and stood just behind the eight layers of the defensive Grand Array.
Chen Tian Fei smiled and cupped his fist, “So it is the Managers of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, please forgive this Chen for not coming out to greet you sooner.”
Zhong Fan remained calm while Luo Qing Yun’s cold eyes swept over the group, seemingly searching for something, but in the end, he couldn’t help snorting coldly after being unable to find it.
Chen Tian Fei didn’t feel embarrassed when the other party gave him the cold shoulder even when he had shown respect. He knew that the other party had come here in anger, so why should he show respect when they couldn’t even see their enemy?
Still smiling, Chen Tian Fei asked, “May I ask why everyone has come?”
Luo Qing Yun sneered, “Don’t you know why we’ve come? Why ask even though you already know?”
Chen Tian Fei forced a laugh and looked below. He saw a crowd of tens of thousands of people staring in their direction with all kinds of emotions flashing across their eyes. He heaved a sigh secretly before sending a Divine Sense transmission to Zhong Fan.
No one knew what he was talking about, but Zhong Fan simply nodded lightly and just spoke a single word in response, “Good!”
Afterwards, he turned to Luo Qing Yun and the others, ordering, “Wait here for now.”
Chen Tian Fei cupped his fists and thanked, “Many thanks, Brother Zhong!” Saying so, he turned around and shouted towards a certain place, “Open the Array!”
A moment later, a crack appeared in the defensive Grand Array as Zhong Fan stepped into the Star City. After he entered, the crack closed again, isolating Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light from the city once again.
The crowd below immediately became restless.
“Manager Zhong actually went to the meeting alone? As expected, skilful Masters are always bold!”
“A Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master isn’t something to joke about. If the Head Manager of Scarlet Star doesn’t make an appearance, who can suppress him?”
“That’s true.”
After Zhong Fan entered, Chen Tian Fei asked Luo Qing Yun and the others to be excused before extending his hand and leading Zhong Fan towards the meeting hall; obviously, he was going to discuss the matter with Zhong Fan.
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion, when Yue He saw this, her eyes darted around before she turned to the two Great Moon Province disciples and Chen Yue, exhorting them, “Pack up your things and prepare to run.”
With Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s army bearing down on them, Scarlet Star would not be able to bear such pressure no matter what. Abandoning Yang Kai would be the wisest course of action. Yue He’s quick mind instantly saw through this, so naturally she ordered Chen Yue and the others to make preparations.
“I’ll go call Eldest Senior Brother!” One of Great Moon Province’s disciples hurriedly rushed over to where Meng Hong was cultivating.
“I have nothing to pack,” Chen Yue shook her head.
The Managers of Scarlet Star and Zhong Fan entered the meeting hall. Although many people were curious about what they would be discussing, they had no way of finding it out. Perhaps apart from the Managers, no one would ever know.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Zhong Fan soared into the sky and stood in the air, coldly glancing towards Yang Kai’s mansion. His gaze just happened to meet with Yue He’s eyes.
Yue He smiled sweetly at him with a charming expression.
“Bitch!” Zhong Fan coldly snorted before transforming into a streak of sword light and rushing out. If not for his fear of Yue He, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would have already rushed into the mansion and captured Yang Kai.
Although he was also a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, he didn’t have any confidence in defeating Yue He. Not to mention, this was the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where he couldn’t display his full strength. Once someone else helped her, he would definitely be defeated and would be forced to flee.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, he could only temporarily retreat.
The Grand Array opened a crack and allowed Zhong Fan to leave.
“So, what did they choose?” Zhu Li asked.
Zhong Fan indifferently replied, “What else can they do? As I expected, they sacrificed the rook to save the king. Scarlet Star has abandoned that Yang fellow.”
Luo Qing Yun asked, “If that’s the case, why haven’t they deactivated this damned Spirit Array and let us kill that bastard?”
Zhong Fan said, “Naturally, they’re afraid we’ll take advantage of this opportunity to destroy them.” He waved his hand and added, “It’s only natural for them to have such concerns. Since our groups have joined forces, how could Scarlet Star not take precautions?”
Luo Qing Yun frowned deeply, “But if that bastard keeps hiding inside and doesn’t come out, are we just going to wait?”
“Of course not, Chen Tian Fei said he would find a way to force that brat out. All he asked is for us to leave immediately after achieving our goal.”
“Retreat?” Luo Qing Yun sneered, “He’s dreaming! So many people have been mobilized this time, so how can killing just one man appease the hatred in my heart? Since that bastard is a member of Scarlet Star, they should pay the price as well. Also, there is Emperor Heaven and Ding Yi too, since they dare to offend Sword Pavilion’s prestige, they must all die!”
Lu Xue whispered, “How will Scarlet Star force him out? What if he refuses to come out?”
Zhong Fan glanced at her, “He’ll come out, it’s not like we don’t have any bargaining chips.”
Lu Xue suddenly understood and nodded silently.
Sometimes, silence is another kind of pressure. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s 3,000 forces had surrounded the Star City, and although they didn’t make any moves or say a word, it still caused everyone inside to feel uneasy.
In the midst of this turbulence, a piece of news quickly spread throughout the Star City.
Yang Kai’s position as Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager was not official. He had not received the approval of the Head Manager and instead had used underhanded means to usurp the position. He had killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong using a sneak attack, then used despicable means to coerce Chen Tian Fei and the others, and finally took the position of Sixth Manager for himself. The Head Manager, who had been in secluded cultivation, did not know about this matter, nor did he ever acknowledge Yang Kai’s identity as the Sixth Manager. His words and actions simply did not represent Scarlet Star.
In other words, this so-called Scarlet Star Sixth Manager was nothing more than Yang Kai blowing his own trumpet. He had never received Scarlet Star’s official approval.
At first, this news was spread among a few people but soon it spread like wildfire and everyone in the Star City had heard of it in just half an hour. Such proliferation was simply impossible unless someone was fanning the flames behind the scene.
In a flash, many people looked towards Yang Kai’s mansion with pity, knowing that Scarlet Star had abandoned its Sixth Manager.
Not many people believed this rumour of course. Why hadn’t Scarlet Star denied it before if it was true? Obviously, they didn’t want to be implicated with Yang Kai when Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light Army came knocking at their door.
There was nothing wrong with this though. It was a wise decision to sacrifice the rook to save the king. What’s more, not many days had passed since Yang Kai became the Sixth Manager. He had no foundation in Scarlet Star, so who would want to protect his interests and safety at this time?
Although they understood this, no one was willing to stand up for an irrelevant person at this moment and instead voiced their complaints about Yang Kai. If it weren’t for him causing trouble outside, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light wouldn’t have made such a big move. Even the outsiders in the Star City were feeling anxious. They had no idea if Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would take over the city by force, and if they did, what kind of fate awaited them.
The complaints in their hearts were only normal, and there were even some people who had gathered in front of Yang Kai’s mansion and were shouting for him to get out of the Star City.
At first, there weren’t many people, but as time passed, more and more people started to gather in front of Yang Kai’s mansion. In less than an incense stick worth of time, hundreds of people had gathered with more arriving all the time.
All of them were glaring at Yang Kai’s mansion angrily, maliciously even. All of them were demanding he leave this place as soon as possible. Whatever grievances he had with Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light should be resolved by him alone, they didn’t want him to drag them along with him.
The waves of voices became louder!
Inside the mansion, the two Great Moon Province disciples and Chen Yue’s faces turned pale, as they started trembling. In the current situation, they still had a chance of survival if they hid here, but how could they survive if they left?
Yue He’s tender body also trembled slightly, but from anger instead of fear. She hadn’t expected Scarlet Star to be so despicable and shameless. In order to force Yang Kai to leave the Star City, they had actually used such an underhanded method.
With her Divine Sense, she could naturally sense that many Scarlet Star disciples in the crowd were adding fuel to the fire. These people must have received instructions from Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers; otherwise, how could they dare to act like this?
Outside the Star City, the gazes of Zhong Fan and the other Open Heaven Realm Master were focused on Yang Kai’s mansion.
Long Tai sneered and scoffed, “So this is Scarlet Star’s plan? Fatty Chen wants to use these people to force that Yang bastard out? Scarlet Star truly has fallen.”
Zhu Li pondered for a moment before commenting, “It may not be completely ineffective; after all, it’s unwise to arouse public anger.”
Luo Qing Yun gritted his teeth and stated, “It’s not like that bastard hasn’t done something that incites public anger before!”
Thinking back to what Yang Kai had done on Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he felt that this method was useless. Even though he was one of the leaders of Sword Pavilion, he didn’t dare to commit such heinous crimes against everyone’s interests, but Yang Kai had done just that! Not only did he do it, he even managed to survive.
As such, he didn’t think that this kind of method would be effective as he had personally experienced how crazy that guy was.
“Let’s wait a moment. Since Chen Tian Fei has already given this King his word, let’s see what other tricks he has up his sleeve. If it really doesn’t work, it won’t be too late for us to act. In any case, he won’t be able to escape from us today,” Zhong Fan suggested indifferently.
Luo Qing Yun’s eyes flashed for a moment before a malicious grin spread across his lips, “En, it’s not a bad idea to watch him slowly fall into despair.”
Somewhere in the Star City, Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers concealed themselves, paying attention to Yang Kai’s movements. Orders were passed down silently, and the crowd gathered in front of Yang Kai’s mansion became more excited.
“Yang Kai, get out of the Star City, you’re not welcome here!”
“Yang Kai, are you deaf or dead? Since you caused this trouble, you should be the one to solve it! What kind of a man cowers inside his house?”
“That’s right, that’s right! Since you’re so strong, why are you afraid of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light? Just go out and fight them to the death yourself!”
“Don’t implicate us innocent and pitiful people!”
…..
Demeaning shouts rang out to no end while inside the mansion, Yue He’s expression was extremely ugly. Although she knew that many of these people had been used by Scarlet Star, the coldness of human nature was obvious, and it was truly infuriating.
“Yang Kai, you coward, you have the guts to stir up trouble, but you don’t have the guts to bear it!?”
“What should we do if he doesn’t come out? From the looks of it, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light won’t wait long. If we really anger them, they’ll immediately attack the Star City. At that time, if the city gates catch fire, it’s we who will be caught in the crossfire.”
“If he doesn’t come out, we’ll attack and drag him out!”
“That’s right, let’s attack together!”
As soon as they finished speaking, a sword light slashed towards Yang Kai’s mansion, followed by countless attacks.
Although there was a defensive Array around the mansion, it was not a very powerful one, so how could it withstand the attacks of so many people? In just three breaths of time, the Array was broken.
“The Array is broken, everyone follow me! Capture Yang Kai!”
Someone shouted and rushed forward.
Hundreds of people followed closely behind and rushed into the mansion.
Yue He was stunned. Just now, she had been hesitating about whether she should call Yang Kai to inform him about the situation outside, but before she could make up her mind, the defensive Array of this mansion had been broken.
Looking up, she saw a group of fierce-looking people rushing in with artifacts in their hands, all of them wearing hostile expressions.
“She is with Yang Kai! Let’s capture her first, then we won’t have to worry about Yang Kai not showing himself!” The leader pointed at Yue He and shouted.
Yue He’s mood sank. No matter what, she was still a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, a famous figure in the outside world, yet a mere Emperor Realm cultivator dared to act so presumptuously in front of her today, pointing at her nose and screaming about capturing her.
In front of Yang Kai, she was very obedient, always acting as a subservient maid, listening to everything he said, but that was just a disguise. Yang Kai had never seen her true face.
Suddenly, killing intent rose in her heart as she stared at the person who had just shouted at her. Her soft and slender finger slowly rose as she pointed towards the man.
At this moment, a majestic roar resounded throughout the sky, “So noisy!”
As soon as these words reverberated in everyone’s ears, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Yue He. The figure was emanating a cold aura that could penetrate one’s heart and freeze it solid.
“Young Master!” Yue He quickly put down her finger as the murderous intent on her face instantly disappeared into thin air. Her beautiful eyes flickered with fear as if she was a child who had been bullied at home.
Although Yang Kai was in seclusion, studying the mysteries of his Wood and Fire Elements, he hadn’t completely activated the room’s isolation Arrays because of the presence of Xu Zhen. He had left a wisp of his consciousness to pay attention to the outside; after all, this was his first-time meeting Xu Zhen, so it was naturally impossible for him to trust him completely.
Yang Kai was aware of the arrival of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light and the unrest in the Star City. He was also aware of the clamour outside the mansion, but he just couldn’t be bothered with it.
But now that even the mansion’s Spirit Array had been broken, he could no longer continue his retreat.
Having no other choice but to show up, Yang Kai was quite annoyed. He had just entered a critical period in his closed-door cultivation and since he was interrupted at this critical juncture, he wasn’t in a good mood.
Yang Kai coldly looked around and when he saw hundreds of people crowded around his mansion to the point that more couldn’t even come inside, he couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.
“Is he Yang Kai?” Someone asked in a low voice. Many of the people who had rushed in were people who had never even met Yang Kai before. They were just being used by others.
“I think so.”
“I’ve finally met the real Master. I thought he would keep hiding.”
Many people whispered to each other while some secretly observed Yang Kai. They realized that there was nothing special about him. They really didn’t know how such a person had prompted Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light to team up to oppose him.
On the other hand, the people who had been clamouring to drag Yang Kai out of the Star City were now silent, their expressions tense as they quietly retreated to the back of the crowd. These were all Scarlet Star disciples who had followed Chen Tian Fei’s orders and were acting in secret. Now that they had forced Yang Kai out and achieved their goal, they naturally wanted to retreat.
“You want to run?” Yang Kai coldly snorted as he raised his hand and grabbed the person in front of him, lifting him up into the air while simultaneously manipulating Space Principles. In the blink of an eye, the space within a thousand metres radius became incredibly viscous.
Countless muffled groans rang out as the weaker cultivators froze in place. They felt as if tremendous pressure was pressing down on them, threatening to crush them into dust. Even the slightly stronger ones were still struggling to move.
“Are you the one causing trouble?” Yang Kai stared coldly at the man he was holding in the air and asked lightly.
“No, it’s not me,” the man replied in panic, the fear in his heart indescribable.
He was also in the Emperor Realm and had condensed several Open Heaven Elements. If he were outside, he would have been a Half-Step Open Heaven Realm cultivator, only needing two more Elements to reach the Open Heaven Realm, but now that Yang Kai had imprisoned him, he couldn’t even struggle free!
A violent and pure energy poured into his body, causing him to become extremely weak and unable to resist.
He couldn’t help thinking about the rumours he had heard in the Star City, about Yang Kai killing Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong with only his Emperor Realm strength. At that time, he had scoffed at such rumours; after all, Open Heaven Realm Masters were still Open Heaven Realm Masters, even if the environment here sealed their Small Universes, how could Yang Kai kill them so easily?
In private, everyone said that Yang Kai had launched a sneak attack, and that’s how he killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong. The same thing had spread from Scarlet Star just now, which had undoubtedly confirmed this point.
But now, it seemed that the rumours were wrong!
With such strength, it was likely he really had the ability to kill Open Heaven Realm Masters!
At this moment of life and death, this man wept bitterly, “Sixth Manager, please spare my life, this humble subordinate is just following orders, please spare my life, Sixth Manager.”
“Sixth Manager?” Yang Kai chuckled as he looked towards a certain direction, his eyes seemingly able to pierce through space as a mocking look appeared on his face.
Chen Tian Fei and the others, who were hiding, all wore tense expressions. Bei Yu Shan even nervously gulped. Although he wasn’t very sharp, his instincts towards danger were like that of a wild beast. When Yang Kai looked at them just now, Bei Yu Shan felt as if he had encountered an overwhelming opponent and was about to die.
The fat on Chen Tian Fei’s face twitched as he muttered, “Is it a coincidence, or has he already discovered us?”
The Ou Yang Brothers’ faces sank, not daring to make a sound for fear of leaking their presence.
Fortunately, Yang Kai only glanced over briefly before turning his attention back to the unfamiliar faces and the one he was holding as he quipped, “Isn’t it a bit too late to call me Sixth Manager now?”
With a shake of his hand, the man let out a blood-curdling scream before exploding into a cloud of blood mist. The cultivators who were rushing into the mansion just now all instantly wore looks of horror.
No one had expected Yang Kai to be so ruthless and kill without hesitation. It had to be known that there were many of them, so Yang Kai’s actions would undoubtedly lead to great unrest.
But looking at Yang Kai’s contemptuous expression, it seemed he didn’t care at all.
For a time, many people’s hearts were in turmoil. Under the imprisonment of Space Principles, they could feel Yang Kai’s terrifying strength. One of Scarlet Star’s disciples shouted in horror, “This humble subordinate deserves death! Sixth Manager, please spare my life!”
“Since you deserve to die, then just die!” Yang Kai shouted in a low voice before he waved his arm in a wide arc. As he did, a giant Moon Blade appeared and flew out.
The Moon Blade silently cut through everything in its path as blood and severed limbs flew everywhere. In an instant, the mansion was transformed into a bloody purgatory.
The cultivators rushing into the mansion fell like wheat in a field. None of them were able to resist the Moon Blade’s terrifying power and were cut down without exception.
Those with tenacious vitality didn’t die instantly. Dragging their mutilated bodies and crawling out of the place while struggling for their last breath and howling in pain, they left behind a long trail of blood wherever they went. It was a shocking sight.
With just one strike, more than a hundred people had been killed!
In the void, the eyes of Chen Tian Fei and the others who had concealed themselves twitched violently as their scalps went numb.
Even Yue He, who was standing behind Yang Kai, couldn’t help but cover her red lips as she stared at the figure she thought she was familiar with but now understood was still a stranger.
This person was indeed very different from that person. That man was always as warm as jade, gentle as the wind, but this person in front of her could kill without batting an eye.
“How dare this brat act like this!” An old cultivator pointed at Yang Kai angrily.
They had only rushed into Yang Kai’s mansion in order to force him out of Star City so that the outsiders wouldn’t get dragged into his grievances with Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light. They hadn’t harmed a single blade of grass or tree here, but Yang Kai had directly killed over a hundred people. Such methods were simply too brutal!
Yang Kai looked over coldly, “What right do you have to judge this King? Scram!”
With a wave of his sleeve, he sent the older man flying, causing him to explode into a bloody mist.
Since these people dared to break through his mansion’s protective Array and trespass into his home, they had to pay the price for their actions.
“Madman, this guy is a madman! Run!”
Someone shouted loudly and turned around to flee, while the rest of the group also gathered their strength and fled in all directions.
Yang Kai came out of seclusion in a fit of anger and killed more than a hundred people in one blow. His anger had mostly subsided now, so when he saw these people fleeing in all directions, he didn’t make any more trouble and simply let them escape.
Turning his head, he looked towards Zhong Fan and the others with a disdainful smile.
Zhong Fan shouted, “Yang Kai, dozens of my Sword Pavilion’s disciples have died because of you. Today, this King will definitely kill you and avenge my Sword Pavilion’s disciples. Quickly come out and accept your death!”
Zhu Li also took a step forward and added, grinding his teeth, “If you come out and accept your death right this instant, we can make it quick and painless; refuse, and we’ll make you taste the cruelest torture the world has to offer until you beg us to kill you!”
Facing their provocations, Yang Kai just turned a deaf ear and indifferently smiled, “If you have the ability, then fight your way in!”
With these words, the entire Star City went into an uproar!
This was something that all the cultivators present were worried about. If it weren’t for the fear of being implicated, why would those people from before have attacked Yang Kai’s mansion and tried to capture him?
But now, what they were afraid of had come to pass. Yang Kai was acting openly belligerent, so how could his enemies endure? Many people were worried that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would really attack the Star City in anger. At that time, they would definitely suffer and complain to Scarlet Star ‘why didn’t they deactivate the Grand Array so Zhong Fan and the others could rush in and kill Yang Kai?’
“That Yang guy must be scared, he’s really despicable and shameless.”
“I’m afraid that’s only natural. With so many people from Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light here, no matter how strong he is, he won’t be able to defeat them.”
“What’s the point of being afraid now? Why didn’t he think about the consequences when he provoked Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light on Yuan Magnetic Mountain?”
“That bastard is dead for sure. Even if the Star City has a Grand Array, it won’t be able to protect him.”
“Can’t Manager Chen and the others just throw him out?”
…..
In the Star City, it quickly became quite noisy.
Listening to these whispers, Chen Tian Fei and the others all wore bitter looks on their faces. If they could throw Yang Kai out, why would they have waited until now? They would have attacked long ago, but on that day, Yang Kai killed Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong in the main hall crisply and cleanly. They knew they weren’t Yang Kai’s match in a one-on-one fight, and even if they attacked together, Yang Kai still had Yue He by his side. So why would they go and pull the tiger’s whiskers unless they had to?
Luo Qing Yun sneered and mocked, “Yang Kai, I’ve misjudged you. I thought you were a responsible man, but now it seems you’re nothing more than this!”
Yang Kai sneered and countered, “What right do you have to comment on whether this King is responsible or not?”
Saying so, he couldn’t be bothered with these people and turned around to walk towards his cultivation room.
Since Chen Tian Fei and the others had chosen to give up on him, there was no need for Yang Kai to be considerate of Scarlet Star. With his mastery over the Dao of Space, he could leave if he wanted to. No one could stop him.
“Junior, there’s no need to hurry. Take a look at this before you go,” Zhong Fan suddenly shouted.
Yang Kai stopped and looked over.
Zhong Fan waved his hand, “Bring it!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the formation of several thousand people split to the sides, revealing a passage in the middle. Immediately after, several dozen people flew over from behind, carrying some kind of giant creature with them.
After seeing what they were carrying, Yue He couldn’t help but cover her red lips with her hand, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise as she quickly turned her head towards Yang Kai.
When he saw what they brought, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as his face sank and a faint murderous intent swirled around him.
The creature being carried was none other than the Scarlet Flood Dragon Yang Kai had left on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain!
The Scarlet Flood Dragon must have experienced a difficult battle. Its entire body was covered in wounds, and blood was constantly dripping from its wounds. Countless scales had fallen off its body, revealing large chunks of flesh and blood. It looked extremely miserable, and its aura was extremely weak, as if it could die at any moment.
The most serious injury was the one just below its head, where a massive wound that had Sword Qi lingering around it sat. Obviously, it had been injured by the Sword Qi and had almost been beheaded.
Although the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s strength wasn’t ordinary, it was still just an Ominous Beast, and its intelligence wasn’t too high. If many people were to coordinate and attack it together, it might not be able to defeat them.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon had been captured and its entire body was covered in restrictions, completely trapping it in place. It was unable to even struggle.
This was an Ominous Beast that Yang Kai had left behind in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. When he left the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he hadn’t found what he was looking for, so he didn’t want to just give up and tasked Guo Zi Yan and the others to stay there and message him right away if a High-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone appeared. He even left behind the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon to assist them.
During this time, as Yang Kai hadn’t received any messages from Guo Zi Yan and he had been in seclusion, comprehending his Elements, he had simply let matters drift. Yang Kai had never thought the situation would develop into this mess now.
With the Scarlet Flood Dragon there, the Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light members must have gone to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain first, thinking that Yang Kai was still there.
[What about the Earth Dragon? What about Guo Zi Yan?]
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense spread out like a tide, and in the next moment, the killing intent on his body became even stronger.
He didn’t sense the aura of the Earth Dragon, making it unclear if it had died or fled, but he did sense Guo Zi Yan’s aura.
Immediately after the Scarlet Flood Dragon was brought forth, another group of people was escorted up, led by Guo Zi Yan and several dozen Scarlet Star disciples.
However, only half of the Scarlet Star disciples that had remained on Yuan Magnetic Mountain were here. Presumably, the rest of them had been killed.
Guo Zi Yan and the others weren’t restricted by chains created from a Secret Technique, but it was obvious that they were all under some kind of seal. All of their auras were weak, as if they had never cultivated before, and couldn’t use any of their strength.
“Boy, are these your subordinates and beast?” Zhong Fan looked at Yang Kai indifferently, “Don’t you care about their lives?”
Yang Kai’s eyes swept over Guo Zi Yan and the others one by one, making sure they weren’t in mortal danger. Fortunately, only the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s injuries were slightly worse. After checking everyone, he asked in a cold voice, “What are you going to do? I’m no longer a member of Scarlet Star, they’re Scarlet Star disciples. Do you want to use them to threaten me? You’re too naive.”
Zhong Fan replied, “If it comes down to a choice, you can abandon your subordinates and beast, so this Old Master naturally won’t use their lives to threaten you. This Old Master simply wants you to watch a good show!”
“What show?”
“A killing show!” As Zhong Fan spoke, he waved his hand, and a captured disciple was caught in his palm. Sword Qi burst out from his palm, instantly reducing that person to a bloody mist, and causing blood to rain down. Zhong Fan shouted angrily, “Sword Pavilion must not be humiliated, those who insult my Sword Pavilion must be killed without mercy!”
These words seemed to be a declaration, causing the entire Star City to tremble. Even Chen Tian Fei and the others who had concealed themselves wore solemn expressions.
Once Zhong Fan spoke, he reached out and grabbed another Scarlet Star disciple.
Just as he was about to use the same trick again, his eyes suddenly narrowed because, in that instant, he had lost sight of Yang Kai!
Even with Zhong Fan’s ability, he was unable to discover how he had disappeared.
Little did they know, a small gap in the Grand Array had been split open at that moment.
Zhong Fan’s original plan was to kill Yang Kai’s subordinates one by one in front of him and the Star City. Afterwards, he would kill the Scarlet Flood Dragon. All his actions were planned. First, to pay for the death of Sword Pavilion’s disciples on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, and second, to put pressure on Yang Kai.
Otherwise, why would he bring these people and the Scarlet Flood Dragon here? He would’ve just killed them on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain.
Although Yang Kai kept saying that he was no longer a member of Scarlet Star, many of the captured people had fought a life-or-death battle for him. If Yang Kai really ignored their plight, who would dare trust him in the future?
If this could provoke Yang Kai, it would be for the best, and even if it failed, Sword Pavilion would not lose anything. Rather, it would let the world know the fate of those who provoked Sword Pavilion. It was killing two birds with one stone.
He thought Yang Kai would care more about his life and ignore these irrelevant characters, or he would lose his mind in anger for his subordinates, but he had never expected things to go so far beyond his expectations!
When Yang Kai’s figure disappeared from his field of vision, a sense of crisis gripped Zhong Fan’s heart and he instinctively had a bad premonition, shouting out loud, “Be careful!”
Just as his words fell, he caught sight of Yang Kai again, but at this moment, Yang Kai had appeared beside Guo Zi Yan like a ghost. The space around him, distorting.
As soon as he appeared, he stretched his hand towards the side and grabbed the air.
Lu Xue, who was hovering a hundred metres away from Guo Zi Yan, was still paying attention to the spot Yang Kai had been standing in the Star City, but in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had disappeared from her sight.
By the time she realized something had gone wrong, Yang Kai had already reached out his hand towards her, seemingly covering the sky with it. Lu Xue couldn’t help but feel like she couldn’t escape.
She was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master though, so the moment she noticed something wrong, she let out a shout as a purple sword light shot out from the centre of her brow, flying straight ahead. At the same time, she hastily retreated.
The might of this attack was extraordinary, it was a sure-fire blow that she trained for centuries. She would never use it unless she were facing a life or death crisis or to kill an Open Heaven Realm Master.
The same time Lu Xue’s sword shot out, the nearby Luo Qing Yun also made a move. A long sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. The next moment, a dazzling sword light surrounded him and the long sword as he became one with it. Immediately after, he slashed towards Yang Kai with a ferocious look on his face.
Zhu Li, on the other hand, retreated a thousand metres with a terrified look on his face. He had been traumatized by Yang Kai back on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, as had he watched Bie Jian tragically die in just one move. Even after so many days, that memory was still vivid in his mind. When he saw Yang Kai appear near him, the first thought that crossed his mind was to run away quickly and then decide what to do next.
In the time it takes for a spark to fly off a flint, the purple sword light that flew out from the centre of Lu Xue’s brow was pinched by Yang Ka’s hand as a deafening sword cry reverberated across the sky.
Lu Xue’s pretty eyes bulged, looking completely shocked because Yang Kai was unscathed even after taking her certain death blow. Not only that, Yang Kai had actually sandwiched a tiny purple sword light between his fingers. That little sword light seemed to be sentient as it kept struggling in Yang Kai’s hand, but it couldn’t break free of his grip no matter what.
“Die!” At that moment, an angry Luo Qing Yun slashed straight towards Yang Kai’s waist.
A smile couldn’t help but appear on Luo Qing Yun’s face as if he saw Yang Kai being cut into two by his attack. He believed that Yang Kai, with his cultivation only being in the Emperor Realm, would be unable to withstand the all-out strike of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, the force of the counter-shock from his hand made Luo Qing Yun’s smile instantly turn stiff. The next moment, he saw a layer of light brown aura around Yang Kai. A prismatic Earth Element Power protected Yang Kai, blocking the blow.
That sword had struck the Earth Element Shield.
As expected of the full power attack of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, even the firm Earth Element Shield was unable to block it and shattered into pieces. The sharp sword slashed into Yang Kai’s waist, cutting through his clothes.
As the two passed by each other, Yang Kai indifferently glanced at Luo Qing Yun. The sword light dissipated as Luo Qing Yun appeared, his face distorted in shock and fear.
It was because of Yang Kai’s glance. There was nothing but contempt in his eyes, as if he was looking at an ant.
Suddenly, a cry came from behind as Luo Qing Yun promptly turned around. The next moment, he couldn’t help but have his eyes crack wide open as he roared, “Let her go!”
In the middle of thousands of enemies, Yang Kai was holding Lu Xue by her slender neck, hiding behind her and looking out with a mocking expression.
Right then, a cold gleam came to a stop just before Lu Xue’s throat. Who knows when Zhong Fan had arrived with his long sword? He was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, stronger than any other Open Heaven Realm Master present, so as soon as he saw Yang Kai attack Lu Xue, he realized what his plan was and immediately flew to rescue her. Be that as it may, even if Luo Qing Yun made his move to stop Yang Kai, Zhong Fan was still a little too slow. When he arrived, Yang Kai had already grasped Lu Xue by her neck and was using her as his shield.
With Lu Xue as Yang Kai’s hostage, Zhong Fan couldn’t do anything.
As their gazes met, Zhong Fan flew into a rage and scowled in anger. The long sword in his hand was pointed at Yang Kai, but he couldn’t thrust it forward.
Lu Qing Yun looked worried, whereas Zhu Li was horrified and Long Tai, who had somehow recovered from his dazed state, was shocked.
At this moment, the world had gone completely silent as countless eyes were glued in their direction.
Everything happened too fast, so except for a few people, no one knew what happened. By the time everyone reacted, everything was already over.
Countless people asked in their hearts, [How is this possible? What gave Yang Kai the courage to rush out? How come he is fine after taking Luo Qing Yun’s attack? How did Lu Xue get caught in his hands, and why didn’t she resist?]
So many questions came up in their hearts, but no one could give them any answers.
Not only were the onlookers puzzled, but even Luo Qing Yun and Zhong Fan looked at Lu Xue in confusion. Although she was a woman, she was still a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! How could she get captured by Yang Kai so easily? What’s more, why wasn’t she trying to escape? As long as Lu Xue could free herself from Yang Kai’s grip, they would be able to immediately attack him.
Only Lu Xue knew in her heart that when Yang Kai captured her, a scorching and terrifying Power immediately invaded her body. That Power wantonly burned her meridians, blood, and her flesh. She was trembling and in a Hell of pain. Her clothes became drenched in cold sweat in an instant.
That was definitely the Fire Element Power refined by Yang Kai, but Lu Xue had never seen such a pure and High-Order Fire Element Power before. Her own strength was unable to compete with this Fire Element Power, simply turning into fuel to be burned upon contact.
All she could do was urge her strength with all her might to resist the scorching heat, unable to divert her attention from the process at all. So, how could she fight off Yang Kai? If she did that, she would be reduced to ashes immediately!
[Just what Order Fire Element is this?] Lu Xue had a faint guess in her heart, but she couldn’t believe it.
Back in the mansion, Yue He looked at Yang Kai with a complicated expression on her face. [This guy and that man are indeed very different, but in some respects, they are similarly crazy. They will ignore life and death. A kind of madness that makes them captivating!]
Her mind seemed to have travelled thousands of years into the past, returning to a time when she was young, and a sense of desolation immediately surged from the depths of her heart.
Chen Tian Fei, who was hiding in the void, trembled violently, his face full of horror. Although he had experienced Yang Kai’s fearsome strength first-hand, he couldn’t help but feel shocked when he witnessed it once again.
[That guy is a monster. In this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where Open Heaven Ream Masters can’t display their true strength, who can go against him?]
Bei Yu Shan, who was beside him, couldn’t help but gulp nervously. His loud gulp was clearly showcasing the fear he was feeling.
Under everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai grinned and gently pushed Lu Xue forward. Seeing the tip of the sword getting closer and closer to her throat, Lu Xue couldn’t help but look at Zhong Fan with a pleading look in her beautiful eyes.
Zhong Fan’s facial muscles twitched as he pulled the long sword back.
“Shameless!” Zhong Fan gritted his teeth and cursed.
Yang Kai sneered, “I learned from you.”
Zhong Fan was rendered speechless.
He used the lives of Guo Zi Yan and others to threaten Yang Kai before, and in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai was now using Lu Xue to threaten him. The tables had turned so quickly
Yang Kai ignored him and looked at Guo Zi Yan with a solemn expression, stating, “This King has implicated you.”
Guo Zi Yan was moved and apologised, “Sixth Manager, please don’t say that. It is we humble subordinates who have brought you disgrace.”
He hated his lack of strength. Yang Kai even left the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon to protect them, but he couldn’t even send a message at the critical moment; otherwise, Yang Kai would not have been forced into such a passive situation.
However, he couldn’t be blamed for this either. The main reason was that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had too many people, and they attacked in a rapid manner. When they reached the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, they captured them right away and then split up to encircle and suppress the Earth Dragon and Scarlet Flood Dragon. Guo Zi Yan simply didn’t have the time to send a message.
Yang Kai shook his head and stated, “I’m no longer the Sixth Manager of Scarlet Star, don’t call me Sixth Manager again.”
Guo Zi Yan was startled, but he was also a wise worldly man. He just glanced at the Star City, and then after thinking about what he had heard and seen before, he immediately understood Yang Kai’s predicament. A look of shame appeared on his face. One that he could not hide even when he tried to. He was a Scarlet Star Great Commander but he definitely could not come to terms with what the Managers of Scarlet Star had done; however, he was unable to change anything now.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stared at Zhong Fan and asked, “Old dog, now you have my people in your hands, and I also have your people in my hands, what are you going to do?”
Zhong Fan looked at Yang Kai coldly and snorted coldly, “If you let her go, I won’t kill you!”
Yang Kai grinned at him before shouting, “Guo Zi Yan!”
Guo Zi Yan was dishevelled, but although he was captured and his cultivation was sealed, he replied in a deep voice, “The humble subordinate is here!”
“How many people did they kill on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain!”
A trace of grief flashed in Guo Zi Yan’s eyes, and he cupped his fist and replied, “My lord, this humble subordinate had seventy-two men under his command, but now only thirty-nine are left. We lost thirty-three brothers in that battle!”
Yang Kai gave a nod before his momentum surged, giving the impression as if a god of war had descended. The next moment, he declared aloud, “This King will now take revenge for our thirty-three men, open your eyes and watch.”
The moment he declared this, Zhong Fan’s face changed drastically and he roared “You dare!?”
Nonetheless, Yang Kai smacked his palm as the wind and cloud surged. An enormous palm descended from the sky, pressing down towards a group of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion members.
A giant palm seal slammed down from the sky, shattering space, and causing a series of explosions.
No one had expected Yang Kai to act so crazily. He was all alone in the middle of countless enemies, but not only did he not restrain himself, he even took the initiative to attack!
Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation hadn’t been formed yet, and Thunder Light’s disciples were still shaken from what happened, so the best these people could do was hurriedly gather their strength and launch hasty Secret Techniques and Artifact attacks.
The giant palm seal was riddled with holes from the countless attacks, but it still continued to press down.
A series of miserable cries rang out as bloody mists exploded in the air one by one, like the most beautiful red roses in the world. Under the eyes of everyone present, blood-red flowers blossomed mid-air.
When this attack was done, thirty-three blood flowers bloomed, no more, no less.
A series of gasps rang out from all over the Star City as everyone stared incredulously at the figure hovering in the sky. Zhong Fan and the other’s eyes were practically spitting fire as they stared at this figure.
Thirty-three of Guo Zi Yan’s subordinates had died in battle, so Yang Kai had killed thirty-three Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light disciples in front of everyone just to avenge those who had died.
This arrogant act was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, causing Zhong Fan and the others to feel their faces burn. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would not be able to survive in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary if they couldn’t kill Yang Kai today.
The long sword in Zhong Fan’s hand trembled slightly as his Sword Qi fluctuated wildly. He wanted nothing more than to rush up to Yang Kai and tear him to pieces right now, but with Lu Xue in Yang Kai’s hands, he didn’t dare act rashly.
Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and glared at Zhong Fan, shouting, “This King forgot, it’s not thirty-three! You’ve killed one more!”
As soon as these words were spoken, all of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion disciples’ expressions changed drastically as they quickly retreated, putting some distance between them and Yang Kai. Although they had a lot of people, none of them wanted to haunt this world due to an unjust death!
In an instant, there was no one else within a kilometre of Yang Kai, apart from Zhong Fan and a few other Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The might of this one person was terrifying!
“What are you going to do?” Zhong Fan looked over coldly.
“Since you’ve invited me to watch a show, this King will also invite you to watch a show!” Saying so, the purple sword light that belonged to Lu Xue between his fingers turned and directly stabbed into Lu Xue’s chest, then with a palm strike, he plunged the purple sword straight into Lu Xue’s body!
Lu Xue let out a muffled groan as she used all her strength to resist the burning might of the Golden Crow True Fire. At this moment, she was injured by Yang Kai, causing her to sweat profusely. Her white clothes immediately became stained with blood. Her skin became redder as steam rose from her and she let out a painful cry.
“You court death!” Luo Qing Yun’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot as he shouted, grinding his teeth.
Zhong Fan’s expression instantly became dark and gloomy.
Although Yang Kai’s killing of thirty-three people with a single palm strike had made him angry, they were just a few disciples under him while most belonged to Thunder Light. He could replace them if they died, but Lu Xue was different. She was one of the Sword Pavilion’s leaders, and now that she had been tortured by Yang Kai like this, he had no choice but to re-examine Yang Kai’s madness.
Guo Zi Yan and the thirty or so Scarlet Star disciples who had been captured all were looking dispirited at first, but after witnessing Yang Kai’s series of unexpected actions with their own eyes, their morale was greatly lifted!
Their Sixth Manager was truly cold and cruel. He could even be so merciless towards a beauty like Lu Xue. If it was them, they might not be able to bear it, but they had to admit that seeing this scene really made them feel happy and their blood boil, making them feel warmth deep in their hearts. They couldn’t help feeling an impulse to follow this Sixth Manager into the gates of Hell! Even if they died here, they would have no regrets!
“If you dare say another word, I’ll rip off her head!” Yang Kai turned to Luo Qing Yun and shouted.
Luo Qing Yun’s Sword Intent surged as he watched Lu Xue suffer. How could he not want to save her? In fact, he had been looking for an opportunity to save her the entire time, but unfortunately, Yang Kai had spread his Divine Sense to the surroundings and was monitoring everyone’s actions. Luo Qing Yun was unable to find any gap to strike, so he could not do anything. At this moment, when he looked into Yang Kai’s cold eyes, he was shocked and realized that Yang Kai wasn’t joking and would really do what he said.
The anger in his heart was like a volcano that could erupt at any moment, but he didn’t dare to say anything, lest Yang Kai really rip Lu Xue’s head off.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai smiled disdainfully and shouted, “Guo Zi Yan!”
Guo Zi Yan’s expression became solemn, “Your humble subordinate is here!”
“Are you afraid of death?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
Guo Zi Yan’s mouth twitched. He really wanted to say that he wasn’t afraid of death looking at Yang Kai’s display of prestige, but who wouldn’t be afraid of death? Saying such words would seem hypocritical, so he immediately smiled and said, “I’m afraid!” But he immediately added, “But your humble subordinate believes that if we die here today, Sir will definitely take revenge for us!”
He had no doubt about this. Yang Kai just confirmed this by avenging the lives of the thirty-three people.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Very good!”
Guo Zi Yan added in a heavy voice, “Sir, you don’t need to worry about us, you can act as you please. Even if we die here, we won’t hold you back. Fellow Brothers, don’t you all agree?”
“We will obey Sir’s orders!” The more than thirty people shouted in unison as their voice reverberated through the sky, their faces filled with determination.
The onlookers were moved and a look of admiration blanketed their faces. Whether these words were sincere or forced by the circumstances, Yang Kai being able to obtain such support from Guo Zi Yan and the others at this time showed his charisma.
Chen Tian Fei and the others, on the other hand, had complicated looks on their faces. They had commanded Scarlet Star for many years, and although they had many capable subordinates, they had never seen such a display of loyalty!
It hadn’t been that long since Guo Zi Yan was assigned to Yang Kai, just a month or two, but he had already been subdued to such an extent? They couldn’t believe that a Scarlet Star disciple could act like this.
Yang Kai’s face turned solemn as he swept his gaze over them, seemingly trying to memorize their faces. He noticed Guo Zi Yan’s calmness, fear of death and desire for life in some people’s eyes, and also many expectations from him.
He nodded his acknowledgement before claiming, “Don’t worry, if you die, I’ll bury these three thousand people with you!”
As soon as he said this, the entire crowd went into an uproar!
Yang Kai might have shown extraordinary combat strength. After all, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Lu Xue was not able to resist him. Likewise, the other Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be a match for Yang Kai in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; however, what he said was still too arrogant.
There were three thousand people here, not three thousand rocks on the side of the road! Even if they stood there and let him kill them, it would still take him a long time to accomplish. Not to mention there were a number of Open Heaven Realm Masters still overseeing them. Furthermore, the Sword Pavilion disciples could even form their Starfall Sword Formation to boost their strength.
Even if Scarlet Star went all out, it would not be their opponent, let alone a lone person called Yang Kai!
Someone secretly shook his head., “Isn’t this Yang fellow too arrogant? Does he really think he’s invincible?”
Someone even sneered, “Who doesn’t know how to boast? If it was me, I would boast a lot better than him.”
“Ah, this Brat, I thought he was intelligent and talented, but who would have thought that he would be so stupid as to say such things?”
Even Yue He, who had been paying close attention to Yang Kai in the mansion, frowned. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in Yang Kai’s strength as she had also witnessed Yang Kai defeat hundreds of Thunder Light disciples with the Scarlet Flood Dragon, but the three thousand people before her eyes were different. Thunder Light had brought its full strength out, and Sword Pavilion also had three hundred disciples here. Once they used their Sword Formation, they would be invincible.
If Yang Kai relied on his Space Secret Techniques to deal with them, he might be able to defeat them, but killing three thousand people was a bit unrealistic.
“Junior, your arrogance is quite big for your age!” Zhong Fan coldly snorted.
“Whether my arrogance is big or small, you’ll know soon enough.” Yang Kai looked at him disdainfully, “Old dog, I’ll give you two choices. The first is to release my men and I’ll trade this woman with you, and the second is to kill my men and I’ll have this woman accompany them to the underworld. Which one do you choose?”
Zhong Fan’s face turned dark and gloomy. Yang Kai’s intention was obviously to exchange hostages, but when he proposed the exchange, he spoke in a threatening manner, making everyone feel angry.
What made Zhong Fan even more helpless was that he couldn’t ignore Lu Xue’s life and death! To any force, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a critical pillar that could not be lost!
“How do you expect this Old Master to believe you?” After pondering for a moment, Zhong Fan rolled his eyes at Yang Kai, “If this Old Master lets them go, what if you go back on your word?”
“Do you have a choice?” Yang Kai sneered.
Zhong Fan suggested, “This Old Master will release half of them first. Once you let her go, this Old Master will definitely release the other half!”
However, Yang Kai acted as if he didn’t hear her and raised Lu Xue high up in the air. A murderous look flashed on his face as he stated indifferently, “I’ll count to three. If I don’t see what I want, you can just wait to collect this woman’s corpse. One!”
“Junior, don’t push things too far!” Zhong Fan was furious. Yang Kai’s unyielding attitude was extremely infuriating. He had already taken a step back and agreed to let half of them go, but who would have thought that Yang Kai wouldn’t accept it at all. There were so many eyes here, so how could he take being so openly disdained?
“Two!” Yang Kai remained unmoved, his expression indifferent.
Luo Qing Yun nervously looked at Zhong Fan. The long sword in his hand was already tightly clenched. As long as Yang Kai shouted ‘three’, he would promptly attack him.
Zhong Fan’s aura also quickly rose to its peak as he stared fixedly at Yang Kai. He could tell that although Yang Kai had mentally prepared Guo Zi Yan and the others in advance and told them he would avenge them, he didn’t want to see Guo Zi Yan and the others die here; otherwise, he wouldn’t have wanted to exchange hostages.
At this critical moment, whoever buckled to the pressure first would suffer a crushing defeat!
As such, Zhong Fan’s face was filled with determination.
Yang Kai’s mouth opened slightly as a grin appeared on his face. The word ‘three’ had already formed in his mouth as a powerful energy fluctuation pulsated from his hand.
Zhong Fan immediately shouted, “Release them!”
His imposing aura instantly fell to the bottom!
In the end, he didn’t dare to take the risk. Yang Kai could ignore the life and death of Guo Zi Yan and the others, and at worst, he would just avenge them, but the Sword Pavilion couldn’t afford to lose Lu Xue.
Luo Qing Yun also let out a sigh of relief, his hand gripping his sword, sweating profusely.
After Zhong Fan’s command, Guo Zi Yan and the others who had been captured also broke free from their shackles and flew towards Yang Kai. When they got close, Guo Zi Yan cupped his fists with a face filled with gratitude and shame, “Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded and whispered, “Where’s the Earth Dragon?”
He still had no idea if the Earth Dragon was alive or dead.
Guo Zi Yan said, “The Earth Dragon is unharmed and has escaped under the Yuan Magnetic Mountain.”
It was quite sly, so when it saw that the situation wasn’t looking good, it immediately fled. It was proficient in the Earth Escape Technique, so even if Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had a lot of people, they couldn’t do anything to it. It was also impossible for them to continue searching for its traces in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, so they simply left it alone. After all, their main target was, at the end of the day, Yang Kai.
“Good.” Yang Kai felt relieved. He finally heard some good news.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was also quickly released. Comparatively speaking, the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s injuries were the most severe; many of its scales had fallen off, it was bleeding from everywhere, and there was a huge gaping wound on its neck. It looked extremely pitiful.
It flew over to Yang Kai and lowered its head. It expressed its anger and helplessness via Divine Sense as it stared at Lu Xue in Yang Kai’s hand. It bared its teeth as if it wanted to swallow her whole. The enormous wound on its neck was the handiwork of Lu Xue.
Lu Xue got really nervous at the sight of this. Zhong Fan and Luo Qing Yun also couldn’t help but have their hearts jump to their throats. They were afraid that Yang Kai would go back on his word.
Fortunately, Yang Kai didn’t let the Scarlet Flood Dragon bite and simply patted its head, “Go back.” He then ordered Guo Zi Yan and the others too, “All of you go back first.”
Guo Zi Yan was momentarily taken aback, “Sir, what about you?”
“Don’t worry, these scum can’t do anything to me.”
Guo Zi Yan was deeply worried and wanted to persuade him otherwise; still, when he noticed Yang Kai’s determined expression, he knew he wouldn’t be able to persuade him otherwise and couldn’t help but admire him. [He is still able to remain so calm and collected even in the face of so many enemies, Sir is really something else.]
“Then Sir, you must be careful!” Guo Zi Yan exhorted before leading more than thirty people and Scarlet Flood Dragon towards the Star City.
The Star City’s defensive Grand Array appeared to still be closed, so Yang Kai turned his head in the direction of Chen Tian Fei and the others, where they were hiding, and stared at them silently, giving off an invisible pressure.
After a dozen breaths of time, Chen Tian Fei’s brow twitched as he secretly issued an order.
A crack appeared in the Grand Array as Guo Zi Yan and the Scarlet Flood Dragon rushed into the Star City. Although Chen Tian Fei and the others didn’t want to offend Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light, in the eyes of outsiders, Guo Zi Yan and the others were still members of Scarlet Star, so locking their own people outside wasn’t very appropriate; they had no choice but to let them pass. As for the Scarlet Flood Dragon, it was just tagging along.
After Guo Zi Yan and the others had entered the Star City, this hostage exchange had undoubtedly been won by Yang Kai. Now, Yang Kai had gained complete control of the situation. With Lu Xue in his hands, whether he wanted to fight or flee was up to him. Although Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had many people, it was highly unlikely that they could do anything to him.
Many people had looks of admiration on their faces. If they were in Yang Kai’s shoes, they wouldn’t have been able to do such a thing, but after thinking about it carefully, Sword Pavilion was also helpless. As long as they couldn’t bear to give up on Lu Xue, they would definitely choose to compromise.
A gust of wind blew over, causing Yang Kai’s clothes to flap.
The next moment, Divine Senses spread out and locked onto Yang Kai one after another as a thick murderous intent filled the air. The three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples quietly changed their formation and sealed off the surrounding area. In an instant, Yang Kai was completely surrounded and had no way out!
“That brat is in trouble now.” Chen Tian Fei stated softly. In this situation, unless he could suppress Lu Xue and find a way to survive, it would be impossible for him to escape this inescapable net.
“He asked for it.” Ou Yang Lie coldly snorted, “Does he really think he can do whatever he wants just because he is slightly capable?”
“If you were him, what would you do now?” Lady Qin asked.
Chen Tian Fei shook his head, “Lu Xue is his only chance of survival. If he wants to live, he must not let her go.”
At this moment, Zhong Fan shouted, “Release her.”
Yang Kai pursed his lips into a smile, “Don’t worry, this King always keeps his word!”
Saying so, under everyone’s stunned gazes, he directly pushed Lu Xue away.
Chen Tian Fei’s eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, suddenly bulged, as if they were about to pop out at any moment, and he couldn’t help but cry out, “That brat is crazy!”
He had just said that if Yang Kai wanted to live, he couldn’t let Lu Xue go, but Yang Kai did just that as soon as he said this.
With Lu Xue in his hands, Yang Kai still held the initiative, but how could he survive now that he had released her? Was he tired of living and courting death?
Not only did Chen Tian Fei not expect this, but even the person in question did not expect it. When Lu Xue was pushed out, her face was filled with perplexity, as if she had not expected to escape from Yang Kai’s control.
However, Zhong Fan’s eyes lit up as he roared, “Damn brat, because of this, I respect you as a hero and will definitely give you a quick and painless death!”
Once he spoke, he pulled Lu Xue to his side as the long sword in his hand shook as he prepared to attack.
But right then, Lu Xue spurted a mouthful of blood. The blood mist she spat out was extremely hot, as if it was boiling. Not only that, but Lu Xue turned red all over as steam rose from her head.
“Huh?” Zhong Fan’s pupils constricted as he instinctively felt that something was wrong.
Previously, Lu Xue had also acted strangely, but at that time, she had been suppressed by Yang Kai. Zhong Fan had thought that Yang Kai had used some underhanded trick against her, but now that she had been released, she shouldn’t have acted like this. Even if Yang Kai had planted some kind of trick in her body, with her Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, she should have been able to deal with it easily.
“Uncle Zhong, save me!” Lu Xue cried out hoarsely, her beautiful eyes filled with fear and panic.
Zhong Fan couldn’t be bothered to find trouble with Yang Kai anymore and directly reached out and grabbed Lu Xue’s wrist, sending his pure energy into her body. But the next moment, he withdrew his hand as if it had been stung by a snake or scorpion and exclaimed in shock, “How is this possible?”
In that instant, he discovered that Lu Xue’s body was filled with a violent and oppressive scorching energy that was wantonly burning her meridians and flesh. This scorching energy was extremely pure, so pure that he found it unbelievable. Lu Xue was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, yet she was actually unable to suppress it.
In this situation, even if Lu Xue went all out, she would still be burned to death in less than an hour!
Zhong Fan turned his head, and saw Yang Kai staring at him with a playful look on his face. It was no wonder Yang Kai had let Lu Xue go so easily. It was not out of chivalry, but because he had other plans in mind.
If he wanted Lu Xue to live, Zhong Fan would need to help her suppress the scorching energy; otherwise, she would die without a doubt. Furthermore, apart from him, no one else could help her. This way, the only Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be completely pinned down and would not be able to make a move.
Zhong Fan ground his teeth. He thought that this little brat was a straightforward and heroic character, but who would have thought he was this despicable and shameless? He secretly hated himself for misjudging Yang Kai and now wanted nothing more than to dig out his eyes.
“Kill him!” After a moment’s thought, Zhong Fan shouted and at the same time swung his sleeve, covering Lu Xue with his energy as the two flew down, landing on a nearby hill. As he put down Lu Xue, Zhong Fan shouted, “Concentrate and suppress it with all your strength, I’ll help you!”
Saying so, he turned around and walked to Lu Xue’s back and put his palm behind her, sending a burst of pure energy into her body to help her suppress the scorching energy.
Lu Xue didn’t dare to be negligent. She promptly sat down cross-legged and formed a set of hand seals while silently circulating her Secret Art.
Seeing this, how could the countless cultivators inside and outside the Star City not know that Yang Kai had used some underhanded trick on Lu Xue? Otherwise, why would Zhong Fan bring Lu Xue to a relatively safe place and help her heal her injuries?
“That boy surnamed Yang’s schemes run deep. With one move, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light lost two Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators.”
“Even if that’s the case, so what? They still have three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, not to mention they also have at least twenty or thirty Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.”
“He’s too smart for his own good. He managed to tie down Zhong Fan by himself, but that doesn’t affect the overall situation. Does he really think he can take on three thousand people by himself?”
“Haa… in the face of absolute power, any kind of scheme is useless.”
The crowd broke into a discussion. None of them was optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances and all of them thought that he had made the wrong decision. If he really wanted to live, he shouldn’t have let Lu Xue go so easily.
At this moment, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light no longer had any worries, so why would they show him any mercy?
Just as everyone was raring to go, a powerful voice suddenly rang out from the Star City, “Brat, as long as you submit to this Young Master and become this Young Master’s slave, this Young Master will guarantee your safety!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned their heads and saw a young man in luxurious robes standing mid-air, smiling as he stared at Yang Kai. There were seven or eight servants standing behind him.
Judging from this young man’s aura, he was just an Emperor Realm cultivator, but his clothes looked quite expensive. By the looks of it, he seemed to have an extraordinary background.
But this was the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so what if he had an extraordinary background?
Many people were discussing this matter for a time, trying to guess which force this young man belonged to as he was acting way too arrogant. His declaration took everyone by surprise; after all, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s three thousand disciples were all ready to go, and yet, he arrogantly claimed that he could protect Yang Kai.
Although everyone didn’t discuss loudly, they were clearly heard by the young man. It immediately caused him to feel annoyed so he couldn’t help but coldly snort as an arrogant look appeared on his face.
A guard behind him stepped out and condescendingly gazed over the crowd before coldly introducing, “My Young Master is the descendant of the Third Elder of Azure Nether Paradise. Who dares insult him?”
As soon as his voice fell, everyone was stunned silent.
Azure Nether Paradise was one of the seventy-two Paradises and was considered a top force in the 3,000 Worlds. Being able to become an Elder in a Paradise and even be ranked third meant that he was at least a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
This boy was from the Azure Nether Paradise, and had a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Ancestor. His backing really wasn’t small.
If he insisted on protecting Yang Kai, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would have to consider the consequences of offending him. He might not be able to do anything to Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but what about outside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? With just a word, Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light would be removed from the face of this world.
His request was indeed a bit excessive; he wanted Yang Kai to submit to him and become his slave. Be that as it may, it was pretty good that he had a choice in the face of death, so who would care so much about it?
What’s more, the other party had an extraordinary background. Being a slave to such a person wasn’t necessarily a bad deal.
Even Luo Qing Yun and the others, who were preparing to act, froze in place, not knowing whether they should act or not. All of them stared nervously at Yang Kai, afraid that he would agree.
Observing Yang Kai’s expression, the young man’s expression became even more arrogant as he pointed his chin towards Yang Kai and stated, “Brat, if you miss this opportunity, you won’t be able to find another chance. Think carefully before answering this Young Master.”
“You want me to submit to you and become your slave?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at the young man. When he was cultivating in seclusion, he had noticed the arrival of these people from Azure Nether Paradise, but he hardly cared about them. [By the looks of it, it should be this guy.]
The young man smiled, “That will be your greatest honour!”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai muttered noncommittally.
Luo Qing Yun hurriedly interjected, “Yang Kai, when a man walks the world, he must have an unyielding character. He should prefer death while standing than kneeling in order to live. Think carefully, don’t let a single misstep lead to eternal regret!”
He was really afraid that Yang Kai would agree. If that was the case, then what was the point of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light joining forces today? How would he avenge Lu Xue?
“This Young Master is speaking, how dare you interrupt!?” The young man from Azure Nether Paradise suddenly glared at Luo Qing Yun with an angry look on his face, “What’s your name? If you have the guts, announce it here!”
Luo Qing Yun’s expression immediately became extremely ugly. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, if he didn’t reply, he would appear weak, but if he did, he would be afraid of being punished later. Although he was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still nothing in front of a colossus like a Paradise. Even if this young man couldn’t really represent Azure Nether Paradise, just the strength behind him was not something Luo Qing Yun could contend with. For the moment, he found himself riding a tiger, unable to get off mid-way.
At the same time, his heart was filled with incomparable fury. If it weren’t for this young man’s backing, how could a mere Emperor Realm brat dare act so presumptuously in front of him?
Fortunately, the young man didn’t make things too difficult for him. At this moment, it was the perfect opportunity to subdue Yang Kai, so he was completely focused on just that and couldn’t care about anything else. As long as he could subdue Yang Kai, all of Yang Kai’s harvests on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain would be his. That was a lot of Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones. Even in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, it would still be a considerable amount of resources. The Old Ancestor would look at him in a new light when he returned to Azure Nether Paradise with this kind of harvest.
What’s more, Yang Kai had a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm maidservant with him, so perhaps he could use this opportunity to obtain her.
Ever since he met Yue He that day, he had been unable to forget her.
Seeing Luo Qing Yun not respond, he snorted lightly and turned to Yang Kai, asking, “This Young Master’s patience is limited, have you thought it through?”
Yang Kai replied indifferently, “You don’t have the qualifications to make me your slave!”
As soon as he finished speaking, his body shook, and a powerful flame burst out from his figure, enveloping him like a raging inferno, causing the space around him to visibly distort and the world to tremble.
Amidst the raging flames, Yang Kai opened his eyes like two small suns, burning with scorching fire. A cold murderous intent filled the air as he shouted in a dignified voice, “You dare interrupt my seclusion and disturb my mind? All of you deserve death! Today, I will use your dog lives to cultivate my Divine Ability!”
With a loud bang, the Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal began to surge. With Yang Kai at the centre, halos of flame spread out in all directions, one after another, emerging to no end.
The next moment, miserable screams echoed through the sky. The cultivators closest to Yang Kai didn’t even have time to react before the wall of flames passed over them, igniting them into balls of fire that flew around like headless flies, crashing into their neighbours. However, in just two or three breaths of time, the screams came to an abrupt halt, and the burning fireballs were reduced to ash as they fell from the sky like dumplings.
In an instant, dozens of people had fallen!
Everyone’s eyes were filled with shock as they watched this scene. Much to their surprise, Yang Kai, who was alone, was the first to make a move even when he was surrounded by three thousand people including dozens of Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Furthermore, dozens of cultivators had fallen with just one strike!
“What kind of fire is that?” Chen Tian Fei’s eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at the pitch-black flames burning around Yang Kai. He had never felt a shock greater than this.
Just the raging halo of flame alone was already so fierce, undoubtedly indicating that this Fire Element was of a very high Order. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for these cultivators to be unable to resist it.
[A Fifth-Order Fire Element power would never be able to accomplish such a feat. Could it be Sixth-Order?!]
Chen Tian Fei’s heart shook as he realized he had been underestimating Yang Kai all this time. Condensing a Sixth-Order Fire Element meant that Yang Kai’s aptitude was extraordinary, and his ambitions were immense. If this kind of person weren’t born in a Cave Heaven or Paradise, it would be impossible to cultivate to such an extent. Once he grows up, he would have a place in the 3,000 Worlds.
[This boy’s origins were always vague, could it be that he is from a Cave Heaven or Paradise? If that’s not the case, why would he speak to the young man from Azure Nether Paradise like that?]
Thinking so, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on Chen Tian Fei’s forehead as he secretly prayed that this was not the case; otherwise, Scarlet Star’s good days had come to an end.
The raging burst of flames continued to spread outwards as bright flashes of light erupted. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light disciples all activated their Secret Techniques and artifacts to protect themselves. The Sword Pavilion disciples even formed their own Sword Formations to block the raging flames.
The Starfall Sword Formation’s power was extraordinary, able to link together the strength of several dozen people once it was formed, boosting the power of all those who formed it, especially the one who held the core position.
Even though the raging flames were quite powerful, they were still blocked by the sword curtain of this Formation. On the other hand, although the number of Thunder Light cultivators was much larger, they were more akin to scattered sand than a cohesive unit. When they saw dozens of their companions die right before their eyes, all of them were terrified and hurriedly retreated.
After Yang Kai’s initial attack, he instantly disappeared from his original position. There was a calm and indifferent look on his face as he rushed straight into the crowd and threw a punch. The punch was surrounded by raging Golden Crow True Fire. The pitch-black flames caused even space to burn.
Tens of Thunder Light disciples in the punch’s path were reduced to ashes instantly.
Long Tai’s eyes bulged as he roared in fury, “Kill him!”
As he spoke, he took the lead and charged straight at Yang Kai. On the other side, Luo Qing Yun and Zhu Li, the other two Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, used various methods to lock onto Yang Kai’s figure with their Divine Senses. The former became one with his sword and slashed towards Yang Kai, while the latter slapped his waist and sent out a nail-shaped artifact. Under Zhu Li’s control, the artifact flew towards Yang Kai in a silent but deadly manner.
Seeing this, Yue He shouted from below, “Young Master, be careful!”
Although she knew that Yang Kai was strong, such a situation was still quite worrying; after all, two palms could not block four fists. A single careless mistake would result in death.
Moreover, she had been paying close attention to Yang Kai’s expression and was shocked to discover that there was something wrong with him at the moment, as if he wasn’t actually focused on the battle he was engaged in.
As expected, facing the attacks of the three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and countless others, Yang Kai didn’t even try to dodge. All he did was summon a series of Dragon Shields around his body and unleash a flurry of punches and kicks. The ordinary disciples of Thunder Light who were struck by Yang Kai’s attacks couldn’t resist at all, and even Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had no choice but to dodge.
*Hong hong hong…*
Attacks landed on Yang Kai’s body one after another, and no matter how strong his defensive Secret Technique was, it was unable to withstand such a flurry of fierce attacks. The Dragon Shields shattered, and before he re-formed them, the remaining attacks were already upon him.
Yang Kai’s figure staggered, his clothes instantly becoming ragged as he instinctively manipulated Space Principles in an attempt to dodge. Unfortunately, Zhu Li’s nail-like artifact actually had the effect of locking him in place and pinning him to the spot, making him unable to move.
The next moment, a sword light swished over as Luo Qing Yun roared, “Die!”
The moment he brushed past Yang Kai, a splash of golden blood spurted out from Yang Kau’s chest. Nonetheless, Luo Qing Yun’s eyes suddenly shrank because this sword strike had failed to kill Yang Kai. It was simply inconceivable!
One had to know that he was using a Secret Technique to control his sword, so even if this attack struck a cultivator in the same Realm, he or she would end up dying for sure; however, Yang Kai had only suffered some minor injuries, that’s all.
[How tough is this guy’s physical body? Is he even human?]
Luo Qing Yun didn’t know that although Yang Kai was human, he could take the form of an over 2,000 metres tall Half-Dragon using his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique. Yang Kai had been consuming Dragon Blood Pills all the while as well, so his physique had risen to a new level. Therefore, how could he be so easily killed? Rather, the fact that Luo Qing Yun could injure his physical body was already quite a feat.
Golden Blood was flowing out of his chest, but Yang Kai didn’t seem to notice it at all. From the moment the battle began, the light in his eyes had become calm and cold, like a pool of still water. His entire body had turned into a mindless battle machine, only knowing how to fight.
Long Tai flew over at that moment. He clenched his fists and raised them high before smashing them towards Yang Kai’s head.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and stared at him indifferently, causing Long Tai’s heart to clench. He subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but it was too late for him to withdraw now, so all he could do was let out a furious roar and attack with all his strength, hoping for the best.
Yang Kai sent out a punch of his own, and in front of everyone’s astonished eyes, Long Tai was sent flying backwards at a speed faster than he had arrived, spurting a bloody mist as he tumbled through the air.
The whole Star City went into an uproar!
Long Tai was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master while Yang Kai was just a mere Emperor Realm cultivator, yet in this frontal clash of punches, it was actually Long Tai who was sent flying and injured! Even if they were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, this was still inconceivable.
Chen Tian Fei smiled bitterly. If Long Tai had seen Yang Kai kill Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong like slaughtering chickens in Scarlet Star’s Main Hall, he wouldn’t have acted so rashly.
[In front of this monster, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is nothing.] He still vividly remembered the terrifying scene of Yang Kai killing Du Niang Zi and would shudder every time he thought about it.
The moment he repelled Long Tai, Yang Kai suddenly turned around and grabbed toward a certain spot in the sky.
A few hundred metres away, Zhu Li’s expression changed as he quickly changed his hand seals, but it was still too late. When Yang Kai withdrew his hand, a nail-shaped artifact appeared in his palm. It was Zhu Li’s.
The pitch-black flames in Yang Kai’s palm burned fiercely.
“Stop!” Zhu Li cried out in horror. This Spirit Fixing Nail was something he had obtained by chance while out for life experience, and its power was extraordinary. Once it was used, it would be like a maggot clinging to rotting bones. As long as he was given enough time, he would be able to use his Secret Technique to launch a fatal blow towards Yang Kai’s Soul through the nail, but before he could prepare himself, Yang Kai had seized the initiative.
[How is this possible?] Looking at the rolling flames, Yang Kai obviously wanted to use his Fire Element Power to destroy this artifact so as to avoid disturbing his Space Technique.
Zhu Li had used his Soul to refine the Spirit Fixing Nail, so if it was really destroyed, his Soul would definitely be damaged, which was why he was panicking.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Li spurted a mouthful of blood and his aura instantly weakened as he stared at Yang Kai in shock, “What the Hell is this? What the hell kind of fire is this!?”
The Spirit Fixing Nail’s grade wasn’t low, but in just a breath’s worth of time, it had been reduced to ashes by the raging flames. Zhu Li couldn’t imagine how high the Order of this Fire Element was to be able to achieve this!
In the blink of an eye, two of Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s remaining three Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had been injured. In comparison, Long Tai’s injuries were relatively light. He was just punched by Yang Kai, that’s all. On the other hand, Zhu Li’s Soul had taken damage
Without the Spirit Fixing Nail’s restraint, Yang Kai immediately rushed out like a Flood Dragon going out to sea, leaving behind a series of afterimages as he charged into the crowd.
The pitch-black Golden Crow’s True Fire devoured everything in its path, recklessly burning everything it touched. The Emperor Realm cultivators who were struck by it were all killed, none of them able to resist. Even some of the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who were mixed in with the crowd quickly retreated in fear.
Clouds of blood mist exploded in the air as charred corpses fell from the sky. In the Star City, countless pairs of eyes stared blankly at this scene, almost forgetting to breathe as everyone felt a great shock.
Before today, no one had ever thought that a single man of supposedly equal or lesser strength could kill thousands of enemies by himself while making them cry for their mothers and fathers. Even if Yang Kai lost in the end, the achievements he had made today would be enough to make everyone remember him.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, outside Scarlet Star’s Star City, an impulsive and reckless young man with black hair fluttering in the wind was acting in a way that ordinary people couldn’t. His courage was truly eye-opening.
Fluctuations of Space Principles lingered around Yang Kai’s body. He would instantly move to wherever there were more people, his killing intent shrouding the entire sky. He was fighting like a madman, his figure intangible as he never stopped moving, leaving afterimages as he flew through the air. It almost looked like there were several of him fighting.
“Junior, don’t you dare act so presumptuous!” Luo Qing Yun gritted his teeth and shouted. His sword transformed into nine sword lights that slashed towards Yang Kai with a wave of his arm.
He had been searching for an opening in Yang Kai’s defence while chasing after his footsteps, but Yang Kai’s movements were simply too fast, and his Instantaneous Movement technique made him too unpredictable. Luo Qing Yun had tried several times but had failed to find an opportunity to strike, so now when he had finally found an opening, he didn’t hesitate to use his strongest Divine Ability.
Nine flashes of sword light swished through the sky, instantly arriving in front of Yang Kai and striking his body.
*Duo duo duo…*
It didn’t sound like it had hit flesh and blood, but rather an artifact of some kind. Yang Kai’s figure shook and his clothes tore, drawing Golden Blood that radiated a shocking vitality from his wounds.
Luo Qing Yun’s heart trembled as he stared at this scene in a daze.
Previously, when he had failed to kill Yang Kai with his sword strike, he had already noticed that this guy’s physical body was extraordinary, but now, even his strongest Ability had failed to kill him?
He was a sword cultivator who specialized in killing. If even he couldn’t kill Yang Kai, then even with so many people present, who could kill him? Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t even be able to injure him.
As expected, after the nine sword lights, countless attacks flew towards Yang Kai, but Yang Kai only used his Dragon Shield Secret Technique to ward off those attacks.
When the dazzling flashes of various colours finally disappeared, the Dragon Shield that surrounded Yang Kai’s body shattered, but he did not suffer much damage.
Luo Qing Yun’s heart sank as he turned to look towards Zhong Fan.
Right now, only a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Zhong Fan had a chance to cut Yang Kai down, but as far as he could tell, Zhong Fan was currently healing Lu Xue’s injuries. He couldn’t fathom what kind of method Yang Kai had used to force Zhong Fan into a corner.
[Is this also part of his plan?] Luo Qing Yun couldn’t believe it. [No wonder he released Lu Xue so easily. I thought that he was a fool, but now, it seems that he is actually quite shrewd!]
Unable to count on Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun’s expression suddenly became solemn as he shouted, “Disciples of Sword Pavilion, obey my command! Form the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation!”
“Yes Sir!” The hundreds of Sword Pavilion disciples’ voices shook the sky. Each of them was greatly excited as if they had been waiting for this moment.
There weren’t many Sword Pavilion disciples present here, only about three hundred. Among the crowd of three thousand people, Sword Pavilion disciples only made up 10% of the forces. Furthermore, not many of their people had lost their lives at Yang Kai’s hands since the start of the battle.
Comparatively speaking, Sword Pavilion’s losses were relatively small since they had formed the Starfall Sword Formation from the beginning to resist Yang Kai’s initial flames attack.
With both sides attacking and defending, it was undoubtedly much better than the scattered sand-like Thunder Light disciples.
It could be said that ninety-nine percent of the cultivators who died at Yang Kai’s hands were Thunder Light Disciples.
Sword Pavilion disciples had already assumed the Starfall Sword Formation in groups of forty to fifty, filling the world with Sword Qi. Now that Luo Qing Yun had given the order, the Sword Formations rapidly moved towards Luo Qing Yun.
In less than three breaths of time, the auras of the Starfall Sword Formations had been tightly linked together, with Luo Qing Yun at the centre. Sword Intents soared into the sky and gathered on Luo Qing Yun’s body, piercing a hole in space.
Defying Heavens Star Net Formation, complete!
Luo Qing Yun’s aura rose steadily, and even though he was being suppressed by the World Principles of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he still showed signs of breaking through the Emperor Realm and striding into the Open Heaven Realm. He stared at Yang Kai, who was still slaughtering his enemies, eyes filled with indifference!
The Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was the Sword Pavilion’s most powerful Formation. With this Sword Formation, Luo Qing Yun was confident he could kill Yang Kai even without Zhong Fan.
“That brat is in trouble now.” Chen Tian Fei sighed and slowly shook his head, “In the end, he’s still too young, showing off too much of his strength and not knowing how to restrain himself!”
Lady Qin also carried a solemn expression, “I heard that the leader of Sword Pavilion came from a very large force, but for some unknown reason, he had wandered outside and established Sword Pavilion. This Starfall Sword Formation and Defying Heavens Star Net Formation are both the formations of that force.”
Ou Yang Lie added with a nod, “I’ve also heard of this before and seen the power of the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation once. It was… truly extraordinary. With this Formation, Scarlet Star and Thunder Light will never be a match for Sword Pavilion.”
At the same time, Yang Kai, who was rushing through the crowd, also instinctively felt a sense of crisis. He felt as if needles were stabbing all over him. He promptly surged his Earth Element Power from his Dao Seal, forming Dragon Shields again, one after another.
“Junior, it is your honour to die under my Sword Pavilion’s Formation!” Luo Qing Yun’s indifferent voice rang as he pointed his sword towards Yang Kai before slashing it towards Yang Kai as swiftly as wind.
Under the influence of his aura, the hundreds of Sword Pavilion disciples in the grand Formation also began moving.
From a distance, Yang Kai could no longer see anyone inside the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation. There was only the Sword Intent lingering in the air. The next moment, a massive sword wave tore through the sky and struck Yang Kai.
The sounds of something breaking rang immediately after.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the layered Dragon Shields around Yang Kai shattered one after another. Even though he was frantically using his Dao Seal to repair them, Yang Kai was still unable to keep up with the speed at which they were breaking.
In just seven or eight breaths of time, the Dragon Shields had completely disappeared.
“Die!” Luo Qing Yun’s happy voice rang from within the sword wave.
A pitch-black flame engulfed Yang Kai’s body with a loud bang as the raging Golden Crow’s True Fire swept towards the sword wave like it had a mind of its own. Wherever the black flame passed, the sword light would instantly dim, as if it had been burnt to ashes.
In the eyes of the cultivators in the Star City, it was as if the black fire had devoured the sword wave, causing the enormous sword wave to shrink rapidly.
Yang Kai’s figure also continued to retreat. Although the Golden Crow’s True Fire’s power was extraordinary, the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was still formed by hundreds of people, and with Luo Qing Yun, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, controlling it, its power was truly immense.
“Cease your futile resistance!” Luo Qing Yun shouted, “You will be buried here today for insulting my Sword Pavilion!”
With Luo Qing Yun’s angry roar, the sword wave which had been partially destroyed suddenly expanded and pierced through the void, showing faint signs of tearing through the pitch-black flames as it shot towards Yang Kai.
Once the Golden Crow’s True Fire was pierced through, it would not end well for him, even if Yang Kai used his Dragon Transformation to bolster his physique.
In this life-and-death struggle, even those from Thunder Light were unable to intervene. They could only watch from afar, not even daring to approach to within a thousand meters, lest they be affected by the sword wave or the black flames.
In the sky, the Golden Crow’s True Fire that had been pushed to its limit was now evenly matched with the terrifying Sword Light.
In the Star City, however, Chen Tian Fei suddenly frowned and muttered, “Something’s wrong!”
“What’s wrong?” Bei Yu Shan asked curiously.
“In such a situation, why hasn’t that brat used his full strength yet?” Chen Tian Fei asked in confusion.
“He hasn’t used his full strength?” Bei Yu Shan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Chen Tian Fei said solemnly, “Did you forget that this boy has a long spear in his hand? Although I don’t know where that spear came from, there’s no doubt it’s an extremely powerful artifact. Why hasn’t he used it yet?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the Managers of Scarlet Star fell into deep thought. How could they not know about the existence of the Azure Dragon Spear? That day, Gan Hong had died under that stunning spear.
The might of this spear was something that even a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master couldn’t resist, so if he were to use it now, even if it couldn’t resolve the current crisis, it wouldn’t be so bad!
In a life-or-death crisis, who would hide their strength?
Bei Yu Shan scratched his head and said, “Manager Chen, after hearing what you said, it seems like his condition has always been a bit off.” In this life-and-death struggle, Yang Kai’s reactions seemed more instinctual than calculated, as if his mind wasn’t on this battlefield, but that was simply inconceivable. Facing so many enemies by himself and not paying attention to the battlefield, how could he not care about his own life?
Lady Qin’s eyes suddenly narrowed as she seemed to recall something and covered her red lips, “Do you remember what he said before the battle commenced?”
Ou Yang Bing lowered his head in contemplation before slowly reciting, “You dare interrupt my seclusion and disturb my mind? All of you deserve death! Today, I will use your dog lives to cultivate my Divine Ability!”
Chen Tian Fei’s face was filled with shock as he cried out, “Is that brat trying to stimulate his hidden potential using this life-and-death battle to cultivate some kind of Divine Ability?”
The moment Chen Tian Fei said this, the Managers of Scarlet Star were all shocked!
[Is he for real? How could anyone be so crazy? Does he want to die?]
However, from Yang Kai’s previous performance and his current response, it was clear that he was cultivating some kind of Divine Ability!
In the danger between life and death, there was great terror and great fear, but also great opportunities!
Lingering near the gates of death would often give one a flash of inspiration or insight, allowing them to comprehend some grand mystery or truth. Chen Tian Fei and the others were all Open Heaven Realm Masters, and after living for so many years, every one of them had experienced something similar at least once. However, all of their experiences were forced upon them, they never wanted to put themselves in a position where they would be trapped between life and death like Yang Kai.
“Crazy, this little brat is really crazy,” Chen Tian Fei muttered, shocked by his own thoughts.
“Look behind him!” Lady Qin suddenly exclaimed.
The Scarlet Star Managers quickly turned to look behind Yang Kai, and what they saw immediately caused their eyes to narrow. The pitch-black flames around Yang Kai suddenly started surging. Although the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was suppressing him, his aura was still rising at a terrifying rate. Soon, he had reached his limit, and the raging black flames were beating like a heart, like it was giving birth to a new life.
This scene was witnessed by the Managers of Scarlet Star City and by everyone in the Star City. Even though they were far away from Yang Kai, everyone couldn’t help but feel a sense of horrific pressure, as if some unparalleled monster was trying to break out of his body.
Yue He had been paying close attention to Yang Kai all the while, ready to step in when she saw that he was at a disadvantage. With her Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, the strength she could display in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was truly limited. If she really went up, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock in the face of the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch Yang Kai die. As long as she could wake Yang Kai up from his trance-like state, with his attainments in the Dao of Space, he would definitely be able to escape with his life.
However, after seeing the surging black flames, she forced herself to endure. Her heart jumped to her throat and her beautiful eyes were glued on Yang Kai. Her fists were clenched tightly, to the point that her knuckles had turned white.
“If it wasn’t for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, would a mere Emperor Realm ant dare act so presumptuously in front of my Sword Pavilion? Break!” Luo Qing Yun’s shout came from the sword wave.
The Defying Heavens Star Net Formation, which had already gained the upper hand, suddenly bloomed with a dazzling flash, tearing apart the black flames around Yang Kai and striking him.
Luo Qing Yun couldn’t help but have a look of joy on his face, as if he just saw Yang Kai being killed. Although this battle had been difficult, he had still won and restored the lost face of Sword Pavilion, letting the world know that Sword Pavilion could not be humiliated!
However, right at that moment, Luo Qing Yun’s heart suddenly clenched, and for some reason, an extreme sense of crisis flooded him.
When he looked up, Yang Kai, who had been completely calm and unresponsive until now, suddenly grinned as his indifferent eyes shone brilliantly as if he had finally come back to his senses, “Open!”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a thunderclap rolling across the skies, causing the world to tremble.
In the blink of an eye, a huge orb of fire appeared behind Yang Kai. It looked as if a sun was hanging behind him, shining with a golden light that illuminated the world, making it difficult for anyone to open their eyes.
“What is that?” Countless cultivators who saw this scene were shocked. No one had ever seen such a strange phenomenon. Could it be that this Yang Kai really has a small sun hidden inside his body?
Not only were the Emperor Realm cultivators puzzled, but many Open Heaven Realm Masters were also lost.
Only a few people were stunned for a moment. Immediately after, they seemed to have realized something and their bodies trembled as a look of shock and disbelief took over their faces. After all, although they knew something ordinary people didn’t know, none of them had ever seen it with their own eyes.
Lady Qin covered her red lips and muttered, “Could this be…”
“Manifestation!” Chen Tian Fei spat out the word with great difficulty, his fat body trembling from the shock.
The Ou Yang Brothers couldn’t help but gulp nervously, whereas Bei Yu Shan stared at Yang Kai in admiration and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Astonishing!”
Back then, Bei Yu Shan had been sent flying by Yang Kai’s punch in the Main Hall and, in truth, he had been having a hard time accepting it. He believed that he had underestimated his opponent too much; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been beaten so badly. But now that he saw the Manifestation of a huge sun appear before him, the dissatisfaction in his heart instantly disappeared.
For Yang Kai to be able to cause a Manifestation when he was only an Emperor Realm cultivator, Bei Yu Shan could finally accept that his loss that day was not undeserved, nor were the deaths of Du Niang Zi and Gan Hong!
In the courtyard of Yang Kai’s mansion, Yue He closed her eyes in pain.
[After managing to keep the secret for so long, has he finally exposed all his cards today?] She secretly hated herself for not being strong enough to assist him, causing him to be unable to conceal himself well. However, she had never expected Yang Kai to be able to create a Manifestation at such a moment.
From today onwards, Yang Kai’s secret would no longer be a secret. Under the eyes of so many people, how could he conceal it? It was not a big deal in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and with such a technique no one would be his opponent, but once he left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Once this shocking news spread, Yang Kai would be doomed.
[Is the tragedy from a thousand years ago going to repeat itself?]
Thinking of the man who had died so young, Yue He’s heart was filled with sorrow! That man and this man in front of her were both astonishing geniuses, but this man in front of her now seemed to be even more dazzling than the man from her past. At the very least, that man had not formed a Manifestation in the Emperor Realm!
“Manifestation, it’s actually a Divine Manifestation, how dare this brat act like this? Does he want to die?”
In the Star City, an elderly man called out in shock. His cultivation wasn’t very high, just Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he had lived for a long time and had seen more than others. Ordinary Open Heaven Realm Masters might not know of the existence of Manifestations, but he had seen one before and thus knew about it.
“Master, what is a Manifestation?” Beside him, a cute little girl asked curiously.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, the old man explained in a gentle voice, “When one of the Yin, Yang, or Five Elements one has refined is pushed to the extreme, it will concentrate and transform into a world-shaking Divine Ability, which is known as a Divine Manifestation, just like what you are seeing right now.”
The young girl nodded thoughtfully, “Is that little sun his Manifestation?”
“Yes!”
“Does Master have a Manifestation?”
“Me?” The old man smiled wryly and shook his head, “Master will never have a Manifestation in his life.”
“Why?” The young girl was puzzled.
The old man said sadly, “Not to mention a mere Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator like me, even those Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters will never be able to possess a Manifestation in their life. Manifestations can only be created by those who have condensed Seventh-Order or above Elements, but that is only a hope. If one’s comprehension is lacking, even if they have the qualifications to form a Manifestation, they wouldn’t be able to do so. Your Master has only refined Second-Order Elements, so how could I have the qualifications to form a Manifestation?”
The young girl couldn’t help but curl her pink lips and ask in surprise, “Master, are you saying that Brother Yang refined a Seventh-Order Element?”
The old man nodded, “It can’t be wrong, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to form a Manifestation. Since ancient times, those who could form Manifestations were all disciples from top forces like the Cave Heavens or Paradises, and all of them were already in the Open Heaven Realm. To form a Manifestation while still in the Emperor Realm like him… it is simply unheard of!”
“Does that mean he’s very powerful?”
The old man replied solemnly, “Not only is he powerful, but he’s a complete monster!”
The young girl waved her fist and shouted towards the sky, “Big Brother, you can do it, beat them all up!”
Seeing Yang Kai being bullied by so many people, she had long ago felt indignant. She was a young girl and didn’t know the dangers or complexities of the world, so when she heard her Master say that Yang Kai was powerful and a monster, she felt happy for him from the bottom of her heart and also looked forward to seeing Yang Kai rise up and turn the tables on the shameless people using numbers to bully him!
The older man’s expression couldn’t help but change drastically as he quickly covered the young girl’s mouth and nervously looked around. When he discovered that everyone’s attention was focused on the movement in the sky as if they hadn’t heard the young girl’s shout, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, but he didn’t dare to remain where he was. He quickly grabbed his foolish Disciple and changed locations.
Although it was just a child’s words, Sword Pavilion was not to be trifled with. If anyone from Sword Pavilion heard this, the two of them would not be able to leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary alive.
On the other side, a figure flashed over as a middle-aged man wearing a golden crown and a long robe suddenly appeared in front of Chen Tian Fei and the others. He was staring towards the distant sky, carrying his hands behind his back.
“Head Manager!” Chen Tian Fei and the others quickly greeted.
This middle-aged man was none other than Scarlet Star’s mysterious Head Manager.
The Head Manager didn’t say anything, as if he hadn’t heard their voices, but now that he had come out of seclusion, it was obvious that he had been disturbed by the commotion outside. The Divine Manifestation was truly too shocking; even he couldn’t sit still.
“A Fire Element Manifestation!” After observing for a while, the Head Manager suddenly spoke.
“It should be,” Chen Tian Fei replied respectfully.
This was also quite obvious. Yang Kai’s body had previously been shrouded in black flames, and he had used a life-and-death battle to stimulate his potential to form his Divine Manifestation. Now that he had succeeded, it was definitely his Fire Element Manifestation.
Lady Qin added, “Looking at the sun, this Yang Kai seems to have condensed a Sun’s True Gold.”
The Divine Manifestation was closely related to the materials used to condense a cultivator’s strength. Since a miniature sun had appeared, it was only natural that Lady Qin would associate it with Sun’s True Gold.
Chen Tian Fei stated thoughtfully, “I heard that there was a region where the Sun Star went out and a number of Sun’s True Gold and Sun’s True Fire was found. Could it be that this little brat was also there? If that’s the case, then his luck must be quite good.”
They secretly guessed that Yang Kai must have found a Seventh-Order Sun’s True Gold there; otherwise, how could he have such achievements?
“It’s not Sun’s True Gold!” The Head Manager slowly shook his head as a profound light flashed across his eyes, “There is something more inside that Great Sun.”
“Something else?” The Managers of Scarlet Star were all stunned. When the great sun appeared, it was shining so brightly that it dazzled their eyes and they couldn’t see through it clearly. The Head Manager’s strength was greater than theirs though, so he had seen more than they could with just a single glance.
With their Head Manager’s input, Chen Tian Fei and the others quickly focused their eyes towards the sun, and as expected, there really was something inside.
A blurry figure was jumping about in the sun like a living creature. It would occasionally stop to adjust its wings and was exuding a faint ominous aura, giving off an indescribable sense of pressure.
“It looks like a bird of some sort…” Lady Qin furrowed her dark, curvy brows. The sun’s light was too dazzling, so even if she carefully observed it, she couldn’t see what it was.
“There’s something wrong with it though, why does it have three legs?” Chen Tian Fei also had a puzzled look on his face, but as soon as he spoke, his expression suddenly changed.
The Head Manager’s solemn voice rang out from the front, “A three-legged exotic bird, one that is related to the sun. Junior, you are really something, I’ve got to hand it to you. Indeed, each generation gives rise to greater geniuses, hahaha!”
Lady Qin covered her red lips with her hand, causing Bei Yu Shan to be dumbfounded. Even someone as stupid as him had realised what that exotic bird was, let alone the others.
“Three-Legged Golden Crow!” The Ou Yang Brothers shouted in unison.
The Fire Element Yang Kai had refined was not Sun’s True Gold or Sun’s True Fire, but a Golden Crow’s True Fire. When everyone recalled the pitch-black flames surrounding his body and the characteristics of his Manifestation, it undoubtedly proved their speculations.
[It’s the Golden Crow’s True Fire!] This thought caused everyone to jump in fright.
Chen Tian Fei’s body was covered in sweat as he asked in a trembling voice, “Head Manager, what Order is this Golden Crow’s True Fire?”
When they saw Yang Kai condense his Divine Manifestation, they all thought he possessed a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power, but now it seemed it wasn’t just Seventh-Order. The fact that he could refine the Golden Crow’s True Fire meant that Yang Kai had once encountered a Golden Crow, a terrifying existence on par with a True Dragon. Only a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master stood a chance to resist such a terrifying creature. Since this boy had encountered a Golden Crow, why was he not dead? What kind of Heaven-defying opportunity was this?
The Head Manager answered, “That depends on whether the Golden Crow carcass he encountered was a child or fully mature. If it’s the former, it should be a Seventh-Order Golden Crow, if it’s the latter… it should be an Eighth-Order!”
