“I’ve taught you how to cultivate and passed on my Secret Arts to you, but I’ve never taught you how to use a spear,” Yang Kai explained, “There are 3,000 Grand Daos in the world. While Xiao Bai is talented in the Dao of Space, your comprehension of the Spear Dao is unrivalled. Both the Dao of Space and Spear Dao are my Daos!”
Zhao Ya finally understood everything.
“In comparison, your aptitude is much better than Xiao Bai’s. If I hadn’t suppressed your cultivation over the years, you would’ve moved beyond the Immortal Ascension Boundary a long time ago.”
A puzzled Zhao Ya asked, “Master, I’ve never understood why you’ve been suppressing my cultivation. Can you tell me now?”
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai said, “I don’t mind explaining it to you, but it will take a very long time. You’ll find out about it when the time is right.”
Zhao Ya nodded and said in a gentle voice, “What about Green Mountain Town? Did you deliberately tell Aunty Lu and Grandma that you came from that place so that I’d look for you there? After all, you brought me out of that place before.”
Yang Kai fell silent.
There had always been a hint of ruthlessness in her since Zhao Ya was a young child. This was evident in her reaction when she was forced to become Yang Kai’s Disciple, and it became even more conspicuous as she grew up. Yang Kai initially wanted to make use of this life experience trip to let her find her biological parents in the hope that the knots in her heart would be solved.
However, his goal was not achieved in the end.
“Master, you were the one who named me. I’ll always be Zhao Ya, and I have nothing to do with the Xu Family. I’ll not be resentful of them for what they’ve done to me; after all, Aunty Mei took good care of me during that period of time. We’re even now.”
Yang Kai nodded.
“However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Please enlighten me, Master.” Zhao Ya looked seriously at him.
“Go ahead.”
“You could’ve kept hiding your identity, and it’s clearly not the right time to expose it, so why did you show your true appearance after Big Brother Ye Bai and I came back from the adventure?”
“That’s because I won’t have time to pay attention to you two in the near future,” Yang Kai explained.
Zhao Ya frowned in puzzlement.
“Above the Emperor Realm is the Open Heaven Realm. To reach that Realm, a cultivator must gather the powers of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements before splitting Heaven and Earth apart in their body to form a Small Universe. I’m an Open Heaven Realm Master, and the world you live in is my Small Universe!”
Zhao Ya was instantly astonished. The vast world they were living in was actually just her Master’s Small Universe. She still couldn’t believe it as the notion was beyond her ability to comprehend.
“My true body is now trapped in a kind of shattered space, and I’ve been trying to comprehend its secrets over the years in an attempt to escape. I’ve finally gotten some clues, so I must focus on that now. Therefore, I won’t have time to deal with the matters in my Small Universe.”
Zhao Ya nodded blankly.
“When I’m not around, you and Xiao Bai have to work hard and not be complacent. I hope that you’ll show significant improvements when I see you again in the future.”
“Yes!” Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai nodded their heads at the same time.
Yang Kai waved his hand again, whereupon two petite figures with wings behind their backs appeared as they danced in the air.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai were instantly amazed as they gazed at the figures that were the size of a palm.
Mu Zhu and Mu Lu flashed amicable smiles at the pair. This couldn’t be helped. While Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya didn’t know these petite beings, Mu Zhu and Mu Lu were very familiar with them. In the past, when Yu Lu was having difficulty giving birth, they were the ones who used a Secret Technique to stabilise her vitality and so they had been there to witness Zhao Ye Bai’s birth. Over the years, they had been observing the two children’s development. It was just that Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya had never seen them before.
“These two are members of the Wood Spirit Clan and are also the earliest residents of my Small Universe. Even before then they accompanied me for years. After I’m gone, you can ask them about cultivation or anything else.”
Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya nodded at the same time.
Yang Kai gazed at Mu Zhu and Mu Lu, “Please take care of them.”
The Wood Spirits replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, Master.”
With a nod, Yang Kai disappeared.
In the hall, both parties glanced at one another for a moment before Zhao Ya pulled Zhao Ye Bai’s clothes and said respectfully, “Junior Zhao Ya greets two Seniors.”
Mu Zhu smiled helplessly when she heard that. It had been a long time since she was born, but it was the first time she had ever been called a Senior. On the other hand, Mu Lu felt that she had taken up a heavy responsibility as she stuck out her chest and pretended to be a senior expert.
However, when she took a glance at Mu Zhu’s towering mountains and remembered her own vast plains, she instantly became dejected.
“Are there any questions you want to ask?” Mu Zhu said with a smile.
Zhao Ye Bai immediately spurted out, “Does Master really have several Wives?”
Zhao Ya looked smilingly at him, “What’s wrong, Big Brother Ye Bai? Do you want to learn from Master?”
Zhao Ye Bai quickly scratched his head, “I’m just curious.”
…..
Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya were now in their early twenties, and the flow of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was twice as fast as in the outside world. In other words, Yang Kai had been trapped in the shattered space for another ten years.
To an Open Heaven Realm Master, ten or so years wasn’t long at all; hence, Yang Kai , Xia Lin Lang, and Cheng Yang, who had chased after them to this place, were all doing just fine.
The three of them were in different parts of the shattered space while searching for a way out; however, both Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang knew nothing about the Dao of Space, so even though they were stronger than Yang Kai, they were powerless to do anything in this situation.
On the other hand, after years of study, Yang Kai had finally gotten some clues about this space. That was the reason he decided to expose his identity to Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya at this point.
For the next six months, Space Principles never stopped undulating around Yang Kai. His expression kept changing as it alternated between frowning and elation.
Suddenly, one day, he opened his eyes as a glint flashed across their depths.
His movement shocked Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang as they turned and paid close attention to him.
Under their watch, Yang Kai took a step forward and disappeared. They quickly looked around, but the man was nowhere in sight. No one knew where he was headed.
A large part of the Void was shattered by an ancient Great Expert using a Space Secret Technique. Like a broken mirror, the space fragments here were like those shattered pieces. There was no order to speak of here as everything was in complete chaos.
Both Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang could already feel the strangeness of this space when they previously barged into it; therefore, they were not surprised that Yang Kai had gone missing as they were certain that he was randomly transferred to some distant space fragment.
However, Cheng Yang ‘s pupils contracted the next moment.
That was because a figure suddenly appeared beside Xia Lin Lang. It was none other than the previously missing Yang Kai.
A pleasantly surprised Xia Lin Lang asked, “Have you figured it out?”
If that wasn’t the case, Yang Kai couldn’t have coincidentally appeared beside her. The two of them and Cheng Yang had given it many tries before, and were always randomly transferred around the space fragments. They had no idea where they would appear next after leaving a particular space fragment.
However, the fact that Yang Kai could accurately appear beside Xia Lin Lang proved that only mastery in the Dao of Space could solve the mysteries of this shattered space.
“I haven’t figured it out entirely, but I have discovered some patterns.” Yang Kai shook his head; after all, the space fragments were originally a single whole. Although it was now shattered, there must be a faint connection between the space fragments. Only experts in the Dao of Space could clearly see such connections though.
“Do you have the confidence to get us out of here?” Xia Lin Lang asked.
Yang Kai replied, “It’s not hard to find a way out, but what comes after that will be difficult to handle.”
Xia Lin Lang suddenly recalled that there were countless Divine Abilities that just waiting for them outside of this space. Before they arrived at this place, they had experienced a lot of hardship and almost lost their lives. At that time, Bright Sun Divine Monarch was behind them to clean up the mess. If he hadn’t blocked most of the Divine Abilities, they wouldn’t have stood a chance to survive.
It could be said that Cheng Yang had actually done them a favour.
With that said, they were forced to sneak into this place as Cheng Yang was chasing them.
Yang Kai suddenly turned to look at Cheng Yang and spoke to him using a Secret Technique, “Divine Monarch, given the situation we’re in, cooperation will benefit both sides while disagreement would do no one any good. Why don’t we put down our grudges and work together?”
Cheng Yang snorted and stared at him with a pair of piercing eyes, “Aren’t you worried that I’ll harm you?”
Yang Kai replied, “The reason you’ve been hunting me down is that you’re after one of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring. However, I’ve refined the World Spring and it is now a part of my Small Universe. Even if you kill me, you might not be able to get it. The World Spring will most likely fall apart alongside my Small Universe. So even if I work with you, I don’t have to worry about my safety for the time being. Without you, Senior Sister Xia and I might not be able to get out of here, and it’s the same case for you. Without me leading the way, you’ll never be able to leave this place despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.”
Cheng Yang stared coldly at him for a long time before putting on a grin, “Since you’ve made things so clear, what else can I say? If you aren’t worried that I’ll stab you in the back after we get out of here, why would I be bothered?”
A moment later, he asked with a smile, “Do you want me to make an oath or something?”
“If oaths were useful, what would be the point of cultivating? Even if you really made an oath, I wouldn’t believe it.”
Cheng Yang arched his brow, “You’re pretty reasonable, Brat. Because of what you’ve said, I can assure you that I won’t kill you before you ascend to the Seventh-Order.”
“Many thanks for your kindness then, Divine Monarch.” Yang Kai put on a faint smile.
To the side, Xia Lin Lang appeared worried. She knew that if they brought Cheng Yang out of this place, the other party would definitely stab them in the back; however, if they didn’t make use of his power, she and Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to leave this place alive.
It was understandable that Yang Kai had made such a decision in the face of this predicament. Regardless, they had to get out of here first.
“I’ll go over there now, Divine Monarch,” Yang Kai said, then turned to Xia Lin Lang, “Don’t circulate your strength, no matter what.”
Xia Lin Lang nodded, “Got it.”
As Space Principles undulated, Yang Kai led her to take a step forward and disappeared from the space fragment.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had gone missing for quite a long time as they still hadn’t appeared after half a day.
Bright Sun Divine Monarch even suspected that Yang Kai had gone back on his word and decided to leave him here.
While he was lost in thought though, he saw Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang suddenly appearing beside him.
“Divine Monarch!” Yang Kai gently nodded at him.
Cheng Yang replied impassively, “What do you need me to do?”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “It’s easy. I’ll use my power to lead the way for you, but I must not be disturbed in any way, so please don’t resist.”
Cheng Yang stared fixedly at him. By not resisting, he would basically be allowing Yang Kai take control of his life or death. If Yang Kai was ill-intentioned and made a move all of a sudden, Cheng Yang, despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, might not survive.
With that said, he didn’t hesitate for long time and simply nodded, “Do whatever you have to do. I’ll cooperate with you.”
Without saying a word, Yang Kai engulfed him with his power. The next moment, as Space Principles undulated, the three of them disappeared from the space fragment.
Half a year had passed in the blink of an eye as the trio moved across different space fragments. Yang Kai would stop in his tracks from time to time as he looked around with a frown. As Space Principles undulated, he seemed to silently be trying to comprehend something.
On the other hand, Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang didn’t have to do anything; they didn’t even need to use their strength at all. In such a strange place, they could only rely on Yang Kai to bring them out.
Although they hadn’t managed to leave this odd space after half a year, Cheng Yang wasn’t in a rush and worked with Yang Kai whenever his help was needed.
There came a moment when they abruptly appeared in a certain space fragment. Yang Kai intently looked around for a moment before taking a deep breath, “This is the last step.”
Both Cheng Yang and Xia Lin Lang appeared excited.
The two of them scanned the surroundings for a bit, then Cheng Yang asked with a frown, “Yang Boy, are you sure we’ll be able to leave this damned place after taking a step forward? Why do I feel like we’ve gotten deeper into this shattered space instead of moving out of it?”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “The order of the space here is in complete chaos. Nothing you see can be believed. That’s the reason you have this feeling.”
Cheng Yang didn’t remark on that, and after giving it a thought, he nodded, “Since you’ve said so, I’ll believe you. After taking this step, I’ll clear a path for the two of you and bring you out of here.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I need you to stay behind us just like how we entered this place previously. Senior Sister Xia and I will lead the way.”
It took some time before the powers of those Divine Abilities and the artifacts were triggered. With Cheng Yang staying behind them, he would be able to resolve them. However, if Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were to stay behind, they might not be able to resist the attacks.
Cheng Yang frowned, but he didn’t object to it. After a nod, he said, “We’ll do as you say, then.”
“Many thanks, Divine Monarch.” After finishing his words, Yang Kai engulfed Xia Lin Lang and Cheng Yang with his power, then took a step forward.
The world around them spun around as space contorted. Before they even came to their senses, streams of dormant power roared to life all around them and locked onto their life auras.
Horrifying power surged as these Divine Abilities, which had been dormant for countless years, radiated a dazzling glow.
Yang Kai felt his entire figure stiffening. As his flesh squirmed, he directly summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and pushed it out. In a steadfast manner, he yelled, “Let’s go!”
Two people then turned into rays of light and charged forward.
They already had such an experience when they were fleeing previously, so they were not flustered now when dealing with this situation.
Cheng Yang followed closely behind them as countless Divine Abilities gathered together and crashed down upon them like an avalanche.
Even Bright Sun Divine Monarch sported a solemn expression when facing such a mighty torrent. Once he was swept into this stream of Divine Abilities, he would probably lose his life despite being an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
While the three of them were fleeing, they cast their Secret Techniques at their back to resolve the stream of Divine Abilities behind them, but their attempts were futile.
Cheng Yang roared repeatedly as his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm power exploded. Every time he made a move, the entire universe seemed to tremble.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang, who were in front of him, were terrified. If such attacks had landed on them, they wouldn’t have been able to resist them.
Fortunately, they had brought Cheng Yang with them. Without him bringing up the rear for them, they wouldn’t be able to leave this damned place.
Initially, the Divine Abilities that had been triggered were extremely powerful, with some of them being equivalent to the attacks from Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. However, as they moved forward, the powers of the Divine Abilities gradually weakened.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had already realised this when they barged into the shattered space previously; therefore, as long as they could persevere, things would only get safer.
Half a day later, the two people at the front were covered in blood and had consumed a lot of energy. Although most of the Divine Abilities were far behind them and Cheng Yang would deal with them, some of the attacks managed to reach them and they had no choice but to make a move.
As a result, both of them were injured. There was an extremely deep cut on Xia Lin Lang’s shoulder as she almost lost her arm.
Fortunately, she wasn’t at risk of losing her life.
Yang Kai didn’t have time to check on Cheng Yang, but he was sure that the other party wasn’t in a better state; after all, Cheng Yang had to bear most of the pressure.
Bright Sun Divine Monarch lived up to his status as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, though. Despite the pressure he faced, he still followed closely behind them. He even had time to split a bit of his Divine Sense to lock onto Yang Kai.
Half a day later, the Divine Abilities that had been triggered were only equivalent to attacks from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
It seemed they were already at the periphery.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai secretly whispered, “It’s time, Senior Sister Xia.”
Upon hearing that, Xia Lin Lang stuck close to Yang Kai without hesitation.
Yang Kai wrapped his arm around her waist and surged his Space Principles. Their figures soon flickered and disappeared from the spot.
It was a plan they had come up with previously. As they were approaching freedom, they had to get rid of Cheng Yang. If they were still with him by then, while it wasn’t certain how Xia Lin Lang would end up, Yang Kai would definitely be captured and become a prisoner.
Certainly, he wouldn’t let anyone else have control over his life.
However, Yang Kai had to bear a huge risk by using Instantaneous Movement in this place. That was because the Divine Abilities around them were so numerous and randomly placed. Yang Kai wasn’t certain where he would land after using Instantaneous Movement. He might be able to get rid of Cheng Yang, but he might also fall into a dangerous spot and be killed.
Nevertheless, he believed that life was full of uncertainties and sometimes, one just had to make a bet.
Cheng Yang was obviously acting cautiously, which was why he had locked a bit of his Divine Sense onto Yang Kai; however, he never expected that Yang Kai would be reckless enough to take such a risk in this kind of place.
By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late for him to stop them. Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had already disappeared from his sight, and his Divine Sense thread which had been targeting Yang Kai had also been cut off.
Cheng Yang wore a dark expression and snorted; however, he had no time to search for them as he was still being pursued by the stream of Divine Abilities. He could only keep running and resolving the attacks for now.
Under a grey sky, ripples spread across an open prairie as two battered figures appeared. They were none other than Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
Before Yang Kai could even breath a sigh of relief, he suddenly turned his head and pushed out his Azure Dragon Spear at the spot where he appeared.
The next moment, several powerful Divine Abilities relentlessly passed through the Void and arrived at this place.
Although he had managed to flee with Xia Lin Lang using Instantaneous Movement, he had also brought several Divine Abilities along with him.
While Xia Lin Lang was unaware of them, Yang Kai was not.
Following a loud boom, Yang Kai was sent flying away like a sack as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood. His spear-holding arm went limp while his five viscera and six organs shook.
Xia Lin Lang finally came to her senses as she exclaimed and pushed out her palms, which turned into innumerable shadows that finally blocked the Divine Abilities.
The dust only settled several moments later.
A battered Xia Lin Lang walked up to Yang Kai and looked down at him, “How are you?”
Presently, Yang Kai was lying on the ground with his limbs spread. He lethargically opened his eyes and acted tough by saying, “I’m… I’m fine!”
Xia Lin Lang couldn’t help but roll her eyes. While standing beside him, she looked around and frowned, “Where are we?”
Yang Kai panted and replied, “I have no idea. The last time I used Instantaneous Movement, I was unable to control the direction. Who knows where we’ve landed? However, we’ve just made a lot of noise, so we can’t stay here for long.”
After a nod, Xia Lin Lang asked, “Can you walk?”
Yang Kai snorted, “Do I look like I can walk?”
A speechless Xia Lin Lang covered him with her power and brought him to a different place.
An hour later, she found a cave in the middle of a mountain and snuck into it so that they could recuperate.
Although Cheng Yang was behind them bearing most of the pressure while they were escaping, they were still injured and exhausted.
Yang Kai wasn’t certain if Cheng Yang would pursue them, nor was he aware of any danger waiting for them in this place. He just knew that they had better restore their strength quickly.
After consuming some Spirit Pills, the pair sat down with their legs crossed.
A moment later, Yang Kai arched his brow as there was a hint of surprise on his face.
For some reason, he could feel his Dragon Vein throbbing in an excited manner. He also felt a faint sense of affability toward this place.
In fact, he was already aware that there was something unusual going on with his Dragon Vein the moment he landed on the prairie, but he didn’t have time to ponder on it. Now that he was recuperating, he could finally try to find out what was going on.
After examining it for a while, he could confirm that his Dragon Vein indeed reacted differently. He even had a feeling that if he stayed in this place for a long time, his Dragon Vein would steadily become more powerful.
Although the feeling came out of nowhere, he firmly believed it to be true.
[Does this place have something to do with the Dragon Clan?] Yang Kai wondered in excitement.
There were 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds, making up a total of 108 top great forces. Thanks to the Star Boundary’s World Tree, Yang Kai had contact with many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the various Cave Heavens and Paradises, but not all of them.
That was because both the Dragon Altar of the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Nest of the Phoenix Clan were part of the 36 Cave Heavens. It was just that these two Cave Heavens were extremely hidden, so much so that most ordinary people had no idea where these Cave Heavens were even located.
Yang Kai had been trying to find the place where the Dragon Altar was located for many years. Unfortunately, his efforts had never worked out. Despite asking Bi Xi, the old man could not tell him anything. The old man only mentioned that he would be able to sense the whereabouts of the Dragon Altar once his Dragon Vein reached a certain level; therefore, Yang Kai never expected to stumble upon this surprising discovery today.
[Could this strange place be the Dragon Altar? If this place is the Dragon Altar, then isn’t it a little too shabby? But, if it isn’t the Dragon Altar, why is the Power of my Dragon Vein experiencing an abnormality?]
Xia Lin Lang once mentioned that there were rumours about countless Divine Spirits gathering in the depths of the Shattered Ruins. It was just that she had never ventured into the Shattered Ruins before, so she was unable to verify the truth behind those rumours.
Having only just arrived at this place, the information Yang Kai had to work with was simply too little. He had no idea what kind of place this was, so he could only discard his distracting thoughts and focus on recovery.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai soon confirmed another one of his conjectures. There was an exceptionally peculiar power in this world that could be drawn into his body to stimulate the enhancement of his Dragon Vein.
Too little time had elapsed, so the enhancement Yang Kai experienced was not significant. Even so, he could clearly sense the changes in his body, so he immediately activated some of the bloodline-enhancing Secret Techniques taught to him by Old Man Bi Xi.
Ever since he finished consuming the Dragon Blood Flowers that he obtained from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein had remained relatively stagnant. Old Man Bi Xi had taught him some bloodline-enhancing Secret Techniques, but he rarely had the time to cultivate in peace. Coming to this place at this time was truly a wonderful opportunity.
As soon as the Secret Technique was activated, Yang Kai felt a little different. The peculiar power in the world poured into his body all at once as though summoned by something, instantly causing his flesh to wriggle and the Power of the Dragon Vein in his body to roar endlessly. The sudden urge to transform into a Dragon surged up from the depths of his heart.
It was at this point that Yang Kai finally became certain about one thing, this place was definitely related to the Dragon Clan.
At the same time, a tall figure suddenly descended from the sky at the spot where Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had emerged previously. This figure was wrapped in an exceedingly terrifying aura, comparable or even greater to Bright Sun Divine Monarch’s.
Sniffing the air lightly, he coldly snorted, “What a disgusting aura!”
Then, he reached out a hand and grabbed a handful of blood-stained dirt in the palm of his hand. Rubbing his fingers together, the tall man frowned, “The smell of the Dragon Clan!”
He looked to the side and asked, “Is it him?”
Not far away from him, a handsome white robed youth and a young woman holding a peach blossom branch stood respectfully. If Yang Kai were here, he would have immediately recognised this man and woman. They were the two people who picked a quarrel with him previously; moreover, the white robed youth had placed a peculiar Bloodline Mark on Yang Kai during their battle. Cheng Yang had subsequently used that mark to pursue Yang Kai relentlessly.
There was no indication as to how the white robed youth and the young woman holding the peach blossom branch had arrived at this place.
The white robed youth replied respectfully, “I’m quite sure it’s him. I definitely sensed him venturing deep into the Divine Ability Sea earlier. It would seem that he escaped that place and arrived here.”
The tall man smiled grimly when he heard those words, “That’s good news indeed. It has been many years since someone from the Dragon Clan appeared in this place. I never expected to encounter one today. Can you still sense his location?”
The white robed youth shook his head, “No. He might have gotten rid of my Bloodline Mark; however, I don’t know whether he died at the hands of Cheng Yang.”
Cheng Yang had chased Yang Kai all the way into the Divine Ability Sea. Now that more than ten years had passed, there was no saying what happened during this period. Needless to say, Yang Kai had gotten rid of the Bloodline Mark during this time. He could not have escaped Cheng Yang’s pursuit otherwise.
“Search for him! Even if you have to turn over every single rock in the area, find that Dragon Clan member!” The tall man shouted.
The white robed youth and the young woman beside him accepted the command and sped away.
After discarding the soil in his hand, the tall man abruptly turned to look in a certain direction. A graceful figure in purple had appeared from that direction at some point in time and was staring at him quietly.
The man grinned, “I heard that the Dragon and Phoenix Clans have always maintained a close relationship with each other since ancient times thanks to the resonance between your bloodlines. Have you discovered something, Yue Zhuo?”
The purple robed woman called Yue Zhuo stared at him and parted her ruby lips lightly, “Kun Ao, you must not lay a hand on this Dragon Clan member!”
Kun Ao sneered, “Ridiculous! There is nothing in this world that I cannot touch, much less a Dragon Clan member with such an inferior bloodline! Even if a Divine Dragon himself appeared before this King, I will show you that I can fight him.”
Yue Zhuo said indifferently, “Say that to a Divine Dragon’s face and I’ll believe you.”
Kun Ao coldly snorted, “We haven’t heard from the Dragon Clan since the day they left the Ancestral Land. Who knows whether they’ve gone extinct or not?” Looking up at her, he continued, “But, you can rest assured. I won’t kill him even if I find him. We need him to collaborate with you to break the seal that the Dragon Clan left behind back then. The Ancestral Strength is getting weaker and weaker by the day. I’m sure your Four Phoenix Pavilion would not want to see the bloodline of your descendants becoming thinner and thinner either. Isn’t that right?”
Yue Zhuo replied with a frown, “That seal is something the Dragon and Phoenix Clans created together in ancient times. Nobody knows what lies beyond the seal. Aren’t you afraid of bringing irreversible consequences down on the Ancestral Land by rashly undoing it?”
Kun Ao shook his head, “Both you and I have seen the changes in the Ancestral Land over the years. If we don’t do something, the Ancestral Land will no longer be worthy of its name one day. Rather than that, isn’t it better to take a gamble? Don’t tell me the Four Phoenix Pavilion has never thought of releasing the seal over the years!”
Yue Zhuo said nothing.
Kun Ao went on, “Leaving aside the Kun Clan, there are so many other Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. Which one of them does not wish to undo the seal? It is just that the Four Phoenix Pavilion has constantly obstructed our attempts for some reason. Be that as it may, you cannot be blamed either. The seal was created by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans together. Trying to break the seal with the Phoenix Clan’s bloodline alone is not feasible. The Dragon Clan not only disappeared so many years ago, but also remained hidden, impossible to be found. But now, a Dragon Clan member has finally arrived in the Ancestral Land. Don’t you think that this is the Heavens’ Will? The countless Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land will not remain silent if the Four Phoenix Pavilion dares to stand in the way again. If you are not careful, the people will turn against you!”