Chen Tian Fei’s body trembled, “I heard that when the Sun Star went out, there was an adult Golden Crow that was on the verge of death that was eventually obtained by First Inn’s Owner. Could it be that this brat refined that adult Golden Crow’s True Fire?”
“Is this news accurate?” The Head Manager turned his head and asked. In recent years, he had constantly been in retreat, cultivating, attempting to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so he didn’t know much about current events.
“The news is absolutely accurate,” Chen Tian Fei replied in a serious voice.
The Head Manager gently nodded, “The Golden Crow’s True Fire is hard to come by in ten thousand years. This boy only has an Emperor Realm cultivation, so it shouldn’t be long since he refined his Fire Element. If that’s the case, his Golden Crow’s True Fire might really have come from that Great Golden Crow.”
“Eighth-Order!” Chen Tian Fei’s face was pale as he asked, “Then what does he have to do with First Inn’s Owner?”
The news he received was that First Inn’s Owner had obtained the Golden Crow’s carcass. At that time, many people from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had come to compete for it, and more than one High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had appeared. First Inn’s branch had been completely destroyed, and in the end, First Inn’s Owner came out on top and had been the one to take away the Golden Crow’s carcass safely.
If Yang Kai had nothing to do with that person, how could he have obtained this Golden Crow’s True Fire?
On this point, the Head Manager was also extremely puzzled. He had never heard of that person having any descendants.
“I don’t think so!” The Head Manager slowly shook his head, “The Eighth-Order Golden Crow’s True Fire is not something that an Emperor Realm Master can withstand. Even if that person obtained the Golden Crow’s carcass, if he were to give it to a junior disciple, the Order of the Golden Crow’s True Fire would definitely be lower, otherwise, it would cause more harm than good.”
“Head Manager is right!” Chen Tian Fei nodded repeatedly. Even so, it was still too frightening.
However, Lady Qin thought of another possibility and muttered, “Since he can refine a Fire Element material of at least Seventh-Order, doesn’t that mean he at least has a Wood Element of Sixth or Seventh-Order?”
If it were just an ordinary Fire Element, it would have been fine. For someone like Meng Hong, who had broken and reconstructed his foundation, he could directly refine a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire. There would be no problem as long as his aptitude was good enough and his Dao Seal was firm enough.
However, how terrifying was the Golden Crow’s True Fire? If one didn’t have a strong enough Dao Seal and Wood Element Power to suppress it, their Dao Seal would be instantly incinerated and destroyed. Such a Wood Element Power would have to at least be Sixth-Order, but it was far more likely it was Seventh-Order; otherwise, it would be impossible for Yang Kai to condense the True Fire successfully.
Seventh-Order Wood Element Power and Seventh-Order Fire Element Power, Yang Kai’s intentions were clear. He wanted to become a High-Rank Open Heaven Master in one fell swoop!
“His ambitions are too high, we are truly inferior!” The Head Manager slowly shook his head as his straight figure suddenly became a bit hunched, as if he become dispirited.
As they spoke, the newly formed sun behind Yang Kai completely stabilized, radiating a dazzling light. As the Great Sun Manifestation appeared, the figure that was being forced back by the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation also slowly came to a stop.
A hundred metres away, Luo Qing Yun stared at him in shock.
Yang Kai grinned at him and formed a hand seal, “On this day, the Golden Crow casts the sun. Below the Heavens, above the Earth, only I am supreme!”
The Golden Crow’s cry resounded through the sky, piercing through the world as it flapped its wings in the sun joyfully. Yang Kai’s figure next seemed to merge with the sun before smashing towards the huge sword beam oppressing him in the next moment.
With the might of his newly found Great Sun Manifestation, Yang Kai attacked the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation without fear!
Luo Qing Yun’s face twitched violently as he forcefully recovered from his shock and roared, “So what if you have a Manifestation? Even if the real Golden Crow was before me, I would still kill it for you to see, let alone a mere Manifestation!”
These words were undoubtedly merely meant to bolster his courage. The Defying Heavens Star Net Formation was formed by three hundred people, but even if it was three thousand or thirty thousand people, if they really encountered a Golden Crow, it wouldn’t be enough for them to resist a single breath.
However, when two powerful opponents clash, the braver one held the advantage. Now that things had reached this point, only by advancing courageously would they have a chance of survival.
Sword Qi surged, and the Grand Formation started running at full force as the auras of the three hundred disciples became closely linked. Their strength overlapped as their sword wave surged and collided with the Great Sun.
Two flashes of dazzling light tore through the world, shaking the world.
The strange thing was that when they clashed, it didn’t cause any sound, not even a single clang.
However, in the next moment, the clouds within a radius of ten thousand kilometres vanished and the world trembled violently as an unimaginable shockwave spread out from the point of impact.
The Thunder Light disciples were all sent tumbling while the weaker ones spat out mouthfuls of blood as they fell to the ground, instantly suffering heavy casualties. Zhu Li and Long Tai’s hearts bled as they watched this scene. This was truly a disaster. After this battle, Thunder Light’s foundation would be severely damaged, who knows how many years it would take for them to recover?
Outside the Star City, the defensive Grand Array suddenly flickered, undoubtedly a result of the fallout of Yang Kai and the Sword Pavilion’s battle.
“An Emperor Realm Junior forming a Manifestation!” The Head Manager’s eyes flickered with fear, and his tone carried a sense of disbelief, “With this Manifestation, this child can directly confront a First-Order or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even a Third-Order Open Realm Master won’t be able to kill him easily!”
No one had ever been able to form a Manifestation in the Emperor Realm before. Since ancient times, even the elite Core Disciples raised in the Cave Heavens and Paradises had to slowly explore and comprehend silently in retreat for years after reaching the Open Heaven Realm before they could produce a Manifestation.
If that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t have been so difficult to produce a Manifestation, but one’s strength would increase dramatically once it was formed. There was a huge difference between a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with a Manifestation and one without one. It could be said that in a life-or-death battle, a Master with a Manifestation could easily crush one without.
Chen Tian Fei and the others all wore solemn expressions. The Head Manager had always been known for his sharp eye, so since he had said so, it couldn’t be wrong. In other words, the current Yang Kai was equivalent to a First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Such an existence could only be described as invincible in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
If Sword Pavilion didn’t have their Sword Formation, these three hundred people wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gaps between Yang Kai’s teeth.
Even so, the Sword Formation was still being pushed back by the sun’s pressure, and the huge sword beam was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its light was gradually dimming.
The Star City was in an uproar.
Whenever Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation appeared, it had always been invincible, but at this moment, it was not Yang Kai’s opponent!
A single person’s strength was actually this powerful?
“Impossible, how can you be this strong!?” Luo Qing Yun roared as his facial features distorted.
Inside the great sun, Yang Kai’s mocking voice rang out, “It’s just that you’re too weak!”
To be honest, Yang Kai didn’t expect to be able to achieve such a feat. He had been in retreat all the while, trying to comprehend at least one Divine Ability from his refined Elements. Although he had gained some insights, he had felt that he lacked something. Having encountered such a situation today, he had an idea. He wanted to use this life-and-death struggle to stimulate his potential and see if he could break through this shackle and comprehend a Divine Ability.
If that wasn’t the case, how could he be so foolish as to charge into the camp of thousands of people by himself? With Lu Xue in his hands, he could easily have chosen another method to resolve this crisis.
Who would have known that he would stumble upon such a fortune? Not only did Yang Kai comprehend a Divine Ability, but he had also created a Manifestation. Yang Kai still had no idea that he had formed a Manifestation of course, he only thought that this Golden Crow Casts the Sun was a pure Divine Ability.
After all, no one had told him about this before. He hadn’t been in the Outer Universe for long, and although the Proprietress had treated him well, she probably hadn’t expected him to grow so quickly.
At this moment, Yang Kai could clearly feel his strength rising sharply, carrying the power of a true Great Sun. Even if there was a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in front of him, Yang Kai could still dare to fight.
“I refuse to accept this!” Luo Qing Yun was enraged and a bloody mist burst out from his body as his aura once again surged. He was the core of the Sword Formation, so his increase in strength bolstered the entire Sword Formation.
Judging from his state, it was obvious that he had used some kind of powerful Secret Technique to temporarily stimulate his potential. Although this Secret Technique was extremely powerful, it was not something that should be casually used. Nonetheless, once it was used, it would bring about endless trouble to the caster.
However, in order to deal with Yang Kai and protect the face of Sword Pavilion, Luo Qing Yun could care less about what came after.
As he did so, the hundreds of disciples in the Sword Formation all let out a muffled groan and suddenly felt an immense pressure weighing down on them. However, the might of the Sword Formation increased dramatically, and in the blink of an eye, it rose to match the Great Sun’s momentum.
The Divine Manifestation and Sword Formation’s sword wave were locked in a stalemate.
Shockwaves spread outwards one after another. Luo Qing Yun’s eyes turned bloodshot and cracked wide open as he pushed his strength to the limit.
“Let’s see how long you can last!” Yang Kai coldly snorted. He pushed his Great Sun Divine Manifestation against the Sword Formation, not caring about anything else.
A miserable scream rang out from somewhere in the Sword Formation at that moment; one of the Sword Pavilion disciples couldn’t hold on any longer as the boundless Sword Intent tore his body into pieces before he exploded into a blood mist.
One, then two, then three… In just ten breaths of time, more than thirty people had died, and as time passed, more and more were unable to hold on.
Luo Qing Yun’s heart instantly sank into the abyss. Although the loss of a few dozen people wasn’t fatal to the Sword Formation, it was still somewhat impactful. It was enough to reduce the power of the formation, making it even more difficult to resist Yang Kai’s Divine Manifestation.
What’s more, he had also used a Forbidden Secret Technique to overdraw his strength, so he couldn’t maintain his current state for too long either. Once the backlash from the Secret Technique hit him, if he hadn’t killed Yang Kai by then, Sword Pavilion would definitely suffer a crushing defeat!
Luo Qing Yun was burning with anxiety, but there was nothing he could do.
Zhong Fan and Lu Xue’s eyes trembled as they stared blankly atop the hill outside the Star City. When the Great Sun Manifestation appeared, both of them immediately understood something.
No wonder the scorching energy that had invaded Lu Xue’s body was so violent and difficult to deal with, to the point that Lu Xue wasn’t able to expel it and even a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Zhong Fan was unable to help her.
It was Golden Crow’s True Fire!
Everything made sense now.
Golden Crow’s True Fire was at least a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power. Not to mention in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary where Open Heaven Realm Masters’ strength was suppressed, even if they were outside, once this Golden Crow’s True Fire invaded their bodies, they would have to pay a huge price to neutralize it.
Lu Xue’s beautiful eyes filled with despair.
Because she knew that since it was Golden Crow’s True Fire ravaging her body, no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could help her resolve it, not even the Sword Pavilion Master himself!
In a short period of time, the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation had been suppressed, and the Sword Pavilion disciples had suffered several dozen casualties. Luo Qing Yun was on the verge of defeat.
Zhong Fan’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as a trace of struggle and hesitation flashed across his face. In the end though, he made up his mind and turned to look at Lu Xue.
Coincidentally, Lu Xue also looked at him at that moment, allowing their eyes to meet. Lu Xue instantly understood what Zhong Fan wanted to do and couldn’t help smiling bitterly.
“Hold on for a moment, I’ll be right back!” Zhong Fan gritted his teeth and shouted, withdrawing his hands. The next moment, he transformed into a streak of sword light and rushed towards the battlefield.
Lu Xue slowly closed her eyes as her head dropped down. Her beautiful hair cascaded down her slender shoulders as she sat alone atop the hill. Her frail figure appeared especially desolate and helpless.
Although Sword Pavilion couldn’t afford to lose her, they also couldn’t afford to lose Luo Qing Yun and hundreds of disciples. Luo Qing Yun and the remaining disciples would be in danger if Zhong Fan didn’t help.
Since it had come to this, Zhong Fan had no choice but chose one of the two!
Lu Xue knew in her heart that she was the one who had been abandoned, but she didn’t blame him because even if Zhong Fan stayed by her side, it would be useless; after all, the Golden Crow’s True Fire was not something Zhong Fan could resolve.
However, she had never imagined that she, a dignified Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, would be forced to such an extent in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Since the Golden Crow’s True Fire had invaded her body, she was unable to dispel it and all that awaited her was a slow death!
This kind of feeling was terrifying, and those who didn’t experience it could never even imagine it.
Explosions rang out as one figure after another exploded into blood mist within the Sword Formation. Not a single disciple who died had left a corpse behind. Nearly a hundred Sword Pavilion disciples had been unable to withstand the backlash of the Sword Formation and died on the spot. They amounted to more than thirty percent of the Sword Pavilion disciples present. A terrified look appeared on the faces of the remaining disciples as they desperately pushed their strength, fearing that the next one to suffer would be them.
They couldn’t stop screaming in the depths of their heart, [Just what kind of monster has Sword Pavilion provoked this time? How could he be so powerful?]
A sword light flashed, accompanied by Zhong Fan’s dignified shout, “Junior, don’t be so presumptuous!”
By the time he finished speaking, Zhong Fan had already merged into the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation. Sword Pavilion had fought countless enemies and cooperated intimately with each other using their Sword Formations, so as soon as Zhong Fan arrived, Luo Qing Yun relinquished his core position to him.
With a loud bang, Sword Intent swept across the sky and the shocking sword wave that was being pushed back by the Great Sun Manifestation instantly received Zhong Fan’s support, re-invigorating its momentum and glowing brighter than ever before.
The might of Zhong Fan alone was stronger than the over one hundred Sword Pavilion disciples who had died. This was the power of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Seeing this scene, the Sword Pavilion disciples, who were originally in a state of panic as if the end was approaching, suddenly had their spirits uplifted. They silently activated their Secret Techniques as Sword Qi lingered around their bodies, enhancing the power of the Sword Formations, causing the entire Sword Formation to transform into a giant millstone grinder. The Sword Qi on the millstone swept across the world, cutting through space, and pressing towards the Great Sun Manifestation.
Yang Kai also felt a trace of pressure. Although he was currently able to display the strength of a First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was still a little lacking compared to a true Open Heaven Realm Master without World Force. The Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation’s power was indeed extraordinary, worthy of being Sword Pavilion’s trump card.
However, since Yang Kai had formed a Manifestation today, what did he have to fear? Even facing a strong enemy, and even if he were to die, he still would have to fight. Only then would he deserve to have a place in this world.
The Great Sun Manifestation flashed brightly, and the three-legged Golden Crow inside also flapped its wings and let out a cry as it crashed into the Sword Formation.
A thrumming sound reverberated across the sky. In this instant, everyone both inside and outside the Star City, regardless of their cultivation, was blinded by a white light, making it impossible to see what was happening on the battlefield.
However, as the shockwaves from the battle subsided, everyone’s face paled.
In this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where Open Heaven Realm Masters had their strength suppressed, one side formed a Manifestation while the other used a Sword Formation, both displaying strength comparable to Open Heaven Realm Masters. It was truly shocking.
“Head Manager, who do you think… will win?” Chen Tian Fei licked his dry lips and asked.
Yang Kai’s performance today had truly frightened him, making him a little restless. He didn’t know if abandoning Yang Kai at this critical moment was the right thing to do. Although accepting Yang Kai as Scarlet Star’s Sixth Manager was nothing more than a forced action, both sides had maintained cordiality to keep the peace. However, Scarlet Star’s actions towards Yang Kai today had undoubtedly created a rift and pushed the two sides apart.
If Yang Kai won, what would Scarlet Star’s fate be? Once Yang Kai used his Great Sun Divine Manifestation, even their Head Manager would have no choice but to yield.
However, the situation from before was not something Scarlet Star had a choice in. Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s three thousand people had arrived at the city, and if they didn’t abandon Yang Kai, it would be equivalent to placing Scarlet Star as a target.
As a Manager of Scarlet Star, Chen Tian Fei had to consider his family’s interests first; after all, Yang Kai was an outsider. Why would he care about him?
“Even if that boy can win, I’m afraid it will be a pyrrhic victory,” The Head Manager’s indifferent voice rang out.
Chen Tian Fei was shocked, “Head Manager, you think he can win?”
“There’s no need to worry, if he wins, he will have definitely damaged his foundation. How could Zhu Li and Long Tai let go of this opportunity to beat a drowning dog? Naturally, they know what to do.”
Hearing this, Chen Tian Fei’s eyes lit up. [That’s right. Yang Kai has been preoccupied with Sword Pavilion all the while. Although Thunder Light has suffered heavy casualties, their forces are mostly still intact. With Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Zhu Li and Long Tai still alive, why would Thunder Light let Yang Kai off when he is exhausted after the battle?]
Thinking so, Chen Tian Fei finally felt relieved.
At this moment, a violent energy fluctuation came from the centre of the battlefield. This fluctuation was several dozen times stronger than before. Even the defensive Array outside the Star City began to fluctuate violently due to the fallout. Its light dimmed and it almost broke.
“It’s here!” The Head Manager shouted as he directed his eyes forward.
Chen Tian Fei and the others also wore serious expressions as they paid close attention.
No one had expected that the conclusion would arrive so quickly. After Zhong Fan had joined the battlefield, in less than half a cup of tea’s time, the two opposing sides were about to fight to the death, and the final result was about to be decided.
The violent shockwave from the battlefield undoubtedly indicated that both Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion were going all out!
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the two beams of light collided in mid-air and suddenly burst into an even more dazzling light!
Boundless killing intent swept across the world.
A series of muffled groans rang out as blood flowers blossomed one after another.
The sun behind Yang Kai rocked a few times before fading away, whereas the shocking sword wave shattered as multiple figures fell from the sky.
The Star City fell into an uproar!
They saw Yang Kai hovering in mid-air with his clothes tattered and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. There were countless fine wounds all over his body, obviously caused by the rampaging Sword Qi. The most serious wounds were so deep that one could see his golden bones. The wounds were filled with Sword Qi, and blood kept pouring out of them.
However, although he looked miserable, he still stood proudly, his figure as straight as a spear.
On the other side, the Sword Formation of Sword Pavilion had already been broken, and Luo Qing Yun was coughing up blood uncontrollably. It was obvious that his Forbidden Technique had begun its backlash and he was unable to suppress his injuries. The sword in Zhong Fan’s hand had dimmed and lost a great deal of its spirituality. When he looked at it, his eyes were filled with pain. Although he was not seriously injured, his complexion was pale, and his expression was dispirited.
If the two Sword Pavilion leaders were like this, there was no need to mention the other Sword Pavilion disciples.
Of the remaining two hundred disciples, only a few dozen had survived. The rest had all died in that instant of collision. Even these several dozen still alive were suffering from varying degrees of injuries, some of them gasping for breath while others were vomiting blood.
After the battle, Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation was broken, and the three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples were nearly wiped out.
Humiliation!
This had never happened since the founding of Sword Pavilion. Moreover, they had been beaten to such a sorry state by a mere Emperor Realm cultivator. Zhong Fan simply couldn’t accept this. Furious, he roared, “Junior, I must kill you!”
“What a coincidence, that was my intention too!” Yang Kai gasped as he threw a handful of pills into his mouth, chewing them like beans, his eyes radiating a scary glow.
Zhong Fan turned around angrily and shouted, “Are you here to watch a show? If you don’t act now, when will you?!”
To the side, Zhu Li and Long Tai, who were watching from afar, suddenly came to their senses!
Zhu Li and Long Tai couldn’t be blamed for their slow reaction; what they had seen today was simply too shocking. Even Open Heaven Realm Masters like them had fallen into a dazed state, their thoughts a complete mess.
An Emperor Realm cultivator forming a Divine Manifestation was an unprecedented feat, and the existence of the suspected Seventh-Order Golden Crow’s True Fire had greatly frightened them. Seeing Lu Xue’s fate, they were also scared that the next one to suffer would be them.
Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation had been broken, causing them to be even more frightened and regretful that they had come here, but with Sword Pavilion’s invitation and the fact that many Thunder Light disciples had died at Yang Kai’s hands previously, they had no choice but to act.
It wasn’t until Zhong Fan let out a furious roar that they came back to their senses. Looking at each other, they knew that if they didn’t take this opportunity to kill Yang Kai today, Thunder Light would only leave behind a pool of blood and bones.
With the strength Yang Kai had just displayed, Thunder Light would not be able to resist if he continued to live.
Without any hesitation, the two of them shouted in unison, “Thunder Light disciples, obey my command! Follow this King to kill the enemy!”
With this order, the scattered Thunder Light disciples finally found their backbone. When Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion fought, they had been unable to intervene at all and had instead been reduced to spectators on the sidelines. It was truly quite embarrassing. Finally, they’re able to display their strength in this battle.
One by one, they rushed towards Zhu Li and Long Tai, following behind the two leaders, and attacking Yang Kai.
Inside the mansion, Yue He, Meng Hong, and others felt their hearts jump to their throats. Yang Kai’s performance before was extraordinary and he had single-handedly broken through Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, nearly wiping out all of Sword Pavilion’s people. However, he had only just experienced a great battle. At this time, he couldn’t even maintain his Great Sun Manifestation, so he was clearly an arrow at the end of its flight. On the other hand, Thunder Light had retained the majority of its strength with nearly two thousand men remaining, enough to drown Yang Kai in their spits.
How could Yang Kai deal with such a crisis?
On the other hand, Yang Kai, who was in the centre of the encirclement, was calm and composed, throwing pills into his mouth. A sinister grin spread across his lips as the figures rushed towards him. It was as if he was an unparalleled monster waiting for its prey to pounce, eager to swallow them whole.
Yang Kai really wasn’t afraid of anything. Although there were many Thunder Light disciples alive, he was proficient in the Dao of Space, so as long as they didn’t seal off the surrounding space or restrict his movements, Zhu Li and Long Tai could forget about doing anything to him.
The Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation had been completed, so there was no need to hide anything anymore. Just as he was considering whether to use his Dragon Transformation and assume his giant Half-Dragon Form to continue fighting, he suddenly heard an excited voice from afar, “Brother Yang, Brother Yang, it’s done! Hahahaha!”
As soon as this voice rang out, a figure suddenly rushed out from the Star City towards Yang Kai.
At this moment, when the battle was about to begin, this burst of laughter was particularly disruptive.
Everyone couldn’t help but turn their heads towards the source of the voice, only to see a fair and tender little fatty fly out from the Star City with his hands held high above his head. There was a simple gourd in his hands, and a look of excitement on his face.
Head Manager’s brow couldn’t help but twitch as he stared at the little fatty and asked, “How did he get out?”
Chen Tian Fei couldn’t react for a moment, but after thinking it through, his expression also changed greatly as he couldn’t help but ask himself, [How did this guy slip out?]
It had to be known that at this moment, the Star City’s defensive Grand Array had been fully activated, making it all but impossible for anyone to exit or enter. If anyone wanted to leave, Chen Tian Fei would have to give the order to open a hole in the Grand Array, just like when Zhong Fan and the others had entered.
However, even with the Spirit Array still in operation, this little fatty had somehow managed to leave the Star City without even the slightest trouble.
Could the fallout from the battle between Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion have caused a problem with the Grand Array? Thinking so, Chen Tian Fei quickly ordered his men to investigate the status of the city’s protective shield.
Yue He was also shocked as she stared at the little fatty’s figure. Only after a moment of hesitation did she release her Divine Sense to investigate. The cultivation room had indeed been opened, and the person who should have been in seclusion had disappeared.
She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. As expected of a Core Disciple from a Cave Heaven, she didn’t even notice when he left the mansion and went outside. Although most of her attention was focused on Yang Kai, for an Emperor Realm Junior to be able to accomplish such a feat was still quite impressive.
[But… Why did this guy run out at this time? What’s that gourd?]
Yue He looked over and found that the gourd was only one palm tall and seemed extremely ordinary, if not quite old. She didn’t know where it came from, but at this moment, it was being held high by little fatty, Xu Zhen. It was an extremely funny scene.
At this moment, Yang Kai was surrounded by more than two thousand Thunder Light disciples, so if Xu Zhen wanted to rush to Yang Kai’s side, he would definitely have to clash with them.
Xu Zhen also seemed to be slow to react and only after rushing into the crowd of Thunder Light members did he suddenly jump in fright and shout, “Em, why are there so many people here? What’s going on?”
He asked innocently, but the Thunder Light disciple responded fiercely.
All of them were already vexed and angry, their killing intent boiling. Now that such a strange person suddenly walked into their ranks so brazenly, how could they show any goodwill? One after another, their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques flew towards Xu Zhen without mercy.
However, although this guy’s movements seemed awkward and clumsy, his luck was surprisingly good. With every step he took, he dodged all the attacks and he even had time to shout, “What are you doing!? Are you trying to kill me? Don’t hit me, I’m innocent!”
The more he shouted though, the more powerful the Thunder Light disciples’ attacks became. He was drowned in Secret Techniques, but none were able to harm him in the slightest. This guy seemed fat, but his figure was incredibly agile.
After several such attempts, even a fool could tell that something was wrong.
It was impossible for a single person’s luck to be so good. So many people attacked him, yet none of them could hit him. This little fatty was obviously pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger. Moreover, he was able to fight with so many people with such ease, so his strength was obviously extraordinary.
Zhu Li’s face was filled with anger as he roared, “Who goes there? State your name!”
There was Yang Kai, who didn’t put Thunder Light in his eyes, but now, another one had appeared, making him livid.
Xu Zhen still held the gourd high and solemnly replied, “Divine Cauldron Heaven, Xu Zhen!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Li staggered and almost lost his balance, falling headfirst to the ground. Long Tai’s eyes also widened, and even Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and the others who had been circulating their Qi to heal their injuries were thrown into chaos, almost causing their injuries to worsen.
The Managers of Scarlet Star all gasped.
Before this great battle, a Young Master who claimed to be the descendant of the Azure Nether Paradise’s Third Elder had come out, causing Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light to be wary. Now, a Cave Heaven Disciple has appeared? Moreover, it was the famous Divine Cauldron Heaven!
Before today, they had never known that there were disciples of Cave Heavens and Paradises in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Since these two were here, who knows how many were still hidden? How could such a small Star City have so many hidden Dragons?
When Xu Zhen announced his name, the faces of the Thunder Light disciples who had attacked him before all went pale. Let alone them, even the Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master would die if he were to attack a Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple in public like this.
The noisy sky suddenly became quiet.
Xu Zhen effortlessly squeezed to Yang Kai’s side and grinned at him.
“Success?” Yang Kai looked at him and asked.
“Fortunately, I didn’t fail!” Xu Zhen pushed the bottle gourd in his hand towards Yang Kai.
“Divine Cauldron Heaven’s disciples live up to their reputation! Many thanks!” Yang Kai swept his Divine Sense over the crowd and nodded slightly.
Xu Zhen chuckled, “We’re just taking what we each need, there’s no need to thank me. En, this place is a bit noisy, so I’ll take my leave first.” Saying so, he cupped his fists towards Yang Kai and turned to leave.
However, after taking only two steps, he suddenly turned around and said, “Brother Yang, this thing’s murderous nature is too strong, so try not to use it too often. If it is possible to forgive others, one should be forgiving.”
Yang Kai grinned, “If we don’t pull out weeds by the roots, they will only grow again!”
Xu Zhen was speechless. He turned his head to look around and suddenly sighed, no longer trying to persuade him. With his hands behind his back, he leisurely walked away and soon disappeared.
Everyone stared blankly, not knowing what was happening.
When they saw Xu Zhen rush over to Yang Kai’s side and hand him a gourd, they thought that the two of them had a deep friendship. Zhu Li, Long Tai, and the others had been wondering if he would shelter Yang Kai, but who would have thought that this little fatty would leave just like that.
[What’s going on?]
[Also, what did he mean when he said they were each taking what they needed?]
Unable to determine the relationship between Yang Kai and Xu Zhen, Zhu Li and Long Tai didn’t dare act rashly.
On the other hand, Yang Kai wore a playful smile on his face as he fiddled with the gourd in his hand and said lightly, “Brother Xu and I are neither friends nor relatives, and we’ve never met before, we just made a deal.”
“What do you mean?” Zhu Li asked solemnly.
At this moment, the calmer Yang Kai appeared, the more uncertain he became.
“What I mean is, if you want to fight, fight. If you don’t, I’ll kill you,” Yang Kai grinned maliciously.
“Junior, don’t act so arrogantly!” Long Tai shouted angrily.
“Enough nonsense, all of you come and accept your deaths!” Yang Kai roared.
“Junior, you think my Thunder Light is so easily bullied? Since that’s the case, this King will grant you your wish and kill you!” Zhu Li ordered in a low voice, having no choice left. Yang Kai’s unwillingness to let him off obviously meant that Thunder Light couldn’t resolve the grudge between them. If he didn’t act now, Thunder Light would have an even harder time dealing with him once he recovered and summoned his Divine Manifestation.
The numerous Thunder Light disciples no longer hesitated. They circulated their strength as dazzling flashes of all colours blossomed, rumbling towards Yang Kai.
Luo Qing Yun watched this scene with cold eyes, a trace of joy flashing across their depths. With so many attacks fired at once, Yang Kai couldn’t remain unscathed. No matter how arrogant he was, he would definitely fall here.
It was worth it. Nearly three hundred Sword Pavilion disciples had died, and their Sword Formations was broken, but if they could remove Yang Kai from the face of this world, it could still be counted as a win.
On the other hand, Zhong Fan stared at the gourd in Yang Kai’s hand with a solemn expression, faintly feeling that this thing was somewhat unusual and was likely a terrifying artifact.
Dazzling flashes and violent energy erupted as thousands of Thunder Light members attacked together, creating a magnificent scene!
At the centre of the countless attacks, Yang Kai stood alone, his figure lonely but his aura soaring to the sky, like he alone was equal to millions!
A low voice suddenly rang out, “Now that I have obtained a new treasure, I will offer your dog lives as a sacrifice to christen my Divine Bottle Gourd!”
As soon as Yang Kai spoke those words, he stretched out his hand and slapped the gourd. The mouth of the gourd opened up, and a multi-coloured light burst out from it. This light illuminated the entire sky in an instant as it shot out.
As soon as the light appeared, a murderous aura instantly filled the air. Countless artifacts within a radius of several kilometres began to cry and rush towards the light uncontrollably, especially the swords of the Sword Pavilion disciples who had fallen earlier. It was as if they had been grabbed by an invisible hand and thrown into the light.
Regardless of their grade, whether it was intact or not, all the artifacts that poured into the light rapidly dimmed and lost their spirituality.
The artifacts in the hands of these Thunder Light disciples were also like this. All of the artifacts refined from metal were pulled away by this light, causing many Thunder Light disciples to be dumbfounded.
*Pu pu pu pu…*
A series of groans sounded as Thunder Light disciples spat out mouthfuls of blood. Their faces turned pale as they fell from the sky like dumplings. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Thunder Light disciples had been injured by the backlash due the damage to their artifacts.
“Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!” Zhong Fan shouted, his eyes filled with shock.
The light that shot out from the gourd was none other than the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light he had seen on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. Back then, Sword Pavilion had suffered many casualties because of this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been killed by Emperor Heaven’s ragtag mob. At that time, the culprit was none other than Yang Kai.
Before coming here today, they had also been wary of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, but Yang Kai hadn’t used it from beginning to end; instead, he had used his Divine Manifestation to confront the Defying Heavens Star Net Formation head-on.
He had thought that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to use the Divine Light so easily, but now he was actually using it.
While Zhong Fan was shocked, he was also a little confused. He had personally seen Yang Kai use a bag-like artifact to collect a lot of Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, so why only now did he release it from this gourd?
Recalling the conversation between Yang Kai and Xu Zhen when the latter appeared, Zhong Fan suddenly realized what was happening and cried out bitterly, “I’ve underestimated those Cave Heaven disciples!”
The Divine Cauldron Heaven was one of the thirty-six Cave Heavens. This Cave Heaven Disciples’ other strengths aside, there was only one Dao that made all 3,000 Worlds look up to them.
Artifact Refining!
It was precisely because they were skilled in Artifact Refining that the Divine Cauldron Heaven was called the Divine Cauldron Heaven! In the 3,000 Worlds, apart from the innately formed artifacts, eighty to ninety percent of all renowned artifacts were forged by Divine Cauldron Heaven. Divine Cauldron Heaven’s disciples were all famous for their accomplishments in the Dao of Artifact Refining.
If he were to encounter a Divine Cauldron Heaven Disciple fighting outside, it would definitely be a completely different scene from normal, allowing him to witness the power of all kinds of strange artifacts.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd was obviously refined by that Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple, Xu Zhen, for Yang Kai. Only a Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple could have such ability!
But if that was the case, Yang Kai shouldn’t have been able to activate the power of this artifact right away. He should have needed to spend a long time refining it first, so how could he possibly activate the power of this Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd as soon as he obtained it?
Only if this Divine Bottle Gourd was his artifact from the start and he didn’t need to refine it would this be possible.
Could it be that Xu Zhen had perfectly combined the Divine Bottle Gourd and Yuan Magnetic Divine Light? That might explain everything if it was the case.
It had to be said that Zhong Fan’s quick guesses were completely correct.
The Divine Bottle Gourd was indeed Yang Kai’s artifact. Back in the Star Boundary, in the depths of Orthodoxy Temple, Yang Kai had entered a Void Crack and found a Wind Gourd there.
When the Wind Gourd was opened, an endless amount of Astral Wind rushed out from it to meet the enemy, but Yang Kai had only used it a few times and had never used it in the Outer Universe.
Xu Zhen had come to ask him for a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone and said that he could refine an Artifact for him as payment. Yang Kai naturally thought of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that he had collected in the Yuan Magnetic Mountain and stored in his Six Fated Paths Bag. Not only did it occupy a large chunk of space in his Fated Paths Bag, but it also couldn’t be used casually; after all, if he used it too often, it would be depleted.
If he could use the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to refine an artifact, there would be no need for such concerns.
With a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light in front of him, Xu Zhen’s hands were simply itching. He had originally planned to refine a Yuan Magnetic Banner for Yang Kai, but the materials required were too numerous, and Yang Kai didn’t know where to find them.
On the other hand, the existence of the Wind Gourd was a great gift. Compared to the original Wind Gourd, the current Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd’s might had increased significantly. Better yet, Yang Kai didn’t need to spend any more time refining it.
“Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, it’s the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!”
In the Star City, countless people cried out in alarm.
Scarlet Star’s Head Manager also showed a look of dread. Although he was only watching from afar, he could still feel the terrifying power of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Although he was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he would instantly lose a layer of skin if this thing hit him.
If even he would end up in such a state after a brief exposure, there was no need to mention Thunder Light’s disciples.
Dazzling light filled the sky, sweeping across the world, and anyone who was hit by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light had their flesh and bones torn apart.
Wherever the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light passed, not a single complete corpse could be found.
The Emperor Realm cultivators were like this, as were the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of Thunder Light.
A Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light could only be defended against using another Sixth-Order Element Power, so how could they possibly resist it?
In the blink of an eye, more than half of Thunder Light’s people had died.
Everyone’s heart was gripped by a chill as their bodies went completely cold. Such a terrifying artifact was simply a world-devastating killing tool. With this artifact in hand, the number of enemies he was facing became meaningless to Yang Kai. He alone could flatten a city if he wanted to!
Thunder Light disciples, with slightly better luck, managed to avoid the initial calamity, so at this moment, how could they dare to remain where they were? Screaming in fear, they all tried to flee.
But how could Yang Kai let them go? Just as he had said to Xu Zhen before, if he didn’t pull out weeds by the roots, they would grow again in the spring. Since Thunder Light dared to seek trouble with him, he couldn’t be blamed for being ruthless!
From another perspective, if Yang Kai were to fall into a disadvantageous position, would Thunder Light spare him?
Under Yang Kai’s control, the rays of light spread out and engulfed the fleeing Thunder Light disciples one after another, it looked as if an invisible beast was reaping their lives.
Thunder Light was finished!
After this battle, it would be impossible for them to make a comeback. When the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light once again appeared in this world, their fate had been sealed.
Scarlet Star’s Head Manager’s expression became solemn, his eyes filled with dread.
Previously, he had told Chen Tian Fei and the others that Yang Kai was an arrow at the end of its flight and that Zhu Li and Long Tai would not hesitate to beat him while he was down, so his fate would definitely not be good. Who could have thought that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd would completely reverse the situation?
The Golden Crow Casts the Sun that broke Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd that had slaughtered Thunder Light. A Divine Manifestation and an artifact, all these things Yang Kai had displayed shocked everyone present.
Looking at the peerless figure standing in the sky, no one dared to have any thoughts of becoming enemies with him.
The fat on Chen Tian Fei’s body trembled violently. Although he was fat, his thoughts were quite agile. When others only focused on Yang Kai’s display of power, he thought of something else.
Previously, the Head Manager had said that Yang Kai’s Great Sun Divine Manifestation was comparable to a First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s strength even if he was an Emperor Realm cultivator, but what about now when he had this Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd?
It was likely that no one could compete with him in the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm. Only a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master stood a chance against him by relying on the potent World Force of their Small Universe.
Chen Tian Fei even thought to himself that if he encountered Yang Kai outside, he would have to go all out if he wanted to kill him.
There were less than ten Thunder Light Disciples in the sky now, and two figures were also fleeing at high speed. Zhu Li and Long Tai saw that the situation was not looking good, so how could they dare to remain? Naturally, they ran as fast as they could.
However, the two rays of light seemed to have a mind of their own as they chased after them like maggots on rotting bones.
“Junior, don’t go too far! It’s better to leave a lifeline to your enemies, just in case you might need them in the future!” Zhu Li shouted madly. Even though he was fleeing at full speed, he could still feel the terrifying killing intent behind him catching up.
“This King will never need trash like you, so what if I kill you?” Yang Kai shouted coldly, “Solidify!”
Under the control of his Space Principles, the surrounding world became viscous!
Zhu Li, who was already struggling to escape, suddenly froze, the surrounding space becoming extremely thick, as if he had fallen into a swamp. He was unable to escape no matter how hard he tried.
He turned his head in horror, just in time to see the multi-coloured light shooting straight towards him before engulfing him.
Zhu Li desperately pushed his body’s strength to resist the impact of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. If the Small Universe in his body hadn’t been sealed, he would still have been able to fight, but without World Force, how could his physical strength compare to this Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light?
In the blink of an eye, the defensive energy circulating around his body was eroded completely as his flesh and blood were shredded layer by layer, as if he was being skinned alive.
Miserable screams rang out to no end. He sounded as if he was enduring the cruellest torture in the world, causing everyone who heard him to shiver.
Simultaneously, Long Tai also cried out in pain. Like Zhu Li, he too was enveloped by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.
However, after just a few breaths of time, the screams came to an abrupt halt, and the brilliant light returned to the Divine Bottle Gourd in Yang Kai’s hand. Once it was all over, Zhu Li and Long Tai were nowhere to be seen.
The two Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had completely disappeared.
Thunder Light, which had stood tall in the Star City for thousands of years, had been completely wiped out, leaving no survivors. It was even more miserable than Sword Pavilion.
But this wasn’t the end. Yang Kai slapped the Divine Bottle Gourd again, sending out another burst of light towards the remaining Sword Pavilion disciples and Luo Qing Yun.
Luo Qing Yun shouted in horror, “Mercy!”
Previously, he had suffered a backlash from using his Secret Technique; thus, he didn’t even have the strength to escape and could only stand there and wait for death. If it weren’t for this, would he still dare to remain?
Seeing that Yang Kai was about to kill him, he could only beg for mercy.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to this and completely ignored his pleas! By the time the light disappeared, the Sword Pavilion disciples had also disappeared.
Taking a step forward, Yang Kai arrived in front of Zhong Fan and looked down at him, lightly saying, “What last words do you have? If you are going to beg for mercy, don’t waste my time.”
As a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Zhong Fan had a deep foundation. When the Sword Formation broke, he had also suffered heavy backlash, but his injuries weren’t as severe as Luo Qing Yun’s. If he had escaped in advance, he might have had a chance to survive, but for some reason, he had stayed here and watched as Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion’s disciples were destroyed one after another.
When Yang Kai arrived in front of him and looked down at him, Zhong Fan coldly snorted, “Junior, don’t act so arrogantly. You’ve committed a heinous crime. Once you leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, you’ll die!”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled as he faintly felt that his words were hinting at something, but he couldn’t be bothered to ask, coldly snorting, “This King likes stubborn people like you, it’s more interesting to pinch them to death!”
Saying so, he sent a palm strike towards Zhong Fan.
He showed no mercy and was completely ruthless!
Zhong Fan’s expression remained indifferent. When the giant hand was almost upon him, his eyes suddenly flashed and a crack appeared between his eyebrows. From that crack, a stream of sword Qi shot out.
In this moment of life and death, he suddenly used his last trump card to defend himself, sending out a strike powered by his Dao foundation and Blood Essence itself.
Unless it were absolutely necessary, no one would do such a thing as this was in essence a sacrificial technique, damaging one’s own foundation in exchange for a burst of power. If things went wrong, one would become crippled after releasing such a strike.
Zhong Fan had no other choice though. Yang Kai had managed to obtain his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation and possessed the terrifying Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, a terrifying killing weapon. Other than resorting to this move, he had no other hope.
In this desperate struggle, success or failure depended on the will of the Heavens!
A lifetime of cultivating the sword focused on attacking and killing allowed Zhong Fan to condense all his remaining strength into a small forearm-length sword. It was extremely sharp and seemed capable of cutting through anything.
“I knew you would do this!” Yang Kai coldly snorted as he stretched out his hand and actually grabbed at the approaching sword.
However, he soon furrowed his brow and looked down. The next moment, he saw a dazzling sword light shoot out from his palm, heading straight towards his forehead.
In the end, he still underestimated the power of a desperate Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even with his powerful Half-Dragon physique, Yang Kai was unable to resist the power of this small sword-shaped attack and it pierced straight through his palm. Furthermore, Sword Qi was lingering around the wound, making it impossible to heal.
Taking a deep breath as Yang Kai’s entire body doubled in size. His chest swelled up and he became taller. Immediately after, Yang Kai breathed out, spewing the Golden Crow’s True Fire at the approaching sword.
The raging flames distorted the world itself.
Looking from afar, the small sword flew against the Golden Crow’s True Fire like a small fish swimming against the current. Nonetheless, it was still being eroded by the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Zhong Fan’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he roared and pushed his strike to its limit, determined to kill Yang Kai here and now!
Bit by bit, the small sword pushed forward, inching closer to Yang Kai’s forehead. Its speed was extremely slow despite its sharp threat.
Yang Kai, however, remained still and continued to breathe out the fearsome Golden Crow’s True Fire.
The small sword glowed brighter as it shook violently.
Ten breaths later, when the small sword arrived in front of him but could no longer hold on and collapsed.
Zhong Fan spat out a mouthful of hot blood as his aura suddenly plummeted. At this moment, it was as if all of his blood and essence had been sucked out of his body, leaving only skin and bones.
As the wind blew, his hair fluttered in the wind.
With his Dao foundation destroyed, Zhong Fan’s cultivation was crippled!
In the Star City, countless people were shocked. Many couldn’t help but feel a sense of grief. Although they had heard that once one’s Dao foundation was destroyed, a cultivator would die, this was the first time 99% of them were witnessing it. The change in Zhong Fan’s appearance from before and after was astonishing.
Yang Kai stepped forward and flew past Zhong Fan, showing no interest in taking action against someone who was destined to die.
In a few steps, he arrived in front of Lu Xue and grabbed her by the collar, staring down at her indifferently as he demanded, “Where is the Headquarters of Sword Pavilion?”
When Zhong Fan heard these words, his head drooped down as his aura rapidly dissipated.
Lu Xue happened to be coughing fresh blood to no end. It was boiling and mixed in with fragments of her internal organs. Her entire body was abnormally red, like a cooked crab.
Before the battle began, Yang Kai had planted the Golden Crow’s True Fire in her, preventing her from participating. At first, Zhong Fan had helped her suppress the scorching energy running amok in her body, but after he left, she was unable to resist the burning Golden Crow’s True Fire on her own and could only wait for death.
Fortunately, the foundation of a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wasn’t bad, and the battle between Yang Kai, Sword Pavilion, and Thunder Light hadn’t lasted long, so even now, she was still alive, though half-dead.
If left alone, it wouldn’t even take an incense stick of time before she ended up dying.
Seeing Yang Kai standing before her, Lu Xue’s tender body trembled violently. She had never thought that one day she would be so afraid of an Emperor Realm Junior!
Outside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she would not even bother to raise her head to take a glance at an Emperor Realm cultivator.
But today, Yang Kai’s actions had deeply shocked her. One man had destroyed Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation and then eradicated Thunder Light. Nobody could match what he had done.
At this moment, Yang Kai was holding her in his hand like a little chick. She couldn’t help but tremble in fear. A shadow had appeared in the depths of her heart.
The person in front of her had become her heart demon.
Even if she could leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary alive, if she were to encounter Yang Kai outside in the future, she probably wouldn’t have any thoughts of opposing him unless she could break through this heart demon.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, how could Lu Xue not know what he wanted to do? He wanted to sweep Sword Pavilion’s headquarters clean.
[Can he do it?] As soon as she asked this question, her heart gave an affirmative answer. Sword Pavilion had only sent three hundred people this time, which was less than a third of their forces. There were nearly a thousand disciples, two Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters back at their Headquarters, including their Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Pavilion Master.
However, based on the methods Yang Kai had displayed today, the Sword Pavilion simply could not resist.
Putting everything else aside, just the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd alone was enough to suppress Sword Pavilion completely.
Sword Pavilion was able to surpass Thunder Light and Scarlet Star because of its Sword Formations; however, once the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light appeared, how could the disciples form a Sword Formation? At that time, they would be completely scattered, and without the power of the Sword Formation or even their swords, they would be no match for Yang Kai.
Apart from the Pavilion Master, who could barely resist him, no one else would be able to survive.
To her, Yang Kai was like a Demon straight from Hell. When she looked at him, Lu Xue was so frightened that she couldn’t speak.
“Lead me there and I’ll spare your life!” Yang Kai claimed as he reached out and patted Lu Xue’s abdomen with his other hand. With a thought, the Golden Crow’s True Fire that had invaded Lu Xue’s body and made her suffer a fate worse than death, which no one could forcefully expel, was immediately withdrawn.
Lu Xue coughed lightly. Although her foundation had been greatly damaged, without the Golden Crow’s True Fire in her body, at least her life was no longer in danger. As long as she rested well, there would be a day she would recover.
“If you dare say no, I’ll send you to see your companions in the next world right now!” When Lu Xue didn’t reply after a long time, Yang Kai became slightly impatient.
“I’ll take you there,” Lu Xue lightly nodded.
Yang Kai nodded, grabbed Lu Xue, and soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing from everyone’s sight.
He deliberately didn’t suppress his voice when he was talking with Lu Xue just now. That small hill wasn’t too far from the Star City, so anyone with a bit of strength inside could hear him loud and clear.
Seeing Yang Kai leave just like that, everyone was shocked.
[Does he want to kill to the last?]
This time, Sword Pavilion had lost three hundred disciples, and even two of their Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had died. This was already a great loss to them, yet Yang Kai still wanted to attack their headquarters directly. Just how cruel and merciless was he?
On top of that, he had just experienced a great battle. Even his Divine Manifestation had been broken. Could it be that he did not need to rest and recover first?
Yue He couldn’t help showing a look of worry, but it was already too late to chase after him. Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so it was impossible for her to catch up to him with her strength.
The entire world went silent. All that remained was a nauseating smell of blood lingering in the air. Outside Scarlet Star’s city, rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the ground like a purgatory.
In the distant void, a little fatty stared at the scene and sighed lightly, “How sinful!”
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd had come from him after all, so he was half responsible for the people who had died.
After a sigh, the figure disappeared.
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion, Meng Hong and the others stared with their mouths agape.
As Great Moon Province’s Chief Disciple, Meng Hong’s aptitude was extraordinary. Previously, he had been forced to refine Third-Order Elements due to the lack of resources, hoping to achieve the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future.
After suffering a great change in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Meng Hong decided to start over and refine a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire. Originally, he had thought that his future would be bright and his heart was filled with pride and ambition. Still, after seeing what Yang Kai had done today, he realized that even if he could really achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would still be inferior to Yang Kai.
This was quite a blow to him, but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized that the other party had his own opportunities and abilities. As long as he believed in himself, there was no need for him to compare himself with others. [In this world, there are always some people who defy the Heavens. A Great Peng spreads its wings and soars into the sky, but the Cloud Soaring Tree from where it starts is already pretty high.]
Thinking of this, his thoughts became clear, and his spirits lifted.
“Since we have nothing better to do, let’s go clean up the battlefield,” Yue He’s voice came from beside him, “With so many people dead, there must be some good stuff left behind.”
“En!” Meng Hong quickly replied, leading his two Junior Brothers outside. Even Chen Yue followed closely behind, staring at Meng Hong’s back with a complicated expression.
Meanwhile, from inside the Star City, several dozen people, led by Guo Zi Yan, also rushed forward to help. Although they looked miserable, at this moment, all of them couldn’t be in higher spirits.
Guo Zi Yan and the others were still Scarlet Star members, but at this moment, no one treated them as ordinary Scarlet Star disciples.
Yang Kai’s anger for them just now had been clearly seen by everyone present. After this battle, it could be said that Yang Kai’s infamy had been branded onto Guo Zi Yan and the others. They were now known as that cruel and ruthless young man’s subordinates. Underlings of the man who had single-handedly exterminated Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion.
Thinking back, before the great battle began, Yang Kai had told Guo Zi Yan that if they died, these three thousand people would be buried with them.
However, no one took it seriously at that time. Everyone thought that Yang Kai was just boasting and comforting his subordinates. But now that they thought about it, he was stating it with confidence.
[Three thousand people have been wiped out without a trace. He said he would kill them all, and he did!]
[Just where did such a freak come from?]
Chen Tian Fei carefully looked at the Head Manager in front of him. Seeing that he had no intention of stopping them, he quickly ordered people to open the Star City’s defensive Spirit Array and let Guo Zi Yan and the others rush to the battlefield.
Many pairs of eyes stared enviously at the dozens of people sweeping through the battlefield. Space Rings were scattered all over the place. Three thousand men had participated in the battle. Even if some of their Space Rings got destroyed, at least half of them would remain.
This was a fortune that would make anyone’s eyes turn red, not to mention the rings left behind by Open Heaven Realm Masters. How could the things left behind by Zhong Fan, Luo Qing Yun, and other Mid Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters be bad? Each of them had lorded over the Star City for thousands of years, so the wealth they had accumulated would simply be unimaginable.
However, even if they were jealous, no one dared to vie for these treasures; after all, who wouldn’t cherish their own life after witnessing such a tragedy?
“Is that woman called Yue He?” The Head Manager suddenly asked.
Chen Tian Fei was stunned for a moment before quickly replying, “Yes!”
The Head Manager nodded and ordered, “Follow me to pay her a visit.”
With a wave of his sleeve, he walked towards Yang Kai’s mansion with his hands behind his back. Chen Tian Fei and the others looked at each other before quickly following behind him.
He knew that even the Head Manager was shocked by Yang Kai’s methods. Scarlet Star had abandoned him in a moment of crisis and cut off all ties with him. If they didn’t quickly appease Yang Kai now, Scarlet Star wouldn’t be able to bear his retaliation that would surely come in the future.
On the other hand, this was a great opportunity for Scarlet Star.
If they could restore their relationship with Yang Kai, it would only be beneficial to Scarlet Star’s future. They were not planning on accepting him into Scarlet Star again. With his strength, if they really did so, it would be equivalent to surrendering Scarlet Star to him. The Head Manager, Chen Tian Fei and the others wouldn’t dare do such a thing.
But as long as Yang Kai’s requests weren’t too excessive, they could agree to it.
The Star City originally had three great forces coexisting together, but now Thunder Light had been destroyed and Sword Pavilion’s foundation had been greatly damaged. Furthermore, Yang Kai had gone straight to Sword Pavilion’s Headquarters, so they probably wouldn’t exist for much longer.
Two of the three great forces had suddenly been eliminated, leaving behind only Scarlet Star. This was a Heaven-sent opportunity!
Under the leadership of the Head Manager, Chen Tian Fei and the others respectfully arrived in front of Yang Kai’s mansion. There were no servants in the mansion, so they couldn’t even find a way to pay their respects.
Chen Tian Fei had no choice but to step forward and knock on the door, knowing that Yue He would ridicule and make things difficult for him now.
Previously, Scarlet Star’s actions in Yang Kai’s time of crisis had truly angered Yue He. Although Scarlet Star had no other choice, the matter still concerned Yang Kai’s life and death. Fortunately, Yang Kai was strong; otherwise, they would have to run for their lives.
She also knew why these people from Scarlet Star had come, so she didn’t kick them out. However, that did not mean that she did not take any jabs at them, which for Yue He, was her exercising extreme forbearance.
The Head Manager was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and she too was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Their strengths and statuses were equal, but the Head Manager clearly maintained a respectful attitude as they conversed.
It couldn’t be helped. Yue He was with Yang Kai, so if Scarlet Star wanted to survive in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary in the future, it would have to rely on Yang Kai. At this time, how could they put on airs?
However, he didn’t say much and simply asked Yue He when Yang Kai would return, and requested her to inform him when he did. Even asking her to put in some good words for them. Explaining Scarlet Star’s difficulties to Yang Kai and making him sympathize with them was of utmost importance.
Yue He naturally did not give an answer so easily. She just gave a relatively polite but insincere response.
Before leaving, Scarlet Star Managers left behind a small gift. Although it was called a small gift, it was actually quite generous. It was three Fifth-Order materials.
Each of the materials was worth millions of Open Heaven Pills, which showed Scarlet Star’s sincerity.
If it were in the past, this amount of wealth would have been quite good for Yang Kai, but Yang Kai had made a fortune during his trip to the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. He had obtained more than seventy Fifth-Order and twenty Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones, so these three Fifth-Order materials might not even catch his eyes.
After the shocking battle, the unrest in the Star City did not subside for a long time. For several days, everyone was talking about the various scenes of the previous battle and Yang Kai’s incredible performance.
Many were even waiting for the next good show. Yang Kai had directly taken Lu Xue to Sword Pavilion’s Headquarters in order to exterminate them. When he returned, no one knew how he would deal with Scarlet Star.
Countless Scarlet Star disciples were in a state of panic, afraid of being dragged into this mess. Over the past few days, the number of Scarlet Star disciples had greatly decreased. Scarlet Star had occupied this region and was flourishing, but now, almost thirty percent of them had secretly left.
This angered Chen Tian Fei and the others so much that they had no choice but to re-activate the defensive Grand Array. Anyone who wanted to leave had to verify their identity before they could pass.
While the Star City was in chaos, Yang Kai brought Lu Xue along as they rushed forward. Under Lu Xue’s guidance, they flew for more than a day before finally seeing a mountain range in the distance.
This mountain range was majestic and ancient, giving off a primordial aura that blew on their faces. It made them feel as if they had travelled through time and returned to the far past.
“The entire Star City has been devoured into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and has been divided into many pieces. There is a fragment over there. Sword Pavilion has been stationed there ever since,” Lu Xue explained while coughing lightly.
It had been just a day, so she wasn’t able to recover much. Although she had taken many pills along the way, they had only slowed down her injuries. It would take her at least a year to recover completely.
“En,” Yang Kai acknowledged before tossing her aside and turning into a streak of light.
Lu Xue didn’t expect Yang Kai to abandon her just like that, so she couldn’t react in time and quickly fell to the ground. Panicked, she quickly used her strength to stabilize her body, causing her internal organs to shake violently as she staggered. Her heart pounded with lingering fear, looking at Yang Kai’s departing back.
[He really spared me!] Lu Xue was still in disbelief. Although Yang Kai had said that he would spare her life if she brought him to Sword Pavilion’s Headquarters, how could Lu Xue believe him? She only thought he was lying to get what he wanted.
However, although she thought so at the time, she had no choice but to agree. The feeling of being burned alive by the Golden Crow’s True Fire and waiting for the imminent death was too terrifying, so she might as well beg for a quick death.
But by the looks of it, Yang Kai wasn’t lying to her and actually kept his word.
However, after being burned by the Golden Crow’s True Fire, the situation inside her body had become so terrible that she couldn’t even display ten percent of her usual strength. If Yang Kai abandoned her here, how would she survive? She might encounter some Ominous Beast and be killed on the spot.
She steeled her heart as she started walking forward, staggering.
In the Sword Pavilion Star City, Yang Kai fell from the sky, creating an enormous pit on the ground.
The reason he had come so aggressively was to cut weeds and pull out roots. Now that the grudge between him and Sword Pavilion was about to be settled, there was no need for him to be polite.
Yang Kai had thought that this would be another difficult battle, so he had tried his best to adjust his condition to its peak. Be that as it may, he felt something was wrong before he even arrived.
When he scanned with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t sense any vitality in this city. Not a single living person could be found.
Not only that but the air was also filled with a thick, nauseating scent of blood. Yang Kai was extremely familiar with this aura as he had seen a scene just like it after his battle outside Scarlet Star City.
When he turned around to look, Yang Kai couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
The buildings in this city had all collapsed. The ground was stained in blood, and had severed limbs and mutilated pieces of flesh lying here and there. Moreover, the wounds on these ripped limbs were all very strange. When Yang Kai picked up one of these severed limbs and lowered his head to examine it, a frown appeared on his brow.
At this moment, the entire Star City was completely empty. Birds were flying across the sky, and the wind howled.
Yang Kai walked ahead to investigate with his hands behind his back, soon seeing a number of mutilated and incomplete corpses along the way, but strangely enough, no one had taken their Space Rings. All the possessions were simply lying on the ground.
Yang Kai picked up a Space Ring and examined it carefully. He didn’t find traces of things being taken out from the Space Rings either.
Immediately after, Yang Kai’s expression gradually became solemn.
Along the way, he collected the Space Rings. This Star City was even bigger than Scarlet Star’s Star City, with at least tens of thousands of people living here before. Yang Kai regretted not bringing Guo Zi Yan and the others with him at this moment.
Who knows how long it would take to collect so many Space Rings. After having spent a day, he had collected thousands of them, but that was just ten or so percent of the total number here.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Yang Kai arrived in front of a large hall.
The main hall was located at the centre of the Star City and was likely where the upper echelons of Sword Pavilion gathered. It was similar to Scarlet Star’s Main Hall.
The door happened to be broken, and seeing that, Yang Kai walked right in.
The main hall was also stained in blood and had corpses lying everywhere. Amidst all the bodies, a single figure was standing there with a solemn look on her face. It was none other than Lu Xue.
Earlier, when Yang Kai had abandoned her in the wilderness, she had forced herself to walk all the way to Star City. When she saw the corpses and rivers of blood in the Star City, she had thought it was Yang Kai’s doing, but now it seemed that it was not. It had clearly happened before they arrived.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, Lu Xue turned around, her eyes completely dull and hollow as she asked, “What happened here?”
“A Beast Tide!” Yang Kai came to her side and stared at the corpse of a middle-aged man in front of him. Although this middle-aged man had died, his bearing was still extraordinary. When he was alive, he was definitely someone of great importance. As there were no wounds visible on his body, it appeared that he himself had no idea when he died.
From his previous observations, Yang Kai was fairly certain that Sword Pavilion had encountered a terrifying Beast Tide. Many of the mutilated limbs and pieces of flesh had traces of bite marks, which could only belong to Ominous Beasts.
“Impossible!” Lu Xue gasped. If one were to tell her that this place turned into a wreckage because of Yang Kai, then she could still believe it. After all, she had seen the terrifying things Yang Kai could do, but how could a mere Beast Tide cause this much damage?
It wasn’t that she’d never encountered a Beast Tide before while still in Sword Pavilion, but no matter the size of tide, they could be easily defeated. Sword Pavilion’s own heritage was not bad and with the help of the Sword Formations and the protective Spirit Arrays, Beast Tides generally couldn’t shake Sword Pavilion’s foundation like this.
Yang Kai said bluntly, “Nothing’s impossible.”
He had been collecting Space Rings all day and had been observing the situation. It was almost certain that Sword Pavilion encountered a Beast Tide as there were footprints of many Ominous Beasts all over the city grounds as well as some Ominous Beast carcasses left in the streets.
Adding on the fact that the Space Rings remained intact, it just about proved his guess.
“Who is this?” Yang Kai said as he gazed at a middle-aged man’s corpse.
“Sir Pavilion Master!” Lu Xue said, shocked.
“This is Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes. He had known this man was of great fame and must have a strong background, but he didn’t expect him to be Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master, “What was his cultivation?”
Lu Xue answered in a trembling voice, “Sir Pavilion Master was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. How could someone like him just… die like that, here?”
“Sixth-Order!” Even Yang Kai was shocked.
He wasn’t afraid of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Master inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary as there would still be limits to the strength a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could display. If Yang Kai were to have met this man in battle, then with his current strength, it was still hard to tell who the victor of their fight would be.
What was shocking was that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would actually lay dead here.
A Master of that level definitely had a solid foundation and outstanding heritage. Even if this man were defeated by a Beast Tide, he should have been able to put up a good fight while making a retreat, but from the way Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died, it seemed he didn’t even have a chance to fight back as there were barely any signs of combat left in the hall. In other words, the strength of his foe must have far surpassed him.
A chill surged up in Yang Kai’s heart.
Could there truly be such a powerful presence in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?
There were no scars on the Pavilion Master’s body at all, so Yang Kai couldn’t even tell how he died. It didn’t seem like he’d been killed by an Ominous Beast at all and instead just fell dead all of a sudden.
“They’re dead, they’re all dead!” Lu Xue turned her head around, only to see that all of the senior members of Sword Pavilion were gathered here alongside the Pavilion Master’s body. Practically no one was left behind. The entire Sect was wiped out here. Adding those that Yang Kai killed outside of Scarlet Star City, it would now seem Lu Xue was the only surviving member of Sword Pavilion!
With a rip, Yang Kai had torn open the Pavilion Master’s clothes, and he couldn’t help but be stunned at what he saw.
He’d planned to investigate how Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died, but he didn’t expect to find the truth so quickly.
On the man’s broad chest was a spider-shaped imprint. The spider was silver in colour with a crescent moon mark on its back. As if it were a living thing, its eight legs were spread apart and a silvery thread of spider silk spread out, covering the man’s body.
“This is…” Yang Kai suddenly felt that this mark looked familiar.
Before he could remember where he’d seen this pattern before though, the spider suddenly jumped off from the Pavilion Master’s chest and lunged at Yang Kai.
Lu Xue screamed and recoiled in fear.
In a flash, Yang Kai threw his head back to avoid the spider’s attack, but he couldn’t help the shaking feeling in his Soul. His vision suddenly grew disoriented. Then, a huge eight-legged spider with its teeth and claws brandished at him filled his vision and occupied his entire mind. The spider was clearly the seal on Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master’s chest magnified countless times over.
Its huge mouth opened up and it launched its fangs towards Yang Kai, seemingly intending to devour him whole.
But this scene was not real. In Lu Xue’s vision, after the spider seal on her Pavilion Master’s chest jumped out at Yang Kai, the young man’s eyes suddenly lost focus. At the same time, extremely pure Spiritual Energy rippled out.
Amazingly, the spider was a Soul Divine Ability, and the giant spider that Yang Kai saw was nothing more than an illusion.
But despite it being an illusion though, things wouldn’t end well if he were truly devoured by the spider.
At a critical life-or-death moment, a Dragon Roar burst out as a Golden Dragon Head suddenly emerged behind Yang Kai’s back, roaring at the giant spider.
Dragon Pressure spilled out and extended to the Heavens.
With a rumble, Yang Kai’s Soul was shaken again, and by the time he regained his senses, the spider was nowhere to be seen. The Divine Ability hidden in the Pavilion Master’s body had been shattered by the Dragon Pressure.
“Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!” Yang Kai’s face turned grim.
He finally remembered why the crescent moon pattern was so familiar to him. He had seen it before.
On Shan Qing Luo’s body!
Shan Qing Luo carried the bloodline and Source of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider. On a certain part of her body not known to anyone else was a mark just like the one Yang Kai just witnessed.
The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider was one of the Ancient Divine Spirits, and while its ranking amongst Divine Spirits wasn’t too high, it definitely wasn’t low either.
[This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary actually has a Divine Spirit?]
Thinking back to the Dragon Bead he had obtained from Crouching Dragon Mountain, Yang Kai’s disbelief was quickly dispelled. This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was a mysterious place. There had been a True Dragon here, so what was so strange about there being a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider as well?
With that, it seemed that Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master must have been killed by the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s attack. No wonder this man couldn’t put up any resistance. Even under the restrictions of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the might of a Divine Spirit was still not something an ordinary Master could dream of confronting.
If taken out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and into the Outer Universe, this Heavenly Moon Demon Spider would definitely become an existence at least on par with Mie Meng.
Yang Kai’s heart burned. It was a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider! If he could kill it and take its Monster Core, then give it to Luo’er once he returned, wouldn’t Luo’er be able to reach Open Heaven Realm in a single bound? Who knows how happy that girl would be then! She would definitely try all kinds of tricks to please him then!
But very soon, Yang Kai dismissed that idea. The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider wasn’t something that one should just provoke on a whim, lest he tried to steal a chicken but lose his rice. Turning Luo’er and the others into widows wouldn’t be a worthwhile risk.
“You…” Lu Xue’s shocked voice came from next to him. Looking at Yang Kai, her eyes were shaking violently.
She seemed to have seen something astonishing in that one instant that scared her so much that she fell on her bottom, so shocked that she’d forgotten to stand back up.
Yang Kai shot her a light glance but promptly ignored her; instead, he leaned down to swipe the Pavilion Master’s Space Ring. Checking its contents with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai discovered that this old man was truly wealthy.
There were more than a billion Open Heaven Pills inside the Space Ring, piled up into several small mountains. There were also countless other cultivation materials and also a number of good artifacts.
This man had been Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master for so many years that he was bound to have accumulated some level of wealth during his hegemonic reign over the Star City.
A certain jade slip caught Yang Kai’s attention, and taking it out, he swept his Divine Sense over it and instantly raised his brow.
The jade slip actually turned out to be the cultivation method for the Starfall Sword Formation and Defying Heavens Star Net Formation.
These were extreme treasures. Even though forming this Formation had strict requirements for those involved, chief among them cultivating the Sword Dao, it was still quite possible for Yang Kai to make use of it in the future.
Just as he was about to put the jade slip away, Yang Kai’s instincts suddenly tugged at him, causing him to jerk his head in a certain direction.
There seemed to be a pair of invisible eyes there, observing him from across the void. It gave him goosebumps, as if something bad had its eyes set on him.
In the direction Yang Kai was staring, across a vast stretch of mountains and wastelands, a massive herd of Ominous Beasts of all different shapes and sizes was marching. There were giant beasts as majestic as mountains, rising over a thousand metres tall, shaking the earth with each step they took. There were also skeletal humanoid figures with two heads, baring their fangs with arms like scythes, running as fast as the wind. Though they were humanoid in shape, they were still more beast than man, with heads like that of a praying mantis or other insects and animals. They were all densely gathered in one place, but at the moment, they were just like a well-trained army marching forward, racing towards the depths of the wilderness.
The most conspicuous part was the centre of the Beast Tide where an incomparably huge spider strode using its eight legs. It seemed to move slowly and clumsily, but its speed was actually as fast as lightning.
From time to time, spider silk was spat out from its jaws and pierced through the bodies of random beasts before they were pulled into its mouth and swallowed.
On the huge spider’s back was a building resembling a pavilion, and inside the pavilion lounged a woman lazily on a bamboo sofa, dressed in highly revealing clothes. The woman was the epitome of charm, even being comparable to the likes of Shan Qing Luo. It was the kind of beauty that made a man’s blood boil as soon as they set their eyes upon it.
When Yang Kai shattered the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s illusion with his Dragon Pressure, the enchanting woman on the bamboo sofa suddenly opened her eyes and let out a soft giggle. Looking in the direction of the ruined Star City, she licked her lips with her scarlet tongue after a moment and smiled.
It was a smile that caused the world to lose its colour, leaving only the seduction of her face behind.
With a light clap, a green figure appeared instantaneously and knelt down in front of her.
It was a creature with a humanoid body, yet with large scythes for arms and topped off by a mantis head.
“There’s an interesting little fellow back in the direction we just came from. Bring him to me alive.”
The mantis head nodded before it transformed into a green light, speeding away to carry out her order.
Back inside the Star City, Yang Kai was frowning. He focused his senses, but he couldn’t catch that feeling again. He couldn’t help but wonder whether he had used up too much of his energy in yesterday’s fight and was now sensing things wrong because of it.
He thought of leaving immediately, but he’d barely searched half of Star City, so it would be too much of a pity to leave just like that. Sighing, Yang Kai gathered all the Space Rings in the hall and headed out into the Star City, sweeping up all the valuables he could along the way.
In any case, this was no place to be staying for an extended amount of time, so he had to hurry out of here after he was done scavenging.
Lu Xue who had been left to daydream in the hall had only come back to her senses after a long time. Over the past few days, too much had happened to her. First, she was tossed about by Yang Kai, then she came back to Sword Pavilion just to find that she was now alone. Sadness filled her heart and she didn’t even know where to go in the future.
Taking out a Spirit Pill, she stuffed it into her mouth and sat down cross-legged, adjusting her breathing and meditating. No matter what she did in the future, she had to recover her strength before she could make any other plans…
Yang Kai moved quickly around the Star City. His Divine Sense was spread out like a tidal wave. Pushing it outwards with all his might, it extended out like countless large hands that plucked the Space Rings off each dead body and tossed them into the Sealed World Bead.
Yang Kai didn’t have the time to probe into them to see what was inside since there were too many, so he could only wait until later before slowly taking inventory.
Half a day later, he had basically swept through the entire destroyed Star City. Just as he was about to return though, he suddenly heard a faint but shrill scream from a certain direction and quickly turned towards it.
That was the direction of the Main Hall where Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died, and it was undoubtedly Lu Xue’s voice he just heard. There were no living beings in the Star City other than him and Lu Xue, so it had to be her.
But an extra life aura had clearly appeared in that direction. Only, the aura gave off a strange feeling and seemed to be radiating Monster Qi.
[A Monster Beast?] Yang Kai frowned. Curious, he used Instantaneous Movement and disappeared from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was already in the hall. Looking around, he frowned.
There, he saw Lu Xue raised into the air with a figure that was just slightly taller than an average human man in front of her. It was a humanoid monster wearing a short-sleeved animal skin shirt, and its entire body was turquoise in colour. Even though he had a humanoid form, it was definitely not Human.
Its two arms were like sharp scythes and a flat-looking head topped its body that looked just like that of a mantis’.
[What in the world is that?]
Yang Kai had been travelling the world for many years, but he had never seen such a strange being before.
Generally speaking, Monster Beasts were able to take human form after cultivating to a certain extent, and only when their cultivation was lacking would there be Monster Beast traces remaining after they assumed human form.
But the aura of this mantis head was very strong, even greater than that of the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon. So, how could it still appear to look half Monster, half Human?
Yang Kai assumed that it was due to the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon’s low sentience that they did not assume human form. Without high enough sentience, it was naturally impossible for them to assume human form. Could it be that this mantis head has not fully gained sentience yet?
When he heard the noise, the mantis head turned to look at Yang Kai. His compound eyes revealed a lost look while he scratched his head with his raised scythe arms, appearing slightly puzzled.
His Mistress told him that there was an interesting fellow over here, and asked him to capture him. As soon as he came here and saw Lu Xue, he thought that she was the one, but now another one had appeared. Which one was it?
After carefully distinguishing the aura between Lu Xue and Yang Kai, he was still confused. From what he could sense, Lu Xue was clearly much stronger than Yang Kai, but his instincts told him that Yang Kai was a greater threat to his life than this girl.
After pondering for a while, he suddenly grinned and spoke in a voice similar to metal scraping against metal, “Forget it, I’ll just bring them both back.”
[This mantis head can speak!?] Lu Xue was taken aback before she turned a pleading gaze towards Yang Kai. Her life was hanging by a thread at this moment and she could very easily be dismembered with just a quick movement from the mantis head, so the only one she could rely on now was Yang Kai. If Yang Kai was willing to save her, then she had hope to live.
But to her disappointment, Yang Kai didn’t even look at her. She couldn’t help but feel dejected at this, but it did make sense. Yang Kai had just been on a killing spree, aiming to annihilate all of Sword Pavilion. He even ran all the way here to slaughter everyone. Given she was also a member of Sword Pavilion, why would he care whether she lived or died?
“Did you do this?” Yang Kai looked at the mantis head and asked, but he quickly shook his head, “No. You don’t have the ability.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” With a shake of the mantis head’s arm, Lu Xue who was lifted into the air screamed as she was tossed to the side. While walking towards Yang Kai, he lightly rubbed his scythe arms together, producing a hair-raising screech, “Little thing, Mistress told me to capture you alive, so you’d better not resist or you’ll regret it.”
“Mistress?” Yang Kai raised a brow. He was interested in prying out of this mantis head’s mouth who this ‘Mistress’ was, but with a green flash in front of his eyes, the mantis head had already swiftly made his way over in front of him. A sharp glint entered Yang Kai’s eyes as a scythe arm swung down towards his head.
[Fast!]
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank. At once, he manipulated Space Principles and teleported 30 metres back.
Even so, the slash ripped open Yang Kai’s shirt.
When Yang Kai looked down, he discovered that a slit had been drawn over the new set of clothes he had changed into on the road. Fortunately, he reacted fast enough; otherwise, he would have eaten a loss on the very first move.
“Oh?” The mantis head looked at Yang Kai with his head cocked to the side, his compound eyes turning, seemingly puzzled as he commented, “You’re quick!”
“You’re not so bad either!” Yang Kai coldly snorted.
“Then let’s see who’s faster!” The mantis head grinned, revealing two rows of jagged teeth in his mouth. As soon as he finished speaking, his body transformed into a green light that approached Yang Kai as fast as lightning.
Yang Kai took him on seriously. He had his Divine Sense locked onto the mantis head’s aura while he circulated his Space Principles, ready to react to his movements.
Suddenly, the hall was filled with gusts of wind and afterimages flickering about.
Lu Xue, who had been thrown to the side, raised her head to see the hall filled with figures of Yang Kai and the mantis head. For a moment, she couldn’t tell which were real and which were remnant images.
She couldn’t help but feel stunned. It was normally rare to encounter existences as fast as this, and now there were two who seemed evenly matched with each other.
She didn’t dare to remain. Neither the mantis head nor Yang Kai paid her any heed, but if she were caught in their fight, then there was no way she could withstand it in her current state.
Forcing her body to move, she stumbled her way to the entrance and ran out.
After running less than a thousand metres, she heard a violent noise from behind her. Turning around, she could see the hall crumble as two figures rose into the air. The violent aftershock threw her several tens of metres away. When she landed on the ground, she even spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Once outside the hall, both Yang Kai and the mantis head seemed to have been freed from some sort of shackle. Like a Dragon into the sea or a Tiger in the mountains, they pushed their speed to its limits at once. In the sky above the crumbling ruins, the two figures flickered back and forth, up and down, chasing each other from one end of the Star City to the other. They occasionally exchanged blows, causing the sky to shake and the earth to crack.
Strictly speaking, Yang Kai was no match for the mantis head in terms of speed. This guy was truly as fast as the wind and lightning. The only way Yang Kai could keep up was by relying on his Space Principles.
Even more terrifyingly, not only was this mantis head extremely fast, but his sword techniques were also incredibly masterful.
The two scythe-like arms were just like natural-born armaments. Wielded by the mantis head, they became peerless blades. At a glance, Yang Kai could tell that this enemy’s techniques needed no thought to execute. Each strike was honed and refined to the point of perfection, smoothly flowing while not the slightest bit wasteful.
Yang Kai was actually feeling overwhelmed!
He came feeling invincible after destroying the Sword Pavilion Sword Formation and slaughtering thousands of Thunder Light members. Yang Kai felt that no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was his opponent any longer, but this mantis head actually made him feel pressured, so it was easy to see how terrifying this guy was.
Which cultivator in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could possibly compete with an existence such as this? Yang Kai estimated that even if Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master came back to life, he still wouldn’t be able to do anything to this guy.
Worse, this mantis head was just a henchman, so how terrifying could his Mistress possibly be?
Yang Kai had a faint suspicion that the Mistress this mantis head talked about was the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider! Thinking back to his thoughts of wanting to get his hands on that Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s Monster Core, Yang Kai realized just how ignorant and arrogant he had been.
“Enough!” Yang Kai bellowed and threw his palm out with a violent power that knocked the mantis head away.
In terms of speed, Yang Kai with his Space Principles could barely match his opponents, but nothing good would come from dragging this fight out. It really wasn’t a good idea to stay here for long. If the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider decided to come back, then he had no idea whether he would be able to resist or even escape.
This battle had to be decided quickly.
The moment he pushed back the mantis head, Yang Kai had already summoned his Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd. With his Divine Sense, he opened the gourd and light poured out of it in an instant, filling the world and enveloping the mantis head.
A bunch of clinks sounded alongside a bunch of sparks. Yang Kai’s widened his eyes and he looked ahead in astonishment.
Charging through the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, the mantis head’s speed instantly decreased; however, his momentum was still continuously increasing.
The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, which devastated both Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion was barely useful against this mantis head. Even though he was instantly covered in injuries, they were very minor and almost negligible.
[This guy… his skin is on par with a Sixth-Order Monster Beast!]
The Monster Beasts of the Outer Universe were also divided into different Orders. Just like the Open Heaven Realm, the Monster Beasts that were below this realm were not included within those divisions.
In other words, there had to be a Sixth-Order Monster Core in this mantis head’s body; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to resist the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light with just his physical body.
Yang Kai’s eyes instantly lit up. Even though he had no idea what properties this mantis head’s Monster Core had, anything at the Sixth Order was still going to be a treasure.
The mantis head was not injured much, but he was apparently greatly angered by Yang Kai’s move. He felt that this Human was both despicable and shameless. Even though they were obviously competing with speed, he suddenly came up with another technique, which made him feel deeply insulted. He began to shout, “You little thing, you made this Senior Mantis very angry! This Senior Mantis has decided to eat one of your arms and legs!”
Losing an arm and a leg wouldn’t kill this Human, and his Mistress told him to capture him alive but didn’t say anything about bringing him back whole. In other words, ripping off a couple limbs wouldn’t be going against his Mistress’ orders.
As the mantis head shouted, his scythes danced around and cut off the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light that was gushing his way before he pounced to within 30 metres of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai wore a grim expression. He knew that the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was not going to be of any use against this guy.
Even though the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd was a powerful weapon, it could be resisted by anyone in the Sixth Order or above, where its effects would be limited.
This artifact was suitable for large-scale battles where its might could be shown fully, such as the previous battle with Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion.
Currently, the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light wasn’t working and Yang Kai could not use his Golden Crow Casts the Sun Manifestation for some time. When he broke Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation, Yang Kai’s Dao Seal was shaken and needed time to stabilize, so unless it was a life or death situation, it was better not to use his Divine Manifestation for the time being.
And, when facing an opponent like this mantis head, the only way to win was to face him head-on.
With that in mind, Yang Kai immediately put away the Wind Gourd and reached out his hand. As Dragon Pressure spread out, the Azure Dragon Spear was summoned. Casually brandishing the spear, he thrust it out.
The mantis head was speeding over in fury, and didn’t expect Yang Kai to play another trick so quickly. When the tip of the Azure Dragon Spear was rapidly magnifying in front of his eyes, he quickly lifted his two scythes in front of himself to block.
With a clink, the mantis head paled slightly as both of his compound eyes shook violently. The figure that was lunging forward suddenly flew backwards as if possessed by a ghost.
After being blasted back more than a thousand metres, the mantis head looked down to see the dent in his right arm. His extremely sturdy scythe arm was almost pierced through by his opponent’s spear.
Shocked, he stared at the Azure Dragon Spear in Yang Kai’s hand and asked hoarsely, “What is that spear you’re wielding?”
He knew his body best, and though it wasn’t as solid as metal, the things that could hurt him were still few. But just a single hit from this opponent in front of him carried terrifying power, so much so that it felt like a deadly threat to him.
“Of course, it’s… the spear that will end your life!” Yang Kai had already arrived in front of the mantis head in a flash while speaking and stabbed his spear out like a Flood Dragon going to sea.
At the same time, Yang Kai felt a little frustrated. He had prepared to take the mantis head’s life with that strike just now. The Azure Dragon Spear was crafted from the bones of a True Dragon. Even considering the entire 3,000 Worlds, it was considered a top artifact. The mantis head’s defence was certainly strong, but it was impossible for it to block the Azure Dragon Spear’s might.
Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught.
After eating a loss once, the mantis head didn’t dare to take him head-on anymore. He quickly flashed aside to avoid the spear thrust, turning into a green shadow that was constantly circling around Yang Kai while he waved his scythe arms, throwing attacks at him from every direction, making it hard to pin him down.
Yang Kai pushed the power of the Azure Dragon Spear to the limit, enveloping himself in a towering spear shadow.
Compared to the mantis head’s masterful sword techniques, Yang Kai’s spear technique could practically be called amateurish; after all, he had never properly cultivated the Spear Dao before, only using the Azure Dragon Spear instinctually since he obtained it. The two could hardly be compared in terms of skill.
It wasn’t that Yang Kai didn’t value skill and technique, but compared to that, he felt that ultimately, strength was the deciding factor in a life-or-death battle. No matter how impressive one’s techniques were, absolute strength would still be able to smash through them.
But now, he realized that his thinking was too shallow.
No matter how powerful the Azure Dragon Spear was, it was useless if he couldn’t hit his opponent, and the mantis head was fast enough and skilful enough to dodge or parry any attack Yang Kai tried. It had already reached a terrifying level where skill could surpass power. From time to time, the mantis head would even take advantage of openings in Yang Kai’s sloppy spearmanship to cut him, drawing fresh blood from his wounds.
Even Yang Kai’s solid Half-Dragon physique could not resist the cuts of these sharp scythe arms.
If the fight dragged on like this, then the one who would suffer a loss would be Yang Kai in the end.
Yang Kai was astonished, but he was also helpless to do anything about it. If he wanted to leave, he could leave at any time. The mantis head was quick, but he could not stop him catch him if he used Instantaneous Movement and leapt across space. But if he left just like that, this enemy would probably bother him later and might even become a hindrance on his Martial Dao.
“Your blood… is delicious!” In the midst of the fierce battle, the mantis head still had the leisure to pay attention to other details. Quite apparently, it was in a comfortable position. Even while he was speaking, his voice sounded breathy, as if it had discovered a delicious delicacy that whetted his appetite.
Yang Kai’s body was filled with Dragon Blood, so while an ordinary cultivator may not be able to sense anything, this mantis head was a Monster Beast with a keen sense of smell, so naturally, he could tell the difference.
“No wonder Mistress asked me to capture you alive. Hahaha, this Senior Mantis will be basking in glory today!” The mantis head laughed. As his body circled around Yang Kai, his voice could be heard from all directions.
Yang Kai grit his teeth, not saying a word. He was concentrating on dealing with the mantis head’s flurry of attacks, and whenever the two clashed, flashes of light from the scythe and spear would appear, breaking down the already destroyed Star City into even smaller pieces.
But an opening was sure to appear after a long defence. One man and one beast fought for an entire hour before the mantis head finally found a good opportunity. Deflecting Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear with his right scythe arm, he rushed before Yang Kai and stabbed his left arm towards his enemy’s chest as a fierce light flashed across his two compound eyes. With a piercing sound, half of his scythe arm impaled Yang Kai’s abdomen, coming right out of his back.
Fresh blood splashed out and Yang Kai’s face paled slightly, but instead of panicking he sneered and quipped, “Finally caught you!”
At those words, ignoring the sharpness of the scythe arm, Yang Kai grabbed onto the mantis head’s blade, which instantly cut his fingers and caused blood to spill wildly.
The mantis head thought that the victor was already decided and was just about to laugh, but he had a sudden start at those words and he could instinctively tell that things were not good. When he looked up, the Azure Dragon Spear was coming right down onto his head.
He sneered hoarsely, “You think you can catch this Senior Mantis? You’re still too naive!”
The scythe that was in Yang Kai’s abdomen suddenly stirred inside of him, and while Yang Kai was in great pain, the mantis head swiftly retracted his arm and drew back.
“Solidify!” Yang Kai shouted as his spear thrust out. Space Principles were pushed to their limit and the surrounding space froze.
The mantis head’s smile froze. The only thing he could feel was space squeezing down on him madly, greatly reducing his speed of retreat. As he watched the Azure Dragon Spear quickly fill his vision, he cried out in fear, “You little thing, you’re too deceitful!”
No matter how hard he tried, he still could not surpass the speed that the Azure Dragon Spear was approaching.
*Pu…*
The mantis head’s head burst open in mid-air, and his headless body fell back to the ground while twitching and shaking.
Yang Kai withdrew his spear and coughed up a large mouthful of fresh blood. He could not stop his body from falling heavily to the ground.
He truly suffered a big loss this time.
In order to land a killing blow with his final spear, Yang Kai had been trying his best to conceal the full extent of his abilities. He limited his usage of Space Principles, only using them enough to keep pace with mantis head’s speed. This was all so he could force his opponent to reveal an opening.
Finally, Yang Kai risked his own body to draw in his opponent. Only when that was combined with a burst of Space Principles to limit his opponent’s movements was he lucky enough to succeed.
Otherwise, Yang Kai had no idea how long this battle would have dragged on for.
But it was still worth it. Even though he sustained a severe injury, being able to eliminate such a strong foe was still considered a great harvest for his growth and honing of his skills.
Looking down at the hole in his abdomen, with blood pouring out of it, as well as the countless cuts all over his body, Yang Kai realized just how much he had been on the receiving end of this fight this whole time while the mantis head merely sustained two direct spear strikes from him. One spear, to probe, while the second, the killing blow.
Yang Kai tried to get up, but his guts were churning and it hurt so much that it was unbearable. He eventually had no choice but to sit down and take out some pills, stuffing them into his mouth to help him recover.
As he did that, he also put the mantis head’s body into his Space Ring. Only then did he begin circulating his strength and adjusting his breathing to heal his wounds.
Time passed slowly and an incense stick of time later, he heard the small sound of footsteps approaching.
Yang Kai looked over and saw a pale-faced Lu Xue walking over, looking stunned at him.
When their eyes met, panic surfaced in Lu Xue’s eyes.
She wasn’t affected too much by the fallout of Yang Kai and the mantis head’s battle as she was able to escape far enough away, but as a result, she had no idea how their fight was going. Since everything turned quiet, she decided to go back and check on the situation.
But she didn’t expect Yang Kai to be the one who won in the end, with the seemingly unbeatable mantis head falling to the side. Even his head was broken apart.
Even though she did not see the whole process of the fight, she knew how dire that battle must have been. From Yang Kai’s current unstable aura and pale face, it was clear that his injuries were not small.
Pursing her lips, she approached Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at her with cold eyes, not knowing what this woman intended to do. Wasn’t this the perfect time to take advantage of his heavy injuries to get revenge? But she herself was an arrow at the end of its flight, hardly able to exert any strength. If she really acted, he would definitely give her a big surprise to show her that a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.
One step, two steps. Merely several thousand metres apart, it still took Lu Xue half an incense stick of time to reach Yang Kai. Slightly panting, she extended a hand towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sneered in his heart and gathered some of his strength, ready to fight back. But something confused him. Why didn’t this woman have any murderous intent at all?
In the next moment, Yang Kai was stunned. That was because even though Lu Xue grabbed him, she had no intention of doing anything to him. Instead, she turned her back to him and crouched down, revealing her slender back to him while holding both his wrists, pulling him onto her back and saying, “This place is dangerous, we can’t stay for long!”
Gathering her strength, she got up and made her way, step by step out of the Star City.
[This woman… Actually plans on carrying me out on her back!?]
Yang Kai was dumbfounded by this. He wouldn’t think it strange at all if Lu Xue were to take advantage of this situation to get revenge; after all, he killed so many people from Sword Pavilion and made life miserable for her, so she should have a deep grudge against him, but what did she hope to achieve by helping him?
Yang Kai couldn’t understand it. They were definitely enemies, not friends.
Even so, Yang Kai truly felt that she was a woman as her body was very soft. It was the first time she was carrying a man on her back like this, though Yang Kai didn’t know that. With Yang Kai breathing right next to her ear, Lu Xue gradually blushed red.
The difference in their body size was not much, but as a man, Yang Kai was bound to be a little taller than her, so Lu Xue could only hunch over while she walked, which looked rather funny.
It was a first for Yang Kai to be carried on the back of a woman like this too, giving rise to an extremely strange feeling inside of him.
But no matter what the situation, this kind of thing was still hard to get used to. He patted Lu Xue’s shoulder and cleared his throat, “Why don’t you lend me your shoulder instead?”
Lu Xue stopped and thought about it for a moment. In the end, she put Yang Kai down and put his arm over her shoulder, supporting him as they walked forward.
After a few steps though, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground, this time having Yang Kai catch her.
Eyes meeting, Yang Kai had a speechless face, while Lu Xue blushed.
“Let’s go,” Yang Kai said. Then, side by side, the two left the destroyed Star City together, feeling like they were helping and supporting each other.
Before coming here, Yang Kai was spirited and his murderous intent was strong, but he never would have expected to leave in such a pitiful state.
From time to time, he would turn to look at Lu Xue. He could already be sure that this woman meant him no harm; after all, just now was the best time to make a move on him. Still, it confused him to no end.
In a cave near a cliff, two figures sat down cross-legged more than 30 metres apart. The cave was not large, but it was very clean and well-hidden.
Lu Xue had brought Yang Kai to this place after the two left Sword Pavilion’s Star City. This cave was hundreds of kilometres away, which wasn’t considered too far. This was a cave she had encountered before, so she didn’t have any trouble locating it and travelling here.
Both of them were recuperating in silence, both remaining silent.
Strictly speaking, neither of them said much to each other while they helped each other out of the Star City, and Yang Kai also did not ask Lu Xue why she would help him rather than take the opportunity to try to kill him for revenge.
A woman’s mind was the most difficult mystery to unravel. Trying to guess would only make his head hurt, so why make life hard for himself?
In less than three days, Yang Kai opened his eyes. His aura had completely recovered, and the large wound through his abdomen had also basically healed.
With Dragon Blood flowing through his veins, he could recover at a terrifying rate. He had also refined the Immortal Tree’s Wood Element into his Dao Seal, which increased his healing abilities greatly. So long as the injury was not fatal, he could recover from it with a little time.
Slowly getting up, his body crackled, and after stretching out his muscles, he felt better than ever.
The battle with the mantis head was certainly difficult, but it also allowed Yang Kai to realize some of his shortcomings, so it could be considered a rewarding experience.
Looking over to the side, Lu Xue was still in the midst of her recovery, and her aura was still unstable. Her injuries weren’t going to heal as easily. The drawbacks of being burned by Golden Crow’s True Fire could not be erased in such a short time.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, no longer having any intention of killing this woman.
Half a day later, Yang Kai walked out of the cave, and after checking the direction, he rushed into the sky.
Three days later, Lu Xue woke up from her meditation, and when she looked over to her side, she found that she was the only one left in the cave. Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen.
Even though Yang Kai left, she could feel that a simple Spirit Array was arranged at the entrance to the cave with the ability to conceal one’s aura, sheltering her slightly. This crude Spirit Array was undoubtedly left by Yang Kai for her before he left.
After being surprised for a moment, Lu Xue shut her eyes again and continued adjusting her breathing, focusing on her recuperation.
Outside of Scarlet Star’s Star City, a stream of light pierced the sky and swooped down. The disciples in charge of monitoring any movement in all directions and guarding the Star City’s Grand Array were all shocked to see this. Just as they were about to activate the defensive Grand Array, they suddenly realized that the one rushing over was Yang Kai, and all their hands and feet went cold. They were frozen stiff in place.
The Killing Star… was back!
Previously, Yang Kai broke Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation all by himself outside the Star City, and brought destruction upon Thunder Light. Countless people bore witness to this scene, so how could they not recognize this figure?
Scarlet Star’s Managers were blinded by the lust for their own gains and abandoned Yang Kai during a moment of crisis, sweeping him out from their doors, which greatly offended him, so the disciples of Scarlet Star were all trembling in fear every day. Who knows how many of them left quietly in fear of Yang Kai returning to settle debts, escaping out of Scarlet Star for dear life.
If Chen Tian Fei hadn’t given the order to activate the Grand Array, forcing anyone who wanted to leave to be identified before they would be allowed out, it would be hard to say how many would dare still remain.
Even so, the disciples still remaining in Scarlet Star were very uneasy.
Yang Kai had previously captured Lu Xue and brought her to Sword Pavilion’s headquarters. Now, with him returning in great vigour and the situation at Sword Pavilion being unknown, anyone could guess that things were likely disastrous for the other party.
Now that the Yang Kai has returned, where should Scarlet Star go?
Contrary to what they expected though, Yang Kai didn’t rush straight into the Star City. When he was about to arrive, he suddenly turned around and looked to the side. With a note of surprise, he smiled and turned around, landing over that side.
Very soon, he reached a mountain valley and landed atop a giant head.
Having something land on top of it startled the owner of this head. It raised its eyes and was about to fume at the person, but it immediately settled down with one tap from Yang Kai’s foot.
The huge creature was the Scarlet Flood Dragon.
Then, Yang Kai looked at a hole not far in the distance and shouted, “Come out of there!”
There was a large rumble as if thunder was moving through the ground and following that, the Earth Dragon emerged from the hole. Its large snout wriggled restlessly, spraying fluids everywhere, and the sound of corrosion could be heard from the ground.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon was clearly disgusted at this sight, snorting disdainfully at it.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai looked at the two with a grin, “Did someone… drive you out?”
The Earth Dragon’s whereabouts were unknown when he left, but from what Guo Zi Yan said, the Earth Dragon had seen that it was at a disadvantage on Yuan Magnetic Mountain and decided to flee. The disciples of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion couldn’t do anything about it either, so they let it go. On the other hand, the Scarlet Flood Dragon was captured and later brought to the Star City.
After Yang Kai’s words, two Divine Senses were transmitted directly to him.
The sentience of both the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon was not high, so they were unable to speak properly nor assume human form, but they could still transmit some information through their Divine Senses. Moreover, during their time with Yang Kai, he could clearly sense that their sentience had improved by a lot. Before, communicating with them was quite difficult, but things were much easier now.
It must have something to do with the Dragon Blood Pills.
The Dragon Blood Pills that Yang Kai refined in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were all of Peak-Grade or higher, mainly because of how high the Grade the Dragon Blood Flowers were. Even he himself would benefit greatly by taking the pills, much less the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, both exotic beasts with Dragon Veins. They had also grown considerably in size and strength during this time.
Through their descriptions, Yang Kai learned that it wasn’t someone who drove them out of the Star City, but rather they themselves felt uneasy staying there and chose to leave on their own accord.
It did make sense. They were huge creatures that were both over three hundred metres long while the Star City was crowded with buildings, so how could they stretch out and relax in such a cramped space?
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Under careful observation, he could see that the Scarlet Flood Dragon had yet to recover from its injuries. It was beaten badly by the cultivators from Sword Pavilion previously on Yuan Magnetic Mountain, and nearly had its head cut off by them. Even now, there was still a huge cut remaining on its neck that had yet to seal up. The Earth Dragon on the other hand did not have any big problems. This guy was a slippery one, literally, and if Yang Kai hadn’t suppressed him with his Dragon Vein, then he might not have been able to subdue him.
At this moment, several figures emerged from the Star City and moved quickly in Yang Kai’s direction.
They were all in the Open Heaven Realm, but none of them flew. Instead, they ran on the ground. The one at the front had a fat body like a mountain of meat that jiggled as he sprinted. Who else could it be but Chen Tian Fei? Right behind him were Scarlet Star’s other Managers.
Even though he had a plump shape, Chen Tian Fei’s movements were indescribably agile. In quick steps, it didn’t take long for him to reach this place. With a flattering smile on his face, he cupped his fist in greeting, “Congratulations to the mighty Brother Yang for this triumphant return!”
It was extremely awkward for him, as an Open Heaven Realm Master, to be calling an Emperor Realm Junior, Brother, but there was no helping it. They were currently weaker than Yang Kai, so Chen Tian Fei had no choice but to lower himself. As for the title of Sixth Manager, he naturally did not have the face to call Yang Kai that again.
Behind him, the Ou Yang Brothers, Lady Qin, and Bei Yu Shan all gave their congratulations in unison with complicated expressions on their faces.
Who would have thought that this young man who forced his way into Scarlet Star would possess such terrifying abilities? If they had known this was the case in the beginning, they would have treated him with far more respect. As long as they could bring this man to their side, in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, who did Scarlet Star have to fear?
Unfortunately, they had missed the opportunity and even added insult to injury. Right now, it was useless to regret anything.
But what embarrassed and annoyed them even more was the fact that they had personally gone out to greet him, but Yang Kai completely ignored them, only showing his back to them, treating them like air. Instead, he was very friendly and amiable with these two exotic beasts.
A moment later, Yang Kai raised a hand, and two red and round Spirit Pills flew out, landing into the mouths of the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon.
Chen Tian Fei’s heart jumped at this sight. Though he had no idea what those Spirit Pills were, he could tell from the smell alone that they were extraordinary goods, yet this guy actually tossed them out to two beasts. It was simply a waste!
“How was the result of Brother Yang’s trip?” Chen Tian Fei asked with a cautious face.
Yang Kai finally turned around and swept his eyes across the faces of these people. He had a straight face that showed neither joy nor anger, but Chen Tian Fei and the others could feel their skin turning taut from his gaze, as if they were being stared at by some terrifying beast that could kill them at any moment.
*Dong dong dong…* The sound of his hearts beating rapidly could be heard as Chen Tian Fei’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. Even the smile on his face had become stiff.
After a long time, Yang Kai finally smiled and asked, “How was Manager Chen hoping my trip would go?”
This was probably the biggest thing that Scarlet Star was worried about. If Yang Kai really could defeat Sword Pavilion alone, that meant that no one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could rival him. If Sword Pavilion could still hold out against him, then that meant he could still be brought under control.
But never in their wildest dreams would they have guessed that Yang Kai did not have any confrontation with Sword Pavilion at all and instead had a great battle with a strange mantis head.
Hearing Yang Kai’s question, Chen Tian Fei smiled awkwardly, “Naturally, this Chen hopes Brother Yang remains undefeated, emerging victorious in every battle.”
“Heh!” Yang Kai did not confirm nor deny anything. It would be madness for anyone to believe this fatty. Not bothering to say anything more to him, Yang Kai simply left. With one step, he had already arrived in the Star City, and with another, he was in his residence.
He left Scarlet Star’s Managers to shiver in the cold winds alone, feeling a chill run down their backs.
Chen Tian Fei suddenly came back to his senses and gave chase, shouting loudly, “Brother Yang, Brother Yang!”
He was both shocked and pleasantly surprised. Shocked that Yang Kai actually returned. Though he had no idea how his battle went with Sword Pavilion, his return must mean that Sword Pavilion must be in a bad situation.
He was pleasantly surprised because Yang Kai did not kill them on the spot, which went to show that Yang Kai had no intention of slaughtering them. Otherwise, how could he possibly let them go after what they had done?
But even though Yang Kai did not kill them did not mean that he was willing to let go of his grievances. Scarlet Star had to satisfy him if they wanted to be let off.
How could Chen Tian Fei dare to be slow? The Head Manager had placed the burden of Scarlet Star’s survival on him, and if he did poorly, Scarlet Star could very well be destroyed at the snap of a finger.
Inside his residence, Yang Kai was instantly met with several dozen gazes as soon as he entered, each one of them excited beyond compare.
“Young Master has returned!” Yue He smiled and bowed down elegantly like a real maidservant. It was hard to fathom that this woman was a powerful Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai had also grown used to her presence and nodded lightly.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Meng Hong and the others cupped their fists, looking as if a weight had been lifted off their chests.
“Subordinate greets Sir!” Guo Zi Yan said resoundingly while more than thirty people behind her cupped their fists in unison, “Greetings Sir, congratulations on your return!” Each one of them spoke with great vigour, their voices filled with respect and admiration!
It was hard not to admire him though as just several days ago, none of them expected that a mere Emperor Realm cultivator could actually achieve such unimaginable feats. Other than Guo Zi Yan, who was in the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, the rest of them were all Emperor Realm cultivators. What they had witnessed made this young man a totem of worship in their hearts.
“No need for formalities, get up.” Yang Kai raised his hand.
Only then did Guo Zi Yan and the others stand up.
Yue He pursed her lips into a smile as she commented, “Young Master should know that Commander Guo has withdrawn from Scarlet Star. Now, he is no longer one of Scarlet Star’s men.”
“Resigned as a Great Commander?” Yang Kai glanced at Guo Zi Yan and the people behind him, nodding, “That’s not a bad idea. What do you plan to do in the future?”
Guo Zi Yan cupped his fist and quickly said, “This subordinate is willing to follow Sir in the future and be at Sir’s service!”
“We are willing to follow and serve Sir!” The rest spoke in unison.
Yang Kai knew that these men must have been stamped with his seal after the fight that day. No matter who, these men were all his people now, so Scarlet Star probably didn’t dare to keep them either, allowing them to easily leave.
Guo Zi Yan was a man of good disposition. Back then on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, he did not retreat even half a step under Thunder Light’s intimidation, willing to share life and death with Yang Kai. It was clear he was a trustworthy man. Only, his cultivation was slightly low at the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even if his strength could be elevated later, he would only be able to reach the Fourth Order at best.
But a man’s heart was more important. His low cultivation was no issue. What’s more, Yang Kai really needed some subordinates to deal with miscellaneous matters right now, so he nodded and said, “Very well. In that case, you will follow me in the future. I can’t guarantee anything else, but I will not let you suffer any injustice as long as you are sincere and loyal!”
Everyone felt their spirits lift as they shouted, “Many thanks, Sir!”
Each of them was overwhelmed with joy. With an unparalleled star such as Yang Kai watching over them, then their status would surely rise in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Who would they have to fear in the future?
“Congratulations, Commander Guo! You’ve finally achieved your dream,” Yue He congratulated him joyously from the side.
Guo Zi Yan’s face blushed and he responded embarrassedly, “Please don’t make fun of this lowly one, Lady Yue He. This one will be seeking Lady’s guidance in the future.”
Yue He smiled even more brilliantly.
After that, Yue He took out a Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai, “These are the things from the enemies you killed before. I’ve collected them all and sorted them into different categories.”
Yang Kai casually accepted it, glanced at it, and then put it away without a change in his expression.
Yue He was surprised at this sight. There were quite a lot of things in that ring; after all, it was the combined wealth of 3,000 people. The Space Rings of those Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were especially heavy with wealth. She thought that Yang Kai would be happy to receive such a fortune, but unexpectedly, he didn’t react at all.
[Could it possibly be that he is already satisfied from the last harvest from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain?]
While she was still feeling surprised, she heard Yang Kai say, “It’s good that you have this experience. I’ll have to trouble you to work a little more in the future then.”
With those words, Yang Kai suddenly waved his hand.
In the next moment, there was an endless clanking sound. Then, a large pile of Space Rings instantly appeared in the courtyard before everyone’s eyes, piled high like a small mountain.
Everyone was shocked speechless, and they all stared at the pile in a daze with indescribable astonishment in their hearts.
The Space Rings in front of them must have numbered in the tens of thousands!
Yue He’s face paled and her voice was trembling as she asked, “Young Master, how many people have you killed?”
She was about to cry. Wasn’t this Young Master’s murderous intent a little too strong? He had only made one trip to Sword Pavilion’s headquarters, so how did he end up killing so many?
No wonder Yang Kai didn’t even blink at the Space Ring when she handed it over. That was only an accumulation of 3,000 people, whereas Yang Kai had tens of thousands of people’s wealth here. The two couldn’t even be compared, so how could such a small amount even faze him?
Guo Zi Yan and the others were also dumbfounded.
Just as Yue He thought, each Space Ring represented a life, and several tens of thousands of Space Rings meant several tens of thousands of people had died. Yang Kai left for just three or four days, so how could so many people have died at his hand in such a short time?
What’s more, where in Sword Pavilion did he find this many people to kill?
Yue He’s heart clenched. Her Young Master couldn’t have had a spike in his bloodlust and wiped out the entire Star City, right? If that was truly the case, then this was no small matter.
“The situation is complicated. I’ll explain it to you later,” Then, Yang Kai beckoned, “Guo Zi Yan.”
“Subordinate is present,” Guo Zi Yan responded solemnly, his heart beating intensely.
“Have your men sort through these Space Rings, the same as before.”
“Yes!” Guo Zi Yan gulped. Even with several dozen people, sorting the contents of tens of thousands of Space Rings was still going to be a lot of work that would take them at least ten days to half a month.
Meng Hong said, “Let me help, too.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll be troubling you then, Brother Meng.”
Meng Hong laughed, “Nothing of the sort, Brother Yang. This Meng cannot be more grateful for your bestowment of the Sun’s True Fire. Such a trivial matter isn’t even worth mentioning.”
After leaving Guo Zi Yan, Meng Hong, and the others in the courtyard to deal with the Space Rings, Yang Kai summoned Yue He into the hall. Yue He poured him a cup of tea and looked at him nervously before asking, “Young Master, what happened? You couldn’t have really slaughtered everyone in the Star City, right?”
Killing some people was no big deal, but if Yang Kai really did raze Sword Pavilion’s Star City to the ground, it would be highly improper. She was worried that a heart demon would be bred in the future from such a wanton slaughter, leading Yang Kai to fall to the demonic path.
How could she not be nervous?
“How can that be the case?” Picking up the cup of tea, Yang Kai sat down boldly on a chair. He had gone to pick a fight with Sword Pavilion, but even if he had fought it out with them, he wouldn’t have involved innocents, let alone slaughtered an entirety Star City, “I already told you, things are complicated.”
“Then what happened?” Moving her round hips over, Yue He sat down on the chair next to him.
Yang Kai frowned, “Before I could arrive, Sword Pavilion’s Star City had already been razed. Everyone was dead. I just picked up their Space Rings.”
“Picked them up…” Yue He was speechless. This kind of luck was simply too good. He had merely run over there and was able to pick up tens of thousands of Space Rings. It was a massive fortune, but soon, Yue He realized the severity of the situation and asked, “Sword Pavilion’s Star City was already razed? Who would be strong enough to do such a thing?”
Though the Star City was not too strong among the 3,000 Worlds, Sword Pavilion was considered a fairly powerful force. Who could wipe them out?
“A Beast Tide!” Yang Kai sighed, “But it was no simple Beast Tide. It’s not the same as the ones we’ve encountered before. I did not see the details, but even Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died there. Not a single person was left alive.”
“Even Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died?” Yue He was well and truly shocked. She knew that this Pavilion Master was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, an Order above her. Such a character would even have a place in the Cave-Heavens and Paradises, but he actually died in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary? Shaken, she asked, “How do you know that it was Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master?”
“Lu Xue told me; otherwise, how would I have known?” Yang Kai put down his tea and grinned meaningfully, “You probably can’t imagine whose hands Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master died at.”
Yue He had a curious look on her face, and Yang Kai didn’t keep her hanging, “A Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!”
Yue He’s face suddenly paled. Clearly, she knew what the existence of a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider represented. That was an Ancient Divine Spirit! It was an existence that stood at the peak of the world. Only High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would be able to face it.
“While I was collecting the Space Rings in the Star City, I also bumped into a strange guy with a mantis head.” While speaking, Yang Kai brought out the mantis head’s corpse.
Yue He looked over at it, but saw no head on the corpse. Its body was covered in turquoise skin, and the two scythe-like arms were extremely sharp. There were reversed spikes on its leg bones. Even though the body was humanoid, it remained largely similar to a Monster Beast.
“This guy was not simple. I was heavily injured by him and was only able to recover after three days.” Yang Kai flicked a finger at the corpse.
“He managed to injure you?” Yue He was surprised. But then, she had a suspicious look on her face, “That’s strange… If he could hurt you, then his strength must not have been bad, so how did he end up like this? He should have assumed Human Form long ago.”
“That puzzled me, too. That’s why I brought him back so you can have a look at him. How much do you know about the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
Yue He shook her head gravely, “I don’t know much, either. I’ve only heard some rumours before now. Only those who came in the past and left safely would know what the situation inside is like.”
After pondering for a moment, she guessed, “This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s World Principles are extremely strange. For example, exotic beasts like the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon have quite good strength and, logically, they should have assumed human form long ago, but their sentience still remains low. Perhaps it’s because of the strange World Principles here that this… Uh, this mantis head would remain in a half-Human half-Beast form. At least, I think that’s why.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s the only possibility, it seems. But Divine Spirits also exist in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary… This place is not as simple as we thought it was.”
Yue He felt the same. Even an existence such as Sword Pavilion could be destroyed by a Beast Tide, so clearly it wasn’t too safe here for Scarlet Star either. Not to mention the existence of a terrifying Ancient Divine Spirit… If there were more of these mantis heads, then Scarlet Star may not be able to survive. This was a creature that was able to injure Yang Kai, so ordinary people would not be able to resist in the slightest. Yue He even doubted that she would be able to last more than an incense stick of time in a fight with this guy.
“No matter what, let’s be careful from now on.” Yang Kai was already thinking of a way out. If one day, the exit of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was barred by a Divine Spirit, then he needed to find a chance to get away.
As the two were talking, Chen Yue walked in from outside and cautiously observed Yang Kai’s face for a moment before announcing, “Sir, Scarlet Star’s Managers are seeking an audience outside.”
Yue He pursed her lips into a smile, “They must be here to beg for peace.”
“They even welcomed me outside of the city earlier, but I ignored them,” Yang Kai scoffed.
“Then they must be shaking in fear now.” Yue He handed a box over to him, “After you left that day, Scarlet Star’s Head Manager brought his men here to deliver this. With all his talk, he was just trying to get me to say nice things about them to you once you returned.”
“What is it?” Yang Kai glanced at the box.
Yue He said indifferently, “It probably won’t catch your eye. Just three Fifth-Order materials.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly as he picked up his tea and took a sip.
When Chen Yue heard this though, her heart jumped. Three Fifth-Order materials were a wealth she had no idea whether she could ever get her hands on in her life. This would be considered an invaluable resource outside, but now it was casually brought out as a gift, and the person who received the gift even seemed to disdain it.
Deeply feeling the insurmountable gap between her and some people in this world, Chen Yue felt dejected.
Yue He checked the atmosphere and seeing that Yang Kai had no intention of refusing, she turned her head over and asked, “Who came?”
Chen Yue answered in a small voice, “All of Scarlet Star’s Managers are here. The Head Manager who came last time is also here.”
Yue He nodded. Then, she looked at Yang Kai and asked, “Young Master, will you see them?”
Yang Kai put down his cup of tea and patted his clothes, grinning, “En. Since they’re here with gifts, why wouldn’t I see them?”
Yue He was speechless. She knew that Scarlet Star was surely going to experience massive haemorrhaging this time. Only, she had no idea how big of a cut this Young Master of hers was going to leave them with.
In front of the residence, Scarlet Star’s Managers were not looking good. They had already given Yang Kai face by welcoming him outside of the city, but Yang Kai completely ignored them and trampled their intentions. Anyone would feel humiliated by this.
But when they thought about the terrifying power that Yang Kai possessed, none of them dared to complain.
This time, under the leadership of the Head Manager, they came out collectively to visit him, but being made to wait at his door for such a long time was still hard to bear.
“Head Manager, I say we should just go in! Why stand here and wait for so long?” Bei Yu Shan spoke up. Mainly, they had been standing here with people walking back and forth on the street. Many people were throwing strange looks at them, which made him feel uneasy.
“Shut your mouth!” Chen Tian Fei jumped in fright and quickly shouted at him, “Do you still want to live? If you want to throw your life away, don’t drag us down with you!”
He almost wanted to slap this brainless brute to death for even coming up with such a terrible idea.
Bei Yu Shan scratched his head, wondering where he went wrong with his words.
Chen Tian Fei stepped forward and approached the Head Manager, whispering, “I’ve already sent some men over. We will find out the situation at Sword Pavilion in less than two days. Head Manager, no matter what, please hold back this time. It’s not too late to make plans after we figure out the situation at Sword Pavilion.”
The Head Manager was silent, as if he didn’t hear what he said.
To Scarlet Star’s Managers, what they were most curious about now was the outcome of the battle between Yang Kai and Sword Pavilion. If Yang Kai was victorious, it would mean that there was no one in all of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary who could constrain him, but if Sword Pavilion won, then they naturally couldn’t ask for better. At the very least, this little brat Yang Kai would not be able to run rampant.
As soon as they noticed Yang Kai’s return, Chen Tian Fei had sent someone over to Sword Pavilion’s headquarters to find out what happened.
But delays along the way were inevitable. Worried that Yang Kai would come to them for revenge, the Managers had come over to ask for peace, but it was nothing more than a delaying tactic.
[What is the situation over there?] Chen Tian Fei’s mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts. With the strength that Yang Kai displayed before, Sword Pavilion should not have been able to resist him, but Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Master, so he couldn’t help but hold onto some hope.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm was merely one step away from reaching the High-Rank, and Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master had a mysterious background. It was rumoured that he came from a powerful great force, so his heritage must not be bad.
At this moment, there was a creak and the doors opened, allowing a timid figure to enter their eyes.
Chen Tian Fei hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his fists, “Young Lady Yue, how is the situation?”
In the past, he would not have paid attention to someone as inferior as Chen Yue, much less speak to her in such a polite way, but now, things were different. No matter their cultivation realm, anyone on Yang Kai’s side would surely see a rise in their status.
Chen Yue shrank her neck and moved aside as she reported, “Please come in, Sirs. My Young Master is ready to see you,” She used to call Yang Kai Senior Brother Yang, but after what happened with Zhao Xing Chen, she didn’t have the face to call him that anymore, so she followed Yue He’s way of referring to him instead.
Chen Tian Fei was relieved and bowed his head, smiling, “Many thanks, Young Lady Yue.” Saying so, he silently slipped her a Space Ring.
Chen Yue was caught off guard and took it instinctually. By the time she reacted, Scarlet Star’s Managers were already long gone.
Staring blankly at the Space Ring in her hand, she quickly realized what had happened. Sweeping the contents with her Divine Sense, she discovered that there were 3,000 Open Heaven Pills inside, and her heart couldn’t help but jump.
For any Emperor Realm cultivation 3,000 Open Heaven Pills was nothing to scoff at. She had merely passed on a message and was actually able to receive such great benefits.
Chen Yue’s heart was jumping madly since it was her first time in such a situation. Looking around and finding no one in her surroundings, she put away the Space Ring guiltily and shut the door.
The Scarlet Star Managers entered the residence, and under Chen Tian Fei’s lead, made their way to the main hall without issue.
It was Chen Tian Fei who took care of the layout of Yang Kai’s residence to begin with, so he knew everything inside well.
While walking forward, Chen Tian Fei was still conversing via Divine Sense, “Head Manager, since the situation at Sword Pavilion is not yet clear, you must be patient no matter how rude that brat is later. Do not stoop to the same level as him.”
The Head Manager couldn’t help but laugh, “Fatty, since when have you become such a nag? This King is not a three-year-old child. I have a sense of propriety.”
Chen Tian Fei smiled awkwardly, “Head Manager is naturally wise, but I’m afraid that brat is too young to know proper measure.”
As they were talking, they arrived at a courtyard where they saw several dozen people working on something. It was Guo Zi Yan and the others. The Managers had no idea what they were doing, but they would hear someone shout every now and then, and all of them had joyous looks on their faces as if they had received a great boon from the Heavens.
[Traitors!] Chen Tian cursed them in his heart. He didn’t want to pay any attention to these people, but when he swept a glance over and saw the situation in the courtyard, he was frozen stiff in place and his face instantly turned pale.
When he stopped, the people behind him naturally stopped as well and followed his gaze. All of them were shocked in place as horror and disbelief filled their eyes. Lady Qin even gasped and covered her red lips with her hand.
Bei Yu Shan almost bumped into the Ou Yang Brothers while he was distracted, stopping to scratch his head as he asked, “What happened?”
But nobody answered him. It was as if the Managers had had a Binding Technique cast on their bodies. All of them were feeling cold from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet.
When Bei Yu Shan looked up, he exclaimed, “Heavens! Where did they get all these Space Rings from?”
The entire courtyard was filled with Space Rings. The number was simply impossible to count, but from what they could see, there had to be at least forty or fifty thousand of them.
The noise alerted Guo Zi Yan and the others who were working in the courtyard. Looking up, they saw Scarlet Star’s Managers. Even the Head Manager, a hidden Dragon who shows his tail but never his face, was here. With a thought, they understood what happened.
Even though they were no longer disciples of Scarlet Star and need not pay them any heed, Chen Tian Fei and the others had been prominent figures for a long time so when they saw the Managers all here, they were at a bit of a loss.
Guo Zi Yan was the first to come to his senses and quickly shouted, “Don’t just stand there stupidly, keep working! If Sir can entrust us with this job, it naturally means he trusts us. Don’t any of you even think of swiping anything here! If I find out, then don’t blame me for not showing mercy to my Fellow Brothers!”
“Yes!” The group answered in unison and quickly lowered their heads to continue their work.
The Head Manager slowly turned his head and shot a glance at Chen Tian Fei with a grave expression.
Chen Tian Fei understood and swiftly moved his meatball-like body through the sea of Space Rings to arrive at Guo Zi Yan’s side, smiling while cupping his fist, “Great Commander Guo!”
Guo Zi Yan originally did not want to have any interactions with Chen Tian Fei and the other Managers; after all, they also relied on Scarlet Star in the past, but now that this man was already in front of him, he couldn’t ignore him either. As such, he hastily returned the salutations, “Manager Chen, is there something you need? If you’re looking for Sir, then he should be in the reception hall.”
Chen Tian Fei smiled, “We can head there later. I just wanted to ask. Where… did these Space Rings come from?”
Guo Zi Yan answered, “Sir brought them back from Sword Pavilion.”
“From Sword Pavilion!” Chen Tian Fei’s face twitched, gulping silently, not wanting to believe it, but simply unable to find another explanation!
He had already made guesses when he first saw the Space Rings, so now Guo Zi Yan’s words undoubtedly confirmed his thoughts.
Only by raiding an entire Star City would it be possible to acquire such a high number! If the Space Rings were collected from all the cultivators from Scarlet Star’s Star City, then it would also reach about the same number.
But these were the Space Rings from Sword Pavilion, and each Space Ring represented a life. Tens of thousands of Space Rings meant tens of thousands of lost lives!
Did that little brat raze Sword Pavilion’s entire Star City?!
Chen Tian Fei had no idea how he walked back, and it wasn’t until the Head Manager shouted at him that he came back to his senses.
Staring at the Head Manager in a daze, Chen Tian Fei’s lips seemed to squirm as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t muster a single word.
He was truly shocked. Just because of the grudge he had previously with Sword Pavilion, Yang Kai rushed over with spear in hand and not only returned unscathed but even slaughtered the entirety of the Star City.
Such ferociousness! Such ruthlessness!
How could such a man be reasoned with? Scarlet Star had likely kicked an iron plate this time, and if they weren’t careful, Sword Pavilion’s yesterday would become Scarlet Star’s tomorrow.
If Yang Kai could massacre an entire Star City once, he wouldn’t mind doing it twice.
Chen Tian Fei even thought of turning around and running away, getting as far away from here as possible.
But the Head Manager had already taken the first step forward, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow along. It was a blessing, not a curse, and if it was a curse, it couldn’t be avoided. What was destined to come must eventually come.
Led by the Head Manager, Chen Tian Fei and the others stepped into the reception hall and looked up to see Yang Kai sitting at the head of the room, with Yue He standing quietly behind him.
When they entered, Yang Kai still remained bold as ever, not even getting up to welcome them, but no one dared to say anything. Chen Tian Fei and the rest were still too shocked by the pile of Space Rings outside to care about such trivialities.
“Scarlet Star’s Zhao Bai Chuan greets Sir Yang!” The Head Manager at the front of the group cupped his fist. Though he was neither overbearing nor servile, no one could know how he was feeling inside.
The people behind him quickly saluted as well.
Yang Kai looked up and saw that Scarlet Star’s Head Manager wasn’t very old. He was a seemingly middle-aged man dressed in a rather luxurious outfit consisting of a golden crown and a long robe. It was the first time he was seeing the Head Manager face to face. Before, he had only heard this man mentioned from Chen Tian Fei’s mouth. The Head Manager spent almost all his time in retreat, seemingly in order to achieve his goal of breaking through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
From his aura, it seemed like the Head Manager still had a long way to go. Ascending an Order in the Open Heaven Realm was very difficult. Not only did it require a long time, but also a massive amount of resources. Even with resources, it was impossible for one to ascend to a higher Order without enough comprehension and enlightenment.
With Yang Kai observing him, why wouldn’t Zhao Bai Chuan be observing Yang Kai back? He was watching this young man from a distance. The first time he saw him, he felt that he was nothing to worry about, and that he was just relying on his unique strength in the Emperor Realm to act arrogant and unrestrained in the special environment of this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
A man like him was merely a grasshopper after autumn and wouldn’t be able to jump around for long. As soon as Yang Kai left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary any Open Heaven Realm Master would be able to clean him up.
The second time Zhao Bai Chuan saw Yang Kai though was several days ago. Outside of the Star City, Yang Kai had destroyed Sword Pavilion’s Sword Formation with only his own power. He could wield a Divine Manifestation of the Golden Crow and had obtained the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd, which caused Thunder Light to suffer complete annihilation.
Zhao Bai Chuan felt at that moment he had greatly underestimated this young man. If Yang Kai was given the opportunity to grow, then he was sure to become a hegemon, a leading figure in the 3,000 Worlds!
When he saw him again today, his feelings changed once more. Even though Yang Kai wasn’t as imposing as he was back when he was fighting and instead was just quietly sitting there, he was still able to assert a slight pressure over him, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master.
In this large hall that was several dozen meters wide, Yang Kai was like the king of the underworld that had the lives of everyone here in the palm of his hands.
“This Zhao was foolish in the past and offended Sir Yang before. Now, this Zhao has come especially to make amends today, hoping that Sir Yang can be magnanimous. My Scarlet Star…”
“Thirty-seventy!” Yang Kai suddenly spoke up, interrupting Zhao Bai Chuan’s words.
“What?” Zhao Bai Chuan frowned, not understanding what Yang Kai meant by this.
“In the future, of all of Scarlet Star’s profits from the businesses in this Star City, and all the materials and resources harvested in the Ancient Ruins Boundary, seventy percent will belong to me, Scarlet Star will take the remaining thirty!” Yang Kai looked indifferently at Zhao Bai Chuan.
Only then did Zhao Bai Chuan understand what Yang Kai’s words meant earlier. Wasn’t this outright robbery? He couldn’t help but feel enraged. Even his complexion was starting to turn bad.
Back when the three great forces coexisted in the Star City, Sword Pavilion was the strongest, but they were still a balanced tripartite force. Sword Pavilion had also never made such a rude request before.
[How dare this arrogant brat put forth such a request!]
Anger had just begun to rise in him when he heard Yang Kai speak again, “If Head Manager cannot agree to this request, then there’s nothing for us to talk about.”
Zhao Bai Chuan’s anger suddenly cooled. He knew that if he did not agree to this request, then whether they could leave this hall alive or not was uncertain.
Only then did he understand why Yang Kai did not settle accounts with them after coming back. He was waiting here for them to come themselves.
Zhao Bai Chuan suddenly laughed and declared, “Strength is king, and Masters are to be respected. Sir Yang’s request is fair. If Sir Yang asks for a thirty-seventy split, then so be it! Seventy percent of all Scarlet Star’s future proceeds will be Sir Yang’s!”
He agreed without hesitation, and with a happy face that seemed not like he had been robbed, but had rather gained a great advantage.
Chen Tian Fei and the others behind him were all looking at their Head Manager in amazement. In their impression of the man, the Head Manager had never agreed to anything so easily before, but they also knew they were people under the eaves right now, so how could they not bow?
This was especially the case after seeing the tens of thousands of Space Rings in the courtyard. Scarlet Star had no choice but to compromise with Yang Kai if they didn’t want to make the same mistake that Sword Pavilion did.
[Such humiliation!] They were all grieving inside, but there was nothing they could do.
Zhao Bai Chuan bowed his head, “My Scarlet Star can accept Sir Yang’s request, but this Zhao would also like to ask Sir Yang to accept this one’s request in return.”
Yang Kai looked at him with interest and gestured with his hand, indicating for him to continue.
Zhao Bai Chuan said, “This Zhao would like to ask that Sir Yang please come under my Scarlet Star’s employment and become a Foreign Elder! Of course, this is merely a title and Scarlet Star will not interfere with any of Sir Yang’s words or actions. On the contrary, my Scarlet Star will not just stand by if Sir has any requests of us.”
Yang Kai smiled and praised this man in his heart. This Zhao Bai Chuan was quite a character, able to bend and stretch, finding a beneficial opportunity for himself even in adversity. This level of wisdom and vision wasn’t something just anyone could have; clearly, it wasn’t only strength that gave him the ability to sit firmly on the seat, Head Manager of Scarlet Star.
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Zhao Bai Chuan threw back his head in laughter, “A gentleman gives his word faster than a horse’s whip. It’s a deal, then.”
“It’s a deal,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Sir Yang is truly a decisive man. Though this Zhao would like to share a drink with Sir over the occasion, Sir must be tired from his trip and long battle, so this Zhao will leave now and come back to visit another day.” Zhao Bai Chuan spoke eagerly, as if Yang Kai was a close friend that he only regretted not having met sooner.
Yang Kai turned to the side, “Yue He, see our guests off.”
“Managers, please!” Yue He gestured with a smile.
After sending the group from Scarlet Star away, Yue He came back and looked curiously at Yang Kai, wondering why he would agree to such a request.
Yang Kai rapped the desk lightly for a long while before answering, “Help me out with Scarlet Star’s seventy percent share. Keep an eye on it.”
“Yes,” Yue He replied obediently.
The previous harvest they received on Yuan Magnetic Mountain was large, and countless Space Rings were also gathered from the fights with both Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion. This was considered an enormous amount of wealth for anyone, more than enough for Yang Kai to use for his personal cultivation for a long time to come. Yet, he did not forget that he was no longer a lone man. There were countless people waiting for him back in the Star Boundary.
One day, when all his friends and family entered the Outer Universe, the demand for resources would simply be endless. Now that he had such a good opportunity, Yang Kai naturally wanted to accumulate more. The greater the wealth, the better.
The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was like a natural treasure house of goods. Once he left this place, he would no longer have such a good opportunity. If not for this consideration, Yang Kai would have razed Scarlet Star the moment he returned.
With Scarlet Star’s help in gathering supplies, Yang Kai could reap the benefits without the hassle and effort, so why not take advantage of them?
“What do you wish to ask?” Yang Kai suddenly raised his head to look at Yue He after pondering silently for a moment.
The woman was constantly staring at him without even blinking. It was clear that she was curious about something.
“Why did you agree to become Scarlet Star’s Foreign Elder?” Yue He couldn’t understand it.
“Do you think I shouldn’t have?”
“I just wish to know what you’re thinking.”
“Naturally, I have my reasons.”
Yang Kai rapped the table again, “If my guess proves correct, then Scarlet Star will definitely spread this news widely from now on. That way, Scarlet Star will be able to expand quickly, and then the supplies they collect will naturally increase, which comes with no drawbacks for me.”
“Just for this reason alone?” Yue He looked at him in amazement. It was the first time she’d ever seen someone so greedy for money before.
It was enough for one to have enough cultivation resources for themselves, so what did he need so much for?
“There’s one more reason.” Yang Kai’s expression became serious, “Sword Pavilion was crushed by a Beast Tide, and there are traces of a Divine Spirit’s existence in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Who knows whether the Divine Spirit will visit this place next? If this place is strong enough, then it may not be impossible to fight back as the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary restricts the strength of the Open Heaven Realm, which means the Divine Spirit won’t be able to exert too much of their power here either.”
Yue He was suddenly enlightened, “So that’s why you’re willing to lend Scarlet Star your prestige.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I have no idea when the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary will close, so it’s better to be prepared.” As he said so, he suddenly thought of a person, “Where did Xu Zhen go?”
That little fatty disappeared after handing the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd to him, and Yang Kai did not sense his aura since he came back.
Yue He shook her head, “He’s a Cave-Heaven disciple, so who knows where he went, but my guess is that he must have gone out to consolidate his Metal Element Power now that he refined that Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone.”
“What a pity,” Yang Kai sighed. He had not known that the waters were so deep here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If he had known, then he would have left a way to contact Xu Zhen. That guy was a talented Artifact Refiner, and he also seemed to have deep knowledge of the Dao of Spirit Arrays. If he could help to arrange a Grand Array in this Star City, then they could also increase security.
But since he left without a goodbye, it would be difficult to find him again.
As they were talking, Chen Yue came running in, “Sir, someone else has asked for an audience!”
“Who is it?” Yang Kai frowned, curious. Everyone knew him as a fierce character now, and the Managers from Scarlet Star also had no choice but to come apologize. Who else would dare to see him?
“It’s that Young Lord from Azure Nether Paradise, the one called Yin something,” Chen Yue responded meekly.
“What has he come for?” Yang Kai frowned. Sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, he discovered that there were indeed several people standing outside his door, and if not that guy from Azure Nether Paradise, who else could it be in the lead?
Yang Kai did not have any good feelings towards these people. This guy had been shamelessly boasting about making Yang Kai submit to him after he returned from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. Yang Kai had been in retreat back then, and even though he heard the noise, he couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. Later, when the large fight started outside the Star City, this Young Lord tried to take advantage of the situation, saying that he would give Yang Kai a way out as long as he became his slave. Naturally, Yang Kai ignored him.
He didn’t expect this man to be as stubborn and clingy as a dog after a meat bun.
At this moment, he could hear the young man called Yin something announcing arrogantly outside his door, “The one surnamed Yang is also a genius. This Young Master originally only thought of making him my slave, but now, it seems that he can become this Young Master’s house guard! When you see him later, be more polite to him. This young man seems to have a bad temper. If you end up provoking him, then don’t expect this Young Master to save you when he tries to kill you.”
“Yes, we will follow Young Master’s order!” Two Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters beside him answered respectfully.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this arrogant Young Master’s words. He had no idea where this guy got his sense of superiority from to even think of trying to make him a house guard. Compared to Xu Zhen, a true Cave-Heaven Disciple, the difference was simply like a person on the ground gazing up at the Heavens.
“Pay him no attention!” Yang Kai waved her off. Chen Yue withdrew respectfully.
News of Yang Kai becoming Scarlet Star’s Foreign Elder spread quickly, which shocked many.
They originally thought that this Killing Star would surely start a war with Scarlet Star now that he was back; who could have expected such an ending? They had no idea what sort of price Scarlet Star had to pay that they were not only able to ease Yang Kai’s fury, but even borrow his prestige!
There was news that Scarlet Star’s Head Manager led the other Managers to visit Yang Kai personally and have a discussion with him, and only then were they able to make him agree to becoming Scarlet Star’s Foreign Elder.
With the crisis lifted, Scarlet Star’s disciples were all celebrating. They had all been extremely on edge before. If Yang Kai truly wanted to attack Scarlet Star, then how could the eggs remain unbroken when the nest was ruined? They would surely join in the misfortune.
But now, Yang Kai had actually become their Foreign Elder. Not only did they not have to fight this Monster, they had even gained his blessings. With this Killing Star here to stand guard, who would dare come and start trouble?
Anyone who dared come would have Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light’s unfortunate ends to refer to.
A few days later, another shocking news spread in the Star City.
Sword Pavilion’s Star City was razed to the ground after what appeared to be an intense battle. There was not a single survivor.
The day the news spread, everyone in the city was shocked by Yang Kai’s vicious methods. They had no idea what Sword Pavilion’s Star City had gone through, and they saw only the results, so they all thought it was Yang Kai’s doing.
Scarlet Star made a lot of noise about the matter and created as much momentum as they could. For a while, Yang Kai’s fierce reputation spread widely, and was heard by the other cultivator strongholds within a vicinity of more than ten thousand kilometres.
Rumour had it that Yang Kai had three heads and six arms, standing 300 metres tall with a ferocious face. He had a vicious temper and would kill anyone at the slightest dissatisfaction to vent his anger.
Even so, not only did Scarlet Star’s Star City not lose popularity, it instead grew even more lively. There were many cultivators coming each day, asking to join Scarlet Star.
Having someone strong to lean on in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and a stable place to settle down increased anyone’s sense of security. Practically every cultivator had seen the terrors of the numerous Beast Tides, and many cultivator strongholds had already been destroyed.
Now that Sword Pavilion and Thunder Light had been destroyed, Scarlet Star jumped up to become the largest great force, which naturally attracted more people to rush to them.
There were even some small strongholds of several dozen to hundreds of people flocking over to join.
Scarlet Star’s Star City was once again overcrowded. In just a short dozen days of work, more than 100,000 people gathered here, and Scarlet Star’s membership had doubled. This was even after the strict screening process done by the Managers; otherwise, who knows how many people they would end up recruiting?
With more people around, the Star City also had to expand. The entire Star City was busy with new buildings being built constantly. The Star City’s borders gradually expanded outward. Compared to the beginning, its area had increased by fifty percent and it was still in the midst of growing.
As the population increased, more transactions naturally took place, and so Scarlet Star’s income also rose like a boat rising with the tide. Now, renting out a good spot for a shop in the Star City was harder than ever before. The Head Manager had gone back into retreat, so Chen Tian Fei who was in charge of Scarlet Star’s operation was grinning from ear to ear every day.
Sometime later, in his residence, Yang Kai took a seat and checked on his gains stored inside the Sealed World Bead with his Divine Sense.
After more than a dozen days of work, the items from the tens of thousands of Space Ring had already been sorted out by Guo Zi Yan and his subordinates.
The Open Heaven Pills alone numbered in the hundreds of millions; after all, this was accumulated from the Space Rings of several tens of thousands of cultivators. Even if they each only had 1,000 Open Heaven Pills, there would still be millions of them. Most Emperor Realm cultivators were not too rich, but there was no helping it. Since their strength was low, the chance to find something good was also pitifully low. And, they also had to buy some cultivation resources for themselves, so they naturally wouldn’t be able to save up many Open Heaven Pills.
The rich ones were the Low and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were slightly better off than the Emperors with wealthy ones having a million or two pills in reserve, but the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were a league of their own. Practically every one of them had tens of millions.
But these hundreds of millions of Open Heaven Pills was just a small wealth compared to Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master’s fortune, which was over a billion in itself! A terrifying number!
Yang Kai thought back to how he had to run himself ragged in the old days when he owed the Proprietress 10 million pills, but now 10 million was just a drop in the bucket for him!
Yang Kai did not think of himself as wealthy though. A billion Open Heaven Pills may sound like a lot, but once his friends and family from the Star Boundary entered the Outer Universe, Yang Kai didn’t even know if that amount was going to be enough to get them settled.
Aside from the Open Heaven Pills, the other items were naturally a variety of Secret Arts and Techniques, artifacts, and other resources that weren’t of much use to him currently. Not only were most of these skills and resources worse than the ones he already possessed, but they would also take time to either cultivate or refine before becoming useful.
The key items were the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements materials.
There was everything from First-Order to Sixth-Order materials.
The ones under Third Order were impossible to count. Meanwhile, the ones in the Fourth and Fifth Orders were much less in comparison. As for Sixth-Order materials, Guo Zi Yan and the group were only able to find three pieces in Zhong Fan’s Space Ring. They were probably also harvested from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
These were all the fortunes of the dead, so getting them didn’t require any effort at all.
The sound of footsteps emerged from outside the door, and with Guo Zi Yan in lead, a group of men strode in.
“Sir!” Guo Zi Yan stopped and cupped his fist.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and swept a gaze over the group of people, “I asked you to come here today in order to heed this King’s command. Those who have not formed a Dao Seal, step forward!”
They had no idea what Yang Kai intended to do, but they still obeyed when they heard his words. With a shuffle, a dozen individuals stepped forward from the crowd. All of them had cultivated to the peak of the Emperor Realm, but they have yet to form their Dao Seal, just like Luo Hai Yi back then.
Yang Kai looked at them and nodded lightly, “Those who have formed a Dao Seal but have not gathered any of their Yin, Yang and the Five Elements, step forward!”
Another dozen stepped forward.
“Have the rest of you already refined at least one Element?” Yang Kai looked at the remaining people.
Other than Guo Zi Yan, who was in the Open Heaven Realm, the rest of the several dozen people were all in the Emperor Realm. Excluding those who have not formed Dao Seals and those who have not cultivated any of the Yin, Yang and the Five Elements, the rest had.
“Yes!” The rest answered in unison.
“What sorts of Powers have you all cultivated, one by one, let’s hear it.” Yang Kai looked at them with interest.
They all looked at each other, not knowing how they should answer.
Guo Zi Yan couldn’t help but shout, “Sir is asking you a question, just answer directly! You there, baldy, you speak first!”
A short man with beady eyes and zero hairs atop his head stepped forward and smiled embarrassedly as he cupped his fists, “Answering Sir, this one is not talented and has only condensed a trivial Second-Order Water Element.”
“And you?” Yang Kai looked at the next person.
The man answered, “I have condensed Earth, Metal, and Water Elements. One in the Third Order, and the rest in the Second Order.”
There was no need for more urging from Yang Kai as a dozen people reported their statuses one by one.
The lesser ones were like the shaved-headed man who was only able to condense one Element, while those with more Elements condensed were already in the half-step Open Heaven Realm. There were even some who only needed to condense one more Element to make a breakthrough; however, their Orders were uniformly not high. They were all in the Second and Third-Orders without so much as a Fourth-Order Element to be seen among them.
But they could not be blamed for this. They were living at the bottom of the hierarchy to begin with, so being able to cultivate to the Open Heaven Realm was a feat in and of itself, how would they be qualified to pick and choose better resources? Even Meng Hong, the Chief Disciple of Great Moon Province, had only condensed Third-Order Elements back then.
After hearing everyone out, Yang Kai spoke, “Since you have already condensed certain Elements, that means that your foundation has been set. Unless you find Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water or some other precious treasure to cleanse your Dao Seal and rebuild your foundation, your future achievements will be limited.”
The dozen people who had spoken obviously knew about their own situations as well, so they all smiled embarrassedly when they heard this.
“However…” Yang Kai turned the topic around, “Even though your foundations have been established, you can still get stronger. I’m sure you all know the great gap there exists between two cultivators who are similar in the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Guo Zi Yan spoke thoughtfully, “Does Sir mean the Order of one’s elements when one enters the Open Heaven Realm?”
Yang Kai nodded, “En. If two cultivators have the same Third-Order foundation, but one has refined all Third-Order Elements, while the other has several Fourth-Order or higher Elements, then the strength they can bring out will be drastically different. So, there’s no need to feel sorry for yourselves. This is the path you have chosen, and turning back is impossible; instead, you can only continue down it.”
Yang Kai rose from his seat, “Back on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, this King said that if any of you have any requests for the harvest we’ve gained, then this King will not be stingy. Whether it be Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order, as long as you have the ability to refine it, you can ask me for it! Now is the time for this King to honour his word.”
Looking at the dozen men in front of him, Yang Kai asked, “Which Order do you want? Speak.”
The dozen people were instantly excited to hear these words. Even though Yang Kai did in fact promise such a thing back then, none of them believed that he actually planned to fulfil his commitment. Unexpectedly, he was the one who took the initiative to bring up the matter today, which was enough to show his sincerity.
“Does Sir truly mean what he says?” The shaved-headed man spoke with pleasant surprise, “Even if I ask for Sixth-Order materials?”
Guo Zi Yan kicked him and scolded, “You want to refine Sixth-Order materials with your abilities? Better measure your own worth first, you smelly brat! Don’t bring your idiotic nonsense here!”
The shaved-headed man was kicked to the ground, but he didn’t mind at all. He patted the dust off his bottom and stood up, “Sir said it himself, not me!”
Yang Kai laughed, “If you want Sixth-Order materials, then Sixth-Order is what you will get; however, that is under the premise that you are actually capable of refining it. Otherwise, giving it to you will only harm your life.”
Without the right aptitude, forcibly condensing higher Order Elements would overburden one’s Dao Seal, which could lead to it being damaged, or in more serious cases, death.
The shaved-headed man laughed, “I don’t want Sixth-Order materials. This one’s aptitude is poor, how could he even dare refine Sixth-Order materials? Fourth… Uh, Third-Order will be enough for me!” When he saw Guo Zi Yan glaring at him, he quickly changed his tone.
Yang Kai casually threw something out at the man, “Your aptitude is not too outstanding, but it’s not dull either. Fourth-Order should be your limit. You can have this Fourth-Order Wood Core. You have only refined your Water Element so far, so the next is Wood. Once you have refined it, you can come back to this King to ask for the Fire Element material.”
The shaved-headed man accepted the object and fixed his eyes on it. As mentioned, it really was a Fourth-Order Wood Core, and it should be the core of a thousand-year-old tree. At once, he was overjoyed and shouted, “Many thanks to Sir for this reward! This one will definitely be at Sir’s beck and call in the future, I swear upon my life, at all costs!”
This group had been sorting through the tens of thousands of Space Rings before and handled countless good materials during that time, but those did not belong to them. Now, this Fourth-Order Wood Core was his, so the feeling was completely different.
When the rest saw this, they all gasped. As members of the lowest level of society, they had never seen or even heard of such a generous boss before. Even though they were also rewarded for their work with their lives on the line for Scarlet Star, who knows how much danger they had to face in order to receive one of the materials they needed? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have struggled this far and reached the Open Heaven Realm long ago.
But today, Yang Kai had casually granted a Fourth-Order Wood Core, even saying to the shaved-headed man that he could come back and ask for a Fire Element material of similar order once he was done refining the Wood Core.
In other words, as long as the shaved-headed man did not die, then he no longer had to worry about cultivation resources! Once he completely condensed his Yin, Yang and the Five Elements into his Dao Seal, that would be the day when he advanced to the Open Heaven Realm. But whether or not he could succeed at that time would depend on his own enlightenment and luck.
With the shaved-headed man as an example, the others naturally felt they would not be treated differently!
Even though they all knew that Yang Kai received a great harvest this time and that a Fourth-Order Wood Core would not mean much to him, at most being some scraps between his teeth, it was enough to raise their morale greatly.
The Sir that they were following now… seemed different to all others before!
After the shaved-headed man, a young man came forward and cupped his fist, “Sir, this one wishes to ask for a Fourth-Order Metal Element material!”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded and casually tossed out a Fourth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone to the man, “Refine it well and you may be able to cultivate the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light within. The power of the Divine Light is extraordinary, so if you can learn it, it will be of great benefit to you!”
The man thanked him excitedly. He had seen the might of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light before when it swept over the 3,000-strong force of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion, wiping them all out. If he could truly learn the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light from refining this Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, then his strength would definitely increase by leaps and bounds. Even if he couldn’t wipe out thousands like Yang Kai did with the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd that day, he would still gain a big advantage in battle.
One by one, the cultivators stepped up and named their needs, and Yang Kai readily responded to each of them without stinginess. However, some of them did truly have limited aptitude and could only refine Third-Order materials no matter how desperately they tried. One of them even asked for Fifth-Order materials, but did not get them.
But this was just their sad fate. If that was the extent of their aptitude, then it was something that simply could not be forced.
Very soon, dozens of people were rewarded. Each of them stood aside and looked at the treasures in their Space Ring with glee, thinking to themselves that they would properly cultivate once they had returned to their rooms and strive to build up their foundation to the Open Heaven Realm before the Grand Ancients Ruins Boundary closed. Once the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was closed and they were free from this place’s restrictive World Principles, they would immediately advance to the Open Heaven Realm!
When that time came, their power would soar to the Heavens, like a Great Peng spreading its wings and taking flight.
Yang Kai also turned his head around to look at the rest of the group. These were all people who have just refined their Dao Seal and had not had the time or resources to condense their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements Powers.
In comparison to the shaved-headed man and his group who had already established their foundations, this group was undoubtedly in a better situation. Even though they had just formed their Dao Seals, they had not been able to refine any Element Powers yet, which meant they could choose the most suitable materials for themselves and build as great a future for themselves as they possibly could.
With the previous group as an example, they naturally knew what sort of requests to make now.
Yang Kai wasn’t stingy either and even shared with them his cultivation experiences, “It would be best for you to start cultivating from the Wood Element. The Wood Element mainly focuses on restoration and bolstering vitality. Compared to the rest of the other Elements, it is also the gentlest one, and its risks are the lowest. What’s more, it is also a very useful element to have. If you ever get injured, then the Wood Element Power can help speed up your recovery.”
Yang Kai had no idea about this when he had just started condensing his Wood Element Power from the Immortal Tree’s essence. He had merely refined the Immortal Tree and incorporated it into his body, stepping onto the most stable path of cultivation.
At that time, Yang Kai still did not fully know about the mysteries of the Open Heaven Realm yet.
But with him advising them, these people listened seriously.
One by one, they stated what they wanted and like the first group, they also received materials in the Third and Fourth-Order. When it came to the very last person, the man cupped his fist and requested, “Sir, this subordinate would like to ask for a Fifth-Order Wood Element!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he looked over at him, “Fifth Order?”
The rest of them also looked at him in astonishment; after all, he was the first person out of their group who stepped up and asked Yang Kai for a Fifth-Order material.
“Indeed!” The man nodded.
Yang Kai observed him closely and found that this person was not considered too young, appearing to be around 40 or 50 in age. He was well-built and had a stable aura. Just by standing there, Yang Kai could still feel the man’s bold spirit.
Guo Zi Yan’s face changed, but just as he was about to say something, Yang Kai raised his hand to stop him, “What is your name?”
The man cupped his fists and replied, “This subordinate is Lang Qing Shan!” After a pause, he added, “This subordinate is confident in being able to refine a Fifth-Order material. Please, Sir!”
“Good. Very good!” Yang Kai smiled and nodded. Not only was he not angry, but he was even pleased. He searched his Space Ring with his Divine Sense and took out something resembling a blood coral that was around three metres long, “I’m not sure what this is exactly, and though it is of the Wood Element, it has the aura of blood about it. If you can refine it, I’m sure you should be able to grasp something useful from it. Take it.”
There were a number of Fifth-Order Wood Element materials in his Space Ring, but after comparing them, this one seemed to be of the highest quality. Even materials at the same Order could have big differences between them.
Lang Qing Shan’s eyes sparkled and he cupped his fist, “Many thanks, Sir!” He happily put the blood coral into his Space Ring and moved back to the side.
A group of people looked at him with envy. Yang Kai did say previously that anyone who wanted Fifth-Order or even Sixth-Order materials would be granted them. They never doubted Yang Kai’s words, but with the limits of their aptitude, they wouldn’t have the qualifications to ask even if they wanted to.
Lang Qing Shan was the first example to the contrary, and from Yang Kai’s reaction, he seemed to be very happy as well, as if he didn’t see them as outsiders. Instead, he was cultivating them as if they were part of his closest confidants. They were inwardly bitter about their poor aptitudes; otherwise, in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and with Yang Kai as their backer, how difficult would it be to advance to the Fifth-Order or even Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm?
With both groups rewarded, the remaining group in the Emperor Realm who had not even formed their Dao Seals looked on in envy. Without a Dao Seal, they naturally had no right to ask for any materials, so they had no idea what Yang Kai would grant them with this time.
Just as they were thinking so, Yang Kai suddenly turned his head to them, “As for you… You are all at the most malleable stage. Since you have not formed your Dao Seals yet, then there’s no need to rush. Take advantage of this good opportunity in order to strengthen your foundation and develop your potential to its fullest limit. Guo Zi Yan.”
“Subordinate is present!” Guo Zi Yan shouted in a solemn voice.
“Take these people out and train them carefully. When they try to form their Dao Seals, I want them to do it when they are at the very least able to withstand the impact of Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm materials. If any cultivation materials are needed, you can simply ask Yue He for them. If the matter fails to be achieved, then I will hold you responsible.”
Guo Zi Yan was taken aback before he turned around and looked at the dozen or so thugs and hooligans before him with a dark face. He had to admit that while some of them had decent aptitudes, most were merely so-so. If they kept going at this pace, then their cultivation limit would be the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm, yet Yang Kai had actually asked them to form a Dao Seal that could withstand at least the Fourth-Order. In other words, if they succeeded, then this group of people would all become Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators in the future, or perhaps even higher.
[So, that is what Sir is trying to do!]
A shocking thought flashed past Guo Zi Yan’s heart, but he didn’t dare dwell too deeply on it. He gritted his teeth and cupped his fist, “Rest assured, Sir. If any of them cannot meet the requirements, then this subordinate will take his or her dog life first so as to not disgrace Sir.”
Now, it was the group’s turn to become dark-faced. They all knew about their Great Commander Guo’s straightforward nature, and that he would never joke about taking their lives. When the time came, if they did not fulfil the requirements set out for them, then they really were going to be killed by him. For a moment, some of them were shaking in their boots.
“Enough, the rest of you can now go. You stay, Commander Guo.” Yang Kai beckoned him.
Everyone withdrew respectfully.
Yang Kai took a seat and looked at Guo Zi Yan with some worry, “Great Commander, you are in the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm and have no way of going back and recultivating, so I don’t know what to reward you. As such, I shall ask you instead, what is it you desire?”
Guo Zi Yan smiled nervously, “Sir is too generous. Serving Sir is this subordinate’s duty, how could this one ask for any further reward?”
Yang Kai laughed, “I’m rich now, very rich! And since you have been sorting out the Space Rings with your subordinates, I’m sure you know that fact as well. Since I’m so wealthy, I can’t forget about you. Your subordinates have all received their rewards, so how could you, who have contributed the most, ask for nothing?”
Guo Zi Yan answered, “Sir, this subordinate really…”
Yang Kai raised his hand, “Think about it carefully. There will surely be something that you want. Why don’t I give you 10 million Open Heaven Pills and you can properly cultivate with them? You should be able to break through to the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm in short order with such resources.”
Guo Zi Yan was shocked. This Sir was truly straightforward, giving away 10 million Open Heaven Pills so simply. He had been a Great Commander for Scarlet Star for many, many years, yet he never even had 1 million Open Heaven Pills, much less 10 million.
With this, Yang Kai’s sincerity could be felt even more.
After carefully pondering for a while, Guo Zi Yan smiled embarrassed and scratched his cheek, “Sir, this subordinate has a Daughter…”
Yang Kai said firmly, “This King has several wives already. Before leaving, I was instructed not to pick flowers by the wayside or enjoy secret fruits.”
Guo Zi Yan’s face twitched, “Sir has misunderstood. This subordinate’s daughter has now cultivated to the Emperor Realm. Once this subordinate is out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, then this subordinate is afraid that she will also have begun refining her Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to break through to the Open Heaven Realm. This subordinate wishes to ask for materials for her.”
Yang Kai’s interest was aroused, “Oh? How is your Daughter’s aptitude?”
Guo Zi Yan beamed, “Her aptitude is definitely better than her father’s. She has hope to directly enter the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm!”
“En, not bad indeed.” Yang Kai nodded, “Where is she? Bring her to me and let me take a look at her. If her aptitude is really not bad, then you can even ask for Sixth-Order materials.”
Guo Zi Yan smiled, “She is not in the Star City. Sir should also know the history and condition of this Star City. Cold steel glints and flashes endlessly each and every day and the conflicts never end. This subordinate is also living a life filled with blood and violence. This subordinate did not want to drag his precious daughter down with me. She lost her mother young, so this subordinate sent her to a trusted friend to cultivate in peace long ago.”
Yang Kai made a knowing ‘oh’.
This was also a type of escape. If she truly did stay by Guo Zi Yan’s side in the previous Star City, then she would also have been whisked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If that had happened, then it would truly be hard to say whether she would have remained alive until now or not.
“Then, once we are out of the Grand Ancient Ruins, bring her to me. I will grant her anything she needs.”
Guo Zi Yan was excited, “This subordinate thanks Sir!”
“Take these Open Heaven Pills as well. I’m sure you will need them while you cultivate.” Yang Kai tossed out a Space Ring to him.
Guo Zi Yan accepted it and swept his Divine Sense into it before calling out in alarm, “Sir, this is too much!” The Open Heaven Pills inside were piled into a small mountain. There were at least 10,000 of them.
“If I tell you to take it, then just take it. If it’s too much, you can divide them with your subordinates.” Then, Yang Kai got up and walked towards the inner room, “I will be entering retreat soon, so if there’s anything you need, see Yue He. She will naturally inform me.”
Looking at Yang Kai’s departing figure, Guo Zi Yan was overcome with gratitude and he couldn’t help but feel like a gentleman willing to die for his good friend. He cupped his fists and quickly said, “Subordinate obeys!”
Yang Kai walked to his own room, and in a flash, his figure disappeared. When he reappeared, he had already arrived atop a remote mountain.
Guo Zi Yan and the others had been sorting Space Rings over the past two weeks or so, but Yang Kai had not been idle. Everyone thought that he was in his own room, but he had in fact run out.
After finding out that the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary wasn’t as simple as he originally thought, and that there were even traces of a Divine Spirit, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t make any rash moves.
In those two weeks or so, he ran to several places to prepare several escape routes in case anything happened one day, greatly increasing his level of security.
He left Space Beacons at a number of well-hidden locations, so as long as he was not restricted by any Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Arrays or Secret Techniques that isolated space, no one could stop him.
The place where he was currently was Crouching Dragon Mountain, which was also the place where Yang Kai refined the Earth Element Dragon Bead back then.
The Scarlet Floor Dragon used to reside here, spreading its influence across the mountains, so no other powerful exotic beasts dared to come close. Once the Scarlet Flood Dragon was taken away by Yang Kai, this place became deserted.
Yang Kai did not come here to find precious treasures though.
Instead, he was here to cultivate. During his fight with the mantis head, Yang Kai was shocked by his opponent’s masterful sword techniques, which also helped him see his own shortcomings. In his hands, even an artifact as Heaven-shaking as the Azure Dragon Spear could not bring out much power. Up until now, Yang Kai had been relying solely on the Azure Dragon Spear’s penetrative force and his own strength to fight, not even touching upon the Spear Dao or any Spear Techniques.
Being able to kill the mantis head last time had been more of a gamble with a lucky ending than a true victory. If his opponent had made preparations against him, then Yang Kai might not have even won that fight.
Even though he had to condense his Yin, Yang and Five Elements with haste, even a clever woman cannot cook a meal without rice. Establishing a proper foundation now and enhancing his base prowess would only benefit him, while not doing so would leave him with lifelong regrets.
Now that he had a big helper like Scarlet Star, Yang Kai believed that he would surely be informed once news of materials of the Seventh Order or above appeared in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so there was no need for him to personally search for them.
During this waiting period, he could naturally do other things.
Guo Zi Yan and his subordinates were not only able to find a great amount of wealth in the tens of thousands of Space Rings, there were also many Secret Techniques and books, many of which were related to the Spear Dao. Yang Kai had set these all aside and was prepared to carefully study them so he could cultivate his skills. He relied greatly on the Azure Dragon Spear these days, and if he wanted to fully utilise its power in the future, this training was essential.
But he was in no hurry to cultivate Spear Techniques; instead, he stood on a mountain, closed his eyes, and concentrated as he carefully sensed inside his Dao Seal.
The air was distorted by the faint but burning heat emanating from Yang Kai’s body, and the space around him had also begun to undulate.
“Golden Crow Casts the Sun!”
Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes and a Great Sun suddenly manifested behind his back. The Great Sun was blazing hot, as if there really was a Sun floating in the air, and in the middle was a Three-Legged Golden Crow flying about joyfully.
Great power was constantly flowing out from his body. Ever since the appearance of this Divine Manifestation, Yang Kai felt like he had shed his former body and was reborn. It was simply indescribable.
He now knew that this was called a Divine Manifestation thanks to Yue He.
Yang Kai remembered the complicated look on her face when she told him about it.
Only those who had condensed Seventh-Order or higher Elements or reached a Seventh-Order and above Open Heaven Realm could possibly achieve a Divine Manifestation. Even those in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm were not guaranteed to obtain a Divine Manifestation, and those who could were the best of the best, important figures in the Cave-Heavens and Paradises.
Yang Kai had no idea how he had achieved this either. He had been in retreat previously and trying to comprehend the mysteries of his Elements, and even though he intended to push his potential with the use of a life-or-death struggle, the result that he got was far beyond his expectations. A light flashed in his mind, and the Golden Crow’s True Fire began roiling inside of his Dao Seal, showing him the scene of the Golden Crow forging the Great Sun, then all of a sudden, the Divine Manifestation appeared naturally without obstructions.
Yue He said that once the Divine Manifestation appeared, anyone who knew at least a thing or two about it would deduce that Yang Kai had refined the Seventh-Order Golden Crow’s True Fire! It was a fact that simply could no longer be hidden.
And Yang Kai had no intention of hiding anything either. Since it got exposed, then so be it. They were in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary anyway and no one could do anything to him. Once he was out of the Grand Ancient Ruins, then who knows whether he could advance to the Open Heaven Realm or not?
When that time came, who would he have to be afraid of in this vast world?
Quietly feeling the might of the Divine Manifestation, Yang Kai’s aura rose. He felt his strength growing powerful enough that he could destroy even a foe in the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm!
A Low-Rank Open Heaven Master should not even think about beating him in a one-on-one fight anymore.
But… the consumption was also shocking! As soon as the Golden Crow Casts the Sun Manifestation appeared, Yang Kai could feel the energy inside of his body flowing rapidly as if a floodgate had been opened.
If this went on, then he would not even be able to sustain this Manifestation for a single incense worth of time.
That day, in the fight with Sword Pavilion, even if the Manifestation was not broken, Yang Kai himself would have had to dispel it. It seemed like it could only be used as a last resort, and once used, he had to kill his enemy in the shortest time possible, or he would be the one to suffer.
Exhaling lightly, Yang Kai dispersed the Manifestation, and his outflow of energy finally ceased.
Thoughts flashing, several Dragon Shields were erected around him. Each one of the shields was a Great Dragon with their heads and tails connected and spiralling into the shape of a shield, covered in dense Dragon Scales. The Dragon Claws and Dragon Teeth were clearly visible, and one could tell they were very sturdy at a glance.
This was only a Divine Ability, not a Manifestation.
Yang Kai frowned. It was from the Dragon Bead that he comprehended this Divine Ability, and that was why he suddenly had the idea to enlighten himself about his Wood and Fire Element Powers. He wanted to see whether he could learn anything from them, and he actually succeeded.
This Dragon Shield Secret Technique was the Divine Ability of a Great Dragon before its death, and it remained inside of its Dragon Bead after it fell. Yang Kai had a Dragon Source and the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, so he could easily comprehend it. If it were anyone else, they might not have been as lucky.
But this Dragon Shield was the Divine Ability belonging to the Great Dragon when it was still alive. Strictly speaking, Yang Kai was only comprehending something belonging to someone else for his own use, so this was not a discovery of his own.
Studying the Golden Crow’s True Fire led him to discover a Divine Manifestation like the Golden Crow Casts the Sun, so what about the Earth Dragon’s Bead? And what about the Immortal Tree? He should be able to learn a thing or two from these, right?
Yang Kai’s heart was eagerly thumping and immediately wished he could immerse his consciousness into his Dao Seal
But in the end, he dispelled the thought. Gaining insight into the Golden Crow Casts the Sun was a lucky opportunity in itself, so he may not necessarily be as lucky going forward.
Shaking off the distractions from his mind, Yang Kai looked around and got busy.
An hour later, a simple log house sat atop the hill. Rather than call it a log house, it might as well be called a pavilion as all four sides were open with only the roof and the floor covered.
Yang Kai took out a meditation mat from his Space Ring and sat cross-legged before bringing out a bunch of jade slips and placing them in front of him.
There were at least a thousand of these jade slips, all of which were related to Spear Techniques and Spear Dao.
Since he wanted to enhance his comprehension of the Spear Dao, the most obvious plan was to do plenty of research. Some of the information in these jade slips may be worthless, but he could still eliminate the bad and retain the good. Yang Kai believed that he was sure to gain something from this process, at the very least.
Casually picking up a jade slip and looking through it, Yang Kai kept an open mind and silently simulated the technique in his head.
The Secret Technique recorded in this jade slip was called One Spear Ten Kills and required strong explosive strength. Each spear attack was quicker and stronger than the last. Dealing all ten spear attacks in order multiplied its power.
He had no idea which unlucky bastard this belonged to, but in Yang Kai’s opinion, this One Spear Ten Kills was both flashy and impractical. During a life or death moment, who would give one the opportunity to go through ten whole moves to gather their strength? Once interrupted, this Spear Technique would become useless.
After a few moments, Yang Kai tossed the jade slip aside and picked up another.
Day after day went by. With neither sunrise nor sunset, it was not known how much time had passed here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. The jade slips tossed aside by Yang Kai gradually increased as he completely immersed himself in the mysteries recorded in each. He had envisioned each Secret Technique in his mind one after another.
There were not many Masters among the tens of thousands of cultivators who these jade slips originally belonged to, so the Secret Techniques that they owned would naturally not be of too high a grade; however, it was still suitable for a novice in the Spear Dao like Yang Kai. If he was truly given something profound, then he may not be able to understand it; after all, he had never set foot upon this Dao before! Still, the Martial Dao was a path where one method could be applied to countless others. It could be difficult, but it could also be simple. It all depended on one’s insight.
One month later, Yang Kai tossed aside the last jade slip. When he reopened his eyes, there was not a single trace of fatigue. Rather, his spirit seemed to be glowing.
Even though he was just sitting there, he was surrounded by a profound aura, as if a long spear stood tall in his place.
His Spear Intent had come to life. Yang Kai had been simulating the techniques inside of more than a thousand jade slips during this time, and even though he did not try them physically, Spear Dao initial insights had been branded into his mind and Soul.
Yang Kai slowly got up and raised his hand towards the void, summoning his Azure Dragon Spear. When he grasped the spear this time, its aura suddenly felt different compared to before. When he was holding the Azure Dragon Spear before, it just felt like he was holding a large and lethal weapon, but now, there was a wonderful harmonization between them, as if this Azure Dragon Spear had become one with his own body.
With a flourish of his spear, Yang Kai thrust out.
One Spear Ten Kills!
*Duo duo duo duo…*
Ten spear strikes bloomed instantly one after another, each one quicker than the last, layering over each other. When the final thrust was executed, the power was truly twice as powerful as the first.
Even though it was his first time practising a Secret Technique, Yang Kai’s study over the past month and the strong foundation was enough for him to successfully perform One Spear Ten Kills on his first attempt.
Without pause, Yang Kai’s aura underwent a drastic change as the Azure Dragon Spear suddenly shook and seemed to turn into a lightning bolt that cut through space.
Thunder Spear Burst!
This move could only be performed by those who cultivated a Thunder Attribute Secret Art, and since he came here mainly to refine his Spear Dao to further enhance the power of the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands, Yang Kai did not reject any kind of technique.
With a flick of the spear, a spear-like shadow that stretched up to the sky enveloped the space in front of him, turning it into an iron wall to protect himself.
Spear Dragon Wall!
This was a rarely-seen defensive Spear Secret Technique. Spears were the Kings of weapons and any who used the spear would use ferocious techniques to take out their enemies as swiftly as possible. Defence was hardly considered, because once one begins to have such thoughts, he will only weaken their momentum, which would negatively affect their ability to fight.
But this Spear Dragon Wall was a good defensive art. Even when it served to defend, it was able to deal damage, which was extraordinary.
The Azure Dragon Spear danced endlessly. One by one, Spear Secret Techniques were being brought to light under Yang Kai’s hands. The Secret Techniques recorded in each jade slip were performed by Yang Kai as smoothly as flowing water, stirring up the winds on the mountaintop. The noise split through the Heavens alongside a faint Dragon Roar in the background. Yang Kai gradually forgot everything around him, even the passage of time, completely immersing himself in this wonderful state.
There were more than a thousand jade slips that Yang Kai obtained relating to Spear Secret Techniques. In other words, Yang Kai had fully memorized these techniques in just one month of study. Even if it was his first time performing the techniques, it did not seem the slightest bit difficult. He could basically perform all of the techniques, but how powerful they were was hard to say.
By the time Yang Kai had performed all the spear techniques, six days had passed.
But he did not stop there. Starting from One Spear Ten Kills, he did it all over again!
No one taught him how to perform these techniques. He had to explore them himself, using his own insights and might. So, using the simplest and most brute-force method, Yang Kai simply practised over and over again, figuring the day these techniques were burned into his instinct was the day that he succeeded.
Time passed, and a month later, after the final thrust of his spear, Yang Kai recalled his spear and stood in place.
In this one month’s time, Yang Kai had performed Spear Secret Techniques, one after another, at least five times over. As he did so, he realized that what he understood was not enough. Despite the fact that many of these Spear Secret Techniques were not too high in grade, there were some interesting points about some of them that made his eyes glimmer.
The more he performed them, the more things he could dig out from these techniques.
After calming down his rushing blood, Yang Kai put away his Azure Dragon Spear and tidied his clothes before turning around and returning to the Star City.
With the Space Beacon in place, he could come and go as he pleased.
Even though Yue He did not contact him during this period, meaning nothing big happened, Yang Kai still had to show up every so often to make his presence known. Otherwise, how would he be willing to stop his own cultivation halfway?
After walking out of the room and sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, he found where Guo Zi Yan was and sent him a message, telling him to meet him later.
A few moments later, Yang Kai found Guo Zi Yan at the pavilion in the courtyard.
After what happened last time, Guo Zi Yan had clearly taken a more respectful attitude toward Yang Kai. It could be because of his daughter, but also possibly because he realized that Yang Kai was a man true to his word.
After the usual greetings, Yang Kai asked, “Did anything happen recently?”
Guo Zi Yan smiled, “Thanks to Sir, everything has been peaceful.”
After a few questions and answers, Yang Kai learned about the situation during his absence. First, Guo Zi Yan’s several dozen subordinates had all basically been busy cultivating. The ones who had been awarded materials by Yang Kai naturally intensified their efforts in order to refine these Elements. For those who had yet to even form their Dao Seals, they were strengthening their foundations under Guo Zi Yan’s strict guidance so that when the day came for them to form their Dao Seals, it would become stronger and able to carry higher Order Element Powers.
Then, there was the situation of the Star City and Scarlet Star itself. Since spreading out the news of Yang Kai becoming one of their Foreign Elders, Scarlet Star’s reputation, which had fallen all the way to the ground, had now shot up to the Heavens. It could now be said to be the most powerful force in the entire Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Recently, they managed to recruit as many as 5,000 new members.
The entirety of the Star City had already been expanded to several times its original size. Whether it be the size or the number of cultivators gathered here, both were more than three or four times greater than before.
Yue He had been staying in Scarlet Star so she could monitor their income, lest they engage in any mischief; after all, 70% of everything Scarlet Star earned belonged to Yang Kai, and he had not returned for the past two months.
Great Moon Province’s three disciples, with Meng Hong at the lead, had entered retreat to cultivate. Even Chen Yue was refining her Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.
Guo Zi Yan scratched his head embarrassedly, “Right now, I am the only one still idle. So, Sir, if you have any requests, please just give the order and this subordinate will handle them for you.”
He was stuck in the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm and had no hope other than to slowly increase his Order through the consumption of Open Heaven Pills. However, that was not something that could be rushed. It had to be done through a long period of accumulation, not overnight.
But Yang Kai really had nothing to order him to do. The situation he was in now could not be better. He could cultivate with ease and enjoy success without extra work, only needing to go over to check on the Seventh-Order or above materials once news of them came in. If he could fully refine his Yin, Yang and the Five Elements before the closure of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, then that would be perfect.
As he waved Guo Zi Yan down, indicating for him to withdraw, he was just about to return to Crouching Dragon Mountain to cultivate when he suddenly frowned and muttered, “Those two…”
Before he could finish, he heard a rumble coming from underground, as if lightning had shot through the floor.
Guo Zi Yan’s face changed. Unsheathing his sword, he stood in front of Yang Kai to protect him. His aura had burst out like a panther on a hunt as he stared vigilantly at the ground.
Yang Kai patted him on the shoulder, indicating for him to calm down, “It’s just my two spirit beasts. They must have felt my aura and come to beg for food.”
A large pit suddenly appeared in the ground, and from there, a wriggling muzzle popped out, followed by a black and slippery-looking creature that rushed into the courtyard and turned over the rockery and the gazebo.
If it was not the Earth Dragon, who else could this disgusting fellow be?
After the Earth Dragon appeared, the Scarlet Flood Dragon also rushed over.
Both of them were several hundred metres long, so even though the courtyard was not small, it was still on the brink of bursting with the addition of the two of them.
Guo Zi Yan was pushed all the way back, and without a place to stand, he was forced to fly to the sky and look down speechlessly.
The Earth Dragon made its way over to Yang Kai and its muzzle was writhing without end, even opening its mouth at him occasionally. Its meaning could not be more obvious.
Even though the Scarlet Flood Dragon did not do the same, it also roamed around Yang Kai’s side, occasionally peering at him with its eyes in anticipation.
When he first met these two, their bodies were both around 300 metres long, but now, they had both grown to a length of around 450 metres, which could be said to be a massive growth! For Ominous Beasts like them, the greater the size naturally meant the greater their strength, too.
This was due to the Dragon Blood Pills. The Dragon Blood Flowers that Yang Kai harvested from Crouching Dragon Mountain were all of extremely high Grade, so the Dragon Blood Pills refined from them were naturally extraordinary as well. Yang Kai never forgot to take some while cultivating his Spear Secret Techniques, too, which showed obvious improvements for him. Since it was the case even for him, then there was no need to mention how great the improvements were for the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flood Dragon.
The amount of Dragon Blood Pills he refined the last time was quite big, and that place was originally the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s territory, so Yang Kai could be considered to have robbed the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s belongings. Now that he came to ask for food, there was no way Yang Kai could reject him.
And if he gave the Scarlet Flood Dragon some, how could he neglect the Earth Dragon?
Fortunately, they were not very needy and were satisfied after a single pill, which would take them a long time for them to digest. If their appetites were any greater, Yang Kai would start to feel reluctant to feed them.
Tossing out two Dragon Blood Pills, the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flood Dragon devoured them with joy. With a shake of its tail, the Earth Dragon slipped back into the hole and disappeared without a trace, but the Scarlet Flood Dragon stayed. Divine Sense surging, it transmitted a message to Yang Kai.
Thanks to the Dragon Blood Pills his sentience had improved, so simple messages were no problem for him.
Yang Kai frowned, feeling slightly puzzled, “Why is she here?”
The Scarlet Flood Dragon’s Divine Sense surged again. A short while later, Yang Kai nodded, “I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll go and take a look.”
After the Scarlet Flood Dragon had also crawled back into the hole, Yang Kai said to Guo Zi Yan, “I’m going out.”
Guo Zi Yan hurriedly responded, “Let this subordinate accompany you.”
“No need. I’m just going to meet a… Yes, an old friend.”
After that, he left, leaving Guo Zi Yan behind with questions unanswered. He had no idea who this old friend Yang Kai was speaking of was.
A hundred or so kilometres outside the Star City, at a log house on a small mountain peak, a graceful-bodied woman was looking out, unmoving, just like a rock.
Suddenly, a breeze blew her long hair gently.
The woman could tell instinctively that something was not right at that moment, but she could not tell what was wrong. Just as she was feeling doubtful, a voice suddenly sounded behind her, “Are you here to seek revenge?”
Shocked, the woman turned around in a hurry, but once she saw who it was, she once again calmed down.
Yang Kai looked strangely at her and shook his head, “I don’t sense any killing intent from you, no resentment or hatred either. Since you are not here to seek revenge, then why are you stalking me?”
This woman was Sword Pavilion’s Lu Xue. He had no idea why she would suddenly appear here…
That day in Sword Pavilion’s Star City, the mantis head may have died in his battle with Yang Kai, but Yang Kai did not get off unscathed. Being severely injured, he was helped out of the city by Lu Xue, who brought him to a remote cave to recover from his wounds. Yang Kai’s restorative abilities were shocking, so in just a few days, he was almost fully recovered. He did not even say goodbye before leaving.
After all, in Yang Kai’s opinion, the two of them were enemies, not allies. So, how could he still bid her farewell? He was already stunned that Lu Xue did not take the opportunity to try to kill him when he was so weakened.
He thought that the chances of them meeting again in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was slim, but who knew that he would learn from the Scarlet Flood Dragon that Lu Xue was right outside of Scarlet Star’s Star City.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon nearly had its head cut off under Lu Xue’s sword when she sliced its neck back on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain, so it naturally hated her to the bone and remembered her aura well, which made it unsurprising for it to know her whereabouts.
Because of that grudge, the Scarlet Flood Dragon repeatedly came to find trouble with Lu Xue for the sake of revenge.
Unfortunately, Lu Xue kept on avoiding it. As soon as the Scarlet Flood Dragon approached her, she would run far away. Once the Scarlet Flood Dragon left, she would come right back. After a few back-and-forth sessions, the Scarlet Flood Dragon gave up.
But when it saw Yang Kai this time, it told Yang Kai about it, hoping that Yang Kai could stand up for it.
Otherwise, why would Yang Kai come here?
More than two months had passed since the last time they saw each other, and Lu Xue’s injuries were much better now, though her aura was still slightly unstable. Her face was also pale, so she most likely still had a way to go before completely recovering.
“Did you need me for something?” Yang Kai asked. This woman showed no murderous intent, and her eyes had not the slightest bit of hatred as they looked at him. It was not likely that she came for revenge.
Lu Xue gave a nod.
“What is it? Just speak.”
Lu Xue opened her mouth as if to say something, but she could not make out anything even after a long time. She looked troubled.
Yang Kai quickly grew impatient. He was in a hurry to go back to Crouching Dragon Mountain so he could cultivate and did not have the time to be wasting on this woman; thus, he flicked his sleeve, “I’ll come back again when you’re ready to talk.”
After saying that, he turned around to leave.
Lu Xue’s anxious voice then emerged behind him, “I wish to follow Sir!” Worried that Yang Kai would go just like that, she ended up shouting out a little loudly.
Yang Kai turned his head over and looked at her strangely, “What did you just say?”
He wondered whether he had heard her wrong; otherwise, how could she make such an insane request?
Lu Xue looked firmly at him and blushed before she dropped her head and declared, “I wish to follow Sir. Please grant my request!”
Yang Kai definitely heard her clearly this time, but it was still hard to believe. Lu Xue’s actions at Sword Pavilion’s Star City had been perturbing enough for him, but her request today was even harder to parse.
How could she not have a grudge against Yang Kai after being tortured half to death by the Golden Crow’s True Fire? What’s more, he had even killed hundreds of her fellow Sect members from Sword Pavilion. Even leaders like Zhong Fan and Luo Qing Yun were slaughtered by Yang Kai personally. Anyone would want to get revenge on him if they were in such a position.
But in Sword Pavilion’s Star City, Lu Xue took the seriously wounded Yang Kai away and hid him in a remote place so that he could recover from his injuries in peace.
Even if she was generous enough to be able to put aside this hatred, her relationship with Yang Kai could only be described as ‘the well does not draw water from the river’, so why would she propose to follow him?
Yang Kai could not help but wonder whether she had any ulterior motives.
“I don’t mean anything else by it. I just wish to follow you. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary is a dangerous place, and I want to leave here alive,” Lu Xue looked up and explained.
If she had not witnessed the huge change that happened in Sword Pavilion’s Star City, then Lu Xue might not have thought of such a thing, but even the Pavilion Master, who was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Master, was killed. There were even traces of Divine Spirits appearing in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. How could she feel safe alone in this place?
After thinking about it, she decided that it would be safer for her to stick with Yang Kai. At the very least, he was the strongest one in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If a great calamity came, then if there was anyone who could leave this place safely, it would most likely be Yang Kai.
The reason why she hid here was also because of her identity; after all, she was one of Sword Pavilion’s leaders. If she were to openly enter Scarlet Star’s Star City, she would definitely be captured. The reason she came around to this Star City was just so she could see when Yang Kai would come out, but instead of Yang Kai, she ended up encountering the Scarlet Flood Dragon several times.
Yang Kai looked deep into her eyes, as if he wanted to see into the depths of her soul.
But Lu Xue was unmoved, not showing the slightest guilt or falsehood.
After a moment, Yang Kai grinned, “Is that what you really want?”
Lu Xue nodded seriously, “Not a single word I speak is false.”
“You really won’t feel aggrieved?”
“Lady Yue He is also following Sir, and she is even more powerful than I. Does she feel aggrieved?” Without Yue He as an example, she might not have thought of such a request.
“Heh heh, you have a glib tongue,” Yang Kai put his hands behind his back and shook his head slowly.
Lu Xue’s face reddened slightly, “Is Sir worried? Worried that I may do Sir harm once I fully recover?”
She was already embarrassed to make such a request, so being bombarded with Yang Kai’s questioning only made it harder for her. She was even beginning to become angry out of shame.
“Worried? As if!” Yang Kai snorted. A Fourth-Order Open Heaven cultivator was hardly any threat to him here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so he said decisively, “Since you’ve sent yourself to my door, it would be impolite of this King to refuse.”
He wanted to see what this little girl truly intended to do. Rather than guess her motives, he might as well keep her by his side. If she truly had any ulterior motives, then she would surely expose herself. At that time, he could just kill her.
Striding towards Lu Xue, Yang Kai arrived before her in just a few steps. He then reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her into his arms, “Do not resist!”
Lu Xue widened her eyes and in an instant, felt a masculine scent fill her nostrils. Panicking, she almost slapped him.
[What is he trying to do? Is he misunderstanding something here? I just said I wanted to follow him! I didn’t mean anything else by it!] Lu Xue was desperate to cry but was unable to shed any tears.
She thought of resisting, but when she remembered Yang Kai’s terrifying might, how could she possibly put up a fight in her current state?
Instantaneously a saying popped up in Lu Xue’s mind, [‘Like a sheep entering a tiger’s cave!’]