How could Yue Zhuo be unaware of such a fact? In the past, it was possible to dodge the problem by claiming that the seal could not be undone with the power of the Phoenix Clan alone; however, a Dragon Clan member had appeared out of nowhere for some inexplicable reason. If the Phoenix Clan continued to oppose this matter, even the Four Phoenix Pavilion would not be able to resist the pressure from all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, and a terrifying war was bound to break out if they tried.
“I will need to carefully discuss this matter with the rest of my Sisters,” Yue Zhuo said softly.
Kun Ao just waved his hand dismissively, “Go ahead and discuss it among yourselves. When I find him, I will bring him to the Four Phoenix Pavilion.”
Yue Zhuo nodded and turned around. Her graceful figure suddenly transformed into a giant, extremely beautiful purple bird. Then, she spread her wings and flew away.
Kun Ao watched her leave before he turned around and walked away leisurely.
…..
Inside the cave, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were focused on their recovery when all of a sudden, Yang Kai opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, piercing through the void to look off into the distance. After a moment of careful observation, he couldn’t help crying out in surprise.
In the next moment, his figure flickered and appeared outside the mountainside.
There was a tender and jade-like boy who was fighting a bloody battle with a ferocious exotic beast in Yang Kai’s field of vision. The child looked to be around seven or eight years old. His soft and tender limbs were adorable, and he had a high ponytail on his head.
The exotic beast he was fighting clearly carried a trace of a Divine Spirit bloodline. It was just that the bloodline was not very pure. Nevertheless, each attack it unleashed contained power equivalent to that of a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Be that as it may, the child remained undaunted. The small figure rode upon the body of the exotic beast, one hand clutching its fur tightly and the other hand forming a fist to punch its head. He might be small, but the strength of every blow was not to be underestimated.
Even though the exotic beast fought back bravely and even activated the power of its bloodline, it could not escape the child’s attacks.
A quarter hour later, the child jumped down. He was drenched in blood, but the exotic beast collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud. Its vitality had been extinguished.
Seeming to sense something, the child turned to look in Yang Kai’s direction and shouted in a childish voice, “Who’s there!?”
When their four eyes suddenly met, Yang Kai grinned. The child was taken aback for a moment. Immediately after that, his eyes widened and he pointed a finger at Yang Kai, “Y-You… You…”
“Great General!” Yang Kai greeted the child with a smile, “It’s been so long since we last met. Your noble bearing remains the same!”
“Yang Kai!” The child leaped a whole metre into the air, a joyous smile appearing on his face. Striding forward, he rushed over to Yang Kai in a few steps and looked up at him cheerfully, “Why are you here in the Ancestral Land?”
“I just passed by here by accident. Can you believe it?” Yang Kai patted the child’s head.
Great General turned his head away and yelled angrily, “Don’t pat my head! Mother said that I won’t grow tall if people touch my head!”
Yang Kai smacked his lips, “Almost 100 years have passed. Why are you still so tiny?”
Great General clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in a condescending manner, “What do you know? Mother said that my bloodline is extremely pure. That’s why my growth period is relatively long. When I grow up, I’ll definitely be taller than you!”
“Will you get a sense of accomplishment just by being taller than me?” Yang Kai gave a big grin.
Hearing the commotion outside, Xia Lin Lang came out of the cave in a flash and was slightly stunned to see Yang Kai fooling around happily with a child. Coming over to Yang Kai’s side, Xia Lin Lang asked curiously, “Who is this child? Is he somebody you know?”
Yang Kai nodded, “He’s an old friend.”
When Yang Kai first entered the 3,000 Worlds, he had been tricked into becoming a Worker in Seven Wonders Land. The Fire Spirit Land’s Protector Venerable, Duan Hai, used to have a pet whom the Workers called ‘Ruler of the Dawn Great General’. It was from Great General’s hands that Yang Kai earned a considerable amount of Open Heaven Pills.
When Yang Kai later escaped the Seven Wonders Land, he brought Great General with him. Afterward, Great General led Yang Kai to the Divine Spirit Mie Meng. It was not until then that Yang Kai learned that the golden rooster-like Great General was actually the child of a Divine Spirit.
Mie Meng had given Yang Kai three golden tail feathers, and it was by relying on one of these tail feathers that he managed to kill the dying Golden Crow and obtained the Golden Crow’s True Fire. It could be said that Mie Meng’s three golden tail feathers had been of great help to him.
Yang Kai never imagined that he would meet the Great General again in this place.
Great General might have taken on a humanoid form, but his aura remained unchanged. That was why Yang Kai recognised him at a glance. Great General then looked behind Yang Kai and asked curiously, “Where are Old Fang, Dié You, and the others?”
Yang Kai laughed, “They joined Great Moon Province a long time ago, so they are cultivating there right now.”
Great General made a noncommittal sound in response, seeming rather disappointed. He did not know many people, and Yang Kai was one of the few friends he had. Fang Bi Qi, Dié You, and Ah Sun were also counted amongst his friends.
“You mentioned the Ancestral Land earlier. What is this ‘Ancestral Land’?” Yang Kai asked. He had been looking for an opportunity to figure out his current location, so now that he had encountered Great General, it was only natural for him to inquire about his circumstances.
Great General blinked his large eyes a bit before replying, “The Ancestral Land… is the Ancestral Land!”
It would seem that he didn’t know much either; therefore, Yang Kai did not ask any further questions. Looking around, he asked, “This place is dangerous. Why are you here alone? Where is your Mother?”
Great General pointed behind him with his thumb and smilingly said, “Mother is at home. My house is not far from here. Mother will be very happy to know that you’re here. Would you like to come with me to visit her?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I was hoping to do just that.”
“Let’s go then!” While speaking, Great General turned a somersault and dexterously landed on Yang Kai’s shoulders. Riding around Yang Kai’s neck like he was riding a horse, he pointed one of his chubby fingers in a certain direction, “That way!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help rolling his eyes, involuntarily recalling the scene where this little boy was constantly resting on top of his nest, which caused his hair to resemble a chicken coop.
So many years had passed, but Great General seemed to have never forgotten that feeling. Now that he could no longer use Yang Kai’s head as a nest, he rode on his shoulders instead.
Yang Kai did not chase the little boy off his shoulders; instead, he allowed him to grab his hair with both hands as he sped forward in the direction Great General pointed.
Xia Lin Lang followed behind with an odd expression.
Along the way, the trio passed through various mountains and valleys. It took more than an hour before they caught sight of a Spirit Peak rising up from the ground in the distance. Even from a distance, the Spirit Peak towered into the sky, standing at least 10,000 metres high. The top of the mountain was covered in a layer of mist, creating a beautiful scenery that resembled a Heavenly paradise.
A palace came into view when they arrived at the top of the mountain, and there was a noble looking woman standing there waiting quietly. It was obvious that she had noticed the auras of Great General, Yang Kai, and Xia Lin Lang in advance.
Upon seeing the woman, Great General jumped off Yang Kai and cheerfully shouted, “Mother, look who’s here!”
He rushed toward the woman while speaking; however, the woman stretched out her hand as soon as he approached and pinched his ears with great precision, causing him to yelp in pain.
“I take my eyes off you for one moment and you go gallivanting off on your own. Didn’t I tell you that the Ancestral Land is dangerous and not to go out on your own?”
Great General’s small face flushed with pain, and his eyes flitted towards Yang Kai from time to time. He quickly begged for mercy, “Mother, I was wrong. I only went out for a walk because I was bored, and I didn’t go far.”
“Are you going to do this again in the future?” The woman twisted his ears painfully.
“I won’t! I won’t!” He nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking rice.
Only then did the woman release her grip, “Go inside. You are not allowed to leave again without my permission.”
Rubbing his ear, Great General walked towards the palace with a pout on his face. Nevertheless, he turned back and made a face at Yang Kai before he vanished inside.
Yang Kai burst into laughter at the sight. Taking several steps forward, he bowed politely, “Yang Kai greets Senior.”
This woman was none other than the Divine Spirit Mie Meng whom he rescued from a certain Grand Array many years ago. Mie Meng in human form no longer had that fierce and terrifying aura around her body. On the contrary, she seemed like a well-mannered woman.
Mie Meng looked at him with a slightly complicated look and frowned, “Why did you come to the Ancestral Land?”
Yang Kai briefly explained, “I was chased by a powerful enemy, so I had no choice but to plunge into a place where countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques lay dormant. Afterward, I just somehow found myself here.
“It’s been years since we last met. Not only are you in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but the little girl beside you is in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Who could have pushed you to the point where you were cornered so badly? Could it have been an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?” She raised her eyebrow slightly.
Xia Lin Lang couldn’t help being startled. Although she had some guesses when she first saw this woman, she couldn’t be sure at the time. Be that as it may, the other party had pointed out the depth of her cultivation at a glance, so one could only imagine the strength she possessed.
[This woman is definitely a Mature Divine Spirit! It’s rumoured that countless Divine Spirits gather in the depths of the Shattered Ruins. Could it actually be true!?]
“I wonder if you’ve heard a man named ‘Bright Sun Divine Monarch’?” Yang Kai asked.
Mie Meng frowned, “One of the three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven. I have indeed heard of him before. I believe he is related to the Kun Clan of the Ancestral Land somehow.”
“The Kun Clan…” Yang Kai murmured under his breath.
“Come in first. It looks like you have a lot of questions.” While speaking, she turned around and walked into the palace.
Yang Kai thanked her for her hospitality before walking into the Grand Hall together with Xia Lin Lang.
The Grand Hall might be large, but it was actually quite desolate. It would seem that there was nobody else living in this place aside from Mie Meng and her son. When they took their seats, Yang Kai didn’t even hope to get a cup of tea from Mie Meng and Mie Meng herself never even thought to give one.
“Go ahead and ask whatever questions you want to ask. I will tell you whatever I can,” Mie Meng gently said.
“Let me thank you in advance, Senior.” Yang Kai cupped his fist, “What this Junior would like to know most is, where is this place? Great General mentioned that this place is the Ancestral Land, but what is the Ancestral Land?”
Mie Meng pondered in silence for a moment before she replied with a question of her out, “You came here by passing through the Shattered Heaven, right?”
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang nodded together.
Mie Meng explained, “Strictly speaking, this place is still within the Shattered Heaven, it’s just that this place is the deepest part of Shattered Heaven. Outsiders call this place the Shattered Ruins!”
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang exchanged glances with each other.
“You probably entered through the Divine Ability Sea, right?” Mie Meng stretched out her hand and gave a little wave. Starlight twinkled in front of her, and a large number of fluorescent lights gathered to form a ball, “The Divine Ability Sea is the periphery of the Shattered Ruins. It is a place where countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques have lain dormant since ancient times. Anyone who intrudes into that place will trigger the power of those Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques. Generally speaking, non-Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters can never enter this place, and even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might be trapped and die in that place if they are unlucky.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. It was only now that he learned that the region he and Xia Lin Lang passed through was called the Divine Ability Sea.
“And, the Ancestral Land…” she reached out her hand to point at a spot in front of her, “is known to outsiders as the Shattered Ruins! It is surrounded by the Divine Ability Sea!”
Following her movements, the bits of fluorescent light gathered in the middle of the large ball to take on the shape of a continent. She reached out her hand to point at the continent, “We are located in the Ancestral Land.”
“Who does the Ancestral Land belong to?” he asked.
“It is the Ancestral Land of all Divine Spirits, as well as the place of origin of all Divine Spirits. All Divine Spirits in the world were originally born in this place.” Mie Meng made a shocking statement.
Yang Kai was stunned, and it took a while before he remembered something, “But, from what I heard, the birth of the Divine Spirits is related to the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer.”
These two were the Ancestors of all Divine Spirits. Supposedly, it was the fusion of their powers that gave rise to all sorts of Divine Spirits.
Mie Meng smiled, “It is indeed related to them. The Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer were originally born in the Ancestral Land. It’s just that they left a long time ago.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow tightly. There were thousands of questions swirling around in his heart, but he did not know how to voice these questions, so for a time, he fell into deep thought.
Mie Meng thus continued, “You have the Dragon Clan’s bloodline, so you must have noticed the uniqueness of the Ancestral Land.”
Yang Kai nodded quietly. He had felt that abnormality earlier. Cultivating in this place would greatly help to improve his Bloodline Power.
“That is the Ancestral Strength. No matter what type of Divine Spirit cultivates in this place, their Bloodline will be enhanced at a faster rate. That is also the reason why so many Divine Spirits have gathered in the Ancestral Land, but not many of them are willing to leave. The Divine Ability Sea might be powerful, but it is not difficult for the powerful Divine Spirits to leave if they so wished.”
Even Cheng Yang could navigate his way through the Divine Ability Sea, so what more need be said about the Divine Spirits?
Yang Kai understood, “Is that why you brought Great General back to the Ancestral Land after you escaped your prison back then?”
Mie Meng nodded, “The Ancestral Land will be beneficial for his growth. It’s only natural for me to return to this place.” While speaking, she turned to look at Xia Lin Lang, “But, while the Ancestral Strength is highly beneficial to Divine Spirits, it can be said to be a kind of slow-acting poison to those without a Divine Spirit bloodline. Your companion must not remain in the Ancestral Land for too long; otherwise, the Ancestral Strength will begin to erode her Small Universe, and the consequences will be dire.”
Xia Lin Lang was startled, “But… I don’t feel anything unusual.”
Mie Meng replied lightly, “That’s because only a short time has passed. It will be too late by the time you notice any abnormalities.”
“What are the consequences?” Yang Kai asked.
Mie Meng explained, “Strictly speaking, a Divine Spirit is also a kind of Monster. It’s just that they are the strongest species of Monsters. That is why, if enough time passed, she might begin showing some Divine Spirit characteristics once her Small Universe is corroded by the Ancestral Strength. This is a kind of Monster Transformation, but it might not be a good thing for her. Without a Divine Spirit bloodline, the Monster Qi will clash with the cultivation in her body.
Just imagining that she might suddenly grow fangs and claws like a Monster Beast caused Xia Lin Lang to involuntarily shudder.
Yang Kai looked at Mie Meng and said, “Senior, is the Dragon Clan in the Ancestral Land?”
Mie Meng slowly shook her head, “A very long time ago, the Dragon Clan indeed lived in the Ancestral Land. However, the Dragon Clan left the Ancestral Land for some reason. Most of the Phoenix Clan left with them. Therefore, there is no one from Dragon Clan in the Ancestral Land today.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help looking disappointed when he heard those words. He originally thought that this place would be related to the Dragon Clan, and it would seem that there was indeed some connection. In fact, it was not just the Dragon Clan but all Divine Spirits that were related to this place. It was just different from what he previously imagined.
“Nobody knows about your arrival here, right?” Mie Meng asked all of a sudden.
Puzzled, Yang Kai shook his head, “Probably not.”
“That would be for the best. To be honest, you should not have come to the Ancestral Land. It is very dangerous for you to be here.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly and asked, “Why do you say that?”
Mie Meng just shook her head and did not explain. Instead, she stood up and said, “I’ll escort you out of this place. The Divine Ability Sea is dangerous, and with your strength, it will be impossible for you to leave safely.”
“Many thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai bowed with gratitude.
Although the environment of the Ancestral Land was highly beneficial towards the enhancement of his Dragon Clan bloodline, Mie Meng would definitely have her own reasons for saying that this place was dangerous for him. On top of that, how could Yang Kai refuse when Mie Meng volunteered to escort them out of this place? Therefore, he immediately stood up and followed Mie Meng outside with Xia Lin Lang in tow.
However, the three of them had only just walked out of the Grand Hall when an extremely hostile aura swept over them from a great distance. The aura was so strong that both Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang involuntarily tensed up in apprehension. It felt as though there was an entire Universe World pressing down on them.
Mie Meng looked up and saw a stream of light on the horizon speeding towards them without the slightest intention to conceal its presence. After getting a clear look at the person heading toward them, she narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed, “This is the reason why I said that the Ancestral Land is very dangerous for you.”
Yang Kai frowned deeply, “Senior, who is he? His aura… I don’t like it.”
That person’s aura reminded him of the white-robed youth he encountered previously, but comparing the two, there was no doubt that the white-robed youth was considerably weaker than this person. Nevertheless, both of them gave him an instinctive sense of repulsion and disgust.
“Kun Ao of the Kun Clan!”
“Kun Clan!” Yang Kai murmured under his breath. This was not the first time he heard that name coming from her lips.
“Those who enter the sea are known as Kun, while those who leave the sea are known as Peng. Since ancient times, the Kun Clan and the Dragon Clan have been mortal enemies that hunted and killed each other. Both sides suffered great losses in their long war, and the grudge and hatred run so deep that it has been branded into each other’s bloodline. No matter how many eons go by or how many generations pass, the grudge and hatred will never be resolved. The Kun Clan is a major clan in the Ancestral Land. I was in such a hurry to send you away because I was afraid that you might be discovered by the Kun Clan. Unfortunately, it seems to be too late already.”
“Is he strong?” Yang Kai asked.
“Stronger than me at least!” Mie Meng replied bluntly.
Yang Kai gasped at those words. Mie Meng was a Mature Divine Spirit, and although he had never seen her take action before, she was probably no weaker than an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At the very least, she would be on the same level as one. Be that as it may, she claimed that Kun Ao was stronger than her. One could only imagine how terrifying Kun Ao must be.
“He probably came because of you. I will distract him later. You should find a chance to escape. If you fall into his hands, you will never have the opportunity to leave again.” Mie Meng warned.
“Will that cause trouble for you, Senior?” Yang Kai queried hesitantly.
Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she chuckled softly, “He might be stronger than me, but I have the confidence to drag him down with me if it came to a life-or-death battle. He will not be that irrational.”
Yang Kai breathed deeply, “This Junior will never forget this kindness, Senior.”
Mie Meng waved her hand dismissively, “If not for your help back then, I would never have escaped from that prison. Just think of it as repayment for back then.”
During their conversation, Kun Ao arrived in front of the palace. Yang Kai looked up and saw that this person was extremely burly, his figure like a small mountain. Just by standing there, he gave off an incredible sense of oppression. Moreover, his sharp gaze cut through the void like a knife.
In addition, a white-robed youth and a young woman holding a peach blossom branch stood beside him. These two were the ones who fought with Yang Kai back at the Shattered Heaven; hence, their presence made Yang Kai frown.
After listening to Mie Meng’s explanation, how could he not understand that the white-robed youth was also part of the Kun Clan? It was precisely because of the deep-rooted hatred branded within the bloodlines of the Kun Clan and the Dragon Clan that gave him that unexplainable sense of rejection and disgust when he saw that youth for the first time the other day. That was the power from his bloodline; it was not something he could control.
It was just that Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang had borrowed the strength of Cheng Yang to navigate the Divine Ability Sea and arrive at the Ancestral Land. On the other hand, this young man and young woman were only on par with Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators, so how did they managed to enter this place?
“Kun Ao, why did you come here uninvited?” Mie Meng stood in front of the Grand Hall and looked up indifferently.
Kun Ao grinned, “Mie Meng, stop playing dumb. You are a Divine Spirit yourself. Not to mention that you have some connection with the Phoenix Clan. Don’t you tell me that you can’t sense this boy’s bloodline!”
Mie Meng frowned and continued, “The hatred and grudges between the Dragon Clan and the Kun Clan are matters of your ancestors’ ancestors. How many years has it been since the Dragon Clan last appeared in the Ancestral Land? Why must you abuse your strength and harass the weak? He is nothing more than a small child to you. Why can you not show mercy just this once?”
Kun Ao shook his head, “If it was just about the hatred and grudges between our ancestors, there would be no reason for this King to come in person. It has not been long since you returned to the Ancestral Land, Mie Meng, so it’s understandable that there are some secrets you don’t know about.”
“Secrets?” Mie Meng furrowed her brow slightly.
Kun Ao explained, “For countless years, the Ancestral Strength has been weakening steadily. The bloodline of all the descendants born among the major Clans has been becoming less and less pure. It has also been getting harder and harder for them to enhance their Bloodlines.
“What does that have to do with him?” Mie Meng didn’t understand. It was true that not much time had passed since she returned to the Ancestral Land. It could even be said that she was not born in the Ancestral Land. Nevertheless, she was a Divine Spirit, so she carried with her the Inheritance of her ancestors in her bloodline. She knew about the Ancestral Land, and that was why she came here after she escaped from her predicament; however, she was truly ignorant about the secrets that Kun Ao mentioned.
“In ancient times, when both the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans departed from the Ancestral Land, they left behind a seal which was tied to their bloodlines. That seal cordoned off a large portion of the Ancestral Strength. If we can undo the seal, the Ancestral Land might be restored to its former glory. This will be of great benefit to all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. But, you’ve said it yourself, the Dragon Clan has not appeared in the Ancestral Land for many years. Even in the outer world, the Dragon Clan has not appeared in a long time. Although there are remnants of the Phoenix Clan’s bloodline remaining in the Ancestral Land, they are unable to release the seal with their power alone. If not for that, why do you think the Kun Clan maintains a connection with the outer world all the time? It’s so that we can find a Dragon Clan member to break that seal! And now, the time has come!”
Mie Meng’s expression changed immediately after hearing his explanation. For a time, she was not sure whether she could believe him. She instinctively sensed that he would not deceive her, but subconsciously refused to believe him. Thus, she scowled deeply, “The reason you came here to find him… Is it to ask for his help in undoing the seal?”
Kun Ao nodded, “If you don’t believe me, you can go to the Four Phoenix Pavilion for verification. I won’t lie to you. I’ve already met Yue Zhuo before coming here. She has no objections to this matter.”
Mie Meng muttered, “I will confirm the Four Phoenix Pavilion’s attitude towards this matter myself. It’s late. You should leave, Kun Ao.”
However, he just snickered and reached out his hand, “Hand over the Dragon Clan member to me, and I’ll leave immediately.”
Mie Meng slowly shook her head, “I will bring him to the Four Phoenix Pavilion. If you want him, you can contact the Four Phoenix Pavilion!”
Kun Ao’s expression immediately turned cold, “Mie Meng, you do not want to face the wrath of the Kun Clan. There is a Dragon Clan member standing in front of me right now. I am showing you more than enough mercy by restraining my murderous intent and not acting against him directly. If you refuse to show proper respect here, the Mie Meng Clan might be annihilated today!”
She asked coldly, “Are you threatening me?”
Kun Ao scoffed, “You’ve never even heard of the secrets of the Ancestral Land Seal. Why invite trouble upon yourself for an unrelated Dragon? Besides, if the Ancestral Land Seal is released, it will be beneficial to your descendants too.”
Mie Meng turned to look at Yang Kai, “Find a chance to escape on your own.”
Yang Kai nodded heavily.
Kun Ao immediately became livid, “Mie Meng, do you really want to make an enemy of the Kun Clan!?”
Instead of answering, Mie Meng just charged at him.
“Impudence!” Kun Ao roared furiously and slammed out his palm. A destructive force that threatened to obliterate the world shot out from the palm of his hand and shrouded Mie Meng.
In response, Mie Meng raised a hand and unleashed a dazzling golden light. The two Divine Spirits instantly engaged in a fierce battle, and the terrifying fallout caused the local space to shudder.
When those two confronted each other, Yang Kai quickly manipulated the local Space Principles to wrap around Xia Lin Lang so that they could flee.
At that moment, both the white robed youth and the young girl who had been standing beside Kun Ao all this time attacked in unison, unleashing their strongest Divine Abilities.
Yang Kai raised a palm to counter their attacks while Xia Lin Lang next to him also reached out her hand to point to the front.
Following several explosions, both the white robed youth and the young girl were pushed back. They were strong; after all, they were both on par with Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators, but the combined power of Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang was not to be underestimated either.
After repelling those two, Yang Kai swiftly used Space Principles to escape together with Xia Lin Lang. When he appeared again, they were already several tens of thousands of kilometres away.
“Where do we go now?” Xia Lin Lang’s complexion was slightly pale.
“I don’t know. We can only take one step at a time!” Yang Kai answered through gritted teeth.
Without Mie Meng’s protection, it was impossible for them to leave the Ancestral Land. The Divine Ability Sea surrounding the Ancestral Land was an obstacle they could never overcome by themselves.
Unfortunately, the Ancestral Land was not safe with the Kun Clan eyeing him greedily. What’s more, there were many Divine Spirits gathered here. For the two newcomers to this land, they were completely ignorant as to where each Divine Spirit was located and which Divine Spirits were hostile. Hence, Yang Kai was also at a loss for what to do next or where to go.
After several Instantaneous Movements, the pair had escaped a considerable distance from the battlefield where Mie Meng and Kun Ao were fighting. Before Yang Kai could catch his breath though, a furious roar echoed across the sky, “A Dragon Clan member has appeared in the Ancestral Land! Why are you all just standing there doing nothing!?”
The voice was thunderous, and there was no telling where it came from, but it resounded throughout the world.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately darkened in response.
If what Kun Ao mentioned earlier was true, and the Ancestral Land Seal required the combined powers of both the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans to unlock, then his identity as a Dragon Clan member would be extremely attractive in the Ancestral Land. The Divine Spirits with the intention of releasing the seal would be very interested in him, and Kun Ao’s furious roar had undoubtedly revealed his presence to the world.