As a mess of thoughts filled her head, the space around her suddenly distorted, and she was plunged into darkness. The darkness devoured all of her vision, and she could not help but feel terrified.
In just an instant, her vision blurred before gradually restoring itself.
Yang Kai let go of her and grabbed his Azure Dragon Spear before walking ahead, “You have yet to fully recover, so focus on that. Do not bother me with trivial matters.”
Moving a thousand metres away, Yang Kai began executing his Spear Secret Techniques again and soon immersed himself in his practice.
Lu Xue stared dumbfoundedly at him and it took a while for her to come back to her senses. She looked around herself, but quickly realized she was no longer on the same mountain peak. Instead, she seemed to be in another place, and she had no idea how far they had moved.
[A Dao of Space Teleportation Technique!] Lu Xue realized.
Only then did she realize that she had misunderstood earlier. Yang Kai wasn’t trying to take advantage of her, he was simply pulling her through the Void and telling her not to resist for her own sake. If she were to make any moves while travelling through the Void, she might end up being devoured by it and never being able to find her way back.
Her pale face reddened slightly as she stood there quietly, watching Yang Kai dance with a spear in hand, sweeping across the sky.
Very soon, she picked up on something. Yang Kai’s Spear Secret Techniques seemed inexhaustible, coming out one after another with a brave and fierce momentum. At times the moves were wide and sweeping, while at other times they were as dense as rain. They looked powerful, and clearly an ordinary cultivator would not be able to take even one attack from him. Even if a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Master such as herself was to challenge him now, she might not be able to last long before losing.
But there was some hint of incongruity.
Lu Xue frowned, not knowing what it was.
A few days later, Yang Kai began repeating the techniques anew.
A few more days later, the same happened.
Lu Xue counted the techniques silently. From beginning to end, the Secret Techniques that Yang Kai performed totalled 1,134. Each repetition was different from the last, and each execution showed greater mastery.
[So, that’s it!] It finally dawned on Lu Xue as she understood what the incongruity was now, it was the level of mastery!
Despite Yang Kai’s powerful stance and imposing momentum, he was actually similar to a toddler learning to walk. Each step he took through the Spear Dao was steadier and more solid than the last.
After a month passed, Yang Kai put away his spear and stood, frowning in thought.
He had gained a lot through this period of practice, but when he thought back to the mantis head’s skills on that day, he could still see the great disparity between him and his opponent. His opponent’s skills were so natural that he commanded his blade like a gazelle brandished its horns, showing no traces of awkwardness or openings, making it hard for one to defend against or even anticipate.
Could it be something wrong with the way he was practising?
Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard a voice, “Is Sir practising Spear Secret Techniques?”
When he turned around, he saw that Lu Xue had already come over to his side.
Yang Kai nodded. If she had not spoken, he would have forgotten about her completely.
Lu Xue asked, “For Sir to study over a thousand Spear Secret Techniques, is Sir trying to gather the strength of a thousand clans?”
“I do have that intention, but I don’t feel like I’m getting much out of it.” Yang Kai was a little frustrated. He had grown a lot in the Spear Dao compared to the beginning, but it was still much less than he expected. It was most likely because he had not been practising for long enough.
Lu Xue commented apprehensively, “Sir’s approach is very similar to that of an old friend of mine.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Did your old friend also cultivate this way?”
Lu Xue nodded, “Yes, but the techniques that he collected were not as numerous as Sir’s. He only knew around one or two hundred techniques to work with.”
The reason Yang Kai could collect so many Spear Secret Techniques was because he had gathered them out of the Space Rings of tens of thousands of people. Even if they were in the Open Heaven Realm, it was unlikely for Lu Xue’s old friend to have such an opportunity. Being able to collect one or two hundred alone must still have taken a lot of effort.
“And what became of his training in the end?” Yang Kai was eager to know.
“He succeeded.” Lu Xue showed a reminiscent look, “He spent decades gathering the strength of a hundred clans, eliminating the bad and retaining the good, and successfully cultivated a sure-kill spear attack. That technique is his strongest blow. I have sparred with him, and even in the same Order of the Open Heaven Realm, it was difficult to resist.”
“A sure-kill spear!” Yang Kai had a fascinated look on his face, but when he heard that it took this man decades, he felt a little speechless.
If gathering the strength of a hundred clans took several dozen years, then how many years would it take for him to gather the strength of a thousand clans?
Boundary and had plenty of time to waste. Before finding suitable materials to refine, he would be unable to refine more of the Yin, Yang and Five Elements. Otherwise, where would Yang Kai find the time to cultivate other things?
“Can you tell me the specifics of how your old friend cultivated?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Lu Xue answered, “He did the same thing as Sir. After collecting more than two hundred Spear Secret Techniques, he practised them day after day without rest. I remember hearing him say during that time that only after forgetting the hundreds of techniques, leaving only one behind, would he have succeeded in taking the next step. After several dozen years, when I saw him again, he had succeeded.”
“Forgetting hundreds of Spear Secret Techniques while leaving only one behind!” Yang Kai pondered on this wisdom and vaguely understood the man’s intention.
But though it was easy to say, how difficult must it be to accomplish this?
Spear Secret Techniques can be improved with repetition; at least, that was Yang Kai’s experience during the past two to three months. Once they are performed enough times and their essence could be understood, then it would be branded into one’s body as instinct. To forget such a thing would be as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.
But these words opened a new door for him and his eyes sparkled, “Greatest compliments to that old friend of yours!”
Lu Xue smiled, “Maybe Sir can give it a try.”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and shook his head, “He has his own path and I have mine. His path may not suit me, but it is still worth learning from. You can go first.”
At those words, he began rehearsing his one thousand Spear Secret Techniques again.
Cultivation knows no time.
On Crouching Dragon Mountain, Yang Kai practised diligently. He had never devoted himself to one thing with such enthusiasm and dedication as this before.
The one thousand over Spear Secret Techniques were blooming brilliantly in his hands.
He returned to the Star City once every two months, firstly to show his face and to keep people from having ideas, and secondly to check on the status of his subordinates.
Progress was wonderful. The dozen people who had not formed their Dao Seals had now formed them, and they all exceeded their original limits, fulfilling Yang Kai’s requirements. Each of them came up to Yue He to seek Fourth-Order or even Fifth-Order materials in order to condense their Yin, Yang and Five Elements.
The ones who had already formed their Dao Seals and had their foundations laid had also refined at least one Element at the limits of what they could bear.
Yang Kai was very much looking forward to Lang Qing Shan’s results. As he expected, this guy was able to withstand the impact of a Fifth-Order Element on his Dao Seal and successfully gathered his Wood Element Power. Yang Kai offered him a Sun’s True Fire on his return, and he had now gone into retreat in order to condense his Fire Element Power. His speed and aptitude were not bad, even in the eyes of those from Cave Heavens and Paradises.
The Star City’s earnings were also extraordinary, and Yang Kai’s share was 70%. Naturally, he gained a lot, but these things were all auxiliaries, material goods. One’s true foundation was their own strength, so he never stayed long. At most, he would stay for two days before returning to Crouching Dragon Mountain to continue cultivating.
The matter that worried him did not seem to happen, as after razing Sword Pavilion’s Star City, the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider did not appear again. Of course, some cultivator strongholds would be destroyed by Beast Tides from time to time, occasionally with no survivors left.
Half a year later, Yang Kai’s aura stretched across the lands on Crouching Dragon Mountain with his spear as unrestrained as ever. Once he withdrew his spear, his aura calmed down in an instant and he stood in place to mull over his thoughts.
Not far away, Lu Xue was slightly stunned as she muttered, “1,035 types!”
There were a total of 1,134 Spear Secret Techniques when she began observing Yang Kai, but only 1,035 were now left. Almost a hundred Spear Secret Techniques were lost, and these were changes that appeared within this half a year.
In other words, Yang Kai was gradually forgetting the Spear Secret Techniques that he practised and was embarking on the exact same path as her old friend.
Lu Xue giggled secretly. In the end, it seemed this young man still had the heart of a boy, saying others had their own paths while he had his, but he was just being stubborn. In the end, he was still imitating others.
But to be able to forget a hundred techniques in such a short time was still shocking to Lu Xue; after all, it had taken her old friend several dozen years to achieve the same feat.
Her friend would not have been able to keep up with such a speed, but it did make sense. Yang Kai had already produced a Divine Manifestation through his insight even though he was only in the Emperor Realm. None before in the history of the 3,000 Worlds had accomplished such an achievement!
But the progress that came afterwards shocked Lu Xue even more!
It took Yang Kai half a year to forget 100 Spear Secret Techniques, but that number had already reached 600 after another half a year. He also seemed to be on the brink of attaining mastery of the remaining 500.
Almost every day, several or even a dozen Spear Secret Techniques would disappear from Yang Kai’s routine, and the rate that they were disappearing by was increasing more and more.
Two months later, when Yang Kai thrust out his spear, no traces of any Secret Techniques were left, only the simplest stab, swing, slash, and sweep, just like a beginner who had only picked up a spear, holding it clumsily and waving it around with only the slightest strength applied.
But his every move looked unusually arduous. The muscles on his arm bulged and the aura around him rippled as if there was a huge invisible force resisting the spear in his hands, keeping him from moving it freely.
Anyone could probably dodge such an attack with ease.
Lu Xue was now utterly confused.
But she could instinctively feel that a terrifying power was hidden behind each strike. The peak of the Grand Dao was a realm of simplicity. Seemingly ordinary movements could contain an infinite number of variations. If she were to rush towards Yang Kai at this moment, then she most likely would not be able to resist the power of his spear.
He remained in such a state for a year. For a year, he did not stop to rest.
Lu Xue watched nervously each and every day, worrying that Yang Kai would suffer cultivation dissonance. She thought of returning to Scarlet Star to report to Yue He of her findings, but she was worried that something would happen to Yang Kai once she left, so she had no choice but to sit and watch.
After two years, her injuries had long since healed, bringing her back to peak condition; even so, the mental strain was still a little tiring for her.
One day, Yang Kai, who seemed to be listless and dazed, suddenly looked in another direction. The spear in his hands repeated the same simple movements, flowing like water in a natural circular swing.
A Dragon Roar burst out and Dragon Pressure spread, enveloping the Heavens and Earth.
Lu Xue was shocked. When she looked up, it was as if a Great Dragon had appeared, stretching across the sky, with just a corner of its eyes, its gaze swept across this plane, sending shivers into one’s heart.
A huge spear shadow covered the world, but Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left in her vision was the spear light that pierced through all.
“Not constrained by paths, reality, or restraints. Not remaining in one state, not bound by one doctrine. Transcending Heaven and Earth, transcending technique and skill. My spear is limitless, my heart is free!”
The sound of manic laughter shook the world, startling birds and beasts alike.
Once Lu Xue’s vision was restored, the only thing she saw was Yang Kai, floating in mid-air with his black hair flying in the wind, spear seized in one hand. His black eyes were so bright that they were scary.
Spear marks marred the skies, and the World Principles themselves writhed as they tried to gradually restore the damage.
[What a terrifying spear technique!] Lu Xue’s heart trembled as she stared dumbly at the scars that were gradually closing up. She knew that the strength of this youth before her must have soared tremendously after this enlightenment.
But he was taking the same path as her old friend? After forgetting more than a thousand Spear Secret Techniques, shouldn’t he master a sure-kill spear? Why was the end result so different? The spear technique that Yang Kai presented at that last moment was indescribable. Though her friend’s sure-kill spear had ferocious power, it was a singular technique with no room for evolution; however, the potential of Yang Kai’s spear technique seemed infinite.
The superior technique between the two was obvious.
[Is it truly as he says? He had his own path?]
“Sir, what technique is this?” Lu Xue asked curiously.
Yang Kai cocked his head to the side and thought about it before grinning, “Limitless Spear!”
“Limitless Spear!” Lu Xue murmured, “Ever-changing with endless power, not bound to any one technique and moving freely of its own will. An apt name.”
She smiled, “But Limitless Spear doesn’t sound very imposing. What about Supreme Limitless Spear?”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened. Even though only one word was added, it gave a completely different feeling. With a hearty laugh, he nodded, “Very good! As you say, this will now be called the Supreme Limitless Spear!”
Yang Kai felt great pride as he held his spear in hand. He spent two years gathering the knowledge of more than a thousand clans, eliminating the bad and retaining the good, eventually cultivating the Supreme Limitless Spear, which can be considered a great achievement.
With this Spear Secret Technique in hand, he did not dare say that he had fully unleashed all of the Azure Dragon Spear’s might, but it was a definite improvement.
If that mantis head was still alive and Yang Kai were to fight him again, then he was confident that he could kill him with his spear within ten breaths. The mantis head may have been masterful with his blades, but Yang Kai’s skill with the spear was no longer shallow either. Compared to two years ago, it was as if he had shed his former body and been reborn.
With his new Spear Secret Technique, there was no need for Yang Kai to stay around any longer, so he instructed Lu Xue, “Pack up and return with me.”
Lu Xue answered him in the affirmative but still felt a little apprehensive. After all, her identity was sensitive to Scarlet Star, so she had no idea whether she would be given any trouble once she was there.
But since she had chosen to follow Yang Kai, she could only endure it even if she were treated badly if she wanted to leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary safely.
After taking out his Communication Artifact and checking it, Yang Kai discovered that Yue He had tried to contact him numerous times.
Previously, he would return to the Star City once every few months, but during the last year, when he had been at a critical moment in his enlightenment, he had not shown up once, which probably worried Yue He.
At this moment, Yang Kai received another message on his Communication Artifact. Sweeping his Divine Sense over it, he read out in pleasant surprise, “You little fatty, I was wondering whether I’d find you or not, but since you’ve thrown yourself into the net… then don’t think you’re getting out so easily!”
Yue He’s message actually told him that the little fatty, Xu Zhen, had come to seek him out, and he had been waiting for almost two months now.
This little fatty came from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven and was a Grandmaster when it came to Artifact Refining and the Dao of Spirit Arrays. Yang Kai wanted his help in setting up a Defensive Spirit Array in the Star City, but unfortunately, he had no idea where he was. He did not expect to receive news about him now.
In a few steps, he arrived by Lu Xue’s side, grabbed her arm, then communicated with his Space Beacon, causing them to both disappear in an instant.
Back at the residence, in front of Yang Kai’s room, a charmingly naive and fair-skinned little fatty stood side by side with Yue He, waiting with an anxious look on his face.
The little fatty was Divine Cauldron Heaven’s Xu Zhen, who had left after refining the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd for Yang Kai. Now it seemed he had successfully refined his Metal Element. His appearance here was proof of it.
He was a disciple of Divine Cauldron Heaven, so his aptitude was extraordinary. He had come seeking Yang Kai in order to ask for a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, naturally because he was certain he could refine it.
“Elder Sister, when will Brother Yang come out of seclusion?” Xu Zhen turned to ask Yue He.
“I don’t know either.”
Yue He slowly shook her head, “Usually, Young Master would appear once every two months before going back into retreat. I have no idea what happened this time, but I have not heard anything from him for an entire year.”
Xu Zhen glanced around and asked worriedly, “Brother Yang has not had a dissonance in his cultivation, has he?”
Yue He’s face changed, “How can that be? Young Master has such phenomenal aptitude and such abundant resources that it is impossible for him to suffer cultivation dissonance, not to mention that he should not have reached a critical point yet. He should not be in any danger.”
The little fatty shook his head, “It is hard to say. The path of cultivation is treacherous, and the consequences are unpredictable.”
Yue He became worried at his words, and she also started to doubt herself.
Xu Zhen struck while the iron was hot, “Why don’t I break the barrier, then we can check on his condition?”
“Forgo that thought!”
Yue He glared at him. Having seen this little fatty’s abilities before, she knew that he would not need to spend too much effort if he truly wanted to break the isolation barrier, but if he did so, then he was bound to disturb Yang Kai. If Yang Kai truly happened to have reached that critical juncture in his cultivation, even if he did not have a dissonance in his cultivation now, he would after.
Xu Zhen laughed embarrassedly, “I was just kidding, please quell your anger, Elder Sister. Ah, what a shame. This one would have liked to present Brother Yang with another opportunity, but it seems… oh? He’s out!”
The barrier around the room in front of them suddenly closed before the door was opened softly. A brave and heroic figure stepped out. Who could it be if not Yang Kai?
Yue He smiled and could finally rest her uneasy heart, going up to greet him with a smile. After just two steps though, her smile stiffened on her face when she saw the person behind Yang Kai, staring at her, stunned.
Xu Zhen was also a little dumbfounded, turning to Yue He to ask, “Elder Sister, did you not say that Brother Yang was in retreat? This… How did this…”
[Who would bring a woman with them while going into retreat?! And he was even with one of the leaders of Sword Pavilion!]
[It was said that Yang Kai had spent an entire year in retreat. Tsk tsk tsk. What has he been doing for that one year?] Xu Zhen could not help but let his mind wander when he looked at Lu Xue, envious of Yang Kai’s good fortune.
“What are you doing here?” When Yang Kai looked up and saw Xu Zhen and Yue He, he felt it to be strange. The little fatty had a wretched smile on his face, but Yue He’s face was livid. Her tender body was shaking and fire was practically spewing from her eyes. She was constantly staring through him, at something behind him.
Yang Kai looked over and saw the blushing Lu Xue before quickly shrinking his neck in realization as he muttered, “I’m afraid there has been a misunderstanding…”
There was a Space Beacon placed inside his room that allowed him to come to and go from Crouching Dragon Mountain, so he naturally returned to that room. It would have been fine if nobody had seen anything, but once he was caught in the act, it would inevitably lead others to think of things that they shouldn’t.
“Yes, a very great misunderstanding indeed!” Yue He scoffed and turned around, flicking her sleeve behind her. A cold aura was left everywhere she passed, which made Guo Zi Yan, who just entered, a little nervous. He immediately rushed aside so as not to be dragged in.
Xu Zhen laughed wretchedly, “Brother Yang’s backyard is on fire! Why don’t you go and put out the fire first and we can talk later?”
Yang Kai had a stern look, “Brother Xu, you really have misunderstood. It is not what you think.”
Xu Zhen said, “It’s useless to explain to me.”
Yang Kai looked at Lu Xue, then back at him, and shook his head speechlessly. He did not try to explain anything and just gave instructions to Guo Zi Yan, “Lady Lu Xue is now one of our people. So take her and settle her down in a suitable room.”
“One of our people!”
Guo Zi Yan was shocked, feeling as if there were a deeper meaning behind Yang Kai’s words, so he quickly responded, “Yes!”
After excusing herself, Lu Xue left with Guo Zi Yan.
Guo Zi Yan treated her with great respect on the way, as if she was the Mistress of the household, which only made Lu Xue feel even more embarrassed.
Inside the reception hall, Chen Yue served up a pot of tea before excusing herself respectfully. Yang Kai and Xu Zhen sat across the table from each other, and only then did Xu Zhen reveal his intentions for coming.
“Brother Yang, I have another big opportunity for you!”
He had refined the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd for Yang Kai the last time he said something similar, so Yang Kai was excited to hear him say so again. He urged with curiosity, “Do tell, Brother Xu.”
Xu Zhen told him, “For a genius of Brother Yang’s calibre, what Brother Yang refined is definitely a Seventh-Order Fire Element, right?”
“That is correct.”
There was no way of hiding it. Yue He had already told him that once the Divine Manifestation, Golden Crow Casts the Sun, was revealed, it was the same as announcing this fact to the world.
Xu Zhen began, “The Seventh-Order Golden Crow’s True Fire can only be suppressed by a Seventh-Order Wood Element, so Brother Yang must also have a Seventh-Order Wood Element Power. During the battle two years ago, Brother Yang used an Earth Divine Ability as a shield. I could tell that the shield is unusually strong and an extraordinary Divine Ability in its own right. Obviously, it must also be of Seventh-Order. In other words, Brother Yang must have gathered at least three Seventh-Order Elements, Wood, Fire, and Earth.”
“Brother Yang has taken such a tremendous risk and did not hesitate to fight against thousands, blocking the passage at the very end and checking everyone’s Space Rings back on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain. I believe your intentions must have been to seek a Seventh-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone.” Speaking up to here, Xu Zhen slowly shook his head, “Unfortunately, though the resources on that Yuan Magnetic Mountain were abundant, no Seventh-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone was produced, which must have been a great disappointment.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile, “Brother Xu, have you heard of this saying before?”
“What saying?” Xu Zhen was curious.
“Smart people usually don’t live long.”
This fatty had met him twice, and even those times were quite brief. Yang Kai was surprised that Xu Zhen was actually able to deduce so many things about him and almost dug up everything about him despite their limited contact.
Xu Zhen quickly waved his hands, “I was just saying. Please don’t blame me, Brother Yang. However, Brother Yang’s ambitions of reaching the Seventh-Order Open Realm in a single leap are now clear.”
Yang Kai looked calmly at him, his expression showing neither happiness nor anger.
“I came this time for matters relating to a Seventh-Order treasure!” Xu Zhen suddenly lowered his voice.
Yang Kai’s expression changed, “Seventh-Order treasure? Of what Element?”
If it were either Wood, Fire, or Earth, then it would not be worth much to him, but if it were any other Element, then he definitely must obtain it. Since entering the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai had only found the Earth Dragon Bead, which was also something he had encountered by chance, at the Seventh Order. It was hard to find Seventh-Order materials even in a natural treasure trove such as this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, much less anywhere else.
Last time, during the Golden Crow carcass’s appearance, great forces of all over were alerted and everyone fought to get their hands on it. A few High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters even joined the fray. If a material of the Seventh Order truly did appear in the 3,000 Worlds, it would not be Yang Kai’s turn to fight for it.
For him, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was his greatest chance.
“If I’m not mistaken, it should be of the Water Element!”
“Water Element!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. After Metal came Water, which was still useful for him. Even if he couldn’t refine it now, there was nothing wrong in collecting it ahead of time.
But rather than becoming tempted, Yang Kai looked suspiciously at Xu Zhen, “Brother Xu, if a Seventh-Order Water Element material has appeared, why not just take it for yourself? What did you come to me with this news for? Don’t tell me that there are two such treasures…”
“Seventh-Order materials are so precious that finding even one is considered a blessing from the Heavens. How could there be two?” Xu Zhen shook his head and laughed, “Only, the trip might be slightly dangerous. Brother Yang’s strength is great, so I am also dragging you over to bolster my own courage.”
Naturally, Yang Kai did not believe his words. This little fatty was one Divine Cauldron Heaven’s Core Disciples. Even though Yang Kai had never seen Xu Zhen fight before, he must not be weak. But even he called the trip dangerous, so it must truly be a terrifying journey. He was most likely recruiting Yang Kai to increase his battle strength.
“I will not hide it from Brother Yang. The two of us will not be the only ones going. That place was actually discovered by a friend of mine, and there will be around five or six of us going on this trip.”
“Five or six!” Yang Kai was amazed. Xu Zhen had called these people his friends, and anyone he could call a friend must have an extraordinary background and strength. It was most likely that they were all the elite disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Grinning, Yang Kai asked, “There is only one Seventh-Order treasure, but around six of us. How will it be split?”
Xu Zhen said with a smile, “We will travel together, but once we arrive, then every man will face his own destiny in life or death!”
“An interesting proposition!” Yang Kai’s emotions were churning. He hadn’t been on such an adventure in a long time, so just listening to Xu Zhen talk about it made his blood boil. He wanted nothing more than to set out right now.
“Does that mean Brother Yang agrees?” Xu Zhen looked at him.
“There is one problem.” Yang Kai looked at him, puzzled, “Brother Xu has asked me for the Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone last time, so you must be cultivating Sixth-Order Elements. Why are you coveting this Seventh-Order material?”
Xu Zhen explained seriously, “Among the Yin, Yang and Five Elements, Wood and Water are the gentlest and their impact on one’s Dao Seal is the smallest. Even though I aspire to enter the Sixth-Order, condensing Seventh-Order Wood and Water Elements should pose no problem to me. Did Brother Yang’s Master not tell you this?”
Yang Kai suddenly realized that Xu Zhen’s approach was just as he had speculated to his dozens of subordinates. Even though some of their foundations were already set, it was possible to build on it to gain even greater strength from certain Elements.
If he did not guess wrong, then the Wood Element Power that this little fatty cultivated should be of the Seventh Order. Only, the rest of his elements were in the Sixth-Order, which meant he would eventually break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Of course, Yang Kai had no Master or Elders to tell him about these intricacies. Even though the Proprietress treated him well, she clearly did not expect his ambitions to be so high and never even thought of telling him about such things. There was a lot of common-sense information that he had to hear from Yue He.
After laughing and brushing the matter aside, Yang Kai continued, “By the way, there is one matter that I wish to seek Brother Xu’s help with.”
Xu Zhen asked, “What is it?”
“I wish to hire Brother Xu to arrange a Grand Array in this Star City to increase its defences!”
Xu Zhen could not help but feel a little speechless, “This is Scarlet Star’s Star City. Brother Yang is merely a Foreign Elder in name, so why do you care so much?”
“It will be beneficial to me, definitely.” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
Xu Zhen could not refuse, so he could only say, “What about this. I will help you once we return. It is too late for that now. I have already agreed with my friends to meet in five days. We have to set off tomorrow or we will not make it in time.”
The next morning, when Yang Kai and Xu Zhen left the residence, everyone came to see them off.
Yue He hid at the back of the crowd with a terrible look on her face. Yang Kai heard from Guo Zi Yan that this woman threw a huge tantrum last night, smashing the things in her room and scaring them so badly that they did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
Yang Kai looked at Guo Zi Yan and instructed, “This trip should not take too long. While I am away, watch over them and supervise their cultivation carefully. If you need any resources, ask Yue He.”
Guo Zi Yan answered, “Yes.”
Yue He pouted at the back, “Hmph…”
Yang Kai glanced at her, “Yue He, you know what to do if you encounter any danger that you cannot handle.”
Yue He tilted her head to the other side, “Heh heh…”
Lu Xue felt guilty to hear her laugh like that and stepped forward, “Sir, should this Mistress follow you?”
“No need. Just stay here and help Yue He manage the Star City.”
Lu Xue withdrew reluctantly and glanced quietly at Yue He, only to see this woman smiling coldly at her. That smile sent shivers down her spine and she knew that if this misunderstanding was not unravelled soon, she would not have an easy life in the future.
“You can all return now. Brother Xu, let us go,” Yang Kai called out to Xu Zhen before rising to the sky.
Xu Zhen followed nimbly behind.
After the two of them left, Yue He finally put away the smile on her face and lifted her skirt in a huff, turning around and leaving. Lu Xue quickly followed her shouting, “Big Sister Yue He, there is something that I wish to speak with you about!”
Yue He shot her a brilliant smile, “What a coincidence. I also have something to say to Little Sister Lu. Let us go to my room.” Saying so, she took Lu Xue’s arm affectionately and brought her off with a big smile.
Guo Zi Yan and the others at the back could not help but shudder.
…..
The Sun, Moon, and Stars did not exist in the Grand Ancient Ruins, and without them, Yang Kai did not even know which direction he was flying in. Following behind Xu Zhen, they sped along for three days, passing by many cultivator strongholds, which Yang Kai looked at in amazement.
These strongholds came in all shapes and sizes. Some were grand, while others were extremely well hidden. The large ones could house tens of thousands while the small ones could hold no more than several hundred, eking out a living in the strange environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
There were also crumbling strongholds that had quite obviously been destroyed by Beast Tides. Rotten corpses lay around in an upsetting manner.
The entire original Star City was swallowed up when the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary opened, and at least several hundred thousand people were sucked in. Now, after several years, it was likely less than half of them remained alive.
Nearly 50,000 perished in Sword Pavilion’s Star City alone, so the number of lives lost since the opening of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could be imagined.
Three days later, the pair could hear the sound of beating waves from afar, and they could also taste salt in the air.
Yang Kai was stunned, “There is a sea in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
Xu Zhen explained, “The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary covers such a vast area. The area we are familiar with is nothing more than one corner of this world, so what is so strange about there being a sea here?”
A few moments later, a huge sea with crashing waves entered their view. Waves curled up as high as 30 meters, making a huge noise as they crashed down.
Yang Kai suddenly had a realization. Xu Zhen said that they were seeking a Seventh-Order Water Element treasure, and the sea was filled with the Water Element Power, so it should come as no surprise for it to produce a Seventh-Order Water Element material.
After arriving at the sea, they flew for 6 more hours before Xu Zhen suddenly said, “We’ve arrived.”
At the same time, Yang Kai discovered several unfamiliar auras. Looking over, he saw several scattered figures ahead, standing on a small island spanning no more than a kilometre across.
One of them stood on the beach with his hands behind his back. His stalwart figure was dressed in black robes and when he looked over, his sharp hawk-like eyes gleamed, as if he was staring into one’s heart.
A short distance to the side of him was a young girl sitting on a rock. She kept her head down and Yang Kai had no idea what she was doing. Her hair was spread down over her shoulders, concealing most of her face.
Another figure was a young man, sitting down cross-legged on a treetop a thousand meters behind the young girl. He was silently cultivating and his figure bobbed along with the wind. Yang Kai could feel a profound aura from this man.
Yang Kai shivered faintly in his heart. Even though none of these people were in the Open Heaven Realm, they all gave him the feeling that they were not to be trifled with. Were these the friends that Xu Zhen talked about? Yang Kai had no idea which Cave-Heavens or Paradises they came from, but their heritage was clearly not ordinary.
Yang Kai and Xu Zhen landed, and the black-robed young man standing with his hands behind his back called out, “Fatty, you’re late.”
“No, no, I’m not late. There’s still one day before the time limit.” After a pause, he added, “Also, Brother Lin Feng… Stop calling me fatty or I’ll have to fall out with you.”
Xu Zhen was smiling even while saying such words, not showing any of his emotions. Lin Feng coldly snorted and turned to look at Yang Kai instead, raising his chin at him, “You made us wait this long for this guy? Which Cave-Heaven or Paradise does he come from? How come I’ve never seen him before?”
Xu Zhen explained, “This, I’ve never really asked.” He turned to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, where are you from?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “I don’t come from a Paradise or Cave-Heaven. Just think of me as grass by the roadside that’s not worth mentioning.”
Xu Zhen was stunned.
He had seen Yang Kai bringing out a Divine Manifestation and he was even aspiring to break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm directly. He had a Master in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm such as Yue He following him around, calling him Young Master, so he really thought that he was either from a Cave-Heaven or a Paradise. It was surprising to hear from Yang Kai that he wasn’t.
Without the deep heritage and cultivational resources of a Cave-Heaven or Paradise, how could he come this far?
“Brother Yang must be joking,” Xu Zhen’s mouth twitched. He clearly did not believe him, but since Yang Kai was unwilling to tell him, he did not pry.
The black-robed young man coldly snorted, “Fatty, this guy isn’t a disciple of any Cave-Heaven or Paradise, and you’re just going to casually let him join us?”
Xu Zhen answered, “Brother Lin, I have seen Brother Yang’s skills before. In terms of ability, even you are weaker than him.”
Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed, “Truly?” When those words left his mouth, his battle intent was instantly heightened, and his aura was suddenly pushed to its limit. A burning gaze was locked onto Yang Kai, as if he wanted to fight him here and now. Obviously, he was unconvinced by Xu Zhen’s words.
He was a Cave-Heaven disciple with a phenomenal foundation. Even though he had yet to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, he was still strong enough to fight a few rounds with a Master in the First-Order Open Heaven Realm. What could this guy be capable of?
“Stop it.” Xu Zhen eyed him speechlessly, “You will naturally see his abilities later.”
He then turned to Yang Kai and said, “Brother Yang, let me introduce you. This guy is Lin Feng, a Core Disciple of True Martial Cave Heaven.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists courteously, “Greetings Brother Lin.”
[He really is a Cave-Heaven disciple.]
When he met Xu Zhen and that guy surnamed Yin, Yang Kai wondered whether other Cave-Heaven or Paradise disciples had been sucked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but he didn’t expect to meet them today, and there were more than one here.
Yang Kai had no idea why these few happened to be in that Star City at that time and got dragged into that unexpected disaster.
But there were also opportunities to be discovered in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. For them, favoured sons and daughters of the Heavens, being dragged into this place may not be a bad thing.
Lin Feng coldly snorted, pointing his nose to the sky.
“This here is Gu Pan from Lang Ya Paradise!” Xu Zhen pointed to the girl who seemed to be busy doing something on the rock.
The girl got up in a hurry and her cheeks seemed to be puffed. She greeted softly, “Greetings, Senior Brother Yang!”
Her voice was very soft, just like a kitten, so Yang Kai could tell she was a gentle girl.
But Yang Kai was amazed by something else.
This girl called Gu Pan actually came from Lang Ya Paradise!
That was where Zhang Ruo Xi’s ancestor came from. After awakening her Heavens Order bloodline, Zhang Ruo Xi inherited a part of her ancestor’s memory, and she also intended to head to Lang Ya Paradise after leaving the Star Boundary. In the end, they were devoured by the Myriad Facets Insect and separated halfway there.
Later, Yang Kai ended up stranded in Seven Wonders Land while Zhang Ruo Xi was nowhere to be seen. Yang Kai figured that she must have gone to Lang Ya Paradise; after all, that was her ancestor’s homeland. If she went there, it would be like returning to her homeland, so she would surely not be rejected.
Yang Kai wanted to look for Zhang Ruo Xi at Lang Ya Paradise after he entered the Open Heaven Realm, but who knew he would actually run into a Lang Ya Paradise disciple here?
He was pleasantly surprised and almost wanted to ask about Zhang Ruo Xi, but held back.
This matter could not be rushed. He would first see Gu Pan’s character before deciding later.
“Greetings, Junior Sister Gu!” Yang Kai returned the greeting after suppressing his impulses. The girl then sat back down and lowered her head again, going back to what she was doing.
“And that over there… That is Ning Dao Ran. He is from Free and Unfettered Paradise.”
Xu Zhen pointed to the young man bobbing up and down on the tree branch.
Even though this young man did not look old, he had an ethereal air about him, an immortal temperament only found in old Masters. If Yang Kai were to judge him based merely on his aura and not his appearance, then he really would not be able to guess how long this man had lived.
Ning Dao Ran did not get up. He just erected a single palm towards Yang Kai, “Greetings, Fellow Daoist Brother!”
“Senior Brother Ning!” Yang Kai returned the greeting.
Xu Zhen looked left and right and scratched his head, “Where did that seductress Qu Hua Shang go?”
As soon as he said that, a figure appeared behind him from the middle of the sea. She had a delicate figure dressed in translucent fabrics. Water vapour still lingered around her body when she emerged, attracting infinite imagination.
Yang Kai looked over to see an enchanting woman standing behind Xu Zhen. She was half a head taller than him and leaned over Xu Zhen’s ear, exhaling an orchid scent, “Who are you calling a seductress, you fatty?”
Xu Zhen looked down and lowered his head. The look on his face was as if he was thinking that form was emptiness, and emptiness was form. He raised a thumb and pointed behind him, “This seductress is from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Her name is Qu Hua Shang. Be careful, Brother Yang. She is most adept at seducing men. Don’t fall for her tricks or you’ll have the Yang Qi sucked out of you until you die… Aiya, why are you twisting my ear! Hurry and let me go! I’ll beat you if you don’t let go!”
“Who’s seducing who? Who’s sucking whose Yang Qi?” Qu Hua Shang gritted her teeth while twisting Xu Zhen’s ear harder, “Our Yin-Yang Cave Heaven cultivates the path of Yin-Yang Union, not those dirty and underhanded tactics of harvesting that you speak of. Do not slander me in front of outsiders.”
Xu Zhen’s face distorted in pain, but he dutifully kept an eye on Yang Kai and warned, “Just be careful of this woman, Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Brother Xu is exaggerating. Yin alone does not form life, Yang alone does not provide growth. The Yin-Yang Union is one of the world’s Grand Daos and is not as impure as you think it is.”
Yang Kai had experienced the benefits of Yin-Yang Union before, so he naturally knew that the orthodox Secret Arts of dual cultivation were not comparable to those underhanded Yang or Yin Qi harvesting Secret Techniques, so he did have some insight into the matter.
These words went straight into Qu Hua Shang’s heart and rather than keep causing trouble for Xu Zhen, she looked at Yang Kai with beautiful glowing eyes, “At least this Brother here is understanding. Little Brother, if you have the time, we should discuss the art of dual cultivation.”
“Yes, I’m sure we’ll have the chance,” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly.
Xu Zhen was dumbfounded. Yang Kai had already been hooked by this seductress! He got hooked by Qu Hua Shang as soon as she arrived! What a great scandal! He was now regretting bringing Yang Kai here. To think he failed to see what a pervert this guy was!
A look of contempt also flashed past Lin Feng’s eyes and he coldly snorted, “Fatty, you’re the one who brought him here, so don’t be blaming anyone if he dies on the road.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “If I really end up dead, then my lack of abilities is to blame, not anyone else.”
“Now that’s what a man should say,” Lin Feng looked Yang Kai up and down as if to re-evaluate him.
Xu Zhen interrupted, “Enough of that nonsense for now. Since we’re all here, Lin Feng, tell them the situation about the Water Element treasure.”
“We can talk as we walk to save time,” Lin Feng said.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Xu Zhen agreed.
Gu Pan got up, and Ning Dao Ran also floated down from the top of the tree. With a beckon, a willow leaf suddenly appeared, growing in size until it suddenly formed a willow leaf boat, which befuddled Yang Kai.
This willow lead did not give off the aura of an artifact at all, as if it were just an ordinary willow leaf. He had no idea what sort of mysterious technique Ning Dao Ran had used to produce such an amazing result.
Everyone boarded the boat while Ning Dao Ran stood at the bow. Riding on the wind, the boat broke through the air.
Yang Kai raised his foot and stomped on the boat, discovering that this little boat was actually quite sturdy. Even a casual punch from him might not be enough to destroy it. He realized that as he thought, each one of these Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples had great ability. This was true for Xu Zhen, Ning Dao Ran, and most likely for Lin Feng, Gu Pan, and Qu Hua Shang as well. None of them were soft persimmons.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel envious; after all, having someone to learn from surely had great benefits. There was someone there to teach them everything they wanted to learn, and they did not have to worry about cultivation resources either, much unlike him. He had to build up from nothing everywhere he went, putting his life on the line for his struggle without the love and care of either Elders or Masters. Even the path of cultivation had to be advanced along blindly, taking it one step at a time.
Yang Kai sighed in his heart while Lin Feng had already begun telling them about the situation with the Water Element treasure.
These Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples also happened to be in the Star City when it was devoured by the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, but they immediately realized that this was an opportunity, unlike the cultivators who knew little about the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Which one of these Cave-Heavens or Paradises did not have inheritances spanning hundreds of thousands of years, or even longer?
They must have a lot of secret records, and there may even be Seniors who had come and gone from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. As such, these five more or less knew some information about the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Therefore, they separated from each other as soon as they arrived to seek out their own opportunities.
During the past few years, they had also each gained some benefits. Needless to say, Xu Zhen had refined the Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd and exchanged it with Yang Kai for a Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone, which was considered a great profit for him. Even though he was a Divine Cauldron Heaven disciple, it would still take an immense amount of time and effort in order to acquire a Sixth-Order Metal Element material; after all, Sixth-Order treasures were not like wild vegetables which could be found everywhere.
The others were also able to gain similar harvests.
Lin Feng travelled far and wide on his search, and by chance, during one of his trips to this part of the sea, he sensed the abundant aura of a Water Element treasure from a certain island. The aura was extremely rich and far surpassed any other Water Element treasure that he had come across before.
“It has to be a Seventh-Order or perhaps even an Eighth-Order Water Element treasure!” Lin Feng quickly said with a burning gaze.
Everyone’s breathing quickened!
A Seventh or Eighth-Order Water Element treasure was so precious that it may not even appear once in a thousand years, and when brought to the outside, could suppress the shine of all other precious treasure. Yet, one appeared in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
“I’m afraid it probably won’t be that easy to obtain,” Qu Hua Shang said with a smile, “If it could so easily be obtained, then there is no way you would have called us over to help, Lin Feng.”
Lin Feng said, “Naturally, it won’t be easy to obtain. There are many strange Sea Clan members on that island, and the Water Element treasure seems to be very important to them. The closer I got, the heavier their defences became. I tried four times to get my hands on it, but I was forced back each time.”
“Sea Clan?” Everyone was shocked.
Xu Zhen asked, “Are there Masters amongst the Sea Clan?”
Lin Feng shook his head slowly, “They aren’t exactly strong. If we were to fight one-on-one, then they would not be my opponent. Unfortunately, there are too many of them! This Lin’s two fists can’t block four punches!”
“But did you see the Water Element treasure with your own eyes?” Qu Hua Shang asked, “What does it look like?”
Lin Feng blushed, “I didn’t see it…” Everyone looked strangely at him, which forced him to become angry out of shame, “Even though I never got to see it, I’m sure it is either Seventh or Eighth- Order! If you don’t want to go, then I’ll go alone. I have to get my hands on that treasure no matter what!”
Xu Zhen quickly went, “Yes, yes, yes, of course we’re going! How could we not go and take a look?”
Qu Hua Shang also nodded, “That’s right.”
Ning Dao Ran, who had been standing at the bow of the boat this whole time, did not say a single word, almost as if nothing concerned him. Gu Pan also kept her head down and constantly kept herself busy. Neither of the two expressed anything at all, showcasing their unique personalities.
Lin Feng, standing with both hands behind his back, swept a glance at Yang Kai and declared, “Going is one thing, but let me remind everyone in advance that there are six of us, but only one Water Element treasure. Don’t blame this Lin for being unforgiving later when it comes time to fight for it!”
Qu Hua Shang smiled, “Of course, the rest of us feel the same. If Senior Brother Lin were beaten to death by any of us later, then we hope you won’t hold a grudge in the next life.”
Lin Feng coldly snorted, “If you have the ability, try and beat me to death as you wish!” Suddenly, he turned to Yang Kai, “I know how strong all of you are, so all of you have the qualifications to fight with this Lin, but as for him…”
Yang Kai smiled, “Is Senior Brother Lin curious to find out?”
“If you do not have the ability, then I will beat you to death now so you don’t hold us back.”
Qu Hua Shang frowned, “Is beating people to death the only thing you can think of? Can’t you act more like a gentleman? Take a look at Senior Brother Ning, for example!”
Even though it was her first time meeting Yang Kai, it was also the first time she had encountered someone who did not look down on her for cultivating Yin-Yang Union and was even willing to join her in discussing such methods. This helped her form a good impression of him.
“No matter.” Yang Kai raised a hand, “It is normal for Senior Brother Lin to have such concerns. I just don’t know how Senior Brother Lin intends to verify whether I am qualified or not.”
Lin Feng slowly raised a palm, “If you can take three palms from me and stay alive, then that proves that you have the qualification.”
Ning Dao Ran, who had been standing still the whole time, slowly turned around and interjected, “The boat will break!”
Lin Feng roared, “Who cares about your damn boat!”
Ning Dao Ran kept silent, saying nothing more.
Yang Kai grinned, “Being taken advantage of by Senior Brother Lin on the first meeting? That would hurt the harmonious atmosphere here. But since Senior Brother Lin wishes to test my abilities, then I shall accept.”
Having said so, Yang Kai suddenly leapt backwards, jumping straight into the sea and disappearing from sight.
Lin Feng was stunned, Qu Hua Shang was dumbfounded, and Gu Pan suddenly coughed, as if she were choking on something, pounding at her chest with her small hand.
From what they could feel from their Divine Senses, Yang Kai was rapidly moving away, and soon left their perception range.
Only after a long time did Lin Feng’s brow twitch, “He ran off?” He then glared at Xu Zhen, “That’s the helper that you found? Are your eyes growing out of your ass? How dare you bring some stray cat or dog!”
Xu Zhen scratched his head, “That’s strange…”
Yang Kai could face thousands of enemies all on his own without even a change in his expression, so how could he be afraid of sparring with Lin Feng?
But if he were not afraid, why did he run? Xu Zhen was puzzled.
Qu Hua Shang also shook her head and sighed, “And here I thought he was a decent man. Turns out he’s nothing more than an embroidered pillow. Nice in appearance, but not of much use.”
“Something’s coming,” Xu Zhen’s expression suddenly changed.
Everyone could sense it as soon as he said that.
Lin Feng shouted, “I forgot to tell you. I’m afraid my journey to the island has not been too peaceful. There are many Sea Beasts in the surrounding waters, and all of them have extraordinary strength. They are at a great advantage when fighting in the sea, so it won’t be easy even if we want to kill them. Be careful, here it comes!”
The willow leaf boat suddenly lifted a thousand meters into the air and drifted off nimbly to avoid the incoming attack from the sea.
When they looked down, they all saw a huge creature rushing up to the Heavens.
“Wah, what a big octopus!” Qu Hua Shang exclaimed as she shaded her eyes with her hand.
A huge octopus came out from under the sea. It had tentacles covered in suckers that spanned more than a thousand meters across, dancing about with great force as if it could even flatten a large mountain.
“This wicked creature again? I ran into this guy during my last trip and fought with him for an incense stick of time. I almost killed it, but unfortunately, I let it escape. Since it dares to come out again, then it better not think it can go back alive!” Lin Feng stepped forward, his murderous intent tumbling.
“This octopus…” Xu Zhen was stunned. He stared at the creature with a strange expression, because the octopus’s round eyes were filled with fear and horror at this moment. Moreover, its tentacles seemed to be flailing about randomly and it did not seem to have come out on its own initiative to attack them. Instead, it seemed as if it had been forced out of the sea by an attacker.
Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the sea with a splash, rushing straight towards the octopus, reaching it in a flash.
Seemingly able to sense the approaching crisis, the octopus’s eight tentacles flailed about, sweeping below its body.
But the figure did not care. Taking a deep breath, they raised a fist and punched out, hitting the octopus’s soft abdomen.
There was a blast, and then a layer of ripples suddenly spread out. The octopus’s eight tentacles suddenly turned stiff as its round eyes bulged.
Before everyone’s stunned gaze, the octopus the size of a small mountain suddenly burst apart in mid-air, transforming into a mist of blood that sprinkled down onto the surface of the ocean. A mess of flesh and blood spread out for several dozen kilometres around them, bobbing on the water’s surface, leading to a feeding frenzy for the other Sea Beasts.
They were all shocked!
Yang Kai’s body moved through the bloody mist, and landed back on the willow leaf boat before grinning and Lin Feng, “I wonder if my punch is enough to meet Senior Brother Lin’s eyes.”
Lin Feng’s face twitched for a while before he coldly snorted, “All you have is brute force.”
The strength required to toss up such a large octopus from the sea was indeed beyond his reach, and the ability to smash the octopus to pieces with one punch was further proof of Yang Kai’s strength. However, brute force was not the only thing a cultivator’s heritage was judged by; there was also the depth of that strength, the Secret Arts and Secret Techniques that they cultivated, as well as the artifacts they possessed.
But it was still awkward to see Yang Kai punch this octopus to death after he just recounted how he failed to take it down even after fighting it for an incense stick worth of time the last time he encountered it.
“Does that mean I’m qualified?” Yang Kai smiled at Lin Feng.
Lin Feng coldly snorted, adding nothing more to the conversation.
“Little Brother Yang sure is so strong!” Qu Hua Shang’s eyes were glowing. While speaking, she came over to squeeze Yang Kai’s arm muscles, exclaiming, “Such solid muscles!”
“I have stronger muscles elsewhere, if Big Sister Qu is interested in touching them.” Yang Kai winked at her.
Qu Hua Shang glared at him and pouted, “Naughty boy!”
Yang Kai broke out in laughter.
Lin Feng scolded through gritted teeth, “Shameless!”
The little fatty, Xu Zhen, also could not help but sigh as he held his forehead.
As they continued on their journey with the willow leaf boat moving through the air, Yang Kai and Qu Hua Shang sat shoulder to shoulder to the side, muttering together with their heads close, but it was not known what they were talking about. They seemed deeply immersed in their conversation and Qu Hua Shang would also raise a tender fist to punch Yang Kai from time to time while giggling, as if the two of them were flirting. It was simply hard for one to watch.
The sea was full of dangers from the many large Sea Beasts that moved unhindered beneath the surface of the water. They would scurry out from time to time when they felt the aura of living people to block their way.
But the people on the boat all had extraordinary heritages. Despite their ferocity, these Sea Beasts could not beat them. They would often be killed before they could even approach. A reign of terror was left in the wake of the willow leaf boat.
Yang Kai was also fortunate enough to see the techniques of these Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples through this journey. As he expected, they were all extraordinarily strong. The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that these five possessed stemming from their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements were especially eye-opening.
Yang Kai could not help but feel that he had just popped out of the ground and seen the Great World in the company of these people. It was a novel feeling.
He wished to share a few words with Gu Pan and form a friendly relationship with her, which would make it more convenient for him to ask for information about Zhang Ruo Xi. Unfortunately, that seductress Qu Hua Shang was constantly latched onto him to discuss the profound mysteries of Yin-Yang Union. So, Yang Kai had no choice but to give up.
Then again, Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s dual cultivation techniques were indeed profound. After a long discussion with Qu Hua Shang, Yang Kai felt that he had gained a lot. It was a pity that Su Yan was not around; otherwise, he could have gotten some practical experience. Qu Hua Shang was clearly inspired by Yang Kai as well, and the more they talked and got to know each other, the more they regretted not having met sooner.
Three days later, the willow leaf boat suddenly descended and landed on a lonely skerry.
As Ning Dao retrieved his willow leaf, everyone scanned the surroundings.
Lin Feng pointed his finger in a certain direction, “See that island over there? The Water Element treasure is on that island. It’s not a small island. I came here several times before, but I could never get to it. This time, we’re sure to get our hands on the treasure with the six of us all cooperating.”
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing at, and sure enough, there was an island far away on the horizon.
From this position, the island did not look big; however, it had to be known that they were at least a thousand kilometres from the island! It may not look big here, but it would definitely not look small once they got close.
Xu Zhen turned to Yang Kai, “This is how it is, Yang Kai. We have already discussed beforehand that since we are six, we will split up into three groups of two and approach the island from different directions. The rest will be up to your own abilities, so others should have no complaints.”
They were originally five, and they would be one short if they were to split up into groups of two or three. If not, he would not have gone to look for Yang Kai for help. He had also seen Yang Kai’s abilities before, so he naturally sought him out to make up the numbers, which would also make their trip much safer.
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Then let’s split into groups, how about going with me?” Xu Zhen immediately proposed when he saw that Yang Kai did not object.
But as soon as he finished saying that, Qu Hua Shang had already latched onto Yang Kai’s arm, as if she were intent on clinging onto him, “I’m grouping with Little Brother Yang!” She had been chatting happily with Yang Kai on the boat for the past three days, so she naturally wanted to go with him.
“No!”” Both Xu Zhen and Lin Feng objected in unison.
“Why not?” Qu Hua Shang’s face darkened.
Lin Feng coldly snorted, “You two filthy fornicators have been flirting with each other throughout the whole trip. If the two of you were really left alone, then who knows what immoral things would happen? Whether you live or die is none of my concern, but what if you put the rest of us in danger?”
Qu Hua Shang fumed, “Who are you calling filthy fornicators? Say that again if you dare!”
“So what if I insult you?” Lin Feng showed no weakness.
Seeing that everyone was beginning to quarrel before they could even break into groups, Xu Zhen said with a headache, “Enough. Cut it out, all of you. Brother Lin’s words may not sound pleasant, but I have to agree. You mustn’t ever be in the same group as Brother Yang, you seductress!”
Qu Hua Shang sneered, “Then who do you expect me to group with?”
Xu Zhen looked at the brothers and pointed to someone, “You can go with Brother Ning.”
Qu Hua Shang jumped up in rage, “You want me to group up with that wooden blockhead? You fatty! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Ning Dao Ran followed the natural path and allowed nothing to weigh him down, which was the exact opposite of her demeanour and temperament, so she naturally was not happy with this arrangement.
“Then, let us go,” Ning Dao Ran declared, as if he did not hear a single word she said, making his way step by step towards the island.
Qu Hua Shang was furious and grit her teeth so hard that they almost cracked. Seeing that Ning Dao Ran was moving further and further away though, she said helplessly, “Little Brother Yang, we will continue our conversation once we return. I’m looking forward to being able to try dual cultivation with you soon.”
Yang Kai patted her arm, “Take care of yourself!”
“Yes, you must wait for me!” Qu Hua Shang nodded incessantly. Then, tender body turning, she rushed over to catch up with Ning Dao Ran.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw her leave, and he shot a grateful look at Xu Zhen. He might not be able to stand Qu Hua Shang’s burning enthusiasm if he were forced to stick with her any longer.
“As for Brother Yang…” Xu Zhen glanced at Yang Kai, then with a flash of hesitation on his face, he suggested, “Brother Yang should group with Junior Sister Gu.”
Among the remaining four, Yang Kai and Lin Feng did not get along, so it was naturally impossible for them to group together; otherwise, they might even start trouble with one another. Xu Zhen originally wanted to be in the same group as Yang Kai; after all, Yang Kai was strong. If they encountered any danger, then he was sure to be able to turn danger into safety with Yang Kai’s assistance. However, after some thought, Xu Zhen decided to give that opportunity to Gu Pan instead.
If he and Lin Feng joined forces, they may not be worse off than Yang Kai and Gu Pan’s group.
Naturally, Lin Feng had no problem with it. After Xu Zhen was done settling the grouping, he urged them, “Since we’re ready, let us be on our way. We can’t allow Ning Dao Ran and Qu Hua Shang to get a head start.”
With one step, they had already moved a hundred metres away.
Xu Zhen whispered to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, Junior Sister Gu is the true heir of Lang Ya Paradise, so her position is extremely high. Do not try anything with her or you’ll be hunted down by them.”
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “What are you saying, Brother Xu? What kind of person do you take me for?”
Xu Zhen cast him a suspicious look.
He regretted having misjudged this man. Back when he saw Yang Kai walking out of the chamber with Lu Xue at his residence, he should have known he was a licentious fellow. He could not help but worry whether it truly was a good idea to leave Gu Pan in his hands.
Yang Kai turned serious as he snapped, “Hey! I’m really not that kind of man!”
Xu Zhen sighed and patted him on the shoulder, “You better restrain yourself!”
With that, he left to catch up to Lin Feng.
With four leaving, only Yang Kai and Gu Pan remained atop the skerry. Yang Kai was laughing wildly in his heart as he had been worried about whether or not he would be able to find time alone with this girl. Xu Zhen’s arrangement was just like sending him a pillow when he was about to doze off.
But the matter of finding out about Zhang Ruo Xi’s situation couldn’t be rushed. He had to learn about this Gu Pan’s background first.
Turning around, he saw Gu Pan with her head down as usual, busy with something. Yang Kai really had no idea what she had been doing up till now.
“Junior Sister Gu,” Yang Kai showed a harmless smile.
Gu Pan covered her mouth and chewed quickly. He heard a gulp as if she had just swallowed something. Only then did she raise her head and respond softly, “Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai stared at the corner of her mouth and touched his own in the same spot, “Junior Sister, you have something on your face here.”
Gu Pan raised her hand and took off what was stuck to the corner of her mouth. Then, as Yang Kai was watching, she stuffed it into her mouth, sucked on her fingers, and licked her lips.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
He thought that this girl had been cultivating some sort of profound art when he saw her keeping her head down the whole time. But now, it seemed like she was just eating!
He had no idea what could be so delicious that she could not stop herself from eating it. Even more strangely, she didn’t make a single sound as she ate.
Taking a breath, Yang Kai smiled, “Junior Sister, let’s be on our way.”
“En,” Gu Pan nodded obediently.
Then, the two departed from the skerry, making their way towards the island.
A thousand kilometres did not take more than three breaths to cross even if they were focusing on concealing themselves. Looking up, the island truly was huge, too big to estimate from just an initial visual inspection at least. The pair also saw no signs of the four that left before, so they had no idea where they went.
“Senior Brother, should we move to the other side of the island?” Gu Pan suddenly asked when she saw Yang Kai walking straight ahead.
Yang Kai said, “No need. I’m sure they must have taken a different route, so we can just walk straight ahead. We were already behind them, so this will save some time.”
“En.” Gu pan nodded.
“By the way, does Junior Sister have any techniques to conceal one’s aura and figure?”
Gu Pan answered, “I can conceal my aura, but concealing my figure is a little difficult.”
“Then we can use my artifact. Come closer, Junior Sister.”
Gu Pan stuck close to Yang Kai without hesitation.
Raising his hand, Yang Kai enveloped the two of them with his Shadowless Veil. In a flash, their bodies disappeared from sight, making it impossible for others to find any traces of them even if they looked carefully.
The Shadowless Veil was something that Yang Kai obtained back in Seven Wonders Land. It was originally given to Du Ru Feng by his Master, Fire Spirit Land’s Protector Venerable Duan Hai. Since Du Ru Feng was killed by Yang Kai though, the Shadowless Veil naturally became his trophy.
Duan Hai was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so the grade of this Shadowless Veil was also extraordinary. As soon as it was summoned, it had the effect of hiding one’s aura and figure. Even a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master would find it difficult to see through this artifact, so it was considered a rare treasure.
Back on the Sun Star, Yang Kai had used this artifact to avoid being found by the many Low-Rank and several Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, allowing him to get close to the Golden Crow’s carcass. With great ‘luck’, he coincidentally managed to snatch the Golden Crow’s carcass.
Later, after joining First Inn, the Shadowless Veil was taken away by the Proprietress and handed over to a Grandmaster to be further refined, improving its performance even further.
The Proprietress said that a cultivator in the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm shouldn’t even dream of being able to see through this thing now, and if a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator was not paying attention, then they might not be able to see any traces either.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, where there was no Open Heaven Realm, the Shadowless Veil gave Yang Kai an overwhelming advantage when it came to concealment.
Gu Pan had good eyes, so she could tell how magnificent this artifact was when they were enveloped by the Shadowless Veil and exclaimed, “Senior Brother’s treasure is truly amazing.”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Junior Sister comes from Lang Ya Paradise and is both experienced and knowledgeable. How could such a thing enter Junior Sister’s eyes?”
Gu Pan replied in a sincere tone, “It is my first time coming out to train.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “Then Junior Sister is truly unfortunate.”
Gu Pan dropped her head, appearing sad, “My Master, Senior Brothers, and Senior Sisters must be worried.”
Yang Kai could not bear to see her pitiful appearance and consoled, “Rest assured, you will get out of here one day and will naturally be reunited with them.”
“En, it is as Senior Brother says,” Gu Pan nodded repeatedly.
“Shh!” Yang Kai raised a finger to his lips, “Enough talking for now. We’re entering the island and there are a lot of Sea Clan members there.”
There were indeed many from the Sea Clan stationed on the beach where numerous campfires were lit. There were even houses made of palm leaves next to the fires where many Sea Clan members were coming in and out. Food was being cooked on the fires that exuded a tempting aroma.
Yang Kai quietly looked over and could not help but frown. Sure enough, as Lin Feng said, all of these Sea Clan members had strange appearances. Some had fish heads with gills, while others had webbed feet and hands. Some even had scales all over their bodies.
These Sea Clan members were all humanoid, but none of them looked truly Human. All of them retained a large part of their Sea Monster Beast characteristics.
Yang Kai could not help but be reminded of the mantis head he encountered in Sword Pavilion’s Star City.
Back then, Yang Kai realized that the World Principles of this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary may not be the same as those in the outside world. It must be much more difficult for Monster Beasts to assume human form here.
Many Sea Clan members were gathered together, speaking in a strange language that Yang Kai could not understand, but from how peaceful they seemed, he knew he had guessed right. Lin Feng and the others must have taken a detour; otherwise, there would definitely be a big battle going on right now.
The Sea Clan members on this beach were all just minions, and none of them seemed like they would put up much of a fight. Yang Kai wasn’t afraid of them, but since they were trying to infiltrate the island, they should naturally avoid alarming others.
Beside him, Gu Pan’s aura suddenly shook. Yang Kai looked over and saw Gu Pan’s face turning pale, and her cheeks were puffed out. There was a soft but strange gurgle coming from her throat.
Yang Kai was shocked, “Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”
Gu Pan wanted to cry, “Senior Brother, I’m going to puke!” Then, she covered her mouth with her hand.
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Even though they look ugly, there’s no need to be this disgusted, right? Don’t puke, definitely not! Otherwise, things will be bad for us.”
Gu Pan quickly nodded her head, her eyes glistening with tears. She kept her head down, trying not to look at the Sea Clan members.
Suddenly, they heard a series of voices. It seemed some of the Sea Clan were discussing the incident that happened here several months ago. The reason the Sea Clan had set up troops here was so they could prevent that person from coming again.
Yang Kai instantly knew that they were talking about Lin Feng.
When he turned around, he saw two Sea Clan members that looked a little different from the others standing in front of a fire, speaking fervently to each other.
The auras of these two were not weak, and they were also well-dressed. They seemed to hold high status among their clan.
One of the fish heads suddenly turned his head in Yang Kai’s direction with a suspicious look.
“What happened?” Another Sea Clan member looked over.
The fish head muttered, “It felt like someone was looking at me, but I guess I was mistaken.” Ignoring this oddity, he continued chatting with his companion.
Under the Shadowless Veil, Yang Kai withdrew his gaze, still feeling chills.
Though the Shadowless Veil was a powerful artifact, he had to be wary about his gaze while he was using it. Even though that Sea Clan member’s strength was not that great, he still reacted even though Yang Kai had just taken one glance at him. If he truly were to bump into a Master, then he might have been exposed.
The pair moved silently ahead, avoiding the fires and the Sea Clan members. Finally, four hours later, Yang Kai arrived with Gu Pan in a jungle.
He felt around with his Divine Sense but did not discover any life auras nearby. This place was also extremely remote, so Yang Kai took off the Shadowless Veil and proposed, “Let’s rest here for now.”
The Shadowless Veil was an Open Heaven Realm artifact, so using it consumed a lot of energy. There was no saying when a big fight would erupt in this damned place, so it was necessary for them to maintain their condition as best as possible.
Gu Pan’s face was still pale, so she stumbled to a rock and sat down. Then, taking something out of her Space Ring and grimaced at it.
Yang Kai felt speechless when he saw what she was holding.
The thing that Gu Pan was holding in her hand turned out to be a small dried fish. It was about a palm in length and had a golden colour to it. It was clearly processed with great care. When he remembered seeing something on her lips earlier, Yang Kai suddenly realized what this young woman was doing with her head down the whole time. She was eating dried fish!
However, images of the strange-looking Sea Clan members seemed to overlap with the image of this dried fish in front of her, which caused Gu Pan’s face to turn pale as she gagged.
Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately understood that she was not puking out of fear earlier, but because she thought about the dried fish she had been eating so happily just moments before. He couldn’t help but laugh as he commented, “Junior Sister, your dried fish has absolutely no relation with those Fish Monsters at all, so don’t think too much about it.”
Gu Pan lifted her head and said with wet eyes, “Really?”
Yang Kai nodded confidently, “Of course! Those Fish Monsters are fishy and smelly. How could they possibly be compared to that dried fish? This delicacy is the first under the Heavens!”
Gu Pan’s eyes lit up, “Senior Brother thinks so, too?”
Yang Kai laughed, “It seems like you think so as well.”
Gu Pan nodded, “Dried fish is the best! But it’s a pity Master won’t let me eat it.”
“It’s not like your Master is here.” Yang Kai winked at her.
“Second Senior Sister said the same thing.” Gu Pan looked at Yang Kai in amazement, “Each and every time, it’s Second Senior Sister who sneaks in lots of dried fish for me.”
Saying so, she gathered her courage and grabbed the dried fish, putting it in her mouth and biting down. Then, she narrowed her eyes and began chewing, clearing away all the gloominess she felt before.
She ate quietly and seemed to chew softly, but her speed was by no means slow.
In the blink of an eye, the dried fish had already entered her stomach, and she took out another piece.
After eating a dozen of them, she suddenly came to her senses and looked embarrassedly at Yang Kai, “Senior Brother, do you want some, too?” As she said that, she offered Yang Kai the half-eaten dried fish that she was holding.
Yang Kai accepted it with a smile, “Then, let me try your Second Senior Sister’s cooking!” He ate it and praised its deliciousness, regardless of whether it tasted good or not. Gu Pan nodded repeatedly and echoed his sentiments.
After this interaction with her, Yang Kai could see that this girl did not have any scheming thoughts. She must have been behind closed doors from a young age, and she also said that it was her first time coming out to train when she had gotten sucked into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Since she was a pure and innocent girl, Yang Kai did not want to beat around the bush with her either. He was just about to ask about Zhang Ruo Xi when his expression suddenly changed. He quickly put up the Shadowless Veil, covering the two of them.
“Senior Brother?” Gu pan was confused.
“Someone’s coming.” Yang Kai hushed her.
A few moments later, following a rustling noise, a group of Fish Monsters came over from the clearing in the jungle. The leader was less than one meter tall and was carrying a trident in his hands. Yang Kai had no idea what Fish Monster this was before assuming human form, but he had a very round body. His head and his body were linked together without a neck, which made him look like a funny meatball.
They must be a group of patrolling Fish Monsters that were coming through the jungle.
Suddenly, the Fish Monster in the lead stopped. His nostril twitched as if he had found something.
The Fish Monster must have a good sense of smell, so while wriggling his nose, he approached Yang Kai and Gu Pan. The subordinates behind him also followed suit.
Yang Kai looked down at Gu Pan and felt speechless as there were bits of dried fish left on the corner of Gu Pan’s mouth again.
Gu pan seemed to notice it too and quickly wiped her face with her hand and blushed.
A moment later, the Fish Monster had already arrived just a couple paces away from Yang Kai and Gu Pan, but he was still sniffing around. His disgusting appearance made one sick to their stomach, and the fishy smell was even more overwhelming.
“Senior Brother, I can’t take it anymore…” Gu pan whispered. She suddenly raised her hand and a paintbrush appeared. Drawing in the air, a Yin-Yang Primal Chaos Diagram came crashing down.
A swirling power of Yin-Yang enveloped the Fish Monsters.
With a scream, each of the Fish Monsters were ground into dust.
Yang Kai lunged forward and grabbed the leading Fish Monster, saving him instantly.
As soon as he did so, Shadowless Veil lost its effectiveness and completely revealed their appearances.
The Fish Monster was still shocked after being saved from mortal danger, but when he looked up and saw Yang Kai and Gu Pan, he was furious and shouted, “How dare you sneak behind The Great Ulala and attack me!”
“Ulala?” Yang Kai was confused.
The Fish Monster raised a fin and pointed back arrogantly, “I am The Great Ulala! Hurry and let me go or you’ll be dea…”
With a bang, Yang Kai punched his head. Eyes rolling back, the Great Ulala passed out without another word.
乌 – crow
拉 – normally is pull but breaker sounds cooler.
Gu Pan frowned at his actions, “Senior Brother, why did you save him?”
If Yang Kai hadn’t saved him in time, then The Great Ulala would have been wrung to death by the Yin-Yang Primal Chaos Diagram.
Yang Kai explained, “We’re deep behind enemy lines and on unfamiliar lands. We should find someone to extract information from to see how strong the Sea Clan is.”
Gu Pan nodded at his words, “Senior Brother is attentive.”
They could not stay here any longer. Even though Gu Pan killed the group of Fish Monsters quickly, she still made some noise doing so. Yang Kai quickly destroyed the bodies and hid any traces of battle.
Gu Pan watched from the sidelines and saw that Yang Kai’s actions were so clean-cut and skilled that one could not notice anything out of place without careful inspection, which she admired greatly. She thought to herself, [Senior Brother Yang sure knows a lot.]
Once the Fish Monster Ulala woke up, he found himself bound. He silently opened his eyes and looked around to discover himself in what seemed to be a cave.
Firelight danced around the surroundings as a crackle rang in his ears. There was also a peculiar aroma permeating the area.
“Finally awake?” A human face suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Shocked, Ulala looked up just to see the face of the human who had beaten him unconscious. He fumed, “Impudent! How dare you ambush The Great Ulala. I’ll kill you! Ulalalala…”
Yang Kai smashed the top of his head with a fist, instantly raising a big bump.
This guy’s abilities were not much to look at, but his temper was not small.
In pain, Ulala began making weird noises.
Yang Kai threatened, “Shut up. I’ll kill you if you keep making noise.”
Ulala quickly shut up. Eyes darting around though, he looked at Yang Kai and declared, “Ulala does not fear death!”
Yang Kai scoffed, “If you’re not afraid of death, then keep yelling!” This guy was clearly scared to death, but his mouth was still dishonest.
Yang Kai then pointed to the side, “You see that girl over there?”
Ulala turned his head over. A campfire had been lit, and next to it sat a girl who was currently looking at him with a cheerful grin.
Yang Kai continued, “That girl’s favourite food is dried fish. It’s not hard if you want to die. I just have to hand you to her, then she’ll cut you into small pieces, roast you, and eat you little by little.”
Ulala was shocked. Looking closely, the girl was indeed roasting dried fish on the campfire. The skin was golden and dripping with oil as it crackled in the fire.
“Ulala is fishy and smelly! Ulala isn’t tasty!” The Fish Monster shouted as he shook from fear.
“She isn’t picky. She’ll eat anything as long as it’s fish.” Yang Kai grinned wickedly.
Gu Pan also looked at the Fish Monster with a smile as she grabbed one of the dried fishes. bringing it to her mouth and chewing on it.
Ulala’s face went completely pale as he begged, “Don’t eat me, don’t eat me! Ulala doesn’t want to die!”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s easy if you don’t want to die. Open up your Knowledge Sea and let me place a Soul Imprint on you. Become my slave, and you will naturally be allowed to live.”
Ulala was furious, “Impudence! How could you make The Great Ulala…”
*Ba ji ba ji…* The sound of Gu Pan’s chewing emerged from the side. While chewing, she eyed the Fish Monster with her big eyes as if trying to work out which part would taste the best.
The Fish Monster shuddered. Then, it looked weakly at Yang Kai, “Can Ulala truly live if Ulala becomes your slave?”
“Rest assured, you definitely can!”
Ulala hesitated for a moment before answering weakly, “Ulala agrees.”
After receiving his answer, Yang Kai did not hesitate and immediately released his Divine Sense, surging into the Fish Monster’s Knowledge Sea.
This Fish Monster was not very strong, so even if he tried to resist, Yang Kai could still break through the defences of his Knowledge Sea; however, if he did not cooperate, it was very likely that his Soul would be damaged, turning him into a retard. If that were to happen, Yang Kai might as well just kill him directly.
A short while later, Yang Kai finished planting a Soul Imprint in Ulala’s Knowledge Sea. Divine Sense surging, Yang Kai next searched through this guy’s memories.
After a while, Yang Kai frowned. Looking speechlessly at Ulala, he withdrew his Divine Sense.
The Fish Monster was extremely arrogant, calling himself The Great Ulala at each and every turn, but in actual fact, his status in the Sea Clan was not very high. He was nothing more than the trivial Team Leader of a patrol team. So, he didn’t know much.
However, he did know a bit about the Water Element treasure. Only, he had no idea what exactly the Water Element treasure was. He only knew that it was the Sea Clan’s Sacred Treasure, and only the Sea Clan’s highest-ranking members were qualified to go near it and ask for its blessing to obtain extremely strong power.
Several months ago, someone broke into this place in order to get their hands on their Sacred Treasure, which infuriated the Sea Clan. They fought the man several times and forced him back repeatedly. During this recent period of time, they had also increased the defences much more where the Sacred Treasure was located.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai told him, “Take us to where the Sacred Treasure is located.”
Ulala blinked his eyes and shook his head, “You won’t be able to get through. You look so strange, you’re obviously different from us. You’ll be killed if you’re discovered.”
Yang Kai laughed, “Naturally, I have my ways to make you take us.”
Ulala scratched his head, “But Ulala has no way of approaching the Sacred Treasure either!”
His position within the Sea Clan wasn’t high. How could he be qualified to go near the Sacred Treasure? As soon as he got close, he would surely be driven away or even killed.
“Just go as far as you can.” Yang Kai smiled and tossed a bag to Ulala, “Keep this bag on you as well. Don’t let anyone find it.”
Yang Kai called out to Gu Pan, who scarfed down her dried fish in a couple of bites, stood up, and walked to his side.
Yang Kai made several hand seals and his Divine Sense surged. He opened the Six Fated Paths Bag and pulled Gu Pan in with him.
Ulala was shocked to see this. He was born in this place and had never visited the outside world before, so he had never seen such bizarre techniques before. He was amazed to witness these two people enter the bag that he was holding.
Brow twitching, he wondered whether or not he could wring these people in the bag to death if he twisted hard!
But as soon as that thought came into his mind, there was a sharp pain in his Knowledge Sea. Yang Kai’s voice then echoed in his head, “Don’t think about doing anything reckless. I can take your life with a single thought. Cooperate with us obediently and I will let you go once we’re done.”
Ulala’s face paled and he nodded repeatedly.
“Now, keep the bag hidden.” Yang Kai instructed him.
Ulala fumbled for a while and hid the bag under his scales. Only then did he grab his trident and walk out anxiously.
Inside the Six Fated Paths Bag, Gu Pan whispered, “Senior Brother, it is a little cramped in here!”
The Six Fated Paths Bag was a very mysterious artifact. It could increase or decrease in size, and back when Yang Kai first transformed into his Half-Dragon Form, the bag expanded to fit his two thousand metres plus size. The Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon also had no problems staying in here either, but no matter how many things were put inside, it would still seem cramped.
When the young girl pressed up against him exhaled an orchid scent, Yang Kai could clearly feel something soft and elastic sticking against his back.
Gu Pan had clearly never been in such close contact with anyone else before, so she was squirming with unease, which made the feeling even more obvious to Yang Kai.
“Junior Sister, why don’t you turn your back against me instead?” Yang Kai suggested.
“Oh.” Gu Pan turned around with some effort. Body rubbing against Yang Kai’s back, it took her a lot of effort to turn around before she sighed in admiration, “Senior Brother, you have so many treasures.”
First, he had the Shadowless Veil that could cover their auras and their figures. And now, there was the Fated Paths Bag. Gu Pan truly had her eyes opened today.
Yang Kai laughed, “Junior Sister’s treasures are also not bad.”
Even though Yang Kai had merely caught a glimpse of the paintbrush that Gu Pan summoned when she killed the Fish Monsters, he could tell it was an extraordinary artifact.
She was Lang Ya Paradise’s True Legacy Disciple, how could the treasures she possessed be bad?
“Junior Sister, adjust your breathing first. There’s no telling when a big fight will break out later. I have to keep an eye on this Fish Monster in case he tries to do anything funny.”
“En!”
Ulala walked towards the centre of the island. He encountered other Sea Monsters from time to time, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. As he walked, Yang Kai could clearly feel the Water Element treasure’s aura growing closer and closer.
Even before arriving on this island, Yang Kai was able to feel the aura of the Water Element treasure. Just as Lin Feng said, its aura was extremely dense and pure. It definitely had to be a treasure above the Seventh Order.
Xu Zhen had also said that even though they aspired to break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the Water Element was amongst the gentlest, so Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order Water Element Powers would not cause too much impact on one’s Dao Seal, making it safe to refine. However, it could still enhance their strength, which was why they were moved by Lin Feng’s words and joined hands to come to this island.
Yang Kai had no idea where the others were now, but they were, after all, the disciples of First Class sects with their own unique abilities. Yang Kai guessed that they should also be making their advance towards the Sea Clan’s Sacred Treasure.
A full day later, a majestic city suddenly appeared in Ulala’s view.
Yang Kai had been paying attention to the outside world, so he naturally saw the city. Yang Kai also already knew from searching Ulala’s memories earlier that this was the Sea Clan’s Holy City, and the Sacred Treasure was located inside.
Several months ago, Lin Feng tried several times to infiltrate the Holy City to get his hands on the Water Element treasure; unfortunately, his plans came to nought.
The Holy City was heavily guarded, but Ulala was a member of the Sea Clan, so his passage was naturally unhindered. Soon enough, he was able to enter the city. The amount of Sea Monsters all around shocked Yang Kai.
The auras of some of the Sea Monsters here were clearly quite strong, and their Sea Clan characteristics were also fewer. Through this, Yang Kai discovered that the stronger a Sea Clan member was, the more closely they resembled Humans.
Yang Kai could even perceive several existences which were not inferior to the mantis head he encountered.
At Sword Pavilion’s Star City, Yang Kai was able to kill the mantis head after a desperate fight, but after successfully cultivating the Supreme Limitless Spear, he should have an easier time now.
However, the Sea Clan’s Holy City was still a Dragon’s pond and Tiger’s den.
Ulala’s heart was beating hard as he walked forward; after all, he was feeling guilty knowing that he was doing something wrong. It did not help even when Yang Kai quietly reassured him.
After walking through the city for almost an hour, Ulala arrived at an ancient and magnificent temple. Countless Sea Clan members were making sacrificial offerings inside and asking for the Sacred Treasure’s blessings. The temple was divided into nine layers going down. The stronger one was, the deeper one could enter, and the more they could bask in the Sacred Treasure’s aura.
Almost every Sea Clan member had come to the temple before, with Ulala naturally being no exception. Only, his strength and status in the Sea Clan would allow him to enter the third layer at best. Going further would require a higher status, which was why he said he had no way of getting close to the Sacred Treasure.
The Sea Clan’s temple was a stately and sacred place. The faint sounds of sacrificial offerings and the aura of the Water Element treasure lingered in the air. From time to time, a Sea Clan member would gain enlightenment and begin dancing wildly in frantic joy, drawing the envy of his brothers around him.
Even though Yang Kai was hiding in the Six Fated Paths Bag, he could still feel how dense the aura of the Water Element Power was here. It was indeed easy for one to gain enlightenment into profound Divine Abilities if they were to cultivate in this place.
This was most likely the blessing that Ulala was talking about.
If someone who cultivates Water Attribute Secret Arts were to cultivate here, they would surely be able to advance twice as fast with half the effort. Unfortunately, this was the core of the Sea Clan’s island, their Holy City, so who would be able to set foot here?
The temple was hollow and each layer was at least a thousand meters apart. It was not known from here how deep the deepest layer went.
Even though Ulala’s heart was pounding, he was qualified to enter the third layer, after all, so he encountered no problems on the way there.
However, the Sea Clan members around the third layer were all just minions that were around the same status and strength as Ulala, grunts that could be killed off in droves by Yang Kai with a single slap.
But after entering the third layer, Ulala told him that he was unwilling to go deeper.
“There are temple guards there. Ulala is not qualified to enter the fourth layer. Ulala will be killed if Ulala approaches!” Ulala shrank into a ball and hid in the corner as he stared at the entrance to the fourth layer.
Yang Kai was speechless. Even after much coercion and even some bullying, Ulala would not budge a single step.
Just as Yang Kai was considering whether he should come out with Gu Pan and make a scene, the ground shook. A violent power fluctuation had come from the outside, followed by the entire Holy City going into an uproar.
Xu Zhen’s angry and frustrated voice could be heard, “You stupid pig, I told you to stay calm, stay calm! What are you in such a hurry for!?”
Lin Feng shouted, “It’s useless to say anything more when we’ve already come this far. Kill!”
The two had infiltrated the Holy City at some point, and somehow revealed their whereabouts, which attracted a group of Sea Clan Masters to attack them.
Hiding inside the Fated Paths Bag, Yang Kai had no idea how the fight was going on the outside. He could only sense the fluctuations of a fight between Masters, as well as the endless screams of the Sea Clan members.
Lin Feng had been able to make it all the way to the Holy City by himself and escape, but now, with the little fatty helping him, it was naturally like adding wings to a tiger, creating rivers of blood as they fought vigorously with the Sea Clan’s Masters.
But even though they were disciples of First Class sects, the Sea Clan’s heritage was not to be underestimated. Trying to break into the temple to grab the Sacred Treasure through brute force was going to be a difficult task.
But Yang Kai was delighted with this development and quickly urged Ulala, “Quick, take this opportunity to go down!”
Lin Feng and Xu Zhen’s attacks attracted the attention of most of the Sea Clan members, and Yang Kai could clearly see many figures flying out from the depths of the temple. Clearly, the Sea Clan Masters who were cultivating below had been alerted and went to provide reinforcements.
Now that the temple’s defences were empty, what would be a better time to attack than now?
Ulala looked hesitant.
But before he could make a decision, the entire temple suddenly began shaking. A violent force hit the temple, and at once, a profound pattern emerged around the temple to protect it.
Many of the Sea Clan members who were praying for blessings at the third layer were taken by surprise and sent flying, falling lower down into the temple. Each one of them flailed their limbs about and screamed.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and quickly urged, “Jump down.”
Ulala was unwilling to enter the fourth layer from the entrance, but falling down would not matter; after all, so many of the Sea Clan members had been shaken off this layer, whether he joined them or not would not matter.
He quickly came to the edge of the hollow and pretended to scream before falling down.
In the air, Ulala’s face paled as he screamed, “Ulala is going to die!”
Holding his trident in his hand, he stabbed it into the wall of the cave, causing sparks to fly, which gradually slowed his descent. After stabilizing his body, Yang Kai was so angry that he spat blood, “You useless thing!”
Despite the fall, they were barely able to approach the Sacred Treasure since this was merely the seventh layer. They still had to go down two more layers to reach the Sacred Treasure.
He was so angry that he wanted to jump out of the Fated Paths Bag and slap this guy to death.
“Ulala is not jumping anymore! Ulala won’t jump even if you beat Ulala to death!” The Fish Monster climbed onto the seventh floor with a pale face.
Yang Kai reeled in his anger, “Just jump one more time. There are only two layers left!”
Ulala shook his head like a rattle drum, “No more jumping, no more jumping!”
Yang Kai’s voice was cold, “You either jump or you die, your choice!”
Yang Kai had already lost his patience at this point. There were Xu Zhen and Lin Feng attracting the attention of most of the Sea Clan outside, and many of the Sea Clan Masters in the temple had also flown out to help. Right now, there was a good chance that he and Gu Pan could get their hands on the Sacred Treasure if they moved now.
Ulala could not help but panic feeling Yang Kai’s murderous intent. Turning around to look, he said in pleasant surprise, “The guards are gone! Ulala will walk down.”
Yang Kai looked over and saw that the guards to the eighth layer had somehow disappeared.
Ulala ran towards the entrance and soon entered the passage. Circling down, he went directly to the eighth layer.
There were still many Sea Monsters on the eighth layer, but they were all looking up after being alerted by the noise outside. Every so often, Sea Clan Masters would fly up, clearly to check the situation outside.
Ulala’s legs were trembling when he arrived here. He had never been this deep before, and all the Sea Clan members here were much stronger than he was. If they saw him here, then they might just slap him to death.
But Yang Kai made a curious sound. Among the many Sea Clan Masters, a Fish Monster with a big head was strolling towards the entrance of the ninth layer.
From Yang Kai’s perception, the aura of the big-headed Fish Monster was not too strong, almost no different from Ulala; however, the Sea Clan Masters around him ignored him as if they did not see him.
“Follow that bighead carp!” Yang Kai commanded.
Ulala quickly scrambled to chase after that Fish Monster. Strangely enough, the Sea Clan Masters all ignored him as he passed by as they were all focused on looking up.
The guard to the ninth floor was still present, but the big-headed Fish Monster ignored him and went straight ahead, passing right between the guards.
At Yang Kai’s urging, Ulala gritted his teeth and followed, passing through easily.
As they went down, the bighead carp seemed to sense something and looked back at Ulala, its fish eyes filled with bewilderment.
Slowly shaking his head, the bighead carp continued to move forward.
Soon enough, the two Fish Monsters stepped into the ninth layer. The moment they entered this layer, Ulala was attracted by a glowing light and muttered, “The Sacred Treasure!”
He had always known that a Sacred Treasure existed below the temple, but he had never seen what it looked like before. Now, he finally knew.
The Sacred Treasure was placed atop an altar, and like a full moon, it emitted a soft light like a watery moonbeam, filled with a sacred and profound aura.
But what caused Ulala’s heart to jump even more was the fact that the ninth layer was actually empty at this moment! With only he and the bighead carp there, it seemed that all of the Sea Clan Masters had been lured out by the commotion.
Being surrounded by the aura of the Sacred Treasure, Ulala could clearly feel his cultivation increasing at a rapid speed, filling his body with a warm feeling. He couldn’t help but moan in pleasure.
“An Innate Supreme Treasure!” Yang Kai’s breath hitched inside the Fated Paths Bag.
A so-called Innate Supreme Treasure was exactly that, a Supreme Treasure innately formed by the Universe itself. Of his encounters, the only treasure he saw that could be called so was the Immortal Tree. Even though the Soul Warming Lotus was also a naturally-born Supreme Treasure, it could still not be classified as an Innate Supreme Treasure.
And, this fist-sized pearl hanging like a moon on the altar was an Innate Supreme Treasure!”
Yang Kai was both shocked and delighted!
To think an Innate Supreme Treasure actually existed in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. This moon bead was clearly an existence at the same level as that of the Immortal Tree, and there was likely only one of such treasure in this entire world.
“Kill!” Ulala’s greed had also been aroused as he glared fiercely at the bighead carp in front of him.
The only ones here on the ninth layer were him and the bighead carp. As long as he killed the bighead carp, he would be able to snatch the Sacred Treasure.
Consumed with greed to obtain the Sacred Treasure, he stabbed out his trident at the bighead carp.
Just as it seemed that the bighead carp was about to be killed, he suddenly turned around and flicked a hand lightly at Ulala.
Without a noise, Ulala had been turned into a pile of mush.
Yang Kai was shocked. Hiding inside the Fated Paths Bag, he did not see what the bighead carp did at all, nor did he expect that Ulala would actually attack the bighead carp.
In the next moment though, Yang Kai was stunned as he saw the bighead carp’s body suddenly distort after killing Ulala, turning into a young man with an sage-like aura.
“Ning Dao Ran!”
The bighead carp actually turned out to be the transformed Ning Dao Ran. No wonder he was invisible to the Sea Clan all the way here. It was not that the Fish Monsters were all ignoring him, but rather that he used some kind of strange technique to obscure the Fish Monsters’ perception.
Ulala was able to take advantage of this technique by following behind him.
As soon as Ning Dao Ran appeared, he raced for the moon bead, reaching his hand out to snatch it.
At the same time, a light giggle emerged. Though the laughter was soft, it shook one’s vitality and distracted one’s thoughts.
Suddenly, a delicate figure stepped out from the void and spoke sweetly, “Many thanks to Senior Brother Ning for pointing the way. Junior Sister will humbly accept this treasure.”
Ning Dao Ran smiled, “Junior Sister Qu’s Yin-Yang Grand Simplicity is truly mysterious. I did not even realize you were following behind me.”
The tone of his voice was light, as if he did not mind Qu Hua Shang using him to guide the way; however, his movements did not slow at all. Forming a hand seal, he aimed it towards Qu Hua Shang in the air, and a mysterious power burst out without the slightest spark in her direction.
Naturally, Qu Hua Shang would not show weakness. Her fingers snapped, as if she were plucking at some sort of musical instrument, creating an entrancing hum.
As the two Cave-Heaven Paradise disciples fought, they continued reaching for the moon bead without lagging behind.
There was a rumble, space shook, and then a blast sounded.
Three breaths later, two hands grabbed the hazy moon bead at the same time.
The moment their hands made contact though, both Ning Dao Ran and Qu Hua Shang’s faces changed dramatically and they both quickly withdrew, as if they had been shocked.
Looking over, Qu Hua Shang’s beautiful face had lost colour, while Ning Dao Ran’s brows were locked into a frown.
Because the moment they touched the moon bead, an extremely cold power emerged from it and invaded their bodies. Overtaken by an icy feeling, their hands had frozen over, and the extreme cold was spreading up their arms uncontrollably, numbing their senses wherever it passed.
The fact that this moon bead had an Ice Attribute was beyond their expectations.
They all clearly felt the moon bead giving out the dense aura of the Water Element Power, but when they touched it, they realized that it was not simply a Water Element, but rather an Ice Element!
The Ice Element was a derivative of the Water Element. Water condensed into ice, so it was still considered a branch of the Water Element. It can even be said that the Ice Element was stronger than the Water Element. If one could withstand the impact of this Ice Element on their Dao Seal, then it could still be used to condense their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements before splitting Heaven and Earth apart in one’s body to achieve the Open Heaven Realm.
“Why is it an Ice Element!?” Qu Hua Shang looked irritated.
Ning Dao Ran also shook his head slowly and sighed.
They, elite disciples of Cave-Heavens and Paradises, all aspired to reach the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm in their initial breakthrough. Just as Xu Zhen said to Yang Kai before, the Water Element was the gentlest, so its impact on one’s Dao Seal would be minimal. Even if their foundation was of the Sixth-Order, it would not matter if they were to refine a Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order Water Element Power. Instead, it could even improve their strength.
But Xu Zhen was only referring to ordinary Water Element treasures. A treasure like this Ice Element one was impossible to refine as the foundation of the Dao Seal they had laid down was simply not sturdy enough to refine this bone-chilling moon bead. Forcibly refining it would only damage their Dao Seal.
That was why Qu Hua Shang was irritated after perceiving the true attribute of this moon bead. If she had known this were the case, would she have wasted all this time and energy?
“The Ice Moon Pearl is an Ice Element treasure to begin with. It was you who had eyes but failed to see!” A mocking voice emerged and a layer of ripples formed, revealing a powerful Fish Monster.
This Fish Monster had a burly figure and stood over ten metres tall. It had a fierce aura and had a fish face, no legs, but rather a tail under his body that was covered in azure scales. This Fish Monster was even holding a hammer-like object in his hand as his fierce pair of eyes coldly scrutinized Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran.
Another Sea Clan member that was thirty metres tall appeared next, holding a huge anchor in his hand. The blood within his body was rushing through his veins like the gushing sea.
The third to walk out was a big fat fish around fifteen metres in length. It had upturned eyes that made him appear insufferably arrogant. Atop this Monster’s head stood a palm-length Sea Clan member with his arms akimbo, laughing loudly, “High Priest is truly wise. He knew these guys would make a declaration from the east and then strike at the west, and told us to lay an ambush in this place!”
Both Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran frowned at these words. They had unfortunately fallen into a trap. This made it even more obvious why they could approach the Sacred Treasure so easily.
Even with Xu Zhen and Lin Feng causing a commotion outside, the temple’s defences seemed a little too weak. It turned out it was because this was all planned out by the Sea Clan beforehand.
“These two must be those so-called Humans, right?” A fourth Sea Monster stepped out. This one looked like nothing special, but his aura was extremely strong. He studied Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran seriously before shaking his head and commenting, “How ugly they are!”
Qu Hua Shang fumed, “You’re the ugly one! You’re all ugly!”
She was a woman, and one beautiful enough to bring calamity to a country and its people at that. She had great confidence in her own appearance. When had she ever been called ugly before?
The Fish Monster cackled, “This Human is really interesting. She is not self-conscious at all! Once we capture you, just see how we’ll handle you!”
“Enough nonsense! Get them! Don’t spoil Old Ancestor’s great plan!” Another majestic voice sounded as an ethereal figure appeared on the altar. As it reached the altar, it collected a sceptre, atop which was the Ice Moon Pearl, shining brilliantly.
The Ice Soul Moon Pearl was embedded into the sceptre, and not on the altar they had seen earlier.
“We will obey High Priest’s command!” The four powerful Sea Monsters bowed in unison.
Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran’s hearts dropped as they looked frightfully at the High Priest that appeared in the end.
The four Sea Monsters that appeared before them were certainly powerful, but they were not afraid of them given their skills. If they really did get into a fight, then even if they could not defeat them, they could still escape.
But this last Sea Clan High Priest gave them a great feeling of danger. This High Priest’s strength was definitely high to the point of being unfathomable. And, the Ice Moon Pearl was also mounted onto the sceptre he was holding, so it was obvious that this High Priest was able to utilize the power of the Ice Moon Pearl to some extent.
How were they supposed to win now? They were outnumbered to begin with, and the Sea Clan even had the help of a Supreme Treasure. They were truly being done in by Lin Feng this time.
Moreover, who was this ‘Old Ancestor’ that the High Priest spoke of? Could a trivial Sea Clan actually have such terrifying heritage?
“Let’s get out and regroup with Brother Lin and Brother Xu.” Ning Dao Ran glanced at Qu Hua Shang and silently transmitted a message to her.
Qu Hua Shang nodded imperceptibly as she had the same idea. They would only be able to escape if they were to join hands with the others; otherwise, the two of them alone were simply not enough to compete with the Sea Clan.
As soon as their Divine Sense intersected, they immediately moved.
Ning Dao Ran raised his hand and a willow twig appeared. The willow twig lashed out a thousand shadows that formed countless Sword Waves that shot towards the Fish Monsters.
As soon as a Paradise disciple attacked, his extraordinary heritage was revealed.
At the same time, a pipa appeared in Qu Hua Shang’s arms. She gently played it with her fingers and a tinkling sound came out, forming shapeless murderous intent that struck the Souls of the Sea Clan Masters.
The two of them combined their efforts and gained the initiative in a single exchange.
The four Sea Clan Masters were shaken by Qu Hua Shang’s Soul Secret Technique before being blasted by countless Sword Qi Waves.
But these Fish Monsters were all covered in hard scales, so even though they were in a miserable state, they were hardly hurt.
“Hou!”
The tiny Fish Monster howled, greatly overpowering the pipa’s sounds, allowing the Sea Clan Masters to shake their heads and stabilize their Souls.
The Sea Clan Master holding the hammer flapped his tail and turned into a ray of azure light, instantly appearing in front of Ning Dao Ran and smashing down his weapon. The other inconspicuous Sea Monster opened its mouth and spat out a dense stream of vapour that formed a veil that covered Ning Dao Ran.
Ning Dao Ran did not panic though and the willow twig in his hand transformed into countless shadows as he fought against two Sea Clan Masters with a fierce vigour.
On the other side, the small Monster riding on the head of the big fish lunged at Qu Hua Shang. The big fish opened its mouth like a black hole that could devour everything, and a strange noise was being emitted that was suppressing the sound of the pipa.
The final Sea Monster with the anchor also stepped forward and tried to grab Qu Hua Shang with his big and scary hands. If she were actually caught, Qu Hua Shang would definitely be crushed to death.
But the seductress was unperturbed. Flicking her head, the red band tied to her hair flew out and turned into silk threads that disappeared into the void.
In the next moment, following a pained cry, the Sea Monster withdrew his hands. When it looked down, many wounds had suddenly appeared on his hands that were incomparably thick, but the bleeding would not stop. Roaring in anger, he raised his anchor and smashed it down.
From the void, one by one, silk threads emerged and wrapped around the anchor, stopping him from smashing it down no matter how he tried, which angered the Sea Monster so much that he jumped in anger.
These two Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples bravely fought the four Sea Clan Masters deep in their territory, and not only were they not at a disadvantage, they even had the upper hand.
In the end, they were disciples of great sects, each having exceptional heritage and deep foundations. Moreover, these Sea Monsters were not too strong. An ordinary cultivator would not be able to compare, but the Sea Monsters were still slightly worse than the two of them. Otherwise, how could Lin Feng have been able to successfully enter and escape this Holy City four times in the past?
If they had enough time, then it was completely possible for Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran to kill the Sea Clan Masters here; however, their intention was to break out and join hands with Lin Feng and Xu Zhen. Naturally, they could not stay here for long. Not to mention the fact that there was still the Sea Clan High Priest holding a dreaded sceptre right in front of them!
The High Priest stood on top of the altar and showed no intention to step in from start to finish; however, he kept his focus on the fight. He was mainly focused on the two Humans. Rather than feeling angry, he would show them praise from time to time, which was truly puzzling.
“Go!” Ning Dao Ran suddenly shouted. After finding the right opportunity, he waved his willow twig and forced back the two Sea Clan Masters who were pincering him.
At the same time, the sound of Qu Hua Shang’s pipa changed. An invisible sound wave shook her opponents and forced them back.
With this opening, the two moved in unison and tried to fly upwards.
“Hmph!” The High Priest, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, tapped his sceptre on the ground. A moon-like glow flashed from the Ice Soul Moon Pearl and swept over Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran.
A chill that froze one to the core appeared, and both Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran felt their auras turn stagnant while their bodies stopped in place.
Stopping for that one moment destroyed their chances of escaping from here as the four Sea Clan Masters reorganized their formation and rushed over to tangle with them again.
Disgruntled, they could only fight.
“Senior Brother, what’s happening outside?” Gu Pan wriggled her body uncomfortably in the Fated Paths Bag. She could vaguely feel the power fluctuations outside, but as she was not the owner of the Fated Paths Bag, she had no way of checking on the situation.
“A battle is raging,” Yang Kai answered.
Gu Pan was surprised, “Who’s fighting who?”
Yang Kai gave her a simple description of what he was seeing.
Gu Pan was anxious, “Then, should we go and help Big Sister Qu and Senior Brother Ning?”
“There’s no need to rush!” Yang Kai reassured her, “Your Big Sister Qu and Senior Brother Ning are both strong. They are not in any danger for now. There are strange things about what is happening right now, so let’s wait and watch how things play out first.”
Yang Kai remained hidden, not to sit on a mountaintop to watch the tigers fight only to reap the benefits after, but because something really didn’t feel right.
Not to mention the fact that the Sea Clan had prepared beforehand, setting up an ambush deep inside the temple and luring them in, if the High Priest with the Ice Soul Moon Pearl sceptre intended to fight here, then Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran might be in real danger!
Just now, Yang Kai had seen with his own eyes that this High Priest was able to use the power of the Ice Soul Moon Pearl.
Only, for some reason, he did not do so offensively; instead, he just watched Ning Dao Ran and Qu Hua Shang. Even stranger, Yang Kai felt no murderous intent from him.
As if sensing something, the High Priest suddenly turned his head to Ulala’s corpse, but he quickly looked away and placed his attention back on the fight.
The four Sea Clan Masters and the two Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples were engaged in a heated fight, but in the end, the Fish Monsters were no match for Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran. In just half an incense stick of time, they were overpowered. Then, Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran broke free again.
But the High Priest raised his sceptre again, and the Ice Soul Moon Pearl’s aura rippled out, forcibly stopping Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran once more.
“What do you want?!” Qu Hua Shang’s nose had almost gone crooked from anger. After landing on the ground, she glared viciously at the High Priest.
But the High Priest remained tranquil as an ancient well, completely unmoved.
After a while, Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran joined hands to force the four Sea Clan Masters back again, but instead of breaking through, they rushed towards the High Priest.
The High Priest chuckled, “Step back!”
With a wave of his sceptre, a world-freezing aura rippled out once more. Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran had already suffered from it twice, so both their faces paled and they took the initiative to retreat.
But their hearts sank straight down because they realized that getting away was going to be difficult this time. As long as this abominable priest was watching over this place with his sceptre in hand, they had no hope of leaving, but the sceptre’s might was immeasurable, so how were they going to kill that High Priest?
At that moment, two figures appeared just like ghosts. No one saw where they had come from, as if they had appeared out of thin air.
Everyone was taken aback.
Qu Hua Shang turned her head to see a figure like a Flood Dragon leaping out of the water and lunging towards the High Priest, while the other figure was rushing towards Ning Dao Ran and herself.
[It’s Yang Kai and Gu Pan!]
Qu Hua Shang was both shocked and surprised, but quickly yelled, “Little Brother Yang, help me kill him!” She had eaten several losses from that High Priest, so she naturally hated him very much.
On the altar, the face of the High Priest had clearly changed as well, but very soon, he calmed down again and sneered, “So there’s two more? Good, good! Old Ancestor will surely be fond of you, too.”
Saying so, he raised his sceptre forward slightly, and following that action, a ray of light that was warm like a watery moonbeam, but also cold and chilling, was released from the Ice Soul Moon Pearl towards Yang Kai.
Qu Hua Shang shouted, “Be careful, Little Brother Yang! It’s an Innate Ice Element treasure!” Worried that Yang Kai would not know the might of the treasure, she quickly yelled out a warning.
But before the words could finish leaving her mouth, Yang Kai had already plunged headlong into the moonbeam, where his body suddenly staggered.
Yang Kai did not have a proper understanding of the Ice Soul Moon Pearl’s might when he saw how easily the High Priest forced Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran back. Only now did he know its depths after taking a hit head-on.
Indeed, it was strong. When the coldness hit, his blood almost froze up. Even the power in his Dao Seal could not flow smoothly.
This High Priest definitely did not use the full power of the Ice Soul Moon Pearl either; otherwise, it would not simply slow him down. It might possibly freeze him into an ice sculpture directly.
Qu Hua Shang looked disappointed. She thought that Yang Kai would be able to kill the High Priest after taking him by surprise, but she did not expect him to fall so easily.
[Men are truly unreliable!]
Just as she thought so, however, she suddenly heard a shocking Dragon Roar. Dragon Pressure spread out, and Yang Kai’s body broke through the shroud of moonlight. The blood inside his body was gushing like a group of flying dragons as he charged towards the High Priest at an even greater speed than before.
Qu Hua Shang’s eyes widened, and a strange glow flashed past their depths.
The High Priest was also taken aback. It was his first time encountering an existence that could withstand the Ice Soul Moon Pearl’s might. But he had been in a high position for many years, so he was not disoriented by the shock. A complicated and strange chant emerged from his lips before the Ice Soul Moon Pearl on his sceptre lit up again. An even denser cold intent shot towards Yang Kai in the next moment.
“Manifest!” Yang Kai shouted as he ran.
A round sun appeared behind him, hanging high like a true sun that emitted a dazzling light. Suddenly, a golden glow enveloped the depths of the temple.
In the middle of the Great Sun, a Golden Crow danced and cawed!
“Divine Manifestation!” Ning Dao Ran’s expression changed drastically as his heart, which was unmoved by anything in this world, shook.
The Great Sun’s power and the moonlight beam fought against each other. The Ice Soul Moon Pearl shone brilliantly, and not out of the High Priest’s initiation, but rather as an instinctive reaction of this Innate Supreme Treasure. Suddenly, the power of the moonlight rose tenfold compared to when the High Priest used it just now.
The Sun and Moon shone together! A sight unusual to the world!
The hot and cold powers intermingled in the depths of the temple and caused great discomfort to everyone present, forcing them to resist it with all their might.
As the High Priest stared in a panic, Yang Kai had already arrived in front of him. One hand grabbing the sceptre, the other turning into a fist, he aimed a punch towards the Sea Clan leader’s head.
The High Priest wanted to dodge, but the Ice Soul Moon Pearl’s power was too much for him to bear. He was frozen in place as he watched the fist enlarge in his field of vision.
With a bang, the High Priest was sent flying. Yang Kai snatched the sceptre and tossed it into his Sealed World Bead.
The moonlight dissipated, and the great sun faded away.
Yang Kai withdrew his Manifestation and roared to the crowd, “Retreat!”
It was better for them to get out quickly now that they were in possession of the treasure.
Qu Hua Shang and Ning Dao Ran’s movements were swift and decisive. Under Gu Pan’s lead, they immediately forced back their opponents and, in an instant, four figures rushed upwards, smashing through the roof of the temple and out into the Holy City.
The Holy City was also in chaos at this moment. Xu Zhen’s Yuan Magnetic Divine Light raged through the city as Lin Feng crossed swords with a group of Sea Clan Masters in a chaotic fight.
At the bottom of the temple, the High Priest quickly got up with a pale face. He was angered to the point of shaking as he roared, “With my blood sacrifice, I awaken Old Ancestor!”
The four Sea Clan Masters did not dare to dally either. They all came next to the altar and sat down in the four directions, working alongside the High Priest to perform a profound technique, transmitting it to an unknown place through the altar.
In the middle of the city, Xu Zhen and Lin Feng, who were locked in battle, were both shocked to see Yang Kai and his group rushing out of the temple. Before they could even figure out what happened, they heard Qu Hua Shang exclaim, “Come on, let’s go!”
“You got it?” Xu Zhen asked, stunned.
Qu Hua Shang gave a nod.
Xu Zhen did not hesitate any longer, using his Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to sweep away several Sea Clan Masters before rushing out of the Holy City. Seeing this, Lin Feng gritted his teeth and hurried to follow.
The six figures hurriedly left with a large number of Sea Clan Masters in pursuit behind them.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura rose from the sea. Its aura was so deep and powerful that it seemed as if a sleeping Dragon had been awoken.
The faces of Yang Kai and the others changed dramatically.
None of them could have anticipated the Sea Clan to actually possess such a terrifying heritage. Even though the Sea Clan Masters and the High Priest before were all-powerful, they still were no match for them. However, the aura that had just awoken felt overwhelming. Just its aura alone was like this, so how powerful would the Master of that aura be?
On the island, the Sea Clan members who felt this aura all prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted, “Greetings, Old Ancestor!”
Even the Sea Clan Masters who were in close pursuit of the six Humans had stopped to kneel motionless in mid-air.
“A strong one has appeared!” Yang Kai shuddered, quickly coming to a stop and beckoning the group, “Come here!”
Yang Kai didn’t want to reveal too many of his cards to people he had just recently met, but he couldn’t care too much at this moment. The only way for them to escape now was for them to rely on his Space Technique.
Gu Pan immediately ran to his side. Both Qu Hua Shang and Xu Zhen also rushed over. Ning Dao Ran hesitated for a moment, but he also joined them quickly.
Only Lin Feng coldly snorted. His body turned into a stream of light as he sped off in another direction, apparently having no intention to escape with the group.
Yang Kai sighed in his heart, but he could not care about him right now. He raised his hand to summon a Space Beacon, intending to leave this place with it.
It was at that moment that something huge rose rapidly from the sea, quickly obscuring the Heavens and Earth. This creature was 10,000 meters long and its aura was absolutely terrifying. Its large body cast a huge shadow over the entire region.
“What a big shark!” Gu Pan exclaimed.
“It’s a Divine Spirit!” Qu Hua Shang paled, “Divine Spirit Leviathan Shark!”
Xu Zhen shuddered, “How could a Divine Spirit be here? Is he the Sea Clan’s Old Ancestor?”
They were all howling in their hearts. With a Divine Spirit here, it would be impossible for them to escape today.
“Don’t resist!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted and without hesitation, he activated the power of the Space Beacon. Space Principles enveloped everyone in an instant, sending them to Scarlet Star’s Star City, which was hundreds of thousands of kilometres away.
Right at that moment, the Leviathan Shark opened its giant mouth and bit down on where they were.
It was a bite with enough might to devour the world.
The group, already wrapped up in the power of the Space Beacon, entered the Void. They could only feel the chaotic currents of space around them, as if they wanted to tear them apart at any moment.
Yang Kai shouted, “Not good. The Void has been disturbed. I can’t locate the destination. Be careful, everyone!”
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Void Cracks forming all around him. Before Yang Kai could react, the cracks swallowed everyone up, and they disappeared from his side.
Yang Kai was also sucked into one of the cracks. The space around him was turbulent, and he could not control his body. His heart was wailing inside. If he had known this would happen, he would have left immediately after getting his hands on the Ice Soul Moon Pearl.
But considering the fact that they had come together, he naturally thought of leaving with everyone. And now, Lin Feng was definitely in trouble, while he had no idea whether the rest of the group lived or died.
In the end, he didn’t even get to ask Gu Pan about Zhang Ruo Xi.
The Void shook, and Yang Kai’s vision changed. Space moved turbulently around him, returning him to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Looking up, he was no longer above the ocean and was now rapidly falling down. He quickly urged his power to stabilize himself.
The vitality in his chest surged and he coughed up a mist of blood. His face was slightly pale.
His travel through the Void using the Space Beacon was interrupted by the Leviathan Shark, which also damaged his body. But it was not a severe injury and he would recover in just a day or two of rest.
Looking around him, he found himself standing in a forest of huge trees, each one thousands of metres tall. The ground was covered in the staggered roots of the trees while the canopies stretched across the sky. He had no idea where he was.
Yang Kai was still shuddering at his previous experience. Despite knowing that this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was not as simple as he had imagined, and even housed Divine Spirits, he never expected the Sea Clan to actually have a Divine Spirit as an Ancestor.
[A Leviathan Shark!] This thing had the bloodline of the Kun Peng and Hai Sha. With the Kun Peng Clan being arch-rivals of the Dragon Clan, Yang Kai estimated that he would likely die a miserable death if he fell into that Leviathan Shark’s hands.
Others may not be able to detect the aura of his bloodline, but a Leviathan Shark surely would be able to.
The Leviathan Shark was so powerful that it was even able to interrupt the Space Beacon, which made his positioning fail, sending Yang Kai and the rest of the group hurtling out of the Void mid-transit.
Yang Kai had no idea how they were doing right now.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had exchanged contact information with Xu Zhen because he wanted to ask him for help in arranging a Grand Array in Scarlet Star’s Star City, so he quickly took out his contact bead and tried to get in touch with Xu Zhen. After a few moments, Xu Zhen sent over a message saying that he was safe, but he had no idea where he was.
Yang Kai put his mind at ease and asked him to find out how the others were doing, to which Xu Zhen agreed.
Yang Kai looked around and landed on the ground, finding a tree cave to enter. While adjusting his breathing, he waited for further news.
After about an hour, Xu Zhen sent a message to him. Qu Hua Shang, Gu Pan, and Ning Dao Ran were still alive, but just like them, they had been randomly dropped somewhere in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary after being swallowed up by the Void Cracks and had yet to ascertain where they were.
The only one they failed to contact was Lin Feng, and they had no idea whether he was alive or dead.
Hearing that Gu Pan was still alive, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief.
After a brief exchange with Xu Zhen, they agreed to meet at Scarlet Star’s Star City. Only then did Yang Kai put away his contact bead. While quietly recovering from his injuries, he checked out the harvest that he gained during this trip.
Immersing his consciousness into the Sealed World Bead, he transformed into his Soul Avatar.
As soon as he appeared, Yang Kai could not help but shudder. The Small Sealed World had never been this cold before, and when he looked up, he saw a full moon hanging high in the sky, emitting an icy cold light.
“Master, Master, something big has happened! There’s suddenly an extra moon here!” Mu Zhu and Mu Lu flapped their little wings over and shouted in a panic.
The two little ones had been staying in the Small Sealed World this whole time, taking care of the precious treasures in the medicine garden. Aside from Zhang Ruo Xi, they were the only companions that came out from the Star Boundary with Yang Kai.
While they were tending to the medicine garden earlier today though, they suddenly saw a full moon rising into the sky, and were both startled.
“En, it’s not a moon!” Yang Kai responded, somewhat curious. How come the Ice Soul Moon Pearl became a moon when it arrived here?
This showed that even though the Ice Soul Moon Pearl was not a moon, it was likely related to one.
The two Wood Spirits flew onto his shoulders, one on each side, before Mu Lu asked curiously, “If it’s not a moon, then what is it?”
“I have no idea what it is either,” Yang Kai shook his head. He had never encountered this thing before. The Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples also had no idea what it was. He would have to ask the Proprietress later to try and figure it out.
Mu Zhu was calmer, but still frowned as she mentioned, “Whether it’s a moon or not, it’s too cold. If you don’t do something about it, then everything in the medicine garden will freeze to death. Mu Lu and I will also freeze to death!”
Mu Lu’s eyes were tearful, “I don’t want to freeze to death!”
Yang Kai turned his head and saw that sure enough, the herbs in the medicine garden did not look right. They all looked droopy, and some of them even had frost growing on their leaves. Their medicinal properties were fading fast.
As the Master of the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai dominated everything in this place. All the barriers around the Small Sealed World’s medicine garden were created using the condensed power of the entire world, so trivial energies were simply unable to encroach upon it. From this, it was easy to see how shocking the power of this new moon was if it could even affect the things in the medicine garden.
“Don’t worry. I’ll reinforce the barrier around the medicine garden.” Yang Kai went to work as soon as he thought about it. Communicating with the Small Sealed World, he used World Force to reinforce the barrier, restoring the medicine garden to its original state.
But very soon, he frowned, because he could clearly feel that no matter how he tried to reinforce the barrier, the moonlight would still slowly erode it. It would probably not be able to last more than a year before being broken.
“Remember to call me every six months to reinforce the barrier.”
Mu Zhu nodded, “En.”
Yang Kai looked up at the full moon again and shook his head slowly. Then, he left the Small Sealed World.
At the same time, above the great sea, Lin Feng’s body transformed into a stream of light that instantly travelled hundreds of kilometres in one breath, fleeing rapidly. He cut through the sea, breaking through the waves.
All of a sudden Lin Feng halted. He looked ahead of him with a frightened look on his face.
There, a thousand kilometres ahead, was a powerful figure standing in the air, looking at him with a cold expression. His gaze shot over like two bolts of lightning, piercing straight into Lin Feng’s heart.
Lin Feng paled and without even hesitating, he fled back the way he came.
“You think you can run?” That man coldly snorted, reached out a hand, and directly caught Lin Feng.
Even though they were a thousand kilometres away, Lin Feng had no way to resist this grab. He felt something tighten around his body, as if he were grabbed by a vague azure hand.
When he looked back, that man was already beside him, looking at him with a fierce smile, “How do you want to die?”
“Leviathan Shark!” Lin Feng’s face instantly paled. How could he not know that this was the 10,000-metre-long Divine Spirit from before? Unlike the Sea Clan that he saw on the island before, this Leviathan Shark was able to completely take Human form, looking no different from an ordinary Human from the outside with no traces of any Monster Beast characteristics left on him.
“It is this King!” Kun Sha grinned, revealing a set of jagged fangs, “You puny insects dare to steal my clan’s Sacred Treasure? Your courage isn’t small!”
“It’s not with me. Killing me is useless,” Lin Feng gulped.
Kun Sha laughed maniacally, “I’ve been waiting so many years for you, so how could I bear to kill you? But though your death may be exempted, your punishment may not!” Saying so, he opened his big mouth and swallowed Lin Feng in one gulp.
After an incense stick of time, he opened his mouth again and spat Lin Feng out. But now, this True Martial Cave Heaven’s disciple’s eyes were slack, as if they had just witnessed a great terror. His body also could not help but tremble.
“Where is the one who stole the Moon Essence? Bring me to him,” Kun Sha ordered Lin Feng.
Lin Feng nodded involuntarily and led Kun Sha forward.
On the way there, they encountered several human strongholds. Whenever they did, Kun Sha opened his mouth wide and swallowed down all of the Humans, chewing them up before swallowing. Blood pooled in his mouth and miserable cries could be heard constantly, but he simply showed a satisfied look.
He brought a reign of terror everywhere he passed. Lin Feng glared at the sight, but each time he resisted, he was easily suppressed by Kun Sha. But strangely enough, even though Kun Sha treated him badly, he did not have any murderous intent towards him.
When he thought about what Kun Sha said before, Lin Feng couldn’t help but have a bold guess in his heart.
When they passed by another human stronghold, Kun Sha repeated the same procedure. In a flash, he arrived above the stronghold and transformed into his true form, spanning 10,000 metres in length and covering the Heavens and Earth.
This stronghold was not big, housing only a few thousand people, so when they saw such a huge creature suddenly appear, they were all terrified and all summoned their artifacts and used their Secret Techniques against it.
But how could they hurt Kun Sha with their puny strength? Kun Sha opened his big mouth and a terrifying suction appeared. The thousands of people in the stronghold, regardless of their cultivation and strength, could not help but be sucked up into his mouth.
It was at this time that Lin Feng shouted, “Kun Sha, look here!”
As he spoke, he raised two blades in each hand, aiming one at his neck and the other propped towards his heart.
The two blades glinted brilliantly and he moved without the slightest hesitation as if he was resolved to die here.
Just before Lin Feng could kill himself, Kun Sha appeared before him. Flicking his wrist, the two blades were sent flying. Kun Sha raised his hand and lifted Lin Feng into the air, watching him with a grim look, “Brat, what are you doing?”
Lin Feng looked in a pitiful state, but he was grinning maniacally, “So that’s how it is. Turns out the records in the ancient books were true. You’re searching for a Bearer, and I am your Bearer, correct?”
Kun Sha coldly snorted, “You know quite a lot, brat. What else do you know?”
“I know a lot.” Lin Feng replied smugly, “I know you won’t let me die here. If I die, then you’ll have to find someone else, but there aren’t many people that meet your requirements. I might as well tell you that I am a True Martial Cave Heaven disciple. There are less than 5 people who can match my strength in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If I die, then you’re sure to have a headache in the future.”
“So you’re a Cave-Heaven disciple. No wonder you know about the Bearers. It must be a message left behind by your Ancestors,” Kun Sha coldly sneered. From his tone of voice, he seemed to know of the existence of Cave-Heavens and Paradises.
Lin Feng said, “My True Martial Cave Heaven’s twenty-seventh Sect Master visited the Grand Ancient Ruins in the past and left records of this place.”
Kun Sha nodded, “Since you know, then you best cooperate. It will ultimately be to your benefit.”
Lin Feng snorted haughtily, “I, Lin Feng, have relied on myself all through my cultivation journey. I don’t need to reap benefits from anyone else.”
Kun Sha narrowed his eyes, murderous intent surging within.
Lin Feng met his gaze without fear.
After a while, Kun Sha coldly snorted and tossed him aside before standing tall with both hands behind his back, “I need not resort to insinuations since you are in the know. If you know about the Bearers, then you’d better cooperate. Otherwise, I don’t mind killing you. I might as well just tell you that you are not my actual target. The one who stole my Moon Essence is much stronger than you.”
A trace of indignation flashed past Lin Feng’s eyes. Xu Zhen also said that he was not as strong as Yang Kai before, and now Kun Sha had said the same. This grated against his pride.
But this was not the time to bother about such things. Lin Feng stroked his neck, “Asking me to cooperate with you is not impossible, but you are not allowed to devour any more of us Humans; otherwise, I would rather die than bring you to him!”
Hai Sha – Sea Shark.
Not sure why a mythological beast will ahem* with a Sea Shark…
“You dare threaten me?” Kun Sha glared coldly at Lin Feng, the murderous intent in his eyes growing stronger.
Lin Feng’s heart was pounding, but he tried his best to look unfazed.
After a few moments, Kun Sha coldly snorted, “Very good, this King accepts your conditions.” He sneered in his heart. [Once I find that brat who stole my Moon Essence, you’ll be the first one I devour!]
Lin Feng couldn’t help but sigh. He thought to himself that he had to contact Yang Kai and the rest as soon as possible; otherwise, once Kun Sha found them, they might not have the power to fight back.
Unfortunately, Kun Sha was right in front of him. How was he going to find the chance to contact the others? He cursed in his heart, but fortunately, he had no idea where Yang Kai was at this moment, nor where he would go after escaping from the Sea Clan’s territory. However, he could delay Kun Sha for a while and see what else could be done.
Kun Sha also frowned at his words. He thought that since Lin Feng and Yang Kai were working together, that must mean that they were at least acquaintances. But who knew that this was what the situation was truly like?
After a brief pause, Kun Sha added, “That brat’s strength is not bad, so his reputation certainly must not be small. You should know once you ask someone about him.”
Lin Feng couldn’t help but sneer. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was so big, and with several hundreds of thousands, up to a million cultivators scattered across this place, who would know of Yang Kai’s name?
But since Kun Sha asked, he had no choice but to oblige. With the intention of asking a casual question and getting it over with, he landed and shouted in a loud voice, “Who among you has heard of a man called Yang Kai? Where is he now?”
Thousands in the Star City saw Kun Sha’s true form before, so they all still felt their hearts palpitating from shock. When they saw Lin Feng land and he spoke to them, they had no idea what relationship this man had with Kun Sha, which unnerved them even more. No one dared to answer.
On the other side, Kun Sha coldly snorted and casually grabbed a young man from the Star City.
The young man was so frightened that his face went pale. In total distress, he said in fear, “Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me…”
Kun Sha pressed closer to the man and interrogated him, “Do you know Yang Kai?”
The man shouted, “I don’t know him, I’ve never met him before!”
“Lies!” Kun Sha coldly snorted, “Your heart beat three times faster when you heard this name just now. You clearly know him, yet you dare to lie in front of this King? How could this King forgive you!”
Opening his mouth wide, he stuffed the young man into his mouth, swallowing him into his belly!
“Kun Sha, how dare you go against your word!” Lin Feng was furious to see this scene. This guy had promised him not to eat Humans anymore just now, but he swallowed another one down into his stomach in the next breath.
Kun Sha said, unbothered, “He dared lie to this King, so this King naturally has to punish him!” Saying so, he reached out again and grabbed an elderly man, asking the same thing, “Do you know Yang Kai?”
“I…” The old man stammered.
“You’ve already seen what happens to those who lie to me. Your heart also beat three times faster just now!” Kun Sha grinned.
“I know him, I know him!” The old man nodded repeatedly, “This one knows that Killing Star!”
“Killing Star?” Kun Sha raised a brow.
The old man hurriedly explained, “He killed thousands of Thunder Light’s disciples and destroyed Sword Pavilion’s Star City. Tens of thousands have died by his hands! He’s a Killing Star!”
“So that little brat has such strong bloodlust, does he? That suits this King’s appetite just well, hahaha!” Kun Sha’s eyes lit up at the old man’s words.
“He killed thousands of Thunder Light’s disciples, destroyed Sword Pavilion’s Star City, and slaughtered tens of thousands with his own hand?” Lin Feng was dumbfounded at the news. [Is that true? Why does it seem so far-fetched?]
But the old man should not have the guts to lie in front of Kun Sha.
Someone sputtered nervously at the side, “Yes, it’s true! I was there to see him kill thousands of Thunder Light disciples with my own eyes! The tens of thousands in Sword Pavilion’s Star City were all killed by him after that!”
Lin Feng turned to look at him, “Did you see that with your own eyes, too?”
The man shook his head, “I didn’t see that, but I heard people say that he brought back several tens of thousands of Space Rings after returning from Sword Pavilion’s Star City. If he didn’t kill them, how did he get all those Space Rings?”
Lin Feng’s brow was twitching incessantly. [Several tens of thousands of Space Rings? Doesn’t that equate to the lives of tens of thousands of people!?]
He had also been interacting with Yang Kai for a few days, so Lin Feng judged the former as someone who wasn’t numb to killing. Lin Feng also didn’t expect that he would actually be able to get any news about Yang Kai out of this random stronghold with just a few thousand people in it.
Was that guy truly so famous?
He had been adventuring out at sea this whole time, so he did not get much news from this side of the world. But naturally, Lin Feng still would not know where Yang Kai would return to even outside of these circumstances.
What’s more, the two who had been grabbed by Kun Sha were Scarlet Star’s disciples to begin with. Numerous Scarlet Star disciples had escaped before Yang Kai’s return from Sword Pavilion’s Star City, and these two were part of that group. They came here for the sake of survival, but they did not expect to still be implicated by Yang Kai.
Kun Sha was overjoyed and felt that Yang Kai simply suited his tastes far too well, so he laughed wickedly, “Old man, do you know where Yang Kai lives?”
The old man quickly answered, “He is Scarlet Star’s Foreign Elder and stays at Scarlet Star’s Star City!”
“Bring me there!” Kun Sha let go of him after ordering. Of course, there was no way the old man would dare to disobey, so he quickly led the way.
Kun Sha followed behind him with his hands behind his back. Seeing this, Lin Feng also hurried to catch up to them.
A short while later, Kun Sha frowned, “You’re too slow. How long will it take if we go at this pace? Just point out the direction to this King!”
Saying so, he grabbed the two with one hand each before his body turned into a stream of light, shooting towards the indicated direction.
…..
Inside a tree cave, Yang Kai adjusted his breathing for a while which made him feel much better. Only then did he use a Space Beacon to move back to his own residence.
The Sea Clan’s Divine Spirit that they drew out by breaking into the Sea Clan’s Holy Land was no joke. He had no idea whether it would seek revenge on him; after all, he stole the Sacred Treasure of the Sea Clan. If the Divine Spirit really came after him, then this Star City would not be able to do anything to resist.
Now, his only hope was that little fatty Xu Zhen. He had to get him to rush back and set up a Grand Defensive Array as soon as possible.
Yang Kai urged Xu Zhen again and again, which made Xu Zhen speechless. He did not have the same convenient means as Yang Kai, who could travel through the Void; in fact, he did not even know where he was right now. Trying to return to Scarlet Star’s Star City was impossible without a month or two of time.
A day later, Yang Kai suddenly heard nothing more from Xu Zhen’s side.
Yang Kai was very anxious and thought that Xu Zhen was annoyed with him, so he tried speaking more softly and offering some flattery, but still failed to connect with him. Yang Kai immediately realized that something might have happened to Xu Zhen which made it impossible to contact him.
His heart sank and he wondered to himself if that little fatty had been caught by the Leviathan Shark. If that truly was the case, then that would be disastrous!
Yang Kai walked out of his room listlessly and bumped into a soft and fragrant embrace. Yang Kai subconsciously caught her and looked up in surprise, “You are…”
The one before him was a young woman with eyes like a beautiful painting, and a graceful figure. Standing before him, a fragrance wafted to his nose that was as sweet as honey.
This young girl was extremely beautiful and had a delicate appearance, but her eyes had the ability to draw in one’s soul. Yang Kai’s heart jumped when their eyes met. Looking again though, her eyes now seemed as clear as water, as if everything he experienced just now was an illusion.
Most importantly… He had never met this girl before!
“She’s a new maid I hired. What’s wrong? Are you interested in her? You can take her if you want,” Yue He’s voice came from behind him.
Yang Kai looked back at her and knew that the matter with Lu Xue still bothered her, so he laughed, “Why did you suddenly take in a maid?”
Yue He scoffed, “This young lady is too lazy to serve you. Is there a problem if I bring someone else to do it instead?”
“No, no, no, of course not!” Yang Kai shook his head repeatedly, “You can do whatever you wish.”
The young girl at the side saw them bickering, but she didn’t seem the slightest bit afraid; instead, she was looking on in interest.
Yue He glared, “What are you looking at? Get to work.”
But the young girl ignored her. Instead, she stared at Yang Kai without looking away for even a moment; then, she slowly walked out, turning back to stare a few times, a smile hanging at her lips.
Yue He’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot and she cursed the little wench in her heart, [I’ll kick you out later!]
Yang Kai looked puzzlingly at the girl’s back as she left. There was something about the girl’s smile that bothered him, but he couldn’t sense anything peculiar about her, which puzzled him even more.
“Why don’t you gouge your eyes out and stick them to her body instead?” Yue He was so angry when she turned around and saw Yang Kai staring at this new girl in a trance that her nose was almost crooked.
Yang Kai sighed, “Yue He, I’m afraid I’ve gotten into big trouble this time!”
“Whose daughter did you mess with this time?” Yue He squinted at him, “And what’s more, didn’t you leave with that little fatty? How come you returned alone? Where is he?”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “We got separated. I followed him to the sea and ended up provoking the Divine Spirit of the Sea Clan.”
“What happened?” Yue He’s face instantly changed, “And what Divine Spirit did you provoke?”
She didn’t have the mood to be jealous when it came to important matters; instead, she was worried about Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was just about to tell Yue He about his encounters when his face suddenly changed. He turned his head to look in a direction and muttered, “He’s here already?”
At the same time, the young girl who had stepped into the corridor looked in that direction, too, “Kun Sha? What is that guy doing here? He’s not here to steal him from this Queen, is he? How dare he!”
Yue He did not understand, “Who’s here?”
Yang Kai didn’t have time to explain too much. He urged, “Quickly, gather everyone in the mansion. We have to run away immediately.”
He was filled with questions. How did the Leviathan Shark find this place so quickly? He should not know where he lived, so was he tracking the aura of the Ice Soul Moon Pearl?
But that didn’t seem right either. The Ice Soul Moon Pearl had already been sent into the Small Sealed World, and it was impossible for the Leviathan Shark to sense it across worlds no matter how strong he was.
At the end of his sentence though, Yang Kai’s heart sank as he groaned, “It’s too late!”
It was at that moment that a stream of light suddenly appeared above the Star City, stopping, and revealing the Leviathan Shark with one person held in each of his hands.
When Yang Kai looked up, he discovered one of them to be Lin Feng, but he had no idea who the old man was.
Lin Feng had been captured!
It was only natural that this would happen. Yang Kai was going to bring all of them away from that island, but unfortunately, Lin Feng chose to escape by himself rather than cooperate with them. How could he, an Emperor Realm cultivator, be capable of escaping in front of a Divine Spirit? Being caught was only a matter of time.
As for the old man, Yang Kai had truly never met him, so he had no idea why the Leviathan Shark would capture him.
[It’s too late to run!] Yang Kai’s heart sank.
He did not expect the Leviathan Shark to catch up to him so soon. Trying to leave now would probably be as difficult as ascending to the Heavens. Above the sea, Yang Kai had already experienced this guy’s skills and knew that he had the ability to shatter space and disturb the Void.
And, when the Leviathan Shark arrived, a fierce power instantly emanated from his body, enveloping the large Star City.
Hundreds of thousands suddenly felt their vitality tumbling, as if a large mountain had been pressed on their bodies. Their faces were pale, and their breathing was ragged.
Chen Tian Fei flew out from the mansion and shouted in fear, “Enemy attack, enemy attack! Activate the array!”
With a rumble, the Star City’s protective Grand Array was opened!
The Star City had expanded greatly during this recent period of time, and the Grand Array was naturally also reinforced and upgraded. Following a sound, rays of light rushed to sky, turning into a light barrier that enveloped the entire Star City.
Kun Sha looked down and sneered, “You think you can stop this King with this flimsy barrier? Naive!”
Opening his big mouth, he bit down. With a crack, a large hole was opened in the Star City’s protective Grand Array. With another few bites from Kun Sha, the Grand Array was completely broken.
Chen Tian Fei, who had just settled down his emotions, suddenly fell on his bottom, his fat body trembling violently.
Everyone who saw this scene had grim expressions. How could they not know that none of them could equal Kun Sha’s strength?
Who was this man? And why was he so powerful? Even the might that Yang Kai displayed when he fought against thousands from Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion could not compare to this terrifying man.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Kun Sha grinned meaningfully and raised both Lin Feng and the old man, stuffing them into his mouth.
The old man’s eyes went wide and he passed out directly, whereas Lin Feng was furious and roared, “Kun Sha, what are you doing?!”
Kun Sha cackled, “Eating you, of course! You no longer have any use to this King now that we’ve arrived.” While saying that, he shoved Lin Feng into his mouth and swallowed him into his belly. However, his belly was constantly bulging. It was apparent that Lin Feng was fighting against being devoured by him. Kun Sha slapped his belly, and the bulging spot returned to normal.
All who saw this scene were horrified. They had never seen such a cruel scene before of someone being eaten alive. It was simply unthinkable.
“Where is Yang Kai? Show yourself to this King, now!” Kun Sha bellowed with majesty as he swept his gaze across the city.
*Shua shua shua*
All eyes turned in the direction of Yang Kai’s residence. Many people were cursing this Killing Star for not doing anything good. Where had he provoked such a terrifying existence?
Kun Sha followed the eyes and soon saw Yang Kai standing in his home with a serious face. Grinning, he cackled, “Found you!”
Leaning down, he reached out to grab Yang Kai.
The Divine Spirit’s power pervaded the area, sealing Heaven and locking Earth. Clearly, it was because Kun Sha had seen him perform a Space Secret Technique before, and had done this to purposefully counteract that in case he tried to escape again.
A large hand descended from the sky, making Yang Kai feel as if the entire world had been covered, blocking out all light. With a guttural roar, Yang Kai pushed the power of his Dao Seal to its maximum and a round Sun suddenly appeared, rising up into the sky.
Golden Crow Casts the Sun!
As soon as the Divine Manifestation appeared, Yang Kai was finally able to free himself from the suppressive force immobilizing him, but before he could resist, he saw a fair finger point into the air from inside the mansion.
Without a sound, the finger collided with Kun Sha’s palm, forcing him to stagger back and shattering his fierce power in an instant.
“Hm?” Kun Sha was taken by surprise. Looking down, his eyes fixed on what appeared to be a young girl and he squinted, “What are you doing here?”
The girl giggled, “I was just going to ask you the same. Why did you come all the way here rather than stay in that little sea of yours?”
Stunned, Yang Kai looked over to see Yue He’s new maidservant standing with both hands behind her back, smiling as she looked up at Kun Sha.
Yue He was also dumbfounded at this sight.
This young girl was the same one that Yang Kai bumped into earlier. He thought she was strange before, but now it seemed like a true Master showed not their true face to others after all. Since she was able to dispel Kun Sha’s attack so easily, it must mean this girl’s strength was probably around the same as his.
“Is she really your new maid?” Yang Kai whispered to Yue He.
With a confused expression, Yue He nodded subconsciously.
“Then you’ve really found a shocking one!” Yang Kai gulped.
In the sky, Kun Sha rolled his eyes and grinned meaningfully, “Do you really not know why I’m here?”
The girl smiled sweetly, “So you’re here to fight me for him, then?”
Kun Sha’s face darkened, “You also have your eye on that brat?”
“I had my eye on him years ago. You’re late, Kun Sha.” The girl smiled.
“Not necessarily.” Kun Sha shook his head, “The winner is the King, and the loser is the villain. Since you also have your eye on the brat, then it will be down to our abilities to decide who he belongs to.”
The girl said bluntly, “Do not make a fool of yourself, Kun Sha. If we were at sea, then this Queen would still have to be wary of you, but now that we are on land, you are not this Queen’s opponent.”
“And how would you know that if we haven’t fought?” Kun Sha coldly snorted.
A palm slammed down, and his body’s strength was transformed into a gigantic palm print that enveloped half the Star City.
“Courting death!” The girl was enraged and raised her palm to meet his attack. With a loud bang, a terrifying shock wave spread out, collapsing many buildings in the Star City, and also injuring and killing numerous cultivators.
After that palm, the girl took to the sky, lunging straight for Kun Sha. Kun Sha’s body swayed back a few steps. Sure enough, he really was at a disadvantage in a fight with this bewitching woman on land. But since he was here, how could he be willing to just return without putting up a fight?
The two of them immediately began fighting, shattering the Heavens and shaking the Earth.
Countless cultivators fled for their lives within the Star City lest they be caught up in the fallout. The Scarlet Star Managers also had grim faces. Who knows what evil god Scarlet Star had offended in the past, but they had been facing bad luck since entering the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. First, they were tossed about by Yang Kai until they nearly collapsed, and now, after much difficulty nurturing themselves back to power over several years, two terrifying existences suddenly appeared and began fighting above their heads.
“That woman is also a Divine Spirit!” Yang Kai’s heart trembled when he saw the woman fighting with Kun Sha. Only a Divine Spirit would be able to fight evenly with Kun Sha, or even gain a slight advantage over him.
But he had no idea who this woman was, and why she was lurking about his mansion.
It was at this moment that everyone in the mansion came over. Coming to his senses with a start, Yang Kai shouted, “Go! Hurry up and get out of here!”
A fire at the city gates was also a calamity for the fish in the moat. No matter whether the girl or Kun Sha were to be the final victor, the future was definitely not going to be bright for him. He thought he could have Xu Zhen arrange a powerful Grand Array to provide some security for them, but now that he had seen the fight between these two Divine Spirits, Yang Kai knew that there was none that could stop their power in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Even if he used his full strength, it was unlikely for him to be able to hold on for even an incense stick of time in a fight against either of these two powerhouses.
More and more people appeared in the mansion. Other than the three disciples from Great Moon Province, Yue He, Lu Xue, and Chen Yue, there were also Guo Zi Yan and nearly 40 others. Meanwhile, the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flood Dragon were out of the city.
While transmitting a message to the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flood Dragon, telling them to flee as soon as possible, Yang Kai put the others who were under the Open Heaven Realm in his Sealed World Bead.
The Small Sealed World inside the Sealed World Bead was a world of its own, so it could hold Emperor Realm cultivators with no problem; however, as a Small Universe existed within the bodies of those in the Open Heaven Realm, the Small Sealed World could not accept them.
After hurrying about for a while, the only ones left by his side were the three Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yue He, Lu Xue, and Guo Zi Yan.
Yang Kai wrapped the three of them in his power and summoned a Space Beacon before activating its power and disappearing instantly.
“Damn brat, you think you can run from this Queen?” Even though the woman was busy fighting Kun Sha, she could still keep track of Yang Kai’s actions. Instantly, she opened her mouth and spat out an object that disappeared into the Void.
A short while later, from the Void a hundred kilometres away from the Star City, a large net suddenly appeared, catching Yang Kai, Yue He, Lu Xue, and Guo Zi Yan, causing them to fall to the ground.
“Bitch!” Yang Kai was both shocked and furious. The Void was shaken by Kun Sha when he tried travelling through it last time to escape, separating him from Xu Zhen and the others, and now, his attempt to escape was once again foiled by that girl. But this time, it was even worse. She had managed to catch them through the Void with some kind of net.
With such a bizarre technique, Yang Kai could tell that the girl’s strength was far beyond his expectations. It was just that the special World Principles of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary made it impossible for her to display her full power.
He reached out to grab the net and tried to tear it apart, but it didn’t even stretch.
Yang Kai’s heart sank. With his Dragon Bloodline, he should have terrifying physical strength, but the net was still too tough for him to even dream of tearing apart. Not only that, but its surface was also extremely sticky, so much so that he could not shake it off once it had stuck to his hands.
Thought flashing, the Golden Crow’s True Fire appeared. Its fire lit the net, but could not burn through the material.
“What kind of net is this?!” Yue He shouted. She was also struggling as best she could, but she still failed to do anything to it. Instead, the more she struggled, the tighter the net bound her.
“It’s like a spider web!” Lu Xue frowned.
“A spider web!” Yang Kai’s thoughts flashed. He looked over at the fight, and as soon as he did, he saw Kun Sha’s body swaying and transforming into his 10,000 metres-long true form, blotting out the sky as a gigantic shark.
The girl’s figure also transformed at that moment. Following that, a terrifyingly gigantic being the size of a city appeared in Yang Kai’s view.
Her true form was an extremely large spider with eight legs stretching out onto the ground. Her body was silver in colour, and she had the mark of a crescent moon on her back!
“Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!” Yang Kai exclaimed as he stared fixedly at that side.
Lu Xue could not help but cover her red lips while Yue He also gave up on struggling with a bitter look on her face.
[So it’s her!]
Yang Kai finally understood. It was no wonder the girl said that she had her eye on him for years. They had first discovered each other at Sword Pavilion’s Star City.
At Sword Pavilion’s Star City, Yang Kai discovered the mark of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider on the chest of the Pavilion Master’s corpse. At that time, the mark burst out and filled Yang Kai’s mind with the form of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, which he was able to break away from thanks to his Divine Dragon Source.
Back then, Yang Kai could also vaguely feel a pair of eyes watching him. Obviously, the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider must have sensed when he broke her seal.
Following that, she sent the mantis head to capture him, but the mantis head was killed by him instead.
Yang Kai thought that the matter was settled then, but who knew that after two years passed, he would still bump into her here!
But to Yang Kai’s surprise, the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider did not kill him as soon as she found him; instead, she actually infiltrated his residence and posed as a maid. What exactly was she trying to do?
Additionally, it was obvious now that Kun Sha had not sought him out merely for the Ice Soul Moon Pearl. What were these Divine Spirits planning?
Kun Sha had a body that was 10,000 metres long, but the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider was not far behind. The two giants used their respective Divine Abilities, engaging each other in an intense melee. The ground was shattered and the surrounding space warped. The World Energy in a radius of several tens of thousands of kilometres was thrown into chaos by their battle.
The strength of the two Divine Spirits was almost at the same level and both were living in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. This should not be the first time they were fighting either as it seemed they understood each other very well and killing moves were unleashed incessantly, sending chills down the spines of those who stood witness.
But after watching for a while, Yang Kai realized that Kun Sha was most likely not the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s opponent. Just as the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider said, Kun Sha was a Divine Spirit born from the sea. She may not be his opponent if they were fighting in the depths of the ocean, but she had the upper hand on land.
Threads of spider silk that were strong enough to seal the world were gradually woven into a web. Even someone as strong as Kun Sha could not extricate himself from it. It seemed that Kun Sha would be completely defeated the moment the spider web was fully formed.
Kun Sha obviously realized this as well. Shaking his head, he opened his big bloody mouth and bit down on a weak point, tearing apart tens of thousands of spider threads. Then, he turned back to human form and rushed out of the gap, fleeing quickly.
His voice echoed from afar, “Zhu Jiu Yin, don’t feel smug just because you have beaten me today! We will cross paths again at the Spirit Seizing War! When the time comes, let’s see who will have the last laugh!”
The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider did not stop him when she saw him leave. Her huge spider body distorted and transformed, turning back into the harmless innocent girl from before. Standing with her hands behind her back, she gazed into the distance.
A hundred or so kilometres away, in the middle of a spider web, Yang Kai and the others watched on in horror.
The unrestrained might of the two Divine Spirits was beyond their imagination. Even in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, they could exert strength surpassing that of the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm, which may have something to do with the fact that they were born here, but also the fact that their strength itself was incredible.
But no matter what, the might of a Divine Spirit was unstoppable!
The girl turned around and arrived in front of Yang Kai and the others in a few hops. She studied Yang Kai with a smile, a scrutinizing look present in her beautiful eyes, looking ever more satisfied as if she were a maiden, looking at her lover.
Yang Kai felt his scalp tingle as he decided to ask, “Senior, what do you want from me?”
The girl smiled, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you, nor will I let someone else kill you. You are very useful to me, but this is not the place to talk. Let’s go back first.”
Raising her hand, she retrieved her web. Yang Kai and the others regained their freedom, but they did not even think of escaping as in front of an existence of this level, that would be foolish. They could only follow behind her obediently as they headed back to the Star City.
Hundreds of thousands of kilometres away, Kun Sha suddenly stopped with a furious look on his face, “How dare that bitch spoil my good deed! Now that that cheap slut Zhu Jiu Yin has her eyes on that stinking brat, I won’t be able to get my hands on him… Hm, I wonder if that other brat is dead yet.”
Saying so, he spat something out of his mouth.
It was none other than Lin Feng whom he had swallowed up before.
“Hm, you’re still alive? Good. At least you have some ability!” Kun Sha’s eyes lit up. He discovered that though the brat named Lin Feng was pale-faced, he was completely unharmed. Only, the light golden layer protecting him had been corroded by digestive juices and could break at any moment.
Lin Feng himself obviously did not have the ability to withstand the corrosive power of Kun Sha’s gastric juices, so he must have used one of the treasures given by his Elders to save his life.
Suddenly released, Lin Feng gasped and coughed heavily.
Before he could recover from his shock though, he heard Kun Sha’s mighty voice, “Boy, you’ve passed this King’s test. You are now qualified to become this King’s Bearer. Over the next few years, this King will carefully nurture you. Then, you must do one thing for this King. If you do it well, you will be spared. If not, then obediently become food for this King.”
Lin Feng looked up and stared blankly at him. His mind was still blank from surviving that previous encounter, even to the point where he could not process what Kun Sha was saying to him.
But Kun Sha didn’t care. He simply grabbed Ling Feng by the collar and carried him to the sea.
In the main hall of Yang Kai’s residence, the girl wandered about, touching this and that, as if everything was novel to her.
Yang Kai and the others stood at the entrance, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Even though this Heavenly Moon Demon Spider said before that she would not kill him, who knows whether this devilish woman would actually keep her word? If she really made a move, then no one would be able to resist.
Chen Yue suddenly ran in from outside and said in a small voice, “Sir, Scarlet Star’s Managers have come seeking an audience.”
Everyone was watching as the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider led Yang Kai back to the Star City, so how could Chen Tian Fei and the others sit still when something so terrifying suddenly appeared in their home? Naturally, they had to rush over to pay their respects.
Yang Kai raised his head to look at the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider.
The girl waved her hand, “Make them leave.” She looked extremely impatient.
Chen Yue shrunk her neck and excused herself respectfully.
The girl finally stopped moving and turned her head to look at Yang Kai with a smile, “Where is Da Lang’s corpse?”
“Da Lang?” Yang Kai was stunned, [What Da Lang? Where Da Lang?]
“You killed him, didn’t you?” The girl asked.
Yang Kai suddenly realized who she was talking about and quickly raised his hand to summon a headless corpse. It was the mantis head that he had killed two years ago at Sword Pavilion’s Star City. Only, this guy’s head was blown apart by the Azure Dragon Spear, leaving his body behind.
Since this Monster’s strength was not weak, and both his scythe arms were rigid and sharp, they were great materials for refining artifacts. For that reason, Yang Kai kept the body this whole time.
“Da Lang followed me for many years, and I was the one who taught him how to gain sentience. Though he has died, I still wish to retrieve his body. You have no complaints about that, do you?” The girl asked Yang Kai.
“This one would not dare!” Yang Kai dropped his gaze. He dared not say a single ‘no’ to her at this moment.
The girl nodded. Raising her hand, she put away the mantis head’s body. Turning around, she sat down on the seat that used to belong to Yang Kai, crossing her legs and propping her cheek up with her hand, saying lazily, “This Queen is Zhu Jiu Yin. You have already seen what my true form is.”
“Greetings, Senior Zhu!” Yang Kai quickly bowed while shooting a look at Lu Xue and the others.
In his mind, he wondered. Was this woman surnamed Zhu because she was the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider?
The girl giggled and stared at Yang Kai, “This Queen has come out of the mountain this time just to see you.”
With those words, Yue He immediately turned her head to look warily at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was curious, “Does Senior know me?”
“Not before, but I do now,” Zhu Jiu Yin smirked.
Yang Kai frowned, “What did Senior seek me out for? If it is to avenge Da Lang, then Senior should have taken revenge long ago.”
“Naturally, it is not for Da Lang; otherwise, would you still be alive? This Queen came in order to seek your help. If you do this Queen this favour, then I will forget about you killing Da Lang. Otherwise, I will have to settle this score with you properly.”
Yang Kai was speechless, “What kind of help does Senior need from me?” If even she herself could not do it, would he be able to?
“You will naturally know when it is time. It is useless even if you know now. For the moment, all you have to do is improve your strength as fast and as much as possible. I will live here before you help me with this favour, so don’t even think about running away.” Zhu Jiu Yin turned to look at Yue He and Lu Xue, “The two of you, follow me. This Queen needs maidservants to call upon.”
Yue He was furious!
She was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but she was actually being taken as a maidservant! However, when she thought of Zhu Jiu Yin’s identity and strength, she was indeed qualified to treat her as a maid. If such an existence were to reach the outside world, she would definitely be on par with a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
Zhu Jiu Yen then really began living in the mansion that day, and she chose the best room for herself, which should’ve been Yang Kai’s.
She had nothing to do during her days here, so she would take Yue He and Lu Xue along with her as she browsed the Star City, buying many miscellaneous trinkets, which made the two speechless. She was the Divine Spirit Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, but even though she was so strong, she still could not help but be curious about this lively world.
Yang Kai was deeply confused. This woman only told him that she needed his help, but she did not say what sort of help she needed, only that he would understand when the time came.
But since it was a request from the Divine Spirit, it must be very important. Yang Kai could only further intensify his cultivation.
Unfortunately, even the cleverest woman could not cook a meal without rice. For the Yin, Yang and Five Elements in his Dao Seal, he was still stuck on the Metal Element. With no suitable Metal Element material to refine, he had no way of furthering the cultivation of his Dao Seal. He did have a Water Element material in his possession, but without first refining his Metal Element, it was simply impossible for him to refine the Water Element.
He could only strengthen his body physically each day by consuming Dragon Blood Pills and refining his Bloodline Power. Then, gain further insight into his Wood and Earth Powers.
A few days later, Yang Kai suddenly took out a communication bead and immersed his consciousness into it. Overjoyed, he asked, “Brother Xu, are you alright?”
The communication bead was his link to Xu Zhen. He had lost contact with Xu Zhen last time, which worried Yang Kai. He had no idea whether he was dead or alive, but he did not expect Xu Zhen to take the initiative to contact him today.
“Not dead yet, but not in a good situation either!” Xu Zhen responded.
“What happened? First of all, why did you go silent all of a sudden? Where’s everyone else?”
“The rest are fine for now, but obviously, it may not be so in the future. Brother Yang, you should also make plans early. You have been showing off your strength too much, so you will eventually catch their attention.”
“What do you mean by that?” Yang Kai was confused, “and catch the attention of who?”
Xu Zhen said, “Has Brother Yang heard of a Bearer before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Xu Zhen went on, “I saw some records in my ancestors’ ancient books and didn’t take them seriously, but now, I know they are real. Kun Sha is not the only Divine Spirit in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Yang Kai laughed dryly, “That I know.”
Xu Zhen was surprised, “How do you know that? Did you encounter one?”
Yang Kai said with a headache, “Not only have I met one, but I have one living in my mansion!”
Xu Zhen did not respond for a long time. Yang Kai thought that something had happened to him, so he quickly transmitted a message. Only then did Xu Zhen respond, “As I thought, you’ve caught their eye, Brother Yang. In that case, I can just explain it to you. Did the Divine Spirit on your side ask you for a favour?”
Yang Kai was surprised, “How does Brother Xu know about that?”
Xu Zhen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Because I am in the same position. We really are Brothers sharing the same fate.”
You, too?” Yang Kai was shocked, “Were you also captured by a Divine Spirit?”
“The Divine Spirit who captured me is Zhu Yan, and is very powerful. What Divine Spirit were you captured by?”
Yang Kai muttered, “The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider…”
After a brief exchange, Yang Kai learned that Xu Zhen had been transported to an unknown place after being separated from him, and on his way back, encountered Zhu Yan and was captured.
Yang Kai wondered, “What is it that these Divine Spirits want? The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider only said that she needed my help, but she was unwilling to reveal more when I asked. What is this Bearer thing you mentioned before?”
“Haiz!” Xu Zhen breathed a heavy sigh, “That is the reason I sent you a message. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary has existed for countless aeons, and the number of Divine Spirits who live here are plenty; however, these Divine Spirits are born and raised in this world, and are also bound by this place. No matter how strong they are here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it will still be difficult for them to display their full strengths!”
Yang Kai nodded at his words. The World Principles in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were indeed strange. He thought that it was the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog that suppressed and sealed the Small Universes inside the bodies of the Open Heaven Realm Masters, limiting them from displaying their full strength, but now, it seemed like that may not be the case. Even the Divine Spirits were being suppressed, not to mention trivial Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators.
Though Zhu Jiu Yin and Kun Sha fought a fierce battle, they were far from presenting the true strength a Divine Spirit should have.
In terms of rankings among Divine Spirits, both the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider and the Leviathan Shark were ranked on par with Mie Meng, but how terrifying was Mie Meng’s power? The power that Zhu Jiu Yin and Kun Sha displayed before was not even one percent that, which made one feel as if they were not worthy of being called true Divine Spirits.
This must be due to the suppression of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s World Principles, rather than the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog.
Xu Zhen’s Divine Sense rippled out from the communication bead, delivering his message, “These Divine Spirits are living in a huge cage. If you were them, Brother Yang, what would you do?”
Yang Kai was secretly surprised, but after some thought, he responded, “Naturally, I’d try to escape!”
Any Great Expert would not be happy being in such a situation and would try to change it. The easiest way to do that would be to leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
“Exactly. That is what the Divine Spirits are thinking, too. They also hope to escape from this cage and free themselves of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s restrictions, restoring themselves to their full glory! But they are beings of this world, so how could it be so easy to free themselves from it?”
“Is this related to that Bearer thing you mentioned before?” Yang Kai asked.
“Exactly!” Xu Zhen responded, “The Divine Spirits have no way of leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by themselves, so they have to find someone to bring them out, and these people are the Bearers that they are seeking!”
“Someone to bring them out!?” Yang Kai’s heart jumped, “These Divine Spirits can be brought out of here?”
If that were truly the case, then would his Six Fated Paths Bag not be a great treasure? When they are about to leave, he could just stuff Zhu Jiu Yin into the bag and take her outside.
“Yes, but each Bearer can only bring one Divine Spirit out! And it also requires a special opportunity to succeed.” Xu Zhen seemed to be able to guess what Yang Kai was thinking, “I know that Brother Yang has a treasure that is able to hold living beings, but that is of no use. Even if you put a Divine Spirit in that bag, it will still be intercepted by the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary without the opportunity when you leave. The reason why the Divine Spirits are seeking out these Bearers is so that they can grab hold of the opportunity to free themselves from this place.”
“So, what is this opportunity?” Yang Kai asked eagerly.
“I’m not sure. I only saw the records written in the ancient books by my ancestors. Back then, an Ancestor of Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven also fell into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, competed against others of that period, and left behind some information about this place.”
“And he succeeded?”
“He failed.” Xu Zhen sighed, “The glory of that period belonged to a Senior from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. He brought a Divine Spirit out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and in return that Divine Spirit served as his Protector for a thousand years before leaving Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven.”
“A Protector!” Yang Kai was astonished.
“A bodyguard, a thug… something of that sort.” Xu Zhen grinned meaningfully, “If we have to put our lives on the line for the sake of those Divine Spirits, then we have to ask for some compensation, right? And that Senior from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven did just that. He negotiated with that Divine Spirit and had him act as his Protector for a thousand years, and that Divine Spirit had no choice but to accept. Brother Yang, I am also planning to negotiate with this Zhu Yan from my side. Tsk tsk, how impressive would it be if I manage to bring a Divine Spirit out of here?”
Yang Kai was speechless. Can such conditions even be proposed? If he ended up provoking a Divine Spirit, then he truly would not know how to write the word ‘death’.
“Many thanks to Brother Xu for this information. It will be of great use to me,” Yang Kai transmitted a word of thanks to him. He had been wondering what sort of help that Zhu Jiu Yin needed from him, and why she wanted him to improve his strength, but he finally understood why after hearing this story from Xu Zhen.
Obviously, Kun Sha had chased him all the way here not only because of the Ice Soul Moon Pearl that he stole from him, but also to use him as a Bearer; otherwise, he would not have left this place without asking about the Ice Soul Moon Pearl’s whereabouts.
“It’s no big deal. You would have found out about it eventually even if I did not tell you. But if both you and I become Bearers, then there might be a time in the future when we are forced to fight. For the interests of my Divine Cauldron Heaven, I will not go easy on Brother Yang when the time comes.”
“Rightfully so!”
“And, there is still Ning Dao Ran and the others. I estimate that they will not be able to escape the same fate. The Divine Spirits have been watching quietly all these years, most likely to observe those of us who fell into this world so that they can choose a suitable Bearer. Now, as Zhu Yan and the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider have both already made their moves, the other Divine Spirits must not be able to sit still either. I’m guessing Ning Dao Ran and the others have all also been captured by the Divine Spirits, and it is only a matter of time before we will be forced to fight amongst ourselves… But let us not talk about that right now. Zhu Yan is back. I will talk to you again when I have the time!”
Speaking up to this point, Xu Zhen cut off communication with him.
Yang Kai silently put away his communication bead and digested the information told to him by Xu Zhen. Bearers, the opportunity to break free from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary’s shackles, the recruitment of a Protector. All of this was information that he had never heard of.
And, there was still Lin Feng.
In this case, Lin Feng should not be in any danger. He was, at the very least, a disciple of a Cave-Heaven with an extraordinary heritage. He was definitely one of the Bearer candidates, so Kun Sha should not have killed him. There was a very good chance that he might choose him as his Bearer.
With that, some doubts could finally be cleared from his mind.
The reason why Zhu Jiu Yin did not kill him or trouble him in any way, even asking him to cultivate properly was very clearly because she wanted him to help her grab hold of her opportunity to leave this place.
[The Spirit Seizing War, was it?] Yang Kai recalled what Kun Sha said as he left. Even though he had no idea what the Spirit Seizing War was, it was obviously related to the opportunity.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai headed for the main hall.
Inside the main hall, Zhu Jiu Yin was sitting on a chair while Lu Xue and Yue He were busying themselves. The floor was littered with all the things they bought from the Star City, mostly women’s accessories.
Yue He stood in front of Zhu Jiu Yin, holding a mirror, while Lu Xue was putting the accessories on Zhu Jiu Yin. Looking left and right, she kept the ones she liked and tossed the ones she didn’t aside.
When Yang Kai came in, he felt a bit speechless to see Zhu Jiu Yin admiring herself in the mirror.
Yue He turned to look at him, with an aggrieved look on her face.
Yang Kai pretended not to have seen it and stepped forward, cupping his fists, “Senior.”
While fiddling with the ornaments in her hair, Zhu Jiu Yin said without even looking up, “What are you doing here rather than cultivating?” Glancing sideways, she asked Yue He, “How does this one look?”
Yue He answered, “Beautiful.”
This was not mere flattery, either. She indeed looked beautiful; after all, she was the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider. With her beautiful face, she would look good in anything.
“A bit too gaudy,” Zhu Jiu Yin shook her head and took off the hairpin, tossing it aside.
Yang Kai took this opportunity to interject, “Senior wants me to cultivate, and I also want to cultivate. Unfortunately, I am unable to continue.”
“Why?” Zhu Jiu Yin looked up at him.
“Without appropriate materials, I am unable to condense my Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements Powers.” Yang Kai lowered his gaze.
“Nonsense!” Zhu Jiu Yin snarled, “You think I don’t know that you stole Kun Sha’s Moon Essence from him? That thing comes from the Primordial Land and is the very core essence of a Moon. It is enough for you to refine for a long time.”
“Primordial Land? Moon Essence?” Yang Kai’s body shook, “Senior is talking about the Ice Soul Moon Pearl?”
“What Ice Soul Moon Pearl!” Zhu Jiu Yin said with disdain. She waved her hand and motioned for Yue He to step aside before turning to look at Yang Kai, “This Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary used to have both a Moon and Sun, but as too much time has passed, the Sun has gone out and the Moon crumbled. A piece of Moon Essence fell into the Primordial Land long ago, where it was later brought out and fell into Kun Sha’s hands.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
Even though he knew that the Ice Soul Moon Pearl was an Innate Supreme Treasure, he never thought that it would actually be a piece of Moon Essence. It was no wonder why it glowed like the moon and felt bone-chilling to the touch.
As for what the Primordial Land was, Yang Kai had no idea. But obviously, it must be a secret place in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
After calming his heart down and suppressing his excitement, Yang Kai went on, “Even so, it will not work. Senior should know that I have now only gathered my Wood, Fire and Earth Element Powers. The next Element I must refine is Metal before I can gather Water. The Moon Essence will work as my Water Element material, but I still lack a suitable Metal Element treasure. Without that, this boy cannot do anything even with a Water Element treasure.”
“What are you trying to say?” Zhu Jiu Yin looked at him with a smirk.
“If Senior can offer a Metal Element Treasure to me, then nothing would be better. Senior is a long-time resident of the Grand Ancient Ruins, and with an abundance of treasures in these lands, Senior should have many Metal Element treasures in her possession, right?”
“So, you’ve come to seek benefits, I see.” Zhu Jiu Yin smiled and propped up her chin with her hand, looking lazily at Yang Kai, “Very well. Let us hear what sort of treasure you seek. If I have it, then I will give it to you.”
“No matter what treasure it is, as long as it is of the Seventh Order or higher, then this Junior’s requirements aren’t too high.” Yang Kai rubbed his palms together and smiled flatteringly.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s face turned dark in an instant, “Your requirements aren’t too high, anything above the Seventh Order will do?”
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s heart thumped. He wondered to himself, [was my request too excessive?] But he steeled himself and nodded.
Zhu Jiu Yin was furious, “You say your requirements are not high, but do you know what it means to ask for something in the Seventh Order or above?”
“What does it mean?” Yang Kai asked meekly.
Zhu Jiu Yin snorted, “It means an existence at a similar level to this Queen must be killed, and their Monster Core taken. If you really wish to do so, then this Queen can point you in a direction. Head west a million kilometres from here. There’s an annoying guy there called Jin Wu. Kill him and take his Monster Core. It will be a treasure of at least the Eighth Order.”
Cold sweat slid down Yang Kai’s forehead, “Senior must be joking.”
That Jin Wu must also be a Divine Spirit. If Yang Kai really had the ability to kill him, would he need to act meek and respectful in front of Zhu Jiu Yin? He would have put her in her place long ago.
“Junior does not necessarily need a Divine Spirit’s Monster Core for his Metal Element treasure. Are there no other suitable treasures here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?”
“There used to be some.” Zhu Jiu Yin had a reminiscent look on her face, “But they are all gone.”
“How come?” Yang Kai was confused.
“You are not the only guests we have had here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. If there was anything good, then would those bastards not have taken them away already? Do you think they would leave it for you? If you are looking for treasures in the Seventh Order and above, then the only way you can get them is by killing Divine Spirits and taking their Monster Cores.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded, but on second thought, it did make sense. Even though the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was a huge natural treasure trove, they were not the only visitors who had come here through the countless years. Why should those Senior Experts leave anything for their Juniors when they came here? If there was anything good, they would have taken them away a long time ago.
The reason he was able to get his hands on the Earth Attribute Dragon Bead was because of his bloodline’s perception, and naturally, the Moon Essence was the Sea Clan’s Sacred Treasure, which was looked after by Kun Sha. Getting his hands on a Metal Element treasure was probably going to be difficult.
“Why do you seek treasures in the Seventh Order or above?” Zhu Jiu Yin looked at Yang Kai in confusion, “I know you Humans cultivate by condensing a Dao Seal in your bodies, and then condensing Yin, Yang, and Five Elements to reach the Open Heaven Realm. If you seek Seventh-Order materials, does that mean you are aiming to reach the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm with your initial breakthrough?”
“Exactly.” Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “Junior has high aspirations and is seeking to reach the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, exactly as Senior says.”
Zhu Jiu Yin blinked her eyes for a moment and laughed, “You’re the most ambitious Human I’ve met.”
Yang Kai keenly grasped onto a clue, “Has Senior had a Bearer in the past?”
Zhu Jiu Yin was surprised, “You know about the Bearers?”
“It’s not a secret, is it?” Yang Kai smiled and pretended to be well-learned.
Zhu Jiu Yin observed him, “Your heritage is not bad, so you must come from an extraordinary background. It is not surprising that you know this.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Grabbing onto the opportunity to get out of this cage is why Junior seeks benefits from Senior. Only when Junior is strong will he be able to compete with the others and take the top spot!”
“That is reasonable.” Zhu Jiu Yin nodded, “But if you want a Metal Element treasure in the Seventh Order or above, then there is nothing I can do to help. However, I do have plenty of Sixth-Order materials.”
Yang Kai was speechless. He also had Sixth-Order treasures. Yuan Magnetic Divine Stones alone, he had several dozen pieces of them, and his Yuan Magnetic Divine Bottle Gourd was also holding much Sixth-Order Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. If he were willing to use Sixth-Order materials, then why would he have to ask Zhu Jiu Yin for help?
“I’ll tell you what,” Zhu Jiu Yin said after pondering for a while, “First, condense your Water Element Power. Meanwhile, I will have someone poke around for a Metal Element treasure for you. There might be something left behind, and if there is, I will find it for you.”
Yang Kai did not understand, “How will I condense my Water Element without first condensing my Metal Element?”
Zhu Jiu Yin laughed, “Naturally, ordinary people can only condense the Five Elements in order; however, this Queen has a wonderful technique that can allow you to ignore this order and condense them in any order you wish.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “Such a technique exists in this world?”
Yue He and Lu Xue were both also surprised. They were Fourth and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and could already be considered knowledgeable, but they had never heard of the existence of such a Secret Art before.
If such a technique truly existed, then would it not be a breakthrough in the cultivation techniques formed through countless ages in the Outer Universe? If such a thing were to appear in the world, then it would certainly set off a reign of terror.
Zhu Jiu Yin spoke faintly, “It did not used to exist, but this Queen had a Bearer with amazing ingenuity who created this technique. He was in the same situation as you back then, lacking materials for his next Element, even though he had resources for the one after that. Helpless, he had no choice but to skip over the order. But I must tell you that though this is a profound technique, and even somewhat fantastical, it comes with some risks. If your heritage is not deep enough, the Five Elements Powers could riot and destroy your Dao Seal. When that time comes, your cultivation will be lost at best, and at worst you will die. Do you still want to learn?”
“Junior is willing!” Yang Kai nodded. No matter the risk, learning the technique first was never a wrong idea. If it were truly impossible, he could just choose not to cultivate it. He was still young anyway and had a long future ahead of him. There was no need for him to rush things.
Zhu Jiu Yin nodded and gently lifted a finger, pressing it onto Yang Kai’s forehead.
Yang Kai’s body shuddered. Then, he felt immense information pouring into his mind, causing him to freeze in place for a while.
After a long time, his body suddenly shook, and he came back to his senses. He had a look of admiration on his face as he muttered, “The one who created this technique is truly a genius.”
This technique was called the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture. If one were to condense their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements through this method, they would simply not have to care about the order at all, meaning they could cultivate however they wished.
However, the impact of the Powers on one’s Dao Seal when condensed through this method was far greater compared to normal. If one’s Dao Seal was not firm enough, then cultivating this way simply would not work. That was the risk that Zhu Jiu Yin told him about.
But there were still some advantages to condensing one’s Yin, Yang, and Five Elements in this manner and that was that once a cultivator broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, their strength would be slightly higher than normal.
That was because the Dao Seal had withstood much stronger impacts, leading to a more solid foundation, which others naturally could not compete against.
Yang Kai was very impressed. Zhu Jiu Yin had told him that it was one of her Bearers that developed this technique, so it can be seen how amazing that Bearer was.
But what confused Yang Kai was why that Bearer, despite his amazing achievements, was unable to bring Zhu Jiu Yin out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Seemingly noticing Yang Kai’s question, Zhu Jiu Yin answered, “That man died in the Spirit Seizing War. If not, with his aptitude, how could this Queen still be trapped here?”
Yang Kai gulped, “Did he die because of this technique?”
“No. Actually, this technique was created by the two of us and perfected to the greatest degree possible. He died because he became the tree that rose too far above the forest. He was surrounded by the other Bearers and killed.”
Yang Kai nodded. With this, he could rest easy. Since someone was able to successfully cultivate this Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture, then he would certainly be able to do it as well.
There was no reason for him not to follow the path developed by the Seniors before him.
He was eager to learn the mysteries of this profound technique, so not bothering to continue chatting with Zhu Jiu Yin any further, Yang Kai excused himself and retreated to his room to cultivate.
Day after day, month after month passed.
The Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture was so profound that Yang Kai had to study it for half a year before gaining any insight. Even so, he did not dare try it rashly.
The Moon Essence’s Order was very high; after all, it was an Innate Supreme Treasure. If he did not have complete confidence in success, then forcibly condensing it would only damage his Dao Seal.
Even if Yang Kai wanted to try it, then there were two other key points.
One is that the Five Elements Powers couldn’t be harmonized as usual. Normally, he should first condense his Metal Element before condensing the Water Element, but now, without a suitable Metal Element treasure, the Five Elements were bound to be somewhat disordered, so he had to harmonise them with the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture, which would solve the problem. This Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture was created just for moments like these.
The greatest problem came if one’s Dao Seal was not firm enough. Yang Kai was uniquely blessed to have been able to condense the essence of the Immortal Tree to form his Wood Element Power, which laid a solid foundation for himself and also helped to suppress the Fire Element Power he condensed. There was no need to mention the Earth Element Power from the Earth Dragon Bead as he too possessed a Divine Dragon Source, so there was no danger in him condensing it. But if he now wanted to condense his Water Element Power out of order, his Dao Seal was still not rigid enough to withstand it.
Yang Kai had no choice but to leave his room and seek Zhu Jiu Yin’s advice.
He believed that the previous Bearer should have encountered a similar experience. Since her previous Bearer accomplished his training, he must have been able to solve this problem.
After hearing what Yang Kai had to say, Zhu Jiu Yin casually tossed a jade bottle to him.
Yang Kai accepted it and opened the bottle while asking in confusion, “What is this?”
Zhu Jiu Yin answered lazily, “I don’t know what it is, either, but that brat called it Divine Dao Water.” The brat that Zhu Jiu Yin spoke of must be the Bearer who created the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture.
“Divine Dao Water!?” Yue He and Lu Xue at the side exclaimed in unison, their beautiful faces turning pale.
Zhu Jiu Yin turned her head and shot them a glance. Even Yang Kai had turned to look at them, “Is this item well-known?”
Her understanding of the Outer Universe was lacking, so she naturally had no idea what the value of this Divine Dao Water was.
Yue He quickly explained, “It’s a very good item. A real treasure!”
Lu Xue also nodded vigorously and looked at the jade bottle in Yang Kai’s hand with great enthusiasm.
Yang Kai raised his brow as he listened, “Since this was a reward from Senior, then it must be something good, but what is its use?”
Yue He explained, “To strengthen one’s Dao Seal! You must know that a cultivator’s aptitude has limits, and the fundamental manifestation of that is their Dao Seal. Condensing Third-Order Elements is the limit for some people, but others can condense Sixth-Order Elements. This is the difference between the limits of each cultivator’s Dao Seal. Each Dao Seal is condensed in a person’s own body, so once it is formed, it cannot be easily changed. So, the forming of one’s Dao Seal basically predetermines a person’s future achievements. But with Divine Dao Water, it’s possible to go a step further.”
“By strengthening one’s Dao Seal with this Divine Water, one can condense Yin, Yang and Five Elements of Higher-Orders, surpassing one’s original limits?” Yang Kai seemed to be able to understand, and was overjoyed to hear this.
“En,” Yue He nodded. She was able to achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm back then, meaning that her Dao Seal’s limit was being able to withstand the impact of Fifth-Order Elements, but if she had the help of the Divine Dao Water at that time, then reaching the Sixth-Order would be no problem, provided she was able to collect enough Sixth-Order materials.
Only, Divine Dao Water was extremely rare. After countless years, legends of people obtaining Divine Dao Water had only appeared a handful of times in the 3,000 Worlds.
Sure enough, this Divine Dao Water was a treasure. Yang Kai put it away happily and asked Zhu Jiu Yin how to refine it before returning to his room and continuing his retreat.
Inside the room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and turned on the Isolation Array to avoid any disturbances. Only then did he carefully take out the jade bottle containing the Divine Dao Water and opened the cap.
Not much Divine Dao Water was left in the jade bottle, less than half in fact. There were only about several dozen drops inside. Zhu Jiu Yin’s previous Bearer must have used a lot of it.
But even a single drop of Divine Dao Water was a precious resource, so several dozen was definitely enough to fulfil Yang Kai’s needs.
Calming his breathing and focusing his mind, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged and entered the jade bottle, retrieving a drop of Divine Dao Water.
The Divine Water placed inside the jade bottle did not look like anything special, but it gave off a wonderful fragrance as soon as it emerged into the world. As he sniffed it, Yang Kai’s eyes could not help but go lax as he muttered, “It smells so good. It must be delicious, too…”
Saying so, he took up a drop of Divine Dao Water with his Divine Sense and sent it to his mouth.
But the next moment, Yang Kai was shaken. He quickly came back to his senses and shut his mouth, pressing the drop he almost placed in his mouth between his brow instead.
This Divine Water was not supposed to be consumed via the mouth, but to be refined using one’s Dao Seal, just like how one would condense their Yin, Yang and Five Elements. If he consumed it rashly, then it would not have any effect.
Zhu Jiu Yin told him earlier that he would encounter some disturbances while he was refining the Divine Dao Water, but he did not take it to heart. It wasn’t until now that he realized how careless he was.
Fortunately, he reacted in time; otherwise, he might have wasted a drop.
Strangely enough, the Divine Dao Water was clearly a tangible thing, but when it touched the middle of his forehead, it suddenly disappeared without a trace. In the next instant, Yang Kai felt a slight chill in his Dao Seal, as if something had entered it.
Yang Kai quickly immersed his consciousness inside to investigate.
What he saw was a watery glow surrounding his Dao Seal. The Divine Dao Water was constantly seeping into his Dao Seal as a strange power spread out and was being absorbed. As time passed, Yang Kai did in fact feel his Dao Seal becoming firmer.
The Dao Seal was the manifestation of each cultivator’s Grand Dao. As a cultivator condensed their Dao Seal, all their cultivation was consolidated into it, and a cultivator’s foundation was directly related to the Dao Seal that one condenses. With a good foundation, one’s Dao Seal would be stronger, while the opposite was also true.
Even though no one has ever categorized Dao Seals into Orders, in fact, a cultivator’s Dao Seal can also be divided into different rankings.
Yang Kai’s Dao was the Grand Dao of Space, which he had deep attainments in. If not, he would not have been able to escape the pursuit of all the Low-Rank Open Heaven and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters after snatching away the Golden Crow carcass.
The Dao of Space was one of the 3,000 Grand Daos, and was a very profound one at that. Naturally, the Dao Seal that Yang Kai condensed using the Dao of Space was not something that regular cultivators could compare with. His foundation allowed him to condense Elements of the Seventh Order and above.
His other foundation was the Wood Element Power that he condensed from the essence of the Immortal Tree, which was a surprise opportunity for him.
But despite this, his Dao Seal still had huge room for improvement. Fortunately, he had not yet reached the Open Heaven Realm. If he had already entered the Open Heaven Realm, then his foundation would be completely set. Then, there would be nothing that the Divine Dao Water could do.
At first, when the mysterious Divine Dao Water seeped into his Dao Seal, Yang Kai felt a slight chill, but following that, a warm and comforting feeling spread out around his Dao Seal. Not daring to dally, Yang Kai concentrated on refining it.
But in fact, refining the Divine Dao Water was a truly difficult process. A single drop of Divine Water took Yang Kai an entire month to completely refine.
After sensing the difference in his Dao Seal from before the process, Yang Kai frowned. It did not feel like the Divine Dao Water actually did much, only providing a 10% improvement at most.
However, on second thought, his Dao Seal was beyond ordinary to begin with. With such a high starting point, it was only natural that the Divine Dao Water would not be able to improve his Dao Seal by much. If it were anyone else, then it might have been a different story.
If a single drop of Divine Water could improve his Dao Seal’s strength by 10%, then would ten drops not be 100%?
Without pause, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and took out another drop of Divine Water before continuing to refine it. There were at least several dozen drops inside the jade bottle, and this was a rare opportunity, so Yang Kai naturally wanted to raise his Dao Seal’s strength to the maximum extent possible.
Drop after drop of Divine Water was refined, and Yang Kai’s Dao Seal became firmer and firmer; however, as time passed, the benefits of refining the Divine Water gradually diminished.
Another year passed, and when Yang Kai opened his eyes again, he let out a long breath.
He had consumed more than a dozen drops of Divine Dao Water in this one year and improved his Dao Seal to the greatest extent he could. Further refinement of the Divine Water would be useless, and nothing more than a waste.
After putting away the jade bottle, Yang Kai inspected his own body, feeling very satisfied.
Now, even if a Ninth-Order material was placed in front of him, he was confident that he would be able to refine it easily and not have to worry about his Dao Seal not being able to withstand it.
This retreat brought him many benefits. His Dao Seal was now in a much more solid state, allowing him to condense Higher-Order Elements with greater speed and ease. Additionally, he did not have to worry too much even if he were to encounter any type of Divine Ability that targeted his Dao Seal in the future.
He left the room again to go see Zhu Jiu Yin.
There, he was surprised to find Zhu Jiu Yin talking to his two exotic beasts, the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon, in the courtyard. Yang Kai had no idea what language she was speaking, but it sounded like a pearl dropping onto a jade plate, containing profound Principles and resonating with the Heavenly Dao. The Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon did not notice his arrival in the slightest as they were both listening attentively to her.
It was only after a while that Zhu Jiu Yin smiled, “Alright, that’s all for today. You should go back and cultivate.”
The Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon both nodded to express their gratitude; then, when they turned around and saw Yang Kai, the Scarlet Flood Dragon immediately crawled its way over, roaming by Yang Kai’s legs. The Earth Dragon was much more direct. It opened its mouth and wriggled its body, flinging its saliva everywhere, which landed on the floor in a patter.
Yang Kai was speechless. He tossed out two Dragon Blood Pills to them to get rid of them.
With a rumble, the two big fellows went back down the tunnel they came in from and left after receiving the Dragon Blood Pills.
Yang Kai asked curiously, “How come Senior is in such a good mood as to guide them today?”
He listened for a while earlier, and though he had no idea what Zhu Jiu Yin was actually saying to the Scarlet Flood Dragon and the Earth Dragon, he had a vague feeling that she was helping them enhance their sentience. The reason why the Earth Dragon and the Scarlet Flood Dragon were unable to assume human form was not that they were not strong enough, but because they had not become sentient yet. With Zhu Jiu Yin to guide them, the time it would take them to assume human form would be greatly decreased.
Zhu Jiu Yin smiled, “I had nothing to do, so I just looked for something to occupy myself. But I was also wondering why their bloodlines were so pure. It turns out it was because of you.”
She clearly saw the Dragon Blood Pills earlier. Whether it be the Scarlet Flood Dragon or the Earth Dragon, both of them had a trace of the Dragon Clan bloodline in them; only, it was extremely faint at first. After repeated consumption of Dragon Blood Pills over the past few years though, their Dragon Clan bloodline has also been greatly strengthened, even exceeding the limits of their respective races.
“What do you need me for?” Zhu Jiu Yin asked.
Yang Kai said, “I wished to ask about the Metal Element treasure.”
“I haven’t found anything,” Zhu Jiu Yin shook her head. Her million-strong army had all been mobilized and were scraping through every square metre of the Grand Ancient Ruins, but they still could not find any news of any Metal Element treasures above the Seventh Order. Not only Metal Element, but they also could not find Seventh-Order materials of any of the other Elements either.
As Zhu Jiu Yin said before, the Grand Ancient Ruins had many visitors in the past. Batch after batch of cultivators were swallowed in, which naturally included some brilliant ones. So, many of the precious treasures in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had already been picked clean. Even if those Divine Spirits had collected some before, they had also given them to their respective Bearers over the years to help increase their strength to improve their chances of seizing the opportunity for them to leave this place.
Yang Kai was slightly disappointed. If even Zhu Jiu Yin was unable to find treasures of the Metal Element at or above the Seventh Order, then he would have little hope of doing so himself.
“Only two places might have what you need now,” Zhu Jiu Yin said softly.