If Kun Ao had the ability to capture Yang Kai himself, he would never have made such a public announcement. He could obtain the greatest benefits for the Kun Clan after releasing the seal if he had Yang Kai in his grasp; however, with Mie Meng actively blocking his way, he could not get away from her easily. His biggest fear was that Yang Kai would escape from the Ancestral Land, so he had no choice but to do this as a last resort. Although doing so would reveal Yang Kai’s presence to everyone in the Ancestral Land, it was still better than allowing him to escape.
As soon as Kun Ao’s words rang out, the entire Ancestral Land flew into an uproar. One after another, mighty auras emerged as though waking from a deep slumber and countless terrifying Divine Senses began sweeping out across the world.
A short while later, huge exotic beasts ran across the ground while giant birds took to the skies. Some Divine Spirits even took on Human Form to fly through the skies. The overpowering Divine Senses swept across every corner of the Ancestral Land, searching for the Dragon Clan member who had appeared out of nowhere.
Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang were forced into a corner almost immediately. Their situation instantly turned into one where they resembled mice running across the road with people screaming and chasing them. Yang Kai turned several dangerous situations around with the help of his Space Principles, changing their location before the Divine Spirits could discover them. Nonetheless, after every escape, it would not take long before another Divine Sense discovered them again.
Yang Kai fled desperately without rest, bringing Xia Lin Lang with him. Unfortunately, his efforts were to no avail. The Divine Senses of the Divine Spirits interweaved as they constantly communicated their discoveries with each other and tightened the encirclement. If this were to continue, it would not take long before there was no place left to escape, not even with the help of Space Principles.
Another day passed and a ripple appeared in the Void before Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang suddenly emerged out of nowhere. As soon as they appeared, they both spat out a mouthful of blood at the same time.
“Who was that Divine Spirit just now?” Xia Lin Lang’s complexion was ashen and her expression was fearful.
Yang Kai wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and answered through gritted teeth, “If I’m not mistaken, Tao Wu!”
If not for his quick reflexes earlier, they would have been suppressed on the spot by Tao Wu.
Yang Kai would probably have survived the encounter; after all, the Divine Spirits of the Ancestral Land needed his Bloodline to undo some sort of seal. They would not actually do anything to him, so capturing him would have been the limit.
On the contrary, a Human woman, especially a beautiful one like Xia Lin Lang, would have suffered a fate worse than death. Tao Wu was one of the Ancient Ominous Beasts; what’s more, the way he looked at her just now was filled with extreme malice.
The corners of Xia Lin Lang’s brow twitched as she smiled wryly, “The people around you don’t usually live a long life, do they?”
She had originally hidden herself in the Shattered Heaven over 2,000 years ago. Although she had been living in secret and even changed her name, her life had been relatively stable. Conversely, the few years she had spent with Yang Kai had been a veritable torrent of thrilling adventures, death-defying escapes, and constant danger.
Being hunted by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was nothing at this point as they were now being hunted and tracked by all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. It was Xia Lin Lang’s first time experiencing life on the run like this, and every single time they escaped danger frightened her greatly.
In contrast, Yang Kai seemed rather accustomed to this situation. It was obvious that he had gone through numerous similar experiences before.
“Right now, the person with me is you. You should be careful not to jinx yourself,” he said lightly.
Her smile became increasingly bitter.
Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically all of a sudden. Raising his head to look in a certain direction, he gritted his teeth, “They arrived so quickly!” While speaking, he grabbed her by the arm and shouted, “Let’s go!”
Space rippled, and the two of them vanished before they even had the time to catch their breath. When they reappeared again, Yang Kai immediately stabilised his body and looked up to see a figure with an extraordinary aura speeding towards them from the front.
That person had clearly noticed Yang Kai, and when their four eyes suddenly met, he couldn’t help being stunned and stared at Yang Kai blankly.
“Damn it! Cheng Yang!” Yang Kai swore angrily. This was truly a case of when it rained, it poured. What he feared the most during his repeated escapes was to encounter this kind of situation where he appeared right in front of an enemy due to Instantaneous Movement.
His luck had been pretty good so far as every time he performed Instantaneous Movement, he would have a chance to catch his breath for a moment. Unfortunately, his luck had run out and he actually appeared in front of Bright Sun Divine Monarch.
Cheng Yang must have escaped the Divine Ability Sea and arrived at the Ancestral Land at some point in time.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai quickly discovered that something was not right.
Cheng Yang did not look pleasantly surprised to see Yang Kai. On the contrary, he looked hesitant and unsure. Furthermore, it was obvious that he was injured. His injuries contained the aura of a Divine Spirit, indicating that his wounds did not come from navigating the Divine Ability Sea but from an encounter with a powerful Divine Spirit in the Ancestral Land.
At this moment, he was filled with grievances that could not be voiced. He was one of the three great Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven. Although he had been hiding in the depths of the Shattered Heaven and living in seclusion for many years, there was no denying that he was a famous figure. In the Shattered Heaven, he was capable of calling the wind, summoning the rain, and holding up the entire sky.
However, in his relentless pursuit of the World Spring, he had accidentally stumbled into the Ancestral Land of the Divine Spirits. He knew about this place; after all, the white-robed youth from the Kun Clan had always kept contact with him. Compared to the other Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven, Cheng Yang had some knowledge of the Ancestral Land.
More importantly, he knew that all the inhabitants of the Ancestral Land were either Divine Spirits or those with Divine Spirit bloodlines. For a Human cultivator without the slightest Divine Spirit bloodline like himself, he was bound to face countless difficulties in this place!
When he ran into the Divine Spirit Bi An by chance earlier, the other party had attacked him as soon as they got into a disagreement. If not for his impressive strength, Cheng Yang would have died right then and there. Even so, his battle with the Divine Spirit had left him wounded.
For now, the only method for him to resolve his current predicament was to seek refuge with the Kun Clan. The Kun Clan had been cooperating with him all these years after all, so it could be said that there was some friendship between them. It was just that he had never stepped foot into the Ancestral Land before, so how was he supposed to know where the Kun Clan was located?
Just as he was at a loss for what to do, Cheng Yang spotted Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang tearing space and appearing in front of him. Hence, he was extremely conflicted.
Yang Kai was undoubtedly the culprit behind his current misery. If possible, Cheng Yang wanted to rip this little brat’s corpse into 10,000 pieces. Be that as it may, he did not dare to attack Yang Kai recklessly under these circumstances lest he attracted the other Divine Spirits here, which would not benefit him in any way.
During that momentary hesitation, there was a bit of a back-and-forth as he struggled to come to a decision. Suddenly, a voice sounded from afar, “Cheng Yang, capture him! The Kun Clan will guarantee your safety!”
Cheng Yang immediately recognised that the voice belonged to the white-robed youth called Kun Yu, who had been searching for something in the Shattered Heaven all this while
Back then, the white-robed youth had brought a young woman with him to seek Cheng Yang’s assistance. He claimed to have come from the Kun Clan and revealed the bloodline of the Divine Spirit Kun Clan in him. Cheng Yang had not paid much attention to this matter as in his opinion, there was no harm in providing some conveniences and protection to the other party as long as they did not interfere with his interests.
Over the years, Kun Yu had constantly wandered the Shattered Heaven in search of something. Cheng Yang never bothered to ask about the matter. Moreover, the information regarding the World Spring was given to him by Kun Yu; otherwise, he would never have emerged from the Universe Cave Heaven that he had been secluding himself in.
Nevertheless, he never expected Kun Yu to return to the Ancestral Land so soon. Of course, considering that Kun Yu originated from here in the first place, it was not that strange for him to return safely.
After hearing what Kun Yu said, Cheng Yang stopped hesitating. He intended to seek refuge with the Kun Clan in the first place, so seeing as Kun Yu wanted him to capture Yang Kai, he would do as he was asked. It would also better allow him to make contact with the Kun Clan’s Masters.
Reaching out his hand, Cheng Yang grabbed towards Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
The Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land did not know Yang Kai’s strengths and weaknesses, which was why Yang Kai had the chance to escape using his Space Principles.
Unlike the Divine Spirits, however, Cheng Yang had seen many of Yang Kai’s methods. He knew that this brat would vanish out of sight if he showed the slightest negligence; hence, while extending his hand, Cheng Yang also used his Divine Sense to create a Heaven Sealing, Earth Locking field to prevent Yang Kai from escaping.
Yang Kai gave a furious roar. Summoning the Azure Dragon Spear, a Great Sun leaped upward as the spear stabbed forward.
At the same time, Xia Lin Lang attacked without reserve.
Even so, the combined powers of these two were not enough to block the Divine Monarch’s attack. The enormous hand descending from the sky merely paused for a moment before coming down on them again.
The strength of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was enough to make Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang taste despair. Under the pressure of the large hand, they grunted in pain and their figures steadily sagged downward. They were practically being crushed to the ground.
At that moment, a sudden turn of events occurred. A graceful figure in an azure dress appeared beside Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang without any warning. After a quick glance at Yang Kai, the woman raised her head to look at the large palm coming down on their heads. With a light wave of her bare hand, an aura without the slightest hint of aggression spread out, and the large hand covering the sky instantly dissipated.
Cheng Yang staggered and stumbled backward, staring at the azure-robed woman in fear. He might not have used his full strength in the attack just now, but it should not have been so easily resolved. Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him could not have accomplished this in such a calm and relaxed manner like this woman had done. In other words, this azure-robed woman’s strength was definitely much higher than his!
[Who is this Divine Spirit!?] Cheng Yang’s figure tensed in apprehension as his eyes stared fixedly at the azure-robed woman without blinking.
“Phoenix Clan?” Yang Kai straightened up slowly while staring at the woman who had appeared beside him and resolved his current crisis. Right now, his Dragon Vein was giving off a somewhat different and unusual feeling. It was a feeling that he experienced before when he was together with Su Yan, travelling with Liu Yan, and interacting with Jiu Feng. That was what convinced him that the azure-robed woman who appeared out of the blue had a Phoenix Clan bloodline.
“Don’t be afraid,” the azure-robed woman’s words were without feeling, but they gave him an indescribable sense of security.
Two streams of light sped over from a distance. It was Kun Yu of the Kun Clan and the young woman carrying the peach blossom branch. Upon seeing the azure-robed woman, Kun Yu was taken aback for a moment before his expression became solemn and he bowed in greeting, “Kun Clan, Kun Yu greets Senior Qing Luan.”
The azure-robed woman nodded lightly, her beautiful eyes staring into the depths of the void. In all directions, countless powerful auras were rapidly approaching this place after detecting the commotion earlier. Every single aura represented a mighty Divine Spirit.
Qing Luan then spoke, “I shall be taking him with me. In three days, you may all come to Four Phoenix Pavilion to discuss the matter of the seal!”
After saying that, she flicked her sleeve, wrapped up Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang in her power, then soared into the sky.
The powerful auras that had been approaching this direction swiftly paused in silence. A short while later, they gradually fell dormant once more.
Cheng Yang stood there with a frown on his face, his expressions changing in quick succession. All of a sudden, he whipped his head around to look at Kun Yu, “Were you using me?”
If not for the scene just now, he would not have thought too deeply about this matter; however, the Divine Spirit Qing Luan had appeared in person to rescue Yang Kai from him. Combined with the words she left behind before she left, he couldn’t help delving more deeply into this matter after that incident.
Not to mention, he also heard a furious roar resounding across the skies when he first entered the Ancestral Land earlier. That furious roar had claimed that a Dragon Clan member had appeared in the Ancestral Land. Although Cheng Yang had failed to understand the situation previously, he was starting to get some insight now.
Those Divine Spirits rushing here from all directions were clearly coming for Yang Kai; in other words, Yang Kai was the Dragon Clan member who appeared in the Ancestral Land! It was most certain that he had some sort of vital role to play in the Ancestral Land, which was why so many Divine Spirits had come to capture him.
It had to be said that Cheng Yang was the one to pursue and eventually forced Yang Kai into the Ancestral Land; however, the information he received regarding the World Spring had come from Kun Yu. Furthermore, when he first started pursuing Yang Kai, Kun Yu had not hesitated to consume his own Blood Essence to leave a Bloodline Mark so as to facilitate his pursuit of Yang Kai.
After combining all these incidents together, Cheng Yang was seriously suspecting that he had been used by Kun Yu.
“I was just borrowing your strength,” Kun Yu replied calmly, “Why are you so angry, Divine Monarch?”
“You could have explained everything to me in advance!” Cheng Yang’s expression was hideous.
“Divine Monarch, this is the Ancestral Land.”
Kun Yu’s words immediately extinguished Cheng Yang’s rage. There was no choice. If he wished to leave this place alive, he would need the help of the Kun Clan, so it was not a good idea to offend them. After falling silent for a moment, Chang Yang declared, “I wish to meet your Elders.”
“Good.” Kun Yu nodded.
Qing Luan’s speed was extremely fast, so it didn’t take long before they arrived at a place with beautiful scenery. The Spirit Peaks were covered in mist, and World Energy was abundant in the air. Furthermore, there were many gorgeous pavilions in the mountains.
Qing Luan landed lightly in front of the Main Hall, then she gently placed Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang down before saying, “This place is very safe. Rest here for the day. I will come and speak to you tomorrow.”
After saying that, she turned and departed with a flash.
Watching her departing figure, Yang Kai frowned slightly. He had so many questions in his heart; for example, why did the Dragon Clan leave the Ancestral Land? Where did they go? What did the seal have to do with their departure? The other Divine Spirits might not know anything, but Qing Luan who was closely related to the Phoenix Clan bloodline would surely know some of the secrets. According to the information that Yang Kai had gotten so far, the Dragon Clan left the Ancestral Land with most of the Phoenix Clan many, many years ago.
However, Qing Luan had already mentioned that she would come and speak to him tomorrow, so there was no need to hurry. He had been escaping with Xia Lin Lang over the past few days, and the consumption had been too great, so it was true that he needed to recuperate.
There was nobody in the Main Hall when Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang walked inside, so they each just found a private room and went inside to rest.
On another Spirit Peak, Qing Luan flew over and landed. There were three other women waiting for her there. One was dressed in purple, one was dressed in yellow, and the last was dressed in white.
The yellow-robed woman walked up and asked, “Elder Sister, how is the situation?”
Qing Luan replied, “I found him and brought him back, but Kun Ao kicked up such a huge fuss that all the Divine Spirits know about the appearance of a Dragon Clan member in the Ancestral Land. I’m afraid that the matters related to the seal cannot be delayed any longer.”
The purple-robed woman frowned, “That seal is something both the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans left behind in ancient times. Since it is such a powerful seal, it must surely be related to a matter of great importance. Unfortunately, so many years have passed, so nobody knows what is being contained inside. Rashly opening the seal may bring about unpredictable consequences.”
Qing Luan nodded, “It’s true that nobody knows what it contains, but most Divine Spirits know about the Ancestral Land Seal. Moreover, the seal has naturally loosened after so many years. There is no denying that extremely pure Ancestral Strength is leaking out from the gaps of the seal; otherwise, nobody in the Ancestral Land would have joined the movement spearheaded by the Kun Clan with the intention of releasing it.”
The other three women nodded lightly.
During their conversation, a young man hurried over and cupped his fist, “Old Ancestors, please head to the Infant Phoenix Tower immediately. There’s an emergency!”
The women’s expressions changed when they heard those words, and they sped there without any hesitation. A short while later, they stood inside the Infant Phoenix Tower and examined the Phoenix Egg in front of them with solemn expressions.
The Infant Phoenix Tower was where the babies of Four Phoenix Pavilion were housed. Any clansmen who had laid a Phoenix Egg would place their offspring here to be nurtured. It was to ensure the survival and birth of their descendants.
Unfortunately, the vitality of the Phoenix Egg in front of them was weakening at this very moment. It was like a candle in the wind, at risk of vanishing at any given moment.
Upon seeing this, Qing Luan immediately placed her finger into her mouth without hesitation. She bit through the skin of her fingertip and forced out a drop of her own Blood Essence. Her bare hand then danced nimbly, drawing countless patterns on the Phoenix egg.
An extremely intricate and mysterious array formed in an instant. When the light shone brightly, the array was completely absorbed by the Phoenix Egg. The vitality that was on the verge of being extinguished slowly showed signs of stabilizing.
Silently watching the Phoenix Egg in front of her, she gave a small sigh and asked, “How many does this make over the past 1,000 years?”
The white-robed woman replied sadly, “This is the third. The previous two… did not make it. And, this one…”
This one might not survive either. Whether or not it could successfully hatch would depend entirely on the Heavens now.
The yellow-robed woman added, “The bloodlines of the two newly hatched are quite impure. Their future achievements will be limited.”
The Ancestral Strength was getting weaker and weaker. This place was the origin of all Divine Spirits, so the weakening Ancestral Strength naturally had a huge impact on the birth and survival of the descendants of all the Divine Spirits. The Divine Spirits of the older generation could feel these changes clearly. It was many times harder for them to improve their Bloodline Power now compared to when they were younger. Naturally, part of the reason was that the purer their bloodline, the more difficult it was for them to enhance their strength, but unfortunately, the biggest reason was that the Ancestral Strength was weakening.
It had always been difficult for the Phoenix Clan to have descendants, and if things continued at this rate, there would not be any new descendants with their bloodline born to them.
Forget the Phoenix Clan; the population of Divine Spirits with small numbers in the first place had withered and were practically on the verge of extinction.
“Elder Sister, the seal…” The yellow-robed woman looked at Qing Luan.
Qing Luan let out a heavy sigh in response.
The next day, Yang Kai was meditating when he suddenly opened his eyes and flashed out of his room. When he arrived outside the Main Hall, he looked up at the sky only to see four rays of different coloured lights flying towards him.
Having also noticed the commotion, Xia Lin Lang appeared beside him.
A short while later, four women landed in front of the two of them.
Yang Kai bowed in greeting, “Junior Yang Kai greets four Seniors.”
Likewise, Xia Lin Lang quickly gave an elegant bow. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, her powerful perception distinctly told her that all four women standing in front of her were much stronger than her. Even Bright Sun Divine Monarch was nothing compared to any one of them.
As the leader, Qing Luan nodded lightly before looking at Yang Kai and saying, “I am Qing Luan. You might already know me. These three are Yuan Chu, Yue Zhuo, and Hong Hu. The four of us can be considered the oldest generation in the Four Phoenix Pavilion.”
Yang Kai’s heart trembled slightly. He once read the Divine Spirit Record, and according to its text, there were Phoenixes of five different colours, namely Red Phoenix, Azure Luan, Yellow Yuan Chu, Purple Yue Zhuo, and White Hong Hu.
It could be said that the four women in front of him carried the purest bloodlines of the Phoenix Clan other than the Phoenix’s themselves. Moreover, the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans had always had a close relationship with each other, which was why he did not feel the slightest sense of oppression from them even though the gap in their strength was so large. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein seemed to be rejoicing.
“You probably have some questions for us. Similarly, we have some questions for you.” Qing Luan looked at Yang Kai warmly, as if she were his Elder, “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Yang Kai nodded; thus, they all went into the Main Hall and took their seats.
The gazes of the four women were focused on Yang Kai. They constantly seemed to be examining him as though trying to figure out something from his body.
“Your bloodline is strange.” Qing Luan was the first to speak, “It’s extremely pure, but you don’t seem to be part of the Dragon Clan. Can you explain the situation to us?”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “I am not part of the Dragon Clan, but I’m not fully Human either.”
The purple-robed Yue Zhuo frowned, “Even if a Human obtained a Dragon Source by chance, their bloodline should not have been so pure. What Dragon Source did you receive?”
In response, Yang Kai silently stimulated the power of his Dragon Source. A deafening Dragon Roar resounded throughout the Main Hall in the next moment, and at the same time, a large Golden Dragon Head seemed to awaken from dormancy and floated just behind him. The Dragon Eyes were majestic, seeming to overlook the universe.
Qing Luan narrowed her eyes and exclaimed, “Golden Divine Dragon Source!”
Likewise, Yue Zhuo revealed a look of understanding, “No wonder. You’ve probably tried many ways to enhance your Source Strength over the years. That’s why you managed to experience such growth, right?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I consumed many Spirit Pills refined from the Dragon Blood Flowers.” After a hesitant pause, he asked, “Seniors, can you tell me about what happened to the Dragon Clan?”
The women exchanged glances with each other. Then, Qing Luan explained, “We have lived in the Ancestral Land ever since we were born, but even we have never met the Dragon Clan before. It’s only thanks to our bloodline inheritance that we know some things about the Dragon Clan. As for whether they are the truth, you will have to be the judge of that yourself. We are not deliberately trying to deceive you.”
“This Junior would not dare to think that.” Yang Kai nodded slightly.
She then continued, “As you know, any Divine Spirit will be strong enough to rival a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in strength once they reach adulthood. As the Head of all Divine Spirits, the Dragon Clan is no exception. Dragon Clan members who were not as strong as a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master would always be considered Juvenile Dragons no matter how many years they cultivated. Only those with strength comparable to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were worthy of the title ‘Grand Dragon’!”
Yang Kai nodded. This sentiment was something that he heard from Bi Xi in the past. According to Bi Xi, one’s Dragon Form had to be at least 10,000 metres long for them to be worthy of the title ‘Grand Dragon’.
“And, above the Grand Dragons are the Divine Dragons!” Qing Luan continued, “The strength of a Grand Dragon is equivalent to the strength of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. On the other hand, Divine Dragons are on par with Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! I’m sure you’re aware of the gap in strength between them.”
The gap in strength between each Order of the Open Heaven Realm was like the difference between night and day. A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master killing a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was like stealing candy from a baby. The same applied if a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master tried to kill a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The difference in strength between an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would only be even more staggering.
Meanwhile, a Divine Dragon was an existence comparable to a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
“The Source you inherited once belonged to a Divine Dragon.” Qing Luan looked him straight in the eye, “In any case, you were able to refine this Source and produce a Dragon Vein. Regardless of your origins as part of the Human Race, strictly speaking, you’re already part of the Dragon Clan. It’s just that you are no more than a Juvenile Dragon based on your current strength.”
Hearing those words left him dumbfounded. Yang Kai had worked hard and cultivated for many years in order to achieve all the success he enjoyed today. Nevertheless, he could only be classified as a Juvenile in the Dragon Clan with his current achievements.
The strength of the Dragon Clan was evident.
When he realised that even Zhu Yan and Fu Zhun could only be classified as Juvenile Dragons though, he felt a little better.
Yang Kai had obtained his Dragon Source when he was still very young. In that case, what happened to the former owner of the Source for him to die in that place? It had to be said that he was a Divine Dragon comparable to a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! What about the Phoenix Clan Source that Su Yan inherited? Both of them had been together at the time. How could a Phoenix Clan member be weak if she died beside a Divine Dragon? Unfortunately, what happened back then would forever remain a mystery.
“This is the Heavens’ Will!” Qing Luan sighed.
In the beginning, she had hoped that Yang Kai’s Bloodline might not be strong enough to unlock the seal even if he was part of the Dragon Clan. If that was the case, then she would only need to explain the circumstances to the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land and this matter might have been suppressed as a result.
However, she knew that this method would not work as soon as she saw the Source Strength Yang Kai possessed.
Although with his current Dragon Vein’s power, he could only be classified as a Juvenile Dragon, his Source was extremely pure. There was a possibility that he could unlock the seal, so what excuse could Four Phoenix Pavilion use to stop the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land?
A brief moment of silence passed before Qing Luan asked, “Do you know why all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land want to capture you?”
Yang Kai replied, “I heard that they want to use my bloodline to unlock some sort of seal!”
Qing Luan nodded, “So you know… In that case, this will be easy to explain. In ancient times, the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans joined forces to leave behind a powerful seal in the Ancestral Land. Nobody knows what is contained within the seal. Perhaps, only the original generation of Divine Spirits know the truth. Unfortunately, too much time has passed and too many things have been lost over the generations, even with the inheritance of Divine Spirits like ourselves.”
“At present, nobody in the Ancestral Land knows why the Dragon and Phoenix Clans left this seal behind in ancient times. The only thing we can be certain of is that the seal contains an abundance of extremely pure Ancestral Strength. Over the years, the seal has started to loosen and the Ancestral Strength has begun leaking out from within. We’ve personally gone to investigate the seal and verified this fact,” Qing Luan continued, “According to my estimation, the seal was formed from Ancestral Strength, which is why this phenomenon is occurring.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Since it is a seal, whatever that is contained inside cannot be a good thing. Who knows what kind of consequences we might face if we recklessly break the seal?”
Qing Luan smiled bitterly, “How can the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land be unaware of this fact? But, as you know, Divine Spirits are generally arrogant due to their immense strength. Even if whatever that was sealed inside back then turned out to be something bad, chances are that it no longer exists after so many eons. Even if it still exists, there is nothing to fear with the immense strength of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. To the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, releasing the seal might be risky, but the risks are insignificant compared to the benefits.”
There was pure Ancestral Strength leaking out of the seal. If they could release the seal, they could improve the current conditions of the Ancestral Land. It would be highly beneficial to the reproduction and survival of all Divine Spirits. If not for that, the Kun Clan would not have been adamant about breaking the seal.
Yang Kai fell silent after hearing those words. There was no way a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him could resist under these circumstances, so he raised his head and asked, “What is Four Phoenix Pavilion’s stance towards this matter?”
Qing Luan replied, “We have always disapproved of the decision to break the seal; however, based on the general trend, it doesn’t matter whether we agree or disagree anymore. I will be honest with you. No less than ten Divine Spirits have been lingering outside the Four Phoenix Pavilion since yesterday. Even if we wanted to send you away, we don’t have the ability to do so.”
Yue Zhuo added, “Besides, the seal began loosening several thousand years ago. Even if we don’t take the initiative to undo the seal ourselves, it will break on its own after several thousand more years.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai took a deep breath, “What do I need to do?”
Qing Luan said, “There’s nothing that you need to do in particular. The seal was left behind by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans using their Bloodline Power, so you only need to consume some Blood Essence to break the seal. In two days, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land will come to the Four Phoenix Pavilion to discuss these matters. I will let you know once the results of the discussion are out. After that, I will bring you to the Demon Sealing Land. You should get a good rest over the next two days.
“Demon Sealing Land?” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow at those words, “Is that where the seal is located?”
Qing Luan nodded, “The situation in the Demon Sealing Land was passed down by word of mouth since ancient times. Although the seal has been loosening, we have not detected any Demon Qi coming from within. We have no idea why it is called the Demon Sealing Land either. Perhaps, the ominous things that were sealed inside have long turned into nothing but dust over the years.”
Even if there existed some sort of Demon Qi, the Divine Spirits of the Ancestral Land were not afraid. The strength of the Divine Spirits could not be defeated by something as trivial as Demon Qi.
Over the next two days, Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang focused on their recovery.
Two days later, Four Phoenix Pavilion opened its gates. Numerous overwhelmingly powerful auras entered one after another, each one representing a mighty Divine Spirit.
Inside the Main Hall, several dozen people slowly filled the seats. Even though the Divine Spirits arrived at different times, they each found a suitable seat for themselves in tacit agreement. Meanwhile, Qing Luan and the three other Phoenix women sat in a row of seats situated at the topmost position.
Yang Kai sat upright to the left and below them, looking down with his head lowered.
Every single Divine Spirit that entered the room would study him with great interest. Some of them would even reveal curious expressions. Most of the Divine Spirits had been born and raised in the Ancestral Land all their lives, so the Dragon Clan was a rare sight to them. They had only ever heard of the Dragon Clan but never seen one with their own eyes.
Sitting directly opposite Yang Kai was Kun Ao of the Kun Clan. His gaze would sweep over Yang Kai from time to time, and he did not bother to conceal his murderous intent.
Likewise, the Dragon Vein in Yang Kai’s body seemed eager to fight. The hatred that came from the depths of his bloodline was an inheritance passed down from ancient times. Even if hundreds of thousands of years had passed, this hatred would never disappear as long as their respective bloodlines continued to exist.
More than half of the Divine Spirits in attendance were comparable to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even if the rest were not as powerful, they were at least the equivalent of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. It was obvious that all of them were Mature Divine Spirits.
Mie Meng had come too. She was also part of the Ancestral Land after all. The seal in the Demon Sealing Land would affect the growth of her descendants, so she had to make an appearance. Nonetheless, she did not say a word to Yang Kai. The first reason was that the situation was inappropriate. The other reason was that he had the protection of Four Phoenix Pavilion. Many Divine Spirits might be in attendance today, but they posed no threat to him.
In just an incense stick, all the seats in the Main Hall had been filled. All the Divine Spirit Clans had sent a representative to attend the meeting today.
Qing Luan’s beautiful eyes took in the scene in front of her for a moment before she spoke, “Since everyone is here, let us begin our discussion.”
Kun Ao grinned, “What else needs to be discussed about the seal? We’ve waited for so many years, and now, a Dragon Clan member has finally appeared in the Ancestral Land. Who knows how much longer we will have to wait if we let this opportunity slip through our fingers? Why don’t we all express our attitude towards this matter and be done with it? The minority will obey the majority. What do you think, Qing Luan?”
Narrowing her eyes, she said nothing more and simply nodded lightly. Now that things had come to this, she had already mentally prepared herself for how the situation would develop. Nothing would change no matter how much she objected to the decision.
Kun Ao laughed, “Good. I’m sure you’re all aware of the situation in the Demon Sealing Land, so there’s no need to say anything more. Do we maintain the seal as it is? Or, do we take a risk to release the seal and allow the Ancestral Strength to flood this land again so that our descendants never worry about reproduction issues again. Make your choice. Nobody is forcing you. The Kun Clan supports the decision to release the seal. We have also been working hard towards this goal for many years. You’ve witnessed our efforts for yourselves. Those who are willing to progress with us, please show your support!”
“I agree to releasing the seal!” Tao Wu, who was sitting beside Kun Ao, grinned widely.
“As do I!” Bi An responded immediately.
“I!”
“I!”
…..
There were a series of voices ringing out in the Grand Hall. Although some of the Divine Spirits did not express their opinions, those who agreed to break the seal had already occupied the majority.
Kun Ao nodded in satisfaction, then he turned to look at Qing Luan, “This is what the people in the Ancestral Land want. Qing Luan, there’s no need for the Four Phoenix Pavilion to stop us again, right?”
Qing Luan quietly replied, “Since you all believe that releasing the sea is the better choice, Four Phoenix Pavilion will not say anything more. Let us proceed.”
“Good!” Kun Ao laughed out loud.
“But, before that, Four Phoenix Pavilion has a condition!” Qing Luan suddenly swept glared at him.
“Speak freely.”
She then pointed at Yang Kai, “After the matter with the seal has been completed, I will escort him from this place. No one is allowed to harm him or stop him!”
She stared at Kun Ao fixedly while speaking those words. It was obvious that her words were directed at him. There were numerous Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, but the only ones with an irresolvable grudge against the Dragon Clan was the Kun Clan.
As long as Kun Ao gave his word, Yang Kai would not be in any danger; after all who else among the rest of the Divine Spirits would go out of their way to kill a Dragon Clan member for no reason? While it was true that the Dragon Clan had left the Ancestral Land a very long time ago, who could guarantee that they would not return one day? They would definitely settle all their debts upon their return.
Kun Ao nodded readily, “Rest assured. The only reason I dealt with him previously was for the seal. This Kun Ao is a man of honour and will not make trouble for a mere brat.”
“Don’t forget what you said.” Qing Luan nodded faintly.
Kun Ao then stood up, “It has been so long, and it’s rare for all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land to be so united. There’s no day like today. Why don’t we head to the Demon Sealing Land now?”
Qing Luan glanced at Yang Kai questioningly, and Yang Kai nodded, “It’s fine with me.”
Only then did she say, “Let’s set off then.”
Many Divine Spirits stood up, and a short while later, countless streams of light sliced through air as they sped off into the distance.
Yang Kai was surrounded by Qing Luan and the three others. Along the way, Qing Luan reminded him, “The foundation of the seal is built on Bloodline Power. If you want to break the seal, you will need to consume your own Blood Essence. Do your best, but don’t be too greedy for achievements or you will damage your foundation!”
“This Junior understands!” Yang Kai nodded.
The Demon Sealing Land was located at the very edge of the Ancestral Land, and the nearer they got to it, the more Yang Kai could feel the peculiar force lingering in the world getting stronger.
This power was extremely beneficial to the Divine Spirits; however, it was unique to the Ancestral Land and practically impossible to find in the outside world. Forget Yang Kai, who was a newcomer to this place; even the Divine Spirits living in this place did not know much about the Ancestral Strength. Nevertheless, this power was undeniably related to the growth and reproduction of all the Divine Spirits.
Even so, the margin of increase was not very large. The reason for this phenomenon was most likely that the seal had loosened and the Ancestral Strength was leaking out from inside the seal.
Approximately half a day later, Yang Kai saw an enormous Grand Array rising up from the ground in the distance, with several Array Nodes towering up into the clouds. Moreover, there was another Grand Array visible to the naked eye spread out on the ground.
At this moment, countless figures were gathered around the Grand Array. These figures came in all shapes and sizes, and every one of them was different from the next. Some looked like beasts while others had humanoid forms.
Yang Kai looked around in astonishment.
The white-robed Hong Hu, who was closest to him, explained, “The Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land is more abundant, so many Juniors like to cultivate here. My Sisters and I used to fight many other Divine Spirits here over territorial issues.”
Yang Kai glanced at her in surprise.
To which she smiled, “Who was not young once?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help chuckling. In the Demon Sealing Land below them, two young Divine Spirits were fighting in their true forms. It was probably as she explained earlier, they were competing over a cultivation spot. There were many other young Divine Spirits in the surroundings who cheered and watched the fight, making for a lively scene.
Unfortunately, this fight was bound to be cut short at this moment. The older generation of the Divine Spirits arrived with great fanfare, causing the younger generation of Divine Spirits to look up in astonishment.
“All Juniors are to leave!” Kun Ao took the lead, waving his hand to chase off the younger generation of Divine Spirits without the slightest trace of politeness. All of a sudden, a large wing spread out and covered the entire sky. The violent gust of wind swept across the ground, and the younger generation of Divine Spirits gathered below screamed in panic. There was no saying where the wind had taken them.
Many furious gazes shot toward Kun Ao, but he simply declared resolutely, “What are you looking at? There were Kun Clan Juniors here too. This King treated them all equally. Is there a problem?”
Inside the Ancestral Land, both the Kun Clan and the Phoenix Clan were considered major Clans. Not only were they powerful, but they also had many clansmen. Ordinary Divine Spirits could not afford to provoke either of them.
Everybody had witnessed Kun Ao’s actions earlier. Although his Secret Technique had swept many of the younger generation away, his strength had been controlled perfectly and there was no intention to wound. Hence, these people only glared at him viciously for a moment before they withdrew their gazes.
Afterward, many gazes turned to focus on Qing Luan and Yang Kai instead with great expectations.
“What do I do?” Yang Kai asked.
Qing Luan replied, “You only need to stand in the middle of the Grand Sealing Array and match our actions later.”
He nodded and came to stand in the centre of the enormous Grand Array under everybody’s watchful eyes.
As soon as he took his position, Qing Luan shouted, “Begin!”
Yuan Chu, Yue Zhuo, and Hong Hu nodded in unison. The four figures flickered and flashed, each standing at the four corners of the Grand Array. In the next moment, their majestic Divine Spirit aura permeated the air and a sharp piercing cry resounded throughout the world.
Rays of azure, purple, yellow, and white lights shone out brightly, and the four women transformed back into their true bodies. Four enormous Phoenix Clan members, each more than 10,000 metres tall, spread out their wings and threw back their heads with a loud cry. A violent gust of wind raged around them, causing sand and rock to fly in the air.
Yang Kai was dazzled by the sight. Although he had seen the Phoenix Clan’s true appearance before, he had never seen any that were so huge and terrifying.
At the same time, a horrifying pressure spread out. Even though they were not deliberately targeting him, it was enough to make his body feel extremely heavy.
They cried out again, and four streams of Blood Essence spewed out from the mouths of Qing Luan and the three others to splatter upon the Grand Array. In that instant, the Grand Array hummed and the Void trembled.
Yang Kai roared involuntarily. Following the sound of the Dragon Roar, a Golden Dragon Head appeared behind him and plunged into his body. In the next moment, his body swelled; his hands transformed into Dragon Claws; Dragon Scales covered his body; two Dragon Horns thrust out of his forehead; a Dragon Tail flicked behind him; and Dragon Beard fluttered below his jaw when he shook his head fiercely. The small humanoid figure abruptly erupted into a several thousand metre tall behemoth.
The Divine Spirits watching by the sides frowned in response, however. They had assumed that Yang Kai was a pure-blooded Dragon Clan member, but the person in front of them was Half-Human and Half-Dragon. That undoubtedly indicated that his bloodline was not as pure as they had imagined.
[Can the seal be broken with such a weak bloodline?] In any case, the arrow had been released and there was no turning back now. They could only suppress the doubts in their hearts and quietly watch how things unfolded.
Inside the Grand Array, Yang Kai could feel the Power of the Dragon Vein in his body surging violently and the vitality in his chest churning fiercely. A mouthful of Blood Essence was then forced from his throat and splattered onto the Grand Array.
After the Grand Array had been stimulated by Blood Essence of Qing Luan and the others, the lights had been flashing and flickering endlessly. With the addition of Yang Kai’s Dragon Blood, the light shone even more brightly than before.
Numerous patterns inside the Grand Array lit up and linked together to become one. Furthermore, the Dragon and Phoenix Blood that was sprayed across the Grand Array wriggled about within its patterns, like some sort of living thing.
With the passage of time, the illusory phantom of a heavy set of gates appeared in the sky above the Grand Array. The magnificent gates stood in the sky between the Heavens and the Earth. There had been no trace of these gates before, and it was not until this moment that they were revealed in all their glory.
Many of the Divine Spirits looked up with excited expressions on their faces.
The Demon Sealing Land was not a Restricted Area and many among the younger generation of Divine Spirits liked to cultivate here. Most of the older generation of Divine Spirits had also investigated this place in the past, but regardless of their identities, nobody had ever discovered any traces of this gate before.
Be that as it may, this gate had appeared when the Dragon and Phoenix Blood mixed with each other. In other words, there was a high possibility that the seal could be broken. The predicament that had plagued the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land for countless years was finally showing signs of being resolved. How could they not be eager and excited?
As time passed, the gate that stood in the sky became more and more solid. It was almost as though it actually existed. However, everyone could see that the gate was not a solid entity, but the manifestation of great energy. It was the seal itself. What was contained behind the gate were the secrets that had been hidden from the Ancestral Land for countless generations.
An hour later, the light shining from the Grand Array gradually showed signs of growing dim; however, the gates showed no signs of opening in the slightest.
Kun Ao shouted, “Qing Luan, it’s not enough!”
Upon hearing those words, Qing Luan and the three others spat out another mouthful of Blood Essence while in the centre of the Grand Array, Yang Kai did the same.
The light of the Grand Array that had faded slightly was instantly revived to its full glory. The two forces intertwined and entangled inside the Grand Array, spreading towards the heavy gates like vines.
The Divine Spirits could clearly sense that the two forces were none other than the Bloodline Powers of the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan.
There seemed to be a pair of large invisible hands that pushed and shoved at the heavy gates. Accompanied by a creaking sound that reverberated throughout the world, the heavy gates slowly opened by a crack.
The eyes of Kun Ao and the other Divine Spirits immediately brightened in excitement as they stared fixedly at the gate.
Extremely pure force emerged from the gap that had opened; it was Ancestral Strength. It was just that none of the Divine Spirits had ever felt the existence of such a powerful Ancestral Strength in many, many years. Thus, they couldn’t help feeling warm and protected when the force enveloped them.
Standing in the middle of the Grand Array, Yang Kai felt these changes even more clearly. Under the stimulation of that force, he could feel the Power of his Dragon Vein boiling furiously. His bloodline was becoming purer and purer at a speed that he could detect. The most notable change was that his huge body that had originally reached its limits had grown again and the bloodline in his body burst out like the roar of the rushing river.
The heavy gate opened at a very slow speed. It took more than an hour just to open up a crack that was no more than three fingers wide.
It was obvious that even more of the Bloodline Power from the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans were needed to break the seal. Qing Luan, Yang Kai, and the others forced out their Blood Essence once more to stimulate the power of the Grand Array.
After three days, the gates were finally mostly opened, and it would not be long before the seal was broken!
Unfortunately, Yang Kai was starting to reach his limits. Releasing this seal had required the consumption of his Blood Essence, and such consumption was so great that it was damaging his vitality.
Compared to Qing Luan and the others, his bloodline was no stronger than that of a Juvenile Dragon in the first place. His bloodline might be pure enough, but he simply could not withstand the consumption. Besides, Qing Luan and the others had four people working together while he was alone. The consumption he experienced was four times that of Qing Luan and the others.
At this moment, his complexion was very pale and even his large figure seemed a little shaky and unsteady, like he could collapse at any moment.
There was no doubt that Kun Ao had also discovered this fact. He would glance at the gate from time to time before he glanced back at Yang Kai. An inexplicable light flickered in the depths of his eyes.
Qing Luan naturally noticed this and shouted, “Don’t even think about it, Kun Ao! If anything happens to him, Four Phoenix Pavilion will never break the seal!”
Kun Ao’s face twitched at those words, but he soon just chuckled, “You’re overthinking things, Qing Luan. I’m just worried about whether this brat can persevere until the end. Since you’ve said as much though, I’m sure there will be no problems on his part.”
The truth was that he had indeed thought about it. If Yang Kai could no longer withstand the pressure of releasing the seal, he could simply slaughter him on the Grand Array itself. After all, based on the current situation, it would seem that the seal could be broken as long as there was an adequate amount of Dragon Clan Blood. The life or death of the Dragon Clan member providing the Blood had nothing to do with him.
However, seeing as Qing Luan had already warned him, Kun Ao could only give up on his idea. All his efforts would be in vain if Four Phoenix Pavilion refused to cooperate again because he killed this Dragon Clan member.
Qing Luan looked at Yang Kai in concern, “Take some time to recover. There’s no hurry!”
Yang Kai nodded quietly and sat down in the middle of the Grand Array without further ado. He silently activated his Secret Technique and frantically devoured the Ancestral Strength that was pouring out of the seal. His physique wriggled while at the same time, his Bloodline steadily became purer and purer. Even his Half-Dragon Form experienced huge growth.
Over the past few days, his Half-Dragon Form had grown by at least 30 metres, and that was with him not even concentrating on cultivating. What’s more, this was the result when the seal was not broken completely. If he could release the seal completely, how much more would the Ancestral Strength benefit him?
Yang Kai could somewhat understand why the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land was so eager to break the seal now. The Ancestral Strength was simply far too beneficial to the cultivation and growth of Divine Spirits. Not many Divine Spirits could resist in the face of such a temptation. Even Qing Luan and the others were not that repulsed by the idea of releasing the seal, or they would never have been so cooperative in the first place.
Half a day later, Yang Kai stood up and spewed out another mouthful of Blood Essence on the Grand Array. The heavy gates had opened by more than half at this point, and with the help of this mouthful of Dragon Blood, the gap widened a little more again.
Another day passed by in the same manner. Seven whole days after they began releasing the seal, the Grand Array shone brightly when Yang Kai spewed out one last mouthful of Dragon Blood. Then, the heavy gates finally opened completely.
Yang Kai immediately collapsed to the ground, his enormous Half-Dragon Form shrinking rapidly to transform back into his Human Form. Qing Luan and the others quickly released their true body transformations and rushed to his side to help him up.
“How are you feeling?” Yuan Chu asked.
Yang Kai was as pale as a sheet, but he slowly shook his head, “I just consumed too much energy. It’s not a big problem.”
Qing Luan nodded, “As long as you have not damaged your foundation.”
After saying that, she looked up at the gates.
The gates were opened, and an abundance of Ancestral Strength was pouring out of them. Be that as it may, when the time came, all the Divine Spirits simply stood there motionlessly. Nobody scrambled to be the first to enter the gates; after all, nobody knew what was waiting for them.
Kun Ao turned to look behind him. In that direction, a figure stepped forward with a hideous expression on his face. It was none other than Cheng Yang, who had stumbled into the Ancestral Land while pursuing Yang Kai and Xia Lin Lang.
He had not been present when the Divine Spirits rushed here earlier and there was no telling when he had arrived at this place. When all the Divine Spirits in the surroundings turned to look at him, he felt his skin tightening in apprehension, even though he was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“Don’t forget what you promised me, Kun Ao!” Cheng Yang shouted grimly.
Kun Ao smiled, “Of course. I will ask Kun Yu to escort you out of the Ancestral Land after this. You will not be able to leave the Ancestral Land without the escort of a Divine Spirit.”
Cheng Yang coldly snorted. He would never have agreed to Kun Ao’s demands if not for his wish to leave the Ancestral Land. It was just that he was currently living under their eaves, so he had no choice but to bow down to their wishes.
Looking up at the heavy gates, Cheng Yang drew the power of his Small Universe to wrap around his body. Then, he soared into the sky and plunged through those gates to vanish out of sight.
After seeing this exchange, how could the Divine Spirits not realise that Kun Ao had sent Cheng Yang to scout the way ahead? Bright Sun Divine Monarch was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so even if the situation inside was very dangerous, it was impossible for him not to survive and return with some useful information.
Therefore, the Divine Spirits waited silently.
Less than an incense stick later though, Cheng Yang returned from within the gates. It was just that his complexion was extremely pale and his aura was especially chaotic, almost as though he had suffered a huge blow.
Under the watch of the many Divine Spirits, Cheng Yang rushed out of the Demon Sealing Land. His complexion was incredibly pale and his aura was in disarray. There were faint traces of scales appearing on his exposed skin, and the nails on both his hands grew rapidly.
“Monster Transformation!” Qing Luan shouted from where she stood beside Yang Kai.
The Ancestral Land was the origin of all Divine Spirits, and there was an extremely peculiar force in this land that was highly beneficial to the reproduction and growth of those Divine Spirits. However, this force was a poison that could become lethal to living creatures that were not Divine Spirits.
This was something that Qing Luan mentioned to Yang Kai previously. That was why the living creatures existing in the Ancestral Land were generally Divine Spirits or those with the Divine Spirit bloodline.
It was impossible for a Pure-Human cultivator to stay in the Ancestral Land for a long time as once the Ancestral Strength invaded their bodies, there was a high possibility that they would suffer from horrible consequences. Those consequences were Monster Transformation!
Cheng Yang was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and his strength was incredibly powerful. Even so, he was already being eroded by the Ancestral Strength and showing signs of Monster Transformation after spending less than an incense stick inside the Demon Sealing Land.
It was conceivable just how abundant and intense the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land was that even a Master like Cheng Yang could not resist. That was why many of the Divine Spirits rejoiced at the sight of his miserable state. The stronger the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land, the better it was for them.
“What’s inside?” Kun Ao asked while looking at Cheng Yang.
Cheng Yang shook his head while resisting the Ancestral Strength that was invading his body, “It’s too vast. I couldn’t investigate much, but it shouldn’t be dangerous for Divine Spirits like you. Kun Ao, I need to leave this place. The sooner, the better!”
Before entering the Demon Sealing Land, his strength was enough that he could easily resist the erosion of the Ancestral Strength of the Ancestral Land even though it had been gnawing at him without pause. Now that he had fallen into this state, though, the symptoms of Monster Transformation would become irreversible if he did not leave as soon as possible; otherwise, he would become an existence that was neither Monster nor Human.
Kun Ao stared at Cheng Yang deeply as though trying to judge whether the latter was speaking the truth, but a short while later, he shouted, “Kun Yu!”
The white-robed youth who fought Yang Kai on several occasions previously came forward.
“Send him away!” Kun Ao waved his hand dismissively. Although he was a domineering man, he was not a dishonest person.
“Yes!” Kun Yu accepted the order and gestured to Cheng Yang politely.
Cheng Yang coldly snorted and turned around to leave. He did not wish to spend another moment in this place. Nevertheless, he cast a glance at Yang Kai with an inexplicable look in his eyes before he departed.
He had pursued Yang Kai deep into the Ancestral Land because of the World Spring. As a result, not only did he fail to obtain the World Spring, but he also brought great trouble down upon himself. It was truly very unlucky.
Now that Yang Kai was in the Ancestral Land, obtaining the World Spring had become nothing more than a dream. Just Yang Kai’s identity as a Dragon Clan member was enough to frighten Cheng Yang greatly. If he had known that Yang Kai was a Dragon Clan member beforehand, he would never have interfered in this chaos.
After Kun Yu sent Cheng Yang away, Kun Ao finally turned a hungry gaze at the heavy gates that stood wide open in front of him and grinned, “What do you all think?”
Cheng Yang had returned safely, which indicated that there were no dangers inside; therefore, the many Divine Spirits were eager to make a move. Some could barely hold themselves back at this point. It was just that the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan had not made any moves yet, so they could not act so indiscreet.
Qing Luan voiced her opinion, “Since the seal has already been broken, we should go inside and take a look.”
Kun Ao laughed, “In that case, this King will go on ahead and scout the way for you!”
He beckoned with his hand while speaking, leading the Masters of the Kun Clan to plunge through the gates and vanish out of sight.
How could the rest of the Divine Spirits hold back after seeing that? They all rushed forward and entered the gates one after another, and in the blink of an eye, only the Phoenix Clan remained.
Qing Luan lowered her head to look at Yang Kai and ask, “How are you?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s nothing serious.”
“What do you plan to do next? If you wish to leave, I will arrange for someone to escort you out of the Ancestral Land.”
However, Yang Kai looked up at the Seal Gates and declared, “I want to go inside and have a look.”
Qing Luan nodded, “You contributed greatly to the breaking of the seal, so there’s no issue if you wish to go inside and have a look. However, you should come with us and not act on your own.”
“This Junior understands. Many thanks, Senior.” Yang Kai nodded.
Only then did Qing Luan lead the Masters of the Phoenix Clan into the Seal Gates with great fanfare. A vast land spread out in front of their eyes as soon as they stepped into the Demon Sealing Land. Strictly speaking, this world was not much different from the Ancestral Land, it was just that the Ancestral Strength here was extremely rich.
All the Phoenix Clan members couldn’t help taking a deep breath. Stimulated by this power, their clear and piercing cries rose and fell one after another as colourful Phoenix Clan members of various different shapes and sizes revealed their true bodies and fluttered their wings.