“Where?”
“One is in Golden Eagle Palace, which is naturally the territory of Jin Wu.”
Yang Kai’s face darkened, “Then forget it.” Zhu Jiu Yin had also mentioned Jin Wu a year ago. If he could kill him and take away his Monster Core, then Yang Kai’s requirements would be met, but Jin Wu was a genuine Divine Spirit after all, and Zhu Jiu Yin herself might not be able to defeat him.
“The other place is the Primordial Land. Many treasures are still left in that place.”
“Where is the Primordial Land?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. The Primordial Land was where the Moon Essence came from supposedly. Zhu Jiu Yin also told him that the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary used to have a Sun and a Moon, but over time, the Sun burned out, and the Moon broke apart. One piece of its Moon Essence fell into the Primordial Land, which someone had then taken out, eventually landing in Kun Sha’s hands.
“The Primordial Land is where the Spirit Seizing War takes place. It has not opened yet.” Zhu Jiu Yin slowly shook her head.
[If it isn’t open, why bring it up?] Yang Kai was disgruntled, but since the Primordial Land was where the Spirit Seizing War would take place, did that not mean that he would only be able to go in and search for a suitable Metal Element material after it began?
Zhu Jiu Yin had asked him to improve his strength for the Spirit Seizing War, so he simply did not have enough time.
“Can’t you just settle for a Sixth-Order Metal Element treasure?” Zhu Jiu Yin asked with a frown.
Yang Kai replied sternly, “This matter is related to my Grand Dao. It is a lifelong pursuit. How can I settle for less?”
Zhu Jiu Yin simply smiled, thinking to herself that it would not be up to him to make the choices when the time came and changed the subject, “So, how is the cultivation of that technique going?”
“Almost there,” Yang Kai nodded lightly. The Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture was truly esoteric. Fortunately, he had been studying it for a long time and gained some insights into it. Now that his Dao Seal has been reinforced to its limits, there should be no danger for him to condense his Water Element Power.
“Then go ahead and condense the Water Element Power first. I will stand guard for you.”
Yang Kai was about to refuse her, but Zhu Jiu Yin said, “Your life or death affects this Queen’s future, so you have no say in this matter. I might as well tell you that those old guys have all found their own Bearers and are putting their greatest effort into nurturing them. The Spirit Seizing War is sure to be a life or death struggle.”
“In that case… Very well.” An arm cannot be thicker than a thigh, so Yang Kai could only nod in agreement.
After agreeing to enter retreat to condense the Water Element Power three days later, Yang Kai came to Yue He to ask if anything happened while he was in seclusion, but apparently, nothing big occurred. With a Divine Spirit like the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider watching over this Star City, none of them had to worry about others daring to attack.
Three days later, inside a cultivation room, Yang Kai and Zhu Jiu Yin sat opposite each other.
“The subtleties of the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture have already been taught to you. You must remember that this technique is extremely taxing on the mind, so do not take this lightly,” Zhu Jiu Yin reminded him.
Yang Kai nodded, “Rest assured.”
Grasping at the void, a sceptre appeared in his palm. On top of the sceptre was an orb that shone brightly, the Moon Essence.
Dense Water Element aura poured out all at once. If Yang Kai had not seen the might of this thing in person, then he would not have realized the great threat that existed in this gentle Water Element Power.
The sceptre was also made of extremely high-grade materials; otherwise, it would be impossible to set the Moon Essence on it.
But Yang Kai only needed the Water Element Power inside of the Moon Essence. The sceptre was of no use to him.
After taking out the Moon Essence from the sceptre, Yang Kai could not help but shiver the moment his hand made contact with the orb. A freezing cold spread from the palm of his hand and instantly eroded his mind, as if to freeze his Soul.
What’s more, a layer of frost was quickly building up on the surface of his palm at a rate visible to the naked eye, soon extending up to his elbow.
With a puff, black fire was ignited that gradually melted the frost and warmed the shocking cold.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s beautiful eyes glinted with surprise, “Golden Crow’s True Fire?”
She was a Divine Spirit, so she naturally had a keen sense of other Divine Spirit’s flames. After a moment, she nodded lightly. If this brat in front of her had the Golden Crow’s True Fire, then it would greatly lessen the cold of the refining process of the Moon Essence.
“Senior, I will begin now,” Yang Kai informed her. Then he closed his eyes and focused his mind.
Urging the power of his Dao Seal, he drew out the Ice Element Power from the Moon Essence.
In an instant, Yang Kai felt as if he had sunken into ten-thousand-year-old frozen ice. Even his thoughts became a little slow. The coldness that had been suppressed burst out once more, freezing his two hands solid while frost spread out across his body at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The Moon Essence was merely emitting coldness out of instinct before so he was able to suppress it with the Golden Crow’s True Fire without issue, but now that he was drawing out the power of the Moon Essence himself, the Golden Crow’s True Fire could no longer hold it down.
The fire burned in a hot blaze, but the icy coldness was able to suppress the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s face changed slightly. She paid close attention to Yang Kai’s movements, waiting for the moment when things started to take a turn for the worse to immediately put a stop to it. Yang Kai was the Bearer that she chose, so she naturally could not just watch him die; otherwise, it would be difficult for her to find another Bearer as excellent as this one. Time was running out, and she had no time to nurture another candidate.
In other words, if Yang Kai died here, then she would have to wait until the next time the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary opened to find another Bearer to seize the opportunity to escape from this cage.
The coldness could be seen eroding his body, when a green glow suddenly emerged around his rapidly withering form. The glow was filled with surging vitality. Even Zhu Jiu Yin could not help but feel moved by this sight. She could not understand what sort of Wood Element it was that Yang Kai had condensed to have such a powerful force.
The Wood Element Power lingered around his body, and his withering figure slowly regained its lustre.
Then, it continued to freeze under the cold before recovering again. This repeated on and on and looked quite dangerous, but there seemed to be a delicate balance forming.
This was not to say that the might of the Moon Essence surpassed that of the combined might of both the Immortal Tree and the Golden Crow’s True Fire, but rather that both Powers had already been condensed inside of Yang Kai’s Dao Seal, and he was not strong enough to unleash their full potential. Meanwhile, the Moon Essence in his hands had fully displayed its might once activated, and so was naturally able to defeat the two with only itself.
Yang Kai and Zhu Jiu Yin could not help but let out a sigh of relief. The combined power of the Golden Crow’s True Fire and the Immortal Tree was finally able to suppress the icy coldness of the Moon Essence.
But his body’s continued freezing and thawing naturally brought about unbearable pain to Yang Kai; still, his mind’s focus was only on his Dao Seal.
The Dao Seal was filled with three kinds of Powers, but suddenly, a new Ice Element Power appeared.
This was naturally the power of the Moon Essence. The balance that existed within the Dao Seal was instantly shattered, sending the Five Elements into chaos. Whether it be the Wood Element, the Fire Element, or the Earth Element, all of them were rampaging inside Yang Kai’s Dao Seal, as if they were trying to shatter it.
Yang Kai grunted. His mind and spirit were shaken while the blood was surging in his chest. Sure enough, condensing an Element this way was dangerous. If he had not reinforced his Dao Seal with the Divine Dao Water, then this attempt would have been disastrous; after all, the Order of the Elements in his Dao Seal was extremely high, so their impact was not small when they went out of control. Without the robustness of his Dao Seal having been reinforced, Yang Kai would not have been able to hold up for long.
But now, his Dao Seal was different. After consuming over a dozen drops of Divine Dao Water, Yang Kai’s Dao Seal was almost twice as firm as before, so it could still withstand this level of impact.
Yang Kai quickly circulated the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture to harmonize the Five Elements and put order back in place.
Following the activation of the technique, the disorderly Elements began to calm, a result Yang Kai was happy to see.
Even though he had known that the technique was effective when he had been studying the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture, he had never tried it for himself and felt uneasy because of it. But now that he had tried it, the Elements were immediately brought to order, showing that this technique truly was effective. It could allow a cultivator to ignore the order of the Five Elements and gather them as they pleased.
In this way, he did not have to be in such a great rush to find a suitable Metal Element treasure. He would have a chance to find one later, so it would not be too late to condense it then.
But very soon, Yang Kai discovered the drawbacks of this method. Just as Zhu Jiu Yin said before, the technique exerted a lot of pressure on one’s mind as it needed to be circulated continuously at all times. If it was interrupted, then the Five Elements would immediately become disrupted.
The reason that Zhu Jiu Yin had to stand guard for him was to prevent such risks. With her strength, if she were to perceive that something was not right, she could forcefully intervene. Of course, Yang Kai would also suffer damage to his foundation as a result of it.
Under close observation, Zhu Jiu Yin discovered that Yang Kai was not in any great danger, and she had to click her tongue in wonder at that. She thought to herself that the might of this brat’s Spiritual Energy was truly extraordinary. Even though her previous Bearer was also not bad, he seemed a little lacking compared to this one. At the very least, her old Bearer was unable to bring the Five Elements back into order in such a short amount of time and with such ease.
Of course, she had no idea that Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was indeed much stronger than his peers. Yang Kai had obtained the Soul Warming Lotus at a young age, and after so many years of the Soul Warming Lotus’ constant nourishment, Yang Kai’s Soul and Spiritual Energy had grown much stronger than others in his realm.
Later, after consummating his marriage with Yu Ru Meng, Yang Kai obtained her Primordial Yin which she had been cultivating for thousands of years. Yu Ru Meng was a Charm Demon Demon Saint, and her Spiritual Energy was unmatched amongst all of the Demon Saints and Great Emperors. Obtaining her Primordial Yin allowed Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy to soar once more, almost bringing him to the level of a Great Emperor while he was still in the Emperor Realm.
Later, when he ascended to become Void Great Emperor, the might of his Soul rose like a rising tide that lifts all boats.
So, for Yang Kai, maintaining the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture with a thread of consciousness and harmonizing the Five Elements Powers was not too difficult.
His body was unhindered, and the icy chill was suppressed by the Golden Crow’s True Fire. He also had the Wood Element Power to repair the damage done to his body. His mind was unhindered as his strong Divine Sense was enough for him to efficiently multitask. His Dao Seal was also unhindered. With the Divine Dao Water to reinforce it, it could resist the impact of the Elements and remain unshaken!
Once the first step was taken, everything else was easy.
As time passed, the Water Element Power in the Moon Essence was condensed by Yang Kai into his Dao Seal.
The Moon Essence that Yang Kai held in his palm gradually grew dim.
Zhu Jiu Yin suddenly looked down and stared blankly at the Moon Essence in Yang Kai’s hand. She hadn’t paid much attention to it earlier since her focus was on Yang Kai himself, ready to react to any accidents. Only after Yang Kai’s condition stabilized did she have the time to notice other things.
She noticed a thread of spirituality being born in the Moon Essence. Looking closely, there was indeed a stream of light flowing inside of the Moon Essence.
She was surprised.
[Is this Moon Essence gaining sentience?]
As far as she could remember, this Moon Essence was a treasure brought out by one of Kun Sha’s former Bearers from the Primordial Land. Only, the Bearer was unable to secure an opportunity for Kun Sha, so out of anger, Kun Sha killed him. Later, the Moon Essence became the Sea Clan’s Sacred Treasure.
Tens of thousands of years had already passed since then, and the spiritual beliefs of the Sea Clan continued gathering in this Moon Essence. It was indeed possible for a dead object to gain spirituality in such a manner.
If this Moon Essence had not fallen into Yang Kai’s hands, then in another few thousand years, it might have been reborn as a living being. If that happened, then it might have had the possibility of becoming an existence no less than that of a Divine Spirit!
But now that the Moon Essence was being absorbed and refined by Yang Kai, the Moon Essence Spirit would most likely not be born.
For Zhu Jiu Yin though, there was nothing to pity. The stronger Yang Kai was, the greater his chance of seizing the opportunity would be. More than just a mere thread of spirituality, even if the Moon Essence was truly alive, she would have killed it so Yang Kai could refine it.
Under her watchful eyes, the light inside of the Moon Essence gradually dimmed, clearly being absorbed and refined by Yang Kai.
Zhu Jiu Yin stood up and drifted out of the room.
The rest did not require her attention. If Yang Kai had already refined it to this extent yet still had an accident, that would mean that he was not even worth nurturing to begin with.
Half a year later, Yang Kai opened his eyes. Looking down, the Moon Essence in his hands had already crumbled into dust, flowing through the gaps in his fingers. The Water Element Power inside of the Moon Essence has been completely extracted and condensed into his Dao Seal.
Yang Kai listened with his ears and frowned. He constantly felt as if there was some sort of strange voice in his head that was trying to tell him something, but when he tried to listen to it closely, the voice would disappear.
He could not help but feel a little creeped out by this and wondered whether something had gone wrong while he was refining the Moon Essence.
Zhu Jiu Yin was no longer in the room with him, and he had no idea when she left. Yang Kai left the room in a flash and saw Yue He standing in wait outside.
When she saw Yang Kai, Yue He’s eyes lit up as she asked, “Young Master, did you succeed?”
Yang Kai nodded subconsciously, “En, I succeeded.”
“Then why did it take so long?” Yue He could not help but feel nervous when she saw the strange expression on his face.
Indeed, refining his Water Element took a long time. Previously, it only took Yang Kai a little less than two months to refine his Earth Element from the Dragon Bead of an Earth Attribute Great Dragon. But this time, he took an entire half-year to condense his Water Element Power.
“It took longer to refine this one because it does not follow the order of the Five Elements,” Yang Kai explained. He was lacking a Metal Element treasure, so it naturally took him more time to refine this Water Element treasure.
But this was not the main point. What made Yang Kai speechless was the fact that he had to divert part of his mind to the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture at all times in order to keep his the Element Powers inside of his Dao Seal in order; otherwise, they would fall into chaos.
This was a bit of a headache for him. Even though it did not occupy much of his attention and would not affect his daily life or his abilities in combat in any significant way, the harsh part was the fact that it could not be stopped for even a moment. In other words, before he could fill in the missing Element in his Dao Seal, Yang Kai definitely could not fall unconscious for even a moment, or that would spell death.
“Young Master has just condensed his Water Element Power and should enter retreat to stabilise it. Why has Young Master come out already?” Yue He looked at him in confusion.
“I have something to ask Senior Zhu. Where is she?”
Yue He shook her head, indicating that she did not know. She had been standing guard here for the past half a year without going anywhere, so how could she know where Zhu Jiu Yin had gone?
Yang Kai swept his Divine Sense over the area and soon found Zhu Jiu Yin’s aura. In a flash, he appeared in front of her.
Yang Kai was shocked when he finally saw her, because Zhu Jiu Yin was lying lazily on the bed while Lu Xue was holding a fan with a disgruntled expression, waving it gently. A mantis head was half-kneeling in obeisance on the floor in front of her, reporting something.
This mantis head looked exactly the same as the one that Yang Kai killed before. Yang Kai thought that the dead had come back to life for a moment, but on second thought, he realized that was unlikely. Da Lang’s head had been blown off by him, so how could he come back to life?
The mantis head he was seeing now had to be a different mantis beast under Zhu Jiu Yin’s command. Such a creature would not be able to enter the Star City normally, but who would dare to stop him if he wanted to enter now that Zhu Jiu Yin was here?
“You’re excused,” Zhu Jiu Yin waved her hand.
The mantis head excused himself and left without even looking at Yang Kai.
After the mantis head left, Yang Kai cupped his hands, “Senior.”
Zhu Jiu Yin raised her eyes to look at him and answered with a hum, “Since you have succeeded in condensing your Water Element Power, should you not be properly stabilizing it in retreat? Why have you come out?”
Yang Kai frowned, “I seem to have a problem.”
“What problem?” Zhu Jiu Yin was surprised.
“For some reason, I feel like there’s constantly a voice buzzing in my head, but when I try to focus on it, I can no longer hear anything.”
“A voice?” Zhu Jiu Yin frowned, “What kind of voice?”
“I can’t describe it.” Yang Kai shook his head. After listening for a while, he jumped, “It’s here again. Senior, there’s no problem with the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture, is there?”
He constantly felt as if something was wrong with this scripture that led to this situation.
Zhu Jiu Yin wondered, “I’ve never heard of this happening before.” Her past Bearer had also cultivated this technique, but he did not mention any signs resembling Yang Kai’s, “Could it be just your own delusions?”
Yang Kai paused for a moment. Hearing what she said, even he himself was beginning to wonder whether it really was just his illusion. And, the extremely faint voice did not really affect him much anyway, he was just a little concerned.
“If you’re worried, you can open your Dao Seal and I will take a look for you,” Zhu Jiu Yin suggested.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Maybe it’s just in my head.”
Zhu Jiu Yin had no ill will towards him since she chose him as her Bearer, but opening up his Dao Seal was equivalent to presenting all of his secrets to her, so Yang Kai was naturally reluctant.
Zhu Jiu Yin did not force him and simply nodded, “Maybe the situation will improve after a while.”
Yang Kai nodded. Then, he changed the subject, “Senior, is there still no news of Metal Element treasures?”
“No. Er Lang came to report on that just now. After searching for so long, they still haven’t found a Metal Element treasure that fits your requirements. I’m afraid there is no longer one available in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Yang Kai was slightly disappointed, but then he perked up, “If I may trouble Senior again to have Senior’s subordinates search for Yin and Yang treasures that are also above the Seventh Order.”
Zhu Jiu Yin scoffed, “That will be even more difficult to find. The Five Elements treasures in the Seventh Order or above have more or less appeared before in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but I’ve never heard of a Yin or Yang treasure of the Seventh Order and above appearing. However, there are some that are under the Seventh Order.”
“Senior knows my ambition!” Yang Kai said solemnly.
Zhu Jiu Yin responded, “I will tell my subordinates to look out for them, but don’t get your hopes up.”
“Many thanks, Senior,” Yang Kai bowed and excused himself.
Only after Yang Kai left did Zhu Jiu Yin’s eyes flash as she muttered to herself, “Could it be, the Moon Essence Spirit hasn’t been erased?”
When she heard that Yang Kai had been hearing a strange voice in his head, she remembered the thread of spirituality she had seen in the Moon Essence earlier. Since Yang Kai refined the Moon Essence, then he must have refined and absorbed that thread of spirituality as well. If it had not been erased, it could be inside of him.
But telling Yang Kai such a thing would only cause him to worry, so she simply decided not to say anything. Her purpose was to have Yang Kai seize the opportunity for her to leave anyway. After leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai’s life or death would have nothing to do with her.
Inside of his cultivation room, Yang Kai went back to cultivating so that he could stabilize the Water Element Power that he had just refined. His most important task was to activate the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture and try his best to practice it until it became instinctual. If he could achieve that, then he would not have to be afraid of the technique cutting off whenever he fell unconscious, and of course, the four Elements in his Dao Seal would also not be disturbed.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s million-plus troops were spread throughout all corners of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, searching for Yin, Yang and Metal Element treasures; however, nothing was found even after searching for two years. Yang Kai was filled with hope in the beginning, but slowly, that hope began to run out.
After cultivating for two years, his strength did not increase by much, but the Water Element Power inside of his Dao Seal has been completely stabilized, and he had reached a point where he could bring it out at will. The Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture had also been trained to the point where it had become natural for him to continue circulating it.
Yang Kai had also kept in contact with that little fatty Xu Zhen. That guy was chosen by Zhu Yan to be his Bearer, so he naturally received Zhu Yan’s vigorous cultivation. According to him, Zhu Yan had countless exotic treasures in his possession, and he had also almost fully gathered his Yin, Yang and Five Elements during the last two years, stepping into the Half-Step Open Heaven Realm.
But the World Principles inside of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were strange. Even though the Elements in their Dao Seals were complete, they could not split Heaven and Earth apart to create a Small Universe in their bodies, which meant they would not be able to make a breakthrough until they left.
Still, his strength was definitely increasing by leaps and bounds and simply could not be compared to the him from the past.
Xu Zhen had also been in contact with Ning Dao Ran and the others, so Yang Kai had been asking him about their news. From this, Yang Kai discovered that just as the little fatty guessed, those Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples were each chosen to be Bearers by different Divine Spirits. All of them were cultivating in retreat and growing in strength now.
Among them, Gu Pan was caught by Kui Niu, Qu Hua Shang ended up in Fei Yi’s hands, and Ning Dao Ran had been captured by Zhu Jian.
For these Cave-Heaven and Paradise disciples, being strong was both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunate because they could receive the nurturing of these Divine Spirits. Each of them was freed from centuries of hard work trying to search for or purchase the required materials. Unfortunately, because of their strength, they became pawns for the Divine Spirits in the upcoming Spirit Seizing War.
If they succeeded, then everything would be fine, but if they failed, the consequences were worrying. Who knows how many Bearers died at the hands of these Divine Spirits for failing over the years?
Xu Zhen also said that these Divine Spirits were definitely not the only ones. There were many who had not shown their faces yet, and they had definitely chosen many other Bearers to cultivate in secret. These Bearers may be unknown now, but they were definitely soaring to great heights and waiting for the Spirit Seizing War to begin.
Yang Kai did not befriend many others. Even with Qu Hua Shang, Yang Kai only discussed the Yin-Yang Grand Dao with her. There was also Gu Pan who came from where Zhang Ruo Xi’s ancestors originated from.
He made up his mind that the next time he saw her, he would definitely ask her about Zhang Ruo Xi’s situation.
On this day, Yang Kai felt a fluctuation from his communication bead. He immediately took it out and swept it with his Divine Sense.
Xu Zhen’s message played, “Brother Yang, the Spirit Seizing War is beginning soon.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “How do you know?” He had not received any news, and Zhu Jiu Yin never told him about this either.
Xu Zhen told him, “Zhu Yan told me. As the Divine Spirits who were born here, they had a keen sense towards changes of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. He said that the Primordial Land will open in one year at the earliest, or three at the latest. When that happens, the Spirit Seizing War will begin, and us Bearers will compete in it.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Then Brother Xu must be careful. I will not go easy on you then.”
Xu Zhen said, “My strength has increased tremendously now. I may not be unable to best you. Brother Yang should also watch out.” Then, he changed the subject and said excitedly, “Finally, we can leave this damned place.”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded, “Leave?”
Xu Zhen responded, “Does Brother Yang not know? After the Spirit Seizing War, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary will close. Then we, the outsiders, will be sent out.”
Yang Kai was surprised, “Really?”
“You will know if it’s true or not after asking that Heavenly Moon Demon Spider. It has been this way every time in history.”
This was good news. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was a giant natural treasure trove, and Yang Kai had obtained unimaginable wealth here, even condensing his Earth and Water Element Powers; however, he still did not find any news about a Yin, Yang or Metal Element treasure. It seemed like they were no more in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. In that case, he could only hope to find them outside.
The sooner he left here, the better.
After counting the time, it was truly almost time for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary to close.
It has been seven or eight years since they arrived here, and Zhu Yan said that the Primordial Land will open in one year at the earliest, or three years at the latest, which is when the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was to close. This was consistent with the rumours he heard.
After chatting with Xu Zhen for a while, Yang Kai put away his communication bead and left the private room to look for Zhu Jiu Yin.
Zhu Jiu Yin was a little surprised to see him, but she still nodded, “You are here just in time. This Queen has something to tell you.”
Saying so, she suddenly shot a glance to her left and right.
Yue He and Lu Xue both said with guilty faces, “Young Master, please excuse us.”
As soon as those words left their mouths, the two women moved in unison. One of them reached a hand out to Yang Kai and tapped on his forehead. Then, the other shook out a water whip and bound Yang Kai’s waist.
Yang Kai was stunned; then, he roared, “Are you rebelling?!”
His body shook, and strong flames ignited. The two women exclaimed in shock and took a few steps back, their faces growing pale.
But before Yang Kai could ask them what was going on, he saw Zhu Jiu Yin open her small mouth and spit out a spider web that landed on top of him.
The spider web was Heaven Sealing and Earth Locking. Yang Kai was unable to even use Space Principles to escape. When he watched the web fall on him, Yang Kai roared, and a small Sun rose behind him.
Golden Crow Casts the Sun’s Divine Manifestation!
But in the next instant, the spider web wrapped Yang Kai completely inside it, and the small Sun that had just risen also disappeared in a flash.
The spider web seemed to have physical form, but it quickly invaded his body as soon as it fell on him and disappeared. Then, Yang Kai felt an extremely strong confinement force inside of his body that made it impossible for him to exert his strength properly.
“Senior!” Yang Kai was shocked and angry. He glared at Zhu Jiu Yin, “What does Senior mean to do by this?”
“Don’t be afraid.” Zhu Jiu Yin slowly got up and said in a gentle tone, “You should know that I mean you no harm since you are the Bearer I chose. I am just helping you increase your strength.”
“Are such methods needed to help me increase my strength?” Yang Kai sneered. He did not believe her in the slightest. He had the constant feeling that this devilish woman had some mischievous intentions.
Only, what confused him was why even Yue He was helping her with this. Yang Kai felt pained when he looked at her.
Yue He obviously felt a little guilty and did not dare meet his eyes. She softly said, “Young Master, I am only doing this for your own good.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted. Then, he turned back to Zhu Jiu Yin, “Dare I ask how Senior intends to help me increase my strength?”
“Come with me,” Zhu Jiu Yin began stepping outside as soon as she finished speaking.
Even though Yang Kai’s power had been sealed, his movement was unhindered. He shot a hostile glare at Yue He and Lu Xue, who both shrunk their necks in guilt, before following Zhu Jiu Yin out.
Very soon, the group of four arrived at an underground private chamber. Zhu Jiu Yin waved her hand, and lights came on in the chamber that illuminated every last detail.
Yang Kai stared in amazement. He had no idea that there was such a secret room under his own residence, but this was clearly Zhu Jiu Yin’s work. On the floor of the chamber were grooves that flowed with a crimson liquid. He had no idea what it was, but it looked like blood, and yet it did not smell like blood at all.
The grooves covered the ground, outlining an extremely complex and profound array. At the centre of this strange Array was a small altar.
“Go on,” Zhu Jiu Yin pointed Yang Kai over with her lips.
Yang Kai turned away and ignored her, quickly thinking of a countermeasure to deal with her. He still had no idea what Zhu Jiu Yin was up to.
“Childish!” Zhu Jiu Yin chuckled. Lifting Yang Kai by the collar, she threw him onto the altar, which caused the seal inside of his body to tighten all of a sudden. Yang Kai was forced to sit on the altar against his will.
Yang Kai was fuming and accused Yue He and Lu Xue, “Are you ruthless women just going to watch as she binds me like this?”
Lu Xue blushed, “We are not her opponent.”
A complicated look flashed past Yue He’s eyes, but she did not speak.
Zhu Jiu Yin chuckled, “This is all under this Queen’s orders. It is no use blaming them.”
Yang Kai looked coldly at her, “Naturally, I know it is so, but I think it should be time for you to tell me your intentions here, no?”
“The Spirit Seizing War is beginning soon.”
Zhu Jiu Yin sighed, “In one year at the earliest or three years at the latest, the Primordial Land will open!”
This was consistent with what Xu Zhen told him. Just as Xu Zhen said, it seemed like these Divine Spirits who were born and raised here had an incomparably keen sense of the changes in this world. Naturally, if Zhu Yan could feel it, then Zhu Jiu Yin would as well.
Zhu Jiu Yin was surprised to see how unperturbed Yang Kai was, but she went on to ask, “Do you know how many Divine Spirits there are in these Grand Ancient Ruins?”
Yang Kai was frank, “How would I know?”
“Around a hundred!”
Yang Kai was astonished. Even though he knew that there was more than one Divine Spirit in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, he never thought that there would be so many!
How terrifying a number was that truly? Each one of these hundred Divine Spirits was equivalent to a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. If all of them left the Grand Ancient Ruins, then even the Cave-Heavens and Paradises would find it hard to compete against them.
“Setting aside those who have no ambition and are content with their current lives, more than half of those old ghosts are dead set on leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins,” She was one of those old ghosts, and more than half would mean at least sixty or seventy.
“These guys each have their own Bearer; in other words, their goal is the same as yours in this Spirit Seizing War. All of them are fighting for the one and only opportunity!”
“And so what if that is the case?” Yang Kai had a fearless face.
“You may be strong, but that does not guarantee that you will last until the end.” Zhu Jiu Yin sighed. Her previous Bearer was the same. Among all of her past Bearers, his strength was definitely at the top, but he still died in the end, keeping her from leaving this place, “That’s why you must get even stronger.”
Yang Kai quickly said, “I also wish to become stronger, but your subordinates were not useful and were unable to find what I nee…” Speaking up to here, his face suddenly changed to one of shock. As if realizing something, his face suddenly went pale.
Zhu Jiu Yin giggled, “Seems like you finally understand it, which makes this much easier.”
With a wave of her hand, all sorts of Metal Element treasures were suspended in the air. There were more than a dozen in total, each one of them emitting strong Metal Power. Each one of them was of Sixth Order!
“The World Principles in the Grand Ancient Ruins are strange, so one cannot exert too much power. It is of no difference whether you refine a Sixth or Seventh-Order Element, but you will see an obvious increase in your strength once you do refine one. Look at how many Metal Element treasures I’ve found for you. Which one do you like?”
But before Yang Kai could protest, Zhu Jiu Yin began introducing each item to him, “You should have this Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone yourself as well. If you refine this, you will be able to cultivate the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light Divine Ability. There is also this 10,000-Year Bronze Essence, which is also not a bad choice. This is an Illusionary Star Sand, and this…”
She introduced the Metal Element treasures one by one with a smile, but in Yang Kai’s eyes, that smile was incomparably malicious.
Indeed, after choosing Yang Kai as her Bearer, she had been nurturing him greatly during the past few years, even teaching him the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture without any reservation. While Yang Kai was refining the Moon Essence, she even personally stood guard for him.
But it was not out of goodwill that she did all this for him. Only, the stronger Yang Kai was, the greater her hopes of leaving this place were. The Spirit Seizing War was about to begin, so there was not much time left. Zhu Jiu Yin could not indulge Yang Kai as she had before any longer. Whether Yang Kai was willing or not, she would complete the Yin, Yang and Five Elements in Yang Kai’s Dao Seal so that he could exert even stronger might.
That was how they arrived at this scene today.
A few moments later, Zhu Jiu Yin urged, “Choose one, or I will choose for you.”
Yang Kai shut his eyes and tried to circulate the power in his Dao Seal to break the seal inside of his body.
Zhu Jiu Yin sneered when she saw this, “Then I will choose.” Lifting her hand, she collected an Illusionary Star Sand and put the rest of the treasures away before approaching Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at her, “I will not comply with this.”
Zhu Jiu Yin smiled like blooming flowers, “This Queen knows you will not cooperate, but rest assured. I do not need your cooperation. I have arranged this Array just for this day.”
Yang Kai was shocked at her words. He thought that he would be fine as long as he did not cooperate with her; after all, it was he who had to condense the power into his Dao Seal. But now, it seemed like he had underestimated Zhu Jiu Yin. He had already felt that this Array was very strange, and it turned out it was set up to forcibly condense the Metal Element into his Dao Seal.
[Spirit Arrays can even do this?]
He had no idea whether Zhu Jiu Yin was lying to him or not, and he did not have the time to find out. Zhu Jiu Yin had already sat cross-legged a metre away from him and spoke with a solemn expression, “There will be some pain, so just bear with it. If you do not wish to suffer, then you better cooperate obediently.”
After saying so, she formed different seals with one hand while spider silk emerged from the fingertips of her other hand. Countless spider silk threads pierced through the Illusionary Star Sand and drew the Power of Metal from within it.
Closing her jade white hand, Zhu Jiu Yin’s spider silk threads suddenly shot out and entered the array.
The Array rumbled as it was activated, and the blood-red liquid flowed in the grooves, surging towards the small altar and converging on Yang Kai’s body.
The countless spider silk threads hidden in the liquid burrowed into Yang Kai’s body through his pores.
Yang Kai grunted. He felt as if a thousand holes were being poked into him, and he was almost jumping in pain. Following that, a wisp of Power of Metal began invading his body and moving towards his Dao Seal.
Horrified, Yang Kai tried desperately to resist, but to no avail.
Immersing his mind into his body, Yang Kai could see traces of the Metal Element Power about to infiltrate his Dao Seal. Quickly, Yang Kai bit down on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood onto Zhu Jiu Yin’s face and snarled, “If you dare do it, then I’ll die here and now!”
Zhu Jiu Yin’s movements stalled for a moment and looked at Yang Kai with her bright eyes, seemingly to see whether he was lying or not. After a moment, she laughed, “Are you trying to threaten me? This Queen is not afraid of you.”
She continued her actions.
Yang Kai roared through gritted teeth, “I swear on my Dao Seal!”
The smile on Zhu Jiu Yin slowly stiffened as she stared at him.
“Come on!” Yang Kai roared, “If you dare to ruin my Dao Seal, I will die here in front of you!”
Zhu Jiu Yin’s face was grim, “You dare threaten this Queen?”
“If you insist, then don’t blame me if I retaliate!” Yang Kai sneered, “My will is for the Seventh Order, and you know this! Yet, you now bear evil intentions toward my Dao Seal! Forcibly gathering a Sixth-Order Metal Element Power inside me, how could I possibly allow you to do so!”
“Are you not afraid that this Queen will kill you?” ZHu Jiu Yin’s eyes were brimming with murderous intent.
Yang Kai sneered, “The Spirit Seizing War is about to begin in a year at the earliest, and three at the latest. Where will you find another suitable Bearer in such a short time? Even if you do find one, how much time will you have to nurture him or her? He or she will surely be defeated in the Spirit Seizing War, and you will have no hope of escaping the cage of this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary to witness the wonders of the outside world.”
“How dare you!” Zhu Jiu Yin fumed, body shaking in anger.
Yang Kai sighed, “It is hard to find another as excellent as me. Oh, how I truly worry for you.”
Yang Kai’s boasting naturally made her snicker, but she had to admit that this Bearer really was a cut above the rest. Nobody could be clearer than her how strong Da Lang was, only a few in the entire Grand Ancient Ruins could kill him.
And just as Yang Kai said, she did not have much time nor the energy to nurture another Bearer.
The reason she razed the Sword Pavilion Star City and slaughtered tens of thousands of cultivators was in order to find a suitable Bearer. Unfortunately, not a single one of them met her requirements. In a fit of rage, she drowned the Star City in rivers of blood and buried them all.
Yang Kai swore an oath on his Dao Seal, which made it hard for her to continue. This was an oath related to one’s Martial Dao. Once the oath was made, there was no way to break it. If she forcibly condensed the Sixth-Order Metal Element Power into his Dao Seal, then even if Yang Kai did not commit suicide, his Dao Seal would definitely be damaged, and when that happened, it would become completely useless.
How could Zhu Jiu Yin not be annoyed when she was being manipulated by a Junior in such a way?
It was at this moment that a shout suddenly came from behind. Yue He attacked from behind, the Yin, Yang and Five Element Power gathered in the palm of her jade hand, forming a ball as she slammed it down towards Zhu Jiu Yin.
Without even turning back, Zhu Jiu Yin swept her hair back, and her hair suddenly rose up and pierced through Yue He.
Yue He was flung away with blood spraying from her body. She landed on the wall and slowly slid down. Shocked, Lu Xue quickly went over to help her up.
Yang Kai also turned to look at her, and his eyes were dark.
He was not sure why Yue He was helping with this evil act, but once he learned of Zhu Jiu Yin’s intention, he understood. Yue He did not want him to reach the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. She had always been encouraging him to condense a Sixth-Order Metal Element, but Yang Kai never listened to her.
Zhu Jiu Yin had the means to forcibly condense a Sixth-Order Element into Yang Kai, which was in line with Yue He’s wishes; moreover, since an arm cannot be thicker than a thigh, she had no choice but to cooperate with her.
But Yang Kai’s life was at stake at this moment, so Yue He could no longer sit still. Even though she understood that she was not Zhu Jiu Yin’s opponent, she still had to delay her with her life at stake.
“How dare a cheap slut like you disobey this Queen?” Zhu Jiu Yin had already been given a stomach full of grievances by Yang Kai with nowhere to vent it, so Yue He’s actions were like sending herself onto the spear point.
Swinging her hair again, the black threads suddenly turned into sharp blades that stabbed towards Yue He.
Yang Kai shouted urgently, “If you dare kill her, then I will die here! I swear it on my Dao Seal!”
The speeding hair threads suddenly stopped right in front of Yue He’s face. The threads of hair had already pierced into Yue He’s body, causing the latter’s eyes to go wide in horror. She could feel countless wounds being poked all over her skin, as if even her Soul was going to be pierced through.
Zhu Jiu Yin turned to look at Yang Kai, her delicate face filled with anger, “Is this the only trick you know?”
Yang Kai grinned, “It’s not about variety, but usefulness. Senior can give it a try and see if I have the guts to die in front of you.”
Zhu Jiu Yin was gritting her teeth so hard that they could almost crack. She wanted nothing more than to slap Yang Kai to death right now.
Yang Kai on the other hand remained casual, “Senior should already know about my abilities. So what if I do not refine a Metal Element Power? Who in this Grand Ancient Ruins is my opponent?” He looked proud, “Senior just has to wait for my good news in the Spirit Seizing War. I will definitely obtain the opportunity.”
Zhu Jiu Yin sneered, “And what if you fail to get it?”
“Then I will be at Senior’s disposal!” Yang Kai puffed out his chest, “I know what Senior is capable of. If you really want me dead, then there is no way that I can resist.”
“At least you know that much!” Zhu Jiu Yin’s dark face eased up, and her hair retracted. Yue He let out a stifled grunt, her body covered in blood.
Lu Xue hurriedly went forward to put pressure on her wounds.
Zhu Jiu Yin got up and left with a flick of her sleeves, her floaty voice emerging, “Remember what you said today. If you fail, then you will suffer a fate far worse than death.”
After watching her leave, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had gotten past a difficult moment. It was also a shame since he and Xu Zhen had been in contact with each other all this while, and he was planning to take the opportunity to ask for more benefits for himself. But after today’s incident, he had no way of bringing it up anymore in case he enraged Zhu Jiu Yin again.
The seal within his body suddenly disappeared, and the spider web left together with Zhu Jiu Yin. Strength inside of his body began to flow again.
Yang Kai got up and went towards Yue He.
Yue He’s injuries were not severe, and even though she looked to be in bad shape, the wounds were only skin-deep. With her Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, she would be able to recover with just two or three days of rest.
Noticing Yang Kai approaching her, Yue He did not even dare to raise her head. She was too ashamed to face him. After crawling up with difficulty, she kneeled in front of Yang Kai with her eyes downcast, and just like a poor aggrieved wife, she said, “Please lay down your punishment, Young Master!”
Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke. She regretted having cooperated with Zhu Jiu Yin, and even though Yang Kai could never have resisted even without her cooperation, she still felt like she had betrayed him, and it drowned her in guilt.
Yang Kai raised a hand and placed it on her head, sighing, “Do not let this happen again!”
After shooting a look at Lu Xue, indicating for her to take care of Yue He, he left in a flash.
After Yang Kai left, Yue He fell limp on the floor and looked up at Lu Xue, muttering, “Did I make the wrong choice?”
Lu Xue asked, “Did you tell Sir about the benefits and harm of directly achieving the Seventh Order?”
Yue He shook her head, “I wanted to wait until we left this place to tell him and to dissuade him, but now, it seems his Dao Heart is firm and determined. Even that person will not be able to persuade him.” Naturally, the person she spoke of was the Proprietress.
Lu Xue sighed. She knew that Yue He’s words were true. Yang Kai would rather swear death on his Dao Seal than refine a Sixth-Order Element. This meant that he had made up his mind to achieve the Seventh Order or die trying.
But nowadays, who dared to achieve the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm directly? His future was bound to be rough.
A month later, news of the Primordial Land’s opening spread throughout the entire Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Nobody knew who spread the news to begin with, but it wasn’t long before everyone had heard of it.
The Primordial Land was about to open, and the Primordial Land was the greatest opportunity in the entire Grand Ancient Ruins. There were countless treasures to be found there, and anything they found could easily allow one to soar to the Heavens. It was said that many powerful Masters from the Cave-Heavens and Paradises had also been to the Primordial Land, and it was the opportunities they found there that allowed them to rise to their current positions.
Countless people were excited at the news, and they were all eagerly waiting. One after another, cultivators rolled up their sleeves as they waited for the Primordial Land to open so that they could enter and seek their own fortunes.
Yang Kai was cultivating peacefully in retreat. Ever since what happened, Zhu Jiu Yin did not try to force him to condense a Sixth-Order Element anymore. On the other hand, she did find him many precious treasures that could be used to increase his strength.
There was no reason to refuse these gifts, so Yang Kai accepted all of them and made a fortune; after all, nothing that could come from the hands of a Divine Spirit could be bad in quality. Zhu Jiu Yin was also doing this for her own sake, so Yang Kai accepted everything with peace of mind.
He also kept in close contact with Xu Zhen.
According to Xu Zhen, he had made a deal with Zhu Yan. If he could seize the opportunity to take Zhu Yan out of the Grand Ancient Ruins, then Zhu Yan would become his Protector for 500 years! The others also offered similar terms and signed contracts with their respective Divine Spirits. Only, the length of time they were asked to be their Protectors differed.
The Divine Spirits also hoped that their chosen Bearers would give it their all in this battle, so they naturally offered some benefits. And, becoming a Protector for these Bearers was the greatest benefit. Each party gave and took, so it was a fair trade.
Yang Kai was red-eyed to hear this. He had also planned to sit down with Zhu Jiu Yin and discuss the same thing, but after the last incident, he really could not find the opportunity to do so. As such, he had no choice but to wait for the right opportunity.
Day after day went by.
A year and a half later, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary suddenly shook. Following that, a strange fragrance filled the air. Everyone’s spirits were shaken, and none could resist the urge to seek out the source of the fragrance.
Very soon, the eyes of many cultivators were attracted by a seven-coloured glow in the sky.
The glow was an unknown distance from the ground, and it seemed to be far up above, its colours ever-changing as it hung like a canopy over the world.
“This is…” Some people were puzzled.
“Is some supreme treasure being born?” Some people felt their spirits being lifted, and there was greed in their eyes.
“The Primordial Land is about to open!” Soon the mystery was resolved. News about the Primordial Land’s opening had already been circulating around various strongholds, so everyone was waiting for it. Now that the world was showing signs of change, what else could it be other than the opening of the Primordial Land?
“Finally, the day has come! Hahaha, after holding back for so many years, it’s time to soar to the Heavens!” A man laughed and rose up from one of the strongholds, rushing straight towards the place where the glow seemed to originate from. Following that, dense streams of light shot out from each stronghold. Everyone was rushing to get into the Primordial Land.
Hundreds of thousands of cultivators rose up from each of the Human strongholds, rushing towards the Primordial Land. In the blink of an eye, the strongholds, which had been operating for more than ten years, were all empty.
Inside Scarlet Star’s Star City, half of the entire population disappeared in the blink of an eye. There was even a huge Starship with Scarlet Star’s symbol emblazoned on its hull rising up into the sky. Many of Scarlet Star’s disciples boarded the Starship under the leadership of several Managers and headed for the Primordial Land.
Inside Yang Kai’s mansion, Zhu Jiu Yin’s voice rang out, “Boy, it’s time to leave. The Primordial Land is opening!”
Yang Kai opened his eyes and left through the door.
Zhu Jiu Yin took one look at him, nodded lightly, and then grabbed him by the collar, rising into the sky with him.
Yue He came to see what was going on when she heard the commotion, only to see two figures turning into streams of light and disappearing. She quickly gathered Guo Zi Yan and the others before following after them.
In the middle of the dense forest, an old ox that was laying under a tree suddenly stood up and glanced in a certain direction, spitting out human words, “Child, the Primordial Land is opening. It is time for us to depart.”
“En.” Gu Pan appeared out of nowhere. In a flash, she was sitting on top of the old ox’s head and said in a gentle voice, “Thank you, Grandpa Ox.”
The old ox laughed, “Hang on tight and don’t fall off.”
Saying so, he charged off as quick as lightning.
At a certain swamp, a strange, thousand-meter-long snake slithered forward, body stretching up as swiftly as the wind.
The strange snake had two heads and its forked tongues were spat out of its mouth. Creatures scattered wherever it passed, and as it rolled its tongue back into its mouth, an exotic beast that was hidden in the swamp was pulled inside before being swallowed into its belly.
On the left of the snake’s head was Qu Hua Shang, holding her forehead with a worried face, “Senior, can’t we split up? Why don’t you go to the Primordial Land first and wait for me there?”
The strange snake’s right head said in the human language, “We are too far away and you are too slow. At your pace, by the time you arrive at the Primordial Land, everything will already be over.”
“But…” Qu Hua Shang was extremely troubled, “You’re too ugly…”
She could not stop sighing in her heart. The Divine Spirits of the others were all majestic or beautiful as paintings, yet her own was so ugly that she could hardly bear to look at him.
The strange snake fumed, “Me, ugly? You must be blind, little girl. How could you call me ugly? You’re the ugliest one!”
Qu Hua Shang’s face went dark, but she was unwilling to argue with him about this further.
Many millions of kilometres away, a man riding on a leopard spirit beast was laughing and shouting, “Faster, faster! I can’t wait to meet the heroes of this world. I want to see whether they’re greater or if this one is greater!”
The Human-faced leopard Divine Spirit grumbled, “Stinking brat, I’m your Protector, not your mount, so don’t think you can order this Great Aunt around! I’ll throw you down if you keep making noise!”
The man laughed again, “Go ahead and throw me off! If you throw me off, then there will be no one to grab the Innate Spirit Fruit for you!”
The Human-faced leopard Divine Spirit fumed.
…..
One by one, the Divine Spirits moved out, bringing their chosen Bearers with them towards the Primordial Land. The World Energy was in chaos, and only now did the cultivators who fell into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary realize that there were actually so many powerful existences in this world, so they could not help but tremble.
They had been living here for more than ten years, but only a few of them had encountered Divine Spirits. They never knew that the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary could actually be so dangerous.
Fortunately, most of these Divine Spirits lived in seclusion, not bothering to harm others before. Otherwise, how could anyone still be alive today? Any one of these Divine Spirits was not a being that any of those Humans could fight against.
The Primordial Land was about to open, and a Heavenly Manifestation was emerging. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was boiling with excitement. Countless cultivators were converging towards the Primordial Land from all directions.
In just ten short days, no less than 3,000 people gathered outside the Primordial Land, and this was merely the first group to arrive. More would come as time passed.
A month later, no less than 200,000 people had already gathered outside the Primordial Land. At this point, no more people were coming. Even if there were, they were only a few scattered cultivators here and there.
In other words, almost all of the cultivators who were still living now in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were gathered here.
When the Star City was swallowed up by the Grand Ancient Ruins Rolling Fog, there were naturally more than just 200,000 people swept up. There were at least three or four times this amount, possibly more. After ten years had passed though, only so many people remained alive, which showed how dangerous the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was.
Now that the Primordial Land was opening, how many would return safely?
Outside of the Primordial Land, cultivators gathered in groups. They were all setting up their own camps, and the Divine Spirits also released their powerful auras without any trace of politeness to claim territories and deter others out of respect and fear.
Everyone looked up at the sky in awe, staring at the ever-changing seven-coloured glow, which was said to be the gateway to the Primordial Land. Only, it had yet to fully open at this moment, so no one could enter. The day the glow became completely stable was the day when this secret land opened.
Qu Hua Shang, Gu Pan, Lin Feng, Xu Zhen, and Ning Dao Ran were all present and gathered in one place, laughing and talking about their encounters of recent years.
Behind the five of them, the five Divine Spirits watched them from afar, not only looking after the safety of their Bearers, but also coveting the lives of the others.
If they could kill a few more Bearers here, then it would mean less competition later.
The extremely faint sense of hostility was pervasive, but under mutual deterrence, none of them dared to strike.
The two-headed strange snake slithered over, silently spitting out its forked tongues before retracting them quickly.
Qu Hua Shang turned her head in anger, “If you dare eat him, then I will leave immediately!”
The strange snake’s left head said, “Eat what? What’s there to eat?”
Qu Hua Shang gritted her teeth, “Open your right mouth.”
The strange snake’s right head turned its head aside and looked up at the sky with its two snake pupils.
“I’m leaving!” Qu Hua Shang got up decisively.
“I won’t eat them anymore, I won’t!” The left head shouted. Then, as the right head opened its mouth, a wet cultivator was spat out. The cultivator had a bewildered look on his face after landing on the ground, not knowing when he had been scooped up into this Divine Spirit’s mouth. As soon as he realized what had happened, his face paled and he shrieked before turning into a stream of light and flying far away.
The strange snake coldly snorted, “You really are troublesome, you ugly girl. There are so many people here, what does it matter if I eat one or two of them!”
The faces of the cultivators nearby paled in an instant and all moved away from the strange snake.
“Watch it, I’ve got my eye on you!” Qu Hua Shang pointed at her eyes and glared viciously at the strange snake.
The corner of Xu Zhen’s mouth twitched, “Uh… Senior Fei Yi is quite interesting.”
The strange two-headed snake was the Divine Spirit, Fei Yi. Xu Zhen could not help but feel envious of Qu Hua Shang for having such a firm hold of this Divine Spirit. His experience in speaking with Zhu Yan had not been as smooth. During the years he spent with this Divine Spirit, he had experienced a fair share of beatings.
“So unbearably ugly!” Qu Hua Shang said with a look of disgust on her face before she changed the subject, “How come Brother Yang isn’t here yet? He should have arrived long ago.”
Qu Hua Shang had been furthest away from the Primordial Land’s entrance, and even she was able to arrive three days ago, yet she saw no sign of Yang Kai, so she could not help but wonder.
Xu Zhen answered, “I contacted Brother Yang earlier, but something seems to be hunting him down!”
Qu Hua Shang was shocked, “Hunting him down? Who?”
Xu Zhen responded, “The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s enemies teamed up to ambush them on their way here, which held them back for quite some time.”
Qu Hua Shang was stunned.
“Huh? Here he comes.”
Xu Zhen suddenly turned towards a certain direction. There, a fierce aura could be seen rapidly approaching. In the blink of an eye, it had already arrived in front of them, taking the form of a gorgeous young girl that was holding onto someone in her hands. Who could it be but Yang Kai?
Yang Kai was latched onto the woman’s body at this moment like an octopus, holding onto her for dear life and complaining incessantly, “Why do you have so many enemies? How did you survive all this while, woman?”
Zhu Jiu Yin sneered, “Do you really think a few pitiful weaklings like them can fight against this Queen? If it were one-on-one, then this Queen would have killed them off ruthlessly already!” As she said that, she stared coldly at Yang Kai, “Aren’t you going to let go?!”
Yang Kai suddenly came to his senses and let go of her. Standing next to her, he tidied up his own clothes, and he could not help but sigh as he thought back to their previous encounters on their way here.
In this one month, they had encountered at least five ambushes. Several Divine Spirits had been lying in wait for them on their way here, and they fought more than a dozen battles, both big and small. The worst fight was when they were being ganged up on by three Divine Spirits. Zhu Jiu Yin was also amazing to have been able to hold off those attackers and get them here safely; however, they did waste a lot of time on the way.
They had just arrived when another five powerful auras rushed over behind them. They were five Divine Spirits who had been chasing after them all this way, and all of them had taken on Human forms. There were both male and female, young and old. All of them were looking over with eyes filled with hatred as if they could not wait to skin Zhu Jiu Yin alive.
Yang Kai’s heart was pounding, “Senior, they’re here. Are you able to hold them back?”
Zhu Jiu Yin responded crisply, “No!”
“Then, we’re in danger.”
Yang Kai had a grave expression, “We’d better avoid them for now and come back when the Primordial Land opens.”
“Don’t worry.”
Zhu Jiu Yin reassured him, “Since we are here, they won’t try to attack us anymore.”
“Why?” Yang Kai did not understand.
“They also have enemies. Starting a fight here will only be troubling themselves!” Zhu Jiu Yin sneered.
Just as she said, after these five chased them to this place, even though all of them were filled with fury, none of them tried to attack Zhu Jiu Yin. Yang Kai could also keenly sense that there were strong auras locked onto these five Divine Spirits. Those seem to be their enemies as Zhu Jiu Yin was talking about.
“Even though they won’t dare to strike at me so simply, you should still watch out. Better not let them hurt you.” Zhu jiu Yin reminded Yang Kai, “Remember their auras. If you encounter their Bearers in the Primordial Land, then kill them for me!”
Yang Kai frowned, “They have Bearers, too? Why don’t I see them?”
Zhu Jiu Yin smirked, “Naturally, they are hiding among the other Humans and unwilling to show themselves. But since they came here, that must mean they have already chosen their Bearers. There is no way they would come here empty-handed.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Understood.”
Turning around and looking behind him, Yang Kai was stunned. The portal to the Primordial Land was magnificent. The seven-coloured glow twisted and turned as if a great mystery was hidden behind it.
Around the outer periphery of the Primordial Land, Divine Spirits with powerful auras occupied different pieces of territory. Some hid their Bearers in the crowd while others stayed close to protect them.
Yang Kai was shocked. At a glance, there were at least fifty Divine Spirits gathered here!
How terrifying a force was that? These fifty Divine Spirits were equal to fifty High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Perhaps only a few of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises had such a powerful heritage.
Most of these Divine Spirits had taken human form, but there were also those who maintained their true bodies, each one as big as a mountain, appearing majestic and powerful.
Yang Kai saw Kun Sha, who was glaring coldly at him, not at all hiding his murderous intent.
There was also Fei Yi, Kui Niu, Zhu Yan, Bi Fang, Nu Fang…
Yang Kai had only heard of these Divine Spirits but never seen them before. Today, Yang Kai had an eye-opening experience.
These Divine Spirits were not all the Divine Spirits that could be found in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Zhu Jiu Yin had told him before that some Divine Spirits were satisfied with the situation and had no intention of leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins. Naturally, they would not come to interfere in this chaos.
However, Yang Kai was surprised that he saw neither Dragons nor Phoenixes among the Divine Spirits. He was able to obtain an Earth Attribute Great Dragon Bead previously in the Crouching Dragon Mountains, so he thought that Dragon Clan members existed in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. However, now it seemed that the Great Dragon that passed away was the last of its kind.
This made him feel slightly sad. Yang Kai never made a contract with Zhu Jiu Yin through these days because he was hoping to find a Great Dragon. If he could find a Dragon here, then he would have better options.
Yue He and the rest had arrived long ago and were looking forward to the Primordial Land’s opening. They were able to find a spot and were waving incessantly in Yang Kai’s direction.
After meeting up with each other, they asked Yang Kai about what he encountered during the past month and were soon quite shocked.
After some small talk, Yang Kai said, “Senior, I think it’s time you tell us about the Primordial Land.”
“I know nothing.” Zhu Jiu Yin shook her head.
Yang Kai was shocked, “How could you know nothing?” He had never asked Zhu Jiu Yin about the Primordial Land before, thinking that she would explain everything to him when the time came. Who knew that he would get such an answer when he took the initiative to ask her?
“It’s not as if this Queen can enter the Primordial Land, so how should I know?” Zhu Jiu Yin snorted. If the Divine Spirits could enter the Primordial Land, then why would they need to choose a Bearer? They could have gone in to fight for the opportunity themselves.
Yang Kai frowned, “Even though you’ve never been inside, didn’t you have a Bearer before…” Speaking up to this point, Yang Kai suddenly understood. It was true that Zhu Jiu Yin had Bearers in the past, but they clearly died inside, so it was reasonable that she knew nothing about what happened inside.
“Then, what do you know? What should I do after going in?” Yang Kai tried to ask for the next best thing.
Zhu Jiu Yin said, “I only know that the treasures inside are countless, but the most important one is the Innate Fruit Tree. The Innate Fruit Tree will appear every time the Primordial Land opens, but only one Innate Spirit Fruit can be picked before it disappears. For native Divine Spirits like us to leave the Grand Ancient Ruins, we must consume that Innate Spirit Fruit, and that is why it is called the Spirit Seizing War.”
“Innate Spirit Fruit!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. Anything that can be described as Innate must be extraordinary.
Zhu Jiu Yin rolled her eyes, “Forget about it. Eating the fruit will not bring you much benefit. Us Divine Spirits are born and raised in this Grand Ancient Ruins, but we are also trapped by it. Fortunately, this Innate Spirit Fruit was created especially for us Divine Spirits. If you can bring it out for me, then you will definitely be rewarded.”
Yang Kai nodded, but in his heart, he was unconvinced. He had some doubts about her words. Zhu Jiu Yin was probably afraid that he would eat the Innate Spirit Fruit, and that was why she said what she did. Whether it was useful to him or not was yet to be known.
“You will have to search for the Innate Fruit Tree yourself. As for what it looks like, you will also have to identify it by yourself. Don’t have any funny thoughts. Just be a good boy and bring that spirit fruit out to me, and this Queen will make sure it is worth your time.”
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, thinking that once the spirit fruit was in his hand, then it was not up to her to make the terms.
As if sensing what Yang Kai was thinking, Zhu Jiu Yin shot him a deep look, and a sardonic smile emerged on her lips.
“Senior, I’m going to meet some of my friends over there. I hope Senior can accompany me.” Yang Kai pointed to where Xu Zhen and the rest were standing.
“What are you seeing them for? No point in complicating things on purpose. This Queen needs to adjust her breathing so be good and wait here.” Zhu Jiu Yin coldly snorted before sitting down cross-legged. She had also expended a lot of energy during this past month, so she naturally wanted to recover as soon as possible.
Yang Kai was speechless. Glancing over at Xu Zhen and the others, he shook his head.
Without Zhu Jiu Yin to shelter him, he did not dare move around by himself. The Divine Spirits chasing after Zhu Jiu Yin would not easily let go of the opportunity to kill him. As long as they could kill him, then Zhu Jiu Yin’s plan would fall through, so they naturally wouldn’t be hesitant about attacking.
Time passed slowly, but the 200,000 people gathered outside the Primordial Land were all waiting quietly.
Ten days later, the ever-changing seven-coloured glow suddenly froze for a moment before distorting and warping at an even faster speed. At the same time, the World Energy in the entire Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was madly gathering at this place, drawing up a gale. Rocks and sand flew, and suddenly, the light disappeared from the sky.
All the Divine Spirits were shaken, and they all lifted their heads to look at the Primordial Land’s portal.
“It’s opening!” A Divine Spirit shouted.
The 200,000 people were also shaken, and all of them turned their eyes to the portal.
Zhu Jiu Yin also opened her eyes to look into the sky, “Brat, come here.”
Yang Kai went over obediently, “What orders does Senior have?”
“I only have one sentence for you. This trip can only end in success, not failure. If you fail, then you will be worthless to me. You know what that means, right?” Zhu Jiu Yin looked indifferently at him.
Yang Kai nodded expressionlessly, “Naturally.”
“Good.”
At the same time, many Divine Spirits were also talking to their respective Bearers, some encouragingly, others threateningly.
Gu Pan stood in front of Kui Niu, saying seriously, “Rest assured, Grandpa Ox, I will definitely get you the Innate Spirit Fruit and bring you out of here.”
Kui Niu transformed into a kindly old man with an all-white beard and long eyebrows, smiling, “Just do your best. The most important thing is that you return safely.”
Gu Pan nodded hard.
Fei Yi had also taken on a human form with two heads and a wicked appearance. Forked tongue slipping out of his mouths, he hissed, “Ugly girl, if you fail, then do not blame this King when you are eaten.”
“Yes, yes, yes, all you think about all day is eating. I’ll also grab that Innate Spirit Fruit and have a taste of it.” Qu Hua Shang fumed.
Fei Yi’s two faces paled, “I was just kidding! En, you must bring me the Innate Spirit Fruit. I will definitely offer you many benefits.”
On the other side, Xu Zhen was covering his head angrily, “Can’t you just talk normally? Why do you keep hitting me?”
Zhu Yan slammed his fist down, causing a visible bulge to appear on the little fatty’s head that glowed brightly. Zhu Yan then snorted, “If you do not bring me the Innate Spirit Fruit, then you will receive more than just a beating. You hear me?!”
Xu Zhen gritted his teeth, “Just you wait! Once I bring you out of here, I will make you my mount for five hundred years!”
Zhu Yan sneered, “If you really do have this ability, then what does it matter for this King to act as a mount for five hundred years?” Divine Spirits lived extraordinarily long lives, so five hundred years was a mere snap of a finger for them.
“If you succeed, you live. You fail, you die!” Kun Sha declared succinctly to Lin Feng.
Lin Feng’s face was dark, “I don’t need you to tell me that.”
Not far away, Ning Dao Ran had a relaxed look on his face as if nothing could disturb him. Zhu Jian transformed into a strong, middle-aged man, looking worriedly at him, “Boy, put your heart into it. That Innate Spirit Fruit means a lot to me. When it comes time to snatch it, then you have to snatch it. Do not show those people any mercy.”
Ning Dao Ran saluted him, “Rest assured, Senior. I will do my best.”
Zhu Jian sighed, “If only that was the case.”
He felt indignant. Why did he choose a guy like this to become his Bearer? Someone as relaxed as him would not be able to achieve great things.
…..
World Energy was continuously converging towards the Primordial Land’s portal. The seven-coloured glow was becoming more and more solid and radiant.
Three days later, the glow suddenly reached a peak. Following that, it was as if a pair of invisible hands split it apart, revealing a seven-coloured passage that connected straight to the Primordial Land.
Everyone was shaken at the sight and fixed their eyes at the centre, but they were simply unable to see the scenery beyond the portal.
The Primordial Land’s portal was finally open.
Among the crowd, several figures turned into streams of light that entered the seven-coloured passage in a flash, disappearing in the blink of an eye; however, some people were unable to hold back and rushed ahead of the others.
Everyone was making their move. More than 200,000 cultivators were rushing to the portal. Even though the portal was large, there were too many people gathered in this place. As the cultivators poured in, some of the people were squeezed out of the seven-coloured passage, falling into a deep abyss.
Screams came, and in front of everyone’s eyes, the cultivators that were forced out of the seven-coloured passage had their flesh peeled from their bodies. In less than three breaths of time, they had become nothing more than skeletons. Following that, the bones that remained of them also broke little by little, turning into dust that scattered away, completely dissipating into the world.
“The outside of the passage is dangerous!” Someone shouted. Face paling, the cultivator quickly retreated.
The cultivators who realized this also did not dare to crowd the portal anymore lest they were squeezed out and met with death.
Many Divine Spirits were looking happily at this scene, and those cultivators were all cursing at that. The Divine Spirits obviously knew about this, yet none of them came and informed them of this fact. Quite clearly, their deaths were not worthy of mention in the eyes of these Divine Spirits. They only needed to look after their own Bearers. Why should they care about anyone else?
Hundreds of lives were lost, and the danger beyond the passage became clear. The cultivators that came after were all careful to stay away from the edges of the passage.
Soon, however, another change occurred. Some cultivators who were moving at the centre of the passage also screamed. Their flesh left their bodies, and they turned into a set of bones.
The cultivators around them were shocked. They all turned their heads to look at each other, none understanding what was going on.
But this did not happen to just a single cultivator. A dozen others met with the same fate, dying inside the seven-coloured passage.
Many cultivators were perturbed at this sight and had no idea how these people had suddenly died in the passage.
However, someone suddenly realized what was happening and shouted, “Open Heaven Realm! They’re all in the Open Heaven Realm! Those in the Open Heaven Realm are not allowed to enter the Primordial Land or they’ll die!”
When they heard him shout, everyone came to their senses. After careful thought, it was indeed true that the dozen who died were all in the Open Heaven Realm.
Under the leadership of the Managers, the group from Scarlet Star were just about to step into the passage when the Head Manager stopped them. Chen Tian Fei and the others behind him were all covered in cold sweat.
They had almost stepped into the passage just now, and if they had done that, then they would have died on the spot.
Not far away, Yang Kai’s face sank as he turned his head to look at Zhu Jiu Yin, “Senior, are those in the Open Heaven Realm not allowed into the Primordial Land?”
Zhu Jiu Yin looked deeply at him, “If those in the Open Heaven Realm could enter, then would I have to seek you out to be my Bearer?” The Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master had a cultivation in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Zhu Jiu Yin would naturally have chosen him instead.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Yang Kai was furious.
Zhu Jiu Yin smirked, “Is it too late to say it now? It’s not like you have anything to lose.”
Yang Kai held back his anger, “Not too late!”
But this was troublesome. He was thinking that he could bring Yue He and the others with him. It would be best if he could get the Innate Spirit Fruit in the Primordial Land, but if not, then he could just run away with them.
Zhu Jiu Yin was strong, but Yang Kai was also prepared, so it may not be impossible for him to escape her pursuit.
But now, all his plans had gone up in smoke. Yue He and the others could not enter the Primordial Land. They had to stay behind with Zhu Jiu Yin, which was just like leaving a hostage in her hands. Unless Yang Kai did not care about the life or death of Yue He and the others, then he would definitely have to face her after coming out of the Primordial Land no matter what.
Zhu Jiu Yin obviously anticipated this, so she did not tell Yang Kai on purpose just to catch him off guard.
They both knew each other’s plans well, but in the end, it was Zhu Jiu Yin who came out ahead.
“Rest assured, I will take good care of these subordinates of yours. Don’t get distracted in the Primordial Land and serve this Queen well,” Zhu Jiu Yin urged him.
Yang Kai responded with affirmation, but his face was grim.
Since those in the Open Heaven Realm could not set foot in the Primordial Land, that meant Yue He, Lu Xue, and Guo Zi Yan had to stay outside, which greatly reduced his battle power. But this was not the most important point. The most important point was the fact that the three of them were now in Zhu Jiu Yin’s hands, so even if Yang Kai had the thought to rebel, he still did not dare to do so.
Guo Zi Yan looked at the cultivators who had followed him to join Yang Kai early on and shouted, “You must follow Sir and protect him to the death, understood?”
The men shouted in unison, “Understood!”
Yang Kai looked at him, shook his head, and smiled bitterly. Even though they had cultivated hard over the years and greatly improved their strength, if they really did encounter any danger that even Yang Kai himself could not resolve, then they would not be able to provide much help.
“Let’s go,” Yang Kai called out to them and several dozen people followed behind him and stepped into the portal.
In just a short few moments, tens of thousands of people had already entered the Primordial Land. By the time Yang Kai led his group into the seven-coloured passage, only a little over half of the 200,000 remained.
The seven-coloured passage was just like the mouth of an invisible beast, constantly swallowing cultivators.
The passage was crowded and bustling, but the group guarded Yang Kai at the centre as they flew onwards, side-by-side.
It was not long before they heard an angry shout from the ground, “You impudent bastards, you dare to provoke the majesty of our Emperor Heaven? Brothers, cut them down!”
In the next moment, violent energy fluctuations burst out ahead of the passage. Countless people broke out into a large fight. Secret Techniques and artifact attacks emerged, turning the passage ahead into a brawl.
Screams broke out and bodies fell while rivers of blood formed.
Yang Kai looked toward the disturbance with a puzzled expression, and then he saw a familiar figure.
The voice earlier was familiar; it was none other than Emperor Heaven’s leader, Ding Yi. Yang Kai had not seen this fellow ever since they parted ways on the Yuan Magnetic Mountain; however, he did occasionally hear news about Emperor Heaven in recent years. He learned that this guy was making waves in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, even gaining a lot of benefits.
At this moment, in the sky ahead, Ding Yi was holding a demon-headed sabre. He was clad in a scarlet cloak as if he were a divine warrior who descended upon the world and gave off an aura of awe-inspiring might. It was not known what sort of grudge he had against these people, but he started a big fight in the seven-coloured passage.
The battle was a large and chaotic melee, with both sides unable to break away or withdraw as thousands of other cultivators were swarming around them, but Ding Yi simply laughed out loud, seemingly delighted at the situation. Slashing his sabre down, a sword light came shooting down with imposing momentum.
Suddenly, Ding Yi stopped and raised his eyes in Yang Kai’s direction. When he had a clear look at Yang Kai’s face, he greeted him with delight, “So it is Brother Yang! How have you been in recent years?”
Yang Kai laughed, “I’m doing well. Brother Ding also seems to be doing well.”
Ding Yi scratched his head and said cheerfully, “So-so.”
Yang Kai asked, “Brother Ding, I wish to go forward. May I ask Brother Ding to make way?”
“No problem!” Ding Yi waved his hand boldly and ordered his men, “Brothers, make way for Brother Yang to pass!”
With his order, the men from Emperor Heaven opened up a path for them. Yang Kai nodded in thanks at Ding Yi before bringing Meng Hong and his several dozen subordinates through the battlefield.
The sound of shouting and killing could still be heard behind them, so it was likely the turmoil was not going to stop for a while.
Among Yang Kai’s team, the shaved-headed man said with a look of admiration, “Our Sir’s face is truly big! This subordinate has heard that man called Ding Yi is reckless and untamed, giving face to nobody. More than ten Open Heaven Realm Masters have already died by the hands of Emperor Heaven’s subordinates, but he actually acts so politely with Sir!”
Lang Qing Shan replied indifferently, “Sir’s strength is unparalleled, How could Ding Yi dare to stop him?”
The shaved-headed man was surprised, “Even a block of wood like you knows how to flatter people?”
Lang Qing Shan blushed and snapped at him, “I am merely telling the truth, how could this be flattery?”
The two of them argued ceaselessly, which made the road ahead feel less boring.
With Emperor Heaven blocking the road under Ding Yi’s command, the passage ahead became much emptier. The seven-coloured passage was also incredibly long, so much so that Yang Kai could not find an end in sight.
The group sped forward, when suddenly a large net covered the front. At the same time, wicked laughter broke out, “I made this path and planted this tree. If you seek passage, then leave your riches and life behind!”
The big net enveloped the entire passage and was Heaven Sealing and Earth Locking, so much so that it deterred one from even thinking of avoiding it.
All their faces changed.
Lang Qing Shan shouted, “Watch out, Sir!”
He stepped out from the group and thrust his fist out. A ball of light burst out on his fist like a blazing sun, bearing unbridled burning power.
Lang Qing Shan was one of the cultivators with the greatest aptitude among the group who joined Yang Kai. When Yang Kai was distributing rewards, Lan Qing Shan asked for a Fifth-Order material, and he had also refined several other Fifth-Order Elements after all these years, so his strength could hardly be compared to the past.
When he swung his fist out, it was branded by the power of the Sun’s True Fire. As though carrying the Sun, he slammed his fist down with great momentum.
But in the next moment, he was actually caught in the net. It was not known what sort of material the net was made of, but it was incredibly tough, not even allowing water or fire to seep past. Even a Fifth-Order Sun’s True Fire was unable to burn it.
In the blink of an eye, Lang Qing Shan was caught in the net, but the net kept going and wrapped everyone up tightly.
A small, thin figure emerged from the void with an ape-like chin, the head of a buck, and the eyes of a rat. Stroking the goatee on his chin, he grinned meaningfully, “The third batch! A group of fools who only know how to seek treasures in the Primordial Land. In this Old Master’s eyes, you are the treasures!”
The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had been open for more than ten years, so the cultivators that were still alive were more or less able to gain a harvest from their time here. The skinny old man stood there, waiting for gains without pain, robbing the cultivators who came by. It was a good plan.
With a few hand seals, the net shrunk abruptly, tightening around everyone. The faces of Meng Hong and the others changed dramatically. They were shocked to find that they could not circulate the strength inside their bodies well, as if it were completely suppressed.
Only then did they realize that this was no ordinary net. It was no wonder why the skinny old man dared to act in such a way despite being alone.
“Let this Old Master see what you have!” The skinny old man stepped forward with a wretched grin on his face, but then, he suddenly stepped back in fear when he saw a certain person in the net. Gulping hard, he stuttered, “S-S-Senior Yang?”
“You know me?” Yang Kai looked calmly at the skinny old man through the net.
The old man’s eyes darted around for a moment before he squeezed out an ugly smile, “Senior Yang’s mighty name has been spread far and wide, having destroyed Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion. You are known to be taking care of Scarlet Star. This Old Master has long admired… Ah! Ahem! So even you will fall for something like this, huh, you brat? Since you’ve fallen into my Profound Dragon Binding Net, then don’t even think about getting out! Even a Dragon will be trapped inside my net. I heard that you razed Sword Pavilion’s Star City and killed tens of thousands, walking away with all of their riches, isn’t that right, boy? Now that I’ve caught you, I’m rich, rich I say! After this batch, this Old Master will never have to worry about cultivation resources in the future!”
Looking at Yang Kai with a wicked look, the old man grinned, “Brat, hurry up and throw out your Space Ring or this Old Master will strangle you to death right this instant!”
The skinny old man grinned meaningfully, “Senior Yang is very powerful, who knows if you have any other tricks up your sleeve? This Old Master should take precautions. If you throw out your ring now, then this Old Master can spare your life!”
Lang Qing Shan fumed, “Shameless old dog, what kind of skill is sneaking up on others? Release me if you have the ability. This Lang will fight you!”
The skinny old man looked at Lang Qing Shan with contempt, “You must have something wrong with your head, you bastard. You are now a fish on a chopping block. Your life and death can be decided with one thought from this Old Master, so why should this Old Master release you?”
“It’s too early to see who is the fish here. If you don’t come over here, then this King will go to you!” While saying that, Yang Kai suddenly stood up. Holding the net, he went forward step by step.
The old man’s face changed as he gritted his teeth, “Senior Yang is indeed amazing, having the strength to walk even under my Profound Dragon Binding Net. It seems like this Old Master has underestimated you, but this is not the full might of the net. Bind! Bind! Bind! Bind! Bind! Bind!”
He shouted six times while going through many seals on his hands. The profound Dragon Binding Net’s silk threads tightened abruptly. Lang Qing Shan and the others suddenly grunted as even the air inside of the net felt abnormal, as if it had become solid and stagnant.
Yang Kai’s pace also gradually became slower before he was frozen in place.
The old man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with his heart still beating fast, “The ship almost capsized on calm seas. Luckily, this Old Master’s treasure is not bad!”
“Your treasure is indeed good, but you aren’t much!” Yang Kai grinned. Then, his frozen steps continued.
The old man jumped in fright, leaping back almost a thousand meters, “How did you…”
Yang Kai strode forward as swiftly as the wind towards the old man’s direction, speaking in a grim voice, “Indeed, your net is extraordinary. Anyone caught in the net will find it hard to circulate their strength; however, there is one flaw, and that is that it does not limit one’s physical might! Using this net against me means you are seeking death!”
The skinny old man shrieked. Not caring about his precious net any longer, he turned around and ran into the distance. But before he could escape, he felt his neck tighten. A large hand was now wrapped around it, lifting and choking him like a chicken.
The old man stiffened at once and slowly turned his head around.
“Any last words?” Yang Kai asked.
“This is all a misunderstanding…” The old man smiled flatteringly at him.
With a snap, Yang Kai snapped his neck, breaking it completely. His headless body twitched as the head rolled down. Fresh blood spurt out of the wound like a fountain.
The moment the old man died, the Profound Dragon Binding Net came loose. Yang Kai pulled away the net, instantly freeing the group. The ability to circulate their Qi was also restored. The group were staring stunned at him.
Only then did they recall how terrifying this young man in front of them was. They were simply unable to even lift a finger in the net, but Yang Kai could completely ignore the net’s power and slaughter its owner.
Yang Kai casually tossed the Profound Dragon Binding Net to Lang Qing Shan, and the latter was stunned for a moment after catching it. Then, he was overjoyed, “Many thanks for the reward, Sir!”
The others looked enviously at him. They were also bound by the net earlier, so they naturally knew how powerful this artifact was. They did not dare to say that it could deal with Masters in the Open Heaven Realm, but at the very least, those under the Open Heaven Realm were powerless to resist it.
With this net in hand, one could become invincible when facing those under the Open Heaven Realm.
But even though they were envious, they did not have any stray thoughts. Previously, Lang Qing Shan was the first to rush out in the face of danger, so it was only natural that he would receive a reward from Yang Kai after showing his loyalty.
“Refine it carefully. This net… Huh? Watch out!”
Yang Kai suddenly shouted. When he turned his head around, a large awl was spinning through the air in front of them in the seven-coloured passage, swiftly approaching them.
This attack came without warning, and it happened when their guards were down after beheading the old man, so it was clearly planned beforehand.
The large awl spun extremely quickly and reached them in the blink of an eye. The several dozen subordinates behind Yang Kai all showed great changes in their expressions.
But Yang Kai took the initiative to move three steps forward and extended a large hand, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water Element Power spreading out as he grabbed at the large awl.
But he failed to grab anything. The large awl completely ignored his attack and easily passed through it, reaching his body in an instant.
“This…” Yang Kai’s face changed. He did not have any time to react before the large awl attacked his body. His entire body shook violently and blood spilled from his mouth. His face paled.
Behind him, the several dozen people all grunted, and their auras grew thin.
“A Divine Ability!” It finally dawned on Yang Kai what was going on. When he saw the large awl’s shocking aura, he thought it was some sort of artifact; however, only now did he realize that this was no artifact, it was a Divine Ability, and an extremely insidious one.
This Divine Ability specifically targeted a cultivator’s Dao Seal!”
As soon as the large awl hit his body, Yang Kai felt like his Dao Seal was being shaken. His Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water Element Powers were thrown into disarray inside of his Dao Seal, but fortunately, a part of his mind was always occupied in circulating the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture; otherwise, this alone would have been enough to destroy his foundation.
It was thanks to the fact that he refined a lot of Divine Dao Water before that his Dao Seal was much more robust now; otherwise, the consequences of this attack would have been unimaginable.
Yang Kai’s face sank. Body swaying, he disappeared in place. By the time he reappeared, he was already many thousands of metres away. He smashed his fist at a certain point in space, using Rupture, but nobody was there.
“He sure escapes quickly!” Yang Kai had a troubled look on his face. He immediately tried to seek out its trail after being attacked by the large awl, but he could not find the one responsible for it, which showed that the attacker was also very afraid of him. The attacker must know how strong he was, so after this attempt, regardless of whether it was a success or a failure, they immediately escaped.
Yang Kai was annoyed that he did not even get to learn who it was who attacked them!
Was this person here to rob others like the skinny old man, or was he being targeted specifically?
Thoughts churned in Yang Kai’s head and he soon determined the latter possibility was very high! If this were just a robbery, then there was no way that person would leave immediately after attacking them, but that was exactly what they did, so it was obvious that he was being targeted; however, it may not be just him specifically, but rather all Bearers chosen by the Divine Spirits!
[That guy must also be a Bearer!] Yang Kai saw through the plot. The enemy had set up an ambush here so that he could eliminate some of his opponents in advance.
“Sir!” Lang Qing Shan and the others quickly came to his side with regretful looks on their faces.
It had only been a half cup of tea’s time since they followed Yang Kai into the seven-coloured passage, and yet they had already been attacked twice. They had also been completely unable to help during the second attack. Yang Kai had been the one to save them from the first attack by killing the skinny old man, and during the second, Yang Kai had taken the brunt of the attack for them.
As his subordinates, Lang Qing Shan and the others all felt ashamed and uneasy.
The large awl was a Divine Ability that targeted one’s Dao Seal, but Yang Kai bore about half of the attack’s power while the rest was distributed to Lang Qing Shan and the others. Even though their Dao Seals were shaken, none of them lost their lives.
Yang Kai glanced at them and immediately understood that they were no longer in any shape to fight, so he quickly said, “Relax your minds, I will send you to a good place!”
Saying so, he grabbed them with his hand.
Lang Qing Shan and the others did not understand what he meant by this, but they quickly relaxed themselves.
Once they were grabbed by Yang Kai’s hand, their vision was turned upside down, and when they came back to their senses, they discovered themselves in a place with picturesque mountains and clear water.
They all looked at each other in shock. Just as they were wondering where they were, they heard Yang Kai’s voice say, “Focus on recuperating. Don’t worry about anything else.”
The voice rang in their ears, but they saw no trace of Yang Kai.
Lang Qing Shan and the others answered him respectfully before quickly sitting cross-legged, cultivating in silence.
In the middle of the passage, Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood. Wiping his mouth, he stepped forward.
The passage was long, but there were corpses littered along its entire length. Clearly, the cultivators who came here before him had been fighting. Yang Kai went by some of the bodies that had fallen to the ground and took a closer look at them.
The bodies showed no wounds and their wealth had also not been taken away. The bodies still retained their Space Rings and the bodies were still warm, so it was obvious they had just died.
Sweeping over the corpses with his Divine Sense, he discovered that their Dao seals had been shattered.
[It’s that guy with the awl!]
Yang Kai looked up towards the front of the passage and manipulated Space Principles. His body fluttered forward, chasing after the person. The master of the large awl was definitely a Bearer. Perhaps they were proficient in this tactic themselves, or they were taught these strange methods by some Divine Spirit, but this kind of tactic was really impossible to prevent. Even Yang Kai was almost caught by it, much less anyone else. Any cultivator whose foundations were not deep would see their Dao Seals crumbling away when hit by such an attack and dying.
He was curious to know which bastard it was who dared to use this trick against him!
While chasing after them, Yang Kai went past batch after batch of cultivators. All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he came to the woman’s side in a few steps.
Before he could greet her, the woman suddenly flung her hair, and the red ribbon binding it turned into countless silk threads that launched in Yang Kai’s direction.
“Mercy, Senior Sister!” Yang Kai shouted as Earth Element Power enveloped his body, turning into several Dragon Shields. Each Dragon Shield was formed out of a Great Dragon biting its tail, and the Dragon Scales on their Dragon Form were exquisitely detailed.
The red silk threads launching at Yang Kai were all blocked by the Dragon Shield.
When the girl turned around, her eyes lit up, “Junior Brother Yang?”
“Senior Sister Qu!” Yang Kai smiled.
This woman was Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Qu Hua Shang. She had entered the seven-coloured passage before Yang Kai, but she did not advance too quickly, so Yang Kai was able to catch up.
“It seems we are tied closely by fate.” Qu Hua Shang smiled as delicately as a flower. The red silk threads retracted and turned back into a ribbon which tied up her long hair. She looked Yang Kai up and down, beautiful eyes glowing bewitchingly.
Yang Kai laughed, “We were bound to meet since we are all headed for the Primordial Land. Is Senior Sister Qu alone?”
“Who else would I be with?” Qu Hua Shang looked at him cheerfully, “Does Junior Brother Yang want to join me? We can join hands. If we happen to meet Lin Feng and the others, we can beat them up together.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Of course, I would not say no, but once we are to find the Innate Fruit Tree…”
Qu Hua Shang mumbled, “Junior Brother Yang is a big man, can’t you give way to a soft and weak little woman like me? That Fei Yi is ugly, but he’s not weak. I made an agreement with him, and if I can get him out of the Grand Ancient Ruins, then he will become my Protector for 400 years. I would like that Innate Spirit Fruit very much.”
Yang Kai laughed, “But Senior Sister Qu is no soft or weak little woman…”
“I’m really soft, you know!” Qu Hua Shang pouted and came closer to Yang Kai, “If Junior Brother Yang does not believe me, then give it a pinch and you will know.”
Yang Kai’s eyes involuntarily moved towards the towering mountains that lay below. Clenching his fists, he coughed, “Senior Sister Qu, we have yet to find the Innate Spirit Fruit, so please withdraw your Charm Technique!”
Qu Hua Shang giggled at once, “You really are interesting.”
She no longer asked him to join her as both of them knew that even if they did accompany each other, they would still turn into enemies in the end. They may not take each other’s lives, but in order to fight for the Innate Spirit Fruit, they would still give their all.
This was not merely concerning the benefits of gaining a Divine Spirit as their Protector for hundreds of years, but also their standing thereafter in their respective Sects.
Imagine, if they could really bring a Divine Spirit out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, then their status would surely rise in their respective forces, and those Cave-Heavens and Paradises would definitely cultivate them even more diligently.
It was because of this that the Divine Spirits would agree to become their Protectors.
If you want a horse to run, you must feed it first. This was a condition that no Bearer could refuse.
Yang Kai did not manage to get the time to discuss with Zhu Jiu Yin about this, and now Yue He and the others had also fallen into her hands. No matter what, Yang Kai had to get an Innate Spirit Fruit; otherwise, knowing Zhu Jiu Yin’s temper, Yue He and the others were sure to die!
“Senior Sister, have you noticed anyone passing you by?” Yang Kai asked.
Qu Hua Shang responded, “Yes, many people. They all ran even faster than rabbits. Who knows what they were all in such a hurry for.”
Yang Kai was speechless. This way, he would not be able to trace the whereabouts of the large awl’s master.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai said, “Senior Sister Qu must be very careful. I encountered some guy earlier that wields a Divine Ability that targets one’s Dao Seal!”
He then went on to explain what he knew about the large awl.
Qu Hua Shang’s face turned grave, “Isn’t this Purple Jade Cave Heaven’s Shattering Dao Seal Technique?”
Yang Kai wondered, “Senior Sister recognizes this Divine Ability?”
Qu Hua Shang nodded, “What you describe sounds a lot like Purple Jade Cave Heaven’s Shattering Dao Seal Technique. This Divine Ability was created specifically to target a cultivator’s Dao Seal, but I have never seen it before, so I am unable to verify it.” She was doubtful, “Could someone from Purple Jade Cave Heaven be here? But I have not heard about that!”
Yang Kai guessed, “Perhaps someone from Purple Jade Cave Heaven did come, or one of their disciples was a Bearer in the past. Later, the Divine Spirit could have learned the Divine Ability and passed it down to their current Bearer.”
Qu Hua Shang nodded, “That is a possibility.”
“No matter what, Senior Sister should be careful.”
Qu Hua Shang covered her mouth and giggled, “Many thanks for Junior Brother’s concern, but rest assured, this Divine Ability can work on an ordinary cultivator. It is a little lacking against this Senior Sister.”
Qu Hua Shang refined Sixth-Order Elements and aspired to achieve the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm with her initial breakthrough, so she naturally had this confidence.
Yang Kai warned, “Senior Sister should not lower her guard. This Shattering Dao Seal Technique is truly powerful.” He had refined more than a dozen drops of Divine Dao Water, so his Dao Seal was incredibly firm, but the Element Powers inside of him were still shaken into disarray, much less anyone else’s. Even though Qu Hua Shang’s heritage was not bad, if she was caught off guard by a sneak attack, then she would surely suffer a great loss.
Qu Hua Shang nodded incessantly, “En, en, I will remember.”
Seeing how careless she looked, Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but on second thought, he had only eaten a loss because he had let his guard down earlier. Qu Hua Shang and the others came from Cave-Heavens and Paradises; thus, they were very knowledgeable and would surely recognize the Shattering Dao Seal Technique if they saw it, allowing them to take appropriate measures.
“We’ve finally reached the end. The road here was really too long.” Qu Hua Shang’s eyes brightened.
Yang Kai looked up, and sure enough, there was a ray of light coming from the front. It was obvious that they had reached the end of the passage. While talking, the two of them did not stop advancing forward. After calculating the distance, it seemed this seven-coloured passage ran for hundreds of kilometres.
Yang Kai was secretly speechless.
“Be careful, Junior Brother. There just might be an ambush at the exit!” Qu Hua Shang reminded him.
Yang Kai chuckled, “I will scout the way for Senior Sister!”
As he said that, his body teleported out of the entrance. Sure enough, as soon as he emerged, countless attacks came at him from all directions.
The number of cultivators gathered at the exit was quite large, and they most likely came from the same great force. There were over a thousand of them, and as soon as they saw someone coming out, they attacked without asking any questions, releasing their Secret Techniques and artifacts towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai coldly snorted and used Nihility to immediately merge with the Void.
Even though there were many attacks, all of them landed on nothing.
The cultivators gathered at the exit were stunned, thinking that they had pulverized Yang Kai to dust, but in the next moment, Yang Kai’s body re-emerged where he originally stood. Fire was released around his body as the Golden Crow’s True Fire formed into numerous tiny Golden Crows before scattering in all directions.
Miserable cries rang out one after another as the cultivators were burned by the Golden Crow’s True Fire, turning to ash at a rate visible to the naked eye.
“It’s Scarlet Star’s Killing Star!” One person who recognized Yang Kai screamed in horror.
“Fall back!” Someone else shouted.
The cultivators who were still alive dared not stay and all scattered, leaving behind more than two hundred corpses that were burned to ashes by the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
Yang Kai did not intend to pursue them. With a flick of his sleeve, the Golden Crow’s True Fire which had flown out returned and disappeared into his body.
Qu Hua Shang leapt out of the exit and looked around before spitting out her tongue, “How unlucky for them. They could’ve messed with anyone, but they just had to run into Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai said indifferently, “They are just asking for death by waiting here.” Even without him, these people would suffer a great loss sooner or later.
Since ancient times men have died for wealth just as birds died for food.
“Will Junior Brother really not accompany me?” Qu Hua Shang looked at Yang Kai with a look of anticipation.
Yang Kai turned around and waved, “We shall part here. I wish Senior Sister Qu good luck!”
“Smelly man!” Qu Hua Shang pouted and her breasts heaved, but soon, she smiled again, “Junior Brother must leave the Grand Ancient Ruins alive. This Senior Sister must still try out many Yin-Yang Union techniques with you once we have the time!”