Even Yang Kai couldn’t help relaxing mentally and physically. He felt like a wanderer who finally returned home after travelling the world for many years. His weakened body also recovered its vitality more rapidly, filling him with a sense of satisfaction.
“This place… is still part of the Ancestral Land.” Qing Luan murmured under her breath while looking around her surroundings.
Having lived in the Ancestral Land for countless years, it was only natural that she was familiar with the situation in her home. The land behind the Seal Gates was part of the Ancestral Land and there was essentially no difference between this place and the outside.
Yuan Chu seemed pensive, “Did the Dragon and Phoenix Clans split the Ancestral Land into two parts in ancient times? Did they then turn this place into the Demon Sealing Land?”
Yue Zhuo nodded, “That’s probably it. There’s no other way to explain this phenomenon.”
The Ancestral Land had been divided into two parts in ancient times. One part became the place where the various Divine Spirit Clans lived for many years and the other part became the sealed land known as the Demon Sealing Land. Hence, it was no wonder such pure Ancestral Strength spilled out from the Demon Sealing Land. It was because this place was part of the Ancestral Land in the first place.
Due to various unpredictable reasons, the Ancestral Strength in the outside half of the Ancestral Land was growing weaker and weaker. Even the reproduction and survival of the various Divine Spirit Clans were facing issues as a result. On the contrary, the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land remained well-preserved. The mysterious force was rich and abundant.
Cheng Yang had entered this place for a brief period earlier, and when he returned, he claimed that the inside was extremely vast. At the time, nobody understood what he meant as this place was a sealed land after all, so how big could it be? It would now seem that it was certainly very large.
The various Divine Spirits that entered this place earlier were nowhere to be seen, making it obvious that they had ventured deeper to investigate the situation.
“If there are no dangers in this land, then there will be no need to worry about the futures of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land again,” Hong Hu said softly.
The intensity of the Ancestral Strength was so great that it was enough to satisfy the needs of the growth and reproduction of the various Divine Spirit Clans. If the Infant Phoenix Tower was relocated here, the little ones would surely be born healthy.
“This place must be known as the Demon Sealing Land for a reason; there might be dangers that we don’t know about lurking around. We must investigate carefully.” Qing Luan maintained a vigilant attitude.
Under her command, Yuan Chu, Yue Zhuo, and Hong Hu each led a team of clansmen and set off in different directions. On the other hand, she travelled only with Yang Kai.
There were no abnormalities during their travels, but when Qing Luan turned around to see Yang Kai, she saw him hesitating to speak. Thus, she smiled and said, “If you have something to ask, go ahead and speak freely. You are part of the Dragon Clan, which has a deep connection with my Phoenix Clan. There’s no need to be so reserved.”
Yang Kai laughed awkwardly for a moment before he said, “Senior, I have many friends with Divine Spirit bloodlines. It’s just that we came from a remote land and without a proper cultivation method, they have been unable to solve the issue of promoting their bloodlines. Therefore, I wish to bring them to the Ancestral Land after things have settled here. This place will be of immense help to their growth. Will the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land reject them?”
Qing Luan shook her head and said, “All Divine Spirits have the qualifications to enter the Ancestral Land. That is because this place is the origin of all Divine Spirits. If you can come, then so can the others. Mie Meng only entered the Ancestral Land 100 years ago, and nobody criticized her for anything.”
Yang Kai quickly pointed out, “Senior Mie Meng is powerful.”
Qing Luan chuckled in response, “That’s true. Are your friends not strong?”
“According to the classification of the Divine Spirits, they are all considered as Juveniles. Most importantly, many of them are Dragon Clan members!”
Qing Luan immediately understood the issue. The Dragon Clan and the Kun Clan were bitter enemies, so if a bunch of Juvenile Dragons were to enter the Ancestral Land, the Kun Clan would not sit back and do nothing. At that time, how could those Juvenile Divine Spirit defend themselves?
Qing Luan pondered in silence for a moment before offering, “You may send them to Four Phoenix Pavilion. With the Phoenix Clan watching over them, the Kun Clan will not be able to act rashly.”
“Many thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai bowed and thanked her.
She waved her hand lightly, “It’s nothing. But, only by becoming strong themselves will they prevent others from causing trouble for them.”
Yang Kai nodded, “I will tell them to cultivate hard.”
While they were conversing with each other, a large tree suddenly appeared on the horizon. The tree had branches that were thick with leaves, and among the lush foliage, there were also some colourful fruits that were just vaguely out of sight.
A strange fragrance filled the air.
Both of them revealed surprised expressions, and upon approaching the tree, they stopped and studied it.
Yang Kai could not recognise these fruits, but he instinctively sensed that they would be highly beneficial to him.
Qing Luan furrowed her brow tightly at first, but a short while later, she seemed to recall something. Raising a hand, she picked one of the Spirit Fruits and examined it carefully, exclaiming in astonishment after a moment, “Ancestral Spirit Fruit! I can’t believe that there are Ancestral Spirit Fruits here!”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “Is it something good?”
Qing Luan took a breath to steady herself before explaining, “This is an excellent treasure for all Divine Spirits! As you know, the Ancestral Land is filled with a mysterious force we call Ancestral Strength. This force is highly beneficial to the growth, reproduction, and cultivation of the Divine Spirits. The reason the others were so adamant about unsealing the Demon Sealing Land is that the Ancestral Strength has been weakening steadily. They wanted to find a solution to the problem.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding.
“These Ancestral Spirit Fruits contain large amounts of pure Ancestral Strength, so they can practically be said to be a condensed Ancestral Strength.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed.
Qing Luan continued, “Even the Ancestral Land that we lived in used to have Ancestral Spirit Fruits in ancient times. It’s just that the Ancestral Spirit Fruits went extinct as the Ancestral Strength gradually weakened. I can’t believe they still exist in this place. It’s my first time seeing one.” Looking up at the tree, she added, “There are eight more fruits. Let’s pick them first.”
Yang Kai quickly nodded and left in a flash. A short while later, he returned with four fruits in each hand.
Qing Luan handed the fruit in her hand over to him and declared, “Take this too.”
Yang Kai was flabbergasted. Naturally, he wanted something as amazing as the Ancestral Spirit Fruit; however, he never imagined that Qing Luan would give all of them to him, so he asked in astonishment, “Senior, why don’t we split these equally between us?”
It was bad manners to take everything for oneself. Besides, the Ancestral Spirit Fruits were extremely precious and would surely be useful to Qing Luan too.
Qing Luan, however, just smiled and said, “Take them. With how far my bloodline has advanced, it is no longer something that eating an Ancestral Spirit Fruit or two can help. It is similar to one’s growth in the Open Heaven Realm. The higher one’s Order, the longer it will take to slowly accumulate one’s strength. Now that the Demon Sealing Land has been opened, the Ancestral Land will not lack for Ancestral Strength in the future. My cultivation will not be a problem thanks to that. On the other hand, your bloodline purity has a lot of room for growth. These Ancestral Spirit Fruits will be very useful to you.”
“In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony. Many thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai happily put the Ancestral Spirit Fruits away.
They then continued onward. Yang Kai looked around carefully, hoping to find more Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Unfortunately, even for this region of the Ancestral Land that had been sealed away for countless years, Ancestral Spirit Fruits were not something that could be found everywhere. Aside from the fruit tree earlier, the pair did not find another one no matter how far they went.
As they ventured deeper into the land, both Yang Kai and Qing Luan detected an unusual phenomenon. The Ancestral Strength in this land seemed to be guided by some unknown force to converge in a certain direction.
The signs were not particularly obvious when they first entered the Demon Sealing Land, so no one had noticed immediately. Nevertheless, the signs became increasingly obvious as they ventured deeper into this land. Feeling slightly apprehensive, they began traveling in that direction.
About an hour later, both of them involuntarily narrowed their eyes slightly. As far as they could see, an enormous chain stretched out into the distance, penetrated deep into the void, and disappeared out of sight.
The chain was hundreds of thousands of kilometres long and so thick that it more closely resembled a mountain. What was even more shocking was that this chain was not an actual solid object, but rather the manifestation of pure energy. Moreover, the aura radiating from those chains was extremely familiar to both Qing Luan and Yang Kai.
After coming up to the end of the chain and quietly scanning it for a moment, Yang Kai’s expression changed, “Senior, is this chain comprised entirely of Ancestral Strength?”
Qing Luan nodded heavily with a serious expression, “Indeed!”
Yang Kai drew a sharp breath. The Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land was extremely strong. Compared with the Ancestral Land outside, it was as different as night and day, and now there was a huge chain manifested from Ancestral Strength in front of them. If they had not witnessed this sight with their own eyes, they would not have dared to believe it possible.
In ancient times, the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans had split the Ancestral Land and sealed the Demon Sealing Land. Not to mention, the Ancestral Strength had been transformed into these chains. Just what secrets were hidden in this place, and what was being restrained by this chain?
Qing Luan looked in the direction where the chain extended and her deep gaze seemed to break through space; however, even with her powerful eyesight, she could not see what was on the other end of the chain. As far as she could see, the other end of the chain was shrouded in a dense mist that blocked her vision.
“Let’s go take a look!” With no other option, she surged her power to wrap around Yang Kai before speeding off in that direction.
It took two whole hours for them to arrive in front of a behemoth. Standing in the air, the two of them stared blankly at the gargantuan figure before them in stunned surprise.
The behemoth had a humanoid figure and a distinctly bald head. Sitting upon the earth, he resembled a great deity. What’s more, there were numerous chains penetrating his chest. The chain that Qing Luan and Yang Kai saw earlier was only one of the chains, and there were actually fifteen others!
At this moment, many Divine Spirits had already arrived at this place. Like Qing Luan and Yang Kai, they had clearly ventured deep into the Demon Sealing Land, noticed one of the sixteen chains, and followed it to investigate the situation.
Many of the Divine Spirits had transformed into their true forms, their large figures ranging from 1,000 metres to over 10,000 metres tall, yet all of them still seemed as insignificant as ants in front of this behemoth! They flew around the giant like a gathering of flies and mosquitoes.
“A Giant Spirit God?” Yang Kai murmured.
The behemoth in front of him was a Giant Spirit God, but this Giant Spirit God looked very different from the Giant Spirit God, Ah Da, whom he met outside the Star Boundary in the past. Mainly, this Giant Spirit God in front of him was as black as ink.
Yang Kai did not know much about the Giant Spirit God Clan. Ah Da was not this colour, but he did not dare to say that there were no such clansmen in the Giant Spirit God Clan. It was just that… A Giant Spirit God was sealed in the middle of the Demon Sealing Land. It was truly a shock in discovery.
Yang Kai had met a Giant Spirit God in the past, so he knew just how tyrannical this Race could be. The Giant Spirit Gods were among the strongest beings in the world. Even the Divine Spirits were not their opponents. Fortunately, the Heavens were fair in all things, so there were very few Giant Spirit Gods in the 3,000 Worlds. Each Giant Spirit God was an invincible existence, but all of them were very mild-mannered and innocent, almost like little children. The Giant Spirit God Clan fed on dead Universe Worlds and never caused trouble for others. Even if other people were to provoke or attack them, such actions were akin to a mosquito biting a human to them.
In any case, the questions regarding the chains had been answered. The chains turned out to be restraining a Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai could not imagine just what had happened in the Ancestral Land back then for the Divine Spirits to actually restrain a Giant Spirit God here!
This Giant Spirit God was also clearly dead. So many years had passed after all, so even for an existence as strong as a Giant Spirit God, it would be impossible to survive under the constant erosion of the omnipresent Ancestral Strength here. Besides, Yang Kai did not sense the slightest trace of vitality from the Giant Spirit God.
A figure flew over. It was Yuan Chu of the Phoenix Clan. Standing beside Qing Luan’s side, she called out, “Big Sister!”
Qing Luan nodded and asked with a solemn expression, “What is the situation?”
Yuan Chu reported, “I only arrived an incense before you. According to my investigation, the Giant Spirit God’s vitality has been completely extinguished, but it would be better to err on the side of caution. We should carry out a more thorough investigation; after all, it would be a disaster for the Ancestral Land if he turns out to be still alive.”
“Good.” Qing Luan nodded. While speaking, she suddenly turned her head to the side. Kun Ao was walking over from that direction and came to stand beside her before speaking in a low voice, “The situation in the Demon Sealing Land is rather unexpected indeed.”
Qing Luan remained silent.
Kun Ao thus continued, “Although I don’t know what happened in the past, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land must have fought a grand battle against this Giant Spirit God. In the end, they split the Ancestral Land into two parts. This place was sealed as the Demon Sealing Land, and the Ancestral Strength was used to restrain this Giant Spirit God.”
“Cut the nonsense,” Qing Luan snapped coldly.
Kun Ao grinned, “You have always been worried that releasing the seal would bring about undesirable consequences to the Ancestral Land, and it seems that your worries were not unfounded. Something amazing was indeed sealed within the Demon Sealing Land. But, it would seem that it’s not such a big deal after all. The Giant Spirit God’s vitality has been extinguished and he has been dead for countless years.”
“It’s still better to be careful.” Qing Luan’s brow furrowed slightly, “The Giant Spirit Gods have tenacious vitality. No matter how many years have passed, as long as they retain the slightest trace of life, they can revive themselves. We do not know why this Giant Spirit God was sealed here, but we had best act with due caution.”
“Of course. It’s better to act carefully. I am planning to enter his body to investigate the situation. Will you come with me, Qing Luan?” He suggested.
“Good.” She readily nodded in agreement.
The two did not hesitate to gather a few other Divine Spirits, including Mie Meng, Tao Tie, and Bi An. Then, eight figures rose into the sky in an impressive manner and entered the Giant Spirit God’s body via his giant nostril.
The rest of the Divine Spirits waited quietly.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood beside Yue Zhuo and observed the Giant Spirit God. All of a sudden, he narrowed his eyes and looked towards the ends of the chains.
The sixteen chains penetrated the Giant Spirit God’s body, but there seemed to be something acting as a kind of source or anchor at the end of each chain. These objects attracted the Ancestral Strength from all over the Ancestral Land and transformed it into these chains. Among these objects, there was a palace that resembled an illusory and transparent crystal, a big tree burning with a fiery light, and a pearl glimmering with a soft light…
Yang Kai’s gaze soon fixed on the palace that was as transparent as a crystal. He could sense a resonance with that palace from deep within his bloodline.
“That is probably the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace.” Yue Zhuo commented.
“Crystal Palace?” Yang Kai raised a brow curiously.
Yue Zhuo saw his confusion and explained, “There are many Divine Spirit Clans living in the Ancestral Land, and according to the records in the ancient books, each Divine Spirit Clan has their own respective Sacred Treasure. These Sacred Treasures contain the inheritance of each Clan, so they are of great help to the cultivation of the clansmen. It is just that nobody has ever seen the Sacred Treasures of their respective Clans for generations. We always assumed that the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans took the Sacred Treasures away with them when they left. I can’t believe that these Sacred Treasures have remained here. It would seem that many of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land took part in sealing this Giant Spirit God. The Sacred Treasures were left here to guide the Ancestral Strength to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God.”
She then pointed at the large tree burning with a fiery light, “That is probably the Phoenix Clan’s Immortal Parasol Tree. And, that is probably the Golden Crow Clan’s Fu Sang Divine Tree…”
Even though she had only heard of these Sacred Treasures and never seen them before, she named each of them carefully with seemingly great familiarity.
Yang Kai silently memorised them all. Unlocking the Demon Sealing Land could be said to be a series of unexpected occurrences. In any case, just seeing so many Sacred Treasures that only existed in legends made this trip worthwhile to the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land.
The Sacred Treasures represented the inheritance of each Clan. The existence of these Sacred Treasures meant that their respective inheritances remained unbroken. Not to mention, the abundance of the Ancestral Strength in the Demon Sealing Land. In the future, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land would never need to worry about the continuity of their Clans again.
Three days later, Qing Luan, Kun Ao, and the others finally reappeared again.
“Big Sister, how is the situation?” Yue Zhuo stepped forward with Yang Kai in tow.
Qing Luan replied, “He is probably dead. We didn’t detect any vitality inside his body.”
“That’s good!” Yue Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody knew what kind of grudges or hatred existed between this Giant Spirit God and the Divine Spirits, but even so, there must have been some kind of dispute between them for the Giant Spirit God to be suppressed and sealed in this place. If this Giant Spirit God were still alive, then unlocking the Demon Sealing Land would have been the wrong decision. Fortunately, over countless years of suppression and erosion by the Ancestral Strength, the Giant Spirit God’s vitality had been completely extinguished.
“Qing Luan, I’m taking the Kun Clan’s Sacred Treasure with me. I don’t care what the Phoenix Clan does.” Kun Ao suddenly turned around to look at Qing Luan.
Qing Luan frowned, “This Giant Spirit God might be dead, but the Sacred Treasures are clearly acting as the sources for its suppression. It would be inappropriate to rashly take them away.”
Kun Ao simply sneered, “That’s what you said when we wanted to unlock the Demon Sealing Land. The Sacred Treasures of each Clan is here. If you wish to stop me, you will have to see if they are willing to agree with you! If they agree with you, then the Kun Clan will have nothing to say.”
Qing Luan looked around. When she met the gazes of all the Divine Spirits from various Clans, how could she not know that their thoughts were similar to Kun Ao’s? She could not fault them for thinking that way. Not only were the Sacred Treasures extremely important to their respective Clans, but they had also been missing for a long time. Now that the Sacred Treasures had been found, there was no reason to just leave them lying around in this place.
If the Giant Spirit God still had some remaining vitality in him, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land would never have dared to entertain such thoughts; however, it had been confirmed that the suppressed Black Giant Spirit God was as dead as he could possibly be. It would be a waste to leave the Sacred Treasures here.
After a moment of silence, she sighed, “It’s up to you, but be careful.”
It was difficult even for the powerful Phoenix Clan to go against public opinion. Seeing as they could not stop the people, they could only allow nature to take its course.
The Divine Spirits were overjoyed to hear those words. Rushing to the location where their respective Sacred Treasures were located, they quickly began researching the method to retrieve them. They had only heard of these Sacred Treasures in legends but had never seen the genuine articles before, so it was only natural that they did not know the method to retrieve their respective Sacred Treasures. Be that as it may, they were powerful Divine Spirits, so figuring out a method should not be too difficult.
The Phoenix Clan did not move. The Immortal Parasol Tree burned brightly, like the Flames of Nirvana that were only spoken of in legends. Nonetheless, as long as Qing Luan did not say anything, nobody dared to act rashly.
“Aren’t you going to take a look?” Qing Luan suddenly turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had been staring at the Crystal Palace all this while, so when he heard her question, he couldn’t help asking her, “Can I?”
Qing Luan smiled lightly, “You are the only Dragon Clan member in the Ancestral Land. If you don’t go, who will?”
“Then, I’ll go have a look.” Yang Kai scratched his nose before his figure flashed and he eagerly rushed towards the Crystal Palace.
It didn’t take long before he arrived in front of the Sacred Treasure. Looking at the Crystal Palace from afar had given him the impression that it was really carved out of crystal. It was one integrated structure that was extremely beautiful, and it was even more stunning when seen from up close.
Although Yang Kai was seeing the Crystal Palace for the first time, he could be certain that the Crystal Palace was related to the Dragon Clan. That was because there was an indescribable connection between his bloodline and the Crystal Palace.
He circled around the Crystal Palace a few times, but forget entering, he couldn’t even locate an entrance. The conundrum left him scratching his head in confusion for a while. Looking around him, he saw the other Divine Spirits spewing out their Blood Essence to refine their respective Sacred Treasures; thus, he quickly imitated them.
After a whole day, he finally managed to refine a trace of the Crystal Palace. A door immediately appeared from the perfectly seamless Crystal Palace with a slight nudge of his thoughts, and he quickly slipped inside.
When he stepped into the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai felt as though his entire body was wrapped in warmth. It was an indescribable feeling of comfort. Moreover, the Ancestral Strength’s intensity inside the Crystal Palace was many times greater than the outside.
The Sacred Treasures of each Clan had the effect of attracting the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land. If not for that, the Divine Spirits in ancient times would not have placed these Sacred Treasures here to gather and transform the Ancestral Strength into chains to suppress and seal the Black Giant Spirit God.
It was precisely because the Sacred Treasures gathered and attracted the Ancestral Strength that the sixteen huge chains stretching for millions of kilometres could exist. The ends of the chains protruded into the Void, connecting the entire Demon Sealing Land as a single whole.
It could be said that one’s cultivation efficiency would improve greatly if they were to cultivate with the help of a Sacred Treasure. That was also the biggest reason as to why the Divine Spirits were so adamant about retrieving them.
Yang Kai did not immediately begin cultivating even though he was inside the Crystal Palace, but even so, the rich and abundant Ancestral Strength continuously poured into his body and integrated with his bloodline to enhance the Power of his Dragon Vein.
The Crystal Palace did not look particularly large from the outside, so it was not until Yang Kai entered that he learned how the Crystal Palace had the mysterious effect of containing something enormous despite its small size. The space inside was much larger than it seemed from the outside.
Yuan Chu had mentioned that the Sacred Treasures of each Clan contained the inheritance of each Divine Spirit Clan. Yang Kai navigated through the countless halls in the Crystal Palace as he searched for this inheritance.
Although he didn’t discover any inheritance, Yang Kai did discover some strange crystals. These crystals were condensed on the walls of the halls. Some were large and some were small. The largest were the size of basins, and the smallest were the size of eggs. There were many of them.
In the beginning, Yang Kai paid no attention to them, initially thinking that they were mere decorations. It was not until he walked through several of the halls that he realised something was wrong. If they were mere decorations, they would not be so unaesthetically pleasing or randomly placed. Therefore, he tentatively broke off one of the crystals. After a careful examination, he made a shocking discovery. These crystals were pure, condensed Ancestral Strength!
[An Ancestral Spirit Crystal!] Yang Kai did not know whether Ancestral Spirit Crystals actually existed, but the crystals in front of him were indeed worthy of the name ‘Ancestral Spirit Crystals’. After all, their existence was essentially identical to the chains that suppressed and sealed the Giant Spirit God outside!
For countless years, the Crystal Palace continuously attracted and transformed the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land into chains to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God. It was just that there were no Dragon Clan members cultivating inside the Crystal Palace, so the Ancestral Strength gathered inside the Crystal Palace had nowhere to go. Hence, when the Ancestral Strength in this place became saturated to a certain degree, the energy would transform into Ancestral Spirit Crystals that were left behind.
This was the same concept as the birth of Spirit or Saint Crystals. Saint Crystals were generally born at places where World Energy was extremely abundant!
These were great treasures. The Ancestral Strength was an energy that was unique to the Ancestral Land, so it was almost impossible to find outside the Ancestral Land. Be that as it may, it was impossible for him to remain in the Ancestral Land forever without leaving. Yang Kai had been a little worried about how he would further enhance the Power of this Dragon Veins after he left the Ancestral Land.
Fortunately, there was nothing to be worried about with these Ancestral Spirit Crystals. Regardless of where he was, he could enhance his bloodline by relying on these Ancestral Spirit Crystals.
Yang Kai was absolutely overjoyed, so much so that he couldn’t be bothered to look for the Dragon Clan inheritance anymore. Harvesting the Ancestral Spirit Crystals as soon as possible was far more important.
Countless Ancestral Spirit Crystals had condensed along the walls and even the floors of every hall inside the palace. For that reason, Yang Kai was busy for some time. He collected at least 1,000 Ancestral Spirit Crystal of all sizes, the largest among them reaching the size of a big water tank!
Thinking about the Sacred Treasures belonging to the other Divine Spirits, Yang Kai grinned and laughed. It seemed that only the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure was a palace. In comparison, the Sacred Treasures of the other Divine Spirits did not meet the conditions for Ancestral Spirit Crystals to form, no matter the type of Sacred Treasure. Take the Phoenix Clan’s Immortal Parasol Tree for example. There was no way the tree could condense Ancestral Spirit Crystals.
There were countless halls in the Crystal Palace, and as he swept through each and every room, it could be said that he made a fortune in silence!
At the same time, at the place where the Kun Clan was located.
Known as the Northern Deep, the Kun Clan’s Sacred Treasure was a vast ocean that had been shrunk countless times over. It was rumoured to be the place where the Kun Clan originated.
As the Clan Head of the Kun Clan, the retrieval of the Sacred Treasure would naturally fall on Kun Ao’s shoulders. It took ten days of hard work and a large quantity of Blood Essence before the sea of the Northern Deep suddenly shone brightly and became closely connected with his aura!
“Clan Head has done it!” The Masters of the Kun Clan cheered at the sight.
Similarly, Kun Ao laughed happily. He could clearly sense that he had completely refined the Northern Deep. This Sacred Treasure was connected to him in heart and mind now.
With a wave of his hand, he tried to retrieve the Northern Deep; however, he was extremely surprised to discover that it remained motionless. Kun Ao’s brow furrowed deeply as he did not know what had gone wrong. Despite trying a few more times, the results remained the same.
The smiles of the Kun Clan’s Masters involuntarily stiffened on their faces.
Over the next few days, the various Divine Spirit Clans encountered the same situation. Their respective Sacred Treasures had been completely refined, and they could sense that the Sacred Treasures were connected to them, but even so, they could not retrieve them.
Therefore, the Clan Heads of each Divine Spirit Clan gathered together to discuss the issue and finally found the source of the problem after some time.
The Phoenix Clan was gathered not far from the Immortal Parasol Tree, and under the watch of Yuan Chu and the others, Qing Luan continuously forced out her Blood Essence to refine the Immortal Parasol Tree.
Although she originally opposed the idea of retrieving each Clan’s Sacred Treasures, the other Clans had already begun taking action, so it would be meaningless for the Phoenix Clan to insist.
The Immortal Parasol Tree was very important to the Phoenix Clan, so while she had concerns in her heart, she could only refine the Sacred Treasure for now. At this point, she had almost finished.
Just as she was preparing to retrieve the Immortal Parasol Tree, she encountered something unexpected. She faced the same situation as the other Divine Spirits. The Immortal Parasol Tree could not be taken away!
“The sixteen Sacred Treasures have long become one, so they can only be removed as a set. We need to refine them all before we can take them away.” Kun Ao explained as he strolled over from a distance. That was the conclusion he reached after various discussions with the rest of the Clan Heads.
Qing Luan immediately revealed a look of understanding. When she tried to collect the Immortal Parasol Tree earlier, she had a strange feeling. It felt as though there were other forces of resistance coming from all around her and preventing her from collecting the Immortal Parasol Tree. It would now seem that this resistance did not originate from the Immortal Parasol Tree itself but rather from the rest of the Sacred Treasures.
“Where is that Dragon Clan member?” Kun Ao asked.
“Inside the Crystal Palace.” While speaking, Qing Luan glanced towards the Crystal Palace.
“The rest of the Sacred Treasures have been refined, so the only one left is Crystal Palace. He needs to hurry up.”
Qing Luan shrugged, “It’s useless for you to tell me that.”
“In that case, I’ll tell him myself.” After saying that, Kun Ao turned and headed in the direction of the Crystal Palace. He stood outside a short while later and shouted, “Young Dragon, come out now!”
Qing Luan couldn’t help feeling worried, so she followed along. When she heard those words, she scowled. Unfortunately, it was not wise to cause a dispute with Kun Ao over something so trivial.
Inside the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai stored all the Ancestral Spirit Crystals in his Small Universe. It was a pity that he did not find the Dragon Clan’s inheritance after he explored the entirety of the Crystal Palace; thus, he couldn’t help wondering whether the rumours were wrong.
Nevertheless, the Crystal Palace itself was an incredibly amazing artifact. It was the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure after all. This item was several ranks higher than the Heavenly Sword Palace in terms of quality!
Yang Kai had tried to refine the Sacred Treasure, and his bloodline had received the approval of the Crystal Palace, which allowed him to open its doors. It was just that his strength wasn’t sufficient to truly refine the Sacred Treasure. When he tried to, his progress was extremely slow. Based on his estimation, it would take him several dozen to 100 years to refine the Crystal Palace completely, if he could do so at all.
This was related to his bloodline. Although it was pure, it was simply not strong enough. He was just a Juvenile Dragon, so it was only natural that he would require a long time to refine the Sacred Treasure.
Seeing as he could not refine the Sacred Treasure for the time being, Yang Kai didn’t bother agonising over the idea. It was not as if the Crystal Palace could go anywhere. It would not be too late for him to come back to refine the Sacred Treasure once he enhanced his bloodline further.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard Kun Ao’s shout. He looked up only to see Kun Ao and Qing Luan standing outside the Crystal Palace, side by side.
The Crystal Palace was extremely mysterious. Standing inside the palace, his vision of the outside was not blocked in any way. He could clearly see everything outside the palace from where he stood. On the other hand, judging by the reactions of Kun Ao and Qing Luan, they could not see him.
The Crystal Palace had the ability to prevent others from spying on what happened within. On the other hand, the people inside the Palace could see everything that was happening outside.
Since Qing Luan was here, Kun Ao would not be able to do anything; therefore, Yang Kai strolled out boldly without fear and asked with a frown, “What is it?”
Kun Ao asked, “Brat, let me ask you this, how far have you gotten with refining the Crystal Palace?”
Yang Kai thought to himself. [This guy sure cares about many things. The Crystal Palace is the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure. Why is he asking about this? Is he planning to take the Crystal Palace for himself?]
He glanced at Qing Luan questioningly, so she explained, “The sixteen Sacred Treasures have been integrated into one whole after spending countless years together. As long as one of them is not taken away, the rest of the Sacred Treasures cannot be taken away either. At present, all the Clans have refined their respective Sacred Treasures. Only the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace remains.”
After listening to her explanation, Yang Kai immediately understood. He replied honestly, “I can refine the Crystal Palace, but it will take a long time.”
“How long?” Kun Ao asked with raised eyebrows.
“Several decades; maybe 100 years,” Yang Kai responded.
“That long?” Kun Ao scowled, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You may refine it peacefully. We will wait for you!”
A span of several decades or even 100 years might not be a short time, but it was nothing to the long-lived Divine Spirits. Forget 100 years, even if it took several 1,000 years, Kun Ao could afford to wait. Waiting for some time was nothing at all if he could retrieve the Sacred Treasure.
“I don’t plan to spend so much time refining the Sacred Treasure.” Yang Kai shook his head.
Kun Ao narrowed his eyes, “What do you mean?”
Yang Kai explained, “Coming to the Ancestral Land was an accident. I still have matters to take care of in the outside world. I can’t afford to spend too much time here.”
This trip had gone on for long enough. There was no need to worry about Void Land as the two Divine Spirits, Old Man Bi Xi and Zhu Jiu Yin, were watching over it. As long as none of the Cave Heavens and Paradises attacked, there was nobody in the 3,000 Worlds who could harm Void Land.
On the contrary, the World Tree and the New Great Territory in the Star Boundary required more of his attention. What’s more, his two Disciples were still in his Small Universe. Yang Kai needed to bring them back to the Star Boundary as soon as possible to aid their growth. Not to mention that he had been suppressing Zhao Ya’s cultivation for the past many years to prevent her from growing too quickly.
The Star Boundary was the best cradle to produce Open Heaven Realm Masters. Compared to growing up in his Small Universe, growing up there would give her greater future potential and would allow her to ascend higher in the Martial Dao.
However, the flow of time in his Small Universe was twice as fast as in the outside world. If he got held up in the Ancestral Land for several decades or even 100 years, Zhao Ya might already have advanced to the Emperor Realm. In that case, she would not receive much benefit from the World Tree even if she entered to the Star Boundary. That was why he originally planned to rush back to the Star Boundary once he finished everything in the Ancestral Land.
“That’s not up to you.” Kun Ao sneered, “Don’t think that you can do whatever you want in the Ancestral Land just because you have the protection of the Phoenix Clan. This matter involves the Sacred Treasures of all the Clans. Even the Phoenix Clan cannot shield you.”
Qing Luan frowned slightly, but unfortunately, what Kun Ao said was the truth. This matter was indeed related to the interests of all the Clans, so if the Phoenix Clan insisted on doing things their way, they would only cause public outrage.
“Can you speed things up?” She asked.
Yang Kai nodded, “Refining the Crystal Palace is related to my bloodline, which is too weak right now. That’s why the Seniors have finished refining their respective Sacred Treasures while I am helpless to do so. To speed things up, I would need to improve my bloodline first. If I can enhance my bloodline to the level of a Grand Dragon, I have the confidence to finish refining the Crystal Palace within half a year; however, this is not something that can be done in a short time.”
Kun Ao said, “The Ancestral Strength in this land is so rich, you can cultivate inside the Crystal Palace with peace of mind and improve your bloodline! You should know that this is something all the Juniors in the Ancestral Land yearn for but cannot get.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes and ignored Kun Ao.
Qing Luan spoke up pensively, “There might be a way to improve your bloodline rapidly.”
Yang Kai looked at her, “Senior, do you mean…”
Qing Luan abruptly turned to face Kun Ao and asked, “The Kun Clan probably obtained many Ancestral Spirit Fruits, right?”
Kun Ao was taken aback for a moment. Then, he immediately came back to his senses and shook his head vigorously, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Qing Luan simply laughed, “The Ancestral Spirit Fruits contain large amounts of pure Ancestral Strength. If he consumes them, he will be able to improve his bloodline quickly. In the past, we used to hear about how the Ancestral Land had Ancestral Spirit Fruits but none of us have actually seen one before. When the Demon Sealing Land opened, each Clan probably obtained a certain number of Ancestral Spirit Fruits. If each Clan makes a small contribution, it will be enough to fulfil his requirements to become a Grand Dragon.”
Kun Ao was furious, “Qing Luan, even if the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans have always been connected since ancient times, your heart is too crooked! This Young Dragon may be a Divine Spirit, but are the other Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land not also Divine Spirits!? It was not easy for us to obtain the Ancestral Spirit Fruits, and which Clan does not have Juniors that need them? Why should we give them to him!?”
Yang Kai rubbed his chin, “If there are enough Ancestral Spirit Fruits, I can give it a try!”
Kun Ao glared at Yang Kai with narrowed eyes, “Junior, stop trying to take advantage of the situation. This King strongly wishes to kill you!”
Yang Kai spread his hands wide, “Without the Ancestral Spirit Fruits, I won’t be able to become a Grand Dragon quickly. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do!”
“Do you really think I won’t dare to kill you!?” Kun Ao snarled coldly.
Yang Kai raised his head to the sky and looked down his nose at Kun Ao. He arrogantly said, “Kill me, and you will never retrieve your Sacred Treasures. Why don’t you ask if the various Divine Spirit Clans will agree with you?”
Kun Ao was absolutely livid! He never imagined that the day would come where he was bullied by a mere Young Dragon! It felt like the biggest humiliation in all the long years that he spent cultivating!
Qing Luan said, “Why don’t we ask the rest for their opinions? Arguing back and forth is not going to make a difference.”
While speaking, she cast a Secret Technique to send out various transmissions. It didn’t take long for the representatives of each Clan to gather around and for her to explain the current situation to them. The expressions of all the Divine Spirits became extremely strange when they looked at Yang Kai.
“It’s not like he can’t cultivate without the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. We might not know what the intensity of the Ancestral Strength is like in the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, but I’m sure it’s extraordinary. It will only take a slightly longer time to cultivate in the Crystal Palace, why should we waste such precious Ancestral Spirit Fruits on him!?” One of the Divine Spirits yelled out.
“That’s right! It was not easy to obtain these Ancestral Spirit Fruits. They should be used in the right place!”
“In my opinion, this brat is trying to scam us! It has always been said that the Dragon Clan is greedy. I’ve never met one before, but this incident today has proven those sayings right!”
“Who would agree to such ridiculous demands!?”
“Just press a blade against his neck if he dares to refuse to cultivate. Let’s see if he is willing to cultivate then!”
The many Divine Spirits clamoured to express their opinions, so Qing Luan suffered a terrible headache just listening to them.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in front of the Crystal Palace. His posture seemed to say that he would hide inside the moment the situation turned sour. Clasping his hands behind his back calmly, he waited until everybody finished speaking before he spoke up, “You are the ones who want me to refine the Crystal Palace. I don’t want to do it. Since you are forcing me to do something I’m not willing to do, then you should offer me some compensation; otherwise, you can all just sit there and wait.”
Kun Ao sneered, “Are you planning to hide in the Crystal Palace for thousands of years?”
“That’s hard to say. That will depend on who has more patience between us.”
Qing Luan said, “Enough. I didn’t call you here to argue. All of you are adults, what’s so fun about squabbling with a Junior? Yang Kai is right. If you want him to improve his bloodline, then it’s only natural that you should offer him some compensation. I was the one who suggested the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. In that case, the Phoenix Clan will make the first move!”
While speaking, she beckoned with her hand. Hong Hu stepped forward, took out thirteen Ancestral Spirit Fruits, and handed them to her.
“I’m not asking you to hand over all of your Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Half should be acceptable, right? The Phoenix Clan’s half is right here!”
Kun Ao rolled his eyes, “Qing Luan, can you get any more biased!?”
She replied with a smile, “In the matter of releasing the seal, the Phoenix Clan went along with your wishes; likewise, in the matter of retrieving the Sacred Treasures, the Phoenix Clan bent to public opinion again. The Phoenix Clan has taken the lead in this matter, so if you refuse to show respect, then don’t ever look to the Phoenix Clan for help again if another disaster strikes the Ancestral Land!”
The Divine Spirits looked at each other awkwardly after hearing those words. Qing Luan had already said so much, so it would be bad if they did not express their sincerity in return. Although they were reluctant to part with the Ancestral Spirit Fruits, they had no choice but to do so.
One by one, they took out different amounts of the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Although there was no guarantee that they really took out half of what they had collected, there were almost 200 Ancestral Spirit Fruits in total when all the offerings were gathered together.
Qing Luan flicked her wrist and tossed a Space Ring containing the Ancestral Spirit Fruits to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai happily took the Space Ring and cupped his fist, “Please rest assured, Seniors. This Junior will immediately begin cultivating in seclusion. I will definitely live up to your expectations and become a Grand Dragon as soon as possible, so that you may all bring your Sacred Treasures home!”
Many of the Divine Spirits secretly ground their teeth when they looked at Yang Kai, but they could only maintain a smile on the surface and pretended to display the friendly demeanour of a senior expert.
Yang Kai nodded at Qing Luan and turned to head inside the Crystal Palace, but before he entered, he abruptly recalled something and turned back again, “Senior, I have something to ask of you.”
“Speak.” Qing Luan nodded.
“The process of advancing to become a Grand Dragon is not something that can be completed in a short time. I do not know how long it will take. My friend is a Human cultivator, and now that the Demon Sealing Land is open, the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land will become richer. It’s not suitable for her to remain here for long. Please arrange for somebody to escort her from this place.”
The Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land had been weak previously, so there were no issues for Xia Lin Lang to remain in the Ancestral Land for a short while; however, the situation was different now. Even Cheng Yang, who was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, began showing signs of Monster Transformation after spending less than an incense stick inside the Demon Sealing Land. How much longer could she resist?
Needless to say, Qing Luan knew who he was referring to and nodded at his words, “Don’t worry, I will arrange for somebody to send her out.”
“Many thanks, Senior. Also, please tell her to head to Void Land in the Void Territory if she is willing.”
Pear Flower Cave Heaven was gone, and Xia Lin Lang no longer had a place in the Shattered Heaven, not unless she found another Universe Paradise or Universe Cave Heaven without a Master.
Although Yang Kai asked Qing Luan to pass the message, Xia Lin Lang would probably be reluctant to head to Void Land. As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she would be forced to act according to the circumstances as soon as she appeared outside the Shattered Heaven. If not for that, she would not have escaped into the depths of the Shattered Heaven with him. She could have left the Shattered Heaven with him instead.
In any case, Yang Kai could only do what he was able. Xia Lin Lang was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, not a child. As for where to go or what to do, she would have her own thoughts on the matter.
The Crystal Palace closed once more. Yang Kai entered one of the spacious halls and sat down cross-legged. Although he wanted to hurry back to the Star Boundary to let his two Disciples settle down properly, things had already come to this point, so he could only improve his bloodline for now. Otherwise, he would not have a reasonable explanation for the Divine Spirits waiting outside.
Yang Kai had obtained nine Ancestral Spirit Fruits when exploring the Demon Sealing Land with Qing Luan. Combined with the over 200 fruits that the various Divine Spirit Clans ‘gifted’ to him, he had almost 230 Ancestral Spirit Fruits in total. Even so, he did not know whether these Ancestral Spirit Fruits were enough for him to become a Grand Dragon.
He estimated that they might not be enough as, although the current Power of his Dragon Vein, was not bad, he was only a bit over 3,000 metres tall after transforming into his Half-Dragon Form. To become a Grand Dragon, he would need to grow to 10,000 metres at the very least!
Nevertheless, he was not too worried. The Ancestral Strength in the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace was extremely rich. Not to mention, he had harvested many Ancestral Spirit Crystals earlier! If the Ancestral Spirit Fruits were not enough, he could use the Ancestral Spirit Crystals to make up the difference.
Yang Kai took out an Ancestral Spirit Fruit and an Ancestral Spirit Crystal that was about the same size. Then, he placed them in front of him. He wanted to figure out the differences between them and see which one was more effective.
He picked the Ancestral Spirit Fruit first. The fruit was brightly-coloured and gave off a peculiar aroma that aroused his appetite. When he bit down on the fruit, it felt as though he had barely used any strength, but the skin of the fruit split open. The sweet and tart juice immediately flooded his mouth. Before he could react, the entire Ancestral Spirit Fruit had burst, leaving only the skin behind.
He swallowed the juice and smacked his lips, enjoying the unforgettable taste. He didn’t waste the skin of the fruit either, stuffing it all into his mouth before chewing and swallowing.
After waiting in silence for a moment, his expression became strange. There was no obvious change aside from a slight burning feeling in his abdomen; however, his expression changed drastically in the next moment.
The slightly burning feeling suddenly became scorching hot. It felt as though there was a smouldering iron in his belly. Immediately after that, a huge amount of energy erupted in his abdomen and spread throughout his body at lightning speed.
His physique squirmed, and a Golden Dragon Head that manifested behind his back released a deafening Dragon Roar. It was followed by a series of cracking sounds that came from all parts of his body as his physique swelled up without warning. A suppressed growl escaped his throat.
The power of the Ancestral Spirit Fruit had caused him to transform into his Half-Dragon Form without his consent. Bursts of suppressed roars came from his throat as his physique wriggled madly and Dragon Blood rushed through his meridians with a faint Dragon Roar. At the same time, overwhelming Dragon Pressure permeated the air!
By the time everything calmed down again, almost two days had passed.
The medicinal efficacies of the Ancestral Spirit Fruit Yang Kai consumed had been completely absorbed. He briefly examined his body and raised his eyebrows at the sight. A single Ancestral Spirit Fruit had made him grow nearly 100 metres in just two days! The result was a pleasant surprise indeed.
Seeing as he about 3,000 metres tall at present, there was a difference of roughly 7,000 metres before he could be considered a Mature Grand Dragon! This was not a small gap and it had to be said that he only managed to cultivate to a height of 3,000 metres from the time he obtained his Dragon Source until now.
Be that as it may, a single Ancestral Spirit Fruit turned out to have such profound effects, so Yang Kai quietly made some calculations. With just 70 to 100 fruits, wouldn’t he become a Grand Dragon?
However, Yang Kai knew that these calculations had taken too many things for granted. If any kind of resource or treasure was consumed repeatedly over a long period, its effects would gradually weaken. Fortunately, he had over 200 Ancestral Spirit Fruits in his possession. It might just be enough to satisfy the requirements for him to become a Grand Dragon.
Now that he had confirmed the effects of the Ancestral Spirit Fruit, Yang Kai picked up the Ancestral Spirit Crystal that was about the same size as the Ancestral Spirit Fruit.
When he was in his Human Form, the Ancestral Spirit Crystal had fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. Now that he was in his Half-Dragon Form though, holding the Ancestral Spirit Crystal felt like he was holding a tiny green pea between his claws. He could barely feel the presence of the Ancestral Spirit Crystal in his hand unless he concentrated carefully.
Yang Kai focused his mind and silently activated the Power of his Dragon Vein in his body to wrap around the Ancestral Spirit Crystal in his hand. Then, he refined and absorbed the Ancestral Strength within.
Time flowed slowly, and five days later, he finally opened his eyes again. When Yang Kai spread open his palm, the Ancestral Spirit Crystal had already been refined cleanly and vanished. He then examined the condition of his body again and saw that he had grown another 50 metres or so.
After some comparisons, the differences between the Ancestral Spirit Fruit and the Ancestral Spirit Crystal became clear to see. The two objects were around the same size. However, he had spent less than two days refining an Ancestral Spirit Fruit that made him grow about 100 metres in total, whereas it had taken him five days to refine the Ancestral Spirit Crystal even though its effects only made his height increase by 50 metres!
Be it in terms of both the time required for refining or overall effect, the Ancestral Spirit Fruit was far better than the Ancestral Spirit Crystal. Still, the Ancestral Spirit Crystal was more durable in a sense.
Now that he knew the differences between the two objects, Yang Kai did not continue experimenting, picking up another Ancestral Spirit Fruit to consume and refine.
Inside the Demon Sealing Land, the various Divine Spirit Clans sat around their respective Sacred Treasures and cultivated quietly. To them, a land with such abundant Ancestral Strength like the Demon Sealing Land was a cultivation paradise that they used to dream about in the past. After unlocking the Demon Sealing Land, the Divine Spirits couldn’t help feeling as though they had gotten rich overnight. It was almost as though a person who was accustomed to living in poverty suddenly found a mountain of gold in their backyard.
Inside the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai continuously consumed the Ancestral Spirit Fruit to stimulate the Dragon Vein in his body.
Twenty days later, his Dragon Form reached a height of 4,000 metres!
After three months, he reached 5,000 metres!
After seven months, he was 6,000 metres!
After one year, he reached a height of 7,000 metres!
Inside the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai’s enormous body could no longer stand up straight, so he could only rest on his side while his Dragon Tail swung side to side without him noticing. With such a large body, he was already more than twice the size he was when he started. His Dragon Claws were sharper, his Dragon Scales were tougher, and his golden brilliance shone even brighter and more dazzlingly than before. His Dragon Pressure was so thick it almost materialized!
When he reached out to grab another Ancestral Spirit Fruit, Yang Kai discovered that all the fruits had been consumed and couldn’t help being taken aback for a moment.
At the beginning, it had taken him approximately two days to refine a single Ancestral Spirit Fruit. Following the growth of his bloodline though, the time needed for refinement reduced, but the growth he experienced thanks to an Ancestral Spirit Fruit also weakened accordingly.
It had only taken him one year to finish consuming all the Ancestral Spirit Fruits. Unfortunately, he did not achieve the expected results of becoming a Grand Dragon. On the contrary, he was only 7,000 metres tall now. It was still very far from becoming a Grand Dragon, so he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, though this result was still within his expectations.
He was stuck in a daze for quite a long time before he recalled what he was doing. As the purity of his bloodline increased and the Power of the Dragon Vein grew stronger, continuous bursts of Dragon Roars resounded in his mind. He initially thought that he was hallucinating, but after listening carefully for a few days, he confirmed that it was not just his imagination.
The bursts of Dragon Roars resounding in his head was the mysterious Dragon Language and seemed to be the Dragon Clan’s inheritance. It came from the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source Strength and the depths of his bloodline, and it was only when his bloodline had reached a certain level of purity that it emerged from the hidden depths.
Yang Kai began studying this newfound inheritance, and his entire mind was practically immersed within it, but he always had the feeling that there was a layer of mist blocking him from getting a clear picture. Even his reactions became slower as a result.
The might of his bloodline was not enough. He was faintly aware of this fact. Only by further enhancing his bloodline could he finally tear apart the mist that was blocking his vision.
The Ancestral Spirit Fruits had been consumed completely, so Yang Kai immediately placed many Ancestral Spirit Crystals by his side. His enormous Dragon Form curled up around the Ancestral Spirit Crystals. After that… he fell into a deep sleep.
Even in his sleep, the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Spirit Crystals continued to be guided into his Dragon Vein and continuously flooded his body. From time to time, the sound of crunching bones would reverberate throughout the Crystal Palace. It was his Half-Dragon Form expanding in size.
In his dreams, the Dragon Language resounded softly in his ears without pause. Consequently, Yang Kai’s brow would furrow tightly on occasion and relax again at other times. His expressions changed constantly.
All of a sudden, a spot of light broke through the mist and a wide world appeared in his field of vision. Yang Kai looked up to see a behemoth towering into the skies. The behemoth was bald and his entire body was completely black in colour. He looked like an endless black hole that devoured everything around him.
[A Giant Spirit God!] Yang Kai stared at the Giant Spirit God blankly, and only after a long time did he wonder to himself, [Where have I seen this guy before?]
Yang Kai felt as though his current state was a little strange. His reactions were particularly slow, almost like he was stuck in a dream that was not a dream. He did not know why he was here, much less recall where he had seen this Black Giant Spirit God before. Nevertheless, he instinctively knew that he was inside a dream. It was just that the feelings he received from his surroundings felt incredibly real.
The ink-black Giant Spirit God was running across the ground. With every step that he took, the ground shuddered violently. Meanwhile, there were numerous Divine Spirits in their true forms surrounding him and attacking him in a frenzy. Each Divine Spirit was a mature Divine Spirit who was at least equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai saw many Dragons and Phoenix Clan members with their wings spread outward. Three Legged Golden Crows that blazed like Great Suns in the sky, and Kun Pengs whose bodies covered the sky…
The Divine Abilities of the Divine Spirits blasted out, each one containing Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering power. All the attacks landed on the Giant Spirit God, but be that as it may, the ink-black pigment on his skin wriggled like living creatures to form sturdy shields that defended against all the attacks.
Suddenly, the Black Giant Spirit God reached out his hand and captured a Divine Spirit that looked like a Bai Ze. Ignoring the Bai Ze’s struggles, he clenched his large hand and crushed the powerful Divine Spirit in his grip. The blood of the Divine Spirit splattered across the ground.
The ground was covered in countless dead Divine Spirits, their enormous bodies crushed and mangled beyond recognition. Their deaths were incredibly brutal. The mighty Divine Spirits were as vulnerable as three-year-old children in front of this seemingly invincible Giant Spirit God.
Capturing a Grand Dragon in both hands, the Giant Spirit God gave a sharp tug and ripped it in two. A beautiful Fire Phoenix was killed on the spot with a slap of his palm and turned into a Phoenix Egg only to be crushed under his foot.