Yang Kai stumbled and almost fell to the ground when he heard Qu Hua Shang’s bell-like laughter from behind him.
The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was, just as it was named, an ancient place, but the Primordial Land was even more so.
The entire Primordial Land was filled with a vicissitudinous aura. This peculiar place seems to have been preserved from a very long time ago. Its World Principles also had some subtle differences from the Grand Ancient Ruins and showed traces of ancient times.
The World Energy was so dense that Yang Kai could feel it penetrating through his pores even as he breathed, sending a comforting feeling through his body. Cultivating in such a place would definitely provide twice the result with half the effort. Even recovering from his injuries would be faster than usual in this place.
More than 200,000 had flocked to this Primordial Land, and even though there were many losses along the way, more than 100,000 cultivators still remained. If there was truly anything good to be found in the Primordial Land, then it would surely not be missed by these cultivators.
After coming out of the exit, Yang Kai took a random direction and sped off.
On his way, he saw cultivators fighting, either for Spirit Herbs or precious treasures. The inseparable fights went on until lives were extinguished from this world, dyeing the ground with blood.
Yang Kai received massive gains in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so his standards were naturally quite high. It was difficult to move him with ordinary treasures. His most important target in this trip was the Innate Spirit Fruit. Naturally, it would be great if he could gain other harvests, too.
As he journeyed along, Yang Kai would also occasionally collect a few Spirit Medicines and toss them into his medicine garden so that the two Wood Spirits, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu, could take care of them. He also found several Elemental materials, but their quality was not too high.
Three days later, Yang Kai was speeding along when his expression changed. He stopped and his nose sniffed the air before his eyes lit up
A peculiar fragrance entered his nose, which cleared his thoughts and eliminated the distractions in his mind. There was also a strange resonance coming from his Dao Seal, speeding up the flow of the Elements within.
Then, he had a realization. This must be the aroma coming from a very precious Spirit Medicine. He had no idea what it was, but its effects must be extraordinary.
Shaken, Yang Kai followed the trail of the aroma and soon entered a mountain valley. The mountain valley was beautiful and refreshing like a spring day with pleasant scenery all around; however, there were three parties in conflict at this moment, which consisted of a great number of people. Each party numbered in the hundreds, and they were all gathered at the center of this mountain valley, throwing threats and sizing each other up.
These three parties had obviously followed the smell of the Spirit Medicine here, just like Yang Kai, but rather than battle, they were all at a standstill.
When they saw Yang Kai, the faces of the three leaders sank. The longer they dragged on, the more people would arrive. If someone came, someone they cannot afford to provoke, then they would definitely miss out on this Spirit Medicine.
A burly man, leader of the group on the left, coldly snorted, “Another has come to court death?”
The woman leader on the right said, “We can’t delay this any longer. Hurry up and lay out your rules. If we keep delaying this any longer, more are going to come.”
The leader of the last party of cultivators was an elderly man, who stroked his beard, “This Old Master has more people with me, so I want half. You can divide up the rest.”
Both the burly man and the woman sneered, “In your dreams!”
Licking her lips, the woman turned to the burly man, “Why don’t you and I join forces to kill off this old thing, then we can split it half and half between us. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Upon hearing this, the burly man seemed moved and nodded, “Good idea!”
The old man’s face went cold, “If you want to kill this Old Man, then it will depend on whether you have that ability or not!”
Raising his arm, he roared, “Boys, follow me. We must snatch the medicine!”
After saying that, he took the lead and rushed towards the Spirit Medicine.
Seeing this, the burly man and the beautiful woman did not care anymore and called on their subordinates to move out. They were previously at a standstill, all of them wary of each other, but now that one of them had taken action, the other two could no longer sit still. They had to fight.
Yang Kai looked up, only to see vine-like things at the centre of the mountain valley, bearing grape-like berries. The bunches of grapes were green and purple, and were emitting an attractive aroma.
Yang Kai had a curious expression on his face. [Just what Spirit Medicine is this?] He did not know much about the treasures in the Outer Universe, so he really could not tell what it was.
But this was no time for him to be thinking about that. Since the three parties clashed together, they might accidentally destroy the Spirit Medicine. Just as Yang Kai was about to head over to snatch it, puffs suddenly fluttered out around the vines, dancing with the wind.
The Spirit Medicine was surrounded by a dandelion-like plant that produced many flower balls, and when the hundreds of people fought, the flower balls were agitated, rising to the sky.
Then, the balls separated into individual seeds that landed on each cultivator’s body.
No one paid them any attention at first; however, a shocking sight appeared next.
Where those seeds fell on their bodies, it was as if they had suddenly taken on a life of their own, digging madly into their bodies.
Following their screams, one by one the cultivators fell to the ground. The seeds grew quickly like monsters, sucking up the essence from the cultivator’s bodies.
In less than ten breaths of time, the lives of the cultivators were extinguished, and they turned into withered corpses that fell to the ground with grim faces.
The three leaders were strong enough to perceive when things looked bad and circulated their might to resist; however, the woman and the elderly man lasted for only a few moments before falling like their subordinates. The burly man was decisive enough to cut off his own arm, so as fresh blood spurted from the wound, he retreated in fear.
Looking over, he could see his arm withering quickly as the essence was sucked dry by the seeds that landed on it.
The fluffy seeds filled the air, and as if they had a life of its own, were all floating towards the burly man now.
The burly man’s face sank. How could he still dare to stay here any longer? With a scream, he ran off.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded!
He didn’t think much of the dandelions before, and he didn’t even notice them to begin with. All his thoughts were sucked in by the Spirit Medicine, but who knew that its surroundings could be so dangerous?
The scene was so frightening that hundreds died in just ten breaths worth of time.
As if the seeds could sense vitality, they continued flying towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai stood in place and waited for the seeds to approach before lifting a finger. A small Golden Crow flew out from the tip of his finger, meeting the seeds mid-air.
*Hu…*
The sky was set ablaze, and the seeds were all burned in a short amount of time, clearing the scene.
Yang Kai had no idea what strange existence these seeds were, but they were clearly very dangerous. Once one touched a cultivator, it would dig into their body and suck up all of their essence in a short amount of time, turning them into withered bones.
But the Golden Crow’s True Fire was so domineering that the seeds simply could not resist.
Those who died of the three parties died, and those who fled, fled. Soon enough, Yang Kai was the only one left in the mountain valley.
Stepping forward towards the dandelions, the flower puffs broke apart, and seeds danced in the air once more.
Yang Kai’s body was surrounded by raging flames though, allowing him to burn his way through and soon arrive in front of the Spirit Medicine. Leaning over to smell it, the fragrance was very pleasant, lifting his spirits.
“Good stuff!” Yang Kai sighed in admiration. Even though he had no idea what uses this Spirit Medicine had, it was undeniably a Grand Spirit Medicine that was incredibly rare and precious.
He grabbed the grape-like berries with his hand to snap them off the vine.
It was at this moment that something strange occurred. Following a rumble from the ground, a root suddenly emerged from the ground, twining around Yang Kai at a great speed before pulling him down violently.
*Hong…*
Yang Kai’s entire body disappeared as he was pulled directly into the depths of the earth.
Three breaths later, Yang Kai broke out of the ground, furious!
While he was not paying attention, he had been caught in the Grand Spirit Medicine’s trap. The roots twining around him earlier were clearly the work of the vines. Even though the root was strong, it could not suppress Yang Kai’s outburst, allowing him to escape quickly.
He sneered through gritted teeth and shouted, “You thought you could kill me? Unfortunately, your bullying ends here!”
He then grabbed at the vine.
He originally intended to take the grape-like berries from the vine first, since the essence of the Grand Spirit Medicine was in those berries; however, after eating a loss from it, Yang Kai immediately changed his mind to take the entire vine with him.
But before he could even grab the vine, it suddenly shook, and one by one, its roots emerged from the ground. Several branches also sprouted on the vine. As if it had grown limbs all of a sudden, it sprinted off into the distance.
Yang Kai was stunned.
He looked listlessly at the Grand Spirit Medicine in the distance, lost in thought.
This Grand Spirit Medicine… has gained sentience!
Yang Kai was both shocked and amazed. When he was trapped by this vine, he already felt that this Grand Spirit Medicine was something extraordinary, but now, it seemed even more shocking than he imagined. This Spirit Medicine he could not identify, had obviously been living for an extremely long time in the Primordial Land, gathered enough of the world’s essence, and gained sentience. It instinctively knew how to avoid danger, and would even take the initiative to run off if it sensed that it was facing a crisis.
The medical efficacies of such a Grand Spirit Medicine were sure to be extraordinary, something rare even taking the entire 3,000 Worlds into consideration.
Overjoyed, Yang Kai teleported right in front of the vine and smiled, “Where will you run to in front of this King? You better surrender obediently without a fight!”
Reaching out his hand, the surrounding space became viscous.
The vine sliced through space with its branches and twined around Yang Kai’s limbs. Then, a fist appeared out of its arm-like branch that blasted at Yang Kai’s face.
Yang Kai was taken by surprise again. He was shockingly punched in the nose by the vine and was immediately seeing stars.
Taking advantage of this, the vine broke out from Yang Kai’s grasp once more and continued running.
Yang Kai covered his nose and tears fell down his face. Becoming angry out of shame, he summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it fiercely towards the front. The spear broke through the air like a Great Dragon dancing in the sky. The Azure Dragon Spear stabbed accurately in front of the vine as Dragon Pressure filled the air, shaking the surrounding world.
The vine stopped in place and trembled.
Yang Kai’s breathing was ragged as he approached from the back, rubbing his nose as he walked.
*Pu…*
The vine fell to its knees, transforming into a small little man that was only 15 centimetres tall. He had hands and legs and a face with seven orifices, as well as a bunch of grape-like berries on his head.
When he saw Yang Kai approaching, he lifted his hand and plucked a purple grape that was almost glowing red from his head and held it out with both hands, speaking in human words, “Please spare my life, Sir! This one offers Sir a grape and begs for mercy!
Yang Kai also did not care to rub his nose anymore as he narrowed his eyes at this little fellow and muttered, “You… You can assume human form?”
Sure enough, the Grand Spirit Medicine has turned into a spirit and could even assume human form. It had the appearance of a small old man, but Yang Kai had no idea how long it had actually been alive for.
There were spirits in everything, and with the right opportunity, they could gain sentience. It was not only flesh and blood beings that could achieve this in this world. There were jade essences among stones and spirit seeds in medicines. Only, as they lacked bodies, such existences would find it extremely difficult to cultivate, and would often need to gather energy from the world around them for eons before managing to further evolve. The Grand Spirit Medicine before Yang Kai had gained sentience and could assume human form, even speaking in the Human language, a feat that likely took tens of thousands of years of cultivating to achieve.
This Grand Spirit Medicine was already at a level where it can be described as a Divine Medicine!
The small old man looked up and smiled flatteringly when suddenly, it stretched out a foot and swept it at Yang Kai’s bottom, knocking him to the ground. Then, he ran off while wildly laughing, “Even if you think you’re slick, you still have to drink Uncle Pu’s footwash!”
Yang Kai jumped up and grabbed his Azure Dragon Spear. Then, he muttered with his face as black as the bottom of a pot, “I’ll kill you, I’ll definitely kill you and eat you up!”
A few moments later, the small old man fell to his knees again, scrunching his face and presenting the grape he plucked from his head, saying pitifully, “Please show mercy, Sir. This one does not dare to do it again!”
Yang Kai sneered and grabbed him before pressing his fist to his head, digging it in as he ground his teeth, “Now tell me how you want to die!”
The little old man’s face distorted in pain from Yang Kai’s fist and pleaded, “Please stop, Sir! My head is going to split… Oh, it actually feels quite nice.” Scratching his face with two roots, his face relaxed comfortably.
Pissed, Yang Kai summoned a ball of Golden Crow’s True Fire, slowly bringing it closer.
The little old man’s face twisted again and he struggled to get out of Yang Kai’s hands. He shook his head, “No, please! I’ll be burned to death!”
“Death ends all troubles. This is a good opportunity to cook you into a pot of medicinal soup! Drinking it will definitely prolong my life and increase my strength!” Yang Kai had a ferocious look on his face.
“I’m poisonous, I’m inedible! You’ll die if you eat me!” The old man screamed in horror. Seeing that Yang Kai was unmoved, he quickly tossed out his master card, “Don’t kill me, I’ll bring you to other medicines! They’re more delicious than I am!”
Yang Kai’s hand finally paused, “Other medicines? Ones like you?”
The old man shook his head, “There are few like me, but some little brats have not fully grown yet. However, they are still useful to eat.”
The brats that he was talking about must be those that have yet to assume human form, despite that, they must have been growing for many years. If they were found by the cultivators who entered this place, then those cultivators would surely scramble for them.
“Do you know of a fruit tree that bears a special kind of spirit fruit? Only one of them can be picked before it disappears!” Yang Kai asked. He was worrying about where he was going to find the Innate Fruit Tree, but he did not expect to come across such a strange Divine Medicine. It was a good chance for him to ask for information.
“You mean that fruit tree?” The old man thought about it for a moment, “I know! That old thing is even older than me. It’s pretty tough.”
Yang Kai was overjoyed, “Bring me to it and I’ll let you live!”
The little old man was also beaming as his eyes glowed, “Truly?” Suddenly, it looked suspiciously at Yang Kai, “Swear on it!”
Yang Kai instead punched him on the head, “Your life or death is already in my hands and you want me to swear?”
The old man held the bump on his head with an aggrieved look.
“That fruit just now…” Yang Kai looked at the top of his head.
The old man reluctantly offered it to him with two hands, “It’s here.”
Yang Kai took it and observed it carefully, discovering that this was not much different from an ordinary grape. Only, the spiritual energy contained inside of it was shocking. If such a grape was consumed, it would likely rapidly heal any injuries one had.
Yang Kai opened his mouth and stuffed the grape inside. As soon as he bit through the peel, he felt an incomparably pure World Energy exploding into his mouth like a small universe.
Yang Kai hastily closed his mouth and nose, but there was still an unstoppable stream of World Energy flowing out from his seven orifices into a dense radius of a thousand metres.
The old man watched him with a grimace. A sad cloud hung over his head as he sighed, “From this day on, I, Pu Bai Xiong, will change my name to Pu Ninety-Nine Xiong!”
The string of berries on his head numbered exactly 100, so he called himself Pu Bai Xiong. Now that Yang Kai ate one of them, only 99 remained.
After a long time, Yang Kai breathed out lightly, feeling inexhaustible strength coursing through his body as even his blood was flowing more smoothly. He could even hear it crashing down like a strong river stream.
The medicinal efficacy of Pu Bai Xiong’s one grape was truly extraordinary. Even though it could not revive the dead, as long as they had one breath left, it could restore them to their peak in short order.
When he turned back to Pu Bai Xiong, the spirit was much easier on Yang Kai’s eyes.
“Don’t get any funny ideas. If you dare to run again, then I will eat you up once I catch you,” Yang Kai threatened viciously.
Pu Bai Xiong nodded repeatedly, “I won’t run, I won’t run! I can’t escape anyway.”
“Bring me to the fruit tree!” Yang Kai commanded.
Pu Bai Xiong leapt up and sat on Yang Kai’s shoulder, giving him directions.
Pu Bai Xiong was a local tyrant in the Primordial Land. He had lived here for a long time, so he knew a lot about this place. What was more, he had assumed human form long ago and had also travelled all around the Primordial Land over the years, so he had seen a lot. Yang Kai was able to save a lot of trouble by having him lead the way.
He avoided many dangers along the way, and under Pu Bai Xiong’s lead, Yang Kai also harvested many precious treasures; however, he did not meet other Divine Medicines like Pu Bai Xiong. Based on what the spirit said, there were less than ten Divine Medicines like him that could assume human form here in the entire Primordial Land, and they were all tricky fellows that were hard to catch. The reason why his ship would have capsized on calm seas was that he never expected that Yang Kai could possibly ignore the threat of the dandelions, making it too late for him when he tried to run.
A few days later, Yang Kai arrived at a swamp.
Pu Bai Xiong looked grave as he spoke, “Sir, this place is very dangerous, so you must be careful not to fall in. If you fall in, then both of us will die!”
“Where’s the danger?” Yang Kai swept over his surroundings with his Divine Sense but found nothing out of the ordinary, which made him feel a little suspicious.
Pu Bai Xiong told him earnestly, “The water here is toxic, and there is also something hiding inside.”
“Toxic?” Yang Kai was astonished. Before coming in, Zhu Jiu Yin had told him that the Primordial Land was filled with opportunities, but also many dangers, and also told him to be careful.
Yang Kai was her chosen Bearer, so she naturally wanted him to succeed.
The swamp seemed completely inconspicuous, but it was also full of dangers. Yang Kai couldn’t help but sigh.
At that moment, a few kilometres away, a group of people looked in this direction with surprised looks on their faces. One young man asked, “What is that on that person’s shoulder?”
It was not known which great force these people came from, but all of them were surprised when they arrived and saw Pu Bai Xiong.
An elderly man pushed his eyesight to take a better look and said with joy, “It’s a Divine Medicine that has assumed human form!”
Once these words came out, everyone in the group felt their breaths hitch. Even though they did have some gains since entering this Primordial Land, what they found was simply nothing when compared to a Divine Medicine that had assumed human form.
The head of the Divine Medicine was covered in green and purple grapes, but it had a face with seven orifices, as well as hands and legs. It must have existed for a very long time. Such a treasure was hard to find in the outer world.
Now that they caught sight of one, everyone had greedy thoughts about the Divine Medicine.
After exchanging glances, they rose to the air in unison and began rushing in Yang Kai’s direction.
Tendrils swinging up, Pu Bai Xiong scratched his cheeks and said in disdain, “Courting death!”
As soon as those words left his mouth, loud screams could be heard. The cultivators suddenly fell down from the sky one by one.
Many cultivators fell into the puddles around the swamp, and before they could get up, they suddenly screamed in misery.
Their bodies broke apart, and in the blink of an eye, the puddles had corroded the cultivators’ flesh and turned them into white skeletons that slowly disappeared under the water, never to be seen again.
The remaining cultivators were lucky that they did not fall directly into the swamp; however, they were still standing amongst the puddles of murky water. Each one of them had their hair raised on end, none of them daring to move.
“So this water truly is corrosive!” Yang Kai was astonished. These cultivators had already been in the Grand Ancient Ruins for more than a decade, and they had all grown considerably. Even though they had not achieved the Open Heaven Realm, they had all at least gathered several Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. In the Emperor Realm, these people could be considered the best of the best; however, cultivators of this calibre had all failed to put up a resistance as soon as they fell into the water and withered away into dry bones. The immense toxicity of this swamp could be seen from that alone.
If that was all, then so be it, but there was some kind of natural Array over the swamp which made it impossible to fly.
“Don’t move. None of you move! Be careful of the puddles, don’t fall in!” The elderly man shouted.
As soon as he said that, a black tentacle suddenly poked out from the puddle next to his feet, curled around him, and dragged him down into it.
A gurgle of bubbles appeared, and the old man disappeared without a trace.
“What was that?” Yang Kai felt his scalp go numb. He had only had a glimpse of what had happened, so he had no idea what it was that suddenly dragged the elderly man into the puddle. He could only vaguely see that it was a shapeless mass similar to a tentacle.
Pu Bai Xiong whispered, “I’m not too sure either, but if you don’t make a sound, then whatever it is down there won’t sense you.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
The death of the elderly man stunned the remaining cultivators. Many of them screamed and quickly tried to escape from the swamp. They were fine when they stayed still, but as soon as they moved black tentacles suddenly erupted from the puddles again, grabbing them at the waist and pulling them into the water.
One by one, the cultivators disappeared quickly. One after another, huge bubbles emerged from the puddles.
Secret Techniques emerged as these cultivators attempted to resist, cutting off the black tentacles. However, there were so many tentacles that they could not get rid of all of them no matter how they tried.
In just a dozen breaths of time, only a dozen were left of the group that originally numbered over a hundred. These people were now left trembling in the swamp, at a loss of what to do.
They were the lucky ones since they did not move rashly, nor did they make any noise. Otherwise, they would not have survived.
Seeing their companions fall to miserable ends one by one, none of them dared to move.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue and asked, “Can we go around it?”
This swamp seemed so strange that even he was slightly afraid of it.
Pu Bai Xiong said to him, “Going around will take a really long time. Rest assured, with my guidance, we’ll be able to walk safely through.”
Yang Kai was sceptical, but he still grit his teeth and followed his lead.
Pu Bai Xiong whispered in his ear, “Don’t make any noise or things will be troublesome. Don’t touch the water either, or you’ll be in even greater trouble.”
“You’re so naggy!” Yang Kai grumbled.
“I nag you for your own good! I don’t want to die here together with you,” Pu Bai Xiong was grumpy.
However, this time, he spoke a little too loud, and almost in an instant, another tentacle appeared from a nearby puddle.
Pu Bai Xiong shut his mouth at once, and Yang Kai also held still. The tentacle stopped just an arm’s length from Yang Kai’s face, swayed for a bit, and then retreated into the puddle.
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief and continued onward.
The dozen or so cultivators who survived looked on for a while and began following his lead, cautiously walking through the swamp.
After walking for a short time though, Pu Bai Xiong suddenly made an exclamation of surprise and whispered, “Why is there an eye in the water?”
Surprised, Yang Kai looked down and sure enough, he saw an eye in the puddle next to him. Rather than call it an eye though, it was as if the puddle had turned into a giant eye that moved along with his pace, watching him silently.
Yang Kai shuddered at the strange sight and stopped in place to ask, “Did you not know that there were eyes in the water prior to this?”
Pu Bai Xiong gulped, “I’ve never encountered them before.”
“What kind of damned place is this? Not only are the Divine Medicines assuming human form, why does even this swamp seem to be manifesting a spirit?” Yang Kai’s forehead was covered in a cold sweat.
“Don’t scare yourself.” Pu Bai Xiong forced a laugh, “It must be our imagination. If you close your eyes and open them again, I’m sure it will be gone…”
Saying so, he shut his eyes hard and slowly opened them again a while after, but the sight horrified him, “Oi! Why are there even more eyes now!?”
The moment he closed his eyes, all of the puddles in the swamp turned into giant eyes, blinking and watching Yang Kai and the dozen other cultivators.
The dozen cultivators had obviously discovered this scene as well, and they were immediately frightened out of their wits. Some of the timid ones had even tried to flee.
However, as soon as they moved, the entire swamp shook. Countless tentacles extended from the giant eyes, winding in all directions and blocking the path.
“Run!” Yang Kai shouted. Body moving instantly, he fled rapidly outward.
Countless tentacles were trying to catch them. Pu Bai Xiong grabbed onto Yang Kai’s ears and shouted in terror, “We’re done for, we’re both going to die!”
Seeing that the tentacles were about to wrap around his body, a layer of flames erupted around Yang Kai’s figure, burning the tentacles that tried to approach into ashes.
Pu Bai Xiong was burnt from the inside out and his head was set on fire, causing him to cry out pitifully, “What are you burning me for?! I’m going to turn into charcoal!”
“Shut up!” Yang Kai snapped at him.
He had already tried his best to shelter Pu Bai Xiong; otherwise, how could this Divine Medicine still stay alive under the ravages of the Golden Crow’s True Fire?
The tentacles crackled at contact with the flames. The Golden Crow’s True Fire was so powerful that the flames had even travelled down the tentacles and burst open each of the giant eyes they originated from.
A shocking roar came from the depths of the earth, followed by the ground shaking. An incomparably huge giant was slowly rising from below.
The giant creature was almost 1,000 metres tall and had eyes all over its body. There was a layer of withered bones hanging around its body. It was not known how many souls it had reaped, but there were both big and small eyes that looked just like the ones in the puddles. From those eyes, black tentacles extended up and tried to grab Yang Kai.
There was not just one, but hundreds of such giants, and they had all been alerted.
Looking back, Yang Kai was stunned. It was only now that he finally realized that the entire swamp was made up of these giants, and those puddles were just their eyes.
[What in the world are these things!?]
Yang Kai had travelled extensively over the years, but he had never seen such creatures before. Only a place like the Primordial Land could give birth to such bizarre existences.
“Fire Dragon’s Flaming Breath!” Sucking in a big breath of air, Yang Kai’s entire body seemed to swell before he spat out a blazing flame.
The Golden Crow’s True Fire burned the sky red, incinerating all the tentacles crawling his way; however, with hundreds of these tentacles coming from all directions, there was no end to them no matter how many were burned to ashes.
Even after Yang Kai had finished spitting out flames, the situation did not change too much. One by one, the giant things travelled through the earth, chasing after him and refusing to give up.
Pu Bai Xiong shouted, “Run, Sir! If you run far enough, they will probably stop chasing us!”
Yang Kai ran over a thousand kilometres but still failed to get rid of them, so he shouted angrily, “Didn’t you say they’ll stop chasing us if I ran far? Why are they still following me?!”
Pu Bai Xiong had an awkward look on his face, “I also didn’t know they would be so difficult. I’ve never seen them before.”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Dragon Transformation!”
With a loud Dragon Roar, Yang Kai’s body expanded. With a crackling sound, his skin was covered in Dragon Scales. Natural patterns decorated the Dragon Scales. They were heavy and solid, and resistant to the encroachment of both fire and water. Two horns grew on his head and his hands turned into Dragon Claws. A Dragon Tail sprouted behind him, and a floaty Dragon Beard grew under his chin.
Dragon Pressure exploded outwards!
Pu Bai Xiong was frozen on the spot!
Yang Kai was also stunned. He had not performed his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique for a long time, but he had been taking Dragon Blood Pills to refine his bloodline constantly during the past ten or so years. Even though he knew that he would grow somewhat, he never expected to experience such an immense increase in size.
Currently, his body has grown to more than 2,500 metres in length. Not only that, but his Dragon Clan features had also become far more obvious. If his previous Dragon Transformation only barely had any Dragon Clan characteristics, then he was now showing 30% to 40% of their features!
The giants with eyes all over their bodies were huge, but Yang Kai was even taller than them.
Dragon Breath emerged from his nostrils, scorching even space itself. Yang Kai watched the giants as they approached rapidly, feeling an endless surge of power inside him.
The roar that came from his mouth was a pure Dragon Roar that shook the nine Heavens.
Raising his hand, the Azure Dragon Spear was summoned into his grasp.
As a spear refined from the body of a Great Dragon, only those with the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, or those with a Dragon Source could truly activate its power. Otherwise, the Giant Spirit God, Ah Da, would not have given this Azure Dragon Spear to Yang Kai.
With his spear in hand, the blood in Yang Kai’s blood flowed even more fiercely. A strange feeling rose from his heart as if the object in his hand wasn’t a divine spear, but rather a companion. It was like a partner that could share his pain and suffering, one that would walk together with him in life and death.
*Weng…*
The Azure Dragon Spear shook, and a huge illusory phantom of an Azure Dragon suddenly emerged, its body emitting majestic Dragon Pressure. Looking at Yang Kai with its dragon eyes, there were three points of gratification, three points of relief, and three points of recognition.
Then, the illusory phantom sank into the spear and disappeared without a trace.
One of the giant creatures had already arrived a thousand metres before Yang Kai.
With a shake of his spear, Yang Kai thrust its tip straight ahead at the approaching giant creature.
The Supreme Limitless Spear that Yang Kai had spent so much time cultivating finally had its time to shine. Before fighting with the mantis head, Yang Kai had been using the Azure Dragon Spear purely based on instinct; however, it was different now. The spear in his hand moved as naturally as if it were his own limb. One by one, spear flowers bloomed, and spear shadows pervaded.
Unrestrained in either conduct or bearing, his spear was free, his heart unbound!
When Yang Kai passed by the first giant creature, it suddenly turned stiff. In an instant, its body was hit by dozens of spears, and in the next moment, it burst apart.
Followed by a second, then a third…
A reign of terror emerged wherever Yang Kai passed. Not one of the giant creatures, their bodies covered in eyeballs, could resist the assault of his spear, and the sound of their bodies bursting apart was endless.
*Hong…*
Yang Kai’s Dragon Claw latched onto the last giant creature’s head and pinned it to the ground, creating a deep and huge crater beneath it.
Dragon Claw clenching, the giant creature’s head burst.
Over a hundred giants were wiped out by Yang Kai without even requiring a half cup of tea’s time. Yang Kai slowly straightened his body and stabbed his spear into the ground, silently feeling the power coursing through his body at this moment.
A beautiful feeling was flowing through every part of his body, and the surge of power was almost intoxicating to him.
Pu Bai Xiong’s trembling voice suddenly emerged, “Sir! They’re not dead yet!”
“En?” Yang Kai suddenly turned around, and what he saw caused his Dragon Eyes to widen.
On the battlefield that stretched behind him for dozens of kilometres, the giant creatures that had burst apart wriggled and writhed before sticking back to each other and fusing. The very first one he killed had already fused more than half of its body, and it seemed like it was going to revive at any moment.
Yang Kai was staring so hard that his eyes almost fell out of his sockets. [How can these things be so hard to kill that even the Azure Dragon Spear can’t handle them? If I’m going to get rid of them completely, then I’m afraid I’ll have to burn them to ashes with my Golden Crow’s True Fire.]
However, trying to burn so many of these giant creatures with the Golden Crow’s True Fire would drain an immense amount of energy from him.
Yang Kai had a toothache just from the thought. After dispelling his Dragon Transformation and restoring his body to its usual form, he grabbed Pu Bai Xiong and tossed him straight into the Small Sealed World. Body shifting, he instantly disappeared from where he stood.
Inside the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai had not dared to use his Instantaneous Movement at will; after all, there were many strange principles and natural Arrays. If he tried to perform Instantaneous Movement, he might just land himself in some unknown danger.
If it was just a normal risky situation, then he could still handle that; however, if he were to fall into a powerful natural Array, then he might get trapped in this place for eternity.
Because of this, Yang Kai did not use Instantaneous Movement to escape the pursuit of those giant creatures just now.
But now, he had no other choice. The giant creatures were so resilient that if he waited for them to recover, it would lead to an unending chase.
After Yang Kai left, it did not take more than a few moments before the giant creatures fused back together without the least bit of an injury left on their bodies. Without a target to chase after though, they just stood in place and roared. After a while, they finally withdrew into the ground, turning themselves back into a swamp full of puddles.
After a long time, another group of cultivators flew over the swamp and could not help themselves from falling down into the puddles, turning into withered bones.
At the same time, Yang Kai stood inside a fog, feeling livid as he stayed on alert with his Divine Sense probing his surroundings.
He cursed in his heart as he knew that using Instantaneous Movement in this damned place was sure to come to no good results. As expected, his worries came true.
The fog flowed around his body like water, and it enveloped him in a strange feeling. No matter how he pushed his vision, Yang Kai could not see far away.
Not only that, but his Divine Sense was also suppressed to a range of just ten metres around himself.
Yang Kai could not help but shiver at this realization. His Divine Sense was so powerful that it was no worse than an ordinary cultivator in the First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, so it was clear that something strange was going on in this place if it could be suppressed to such a degree.
It was not a good idea to stay in such a place for long, but just as he was about to leave this place using Instantaneous Movement again, Yang Kai suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching in his direction.
Yang Kai looked over and shouted, “Who’s there?”
The footsteps stopped, followed by a meek voice, “Senior Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai was stunned to hear this voice before he came to his senses and called out, “Junior Sister Gu?”
It was the voice of Gu Pan from Lang Ya Paradise. Happy to find her presence here, Yang Kai went towards the source of the voice and sure enough, he did not have to walk far before he saw a beautiful figure standing before him.
Both of them looked at each other and were clearly happy to have met.
“Junior Sister Gu! Why are you here?” Yang Kai asked.
“I came here to look for you!” Gu Pan looked at him.
Yang Kai did not understand, “To look for me? How did you know I was here?” A thread of suspicion emerged in his head. He was here because he used Instantaneous Movement while trying to escape from those eye monsters, so how could Gu Pan come all the way here to look for him?
Gu Pan smiled but did not answer.
Yang Kai frowned. He had the vague feeling that something was not right, but he could not tell what, “How long has Junior Sister been here? Do you know how to get out of here?”
Gu Pan said, “I just came in, too, so I’m not sure.”
Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, let’s walk together. Don’t stray too far from me, Junior Sister.”
“En,” Gu Pan nodded obediently.
Side by side, the two walked through the fog in search of a way out.
After walking some distance, Yang Kai couldn’t help but ask, “Junior Sister, is there a girl called Zhang Ruo Xi in your Lang Ya Paradise? She would have only joined in recent years.”
Gu Pan shook her head, “I haven’t heard of her.”
Yang Kai’s face turned gloomy. Zhang Ruo Xi definitely went to Lang Ya Paradise; after all, that was where her ancestor came from, so one could say that she was returning to her roots by going there. Only, he had no idea whether she had yet to make it, or if Gu Pan simply hadn’t heard of her.
There was another rustling sound around him as Gu Pan seemed to be busy with something again.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Is Junior Sister eating dried fish again?”
When he turned his head to look though, the smile on Yang Kai’s face froze, “Who are you?!”
The head of Gu Pan, who was standing next to him, had turned into a fish. Even though it retained a human’s body, it looked extremely bizarre.
The fish head turned to look at him, “Sir, it’s me, Ruo Xi!”
While speaking, the fish head really did change into Zhang Ruo Xi’s face. She stared at him without looking away, her face filled with endless joy.
“Ruo Xi?” Yang Kai was dazed. Was it not Gu Pan standing next to him? So how did it become Zhang Ruo Xi all of a sudden?
“Husband, are you picking flowers outside again?” Zhang Ruo Xi opened her mouth to speak, but her voice seemed to overlap with someone else’s as if there was more than one person speaking. Her face was also constantly changing, turning into Shan Qing Luo one moment, Xia Ning Chang the next, then Su Yan, Xue Yue, Yu Ru Meng, and more…
Yang Kai was infuriated, “An illusion?”
Wiping his finger across his left eye, he shouted, “Demon Eye of Annihilation!”
Immediately, his left eye turned into a golden slit with a divine light glowing from its depths.
The person in front of him disappeared immediately, replaced by a broken branch. What frightened Yang Kai even more was the fact that he was somehow holding the branch without realizing it.
In other words, he had been talking to a branch this whole time, and he seemed to have enjoyed himself a great deal doing so!
[What a powerful illusion!] Even he was unknowingly caught by its trickery.
Divine Sense sweeping around him, he perceived that the branch in his hand was just an ordinary piece of wood. Coldly snorting, he discarded it before turning his head to look at his surroundings.
He had no idea whether it was a Human that cast the illusion on him, or if it was a natural occurrence. If it were the former, then there must be a Great Expert here. If it were the latter, then Yang Kai guessed that he must have fallen into a naturally-formed Illusion Array, which would make things slightly troublesome for him. His Instantaneous Movement might not work inside of this Illusion Array.
Thoughts flashing, he immediately manipulated Space Principles and disappeared from sight.
Once he re-emerged, Yang Kai’s face turned dark.
He was still standing inside the fog. In other words, there was a high possibility that he had fallen into a naturally-formed Illusion Array, and unless he broke the array, then there was no getting out of here.
He silently observed his surroundings, but he could find no clues. Even the Demon Eye of Annihilation, which was said to be able to break through all illusions, was powerless against this.
Divine Sense moving, he pulled Pu Bai Xiong out of the Small Sealed World and asked, “Hey, do you recognize this place?”
Pu Bai Xiong was surprised. Being thrown into the Small Sealed World by Yang Kai and released again, the scenery was changing so quickly that it confused him; however, once he looked around him, he laughed, “Sir, you’re lost!”
Yang Kai’s face was dark, “This fog has an illusory effect, and it’s very strong. I was accidentally caught up in it earlier.”
Pu Bai Xiong stood on Yang Kai’s shoulder and said proudly, “Sir must not know that this is no ordinary fog. This is something created by that mushroom. Unless they are born of the same roots as a Divine Medicine, then ordinary people really won’t be able to resist its effects.”
“Mushroom?” Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
“En. This is Little Mushroom’s territory.”
Yang Kai’s heart stirred, “Is the Little Mushroom that you speak of also a Divine Medicine?”
Pu Bai Xiong answered, “Exactly!”
Yang Kai was overjoyed, “Can you tell where it is?”
He had heard from Pu Bai Xiong that there were several other Divine Medicines that had assumed human form just like him in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and Yang Kai was very interested in them. He never thought that he would suddenly enter the territory of another Divine Medicine, and from what Pu Bai Xiong said, this fog was actually a technique of that Divine Medicine!
This was a strange and unpredictable technique, and Yang Kai had no idea what that Little Mushroom that Pu Bai Xiong was talking about was to have such potent abilities.
“Nothing hard about that.” Pu Bai Xiong shook his head, “I visit her place often. Follow me, I’ll take you to see her.”
With a leap, he jumped to the ground and dashed forward. In a few steps, he had already rushed into the mist and disappeared from sight.
Looking back, he laughed, “Smelly brat, if you hadn’t ended up in here, then Uncle Pu would not have known how to deal with you! You just had to end up here obliviously, and now you’ll suffer for it!”
As a Divine Medicine that had assumed human form, it took a lot of effort for him to finally gain a sentience, so how could he be willing to be captured by Yang Kai? The way he cooperated with Yang Kai earlier was all just a ruse; he was waiting for the opportunity to free himself, which had finally come.
“I’ll go and look for Little Mushroom, then I’ll have her trap you here for the rest of your life!” Pu Bai Xiong was feeling proud of himself, “Trying to match wits with Uncle Pu? You’re too naive!”
His legs, which were formed from two roots, ran quickly, and he slipped deep into the mist in just a flash.
It did not take long before he entered a cave where Pu Bai Xiong shouted, “Little Mushroom, are you home?”
His voice echoed in the cave, but he received no answer.
Pu Bai Xiong muttered, “Has that foolish little girl fallen asleep again? Yes, she must be asleep.”
Walking inside, he soon reached the depths of the cave, and at the deepest part, he found a fifteen-centimetre-tall mushroom rooted on spirit soil. The umbrella mushroom undulated faintly, as if it were breathing slowly. Following its motions, endless spores that could not be seen by the naked eye were floating out of its top, filling the air. It was these spores that formed that psychedelic fog earlier that caught Yang Kai in an illusion when he stepped into this place. All kinds of illusions flooded his vision, stopping him from finding his way out.
There was a brilliant light above the umbrella mushroom, flowing beautifully.
Pu Bai Xiong went up to the umbrella mushroom and lifted his hand, formed out of roots, and tapped it, “Little Mushroom, wake up! There’s trouble!”
“Em?” A lazy voice sounded, followed by the opening of a pair of big eyes atop the umbrella mushroom. She seemed to be drowsy and had yet to fully wake up. Glancing at Pu Bai Xiong, she shut her eyes lazily, “Why is it you? Come to disturb my dreams again? Go away, I’m going back to sleep.”
The voice was crisp and tender, like the voice of a young girl.
Pu Bai Xiong whacked her on the head this time, which made her eyes spin, “Before you sleep, do me a favour!”
The big eyes on top of the umbrella mushroom suddenly opened again. Then, they fixed onto a place behind Pu Bai Xiong with panic as She exclaimed, “Pu Bai Xiong, why did you bring someone in here!?”
Pu Bai Xiong jumped in fright and quickly turned around to look, yet he saw nobody behind him, “Little Girl, what are you talking about? There’s nobody behind me!”
“There’s clearly someone there!” The umbrella mushroom screamed. The appearance of the fifteen-centimetre-tall mushroom distorted, and she transformed into a young girl with an umbrella mushroom hat growing atop her head. Her butt fell to the ground and she wailed, “I’m finished, this is the end for me! I’m going to be eaten!”
As she cried, the near-invisible spores gushed into the air madly. Pu Bai Xiong panicked at the sight and shouted, “Don’t cry! If you keep crying, then Uncle Pu won’t be able to stand it! Ekk!? There are so many stars!”
“You can actually see me? En, of course, since this fog is part of your ability, it’s only natural that you can perceive me inside of it.”
A voice suddenly emerged behind Pu Bai Xiong like a ghost. Pu Bai Xiong, whose eyes were filled with illusions, was stunned back into his senses. When he turned around, he saw a ripple behind him where Yang Kai’s figure was revealed.
Yang Kai removed the Shadowless Veil and stowed it away.
The moment Pu Bai Xiong was released from the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai had been on high alert. Sure enough, Pu Bai Xiong did prove himself to be untrustworthy. If Yang Kai had not been following this guy closely, then he might really have let him escape.
“Why are you here?” Pu Bai Xiong was so shocked that his face paled instantly. Then, he laughed to himself, “No, it’s not you, definitely not you! This is an illusion! Wake up, wake up, me!”
The mushroom on the other hand continued to cry, “It’s not an illusion, he’s really here!” Her tears flowed down her cheeks, forming into a dense mist before it could touch the ground.
Pu Bai Xiong turned stiffly to look at the mushroom, “It’s… not an illusion?”
Yang Kai chuckled.
*Pu tong*
Pu Bai Xiong’s roots went soft and he fell to his knees. He looked at Yang Kai with an ingratiating smile while pointing at the mushroom, “Sir, I found you a Divine Medicine! This little girl should be very tasty. You can stew soup out of her!”
“Wah!?!?” The mushroom cried even louder. While crying, she cursed, “Stinky grape! Dead grape! You actually brought someone to harm me! I should have known that you were no good! I’ll fight you!”
Saying so, she pounced on Pu Bai Xiong and threw a barrage of kicks and punches at him.
Pu Bai Xiong naturally resisted. The two Divine Medicine that had assumed human form fought irreconcilably in front of Yang Kai, and soon, they had beaten each other black and blue. Somehow, the two Divine Medicines were moving sneakily towards the entrance as they fought and were just about to pass Yang Kai.
Leaning down, Yang Kai grabbed them with one hand each.
Pu Bai Xiong sniffled and turned his head to the side, pretending that nothing had happened.
The mushroom, however, was frowning as she looked at Yang Kai with a resigned sob.
“It looks just like the real thing,” Yang Kai commented as he looked at the two Divine Medicines in his hands, clicking his tongue in amazement before suddenly shouting, “Break!”
A glow erupted from the Demon Eye of Annihilation, and his vision distorted before the two Divine Medicines in his hands suddenly transformed into two cold, hard stones.
Everything he just saw was just another illusion!
At the same time, he saw Pu Bai Xiong and the mushroom creeping outside like little thieves. At this moment, they had turned around in fear, only to see Yang Kai looking at them with a wide grin.
The mushroom cried out and fell limp on the ground.
Pu Bai Xiong, on the other hand, shouted, “Split up!”
With that, his roots turned speedily as he fled towards the outside.
“Solidify!” Yang Kai instantly froze the surrounding space, locking Pu Bai Xiong in place, unable to move. Only his eyes were still turning around.
“Astonishing!” Yang Kai walked step by step over to the two Divine Medicines with his hands folded behind his back. When he entered the fog, he had no idea what he was getting into and had unknowingly fallen for someone’s trick. Later, he found out that the fog had hallucinogenic effects, so he acted more carefully. He kept on relying on the abilities of his Soul-Warming Lotus to clear his mind. If not for that, he would not have been able to follow Pu Bai Xiong all the way here, much less break the mushroom’s illusion.
Such methods were likely difficult for one to defend against, even for the average Open Heaven Realm Master. As expected of a Divine Medicine born in the Primordial Land that had assumed human form. They were indeed extraordinary.
“Don’t commit the same mistake a third time. You’re courting death, you damn grape.” Yang Kai sneered.
He reached out and grabbed Pu Bai Xiong. Staring at the grapes on his head, Yang Kai’s eyes flickered.
Pu Bai Xiong’s face paled, “Sir, I won’t do it again!”
“I’ve heard those words before!”
Pu Bai Xiong put up his fingers and swore to the Heavens, “It’s true this time! This lowly one swears to be honest. This one swears to follow and render his service to Sir!”
“If something like this happens again…”
“You can stew me!” Pu Bai Xiong looked earnest.
Yang Kai nodded and placed him on his shoulder. Then, he turned to look at the mushroom with a pleasant face, “If you wish to turn into a pot of mushroom soup…”
The mushroom quickly said, “This one will follow and render her services to Sir!”
Yang Kai said approvingly, “A promising young woman!”
The mushroom smiled a truly ugly smile through her tears.
After a few simple questions, Yang Kai learned that the mushroom before him was a Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom that had assumed human form. The Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom had only one ability, the creation of illusions, but in this field it was unmatched. If one were to accidentally eat a piece, then one may very well fall into an illusion forever, unable to extricate themselves ever again. After assuming human form, the Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom’s ability to create illusions expanded enormously. During her drowsy moments, she released a large range of spores into the surrounding area simply by instinct.
Yang Kai leaned down to grab the mushroom, placing her on his other shoulder before walking out.
This mist was created by the spores of Little Mushroom, and it was capable of entrapping most living beings in an illusion; however, the illusions did not affect other Divine Medicines such as Pu Bai Xiong. That was how this grape was able to find the sleeping place of the mushroom so accurately. Since she was leaving this place, she naturally retracted the fog covering this area.
As they moved forward, the mist around them became thinner and thinner before turning into countless spores that poured back into the mushroom’s body.
By the time Yang Kai took the two Divine Medicines out of the area, the mist was no longer there.
Where the mist used to exist, there were actually thousands of cultivators lying asleep on the ground. It was apparent that they had accidentally entered this area and were caught in her illusion.
Now that the mist was lifted, it would not take long for them to wake up again. In a sense, it was Yang Kai who saved their lives; otherwise, they would have died in their sleep here.
With Pu Bai Xiong pointing the way, Yang Kai sped up, in search of the Innate Fruit Tree.
The Primordial Land had been open for several days, and more than 200,000 people had gathered. Despite the great opportunities to be found here, this place also came with many dangers. Just the seven-coloured tunnel alone had taken the lives of tens of thousands, most of whom were killed in sneak attacks.
The dandelions that Yang Kai encountered protecting the grape earlier, the strange swamp, and even the Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom’s mist were all deadly existences.
Everything in the world was the same. Great opportunities were always accompanied by great risks. There was no cultivator who did not have to walk through a road of thorns as they ascended the Grand Dao.
Countless had died because of the littlest distraction, and only those with Heavenly luck could make their way to the peak.
A few days later, the grape suddenly spoke once they reached a place, “Sir, not far from here is another Divine Medicine similar to Little Mushroom and I. Does Sir want to procure it?”
After being captured by Yang Kai, he had tried several times to escape, but still failed to do so. Now, Pu Bai Xiong had given up, but this guy was still bad-natured and could not stand to see others living good lives while he had to suffer such a misfortune. Naturally, he wanted Yang Kai to take away the rest of the Divine Medicines to share in his misery.
Little Mushroom’s neck shrank back as she muttered, “That guy is tricky to deal with. I think you should just forget it.”
Grape glared at her, “Our Master is so powerful that even you couldn’t catch him in your illusions. Even though that bamboo is a tricky one, how could he defeat our Sir?”
“Bamboo?” Yang Kai raised a brow, “What kind of Divine Medicine is this bamboo?”
Grape explained, “Sir has no idea, that guy is no ordinary bamboo. He has a very fragrant taste. If you stew him into soup, it will surely help Sir become stronger!”
Yang Kai was noncommittal in his response, “Since it’s nearby, let’s go take a look.”
“This way, Sir! Let me show you the way!” Pu Bai Xiong was very attentive. He had probably suffered a big loss from that bamboo before this and hoped to take revenge through Yang Kai’s hand.
Though he knew this, Yang Kai did not point it out. Whether or not that bamboo was a Divine Medicine, since it could assume human form, then it must be an extraordinary thing, so there should be no fault in him taking it away.
Half a day later, a purple bamboo grove appeared before them.
Pu Bai Xiong climbed onto Yang Kai’s shoulder and shrank his head wretchedly as he stared warily at the bamboo grove, whispering, “Sir, this is that guy’s lair. Sir has to be careful since these bamboo are all that guy’s disciples. They’re not easy to mess with.”
Yang Kai nodded in response and stepped forward. Soon, they were in the bamboo grove.
All around them, the purple bamboo moved by themselves despite there being no wind. Suddenly, one of the poles of bamboo attacked him with thunderous momentum.
Yang Kai exclaimed in surprise and raised his hand to block it, only to feel the force of ten thousand kilograms on his arm, which caught him by surprise.
*Chi chi chi…*
One by one, the purple bamboo danced, as if they were alive, raining down on Yang Kai like a torrent.
Yang Kai let out a soft grunt and the Golden Crow’s True Fire blasted out. At once, the purple bamboo fled as if the flames were poisonous snakes or scorpions, not daring to come any closer.
“I’m going to be roasted!” Little Mushroom wailed and teared up on Yang Kai’s other shoulder.
Pu Bai Xiong shouted, “Sir will protect you and me, what are you worried about!?”
Little Mushroom reached out to touch her body and noticed that she was fine. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
The flames rolled out, leaving no more obstacles blocking their way. Very soon, Yang Kai arrived at the centre of the bamboo forest, but he did not see the bamboo that Pu Bai Xiong mentioned; instead, there were traces of a battle that seemed to have taken place here.
From the traces that were left, the fight happened suddenly, but ended just as quickly. One party must have been easily subdued.
“Someone took that bamboo away from here before me,” Yang Kai pondered for a moment. Even though the bamboo had assumed human form, it must not have much combat power, just like Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom. It was only natural for it to be subdued by another cultivator.
Pu Bai Xiong felt that it was a pity, “If I had known this would happen, we should have rushed here early on.”
Even though Yang Kai also thought the loss was a pity, he did not mind too much. He had already obtained two Divine Medicines, so his trip to the Primordial Land had been worthwhile. Of course, without the Innate Spirit Fruit, which was his most important goal here, it was unlikely for him to leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary safely.
Yue He and the others were still in Zhu Jiu Yin’s hands, so he had to get the Innate Spirit Fruit to exchange for their safety.
After leaving the purple bamboo grove, they did not have to walk for long before they suddenly encountered a group of cultivators. The group of cultivators looked dirty. Some were even injured, and their clothes were covered in mottled blood stains.
They were surprised to see Yang Kai, but after realizing who it was, the cultivator at the lead exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “Foreign Elder Yang?”
Yang Kai did not pay them much attention in the beginning, but when he heard his name and title being called, he looked over and scanned the group, “You’re from Scarlet Star?”
Only Scarlet Star’s disciples would refer to him in such a way; after all, he was technically Scarlet Star’s Foreign Elder, and it was through that very title that he managed to rake in a great mass of wealth from Scarlet Star.
“Scarlet Star’s Deng Qi greets Foreign Elder Yang!” The cultivator standing at the head of the group hurriedly came forward to salute Yang Kai. The rest of his group also saluted Yang Kai in a hurry before looking at him with fear and awe.
Then, they were surprised to find Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom sitting on Yang Kai’s shoulders.
Yang Kai nodded in response to their greetings, “What happened to you?”
Deng Qi answered embarrassedly, “We brothers were ordered by the Managers to come into this place to look for treasures. We found something over there, but unfortunately, we were driven away before we could explore deeper…”
Yang Kai frowned, “Do you know who they are?”
Sweat rolled down Deng Qi’s face, “We do not know. We’ve never seen them before.”
“Were they a large group?”
Deng Qi looked even more ashamed as he responded, “It was just one person.”
Yang Kai raised his brow. To be able to drive Deng Qi’s group out alone must mean that this person was quite strong. It had to be known that Deng Qi’s group consisted of more than a hundred people, and Deng Qi himself was a Junior Commander in Scarlet Star.
[Could it be Lin Feng or Xu Zhen? These Cave-Heaven and Paradise elite disciples should be able to achieve that.]
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Since you were lucky enough to survive, then you should cherish the opportunity. This Primordial Land is full of dangers, so be careful.”
Seeing that Yang Kai had no intention of standing up for them, Deng Qi could not help but feel a little disappointed; however, as a Great Commander of Scarlet Star, he also knew of the goodwill and enmity between Yang Kai and Scarlet Star, so he did not dare to harbour any resentment towards him.
Seeing that Yang Kai was about to leave, Deng Qi stopped him, “Foreign Elder Yang, please wait!”
Yang Kai stopped and looked at him, “What is it?”
Deng Qi cupped his fists, “This one wishes to let Sir know that the place my brothers and I found earlier seems to have Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water.”
“Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Are you sure?”
Deng Qi explained, “It was too far away so I wasn’t able to see it clearly, but there’s a high possibility that it is Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water.”
Yang Kai hastily asked for directions, and naturally, Deng Qi held nothing back. He pointed the way to him, and Yang Kai sped off.
If it was just a common treasure, then Yang Kai may not put it in his eyes. He had amassed a great fortune over the years in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so his vision was extraordinarily high. He had also harvested two Divine Medicines since coming into the Primordial Land, so why should he care about common treasures?
However, Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was different. This was a very rare and precious thing.
Meng Hong was able to rebuild his foundation by relying on this Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water to wash away the Yin, Yang and Five Elements Powers from his Dao Seal. It could be said that the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was the capital for a cultivator to start this process all over from the beginning.
If any cultivator like Meng Hong wished to re-establish their foundation, then the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was required.
Meng Hong’s opportunity also came as a coincidence. The value of one portion of Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was no less than a piece of Sixth-Order material.
Even though such things were useless to Yang Kai, he may have friends that would need such a thing in the future. Even if it was not needed, he could keep it to trade with other cultivators. Since he was lucky enough to encounter it, why let the opportunity go?
As quick as lightning, Yang Kai arrived at the place Deng Qi had pointed out.
Looking around, Yang Kai was slightly stunned. Many people had gathered around the scene, and there was a fight going on. It was a chaotic mess.
It had been less than an hour since he bumped into Deng Qi, and based on what Deng Qi said, he had been chased away by a single person.
In other words, these people also arrived here within the past hour, probably attracted by the energy fluctuations from the previous battle.
However, even though their numbers were high, Yang Kai was not too bothered about it.
Everyone’s attention was being drawn to a white jade trough in which clear water was flowing quietly. Yang Kai’s spirits were lifted as he confirmed it really was the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water.
He had seen it in Meng Hong’s hand before, so he would not be mistaken when he saw it again.
The value of Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was immense, so it was no wonder so many people had been attracted to fight for it here. It was hard to see how many groups were in battle in this chaos and from time to time, Yang Kai even saw cultivators being killed and falling to the ground.
There were also many spectators standing on the sidelines. Though they tried to remain calm, they could not hide the greed in their eyes.
Yang Kai’s arrival did not attract much attention, but the two Divine Medicines resting on his shoulders attracted some covetous glances.
Little Mushroom trembled in fear and shrank under her umbrella top, not daring to face anyone. On the other hand, Pu Bai Xiong suddenly came close to Yang Kai’s ear and said, “Sir, it’s that bamboo!”
Surprised, Yang Kai looked over and sure enough, a cultivator that was holding a purple bamboo was looking in his direction. That purple bamboo was about one meter long and its body was a bright and elegant purple. This was obviously an extraordinary treasure.
[Is this the bamboo that Pu Bai Xiong mentioned?] Pu Bai Xiong had brought him to the purple bamboo grove in order to harvest another Divine Medicine, but Yang Kai never expected that someone would have taken it before him. So, he did not expect to bump into it here.
The one in possession of the purple bamboo was a black-robed youth who did not look very old and he had a cold demeanour.
He was currently looking in Yang Kai’s direction, and he eyed both Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom for a while before nodding at Yang Kai.
With a thought coming to mind, Yang Kai leaned towards the black-robed youth’s direction. The black-robed youth frowned and clearly seemed afraid of him, but he stood firm in place and did not move.
A few moments later, Yang Kai stood still. Before he could speak, he saw Pu Bai Xiong jump down and stand akimbo, shouting, “Stinky Bamboo, so you also have this luck? You’ve been plucked, huh? Hahahaha!”
Eyes grew out of the purple bamboo in the youth’s hands that looked down at Pu Bai Xiong and sneered, “I was wondering who it was. So it’s you, you dead grape. Are you looking for a fight?”
Pu Bai Xiong fumed, “Little brat, you don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth! Grandpa Pu was always going easy on you in the past, and now you really think I’m afraid of you?!”
The purple bamboo shook violently and broke free from the youth’s hands. As it landed on the ground, it turned into a bamboo monster with a long and slender body, two feet and two hands, and two bamboo branches growing on either side of its head that even had a few leaves sprouting out of it. Plucking a bamboo branch, it whipped it towards Pu Bai Xiong, “You dare take advantage of me? I’m going to smash your grapes today!”
Unwilling to show weakness, Pu Bai Xiong’s roots moved like long whips, fighting up a storm with that bamboo.
Suddenly, there was a yelp, and a large bulge formed on Pu Bai Xiong’s head. Being whipped hard by the bamboo, he was in so much pain that tears ran straight down his face; however, the purple bamboo did not stop there. Pulling off another branch from the side of its head, he brandished the two branches like two swords, forcing Pu Bai Xiong back. He lost so miserably that even a few of his roots were chopped off.
After eating a loss from the purple bamboo, the grape wailed. Seeing this, Little Mushroom tried to intervene, but was also smacked by the bamboo and rolled back many times from the impact, causing her invisible spores to fly out. The cultivators around the area all fell into a daze as an illusion formed before their eyes.
Little Mushroom pouted, “Smelly bamboo, how dare you hit me! I’ll fight you!”
Lowering her head, she charged at him, but was beaten back by her opponent and landed on her butt. Tears flowing, she wailed miserably.
The grape was furious, “You dare bully Little Mushroom? I’ll fight you too!”
Root tendrils danced and flew as if he had grown countless arms, wrestling with the bamboo as if he really meant to fight him to the death.
The black-robed youth’s figure swayed and his eyes seemed slightly confused before he shook his head and muttered, “An illusion?”
Reaching out, he brought the bamboo back into his hands. An elegant purple light dispersed from the purple bamboo that enveloped the youth, forming a shapeless barrier that allowed the black-robed youth to regain his senses.
Looking over, all of the cultivators around them had become confused. It was clear that they had no idea they had fallen into an illusion. Some cultivators were laughing, while some were flying around. Seeing this gave him goosebumps.
The bamboo spoke up, “Don’t be afraid, boy. With this Lord Bamboo here, Little Mushroom’s illusions can’t do anything to you!”
The black-robed youth nodded.
Yang Kai had also caught Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom again, placing them back onto his left and right shoulders. Looking at the youth with interest, he asked, “How should I address you?”
The youth was taken aback for a moment before cupping his fists, “Xiang Ying greets Senior Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai raised a brow, “You know me?”
Xiang Ying answered, “Senior Brother Yang’s name is famous, resounding like thunder in one’s ears.”
“Infamous, you mean?” Yang Kai smirked.
Xiang Ying frowned. He did not understand what Yang Kai was trying to get at. Indeed, it was true that he had heard about Yang Kai’s vicious reputation, wiping out thousands in the fight with Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion, tens of thousands even at Sword Pavilion’s Star City. He was nicknamed the Killing Star that had descended upon this world, but now that Xiang Ying had seen him in person, he realized that there was some difference between the real him and the rumours.
However, he was not familiar with Yang Kai and did not dare to jump to conclusions, so he still put up his guard in front of Yang Kai.
“I am hoping to get the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water. What do you say about that, Brother Xiang?” Yang Kai cocked his head to the side as he looked at him.
Even though there were many people here already, they were all caught in an illusion and stuck in a confused state, so they were nothing to be worried about. The only ones with a clear head now were Yang Kai and Xiang Ying.
Xiang Ying said indifferently, “Each according to his own means!”
Obviously, he was unwilling to back down as the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was also a very attractive treasure in his eyes.
Yang Kai nodded. Staring at the purple bamboo in his hands, he changed the subject, “Brother Xiang’s bamboo is extraordinary. Would you be willing to part with it?”
Before Xiang Ying could even answer, the bamboo burst out in fury, “Don’t try and have any funny thoughts with this Lord Bamboo! Birds of a feather flock together. If you’re with that dead grape, then you must be a no-do-gooder as well!”
Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment before laughing, “I guess we don’t share any fate then.”
He was just asking a casual question, and since the bamboo was unwilling, Yang Kai did not want to force him either. If he really wanted to snatch him away, then this Xiang Ying was most likely not his opponent.
Tossing the matter to the back of his mind, Yang Kai walked forward.
The grape said nervously, “Be careful, Sir! There are strange things about this place…”
Yang Kai smiled, “It is naturally impossible to move without caution in a place where such a treasure has formed. Even if the path is laced with all kinds of dangers though, I just have to break through them!”
At the end of the sentence, both he and Xiang Ying leapt forward.
The moment their bodies moved, both parties thrust their palms out at each other, resulting in a loud boom. Yang Kai’s body shook and he made a surprised hum. Though Xiang Ying was forced back three steps, he was not sent flying.
“Impressive!” Yang Kai praised.
Even though their contact was brief, Yang Kai could still see that this Xiang Ying was quite extraordinary. The Element Powers lingering around his palm during their exchange were all Sixth-Order.
In other words, what Xiang Ying refined were all Sixth-Order Open Heaven materials!
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to take a palm from him!
Yang Kai raised a brow, “Is Brother Xiang a senior disciple of a Cave-Heaven or Paradise?” As far as he knew, only those guys from the Cave-Heavens or Paradises had the ability to refine materials of the Sixth Order.
Xiang Ying stabilized himself and suppressed the tumbling vitality in his heart, praising in admiration, “Truly, seeing something once is better than hearing of them a hundred times. Senior Brother Yang is as amazing as they say. Junior Brother comes from a humble background. Not from any Cave-Heaven nor Paradise!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “I see!”
This Xiang Ying was clearly also a Bearer. Only by the might of a Divine Spirit could such an outstanding Bearer be nurtured. Only, Yang Kai had no idea which Divine Spirit Xiang Ying was the Bearer of.
He had heard Zhu Jiu Yin say that many Divine Spirits had been raising their own Bearers in secret, making them cultivate hard over the years to enhance their strength just so they could fight for the opportunity for their sakes in the Primordial Land. So far, Yang Kai knew only of Xu Zhen and his group. He never expected to bump into another one here.
It was no wonder he was able to collect that purple bamboo. Since Xiang Ying was the Bearer of a Divine Spirit, he naturally had that ability.
While talking, Yang Kai kept his pace and was soon approaching the white jade trough.
Xiang Ying’s face changed slightly when he saw this. Suddenly, a layer of blood mist erupted around his body. It was apparent that he had performed some sort of Secret Technique. His speed increased greatly, and he also lunged for the white jade trough.
They were the only two fighting for the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water now. Whoever reached the trough first would get the first chance at it, so he naturally did not want to fall behind.
But soon, Xiang Ying revealed a stunned expression. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get even a little closer to the white jade trough after approaching a certain distance.
Looking next to him, Yang Kai was also showing a stunned expression.
The white jade trough was not that far from their location, only three hundred metres or so. With their abilities, this distance was almost non-existent. They could easily reach it in just one step.
But strangely enough, they could not advance a single hair closer to the white jade trough no matter how they ran. The stone trough remained at the same distance all this while.
Xiang Ying’s face had turned grave, and a layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead. This was a strange situation that he had never encountered before.
Again, he tried dashing forward when all of a sudden, more people appeared around him inexplicably. These people were nowhere to be seen before, but they had appeared just like ghosts. Each one of them were desperately rushing towards the white jade trough, but unfortunately, they were all powerless to do so.
Yang Kai and Xiang Ying were both shocked. What was going on with these people and where did they come from? These people were definitely not the ones who were caught in the illusion earlier, because those people were still in a confused state of mind behind them.
“And here we have two more!” An old man guffawed.
“We’re finished! We’re not getting out of here today! I was wondering how there could possibly be no danger around such a precious treasure, but it turns out the danger was hidden under our noses this whole time, impossible to discover without landing oneself into it.” Another middle-aged man stuck in the same place shook his head and sighed with a defeated look on his face.
“What kind of damned place is this? I want to get out of here!” There were even people running in the opposite direction, but they were unable to escape. There seemed to be an invisible cage surrounding the white jade trough, trapping everyone in it in a thousand-metre radius, keeping them from moving even a step no matter which direction they ran.
Yang Kai stopped and looked around for a while before asking, “Little Mushroom, is this an illusion?”
Little Mushroom’s head shook like a rattle drum, “I don’t feel anything.”
The Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom itself had unparalleled illusory abilities, so if she said so, then it must be true that this was no illusion. What was more, Yang Kai himself did not detect any traces of an illusion. If it were an illusion, then his Soul Warming Lotus would at least warn him of its presence.
“Not an illusion… then…” Yang Kai frowned. Turning to a person a short distance away from him, he asked, “Old Sir, how long have you been here?”
This was the same old man that first spoke. He smiled and sighed, “Haiz… I’ve been stuck here for three days. This Old Master was the first to come in, and these guys fell into the same trap one after another during the past couple days.”
Yang Kai was speechless. There were at least a hundred cultivators stuck in this place. In other words, these hundreds of people had discovered the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water during the past three days and were eager to bring it into their possession. As a result, they fell into such a trap, unable to extricate themselves. He and Xiang Ying were the latest ones to enter, and the reason they did not notice these people before was most likely that they had not entered the invisible trap completely.
Only once they stepped into this place would they see the others here.
“Old Sir, have you been able to find any clues as to what is happening?” Yang Kai asked again.
The old man sighed, “If this Old Master did find anything, then how could he still be trapped here?” He shouted towards the sky, “None of you are getting out of here, none of you! This Old Master has been running at full speed here for three days and hasn’t been able to move a single step! How much longer will you run?”
Upon hearing this, everyone gradually stopped.
Someone spoke up, “What is going on with this place? It feels like we’re moving forward, but why are we still stuck where we are?”
Nobody could understand it, which was why this situation felt so strange.
“There might be a Natural Spirit Array here, an Illusion Array, or even a Bewildering Array. Without breaking the Array, we will be trapped here forever!”
“How are we supposed to break it? Is there anyone proficient in Spirit Arrays among you?”
“This Little Brother knows a thing or two. Only, I can’t make heads or tails of this array. Maybe I’m not proficient enough yet.”
“Then what should we do? We’re not just going to wait and die here, are we?”
The group of people exchanged opinions noisily, discussing with great liveliness.
The old man tried his best to calm everyone down, and it was only with great difficulty that he managed to silence everyone again. He then said aloud, “Since there is no one here that can crack this Array, then this Old Master thinks that we should break it with force. If we act together and unleash our full strengths, then this Old Master does not believe that this damn Array will be able to hold on!”
“Old Sir has a point!” Someone agreed, “With so many of us working together, we will surely be able to break the Array if there truly is one.”
“Once the array is broken, then everyone will get a share of Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water. Let’s share it equally!” Someone shouted.
However, no one paid him any attention, leaving him to make a fool of himself.
Since the old man was the one to propose the joint effort to break the array by force, he was naturally the one who managed the operation. Everyone was stuck running in the same place and were unable to get closer to each other, much less move forward or backwards. Even though there were many people here, they had no way of setting up a Formation to combine their strength. So, they had no choice but to attack separately.
After the discussion was over, the old man was just about to give the order when he saw Yang Kai’s expression change, “Friend, have you made any discoveries?”
With gleaming eyes, Yang Kai nodded, “I see something, but I don’t quite understand what it is yet. I’ll need more time.”
The old man’s eyes lit up, “Since you have found something, why don’t you tell everyone and we can discuss it together?”
“That’s right! Two are stronger than one. If this friend can tell us what you’ve discovered, then we can work out this discovery together,” some echoed in agreement.
Yang Kai sneered, “If this King made a discovery, then it’s this King’s ability. Why should I tell you?”
The man’s expression sank as he rebuked, “This Junior is so rude.”
The old man beside him also shook his head, “Friend’s words are improper. We are trapped in this place, and we must work together to get out of this trap, so you should not hide any information from us at such a time.”
Yang Kai answered indifferently, “It’s not that this King is unwilling to speak, but rather that you would not understand it even if this King were to tell you.”
The old man shook his head and sighed, “Valuing one’s own old broomstick will only end up harming oneself and everyone around them.”
“What fart is this brat talking about? Once we get out of here, you better not run! I want to have a good talk with you!”
Yang Kai ignored these people and shut his eyes. Releasing his Divine Sense, he silently sensed the trace he found.
Seeing him like this, the old man no longer forced him to speak. Coordinating with the crowd, the Secret Techniques and Artifacts burst out at once when the word came down which caused the energy around the area to fluctuate violently, forming ripple after ripple that expanded outward.
Everyone watched with bated breath until their Divine Abilities dissipated, but they did not see any change in their surroundings.
The old man’s face sank as he bellowed, “Again!”
Another round of Divine Abilities were released.
The rumbling sounds were incessant, and the scene of hundreds of cultivators releasing their Divine Abilities at once was spectacular. In order to get out of the trap, no one held back. Each strike could be said to have been dealt at full strength.
The space shook and the world felt like it was being turned upside down. The aftershocks of their attacks spread out as round after round of light erupted endlessly.
An hour, two hours, six…
The hundreds of cultivators were so tired that they were almost spitting blood by now. Each one of them was pale-faced and their auras had become unsteady. They were all in the Emperor Realm, and though they gained many opportunities here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and gathered numerous Element Powers, it was still difficult for them to keep attacking at full power for such an extended amount of time.
Despite how long they kept up their barrage, their hard work resulted in absolutely no changes at all, which left many of the cultivators discouraged.
The old man was constantly trying to boost morale, but there was nothing he could do. He had no choice but to let them rest for now in order to restore their strength.
Turning his head around, he saw that only Yang Kai remained standing in place, not moving, and he could not help but feel a little annoyed. They were all working hard and joining forces so that they could break out of this trap and get away from here, but this young man was just standing there, aloof. He was seemingly trying to work out some profound mystery, but who knows whether he was just trying to save his energy and waiting for the right moment to jump out and pick the peach.
Hundreds suddenly poured in at once during this moment and landed in the invisible cage. It was those cultivators who were caught by the illusion earlier and had finally recovered. They were all trying to get the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water, but ended up meeting with their predecessors along the way.
These newcomers rushed forward desperately just like the cultivators before them, but they could only run in place and were unable to get any closer to the white jade trough.
The cultivators all looked at these latecomers with pity, as if they had long known about this tragedy.
“Now that more friends have landed in this place, our strength has increased greatly. This time, we’ll definitely be able to break out!” The old man’s spirit was reinvigorated, “Everyone hurry up and adjust your breathing! We will strike together in an hour!”
All the cultivators roared in approval.
After an hour, the nearly one thousand people executed their Divine Ability and Secret Techniques under the old man’s order, and their force was indeed more than twice as strong as before.
After a few more hours though, nearly a thousand people stood pale, panting, and defeated.
Despite so many of them working together, they still could not shake the invisible cage in the slightest. Everyone’s hearts sank to the abyss. They had no idea what else to do in this situation.
“There is no unbreakable array in this world. This Old Master does not believe it! Everyone, rest and we will try again later!” Even though the old man’s strength was greatly depleted, he was still full of vigour.
It was a pity that the morale that was aroused by the first roll of the drums, was depleted by the second and exhausted by the third. Many people were now pessimistic and no longer as enthusiastic as before.
By the time they made their third attempt, many were barely even trying. Even though the old man was annoyed, there was nothing he could do about this.
Suddenly, Yang Kai, who had been trying to work out the mystery around him, suddenly laughed. Opening his glowing eyes, he stared at the Void ahead of him and exclaimed, “Wonderful! So that is how it is!”
Saying so, he suddenly took a step forward.
As soon as he took a step out, everyone widened their eyes and looked at him in shock.
That was because he really did manage to take a step forward. Before this, all of the cultivators who were stuck here seemed to just be running in place no matter how or where they tried to run.
“Friend… Friend?” The old man looked nervously at Yang Kai, “How did you do it?”
Even though Yang Kai had a smile on his face, his eyes looked serious, “Folding space, expanding space. Everyone looks just a thousand metres away, but no matter how one tries to advance, the space under one’s feet expands infinitely to compensate, giving one the illusion of stepping in place. So the Grand Dao of Space can be used in such a way… Such profundity!”
As he spoke, Yang Kai took another step forward. At the same time, the Dao Seal inside his body suddenly hardened.
His Dao Seal was formed around the Grand Dao of Space. Now that he had fallen into this predicament, Yang Kai had gained some enlightenment after a long time, which helped his Dao Seal become even stronger.
It had to be known that his Dao Seal had already been hardened by the Divine Dao Water, so refining it further was going to be a very difficult task. It could be seen how great his harvest this time was.
“Folding space, expanding space?” The old man and the other cultivators listened in confusion; however, Xiang Ying also frowned thoughtfully.
“You won’t understand even if I tell you, so just stand here and wait. Once this King retrieves the Divine Water, you will be freed!” Yang Kai did not bother to explain further. This was something concerning Space Principles and the Grand Dao of Space, so no matter how much he tried to talk to someone who did not cultivate it, they would not understand.
Step by step, Yang Kai slowly walked forward, but he was still moving closer to the white jade trough.
After Yang Kai took ten steps, Xiang Ying suddenly waved his purple bamboo in the direction that Yang Kai had stepped out in, and a purple glow emerged from it. Even though Xiang Ying was not moving, strangely enough, his body had moved a metre forward.
Yang Kai noticed his movements and turned around just in time to see it happen. Stunned, he wondered whether Xiang Yin had also cultivated the Dao of Space.
Xiang Ying looked up at him and gently nodded, “Many thanks to Senior Brother Yang for the explanation!”
The purple bamboo in his hands moved forward again and a purple light rippled out, causing his body to move forward once more.
Xiang Ying did not cultivate the Dao of Space, and Yang Kai knew it because he did not feel any fluctuation of Space Principles coming from the former’s body. So, he was doing this solely relying on the power of the purple bamboo!
The purple bamboo felt like it had the ability to nullify all things. Strictly speaking, the strangeness of this place could also be called a type of Divine Ability, but it was a natural phenomenon. Under the effects of the purple bamboo, it would naturally not affect Xiang Ying.
[So this purple bamboo is actually that strong?] Yang Kai looked over his shoulders at the grape and Little Mushroom, instantly getting the feeling that these two guys were extremely weak.
In front of the eyes of almost a thousand people, Yang Kai went forward step by step as Xiang Ying drifted forward like a ghost. Neither was faster or slower than the other, and they were constantly approaching the white jade trough.
Even though Yang Kai was a few steps ahead, Xiang Ying soon caught up with him.
In less than half a cup of tea’s time, the two were only several tens of metres away from the white jade trough.
Xiang Ying suddenly raised his hand and tapped Yang Kai with the purple bamboo, “Please excuse me, Senior Brother Yang!”
After being tapped by the purple bamboo, Yang Kai tried to take another step, but he was unable to move. He was stuck in place.
In that instant, Xiang Ying had pounced onto the white jade trough and summoned a jade bottle, snatching up the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water from within it.
Yang Kai laughed, “If you had not made a move on me, then I would still remain hesitant. Since you are unkind, then do not blame me for being unrighteous.”
Space Principles erupting, he shouted, “Return!”
Xiang Ying was about to bottle up the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water in the stone trough when a light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he bottled up nothing. By the time he came back to his senses, he found that he had been sent back to the original spot, which was a whole thousand metres away from the stone trough!
Xiang Ying’s face instantly became as black as the bottom of a pot.
Even though the purple bamboo in his hands had the ability to nullify this Divine Ability, allowing him to approach the stone trough little by little, how could it compare to Yang Kai’s understanding the essence of this Divine Ability and borrowing its power for his own use?
One broke, while the other comprehended, the difference was obvious!
Yang Kai stood alone by the white jade trough, looking down at the Divine Water within, grinning.
Without needing any container, his Divine Sense moved, opening up the Small Sealed World, where he sent the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water in the white jade trough into, storing it carefully.
There was quite a lot of Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water in the trough, at least a hundred portions.
In just a few moments, Yang Kai had collected all of the Divine Water.
The surrounding group was envious and annoyed at Yang Kai’s actions. He did not even leave them with a single sip.
The moment Yang Kai collected all of the Tai Yi soul Cleansing Water, the white jade trough in front of him suddenly distorted and gradually grew transparent. Soon, it disappeared.
The Tai Yi soul Cleansing Water was a treasure which seemed to appear only at certain times. This white jade stone trough seemed solid, but it was in fact just the manifestation of the world’s Grand Dao. As soon as the Divine Water was gone, its vessel also disappeared with it.
At the same time, the invisible force which had been binding the cultivators all this while disappeared completely.
The moment they were freed, dozens of people rose into the air and lunged straight towards Yang Kai, roaring, “Junior, leave the Divine Water behind!”
Since ancient times, man has been easily swayed by money and treasure. If it were just an ordinary treasure, then it may not be so, but this Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water was extremely precious. The Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary itself was a giant natural treasure trove where nobody had set foot in for a thousand years, but nobody had heard of any Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water emerging during these recent years.
It was only in the Primordial Land that they would have the opportunity to find it, so it was not surprising that so many people were fighting for it.
Not to mention, Yang Kai had Divine Medicines that had assumed human form on each of his shoulders.
Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom had long since caught the eyes of the crowd, but those people were trapped previously and did not have the mind to think about it. Now that they were freed, greed immediately surfaced.
Two Divine Medicines that had assumed human form and a pool of Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water. That was enough for anyone to lay their lives on the line!
Dozens of people made the first strike, each of them bearing an aggressive and unforgiving attitude. They clearly had the intention of killing Yang Kai and robbing his treasures.
The rest were slower to react, but they also followed suit, each one shouting at the top of their lungs.
Yang Kai stood in place, looking around him with cold eyes. He remained aloof even when he was being pounced on by dozens of cultivators and snorted indifferently, “If not for this King, you would still be trapped in that invisible cage. This King freed you, and I would not blame you if you had not thanked me, but now you’re even repaying kindness with enmity? Your lack of moral conscience disappoints this King greatly.”
A man laughed, “Little Brother is right, so hurry up and come with me! Don’t pay attention to these ungrateful people.”
He was the first to arrive in front of Yang Kai and try to grab him. Several Element Powers gathered in his palm, mutually reinforcing one another as they flew straight towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not even spare this man a glance though and simply lifted his finger to tap on his forehead.
An arrow of blood shot out from the back of the man’s head. He stood there with his hand outstretched, but he could not move, as if his body had been fixed in place.
Dozens of Divine Abilities rained down in the next moment. Yang Kai’s body shifted, and one by one, Dragon Shields surrounded him in mid-air. In the next instant, the sky was covered with light.
There was a rumble, and someone shouted, “Not so rough! Don’t ruin those two Divine Medicines!”
However, the shout obviously came a little late. When he saw Yang Kai’s figure disappear under the many Divine Abilities, the man’s face twitched. The two Divine Medicines could not have been saved under such a chaotic barrage. They had probably already been turned into dust.
As the Divine Abilities dissipated, a figure reappeared, which immediately changed the expressions of everyone present. They were all shocked that Yang Kai stood unharmed, without even a wrinkle on his clothes.
On the contrary, the first several dozen cultivators who jumped over were suddenly fixed in place. Following a puncturing sound, blood arrows shot out from the backs of these people’s heads before they fell face-first to the ground, the vitality draining from their bodies in an instant.
Each one of these cultivators had a bloody hole on their foreheads that went straight through their skulls, obliterating their Souls. Their eyes were still filled with shock and horror as if they had seen a terrifying sight before their deaths.
There were gasps, and the figures rushing in Yang Kai’s direction stalled in place, looking ahead with trembling eyes.
During that moment of chaos, nobody saw how Yang Kai had actually attacked. They only saw these dozens of people take the lead to attack, but all end up dead!
Pu Bai Xiong was shaking on Yang Kai’s shoulder, his face pale. Earlier, he thought he was dead when he saw Yang Kai being surrounded. Who knew that the several dozen people who attacked would all now be dead after just a single exchange? He sighed in his heart as he muttered, “This brat is actually this strong?”
He was a Divine Medicine that had assumed human form, so he did not know too much about the typical strength of Human cultivators; however, if Yang Kai could instantly kill more than a dozen people alone, then he was obviously strong.
Fresh blood spilled out, filling the world with the stench of iron as hearts pounded loudly.
Dozens of people lay dead on the ground, which left the remaining ones shocked and even disbelieving. The atmosphere felt extremely heavy for a while. Even though there were many people here, they were all loose sand. They had only united earlier to break out of the trap. Now, each of them naturally had their own thoughts about snatching Yang Kai’s treasures away, so it was difficult for them to work together with one mind.
Among the crowd, someone scrutinized Yang Kai’s face for a moment before his eyes suddenly bulged and he began shaking violently.
[It’s him! Scarlet Star’s Killing Star!]
Even though Yang Kai showed off his great power at Scarlet Star’s Star City and allowed many people to see his face at that time, he rarely appeared before others in recent years, so the ones who knew him were actually not many. Only those cultivators who had been there in Scarlet Star’s City from the beginning had seen his face before. The ones who came later only heard his name, but knew not his appearance.
However, that did not mean that nobody could recognize him.
There were more than a thousand people present, so inevitably one or two had been in the presence of Yang Kai’s fierce and noble bearing before. Previously, they did not care much while they were trapped in that invisible cage, but now that he looked carefully, they recognized Yang Kai.
At once, a few faces paled and they turned around in an attempt to run.
As early as a few years ago, Yang Kai had single-handedly killed off thousands of Thunder Light and Sword Pavilion members. After that, he massacred the entire Star City belonging to Sword Pavilion. What could they do to him here with just a thousand people?
If they really were to fight, it was still not known how many would actually survive. This was a great risk to undertake. Divine Medicines with human forms and the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water were certainly valuable, but what could be more important than one’s own life?
*Shua shua shua…*
Almost a hundred people swiftly left. It was not that they all knew Yang Kai, but they had each formed teams to search for treasure in this Primordial Land. As long as one person recognized Yang Kai, they would naturally call on their companions to hurry away from this place; otherwise, they would be in trouble.
The ones remaining had no idea why these guys would leave in such a hurry and just thought that they had been scared off by Yang Kai’s bizarre methods.
The old man who called on the rest of the cultivators to break the array earlier called out, “Don’t be afraid, he’s only one person! There are so many of us! We can easily drown him with our spit if each of us spits just one mouthful!”
Someone echoed his sentiments and nodded, “That’s right! This boy is alone, so there is nothing to fear! Who cares if those cowardly rats are gone? We just have fewer opponents to deal with now!”
With a compassionate face, the old man stroked his long beard, “Little Brother, the Heavens care for all living beings. If you are willing to leave the two Divine Medicines and the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water behind, then this Old Master and everyone else will also be unwilling to kill you ruthlessly. This Old Master can guarantee that we will allow you to leave in one piece. Are you willing?”
Yang Kai glanced at him, “There are so many of you, but I only have two Divine Medicines. What’s more, the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water is also not enough for all of you to share. What should I do? Why don’t you fight each other first, then when only two of you are left, you can come and share this King’s treasure. That way, there will be no problems.”
The old man smiled, “Things have already come to this point, so why is Little Brother still trying to sow discord?”
Someone shouted, “Leave your Space Ring too! This brat must have other good things with him.”
“Exactly! That way, we won’t have to worry about there not being enough to divide between us!”
Yang Kai said casually, “Indeed, there are many good things in my ring.” Saying so, he took out an object.
“Sixth-Order material!” Some people gasped.
“A Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone! If one were to refine this, then they would be able to cultivate the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light!”
Before this man finished speaking, Yang Kai took out another Sixth-Order material, fiddling with his hands.
Then came another shout, “Another Sixth-Order material! That must be a Blood Flame Jade. If refined, then one could cultivate the Soul Burning Blood Flame!”
“Another Sixth-Order…”
…..
There were constant gasps. One after another, Sixth-Order treasures appeared in Yang Kai’s hands. The crowd’s expression changed from their initial surprise to shock, then to endless greed.
In a short period of time, Yang Kai had brought out more than twenty kinds of Sixth-Order materials, and none of them were duplicates. Each one was different from the other!
A huge question came to everyone’s mind. Where did this brat get so many treasures from? It had to be known that they had all been in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary for ten years now. Even though they had gotten some good things themselves, most had never come across Sixth-Order materials before! Yet this young man was able to amass more than 20 different treasures of that Order, and those were merely the ones he had taken out to show them. How many more were left inside his ring?
This brat was simply a moving treasure vault!
A loud laugh erupted as a man looked at him with glowing eyes, nodding, “Little Brother does in fact have many good things. It is definitely enough to share.”
Yang Kai nodded, “My only worry is that you have the life to take it, but no life to spend it.” Looking towards the crowd, he grinned, “Does Brother Xiang also want to make things difficult for me?”
Xiang Ying stood there silently with a cold expression, not saying a word.
Yang Kai sighed, “After laying dormant for so many years, it seems the world has forgotten my prestige. Now even pitiful weaklings also dare to provoke this King’s majesty!” Putting away the treasures in his hand, Yang Kai said with a cold expression, “Enough nonsense. If you want treasures, then come and get them yourselves!”
The old man shouted, “Since Little Brother remains stubborn, then do not blame us for not showing mercy. Go!”
*Shua shua shua…*
One by one, the cultivators lunged towards Yang Kai. Almost a thousand people were attacking him at once in such a spectacular scene. Before they had even arrived, their Divine Abilities were already brought out.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, and he seemed to be standing in place as if he was scared silly. Pu Bai Xiong grabbed his hair nervously and shouted, “Hurry up and dodge!”
Little Mushroom shrank her neck and her entire body underneath her umbrella top.
A Heaven destroying and Earth shattering aura came over Yang Kai’s head. As their attacks were about to make contact, Yang Kai’s body suddenly shook, and raising his hand, a Golden Crow emerged from his fingertip.
The Golden Crow was small, only the size of one’s palm; however, it looked as exquisite as if it were a living creature.
The Golden Crow flapped its wings and let out a piercing cry before flying towards the Divine Abilities with flames blazing all around its body.
The Divine Abilities hit the Golden Crow’s body, but instead of breaking it into pieces, the power in the Divine Abilities was being sucked up by the Golden Crow, turning one into two, two into four, four into eight…
In the blink of an eye, Golden Crows filled the sky, swooping down on each cultivator while following the source of their Divine Abilities.
Many cultivators were shocked, and some retreated in a panic. Others resisted, forming protective barriers on the surface of their bodies.
However, the Golden Crow’s True Fire was overwhelming enough that even an Open Heaven Realm Master would not be able to resist it, let alone these Emperor Realms cultivators. Any cultivator touched by the Golden Crows instantly lit on fire and turned into a burning ball of flames, screaming incessantly.
One by one, the cultivators fell like dumplings into a pot of boiling water as they dropped out of the air, their vitality draining before long.
“This is… Golden Crow’s True Fire!?” The face of one cultivator changed dramatically as he exclaimed.
The little Golden Crows were so vivid and distinctive that it was hard for one not to recognize it.
Many cultivators were shaken and they hurriedly backed off, but how could they escape? The small Golden Crows swooped down and turned them all into burning balls of fire, leaving them to scream as they fell to the ground.
This cleared the scene at once!
Nearly half of the thousand were either killed or injured in this one exchange.
The cultivators who managed to survive all shouted in terror and tried to escape.
“Trying to run now? Too late!” Yang Kai coldly snorted. Space Principles rushed out and the surrounding thousand-metre radius with him at the centre was instantly placed under his control.
Some cultivators tried to look back as they fled, only to be met with a horrifying discovery. No matter how hard they tried to run, they could not move any further away from Yang Kai. It was as if they were stuck in place.
This scene was familiar to them as it felt just like their previous encounter in the invisible cage.
The invisible cage they had been caught in was just like this. They were all rushing desperately towards the white jade trough, but no matter how they tried, they could not get even a little closer.
[Could it be? The barrier reappeared?]
This thought had just come up in one of their minds when a Golden Crow swooped down, covering them!
Ten breaths later, charred corpses fell one by one, their vitality wiped from this world. Nearly a thousand cultivators fell here. Other than the hundred or so that escaped after recognizing Yang Kai, the rest were all burnt to death without burial.
Yang Kai exhaled a breath, not feeling too surprised; however, a look of contemplation soon appeared in his eyes.
It was naturally impossible for the barrier to reappear, and the reason why so many cultivators re-experience the same event where they could only run in place was because of Yang Kai manipulating the local Space Principles.
Unravelling the mysteries of folding space and expanding space allowed him to discover another method of utilizing the Grand Dao of Space, from which he benefited greatly.
When manipulating Space Principles, Yang Kai could now create a similar restriction. This technique was not a Secret Technique, nor a Divine Ability. It was just a flexible method of using Space Principles.
He had never thought of using them this way before, but this encounter opened a new window for Yang Kai that allowed him to further his attainments in the Dao of Space.
When he tested it out for himself, the result was truly remarkable.
Turning around, Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Many thanks, Brother Xiang, for the help!”
Previously, Yang Kai thought that Xiang Ying was also acting on greed and wanted to make things difficult for him, but when the others made a move against him, he realized he was wrong. Xiang Ying had been among the crowd, silently tapping his purple bamboo here and there, secretly attacking those people.
However, his movements were extremely stealthy and with everyone’s attention drawn to Yang Kai’s treasures, nobody even noticed when Xiang Ying secretly struck.
More than a dozen died by his hands during that time.
“My help was unnecessary.” Xiang Ying shook his head and put the purple bamboo away, “We shall part here. Surely, we will meet again!”
This Xiang Ying seemed to prefer solitude, and he only took action just now because he did not agree with these people bullying others with numbers. Only, after seeing Yang Kai’s strength with his own eyes, he realized that these people would not have been able to do anything to Yang Kai even if he did not interfere.
Looking at his back, Yang Kai watched him leave, thinking to himself that this guy was quite an interesting person. He had no idea where this man came from, or which Divine Spirit had chosen him to become their Bearer.
But no matter what, Xiang Ying was able to obtain the Purple Bamboo Divine Medicine and also had a Divine Spirit to help him with building a solid foundation. If he could leave the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary alive, then he will surely be able to gain a foothold in the 3,000 Worlds in the future.
As a matter of fact, every time the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary opened, many younger generation Masters were created. There were far too many treasures in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and high-quality materials that were rare in the outside world were all over the place here. As long as one’s luck was not too bad, they would surely be able to gain some opportunities in this place and lay a solid foundation to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.
However, the prerequisite to it all was to leave this place alive.
Thoughts churning, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense enveloped the area to scavenge the Space Rings left behind by the dead cultivators. Even though Yang Kai had many treasures already, these people had been working hard in the Grand Ancient Ruins for more than ten years, so they would surely have some good things on them. Yang Kai wasn’t about to toss away free wealth.
One by one, Space Rings flew in his direction and were tossed into his Small Sealed World.
“Em?”
All of a sudden, Yang Kai raised his brow and looked in a certain direction, surprised, “So there are still fish that slipped through the net?”
Flicking his wrist, a Moon Blade was sent flying in that direction.
His Divine Sense perceived a faint aura coming from that direction, so obviously, someone survived and was secretly hiding, which was unexpected to Yang Kai.
Only, they were not able to hide perfectly. Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was extremely powerful, so he was able to see traces the moment he did a proper scan of the area.
The Moon Blade cut through the air and sped off in that direction.
Below a charred corpse, a figure shot into the sky. The Moon Blade happened to brush past the bottom of his feet, almost severing them, but the man was unperturbed. Flipping in mid-air, they quickly disappeared into the distance with nimble movements.
Yang Kai laughed, “Still trying to run?”
Thoughts flashing, the folding space reappeared. In an instant, no matter how the person tried to run, they were unable to break free.
Yang Kai frowned. Despite seeing that the person was in fact stalled in place, they were still moving slowly forward. Even though it was very slow, they really were moving nonetheless.
Being affected by his controlled Space Principles, this person had no way of escaping from the ever-expanding space, but it seemed he was not as powerless as those from before.
[This guy… has some ability!]
Of course, this also was partly to do with Yang Kai himself. He had just learned this technique, so he was not too skilled with its use. He could bully some weaklings, but it was still lacking when he was facing a Master.
The man ran for a while and probably sensed that something was wrong, which caused him to turn back around to see Yang Kai approach him step by step. Knowing that he could not escape, the man sighed and simply decided to stop, laughing bitterly, “Is Senior Brother going to kill me now? I didn’t attack you earlier. I was just watching for fun.”
“Then the price you have to pay for watching the show is going to be a little high.” Yang Kai looked at him with a smirk.
The man shrugged, “I guess it is.”
Then, his face turned serious, “What do I have to do for Senior Brother to let me go?”
“Did I say…” Yang Kai raised his hand and palmed his fist, “I was going to let you go?”
As the cry of a Golden Crow broke out, it swooped down at the man.
The man’s face froze and he suddenly formed seals with his hands, shouting, “Stand Eternal as a Mountain!”
*Hou…*
A beastly roar resounded through the clouds, and immediately afterwards, this man’s body was surrounded by a khakis-coloured glow that radiated a potent Earth Element Power. The Earth Element Power was so dense and pure that it was almost comparable to Yang Kai’s Earth Element. It had to be at least a Seventh-Order Earth Element Power.
The Earth Element Power twisted and transformed into the illusory phantom of a giant tortoise that protected this unknown man beneath it.
The Golden Crow swooped down and hit the giant tortoise illusory phantom, but it did not hurt the man below in the slightest. It was completely blocked!
The Golden Crow’s True Fire failed. It was the first time that someone was able to block it!
Yang Kai exclaimed, “A Divine Manifestation!”
But soon, he realized that something was wrong. This giant tortoise illusory phantom had not reached the level of a Divine Manifestation yet. It should be merely a Divine Ability which this man had gained through the enlightenment of his own Earth Element Power, similar to Yang Kai’s own Dragon Shield.
*Chi la la…*
The Golden Crow’s True Fire clashed with the giant tortoise illusory phantom constantly. After a few moments, the Golden Crow dissipated, but the giant tortoise illusory phantom remained as solid as a rock.
The man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and squeezed out a smile, “Senior Brother, when it is possible to forgive others, one should be forgiving.”
“You’re the Bearer for the Solid Earth Black Tortoise?” Yang Kai raised a brow.
He had seen all kinds of Divine Spirits outside of the Primordial Land before, some in their original forms, and others in human form, but Yang Kai did not see the Solid Earth Black Tortoise’s true body. He was obviously blending among the crowd in Human form.
Since the defensive Divine Ability used by the guy in front of him took on the image of the Solid Earth Black Tortoise, then, it clearly meant that he had received it directly from the Solid Earth Black Tortoise.
Zhu Jiu Yin told him before that the Divine Spirits would go to great lengths to strengthen their Bearers, and some would even divide some of the powers of their own Source and Monster Core to help their Bearers with condensing one of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, all so they could assist them in gaining victory in the Spirit Seizing war.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s Monster Core attribute was not suitable for this, so Yang Kai never asked her for such a thing.
However, the Solid Earth Black Tortoise was different. It was an Earth Element Divine Spirit, and its Monster Core contained a pure Earth Element Power. If it could give some of it to its Bearer, then they could gather a Seventh-Order Element.
These Bearers were able to use some of the Divine Spirit’s abilities from receiving part of the Element Power inside their Monster Cores, and it was very strong. Zhu Jiu Yin had warned him to be careful if he were to meet a Bearer like this, because it was hard to tell what sort of tricks they had up their sleeves. One wrong move could lead to death with them.
Yang Kai never expected to meet such a Bearer that received the inheritance of a Divine Spirit so soon.
The Solid Earth Black Tortoise’s other skills aside, its defensive ability was first class. This Bearer in front of him had received the power of his Divine Spirit, so he was naturally able to withstand the burning of the Golden Crow’s True Fire.
The man greeted him with an erect palm, “Fang Yue greets Senior Brother Yang. This Fang has long heard of Senior Brother’s great name, and seeing you now, Senior Brother is a noble man as expected! Little Brother sighs in awe!”
The grape called out, “Sir, this guy’s ass-kissing is too good!”
Meanwhile, Little Mushroom also nodded her head on his other shoulder, scowling at the other party.
Fang Yue remained serious though and said, “From the bottom of my heart, this one is not trying to kiss Senior Brother’s ass!”
Yang Kai raised a hand, knocking it on the giant tortoise illusory phantom around his body, which made a muffled knock, “Your tortoiseshell is quite hard.”
Fang Yue smiled, “The Solid Earth Black Tortoise specializes in defence, and this Junior Brother has inherited its skill. This Fang has embarrassed himself in front of Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai praised, “I’m afraid only the Divine Spirits can hurt you now in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary with this ability.”
Fang Yue sweated, “But Junior Brother is still not Senior Brother’s opponent. Senior Brother’s achievements in the Dao of Space are deep and profound, and there is nothing that the Golden Crow’s True Fire cannot burn. An ability to burn thousands in one move is truly awe-inspiring.”
“Hand over your Space Ring.” Yang Kai reached out his hand.
“Huh?” Fang Yue was stunned.
Yang Kai stared at him, not saying a word.
The grape then shouted, “Brat, are you deaf? Sir told you to hand over your Space Ring. Our Master is trying to rob you!”
Fang Yue’s mouth twitched as he quibbled, “Senior Brother, I thought we were like old friends the moment we met. We can sit down and talk about this, yes?”
“If you want to talk, we can talk later. Hand over your Space Ring. I’m sure you must have gotten a lot of good things from the Solid Earth Black Tortoise, right?” If not for his tortoise shell, then Yang Kai would be shoving his hand to the man’s nose.
Fang Yue fumed, “Senior Brother, how can you do this? You have so many treasures, so do you still need to covet these petty trinkets of mine? Even if you rob me, it still won’t increase your wealth by much!”
Yang Kai was indifferent, “If you do something wrong, then you must be punished.”
Fang Yue was angry, “I really didn’t do anything…” After a pause, he said weakly, “Fine, I secretly attacked you, but I didn’t have any intentions to kill you. I just wanted to see the gap between you and I!”
He should have recognized Yang Kai long ago, and he had also heard of Yang Kai’s various deeds. Even though he had received the nurturing of the Solid Earth Black Tortoise, and used its Monster Core to condense his Earth Element, he was still not confident in being able to beat Yang Kai. He only joined in with the crowd earlier to try and verify how much he had grown in these recent times.
However, who knew that this would be the result of that? He was devastated.
If he fought against such a person, would he be able to snatch that Innate Spirit Fruit and satisfy the requests of the Solid Earth Black Tortoise?
He sighed, “Senior Brother, you won’t be able to kill me. My rock seal is indestructible. With this seal, no one in the Primordial Land has any hopes of killing me.”
Yang Kai argued, “Indeed, your Divine Ability is not bad, but it must consume quite a lot of power to maintain, right? Without mentioning whether or not I can break your tortoiseshell, even if I can’t, I can still kill you by exhausting your strength. That is unless you have a way to escape from my hands, of course.”
Fang Yue’s face paled and he swayed as if he were about to collapse, “Senior Brother has a poisonous eye!”
Yang Kai was right. Even though the defence of this rock seal was incredible, it was true that a lot of power was consumed in order to maintain it, and it was quite taxing on his body, especially long term. Under his best efforts, he could at most be able to maintain it for an hour. After an hour, he would definitely be exhausted, and the rock seal would break by itself.
Worse, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so there was no hope of escaping. Delaying was meaningless. It could be said that Yang Kai’s every word hit him right where it hurt.
Fang Yue’s expression wilted, “Junior Brother concedes. Senior Brother, please be merciful.”
Saying so, he heaved a big sigh and released the rock seal himself. Taking the Space Ring off his finger, he tossed it to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took it and swept his Divine Sense through its contents before looking up at him, “There really are a lot of good things in here.”
Indeed, many good things could be found in the man’s ring. He even had two Sixth-Order materials. Fang Yue alone should not have been able to collect these, so it was probably the Solid Earth Black Tortoise that he got them from. These Divine Spirits in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had lived for countless years here, and each of them had accumulated great wealth over the years. Since their chosen Bearers were expected to fight for the one and only opportunity to escape this place, the Bearers would naturally try and get some benefits from them, too.
Yang Kai was no exception. If not for Zhu Jiu Yin, how would he have been able to obtain the Divine Dao Water? And how would he be able to cultivate the Defying Yin-Yang Five Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture?
Fang Yue saw Yang Kai take out treasure after treasure from his Space Ring, which made him so depressed that he was about to spit blood as he wailed, “Enough, enough! At least leave some for me, Senior Brother!”
But Yang Kai ignored him and continued going through the ring.
After a long time, he finally threw the Space Ring back to him.
Fang Yue caught it and checked its contents. At once, he let out a grunt and grabbed his chest with a grieving and painful expression on his face.
Even though the ring had not been cleaned out, all the good things had been taken away. Fang Yue felt like over ten kilograms of flesh had been shaved off from his body. It hurt so much that he could die.
Grabbing the Space Ring, he turned and left as far as he could, “We will part ways here. Farewell!”
He did not want to run into this guy called Yang Kai again. Though, he still accepted the result of this incident. Even though he was robbed of a lot of things, he did manage to keep his life.
Fang Yue ran for at least a thousand kilometres before turning back to look, and he discovered that Yang Kai did not chase after him. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and consoled himself, “If one survives a great calamity, they will surely be blessed later. Material possessions do not come with birth and are not kept in death. If it’s gone, then so be it!”
Landing on a boulder, he could not help but feel some trepidation as he recalled the previous encounter. They were both in the Emperor Realm, and he had been nurtured by the Solid Earth Black Tortoise for many years; however, he discovered that the disparity in strength between him and Yang Kai was still so overwhelming, and he could not help but feel a little discouraged because of it.
While he was feeling gloomy, the peculiarity of the boulder beneath him suddenly caught his eye. It resembled a lotus flower in bloom with layers upon layers of petals, and he was standing on the flower’s stamen. Raising a brow, he looked at the flower with interest.
In the next moment, the ground beneath him shook, and the stone lotus suddenly closed shut. Fang Yue was caught off guard and was trapped at the very centre of it, unable to break out, shocking him greatly. It was true what they said, when it rains, it pours. His ship sailed late and he was met with a headwind.
After swallowing Fang Yue, the stone lotus immediately uprooted itself. Its roots became two long legs that had actually begun to run off.
Within the stone lotus, Fang Yue shouted, “Stand Eternal as a Mountain!”
…..
Ten days later, Yang Kai climbed atop a tall mountain and was guided by Pu Bai Xiong to a certain spot on the peak.
When he arrived at the place, Pu Bai Xiong jumped off Yang Kai’s shoulder and shouted, “Little Bottle Gourd, Little Bottle Gourd, Old Pu is here to see you!”
The reason why he came to this place was that Pu Bai Xiong told Yang Kai that another Divine Medicine lived here.
In the Primordial Land, there were not many Divine Medicines that had assumed human form, but there were some. Pu Bai Xiong knew of at least seven different Divine Medicines, and each of them had extraordinary power and unique effects.
For example, the two that Yang Kai was in possession of. Pu Bai Xiong’s grapes had extraordinary medicinal efficacies. Not only could they heal wounds, they could also solidify one’s cultivation, so he could be said to be a very rare type. On the other hand, the Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom had the ability to create illusions. Once her invisible spores flew out, no ordinary cultivator could resist. When Yang Kai was caught in the fog, he had also accidentally fallen for its trick. In the end, it was with the combined help of the Demon Eye of Annihilation and the Soul-Warming Lotus that he kept his clarity.
Then, there was also Xiang Ying’s purple bamboo, which seemed to have an extraordinary ability to nullify all techniques.
Divine Medicines were not all used for consumption. When plants or herbs gained sentience and assumed human form, they became Divine Medicines.
According to Pu Bai Xiong, the Divine Medicine here was a gourd vine, and there were seven bottle gourds on that vine, corresponding to each of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. Its quality was also very good. If one could get their hands on this gourd vine, then they would have inexhaustible cultivation resources.
Only, despite all his hardships in getting here, Yang Kai did not sense any vitality with his Divine Sense in the area.
Pu Bai Xiong shouted again and scratched his head with his root arms, “Where did that bottle gourd go?”
Yang Kai frowned. Stepping onto a place, he observed some traces and said, “No need to keep shouting.”
Pu Bai Xiong rushed over when he heard his words and climbed onto his shoulder. Following his gaze, he saw traces left behind from a battle that was filled with different Elements and he immediately shouted, “Little Bottle Gourd has been fighting!”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’m afraid that someone else has gotten to him first.”
This was also the case when he went to get the purple bamboo. It was after that that he discovered that Xiang Ying was the one who obtained the purple bamboo. During the last ten days or so, Pu Bai Xiong had been pointing Yang Kai around to find the Divine Medicines that have assumed human form, but unfortunately, they came up empty at every turn. Those Divine Medicines had either gone into hiding or were taken away by others before they arrived.
This was already the third spot that Yang Kai had visited, but the three Divine Medicines, including the Little Bottle Gourd, were nowhere to be found.
Yang Kai was not sure what happened to the other Divine Medicines, but this one should have been taken away by someone. The signs of battle were scattered everywhere, which indicated that many people were fighting for one Divine Medicine. No matter how amazing the gourd vine was, it still could not block four strikes with two fists.
There were still many blood stains on the ground that had yet to dry, which should be from the injuries those cultivators sustained from the gourd vine.
Pu Bai Xiong was chagrined, “If I’d known this would happen, we should’ve come sooner. Don’t worry, Sir. I’ll take you to see Ah Ku. That guy lives only a three-day trip away from here.”
Little Mushroom shrank her neck, “Let’s not see Ah Ku. I get unlucky every time I see him.”
Pu Bai Xiong scolded, “Sir wants Divine Medicines, so when has it become up to you to tell me what to do?”
Little Mushroom pouted in anger and turned away from him.
Yang Kai shook his head, “No need. We have more important matters to attend to. Take me to the fruit tree instead.”
The Primordial Land had been flooded with people. Even though there had been numerous deaths and injuries during this period, most of them probably survived. These people were actively prowling all over the Primordial Land, so if there were any good things, they would most likely have found them. The Divine Medicines were the best example of that.
Yang Kai was afraid that if they delayed any longer, then even the Innate Spirit Fruit would be taken, then he would have nothing to bring back to Zhu Jiu Yin. At that point, Yue He and the others would be in danger.
“You want to see that old tree?” Pu Bai Xiong responded, “Good. However, Sir has to be careful. That old tree is not easy to provoke, and the place where he lives is covered in danger. One can easily fall if they aren’t careful.”
“Just lead the way!”
Pu Bai Xiong immediately pointed the way out to Yang Kai. After descending the tall mountain, Yang Kai sped along on his journey.
They did not stop along the way, but they did pass by many cultivators on the road, and there were also those that were fighting each other ceaselessly. Someone died in the Primordial Land practically every moment.
After travelling for only two days, Pu Bai Xiong said, “Sir, we’re almost there. You see that mountain up ahead? The old tree lives up there.”
Looking up, Yang Kai did in fact find a tall mountain in the distance, but it was too far for him to see it too clearly.
It was at this moment that Yang Kai discovered something. Turning his head to look in a direction, he saw a figure there that was also rushing in the direction of that tall mountain.
That person did not look very old, only in his early twenties, but his aura seemed extremely dense. He clearly had a solid foundation; however, that was not what Yang Kai was concerned about, but rather that object on the man’s shoulder.
It was a Divine Medicine!
The Divine Medicine looked like a bitter gourd with wrinkles all over its body. On the gourd was a face that looked gloomy with furrowed brows, as if all the misfortune under the sky were concentrated on it. It looked irreconcilably upset.
“Ah Ku!” Little Mushroom suddenly called out.
[So this is the Ah Ku that Grape and Little Mushroom mentioned?]
Yang Kai’s expression changed and he began observing the Divine Medicine, Ah Ku. He had no idea whether to laugh or cry, because the Divine Medicine’s appearance was truly terrible. He had no idea what sort of miraculous effects it had.
At that moment, Ah Ku heaved a heavy sigh, “I’m so sad!”
His sigh was so long that he seemed to be able to exhale all his five viscera and six organs.
Yang Kai’s heart suddenly felt shaken, and a feeling of depression overwhelmed him. He suddenly felt as if everything was meaningless. So what if he spent more than ten years in this Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and collected unimaginable wealth? They could pile up in his Space Ring, but they were merely dead things.
So what if he put his life on the line to search for the Innate Spirit Fruit in the Primordial Land? In the end, he was only doing it for Zhu Jiu Yin’s sake, and he could not even take a bite of the fruit.
What could he get in return for his efforts of escaping from this world and getting back to the Outer Universe, after narrowly escaping death so many times? Maybe by the time he found the World Tree, the Star Boundary would have already collapsed, and the trillions of lives living there would have vanished.
…..
All kinds of negative emotions hidden in the depths of his heart poured out along with the Divine Medicine, Ah Ku’s sigh that was almost able to drown his consciousness completely.
Yang Kai gradually slowed down; he had lost his goal of moving forward and fighting.
On Yang Kai’s shoulder, Pu Bai Xiong covered his face with a root tendril and sobbed, “I, Pu Bai Xiong, change my name to Pu Ninety-Nine Xiong from now on. How else am I going to face the world? Just let me die…”
Little Mushroom, who was sitting on Yang Kai’s other shoulder, bawled and cried, “What am I crying for? I’m so sad, wahhh…”
Yang Kai stifled a grunt and bit down the tip of his tongue ruthlessly. As the taste of blood spread out in his mouth, the Soul Warming Lotus protected his Soul and finally cleared his mind.
He was so shocked that his body was covered in a cold sweat as he looked at the Divine Medicine, Ah Ku, with fear.
This thing was truly bizarre. It was no wonder Little Mushroom was so afraid of him. She said that she felt extremely sad each time she saw this guy, and sure enough, that really seemed to be the case.
His sigh sounded like nothing out of the ordinary, but it had the strange ability to stir up the darkness in one’s heart, making it impossible for them to hold themselves up.
The one who obtained Ah Ku was a young man with a clean appearance. He did not look much older than Yang Kai, and he had a gloomy look on his face at this moment. Suddenly smashing his fist on Ah Ku’s head, he gritted his teeth and snapped, “Shut up! Don’t talk unless I tell you to!”
Ah Ku shrank his head when he was hit, and his wrinkled face furrowed even more as he sighed, “But I really am sad…”
The young man tumbled mid-flight and almost fell headlong into the ground. Without even looking at Yang Kai, he left in a hurry.
It was not until he left far away that Yang Kai breathed a heavy sigh. Grape and Little Mushroom had also recovered and wiped their eyes, blinking in confusion. They had no idea why they felt so sad just now.
“Did we run into Ah Ku?” Pu Bai Xiong asked in surprise.
Yang Kai nodded. Looking at the tall mountain in the distance, the young man seemed to be moving towards the same goal as him. He was able to come here so quickly because he received Pu Bai Xiong’s guidance, so that young man should have been led here by Ah Ku.
In that case, the group of people who obtained the Divine Medicines must also be able to receive directions from them. It would probably not be long until they all gathered here.
“I knew nothing good would happen if we ran into Ah Ku! That guy is just bad luck!” Pu Bai Xiong cursed.
“Are you sure the fruit tree is on that mountain?” Yang Kai asked.
Pu Bai Xiong answered, “I’m sure. The old tree has always been on the mountain. He’s never moved!”
Yang Kai breathed out, “It looks like we’re going to have to see that Ah Ku again.” With that, his body shifted, and he sped in that direction.
The destination was not too far away, but it was not close either. It was a whole 2,000-kilometre distance.
Pu Bai Xiong warned Yang Kai along the way, “Sir must be very careful. Nothing good comes out of meeting Ah Ku. He didn’t say anything to you, did he?”
Yang Kai said, “No, he just said he was sad.”
Pu Bai Xiong was relieved, “That’s good. It would have been bad if he said anything to you.”
Yang Kai did not understand, but he did not ask further.
After an hour, Yang Kai gradually approached the mountain when suddenly, his expression changed. Gazing towards its peak, he saw a lofty fruit tree with an imposing canopy so huge that it covered the entire mountain.
[The Innate Fruit Tree!]
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up. Pu Bai Xiong was right, the old fruit tree was really here. He just had to grab an Innate Spirit Fruit and bring it back to Zhu Jiu Yin in exchange for the safety of Yue He and the others. This was the main reason he was in this Primordial Land to begin with.
However, Yang Kai was a little surprised to find a very faint trace of World Force drifting from the top of the mountain! This caused his brows to furrow. Where was this World Force coming from?
It had to be known that within the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the Small Universe within the Open Heaven Realm Masters was suppressed and sealed, so it could not be accessed. Naturally, World Force from a Small Universe could not be exerted; otherwise, Yang Kai and the other Emperor Realm cultivators would not have been able to shine. The Open Heaven Realm Masters would have robbed the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary clean already.
And, those who entered the Primordial Land were all Emperor Realm Masters. Having not split Heaven and Earth apart within their bodies yet, they were all incapable of possessing World Force, much less exerting it.
However, Yang Kai clearly felt a faint World Force coming from where that Innate Fruit Tree stood.
At this time, many cultivators had already gathered at the foot of the mountain, roughly a thousand in total. These people were all looking up at the peak of the mountain, watching the Innate Fruit Tree with greedy eyes.
Many cultivators were alone, but there were also those in small groups of three to five. A few larger cliques had formed, with the largest numbering in the two hundreds. They were obviously from the same great force.
Scanning the scene, Yang Kai saw several familiar faces.
Ah Ku and the young man that he saw on the road were there, standing alone at the side. The man stood with his hand behind his back, unaffected by the people around him.
There was also Xiang Ying, who was holding Purple Bamboo and nodded lightly at Yang Kai.
With Purple Bamboo leading the way, it was only natural that he could find his way here.
At this moment, Yang Kai felt something and suddenly turned his head to look in a certain direction. There, he saw a short but vigorous-looking young man retracting his gaze.
A vine was wrapped around the man’s body, where seven small bottle gourds hung.
Yang Kai frowned. Even though it was only for a moment, he sensed a hint of hostility from this man.
However, Yang Kai had never met this person before, nor did he know what he could have done to offend him.
What caught his attention was the vine wrapped around the man’s body. It was clearly a Divine Medicine, and it must be the Little Bottle Gourd that Grape mentioned before. The seven small bottle gourds represented each of the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. The Power contained in each bottle gourd was different.
The short man was wounded and bloodied, which meant that he must have fought with someone. From his travel-worn appearance, he must have arrived not long ago.
“Brother Yang!” Someone suddenly called out to him.
Yang Kai turned around, only to see Xu Zhen walking over from nearby. The little fatty had a big smile on his face, and while walking over, he observed Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom who were on Yang Kai’s shoulder with interest. When he was close, he commented, “So these are Divine Medicines?”
He was the Bearer that Zhu Yan chose, and he had also gotten many good things from Zhu Yan. Even though he had been cultivating hard in retreat all this while, he kept in contact with Yang Kai. In the entire Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, besides Yue He and the others, this man could be considered one of Yang Kai’s closest friends.
“Brother Xu!” Yang Kai greeted him.
Xu Zhen clicked his tongue in amazement, “I heard that there were only seven or eight Divine Medicines that had assumed human form in the entire Primordial Land, and Brother Yang alone has two of them. This is truly an amazing fortune worth admiring.”
“I just got lucky,” Yang Kai smiled.
Xu Zhen stared at the grapes on Pu Bai Xiong’s head with interest, “These grapes… What effect do they have when eaten?”
Pu Bai Xiong was furious, “Eat your head! Come over here you little fatty! Uncle Pu will fight you for 300 rounds!”
He moved his root tendrils like a fox assuming the majesty of a tiger, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. Yang Kai had previously eaten one of his grapes, and he was still upset about it now. Seeing this little fatty eyeing his grapes upset him instantly.
“What an interesting little thing!” Of course, Xu Zhen would not lower himself to his level, so he just laughed.
“Brother Xu, if you have already found the Innate Fruit Tree, then why are you still here?” Yang Kai asked doubtfully.
Over a thousand people were gathered here, but they were all just looking at the fruit tree at the top of the mountain with nobody trying to go up. Yang Kai did not understand why this was.
Xu Zhen shook his head and sighed, “It’s not that simple. This mountain may seem calm and quiet now, but a murderous intent is hidden deep within. One will be fine if they do not enter the mountain, but once inside, great danger will descend upon them. Before this, a number of people went inside, but unfortunately, none survived.”
Yang Kai was surprised to hear this. Looking carefully at the mountain, he saw the bodies of many cultivators. Roughly counting their numbers, there were at least a hundred there.
These people died in a variety of strange ways. Some turned into stone sculptures, while others were burned until they were unrecognizable. There were also those whose bodies were covered in cruel wounds.
These must be the cultivators who had entered the mountain, but unfortunately met with their ends.
“But we can’t just wait here forever,” Yang Kai frowned.
Xu Zhen nodded, “Everyone is waiting. Nobody wants to be the bird that pokes its head out first, so we’re all at a stalemate now.”
Yang Kai understood. These people had probably gathered here because they wanted to observe for a while to see what methods could be used to get past the dangers of this mountain.
It was at that moment that a large group of people arrived. The overbearing man at the front was carrying a large sabre decorated with a monster head, and the group that he came with was very large. There were two or three thousand people in total, pouring in like a torrent with unstoppable momentum, causing all the cultivators gathered here to go pale.
“Emperor Heaven!” Someone whispered under their breath. They were able to recognize these people
At the same time, Yang Kai saw the face of the man at the front, Ding Yi.
Emperor Heaven was a group that sprang up in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and was founded by Ding Yi. He had gathered a lot of people these years, and under the exclusion of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Primordial Land, only those in the Emperor Realm could enter, which was a great advantage for Emperor Heaven as they were all in the Emperor Realm.
Previously, inside of the seven-coloured passage, Ding Yi led his Emperor Heaven subordinates to block the passage, causing many deaths and injuries.
However, he had suffered a loss under Yang Kai some years ago and almost lost his life. Since then, he had been very afraid of Yang Kai, so he always gave him face, whether it was at Yuan Magnetic Mountain back then or inside the seven-coloured passage.
Ding Yi’s body was also covered in injuries, so his journey here must not have been peaceful.
There were only a total of around a thousand people below the mountain, and now two to three thousand from Emperor Heaven appeared all at once, which was two or three times their number, so how could anyone not be wary? Such a huge great force could completely change the flow of the situation here.
In an instant, the people from Emperor Heaven reached the foot of the mountain. Ding Yi, who was carrying his ghost-headed sabre, swept his eyes all around him. Suddenly, his gaze was fixed on someone, and he bellowed, “Seems like I didn’t travel all the way here for nothing. You little thief! You dare to snatch my Divine Medicine? Now I’ve caught you. Let’s see whether you can stay alive or not!”
He pointed his sabre forward, targeting the short man who had obtained the gourd vine.
The short man frowned, obviously realizing the trickiness of this situation. If it were Ding Yi alone, then he would not be worried as the might of the gourd vine was extraordinary. Not to mention one Ding Yi, even ten or a hundred would just be nothing to fear; however, Emperor Heaven had too many people. If they really fought, then he would surely suffer a loss.
The short man thought for a moment before speaking back to him, “Ding Yi, this Divine Medicine is extraordinary, and among the presence of the able, it chose me, so it is fated to be with me. Why do you have to force it?”
“Fate my ass!” Ding Yi was furious, “If you hadn’t interfered, then this Divine Medicine would have been mine! You shameless thief! Snatching my Divine Medicine from me in secret, and now you still have the face to say such drivel?”
The short man coldly snorted, “You keep talking about it as if it was your Divine Medicine. Call out to it and see if it responds to you!”
Ding Yi fumed, “Call me Grandpa and see if I respond to you!”
The two were arguing so loudly that they attracted the attention of countless people. Even Yang Kai was surprised.
He was guided by Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom to look for the gourd vine previously, but someone else had gotten there first. From the traces they saw there, a battle must have taken place, and it was between a good number of people.
Now, it seemed like it was Ding Yi leading his men from Emperor Heaven to fight against the gourd vine, only to be plucked away by this short man at a critical moment.
Anyone would be angry if they were to encounter such a thing, and they would not give up so easily.
Ding Yi, who led the group to this place, probably did not expect to meet this thief who stole his Divine Medicine, but now that he saw him, there was no way he would let him go so easily.
“Right now, the Divine Medicine is in my hands. What are you going to do about it?” Despite standing as one against the thousands from Emperor Heaven, the short man was not afraid.
Ding Yi snickered, “What else can I do? Naturally, I will kill you and get my Divine Medicine back! No one has ever taken advantage of me, Ding Yi, ever!”
Saying so, he flicked his cloak behind him and his thousands of subordinates immediately made their move. Emperor Heaven was founded more than ten years ago when the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary just opened. In these years, under the leadership of Ding Yi, the cultivators of Emperor Heaven had been active in all parts of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, experiencing countless battles, both big and small, even withstanding several Beast Tides. At this moment, they did not need their leader to say much as each of them would do their own job. In a moment, the short man was surrounded by thousands of people.
The short man’s face became grimmer.
“Ding Yi, the Innate Fruit Tree is right in front of our eyes. If we could gain the Innate Spirit Fruit, then would that not be a harvest worth more than a simple Divine Medicine? Why don’t we settle our grudge after we fight for the spirit fruit?” The short man suggested.
Ding Yi pointed his sabre at him, “My enemy stands before me. I don’t care about any spirit fruit. Speak! Do you want me to kill you in a single stroke, or do you want me to slice you up little by little?”
The short man shook his head and sighed, “Looks like there’s no way around this. Haiz, I do not wish to kill you, but since you take the initiative to court death, I will grant your wish.”
Saying so, he shook the gourd vine.
The seven small bottle gourds hanging on the gourd vine rolled down, instantly transforming into little people. Each one of these little people were wearing a leafy green shirt and had bare feet. A different coloured little bottle gourd lay atop each of their heads.
One bottle gourd raised a hand and said in a crisp voice, “I am Da Wa!”
Another bottle gourd took a half-kneeling stance, “I am Er Wa!”
Another bottle gourd came over, roofing his eyes with his hands in a monkey overseeing the ocean pose, “I am San Wa!”
The fourth bottle gourd stood with crossed arms and quickly said, “I am Si Wa!”
*Sou sou…* Two bottle gourds flew onto the shoulders of these four bottle gourds, one foot on each shoulder.
“I am Wu Wa!”
“I am Liu Wa!”
The final bottle gourd flipped in the air and stood atop the rest of the bottle gourds, laughing as he stood akimbo, “And I am Qi Wa!”
The bottle gourds then spoke in unison, “We are the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers!”
Yang Kai was dumbfounded at this display. Next to him, the corners of Xu Zhen’s mouth were twitching, “This Divine Medicine… is quite interesting.”
Pu Bai Xiong snorted, “Playing cheap tricks!”
On the other hand, Little Mushroom shook her fists with starry eyes, “Big Brothers Bottle Gourds, be careful!”
The seven bottle gourds turned their heads and grinned meaningfully at Little Mushroom.
Ding Yi’s face darkened and he pointed at them with his sabre, “Kill that little thief, but don’t hurt the bottle gourds!”
As soon as he finished speaking, an overwhelming attack was launched on the short man.
The bottle gourds rolled together, and Da Wa rushed forward, shouting, “Look at my Stainless Golden Body!”
A golden glow emerged, instantly enveloping a ten-metre radius with a light barrier. Countless attacks fell on the light barrier, but it was able to block most of it.
Yang Kai’s expression changed, “A Fifth-Order Metal Element Power!”
The Power that Da Wa exerted was of the Fifth Order! The Metal Element Power had turned into a layer of protection that was as solid as gold.
Even though Emperor Heaven had strength in numbers, not many of them have condensed Fifth-Order Elements. The ones who condensed powers under the Fifth Order were only able to cause a light ripple on top of the light barrier.
Only attacks of the Fifth Order could cause a substantial impact.
However, there were too many such attacks, and the Metal Element barrier was not able to compete with them, only lasting a short time before it broke.
However, this short moment gave the short man enough time to prepare.
The rest of the bottle gourds each activated their own Element Powers, which was a layer of protection formed of all of Yin, Yang and the Five Elements, guarding the short man inside.
Once the seven layers were all broken, the attacks disappeared without a trace.
The short man coldly snorted and shook one of the gourd vines, shouting, “Go!”
San Wa and Si Wa instantly lunged at the group. In mid-air, they each sucked in a large breath of air and spat it back out.
San Wa spat out extremely pure Water Element Power, while Si Wa spat out Fire Element Power.
As water and fire came together, they caused a huge explosion. An incomparably large shockwave spread out from the centre.
There were screams as hundreds of cultivators from Emperor Heaven sustained varying degrees of damage. Then, they fell from the air like dumplings into a pot.
At the same time, the short man shook the gourd vine in his hand again. Liu Wa and Qi Wa formed a Yin-Yang beam, crossing like a huge pair of scissors, cutting through the men of Emperor Heaven.
*Chi chi chi…*
The sound of fresh blood splashing out could be heard as dozens of cultivators were cut off at the waist, their five viscera and six organs were tossed into the air before falling downwards uncontrollably. Some of the men in the air panicked and quickly tried to stuff their guts back into their abdominal cavities, but they could not regain their lost vitality.
All the cultivators who saw this were horrified.
Yang Kai was also appalled.
He did not expect the bottle gourd Divine Medicine to be this strong. Seven bottle gourds corresponded to the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, each one of them Fifth-Order. Ordinary cultivators were simply unable to compete with this.
After this exchange, Emperor Heaven suffered a huge loss, losing as many as two hundred men.
It was no wonder why this short man was unfazed despite being surrounded by Emperor Heaven. It turned out he was prepared.
“Amazing!” Xu Zhen exclaimed, his eyes glowing as he looked at the gourd vine. Anyone would wish to get their hands on that.
However, even though the gourd vine was fierce, Emperor Heaven had many members who were all experienced in battle. Even though they suffered a stifling loss, they did not panic. In the face of the Yin-Yang scissors, the thousands of men took on battle formations with over hundreds in each group, pressing onward step by step to surround it tightly.
Another few hundred elites completely ignored the little bottle gourds, rushing toward the short man to attack him.
Three bottle gourds remained by the short man’s side, corresponding to the Metal, Wood, and Earth Elements.
Seeing the enemy approaching, the short man’s expression remained unchanged as he shook his gourd vine again.
Da Wa immediately turned into a golden light that rushed out.
In front of the battle formation, a cultivator reached a hand out to Da Wa, grinning meaningfully, “Little Bottle Gourd, you dare to throw yourself into the net?” He had seen the Stainless Golden Body used by Da Wa before, so he thought that this bottle gourd’s main power was in defence.
However, Ding Yi’s face changed as he shouted, “Watch out!”
His words had just come out when Da Wa swung a fist out.
There was a loud bang, and the cultivator at the front was hit by a powerful force, causing him to fly out uncontrollably. In mid-air, his arms burst open. Even his bones were shattered.
“Impressive strength,” Yang Kai sighed in amazement.
“The Metal Element has always been the strongest when it comes to killing. That man was too careless.” Xu Zhen shook his head and sighed.
After blasting the leader away, Da Wa suddenly began to spin. His hands and feet, as well as each and every part of his body, had transformed into unstoppable sharp weapons, slicing through the battle formation in the blink of an eye.
*Peng peng peng…* The sounds were endless as other than a dozen or so who were lucky, the rest of the cultivators in the battle formation were all badly injured. Blood splattered everywhere.
However, Da Wa did not stop. Turning into a golden drill, he crashed through them from behind.
Another battle formation came from the other side, and the leader shouted, “Heaven-Wielding Earth-Locking Net!”
A large net covered Heaven and Earth, coming down above Da Wa’s head.
The large net was tough and obviously made of very precious materials, and it was being activated by a battle formation formed by over a hundred people, so the power was truly extraordinary. They were actually able to trap the bottle gourd at the centre and make it so that it was temporarily trapped no matter which direction it tried to escape in.
The short man’s face darkened. He obviously did not expect the men from Emperor Heaven to be so hard to deal with.
Yang Kai also could not help but see them in a new light. He had always thought that Emperor Heaven was a group of loose sand; but now, it seemed like Ding Yi had some skill to work this rag-tag group of individuals into a relatively cohesive force.
Several more battle formations came over and rushed at the short man like a torrent, while the short man only had two bottle gourds left of the Earth and Wood Elements respectively.
However, he was still unfazed by his situation. He waited until he was about to be swallowed up by the torrent before forming hand seals. Then, with a yell, a khaki-coloured light suddenly emerged from the body of the Earth Element bottle gourd, enveloping the short man to form a barrier that was even more solid than Da Wa’s Stainless Golden Body.
The Earth Element was mainly a defensive attribute, just like the Earth Element Power that Yang Kai condensed, which allowed him to use the Dragon Shield Secret Technique, so it was not surprising that it had such might.
With a rumble, the attacks came one by one, but the light barrier blocked all of them.
The remaining Wood bottle gourd spun and drilled into the ground. Following that, the earth cracked apart and one by one, roots came up like Earth Dragons, stretching out below the surface, causing it to shake and crack.
*Sou sou sou sou..,*
One by one, the roots came out of the ground and penetrated one battle formation after another, causing great damage to Emperor Heaven in an instant.
There was still the Water bottle gourd and the Fire bottle gourd that performed another Water and Fire explosion technique, as well as the two Yin-Yang bottle gourds that shuttled through the air like giant shears, harvesting the lives of the cultivators.
With the help of the gourd vine and the seven small bottle gourds hanging off of it, the short man engaged in a fiery battle with Emperor Heaven.
Yang Kai was amazed at the power of this gourd vine as it was much stronger than he had expected. This was definitely the strongest Divine Medicine he had seen so far in a fight. Even Grape and Little Mushroom could not help but feel envious of the short man’s luck to be able to obtain such a Divine Medicine.
“What a shame. This guy’s luck is good, and his strength is also not bad, but it’s a pity that he bumped into Emperor Heaven,” Xu Zhen sighed at the side.
Yang Kai nodded in agreement. Even though the short man was performing amazingly, in the end, he was alone while Emperor Heaven had the strength of many. If this fight went on, sooner or later, he would lose.
The critical point now was how long that Earth bottle gourd could protect him.
As expected, in just thirty breaths of time, the Earth bottle gourd suddenly grunted with a flushed face, “I can’t hold on anymore!”
Its protection was now shaking and on the verge of collapse as it had sustained too much damage. Even though it was a barrier created from a Fifth-Order Earth Element Power, it was still unable to resist such endless impacts.
The short man’s face sank slightly.
Ding Yi suddenly shouted, “I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
He had been watching from the side without involving himself in the battle, remaining indifferent even when his subordinates died or were injured. He was obviously waiting for an opening to end things once and for all.
And now was the time for him to act.
As an incomparably hot power was released from his ghost-headed sabre, Ding Yi raised his blade and chopped it down fiercely with a cold and determined look!
The moment Ding Yi made his move, both Yang Kai and Xu Zhen could not help but let out a startled cry as they looked up at him, because the scorching power was something extraordinary.
Xu Zhen exclaimed, “Seventh-Order Fire Element Power!”
[This Ding Yi actually managed to condense a Seventh-Order Fire Element!]
A curious look flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes, but then realization dawned on him!
If one wanted to gather a Seventh-Order Element Power here in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, there were two options, be extraordinarily lucky, or borrow the power of a Divine Spirit! Zhu Jiu Yin told Yang Kai that it was true that many Seventh-Order treasures used to exist in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but they had long since been depleted. Yang Kai could not even find a single Seventh-Order Metal Element material. Even when Zhu Jiu Yin commanded over a million of her subordinates to scour every corner of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she still came up empty.
However, it was not impossible to condense Seventh-Order Element Powers without a Seventh-Order treasure. The Monster Cores that existed inside of the Divine Spirits’ bodies were all of the Seventh Order at the very least.
For Ding Yi to use a Fire Element Power of the Seventh Order obviously meant that he had received the help of a Divine Spirit. In other words, this guy was also a Bearer who had borrowed the power of a Divine Spirit’s Monster Core in order to condense this Seventh-Order Fire Element Power!
However, this was no surprise. The Divine Spirits would naturally seek out cultivators with great aptitude and potential to become their Bearers. Ding Yi was a nobody before entering the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but he had since become a shining figure that founded Emperor Heaven.
It was only natural that one or two Divine Spirits would have their eye on him with the way he roamed the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary with his resounding reputation.
And, if he were able to condense the Fire Element Power, that had to mean that his Divine Spirit was of the Fire Attribute. Yang Kai had seen at least fifty Divine Spirits when they were all gathered outside of the Primordial Land, but those who were purely of the Fire Attribute were few. Still, he had no idea which one of them was Ding Yi’s Divine Spirit backer.
As he pondered, the ghost-headed sabre in Ding Yi’s hand glowed brightly. With a cry, a one-legged fire bird flew out from his sabre with a wingspan of a thousand meters and swooped down at a man with might that could seemingly burn the world.
“Bi Fang!” Yang Kai and Xu Zhen gasped in unison.
Everything was now clear. Ding Yi was Bi Fang’s Bearer. Bi Fang was a Fire Attribute Divine Spirit, so there was no problem for it to offer some of the power of its Monster Core to help Ding Yi condense a Seventh-Order Fire Element.
Still, Ding Yi was quite impressive. It was obvious that he had a solid foundation and strong heritage to be able to withstand the impact of a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power in his Dao Seal; otherwise, he would not be able to achieve such a thing even with Bi Fang’s help.
Rising stars were all showing off their extraordinary talents in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. In fact, every time the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary opened, countless Masters from the younger generation would rise up, and in the future, they would all grow to become powerhouses whose names could shake the 3,000 Worlds.
Bi Fang’s fire was of the Seventh Order, while the Earth bottle gourd’s power was only of the Fifth Order, so it was impossible for it to stop Ding Yi’s furious strike. The great Bi Fang only had to touch the Earth Element Barrier to shatter it with a loud rumble. The Earth bottle gourd fell to his butt and his eyes were listless as if he had been scared silly.
Seeing that he was about to be killed by this slash, the short man suddenly clenched his fist and slammed it out.
“Courting death!” Ding Yi laughed, seemingly thinking that it was all over.
However, his laughter stopped abruptly.
A golden light erupted from the short man’s fist as a dense Metal Element Power burst out. It was of the Seventh Order as well. The golden light transformed into a huge exotic beast that slammed straight into the fiery Bi Fang.
“Jin Wu!” Xu Zhen’s eyes widened.
A cold light flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes at that moment as he too recognized the origin of this exotic beast.
This was the image of the Divine Spirit, Jin Wu. When Yang Kai was being brought here to the Primordial Land by Zhu Jiu Yin, they were chased by Jin Wu and four other Divine Spirits, making it so that both he and Zhu Jiu Yin had to expend a lot of effort just to arrive alive.
It was unknown what sort of grudge existed between Jin Wu and Zhu Jiu Yin, but Jin Wu was the one who led the chase.
[So this short man is the Bearer that Jin Wu chose?]
Prior to this, Yang Kai had known that many Bearers were hiding their identities; after all, they were going to be participating in the Spirit Seizing War, so it was beneficial for them to remain anonymous for as long as possible. Other than a few Bearers whose identities were openly known, most of the Bearers were hiding under the water’s surface.
Since entering the Primordial Land, Yang Kai had already encountered several such lurkers.
Xiang Ying was one, Ding Yi was one, Fan Yue was one, and now, this short man in front of him was also one…
And these were merely the ones he encountered personally. What about the ones he had not met? Each one of these Bearers had been vigorously cultivated by the Divine Spirits behind them, and they all had their own heritage, which was clear to see just by watching the fight in front of them now. The Spirit Seizing War was destined to be a fierce struggle between evenly matched opponents!
Whether it be Jin Wu or Bi Fang, these were both veteran Divine Spirits who had been alive for countless years; thus they spared no effort in nurturing their chosen Bearers, even going so far as to consume the power inside of their own Monster Cores to help them condense one of the Five Elements.
The two Divine Spirits were similar in strength, causing Ding Yi and the short man to be evenly matched as well. In front of everyone’s eyes, the giant Jin Wu and Bi Fang met in mid-air. Their calls were unceasing and the golden light and the fiery light blended together to create a terrifying shockwave that spread outwards. Emperor Heaven’s crowd of people were all thrown off their feet while even the thousands of spectators were forced back from the fallout.
Ding Yi grunted and his face paled slightly. It was clear that the attack he performed caused a considerable amount of stress on his own body. The short man was also forced back several steps. One of his feet dug into the ground, and the ground beneath him cracked apart like a turtle shell, leaving a dense pattern like a spiderweb with him as its centre.
The moment he stabilized himself, the short man glared at Ding Yi and formed seals with his hand before pointing a finger out.
A great sense of crisis descended upon Ding Yi at that instant.
Ding Yi’s face changed dramatically as even though his aptitude was not bad, it was far from enough to withstand a Seventh-Order Fire Element Power. In order to give him a fighting chance at obtaining the Innate Spirit Fruit, Bi Fang had used a Secret Technique to forcefully condense the Seventh-Order Fire Element Power into his body using its Monster Core’s power.
That caused Ding Yi’s Dao Seal to destabilize, and the Seventh-Order Fire Element Power was constantly encroaching upon him. If he were not using the Fire Element Power actively, then he could still barely control it, but once he used it, his Dao Seal would be shaken, and his strength would be greatly reduced for about an hour.
Bi Fang’s move was like pulling a seedling up to help it grow, but for a Divine Spirit, all they cared about was getting their hands on the Innate Spirit Fruit that could free them from their cage. As for whether Ding Yi lived or died in the future, that had nothing to do with him.
This was what many Divine Spirits were like.
The short man struck at the perfect opportunity, when Ding Yi’s mind was shaken. How could Ding Yi find the power to resist if he were putting all his effort into maintaining his Dao Seal’s integrity?
A large awl materialized and spun through the air as it dove straight for the centre of Ding Yi’s brow.
“My destined end has come!” Ding Yi cried out with an unwilling look on his face.
As the large awl was about to bore right through his skull though, a strange power enveloped him, and all of a sudden, Ding Yi’s vision changed. The space around him seemed to fluctuate, and then the large awl disappeared without a trace.
When he looked around again, he found himself in a different place than before. He had inexplicably moved several dozens of metres away, and it was this bizarre movement that allowed him to escape disaster.
Following the source of the power from before, Ding Yi looked over and saw Yang Kai’s palm facing him, and space was turning and twisting behind that big hand.
Then, it made sense. Yang Kai had saved his life at the critical moment, for which he was immensely grateful.
Yang Kai looked at the short man and grinned fiercely at him, “So it was you! You bastard!”
Before those words had even emerged, he had already slammed his palm towards the short man, causing the World Energy around them to shake as it formed a large foggy green palm that enveloped Heaven and earth.
The short man’s face changed slightly. Taking in a breath, he shook the gourd vine in his hand.
*Sou sou sou sou…*
Noise broke through the air as the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers flew into the sky and landed on the gourd vine, turning back into seven small bottle gourds.
The gourd vine’s power soared, breaking through the green palm in one light blow. Without delay, the short man formed hand seals with one hand, and his body suddenly disappeared into the void.
“Still want to run?” Yang Kai coldly snorted and manipulated Space Principles, sealing Heaven and Earth. Sensing a life aura rapidly flying away, he threw a punch to one side.
There was a muffled grunt, and the short man’s figure reappeared; however, he soon rushed into the mountain as blood sprayed out of his mouth. It was clear that the punch he took from Yang Kai earlier caused him to suffer a big loss. He turned around and glared at Yang Kai with pure hatred in his eyes, but his body disappeared once again.
Yang Kai frowned. He could no longer sense his presence with his Divine Sense, which was certainly because of this guy’s mysterious concealment method, but also due to the strange situation inside the mountain that stopped his Divine Sense from extending deeper within. Otherwise, there was no way he would let that guy escape so easily.
“You have a grudge against him?” Xu Zhen looked at Yang Kai with curiosity.
He realized this the moment he saw Yang Kai make his move.
Staring at the direction in which the short man disappeared to, Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Xu Zhen was thoughtful, “That Divine Ability earlier must be the Shattering Dao Seal Technique. Could he be from Purple Jade Cave Heaven? But why have I never met him before? If he truly does come from Purple Jade Cave Heaven, then Brother Yang should be careful.”
Yang Kai snorted, “I don’t care whether he’s from Purple Jade Cave Heaven or not! I’m killing him!”
Before this, when he was entering the Primordial Land, Yang Kai had been ambushed by someone using the Shattering Dao Seal Technique in the seven-coloured passage. If his Dao Seal had not been reinforced using Divine Dao Water, then he may have suffered a huge loss back then. Even though he searched for the attacker immediately after, he could not find a trace of him, and it was from Qu Hua Shang that he learned about the Shattering Dao Seal Technique.
Yang Kai never thought that he would see this Divine Ability again in this place.
In other words, there was a nine out of ten chance that the short man was the very one who attacked him back at the seven-coloured passage. All the techniques he displayed thus far were in line with Yang Kai’s guess.
First of all, this guy was proficient in concealing his aura and body. Yang Kai had already confirmed that he was unable to find him back at the seven-coloured passage itself, and this short man was also proficient in the same kind of Secret Technique.
Moreover, there was no such thing as an unprovoked grudge, much less an unprovoked favour. Yang Kai was not sure why he would ambush him like that, but if this grudge was passed down from Jin Wu and Zhu Jiu Yin, then it all made sense.
Jin Wu and Zhu Jiu Yin had a deep grudge against each other. As Jin Wu’s Bearer, the short man must have received Jin Wu’s orders to find a way to eliminate him before entering the Primordial Land, so as to cut off Zhu Jiu Yin’s hopes.
Xu Zhen was troubled, however, and spoke, “Brother Yang, if he truly was a disciple of Purple Jade Cave Heaven, then I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.”
Cave-Heavens and Paradises certainly competed with each other, and many of these fights tended to be large-scale, but there were also allies between them. Divine Cauldron Heaven and Purple Jade Cave Heaven shared a good relationship with each other. If their disciples were to meet each other on the outside, then even if they did not mutually support each other, they would still not give each other a hard time; otherwise, it would be hard to explain to their Masters once they return.
Yang Kai said, “I won’t trouble you, Brother Xu.”
Xu Zhen sighed and did not try to persuade him, “If you really come to a life-or-death juncture, Brother Yang must be wary of this!”
Yang Kai looked down to see Xu Zhen fiddling with his own Identity Token.
Expression turning grim, Yang Kai nodded lightly.
For disciples of Cave-Heavens and Paradises like Xu Zhen, an Identity Token was not merely a means to prove one’s status, but also a life-saving treasure that held a Divine Ability of their Master within it.
It was already benevolent of Xu Zhen to remind Yang Kai of that.
At that moment, Ding Yi came over to thank him. If Yang Kai had not moved him out of the way using Space Principles earlier, then he would have been hit by that Shattering Dao Seal Technique. In his current state, his Dao Seal would have been at risk of collapsing if he were hit by that attack.
Yang Kai’s helping hand saved his life.
“Thanks are not enough for this kindness, Brother Yang. If you ever have any need for my, Ding Yi, and Emperor Heaven’s help, then please do not hesitate to ask. We will surely not refuse!” Ding Yi spoke with great zeal, and he waved his hand, “What are you still waiting for? Get in and find that guy! I must skin him alive!”
He had a fierce look on his face and it was clear how much he hated that short man.
Of the two to three thousand cultivators from Emperor Heaven, hundreds were dead and wounded in battle, but they were still huge in numbers. With one order from Ding Yi, they rushed into the mountain in a rumble.
Yang Kai warned him, “There seems to be some danger in that mountain. Tell your men to be careful.”
Ding Yi was stunned. He began fighting the short man as soon as he arrived here, so he really did not know about this and quickly warned his subordinates. When they received the order, all of them put their guards up.
The thousands of people gathered here to watch could not hold back once they saw Emperor Heaven moving, so all of them rushed into the mountain as well.
“I will also be going, Brother Yang. We will meet again at the top of the mountain.” Xu Zhen cupped his fists and left towards the mountain.
He had no idea whether the short man was from Purple Jade Cave Heaven, so he could not go with Yang Kai; otherwise, he would not be able to help either one once Yang Kai was to clash with that man. With that thought in mind, Xu Zhen decided it would be better for him to set off alone.
Yang Kai nodded and asked him to take care.
He waited until Xu Zhen left before stepping forward; however, he frowned as soon as he stepped into the mountain because this place was indeed very strange. It was covered in a fog similar to the one produced by Little Mushroom that had the ability to suppress one’s Divine Sense so that one’s detection radius was severely limited.
Even though Yang Kai had no idea what mysteries were hidden inside of this mountain, he was certain that there was danger. The best proof of that fact was the death of all those who entered here before him.
On the other end, Xiang Ying stepped towards the mountain with his purple bamboo in hand, looking at the old tree at the summit with a face as tranquil as an ancient well.
Thousands of meters away, another young man rushed over. Someone turned their head to look at him, and when they saw the Divine Medicine, Ah Ku, squatting on his shoulder, they exclaimed in amusement, “What is that weird thing? It looks so ugly!”
Ah Ku looked up at the cultivator with a bitter and begrudging expression on his face, “You’re a handsome young man. You have a long life ahead of you!”
The man laughed and tugged at his companion, “Look, that ugly thing can actually talk!”
*Kacha…*
A thunderbolt suddenly struck down, hitting the man who spoke. The thunderbolt was immensely powerful, and it was not known where it came from, but it left no traces to seek the source. Under the violent power, the man’s body was blasted to pieces. His limbs and bits of his flesh flew into the air from the impact.
The companion next to him was stunned in place when he saw this, and a chill ran from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. If the thunder had just been slightly off earlier, then he would have been the one dead.
Ah Ku looked at him and said in a deep voice, “You’re a handsome one, too!”
With those words, another thunderbolt came down and struck the man, zapping him out of existence!
The cultivators all around them were horrified. Even though they had no idea what just happened, they instinctually backed away from Ah Ku, looking at him as if he were a monster.
Ah Ku looked up at the sky and sighed heavily, “I am so sad!”
The sound of cracking thunder was incessant. Prior to this, the crowd gathered at the foot of the mountain did not discover how dangerous the mountain was, but after stepping into it, it was as if they had activated some sort of invisible restriction and danger rushed at them one after another.
The thunderbolt breaking through the void was so powerful that no ordinary cultivator could resist it, and often, one thunderbolt was enough to take away one life.
Yang Kai was also paying close attention to his surroundings. Even though his Divine Sense was being suppressed, it was still somewhat usable. Even so, he could not sense how the lightning had formed, and by the time he did sense it, it was already too late, and the only thing he could do was to resist it.
Fortunately, he had a sturdy body, so eating a few lightning strikes was no problem for him. However, it did make his body numb, and turned his clothes into rags.
“Watch out for that fog!” Pu Bai Xiong suddenly cried out.
He and Little Mushroom, who were sitting on each of Yang Kai’s shoulders, were also paying close attention to their surroundings and would warn him as soon as they discovered anything.
Yang Kai turned around to look, only to see a grey fog floating over towards a dozen people just a short distance away.
The dozen people did not pay too much attention to it, but when the grey fog reached them, a chilling sight appeared.
A dozen white skeletons were left in place of the cultivators, scattering onto the ground.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen lives had been bizarrely taken away from this earth before they could even make a sound.
Only at that moment did someone exclaim, “This isn’t a fog, it’s some kind of insect smarm!”
The greyish fog actually turned out to be composed of countless tiny insects that could not be seen clearly with the naked eye.
When they saw the cloud of insects drifting towards their side, some of the cultivators in that group panicked and launched Divine Abilities at it.
The cloud of insects broke apart into several dozen smaller swarms that broke through the group in an instant, burrowing into their bodies from every orifice. All of a sudden, these people began to shake and scream as if they were being subjected to great torture.
But in just an instant, their screams ended.
Their flesh disappeared, and the living people turned into dead bones. The insect cloud grew and regrouped into one mass before swooping towards Yang Kai’s direction.
Yang Kai was stunned. It was only now that he realized how dangerous this mountain was. The lightning was nothing. It could be easily resisted with some ability and preparation, but this insect cloud looked even more powerful than the thunderbolt. It was simply difficult to guard against!
The insect fog silently came over Yang Kai and engulfed him. Hurriedly, he surged his Golden Crow’s True Fire to burn them. In an instant, crackling sounds were heard as the fog turned into a fire cloud as the insects were burned to ashes.
The road ahead was paved with danger. Besides the lightning attacks that came from the void and the insect cloud’s harassment, there were also many unimaginable crises.
All of a sudden, the ground separated and revealed a chasm, only to close again after swallowing a number of cultivators. Many lives had been lost in silence, and a lot of people were not even aware that their companions had disappeared. When they turned around and realised that they were on their own, they were horrified.
It had only been one hour since thousands of cultivators streamed onto the mountain, but twenty to thirty percent of them were already dead. The further they went up the mountain, the more dangerous it became, and the more frequent the crises befell them.
Yang Kai had been struck several times, but his solid heritage saved him from calamity.
On the other hand, the other cultivators were not so lucky. Be it the lightning strike or the insect cloud, it was difficult for them to deal with them.
When they reached the middle of the mountain, only a small number of people were left. The people who had the guts to keep moving forward were either confident of their strength or were not willing to go home empty-handed when they already entered such a treasure trove. They were willing to risk their lives and give it a try.
Xiang Ying and the young man who had obtained Ah Ku were ahead of everyone else while Xu Zhen lagged slightly behind. It wasn’t that Xu Zhen was weaker than they were, but everyone had different strengths and weaknesses. The purple bamboo in Xiang Ying’s hand was able to save him from all the calamities. By just sticking out the bamboo, he could annihilate the lightning and disperse the insect cloud.
The young man who had obtained Ah Ku was fairly powerful as well. Yang Kai suspected that he was also a Divine Spirit Bearer; however, this person was pretty secretive, so Yang Kai wasn’t certain about his background.
These were just the Bearers who had surfaced, so what about the Bearers who remained hidden?
After all, Yang Kai had seen more than fifty Divine Spirits outside. Every Divine Spirit had their own Bearer, so there were over fifty Bearers at the very least.
The short man was still nowhere to be found. Yang Kai wondered where he was. As Yang Kai moved forward, he kept darting his gaze around in an attempt to look for the short man.
All of a sudden, a light appeared in the distance. Initially, the light was extremely weak, but after just a split second, it became as bright as daylight. At the same time, a terrifying aura wafted from that direction. Following a hiss, a lightning snake swirled around the light and expanded rapidly.
Pu Bai Xiong exclaimed, “Watch out!”
Hurriedly, Yang Kai made a grabbing gesture, and as Space Principles undulated, he forcefully lifted his hand.
With a boom, the lightning snake exploded in the sky and engulfed an area of a thousand metres. Within that area, space shattered and formed a huge black hole.
Yang Kai gasped and felt fortunate that as soon as he realised that something was off, he threw the lightning snake up. If it exploded right in front of him, even his Dragon Body wouldn’t come out unscathed.
After letting out a breath, he looked up at the peak and became doubtful.
When he was still at the bottom of the mountain earlier, he already realised that a faint aura of World Force permeated this place. As he moved further up the mountain, this feeling became increasingly clearer, which puzzled him.
In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, even the powers of the Divine Spirits had been significantly suppressed while the Small Universes in the bodies of Open Heaven Realm Masters were completely sealed. Supposedly, something like World Force shouldn’t exist here, but it could be felt in this place. Where was the World Force coming from?
Yang Kai could detect that the source of the World Force was the ancient tree at the mountain peak. What amazed him was that this World Force seemed complicated, as though it was formed by countless types of World Forces.
“Grape, are you sure that’s the Innate Fruit Tree?” Yang Kai asked as he ambled forward.
Presently, Pu Bai Xiong was seated on Yang Kai’s shoulder. His legs, which were transformed from roots, swung in the air as he replied nonchalantly, “I don’t know whether he’s innate or not. Since you’re looking for a fruit tree, I’m bringing you to where one is.”
At that, Yang Kai was rendered speechless.
The distance between the bottom of the mountain and the peak was only three kilometres. Usually, any cultivator would have reached the summit after just one breath’s time; however, it had taken them over two hours to do so on this mountain.
The first one to rush to the peak was Xiang Ying. Upon arriving at his destination, he didn’t scramble to snatch the spirit fruit though. Instead, he looked up from the bottom of the tree as he fell into a dazed state.
The next person was the young man who had obtained Ah Ku. Seeing him, Xiang Ying secretly widened the gap between them. That was because all the cultivators who had been close to this young man were now dead, which was a sign of misfortune.
The third person to arrive was Xu Zhen.
Yang Kai was the fourth person to reach the peak, followed by Ding Yi and those from Emperor Heaven. Behind them were the battered cultivators who had gone through countless ordeals and finally arrived at this place.
The short man was still nowhere to be found, but Yang Kai could feel that this guy was hiding somewhere nearby; unfortunately, his Divine Sense had been suppressed in this place, so he was unable to look for him.
Presently, all of them were staring dazedly at this fruit tree. The tree crown was so gigantic that it seemed to have covered the entire sky. Spirit fruits were hanging on its branches, each one only the size of a fist, but they were translucent and radiated a beautiful glow.
“These are…” Xu Zhen examined the fruit tree and the spirit fruits in front of him. As though recalling something, he fell into his thoughts.
“It’s not the Innate Fruit Tree!” Xiang Ying suddenly said.
Yang Kai nodded in agreement. He couldn’t detect it when he was at the bottom of the mountain, but as soon as he saw this fruit tree, he realised that something was off. This wasn’t the Innate Fruit Tree. At the very least, this wasn’t the tree that these Divine Spirits had been looking for.
That was because they had said that there was only one spirit fruit on the Innate Fruit Tree, so it could only go to one person. The same thing happened every time the Primordial Land opened up. After the spirit fruit was picked, the Innate Fruit Tree would disappear, and the spirit fruit was the key to helping them get out of this cage.
However, the fruit tree in front of them had hundreds if not thousands of spirit fruits.
The spirit fruits hanging on the branches were extremely attractive to the beholder and also exuded a faint World Force.
The source of the World Force Yang Kai felt earlier was these spirit fruits, which was an inconceivable idea.
“Hahaha. With so many spirit fruits around, all of us won’t go home empty-handed.” Ding Yi guffawed. Although about four thousand to five thousand people had streamed onto the mountain, only several hundred people managed to reach the summit. There were probably two thousand to three thousand spirit fruits on this tree, so even if they were equally divided between these several hundred people, everyone could get a few.
Even though they had no idea what these spirit fruits were for, they knew that these were beneficial by just looking at them. Nevertheless, in front of such a treasure, no one dared to make the first move lest the others attack them.
However, Ding Yi didn’t care about this one bit as he pointed at one of his subordinates and ordered, “Go over and pick one for me!”
There was a bitter expression on the person’s face, but he had no choice but to walk over and jump onto a branch.
Looking down, he realised that everyone was staring fixedly at him, but no one seemed to have the intention of attacking him. It was then he set his mind at ease.
At that instant, he knew that these people were treating him like a test subject. If no danger befell him after he picked the spirit fruit, all of them would rush over and snatch them.
Then, he secretly prayed and extended his hand towards a spirit fruit. The fruit felt slightly cold, but there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about it. Just when he was ready to pluck the fruit though, something unexpected happened. Right in front of everyone’s eyes, this person disappeared all of a sudden.
Ding Yi widened his eyes in disbelief and exclaimed, “Where did he go?”
There was a solemn expression on Yang Kai’s face. Earlier, he was staring fixedly at that person, but he couldn’t see how the latter disappeared, as though they had vanished into thin air, which was eerie.
Seeing this, many heaved a sigh of relief. There was apparently a huge risk associated with picking these spirit fruits. Fortunately, they were not in a rush to snatch these fruits just now; otherwise, the same fate would have befallen them.
Right then, a realisation seemed to have dawned upon Xu Zhen and his gaze appeared fervent as he guffawed, “That’s it! This thing really does exist! I always thought it was just a legend!”
Hearing that, all of them turned to look at him.
Xu Zhen was from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven, so his background was extraordinary. As such, his knowledge and experience were much greater than others of his generation; after all, the inheritance and heritage of a Cave-Heaven stretched tens to hundreds of thousands of years. Many secrets that were unknown to the masses were recorded in the books kept by these top forces.
Previously, Yang Kai had obtained a lot of information regarding the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary from Xu Zhen.
Now, Xu Zhen seemed to recognise this wonderful fruit tree, so he must have seen some related records.
Worried about his subordinate’s safety, Ding Yi quickly asked, “Little fatty, what do you know? What the hell is this thing? Where’s my man?”
Xu Zhen shot him a glance, but he wasn’t mad. He had always been a mild-tempered person, so with a smile, he replied, “Chief Ding, don’t worry. Your subordinate isn’t in danger for now. It’s just that he has been swallowed by the spirit fruit.”
The expression of Ding Yi changed, “What do you mean that he’s not in danger when he’s been eaten by the fruit?”
After a chuckle, Xu Zhen explained, “He’s indeed not in a perilous situation, but it depends on his luck whether he can get out. If he can do that, it’ll be a huge opportunity for him. If he can’t…”
“What if he can’t?”
“He’ll be trapped inside the fruit forever.”
In a grim voice, Ding Yi questioned, “This thing traps people inside?”
“Chief Ding, please do not underestimate these fruits. They’re very powerful.” Xu Zhen chuckled.
Just then, Ah Ku’s owner asked, “Senior Brother, what is this fruit tree? What are these spirit fruits?”
These were the questions everyone was curious about. Faced with such a dangerous treasure trove, they had to find out about its background first. With such a precedent earlier, no one dared to make a move on the spirit fruits for now.
Without the intention to hide it from them, Xu Zhen said solemnly, “If I’m not mistaken, this is the legendary 3,000 Worlds Tree.”
“3,000 Worlds Tree?” All of them exclaimed and traded glances.
Other than Xu Zhen, no one else at the scene seemed to have heard of such a tree before.
Xu Zhen explained, “I once read from a worn-out ancient book in our Sect about it. Although the record was incomplete, I’m certain that this is the 3,000 Worlds Tree. Look, aren’t there exactly 3,000 fruits on this tree?”
Upon hearing his explanation, everyone quickly turned to look at those spirit fruits. The people at the scene were all extraordinary, so they were able to count the number of spirit fruits after just a glance. There were indeed exactly 3,000 spirit fruits.
With a solemn expression, Xu Zhen went on to say, “The 3,000 Worlds Tree bears the fruits of 3,000 Worlds. Every fruit is a World, and all of them correspond to 3,000 Grand Daos. Every World Fruit is an established system on its own, just like the Small Universe in an Open Heaven Realm Master’s body.”
All of them were astounded as they couldn’t believe what they heard. These fruits were only the size of a fist, but they all contained Small Worlds inside them, which was an inconceivable idea.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s expression changed.
Just now, all his attention was on the spirit fruits, so he hadn’t realised the crux of the problem. Upon hearing Xu Zhen’s explanation, he couldn’t help suspecting that this 3,000 Worlds Tree might be the World Tree the Giant Spirit God Ah Da had mentioned.
The epic battle in the Star Boundary caused the World Principles to break, and the Star Boundary itself faced the risk of collapse at any moment. Although the Great Emperors had joined forces to stabilise the situation, the Star Boundary couldn’t remain intact forever.
Previously, Yang Kai asked Ah Da about any possible solutions. A puzzled Ah Da only mentioned the World Tree to him. The World Tree was supposed to be the key to rebuilding the World Principles of the Star Boundary.
It had been quite some time since Yang Kai arrived in the Outer Universe, but he hadn’t managed to find out anything about the World Tree to date. He had never expected to come across the tree in the Primordial Land.
If this 3,000 Worlds Tree was indeed what Ah Da had mentioned, it was the key to saving the Star Boundary from oblivion.
At that instant, Yang Kai’s gaze became fervent as he tried to come up with a way to uproot the 3,000 Worlds Tree.
“Every fruit is a World on its own…” someone muttered under his breath, “In that case, that guy fell into the World inside the fruit, right?”
“En,” Xu Zhen nodded, “This is his opportunity.”
It was then they understood why Xu Zhen said that that person was swallowed by the fruit. He was indeed eaten by the fruit as he had fallen into the World inside it.
“If he can comprehend the Principles of that World, he can escape, and the World Fruit will belong to him. If he can’t…”
“What if he can’t?” Ding Yi asked in a grim voice.
“He’ll be trapped inside it forever. There’s no more hope for him,” Xu Zhen replied.
His words sent a chill down everyone’s spine. No one knew what was going on inside the World of the fruit. If one was trapped inside it forever, he’d definitely end up in a miserable state.
“What are the World Fruits for?” Another person asked, “Senior Brother, since you’re able to recognise the fruits, you should know their uses, right?”
Xu Zhen replied with a grin, “The uses of World Fruits are incredible. They are the legendary treasures that are said to be able to help an Open Heaven Realm Master ascend to the next Order.”
“What?” All of them exclaimed and stared at Xu Zhen in disbelief. They were trying to find out whether Xu Zhen was pulling their leg, but his expression appeared fervent and dead serious.
“They can help an Open Heaven Realm Master ascend to the next Order? Are you serious?”
“Are there such amazing things in this world?”
“It’s extremely difficult for an Open Heaven Realm Master to achieve a breakthrough. Can these fruits really help one rise a whole Order?”
An Open Heaven Realm Master improved their order mainly through years of accumulation. Every breakthrough cost them a long time and countless resources. Moreover, there were a lot of restrictions, so the number of times they could achieve an ascension was limited.
Normally, after a cultivator became an Open Heaven Realm Master, given enough time and resources, he or she could attain two further breakthroughs at most.
This was related to the Open Heaven Pills which Humans refined. As time passed, the effects of these pills on a cultivator would diminish and eventually become useless.
Of course, if one was lucky enough to obtain Open Heaven Pills spontaneously born from the Universe itself, there wouldn’t be such worries. The Universe was filled with wonders, but innate Open Heaven Pills were extremely rare. These Open Heaven Pills didn’t have any side effects, and with their help, anyone could attempt to ascend to the next Order.
These naturally born Open Heaven Pills were extraordinarily precious. Whenever they appeared, they would be snatched up by the Cave-Heavens and Paradises. The average cultivator wouldn’t even stand a chance to see one.
Beside the 3,000 Worlds Tree, hundreds of cultivators had broken into a commotion as they were shocked by what Xu Zhen had said.
A solemn Xu Zhen said, “I didn’t believe it at first, but when I saw the World Fruits, I knew that it was the truth. An Open Heaven Realm Master ascends to the next Order mainly by expanding their Small Universe and completing its power. Look at these World Fruits. Every one of them is a Small World on its own. If one can consume and refine it, the benefits they can get will be astonishing. There’s no doubt that it can help a cultivator to reach the next Order.”
Yang Kai nodded gently as Xu Zhen was right. He could feel the World Force wafting from these World Fruits, so it was apparent that they indeed contained Small Worlds inside them. If an Open Heaven Realm Master could refine one of them, it could help them expand the Small Universe in their body and complete its power.
At that instant, all of them became enthusiastic as they drooled over the World Fruits.
These were some amazing fruits that could help a cultivator to ascend to the next Order. All of them at the scene had earned some rewards in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and it could be said that if they left this place safely, they would definitely become Open Heaven Realm Masters in the near future. If they could obtain a World Fruit in advance, a Third-Order cultivator would ascend to the Fourth-Order; a Fourth-Order cultivator would ascend to the Fifth-Order; a Sixth-Order cultivator would ascend to the Seventh-Order. A World Fruit could save them centuries if not millennia of hard work.
Even if they decided to sell it instead of consuming it, Open Heaven Realm Masters would scramble to purchase it.
All of a sudden, Xu Zhen chuckled and said loudly, “Well, do not have unrealistic expectations about these World Fruits. They’re indeed amazing and extraordinary, but they’re not all-purpose. These fruits are divided into three ranks. A Low-Rank World Fruit can only help a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master reach the next Order; a Mid-Rank one can help a Mid-Rank cultivator ascend to the next Order; a High-Rank one can help a High-Rank cultivator attain the next Order.”
“These fruits are divided into three ranks?” Xiang Ying arched his brow.
Xu Zhen nodded, “That’s what I saw in the records. Don’t ask me how to differentiate them because I have no idea. I only know that most of the fruits on this tree are Low-Rank. There are only a small number of Mid-Rank ones. As for the High-Rank fruits, there might not even be a single one on this tree. Even if they are on this tree, they must be extremely rare.”
While he was speaking, many used their Divine Senses on the spirit tree. Although these spirit fruits appeared petite, every one of them was an independent world. All the Divine Senses were swallowed instantly, so no one could realise anything special or differentiate the qualities. All of these fruits looked identical, as though they were made from the same mould.
Even if there were no High-Rank fruits, these fruits were deathly attractive to these cultivators.
Ding Yi guffawed, “I’m going to be filthy rich! Hahahaha!”
Many people at the scene were from his Emperor Heaven. Even if all the spirit fruits were shared equally, he could still get his hands on quite a few of them. However, the prerequisite was that he could pick these fruits.
Xu Zhen put on a smile as though he had seen through his thoughts, “Although there are many World Fruits here, each one of you only has one chance. If you pick a fruit, you’ll never be able to enter another one.”
“What nonsense is that?” Ding Yi widened his eyes.
Xu Zhen replied, “I’m not sure about it either. I’m just telling you all what I saw in my Sect’s ancient books. I don’t know much about this fruit tree.”
After giving it a thought, Ding Yi said, “Only by entering the World inside the fruit could one comprehend its Principles and stand a chance to obtain the World Fruit. Is that right?”
Xu Zhen nodded gently, “That’s what I saw.”
After a grunt, Ding Yi grinned, “We can only find out by giving it a try, then.” Upon finishing his words, he gathered his subordinates and picked out over ten people. Then, he ordered them to try to forcefully obtain the World Fruits.
These over ten people rolled up their sleeves and approached the 3,000 Worlds Tree.
Yang Kai and the others watched them in silence, but they didn’t have the intention of stopping these people. There were many things they didn’t understand about the 3,000 Worlds Tree, so these people from Emperor Heaven could serve as guinea pigs for them.
A moment later, these people activated their Secret Techniques and attempted to grab the World Fruits; however, regardless of what they did, the World Fruits remained unmoving, and all the techniques disappeared like stones sinking into the ocean. Someone became furious and cast a Divine Ability at the World Fruit, which swallowed it. The spirit fruit was fine while the Divine Ability had disappeared.
A while later, Ding Yi told these people to come back. The result was clear: it was impossible to forcefully pick the spirit fruits. Just like what Xu Zhen had said, one had to enter the World inside the fruit to pick it.
“In that case, let’s go in, then.” Someone laughed and shuffled forward. After leaping onto a branch, he extended his hand towards a spirit fruit. As soon as he came into contact with the fruit, his figure disappeared.
Seeing that, the other cultivators were unable to stay put anymore as they leapt onto the 3,000 Worlds Tree and chose different spirit fruits.
All of them disappeared like a phantom. In the blink of an eye, over one hundred people were gone.
The remaining cultivators were either observing in silence or hesitating as they were not sure if they should take on such a risk; after all, Xu Zhen had said that there were dangers associated with entering the World inside each fruit. If one succeeded, they could get the spirit fruit. If one failed, they would be trapped inside it forever. There was no second chance.
Xiang Ying and the young man who had obtained Ah Ku also respectively chose a spirit fruit and entered it.
Ding Yi pointed at the tree with his sword and yelled, “Fellow Brothers, opportunity lies in front of us, now all that matters is if you can seize it. I won’t force any of you. Those who are fine with remaining ordinary can stay, and those who want riches and glory can follow this King!”
After he finished speaking, he charged forward and found a spirit fruit at the highest point. As soon as he grabbed the fruit, his figure vanished into thin air.
Some of the people from Emperor Heaven followed him and selected their own fruits. Some of them shook their heads and sighed before going down the mountain; after all, not everyone was as resolute as Ding Yi.
On the other hand, Xu Zhen and Yang Kai remained in the same spots as they were trying to differentiate the ranks of these spirit fruits. Unfortunately, even after a long examination, they still couldn’t tell the difference.
A moment later, Xu Zhen shook his head and said, “Brother Yang, I’ll be going on ahead.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Brother Xu, take care.”
Just then, Yang Kai secretly spoke to Xu Zhen in his mind, “What will happen if two people choose the same spirit fruit?”
Besides trying to differentiate the qualities of these spirit fruits, the reason he had been staying put for so long was to see what would happen if two people selected the same spirit fruit. Unfortunately, no two people entered the World of the same fruit simultaneously. All of them had selected different targets.
A glint flashed across Xu Zhen’s eyes as he realised Yang Kai’s intention, then he replied, “Brother Yang can give it a try.”
Apparently, he had no idea what the outcome would be.
After Xu Zhen was gone, Yang Kai chose a particular World Fruit and grabbed it. The next instant, his figure disappeared.
An incense stick later, a figure appeared like a phantom. He was none other than the short man who had obtained the gourd vine. At this moment, he sported a fervent expression as he stared at the 3,000 Worlds Tree and chuckled, “World Fruits… There are such amazing things in the Primordial Land.”
He had been hiding nearby and it wasn’t until this moment that he appeared.
In a nonchalant manner, he approached the fruit tree and used his gourd vine in an attempt to coil it around a spirit fruit, but regardless of how hard he tried, he was unable to pull it down. The fruits seemed easily obtainable, but they were clearly fixed in place.
After several failed attempts, the short man sighed, “It seems that I have to enter the World inside the fruit.”
Upon finishing his words, he extended his hand towards a fruit.
Right then, something unexpected happened.
A great sense of danger engulfed him, and at the same time, a voice was heard shouting, “Solidify!”
The space around him froze in an instant, which rendered him immoble. The World Fruit was well within reach, but he was unable to move a muscle. From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure slowly appearing in mid-air. Flabbergasted, he finally realised that he had been ambushed.
He had always been a careful person; otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained hidden for such a long time before approaching. However, he hadn’t expected that after he confirmed that everyone had entered the Worlds inside the fruits, someone was still hiding in the dark, and that person had evaded his inspection earlier.
Judging from the voice, he believed that the person was Zhu Jiu Yin’s Bearer, Yang Kai, who had made a name for himself in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Upon that realization, his expression darkened.
In fact, there were no grudges between Yang Kai and him. It was just that after receiving Jin Wu’s order, he decided to ambush Yang Kai in the seven-coloured passageway. He thought that he could kill his target with one strike, but Yang Kai only suffered some minor injuries. It was then he realised that Yang Kai was indeed famous for a reason.
Earlier, in order to deal with Ding Yi, he had no choice but to expose himself. Apparently, Yang Kai was still resentful of him, so he had hidden in order to ambush him here.
In an instant, this short man figured out everything. Although he wasn’t flustered, he still hurriedly communicated with the gourd vine that had been wrapped around him. The seven small bottle gourds on the vine faintly radiated a seven-coloured light.
Yang Kai appeared from the Void and strode towards the short man. Then, he clapped his hands and pulled them apart, after which a huge Moon Blade took shape. Staring coldly at the short man from a short distance, he bellowed, “Die!”
The Moon Blade broke through the air and cut across space before slashing at the short man.
This person was Jin Wu’s Bearer, and he had plotted against Yang Kai in the seven-coloured passageway some time ago. Since grudges had been formed between them, there was no way Yang Kai would let him off.
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t show him any mercy. He had the Shadowless Veil, so he was able to conceal his figure and aura. Just now, he seemed to have entered into the World inside the fruit, but he had actually never touched the World Fruit. Prior to that, he had already activated the Shadowless Veil to hide his whereabouts.
After just a moment, this short man indeed exposed himself.
This guy also had a way to conceal himself, and he had obtained the Divine Medicine gourd vine. If he wasn’t killed now, he would become a huge problem for Yang Kai in the future.
Moreover, Yang Kai was also interested in the gourd vine and seven small bottle gourds.
Pu Bai Xiong and Little Mushroom were also Divine Medicines, and they were both invaluable. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that the gourd vine was more attractive to Yang Kai. The seven small bottle gourds on the vine corresponded to the Yin, Yang, and each of the Five Elements, and they were all in the Fifth-Order. If he could snatch the gourd vine, it would represent an inexhaustible source of Fifth-Order materials.
Yang Kai naturally didn’t really need such resources, but they would certainly be useful for the people in the Star Boundary. Without holding back, he attempted to kill the short man. The Moon Blade whooshed forward and reached the short man in just a moment.
Just when the short man was about to be decapitated, the seven small bottle gourds around him suddenly shone brightly as the seven-coloured light undulated. Yin, Yang, and Five Elements mutually reinforced one another as a sturdy layer of protection formed.
With a loud boom, the Moon Blade slashed at the seven-coloured barrier but only formed a small gap in it, which still made the short man shudder a little, but he remained unharmed.
Seizing the chance, the short man broke free of the restriction of Space Principles and turned his head before uttering resentfully, “I’ll kill you sooner or later!”
Yang Kai snorted and pushed out a fist, whereupon a black dot flashed across his knuckles.
Rupture!
The violent force of the fist tore the seven-coloured barrier apart and the short man grunted and spat blood. Flustered, he hurriedly grabbed a Word Fruit and disappeared from the spot.
Yang Kai charged forward and pushed out a palm, but all he hit was air as his opponent had snuck into the World inside the fruit.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai also extended his hand towards the same fruit.
The short man had been injured, so now was the best time to end his life. Naturally, Yang Kai wouldn’t want to miss this chance as he was determined to ruthlessly kill him.
What made Yang Kai feel at ease was that as soon as he came into contact with the fruit, he could clearly feel a pull coming from it, as if he was falling into a chasm.
It seemed that even if two people chose the same World Fruit, they could enter the World at the same time.
At that instant, Yang Kai’s curiosity was piqued as he wondered what the World inside the fruit looked like. Simultaneously, he surged his strength to protect himself and remained vigilant.
In the blink of an eye, he entered a very peculiar world. Upon scanning his surroundings, Yang Kai was stunned.
That was because he was inside a gigantic bubble at this moment. There were more bubbles around him, and they were all pressed against one another. He couldn’t see where the end was as there were countless bubbles present. It was as though the entire world was made from these bubbles.
What shocked him more was that the World Energy in this bubble was ample, and this World seemed to have its own World Principles, which were fairly complete.
Upon sensing it, Yang Kai realised that if he cultivated in this World, assuming that there was nothing wrong with his aptitude, he could definitely ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.
That realization amazed him. This was just a World inside the fruit, but it was already able to help a cultivator reach the Open Heaven Realm. These World Fruits were indeed extraordinary. It was no wonder that they could help an Open Heaven Realm Master to ascend to the next Order.
Yang Kai supposed this was a Low-Rank World Fruit because, upon inspection, he realised that the best one could achieve was Third-Order in this place. This feeling was vague, but he was certain about his inference.
Before Yang Kai could find out about anything else though, he saw an anomaly from the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw someone else in a bubble over there. His figure appeared somewhat contorted as he was breaking free from his current bubble and rushing into the next.
He was none other than the short man!
Both of them entered this world one after the other, so they should have fallen into the same area.
Earlier, the short man was struck by Yang Kai’s fist, and at this moment, his aura was weak, so it was apparent that he was injured. Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t miss this chance as he bellowed, “Where do you think you’re going!?”
As Space Principles fluctuated, he attempted to race after him.
With a crash, Yang Kai felt as though he had collided with a mountain as he was forced to stop. He began seeing stars, and the soreness on his nose almost made him tear up.
On both of his shoulders, Little Mushroom and Pu Bai Xiong were rolling over as they exclaimed.
Yang Kai shook his head and took a step back. After a glance, he was rendered speechless. That was because what blocked his way was the wall of the bubble. It was the bubble that had cut off his Instantaneous Movement and stopped him from leaving.
Raising his hands, Yang Kai grabbed Little Mushroom and Pu Bai Xiong before throwing them into a Small Sealed World. Following that, he tore the bubble with his hands and shot into the next one.
What was strange was that this bubble was able to seal off the space inside of it, making Instantaneous Movement useless, but the bubble itself could be easily torn apart.
However, after Yang Kai dashed into the next bubble, the gap healed itself.
At this moment, he didn’t have the time to ponder on it as he stared fixedly in the direction the short man was fleeing. As Yang Kai broke apart layers of bubbles, he attempted to hunt down and kill his enemy.
A while later, Yang Kai guffawed, “Even the Heavens are on my side!”
That was because he could see that after the short man barged into a certain bubble, a raging flame suddenly appeared and made him jump. At this instant, he looked pretty pitiful.
Before Yang Kai could finish his words though, a rumble was heard and following that, a bolt of lightning struck him and caused him to stagger.
His expression changed when he raised his head and saw that countless bolts of lightning had been formed in the bubble he was in. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a thunderstorm. The lightning strikes caused him to feel numb and tremble violently.
There were many forms of danger that were hidden within these bubbles apparently. From the outside, they appeared identical, so one wouldn’t find out what was inside until they entered it.
After just ten breaths’ time, Yang Kai broke free from the bubble that was filled with lightning. At the same time, the short man escaped his fiery predicament. Apparently, he could feel someone chasing after him, so he kept dashing forward without even turning his head.
A furious Yang Kai passed through the bubbles before him as he pursued his prey.
As they charged forward, it wasn’t certain how far they had left their original spots behind. The gap between them shortened and then widened from time to time.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth so hard that they almost cracked. If it weren’t because of these strange bubbles, given his mastery over the Dao of Space, he could’ve captured this short man with ease. However, these bubbles were able to stop him from using Instantaneous Movement, which infuriated him.
A few days later, Yang Kai stopped in his tracks and panted heavily due to exhaustion.
Several dozen bubbles in front of him, the short man fell on his backside and lay down on the ground with his limbs spread.
After days of pursuit, both of them were weary, so they had no choice but to take a rest.
While Yang Kai was stuffing Spirit Pills into his mouth, he yelled, “Keep running! When this King captures you, I’ll let you have a taste of the most excruciating torture!”
With difficulty, the short man hoisted himself with his hands and stuffed some pills into his mouth. Still panting, he said, “What can I do so that you’ll let me off?”
Yang Kai sneered, “Let you off? Do you think that’s possible? Besides the fact that you ambushed this King in an attempt to kill me, both of us are Bearers, so we’ll definitely have a life-and-death battle one day. Instead of waiting, I should end your life here to save the trouble later.”