Despite such a huge disparity in numbers, the Divine Spirits were suffering a catastrophic defeat in this battle.
This scene was extremely shocking; even so, Yang Kai simply watched quietly. It wasn’t that he was willingly being so detached, but rather that his current state did not allow the slightest fluctuation in his emotions. It was an extremely bizarre sensation. He did not know what caused this battle or how long it had lasted. All he knew was that the Divine Spirits suffered countless casualties.
At last, a mighty Dragon Roar shook the skies and a gigantic Golden Dragon Head protruded from the clouds to look down on the world. The Dragon Eyes gleamed with a golden radiance that was exceedingly sharp.
Beside this enormous Dragon stood a pure white Ice Phoenix that radiated with a bone-chilling cold. She spread her wings wide and threw her head back with a shrill cry.
The invincible Giant Spirit God seemed to sense some sort of danger and finally stopped running to look up at the sky.
Under the leadership of the Golden Divine Dragon and the White Ice Phoenix, the Divine Spirits of various Clans that suffered heavy casualties previously began fighting even more vigorously against the Black Giant Spirit God!
The Giant Spirit God showed neither joy nor sorrow. He simply went on a silent killing spree. Divine Spirits died one after another, their vitality completely erased. The blood of Divine Spirits rained down and watered the ground.
Finally, the powerful Giant Spirit God stumbled. The Golden Grand Dragon that was over 100,000 metres long swooped down from high above, shaking his head and flicking his tail. His enormous body wrapped around the Giant Spirit God firmly to restrict his movements.
Likewise, the White Ice Phoenix swiftly swooped down from above, her sharp talons clasping onto the Giant Spirit God’s physique tightly.
One after another, the Sacred Treasures that exuded monstrous power were summoned by the various Divine Spirit Clans. Their auras were closely connected to each other. The Sacred Treasures included the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, the Phoenix Clan’s Immortal Parasol Tree, the Kun Clan’s Northern Deep, the Golden Crow Clan’s Fu Sang Divine Tree…
The sixteen Sacred Treasures formed a Grand Array, causing the world to split apart in an instant. At the same time, the Ancestral Strength condensed together and gigantic chains took shape. These chains pierced the Giant Spirit God’s body and immobilised him. Afterward, all the Divine Spirits quickly retreated while the Dragon roared and the Phoenix wailed.
When the Divine Spirits looked back, all they saw was the scene of the world shattering apart. All the Blood Essence in the Golden Grand Dragon and the White Ice Phoenix burst into flames and transformed into a powerful force of imprisonment that suppressed the Giant Spirit God on the spot.
The Black Giant Spirit God was too overpowering, so much so that even the Divine Spirits were unable to kill him.
The Golden Divine Dragon and the White Ice Phoenix were nowhere to be seen. Only a small golden radiance and a small white light flickered amidst the Void Turbulence before vanishing out of sight!
Yang Kai woke up the next moment. Three years had gone by in the blink of an eye! When he opened his eyes again, he felt as though he had experienced a very long dream and for a time, he could not break out of his reverie.
He spent a long time in a daze before he finally recalled the last part of his dream. He seemed to have witnessed the scene of the Black Giant Spirit God being suppressed and sealed. It was something the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Empress had done at the expense of burning their Blood Essence and sacrificing themselves.
Only the strongest Divine Dragons of the Dragon Clan could receive the title of Dragon Emperor! Only the strongest Masters of the Phoenix Clan had the right to be titled Phoenix Empress!
Following the deaths of the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress, their Sources were swept up by the Void Turbulence caused by the splitting of the Ancestral Land and vanished without a trace. In this way, the Sources that Yang Kai and Su Yan obtained back at Tong Xuan Realm were the inheritances of this Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress.
The reason Yang Kai saw these memories in that dream-like state was clearly related to the Dragon Emperor’s Source. The Source Strength was the inheritance left behind from the battlefield back then after all.
Qing Luan was right. Each Clan’s Sacred Treasure represented their inheritance, it was just that the inheritance was not hidden within the Sacred Treasures themselves. On the contrary, each Divine Spirit’s bloodline contained their respective inheritances, and they would naturally be revealed when their bloodline reached a certain level of purity. Cultivating with the help of their respective Clan’s Sacred Treasure simply made it easier to stimulate the inheritance in their bloodline.
If Yang Kai had not cultivated in the Crystal Palace, he would never have seen these memories.
At this point in time, the truth of what actually happened in the far past had been lost to history. Although Yang Kai had seen snippets of what happened when the Giant Spirit God was suppressed and sealed through his Source Inheritance, the reason behind such a ferocious battle between the Giant Spirit God and the Divine Spirits remained a mystery.
On the other hand, he now understood the origins of his Golden Divine Dragon Source and Su Yan’s Ice Phoenix Source.
Shaking his head to get rid of the distracting thoughts, Yang Kai examined his body. All the Ancestral Spirit Crystals he took out earlier were nowhere to be seen, so it was obvious that they had been refined and absorbed. As a result, his body had grown again.
He was now 9,999 metres long! He was just one step away from becoming a Grand Dragon! Unfortunately, it would seem that this final step was not so easy to overcome.
If this were three years ago, he might have been helpless in the face of this problem; however, the long dream had made him aware of quite a fair amount of the Dragon Clan’s inheritance. Among them included the Dragon Clan’s Cultivation Techniques. As for how to take the final step, he already had a plan.
Reclining on his back in the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai took out another handful of Ancestral Spirit Crystals. This time around, he did not place the Ancestral Spirit Crystal’s around him and instead stuffed them directly into his mouth. Following the crunching sounds, the rock-hard Ancestral Spirit Crystals were swallowed into his belly and an enormous energy erupted in the next moment.
Yang Kai continued to devour the Ancestral Spirit Crystal’s endlessly, and it was not until he used up nearly 80% of them that he stopped. The amount of Ancestral Strength accumulated in his body was indescribably large by now, and this energy stimulated his Dragon Vein greatly.
The mysterious Dragon Language sounded from Yang Kai’s mouth, and at the same time, he activated the power of his Dragon Source, supplemented by the Dragon Clan’s Cultivation Technique, to refine the Ancestral Strength and enhance his bloodline.
Yang Kai gradually felt a searing heat below his jaw. It felt like a scorching iron brand was pressing against him. The discomfort caused him to shake his head vigorously. The huge Half-Dragon Head knocking against the walls of the Crystal Palace, causing loud rumbles to reverberate through the air.
With the passage of time, the scorching heat below his jaw became more and more noticeable. All the Power of the Dragon Vein in his body seemed to be gathering in that spot and Yang Kai vaguely sensed that something amazing was forming beneath his jaw.
All of a sudden, the energy fluctuations reached a peak and a thunderous roar exploded in Yang Kai’s mind as his entire being suddenly became clear-headed. Beneath his jaw, a round bead of condensed Source Strength came into being.
*Kacha…*
His huge body that had been stagnant at 9,999 metres suddenly swelled slightly at this moment, and he abruptly crashed through the 10,000 metres threshold. He had given birth to a Dragon Bead and became a Grand Dragon!
Opening his mouth, Yang Kai let out a roar. At this moment, he felt as though he had shed his former body and been reborn. Both his body and mind were cleansed by a strange baptism and his entire physique wriggled. The sound of his bones dislocating and reforming once more echoed throughout the Crystal Palace. His Dragon Pressure filled the entire Crystal Palace like a solid substance. A powerful force flowed through every corner of his body, so strong that it almost felt as though this force could break the world.
By the time everything calmed down again, more than half a month had passed.
Yang Kai activated his Divine Sense and examined his body once more. It had to be said that the changes he experienced after he became a Grand Dragon were extremely drastic.
Whenever he used his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique in the past, although he had a Dragon Form, he still retained some Human characteristics. It could be said that he was Half-Dragon and Half-Human; however, he no longer had the slightest trace of Human characteristics at this moment. He was now a genuine Grand Dragon with a 10,000 metres long smooth body that was covered in Golden Dragon Scales. His Dragon Claws were so sharp that they left a scar in the Void with a light swipe and a swing of his Dragon Tail could conjure a violent force.
These changes were unexpected.
Qing Luan had mentioned that it didn’t matter what his background was since he obtained the Golden Divine Dragon Source; he could be said to be part of the Pureblood Dragon Clan. Looking at himself now, Yang Kai didn’t know whether he was Human or Dragon anymore.
With a shift of his thoughts, his enormous body rapidly shrank and returned to his Human Form. It was just that his current appearance was slightly different from the usual. At this moment, he was wearing a dazzling golden Artifact Armour. This Artifact Armour was formed from his Dragon Scales, so it had an incredibly strong defensive ability.
He did not have such an ability before. Be that as it may, after learning various secrets from the Dragon Clan Inheritance, the ability to transform his Dragon Scales into Dragon Armour was nothing more than a petty trick.
[But… this golden Artifact Armour is a little too flamboyant and conspicuous. I practically resemble the sun radiating such a dazzling brilliance wherever I go.] Yang Kai focused his thoughts and the brilliance of the Artifact Armour subsided considerably. Although the appearance was still incredibly luxurious, at the very least, it was not embarrassingly radiant anymore.
After examining himself again, Yang Kai finally nodded in satisfaction.
He was in no hurry to refine the Crystal Palace. Opening his mouth, he spat out a bead that emitted a faint golden light. The bead floated down to land on his palm. It was a Dragon Bead!
The most important step for a Juvenile Dragon to become a Grand Dragon was to condense a Dragon Bead in their body. Juvenile Dragons had no Dragon Beads. Only Mature Grand Dragons had them.
A Dragon Bead was similar to a Monster Beast’s Monster Core. It was the crystallisation of a Grand Dragon’s power and the manifestation of their Source.
Looking at the golden bead in his hand, Yang Kai could clearly sense the horrifying strength contained within. Even though that power belonged to him, he couldn’t help feeling a little frightened.
His current strength was a little strange. In his Human Form, he was no more than a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; however, if he transformed into a Grand Dragon, he was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength! Moreover, both powers did not clash or interfere with each other. It was most likely that he was the only person in the world ij this situation. A similar situation would not occur in the other Dragon Clan members.
Absorbing the Dragon Bead back into his body, Yang Kai exhaled a long breath.
His trip to the Ancestral Land could be said to be an unexpected surprise. While fleeing for his life previously, Yang Kai never imagined that a place like the Ancestral Land existed in the depths of the Shattered Ruins. Furthermore, he only spent several short years to advance from a Juvenile Dragon to a Grand Dragon. It could be said to be a huge harvest.
Nevertheless, he had consumed many Ancestral Spirit Fruits and Ancestral Spirit Crystals in the process. He used up all the Ancestral Spirit Fruits and 80% of all the Ancestral Spirit Crystals he found inside the Crystal Palace.
There was no other Divine Spirit who could achieve such a feat; after all, both the Ancestral Spirit Fruit and the Ancestral Spirit Crystal were extremely rare. If not because the Demon Sealing Land was unsealed for the first time in countless eons, where would he find so many Ancestral Spirit Fruits and Ancestral Spirit Crystals?
Yang Kai raised his eyes and looked outside. Everything was peaceful as the various Divine Spirit Clans were guarding their Sacred Treasures and waiting for him to come out of retreat. A few trivial years was not enough to exhaust their patience.
Now that he had become a Grand Dragon, it was time for Yang Kai to refine the Crystal Palace. The Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure was of great help in terms of both cultivation and awakening the inheritance within one’s Source. If the Dragon Clan members in Void Land were sent here to cultivate in the future, the Crystal Palace would become their greatest support.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and activated the Power of his Dragon Vein to connect with the Crystal Palace. He had attempted this feat in the past, but unfortunately, his bloodline had been too weak at the time. His refinement speed was far too slow, so he gave up on the attempt. Now that he was a Grand Dragon, his speed was much greater.
Half a year later, Kun Ao who was cultivating in the Demon Sealing Land suddenly felt an abnormality. He opened his eyes only to see light flashing constantly from within the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace. The flashing lights were accompanied by cracking sounds.
The anomaly alarmed all the Divine Spirits nearby. Likewise, Qing Luan immediately looked in the direction of the Crystal Palace with a strange light in her eyes.
“That brat’s speed is quite something. Is he about to finish refining it so soon?” One of the Divine Spirits smiled. He initially thought that he would need to wait for a few more years; however, the sight before him clearly indicated that Yang Kai was about to finish refining the Crystal Palace.
“With so many Ancestral Spirit Fruits, even a waste can become a Grand Dragon!” Another Divine Spirit scathingly spat out with a twitch of his brow. The Ancestral Spirit Fruits were such precious treasures that he was still heartbroken over being forced to offer up half of his supply.
It took half a day for the anomalies of the Crystal Palace to settle down. After that, a figure flashed out from within. It was none other than Yang Kai. Feeling many pairs of eyes staring at him expectantly, he nodded at the crowd of Divine Spirits, “Fortunately, I have not failed your expectations!”
Kun Ao burst into laughter, “That’s good. Let us retrieve our Sacred Treasures now that the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace has also been refined.” Then, he worriedly reminded Yang Kai, “Brat, don’t forget to cooperate with us later!”
“En,” Yang Kai responded.
The Divine Spirits had been waiting for this day for a long time now. At this moment, they eagerly hurried over to their respective Sacred Treasures and activated their power. When the powers of these Divine Spirits fluctuated, the sixteen Sacred Treasures that had long since been integrated into one were stimulated by the various Divine Spirits.
There was a rumble that shook the entire world, and a series of cracking sounds rang out repeatedly. A short while later, the sixteen Sacred Treasures turned into sixteen rays of light that were recovered by the various Divine Spirit Clans.
Yang Kai toyed with a miniature palace in his hand that was countless times smaller than the Crystal Palace. The entire body of the palace seemed to be carved from a single exquisite piece of crystal. It was none other than the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace itself. His expression revealed his slight astonishment. He had not expected the Crystal Palace to be able to change its size freely.
After the Sacred Treasures were retrieved, the Ancestral Strength in the world lost its source of attraction. The huge chains penetrating the Giant Spirit God slowly disintegrated and changed back into the rich Ancestral Strength that permeated the world. The sight of the chains disintegrating was extremely overwhelming.
During this period, all the Divine Spirits watched the Giant Spirit God warily. Qing Luan, Kun Ao, and the others had previously investigated the situation inside the Giant Spirit God’s body and determined that he was as dead as could be, but even so, it was a matter related to a Giant Spirit God after all. Who knew whether he had some sort of mysterious ability that would allow him to be brought back to life?
Fortunately, the Giant Spirit God showed no movement even after the chains fell apart and the Sacred Treasures were retrieved. It looked like even the Giant Spirit God could not withstand the erosion of the Ancestral Strength over the countless years of suppression.
There seemed to be an unusual change taking place in the world. Nobody could put a finger to the strange feeling, but all the Divine Spirits living in the Ancestral Land could clearly feel one thing, the Ancestral Land that was split into two in ancient times was slowly merging back into one entity at this moment.
“Kun Ao, I believe that it would be better for this place to be listed as a Restricted Area. What do you think?” Qing Luan stared at the Giant Spirit God for a moment before she turned to look at Kun Ao.
Kun Ao pondered in silence for a moment and nodded in agreement, “Good.”
Naturally, the other Divine Spirits would not object to what the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan had agreed on. Under Qing Luan’s leadership, many Divine Spirits joined forces and worked together to set up a powerful barrier around the Giant Spirit God with their Blood Essence. The first reason was to turn this place into a Restricted Area to prevent any Divine Spirit from approaching carelessly. The other reason was to guard against any unexpected changes that might occur to the Giant Spirit God.
By the time they finished working, ten days had passed.
The various Divine Spirit Clans had benefited greatly from this trip to the Demon Sealing Land. There was no need to mention the benefits gained by those who retrieved their Sacred Treasures. Even those without Sacred Treasures could enjoy the abundant Ancestral Strength brought about by merging the two halves of the Ancestral Land. They would no longer need to worry about the continuation of their respective Clans or the impurity of their descendant’s bloodlines.
Yang Kai followed Qing Luan and the others back to Four Phoenix Pavilion, and after consulting Qing Luan, he decided to place the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace in one of the mountain valleys with beautiful scenery.
The Crystal Palace might be an extraordinary palace artifact, but it played a more important role as the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Treasure. The Dragon Clan members from the Star Boundary would be coming to the Ancestral Land to cultivate, and leaving the Crystal Palace here would significantly help their growth. If not for these considerations, he would have taken the Crystal Palace away with him.
Yang Kai sat opposite Qing Luan and the others inside the Main Hall, telling them about the dream that he saw while cultivating in the Crystal Palace back then. After much deliberation, he decided that he should inform the Phoenix Clan about this matter. Who could say? The Phoenix Clan might know something about the secrets from the ancient times.
Unfortunately, Qing Luan and the others could not think of any useful information even after listening to his story. On the contrary, they were quite shocked by certain events that he revealed to them.
“From what you’ve said, the Giant Spirit God did indeed fight a ferocious battle with the Divine Spirits in Ancestral Land back then. In the end, it was the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress of that generation who sacrificed themselves by burning their Blood Essence to mobilise the Ancestral Strength through the various Sacred Treasures to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God.”
“That’s what I saw,” Yang Kai nodded, “The Ancestral Land was torn apart and divided in two. At the same time, the Sources of the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress were caught up in a Void Turbulence and vanished out of sight. That was until many years ago when this Junior had the opportunity to obtain the Dragon Emperor’s Source in a small and weak world.”
Qing Luan sighed in amazement, “The Dragon Emperors are the strongest Masters of the Dragon Clan, and there are often generations where no Dragon Emperor rises to power. No wonder your Source is a Divine Dragon Source. Only a Divine Dragon is qualified to be a Dragon Emperor.”
Yuan Chu asked, “If the Dragon Emperor’s Source of that generation is with you, then what about the Phoenix Empress’ Source? Have you seen it? If the two of them were caught up in a Void Turbulence, they might have appeared in the same place.
Yang Kai replied, “If I’m not mistaken, the Phoenix Empress’ Source is with my Senior Sister, Su Yan.”
“They were really together!?” Qing Luan and the others became excited.
Yue Zhuo asked, “Where is that Senior Sister of yours right now?”
“She lives in Void Land located in the Void Territory.” Yang Kai answered, “Following my return this time, I plan to send her and some of my Divine Spirit friends to the Ancestral Land. I hope you can help to take care of them when they arrive, Seniors.”
Qing Luan smiled, “You’ve already mentioned this matter before, so of course it won’t be a problem at all. Feel free to send them here.” While speaking, she turned to look at Hong Hu, “Please go with Yang Kai, Fourth Sister.”
“En.” Hong Hu nodded.
Yang Kai quickly said, “There’s no need to trouble you, Senior. I know the position of the Ancestral Land now, so I only need you to tell me how to safely pass through the Divine Ability Sea.”
Qing Luan said, “The return of the Phoenix Empress is an important event for the Phoenix Clan. We cannot be sloppy. Please let Hong Hu go with you.”
Seeing as she had already said so much, Yang Kai did not refuse her again. Besides, he would like nothing more than having a Master like Hong Hu accompanying him on his travels. The information about how he had obtained the World Spring would probably have spread across the Shattered Heaven by now, so there was no saying what kinds of troubles he might face when he returned to the Shattered Heaven again.
“When do you plan to leave?” She asked.
“I wish to say goodbye to Senior Mie Meng first.”
“As you should.” Qing Luan nodded.
The next day, Yang Kai strolled over to the place where Mie Meng lived. It was obvious that Mie Meng had detected his presence because the doors were wide open.
He did not see the Great General anywhere and Mie Meng claimed that it was because the boy was working hard to cultivate. However, according to Yang Kai’s understanding of Great General’s character, he had the feeling that the little chicken had been forced into seclusion by his Mother. In any case, he did not say anything regarding the matter.
Before he departed, Yang Kai left behind several Ancestral Spirit Crystals so that Mie Meng could pass them on to Great General. Great General was still very young, so these Ancestral Spirit Crystal would help him to reduce many years of intense cultivation and allow his bloodline to develop rapidly.
Yang Kai no longer had many Ancestral Spirit Crystals left on hand as during his advancement to become a Grand Dragon, he had used up 80% of them in one go. Therefore, he only had slightly more than 200 of them left.
He gave half of them to the Phoenix Clan; after all, he would need the Phoenix Clan’s help to take care of the Divine Spirits who came from Void Land later. Then, he left the remaining half in the Crystal Palace. If Su Yan and the others needed the Ancestral Spirit Crystals, they could help themselves to them.
When all the preparations were done, Yang Kai prepared to leave the Ancestral Land with Hong Hu.
A figure flew over from a distance and landed in front of Hong Hu. It was the white-robed youth from the Kun Clan who bowed and cupped his fist, “Kun Yu greets Senior Hong Hu.”
Hong Hu nodded, “I will have to trouble you.”
Kun Yu nodded faintly. Without even glancing at Yang Kai, he soared straight into the sky. Hong Hu shot a glance at Yang Kai, and the two of them quickly followed.
Having lived in the Ancestral Land ever since she had been born, Hong Hu had never left the Ancestral Land before. She only knew that the Ancestral Land was surrounded by the Divine Ability Sea. Unfortunately, the Divine Ability Sea was so dangerous that even a Mature Divine Spirit might succumb to its dangers and fail to pass through safely.
Out of all the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, only the Kun Clan knew of a safe passage through the Divine Ability Sea. That was something the Kun Clan discovered after relying on many Masters to explore the Divine Ability Sea. It was by relying on this knowledge that Kun Yu managed to travel through the Divine Ability Sea safely even though he only had the strength of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
When the Phoenix Clan came forward to make a request, the Kun Clan naturally had nothing more to say about this matter. In the end, they assigned Kun Yu to escort Hong Hu and Yang Kai through the Divine Ability Sea. Even if the Kun Clan had decided to ignore the matter, with Hong Hu’s strength, there was a great chance that she would simply force her way through the Divine Ability Sea. That was how Cheng Yang entered the Ancestral Land. Although he encountered all sorts of dangers and wound up quite battered, he was still able to pass through the Divine Ability Sea.
Following behind Kun Yu, Hong Hu and Yang Kai quickly left the Ancestral Land and plunged into the Divine Ability Sea. The various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were unleashed one after another, but their power was not too strong. Whether it was Kun Yu leading the way or Hong Hu and Yang Kai following behind, none of them had any trouble dealing with the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques
“It must have been difficult for the Kun Clan to discover this route.” Hong Hu sighed in amazement.
Kun Yu’s personality was generally on the colder side, so he had remained taciturn for the most part of the journey. Nevertheless, Hong Hu was his Senior, so seeing as she had started the conversation, he could not ignore her and responded, “In order to find this passage, the Kun Clan paid a heavy price several thousands of years ago. Two Seniors lost their lives in the Divine Ability Sea. In terms of strength, they were comparable to the Human’s Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.”
She nodded, “I’ve heard of that.”
Yang Kai suddenly spoke up, “Senior, don’t you think that the Divine Ability Sea is acting as a gigantic cage?”
Hong Hu was stunned for a moment. If he had not mentioned this matter, she would never have thought about it. Now that she heard those words though, she couldn’t help thinking that the possibility was rather high.
Yang Kai had this feeling the last time he saw the Divine Ability Sea, and after seeing the Giant Spirit God being suppressed and sealed in the Demon Sealing Land, his conjecture only became more certain.
“These Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were left behind countless years ago, and despite going through the erosion and baptism of time, they still contain such fearsome power. It’s difficult to imagine just how strong they were at their peak. It might be that even Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would not come out unscathed if they ventured deep into this place.”
Hong Hu pondered in silence for a moment before she asked, “Are you saying that the Divine Ability Sea was created as a protective barrier to prevent the Giant Spirit God from escaping?”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s the only possibility.”
Her eyes flashed at those words, “If it’s as you said, then the battle in ancient times should have shown traces of Human participation; after all, many of the Divine Abilities in the Divine Ability Sea do not come from Divine Spirits. Did you see any Humans in the memories?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I did not see any, but that is not strange either. The Ancestral Strength is extremely dangerous to non-Divine Spirits. If the Giant Spirit God was causing havoc in the Ancestral Land, only the Divine Spirits could fight back against him. Fortunately, the Divine Spirits won that battle even though they paid a heavy price for their victory. Regardless, the Great Experts of the Human Race must have set up the Divine Ability Sea outside the Ancestral Land just to be on the safe side.”
Too much time had passed. It was so long ago that even a long-lived Race like the Divine Spirits did not know what had happened back then. Nevertheless, Yang Kai’s conjecture was reasonable. It might be the truth of what had happened back in ancient times.
The only thing that confused Yang Kai right now was why a Giant Spirit God, being from a race which was generally innocent, mild-tempered, and would never take the initiative to provoke others, had started such a ferocious battle in the Ancestral Land.
Yang Kai had personally witnessed countless Divine Spirits dying at the hands of that Giant Spirit God during that battle. Even the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans had suffered heavy casualties. The Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress of that generation even went so far as to burn all their Blood Essence to activate a massive Grand Array using the Sacred Treasures of sixteen Clans to condensed the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land to suppress and seal the Black Giant Spirit God.
It had been a mighty battle indeed.
Following behind Kun Yu, they navigated through the Divine Ability Sea and made steady progress. All the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques unleashed along the way were easily resolved by the three of them.
A few days later, the view in front of them abruptly widened. The three of them had made their way out of the Divine Ability Sea. Kun Yu halted in his tracks, turned to Hong Hu, and cupped his fist, “Senior, we’re out of the Divine Ability Sea now. This Junior will only escort you up to this point. Simply follow the way we came earlier when you return.”
“En. Go back and thank your Clan Head on my behalf. Tell him the Phoenix Clan owes him a favour.” Hong Hu nodded. She had memorised the route along the way here and even used her power as a Divine Spirit to leave a mark along the trail, so there was no need to worry about how she was going to return.
Kun Yu lowered his head and said, “This Junior will definitely relay the message. I shall take my leave now!”
While speaking, his figure shifted and he rushed back into the Divine Ability Sea.
After Kun Yu departed, Yang Kai and Hong Hu continued their journey.
It was Hong Hu’s first time leaving the Ancestral Land, so although her cultivation was impressive, she couldn’t help being curious about the outside world. Looking around though, she saw nothing but the vast and desolate void; hence, it was inevitable for her to feel disappointed as she asked, “Is everything in the outside world like this?”
Yang Kai laughed, “The situation at the Shattered Heaven is special. You will see a different scenery once we arrive back at a prosperous Great Territory, Senior.”
She nodded, “In that case, I look forward to it.”
“Let’s go.” He took the lead while speaking.
He and Xia Lin Lang had fled deep into the Shattered Heaven back then, so it would take quite some time for him to leave. Travelling through the void was extremely boring. Fortunately, they could chat with each other along the way. Yang Kai told her about various things in the outside world. Regardless of the importance of the matter, Hong Hu listened with great relish.
Ever since leaving the Divine Ability Sea, Yang Kai vaguely noticed that he had developed a peculiar feeling. This feeling came from the depths of his bloodline. It felt as though there was something located somewhere far away that was closely connected to him.
At the beginning, he did not understand what this feeling was. Nevertheless, it didn’t take long before he abruptly realised that this feeling was the connection he felt with the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Altar!
It was once said that he would be able to sense the location of the Dragon Altar when his bloodline reached a certain level. That was the inheritance found deep within every Dragon Clan member’s bloodline.
In the past, his Dragon Form had only been 3,000 metres long. Moreover, he had been Half-Human, Half-Dragon. It made sense that he could not sense the Dragon Altar in such a state. However, this perception came into being now that he had advanced from a Juvenile Dragon to a Grand Dragon and his Dragon Form was 10,000 metres long. Even if he was separated by a great distance, that feeling would never be severed.
Yang Kai was certain that he would eventually find the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Altar one day if he followed in the direction of this feeling; thus, he suddenly felt a little excited.
Ever since coming to the 3,000 Worlds, he had been trying to locate the Dragon Altar. Unfortunately, the Dragon Altar was very hidden. Despite being one of the 36 Cave Heavens, nobody knew the location of the Dragon Altar.
At this moment, the connection coming from the depths of his bloodline was undoubtedly pointing the way for him. It was a pity that he had urgent matters to take care of right now. Seeing as it was inconvenient for him to search for the Dragon Altar immediately, Yang Kai could only delay this matter for the time being.
The Shattered Heaven was vast. Furthermore, there were no Universe Temples that they could use to transfer from place to place. Despite flying for a whole month, the two of them remained inside the Shattered Heaven.
One day, Hong Hu suddenly noticed something. She turned to look in a certain direction and frowned after a moment, “There are people fighting over there.”
Yang Kai followed her gaze and sure enough, he saw several streams of light darting around in a relentless pursuit. Hong Hu’s cultivation was higher than his, so it was only natural for her to detect the anomaly before him.
“The Shattered Heaven is unlike the other Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds. It is very chaotic and fights are very common here.” Yang Kai explained, but showed no intention to intervene.
Although Yang Kai had no intention to intervene in the fight, one of the parties in the fight seemed to have taken notice of their presence and was rushing directly in their direction.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly as this was also a common occurrence. When one party was losing a battle, they often liked to divert their opponent’s attention to another person. Or, they could be trying to ask for help. Regardless of the situation, the person who was unwittingly dragged into the mess would be the one troubled.
It was not his first time encountering an incident like this, so it was only natural that Yang Kai understood the other party’s intentions. Nevertheless, he had no intention to flee. Hong Hu was right next to him, so who in the Shattered Heaven would dare to act presumptuous in front of her?
“Huh?” All of a sudden, Yang Kai exclaimed in surprise. When the leading figure approached, he detected a familiar aura. A short while later, he finally confirmed his suspicions when he had a good look at that person’s appearance. It truly was a person that he was acquainted with.
It was Qin Fen! He was one of the few Open Heaven Realm Masters among Xia Lin Lang’s subordinates.
[Why is he here? Where is Xia Lin Lang?] Seeing as it was an acquaintance, Yang Kai could not ignore the situation anymore. He raised his hand and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear. After that, he charged towards Qin Fen. Hong Hu quickly followed closely behind.
On the other hand, there was no doubt that Qin Fen had also recognised Yang Kai. A complicated gaze immediately entered his eyes as he gritted his teeth and rushed over.
A short while later, they brushed past each other. Yang Kai raised his spear and stabbed forward. With the power of a spear, the world collapsed and the expressions of the two figures chasing from behind changed greatly as they quickly defended themselves.
The collision of the World Force swept across the void and Yang Kai’s figure stumbled slightly before he steadied himself once more. On the other hand, the two chasing figures were involuntarily sent flying backward at the same time.
Even though they were also in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they failed to defend against the attack of somebody in the same Order as them despite combining both their strengths. If they had not personally experienced something like this, they would not have dared to believe that such a thing was possible.
They stabilised their figures with great difficulty, but before they could declare their names, a horrifying pressure descended upon them. The pressure was so strong that their figures slumped slightly and their expressions changed drastically.
“A Divine Spirit?” One of the middle-aged men stared at Hong Hu, who was standing quietly in the void, with an expression of fear and horror.
The power of this Divine Spirit was too immense. As Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, how could they fail to sense such a thing? This pressure was so strong that it was comparable to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
[Why did we run into a Divine Spirit here!?] The two of them looked at each other with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Meanwhile, Qin Fen returned. His complexion was pale and there were traces of blood on his clothes. His aura was weak, so it was obvious that he was injured.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai turned around and asked, “Where is Xia Lin Lang?”
Qin Fen clenched his fists tightly and responded with his head lowered, “Madame was captured.”
Yang Kai scowled, “By who?”
Xia Lin Lang was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. As long as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master did not make a move, who in the Shattered Heaven could capture her?
“Bright Sun Divine Monarch!” Qin Fen gritted his teeth, “When we were sent out of that place, Cheng Yang appeared out of nowhere before we could go very far. He was probably lying in ambush all this while. Madame was no match for him, so she could only escape. She lured Cheng Yang away so that we could have a chance to flee. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten separated after several years of running around.”
“That old thing! Scourges never die!” Yang Kai scowled deeply.
Qin Fen looked at Yang Kai, “Cheng Yang said that you should go and meet him if you want the Madame to be returned safely.”
Yang Kai sneered, “Is he so certain that I will go looking for him?”
Qin Fen became furious, “Are you going to ignore Madame’s life or death situation!? If not for you, Lin Lang Cave Heaven would never have been destroyed! With the protection of Lin Lang Cave Heaven, even Cheng Yang would not have been able to harm the Madame!”
Yang Kai glanced at Qin Fen, “Xia Lin Lang brought me back because she wanted the World Spring. Everything that happened afterwards was simply a means to protect myself. To be honest, the destruction of Lin Lang Cave Heaven was the result of Xia Lin Lang’s actions.”
Qin Fen clenched his teeth and glared furiously when he heard those words. His expression looked like he wanted to bite Yang Kai to death.
Yang Kai rubbed his chin and snorted, “But, there is no denying that we have gone through difficult times together. Cheng Yang only captured her because of the World Spring… Haaa, how troublesome.” Turning to look at the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who didn’t even dare to move a muscle, he asked, “Are they Cheng Yang’s men?”
Qin Fen replied, “That’s right.”
The middle-aged man quickly explained, “We have no malicious intentions. It’s just that Xia Lin Lang is worried about their safety, so the Divine Monarch asked us to invite him back as a guest. The others are already with the Divine Monarch.”
Qin Fen coldly snorted, “No malicious intentions, my foot! If not because this Qin has some ability, I would have died at your hands a long time ago.”
The middle-aged man said, “When have we ever directed our murderous intent at you throughout our pursuit? I’m afraid you don’t know your own situation right now. All the Masters in the Shattered Heaven have set out, but the World Spring remains nowhere to be seen. The rumours claim that Xia Lin Lang has gotten the World Spring, so if you had encountered anybody else, you would have died a miserable death a long time ago!”
Yang Kai raised a hand to interrupt their argument. He then looked at the middle-aged man and said, “The World Spring is with me. It’s useless even if Bright Sun Divine Monarch captures Xia Lin Lang. But, since he is so desperate to meet me, I’ll go and pay him a visit.”
The middle-aged man exchanged a glance with his comrade. They did not dare to believe that things would be so simple so he asked incredulously, “Really?”
Yang Kai gestured, “Lead the way.”
The middle-aged man responded as though his dreams had come true, “This way!”
After saying that, he and his companion turned around to lead the way.
Yang Kai glanced at Qin Fen, “What are you going to do?”
Qin Fen quickly said, “I’m coming with you.”
Yang Kai nodded and quickly chased after those two.
Hong Hu came over in a flash, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, “Cheng Yang knows that you are a Dragon Clan member. Why is he trying to target you? What reckless bravery.”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “The Divine Spirits have not left the Ancestral Land in a long time. It is only natural that my identity as a Dragon Clan member does not frighten him. He is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so he can be considered quite capable.”
Hong Hu sneered at those words, “It is not that the Divine Spirits are unable to leave the Ancestral Land, but that they don’t want to. I’m curious to see what gives him the confidence to act so brazenly in front of a Divine Spirit!”
“Looks like he is going to suffer greatly.” Yang Kai took intense pleasure in the other party’s approaching misfortune.
Several figures stopped in the void. Yang Kai looked left and right for a bit before he asked, “Is this the place?”
The middle-aged man in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm nodded, “Yes!”
“Announce our arrival.” Yang Kai gestured.
A trace of struggle crossed the middle-aged man’s face, but he called out loudly nonetheless, “Divine Monarch, Yang Kai is here! Please open the portal, Divine Monarch!”
The void remained silent, and there was no reaction.
He shouted once more, but there was no movement.
Yang Kai turned to look at the middle-aged man and narrowed his eyes slightly, turning the middle-aged man as pale as a death sentence prisoner. His voice trembled as he shouted again, “Please open the portal, Divine Monarch!”
“Are you sure this is the place?” Yang Kai asked impatiently.
The middle-aged man nodded nervously, “It’s right here.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He did not understand the reason for the middle-aged man’s reaction.
In any case, if Bright Sun Divine Monarch was really hiding here but refused to reveal himself, then it could only mean that he was afraid of Hong Hu. He probably never imagined that the Phoenix Clan would show up. Even if he was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he was bound to suffer a loss against a Master like Hong Hu.
Space Principles began fluctuating with a single thought from Yang Kai. Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, a circle of ripples spread out into the surroundings with him as the centre. Consequently, the Void became distorted everywhere the ripples passed.
Beside him, Hong Hu watched with bright eyes. She raised her hand slightly to feel the mysteries of Space Principles. It was her first time seeing such a strange power, so she couldn’t help being curious.
At the beginning, nothing much changed, but as time passed, the Space Principles that spread out like ripples on the surface of the water began to show a weak fluctuation. It was as though the swift river current had encountered a large boulder.
Yang Kai’s gaze shifted in a certain direction. At the same time, he urged the Space Principles more and more fiercely. The weak fluctuations gradually became more and more obvious as a result.
About an incense stick later, even Hong Hu and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who did not understand anything about the Dao of Space could detect the anomaly.
Under the agitation of Space Principles, it soon became clear that there was a large space at that spot in the Void which was different from its surroundings. That location was none other than the entrance connecting the Universe Cave Heaven where Bright Sun Divine Monarch lived to the outside world!
Yang Kai was just about to increase his efforts to forcibly break open the entrance when space distorted and opened to reveal a portal. Immediately after that, Cheng Yang’s figure stepped out from within and he loudly said, “I was not aware of your arrival, Lady Hong Hu. Please forgive this Cheng for my lack of hospitality!” After saying that, he turned to look at his two subordinates. His voice became cold and ruthless, “Incompetent good-for-nothings! What’s the use of having you!?”
The expressions of those two changed greatly when they heard those words, and they immediately begged for mercy. Nonetheless, Cheng Yang ignored their pleading and raised his hand. When he slammed his palm down, the power of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master flooded out and a mighty World Force filled the void.
With the power of a single palm strike, the heads of the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were crushed on the spot. Their headless corpses swayed slightly, then their Small Universes collapsed and their World Force dissipated!
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
Hong Hu coldly snorted, “How impressive, Divine Monarch!”
Cheng Yang had decisively killed two of his subordinates in front of her without any hesitation. It was clearly a demonstration of his strength! Although she lived in the Ancestral Land for a long time and this was her first trip to the outside world, even she knew that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was not just some useless cabbage to discard at will.
A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had more than enough strength to stand on their own in the 3,000 Worlds. As long as the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises did not step forward, Sixth-Order Masters could be said to be the strongest!
“Lady Hong Hu, please calm your anger. Cheng Yang’s actions are not what you think. You’ve lived in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land for a long time, so you’re not familiar with the situation in the Shattered Heaven.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed slightly as he vaguely realised something and came over to Hong Hu’s side to explain in a low voice, “To the Masters hiding in the Shattered Heaven, their hideouts are their strongest and final layer of defense. Therefore, the location of their hideouts must never be exposed to outsiders, as it will only bring endless troubles to them otherwise.”
It would have been bad enough if those two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had brought Yang Kai to this place; however, they even brought Hong Hu along with them. Unable to silence the witnesses, Cheng Yang could only vent his anger on his subordinates in a fit of rage.
If they could bring Yang Kai and Hong Hu here, then wouldn’t they bring his enemies home if they were captured by them in the Shattered Heaven, or worse, the Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in the future? Where would Bright Sun Divine Monarch hide then?
Having said that, Yang Kai was the only person in the world who could easily force open the portal of a Universe Cave Heaven thanks to his proficiency in the Dao of Space. Even if an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from the Cave Heavens or Paradises were to show up here, they would not have such an easy time despite knowing the location.
Cheng Yang had remained hidden and refused to come out earlier due to his fear of Hong Hu. It was not until he saw that his hideout was about to be forcibly opened that he had no choice but to reveal himself.
“Those who come from afar are guests! Lady Hong Hu, this way please!” Cheng Yang gestured forward.
Hong Hu nodded faintly and stepped inside. Yang Kai shot a look at Qin Fen and quickly followed after Hong Hu.
Upon entering the portal, Cheng Yang immediately took the lead while Yang Kai looked around and raised his brow at the sight, “Divine Monarch, is this place a Universe Cave Heaven?”
“Indeed!” Cheng Yang nodded, “This Universe Cave Heaven was left behind by an unknown Senior. When this Monarch first arrived at the Shattered Heaven, I once fought a battle here and accidentally discovered traces of this Universe Cave Heaven during that fight. However, it took me 300 years just to find the portal and another 100 to get inside.”
After saying that, he gave Yang Kai a meaningful look, “I’ve long heard about the extraordinariness of the Dao of Space, but I’ve never had the honour to witness its greatness before. Having seen it today, this Monarch is truly amazed!”
He had spent hundreds of years just to open the Universe Cave Heaven’s portal and occupy this place. Meanwhile, Yang Kai had only spent an incense to nearly forcibly open the portal.
The contrast nearly made Cheng Yang spit blood in distress. Nevertheless, he knew that there was nothing to envy. The Dao of Space was not something just anybody could cultivate.
Yang Kai smiled, “Many thanks for your high praise, Divine Monarch. I simply specialise in my own field.”
Cheng Yang raised his brow and commented, “You are too humble, Little Brother. Perhaps we can work together on a certain project.”
Yang Kai was astonished, “Cooperate on what?”
Cheng Yang continued, “The Shattered Heaven is vast and boundless, and there are many opportunities coexisting with various risks. Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises are abundant here. Unfortunately, not many of them have been discovered and explored because we do not have the knowledge or ability to do so. Most of them remain hidden in the Void; however, this Monarch knows of no less than five locations where there’s a high possibility that Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises exists. It’s a pity, but I am unable to confirm my suspicions. If you cooperate with this Monarch and join forces to explore these five areas, then there is no need to worry about not finding anything good. As far as I know, the World Spring in your possession was found in one of these Universe Cave Heavens, right?”
Yang Kai was indeed tempted by those words. If what Cheng Yang said was true, it might be a good idea to work together in this matter. Be that as it may, it was not good to reveal how keen he was about the idea lest he was bullied by Cheng Yang as a result.
Even though he was tempted, Yang Kai responded calmly, “That may be so. Unfortunately, I don’t have much time. I will be truthful with you, Divine Monarch. I’ve been away from home for quite a while, and my heart yearns to return. If I had not met your subordinates along the way and learned that Xia Lin Lang was staying at your place as a guest, I would have left the Shattered Heaven by now.”
Cheng Yang chuckled, “It turns out that you are quite a family man, Little Brother Yang.”
Their conversation afterward was not worth mentioning. While the two of them were talking, Hong Hu followed along silently. She showed no intention of expressing her opinion on anything.
Not long afterward, the four of them arrived and landed on a certain Spirit Peak. Several figures immediately rushed out of the palace. It was Xia Lin Lang and her subordinates. They were startled and looked worried upon seeing Qin Fen and Yang Kai arriving together.
However, Xia Lin Lang immediately felt relieved when she recognised Hong Hu. She had been a guest at Four Phoenix Pavilion during her time in the Ancestral Land, so she knew Hong Hu’s identity. Hurriedly stepping forward, she gave an elegant bow, “Greetings, Lady Hong Hu.”
Hong Hu nodded lightly, “No need to be so polite.”
They did not know each other well, and could even be said that they were mere passing acquaintances, so there was nothing much to say between them.
Xia Lin Lang seemed a little confused by the situation at hand, so she glanced at Yang Kai inquiringly. Yang Kai smiled and said, “I met Brother Qin by chance when I came out of the Ancestral Land. After hearing that you are staying with the Divine Monarch as a guest, I decided to come and pay you a visit.”
She immediately understood the situation and nodded, “Knowing that my residence has been destroyed, the Divine Monarch kindly invited me to stay for a while. The Divine Monarch is so hospitable that I couldn’t refuse. I’m afraid I’ve caused trouble for the Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang smiled and waved his hand dismissively, “If you’re willing, you can stay here as long as you want.”
He seemed extremely friendly and hospitable, and if someone who did not know the truth were to witness this scene, they would probably believe that Xia Lin Lang had really been invited to stay here as a guest.
“It’s inappropriate to bother you for too long, Divine Monarch.” While speaking, she glanced at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “I also have important matters at hand, so I can’t stay for long.”
Cheng Yang quickly said, “You’ve come from so far away, please allow this Monarch to show you some hospitality. To be honest with you, this Monarch rarely has people coming to visit as guests. I’ve already instructed my people to prepare a banquet. It won’t be too late to leave after.”
Yang Kai turned his head to look at Hong Hu, who nodded lightly in response.
Cheng Yang was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and although he was forced to buckle to the pressure and could not do anything to them, it was still better to show him some respect.
Only then did Yang Kai nod in agreement, “Since you’ve already said so much, Divine Monarch, it would be impolite for us to refuse!”
Cheng Yang laughed heartily, “As it should be! Please come this way!”
He led the crowd to a Grand Hall located on another Spirit Peak where sure enough, a banquet had been prepared. When they all took their seats, an endless number of delicacies were served to the table. There were also beautiful young women singing and dancing below them to enhance the atmosphere.
Yang Kai and Cheng Yang were like old friends who had not seen each other in a long time, drinking and toasting with each other frequently.
Hong Hu was not interested in alcohol, singing, or dancing. On the contrary, she fell in love with the beautiful and delicious fruits placed in front of her which she ate in small bites.
Meanwhile, Xia Lin Lang and the others had complicated expressions on their faces. Just yesterday, they were prisoners. They never imagined that they would become guests of honour in the blink of an eye. Their statuses had changed so quickly that they felt extremely uncomfortable. It gave them the feeling of being in a dream.
After several rounds of drinks, Cheng Yang was flushed red due to alcohol and raised his glass and said, “Little Brother Yang, if I have to say it myself, we have a friendship born from fighting each other! This Monarch rarely admires anybody, but I truly admire you! You are the first Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to escape from this Monarch!”
Cheng Yang was absolutely ecstatic when he first heard the news that the World Spring had fallen into the hands of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. With his strength, what was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in comparison? He initially assumed that it would be easy pickings if he took action himself. Who could have known that Yang Kai would give him such a huge and unpleasant surprise instead?
The strength of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was certainly nothing in front of Cheng Yang, but the other party was not only proficient in the Dao of Space, but also an expert at escaping. He failed to capture Yang Kai as a result. When Cheng Yang’s chase brought him into the Divine Ability Sea, he became stuck in an impossible situation. It was a miserable experience.
If not because Yang Kai wanted to borrow his strength to leave the Divine Ability Sea, Cheng Yang was certain he would have been abandoned in that shattered space. If that had happened, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like himself would have been trapped inside.
It would have been impossible for him to turn his fate around again; after all, he had personally experienced the strangeness of the shattered space himself. That was why it was not a complete lie when Cheng Yang claimed that he admired Yang Kai. There was some truth and sincerity to his words.
After staying in the Ancestral Land for some time, he learned that Yang Kai was not only closely related to the Dragon Clan but he was now being personally escorted by a Master from the Phoenix Clan. At this point, there was no longer any need to yearn for the World Spring again. Cheng Yang did not have the guts to make an enemy of the Phoenix Clan in the Ancestral Land, as they were an existence even stronger than the Kun Clan.
Having gone through so much, though, it might be possible to make up for some of his losses if he could work together with Yang Kai. It was for that reason that he opened the portal of his cave mansion so enthusiastically.
After several rounds of drinks, Cheng Yang brought up the topic again, “Little Brother, I have connections and resources while you have the ability. If you and I work together, I’m sure we will profit enormously. Won’t you consider it?”
Yang Kai raised his glass and looked at Cheng Yang with a smile, “Are you talking about the matter regarding the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens, Divine Monarch?”
“Naturally!” Cheng Yang nodded. In the Shattered Heaven, only such valuable prizes would interest an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him. There was no saying what good things he might discover inside.
Yang Kai was about to refuse when he suddenly recalled that Xia Lin Lang seemed to be homeless after the destruction of Pear Flower Cave Heaven. The destruction of Pear Flower Cave Heaven was more or less related to him. Not to mention, she was reluctant to leave the Shattered Heaven. What would happen to her once he left?
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment before he said, “You mentioned that you know five or six locations suspected to have Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises, right, Divine Monarch?”
Seeing that Yang Kai was interested in this matter, Cheng Yang immediately raised his brow, “That’s not all. The possibility of these five or six locations is just higher. If I include the areas with a lower probability, then there are more than ten locations. This Monarch might be in Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but my cultivation is useless in this regard. I have no access to them, much less the ability to determine whether a portal exists in these places. However, things would be different if you are involved, Little Brother.”
The portal of his cave mansion had been found easily by Yang Kai, and if Cheng Yang had not revealed himself in time, there were signs that the portal would have forcibly opened. The fact that the portal could even persist for that long was thanks to Cheng Yang’s years of work to reinforce and conceal it. On the other hand, the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises scattered around the Shattered Heaven were completely unoccupied. These places would be even easier to open.
Yang Kai took a small sip of his wine with an expression of indecision.
Cheng Yang struck while the iron was hot, “Rest assured, Little Brother. I won’t let your efforts be in vain. Lady Hong Hu is here too. We can ask her to be our witness.”
Yang Kai looked up at Cheng Yang, “Divine Monarch, do you mean…”
“Every undiscovered Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise contains the assets and property of its former owner. If you help me determine the location and open the portals, Little Brother, this Monarch is willing to share all the proceeds with you in a 30/70 ratio!”
Yang Kai looked at Cheng Yang with a smile, “70 for me and 30 for you, Divine Monarch?”
Cheng Yang responded seriously, “You must be joking, Little Brother. Exploring the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises will require massive amounts of time and energy. They might even contain unpredictable risks. It is only natural that this Monarch will take the largest slice of the pie. Your role is only to open the door after all. You don’t need to worry about everything that comes afterward. You only need to sit back and wait for the rewards.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “30% is too little. If that’s the case, I might as well go home, bring a group of people over, and search on my own. That way, no matter how many discoveries we unearth, they will all belong to me.”
Cheng Yang chuckled, “I will not deny that you are capable, Little Brother; otherwise, I would not have asked you to cooperate with me. But, even if you are proficient in the Dao of Space, how many Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises can you find over the years without any clues? The Shattered Heaven is vast, so even if you spend hundreds or thousands of years searching, you might not find a single one. On the other hand, it will be different if you cooperate with this Monarch. I can point you to several likely locations, which will save you precious time and effort.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Your words make sense, Divine Monarch. Be that as it may, you will need to show me some sincerity if you want to cooperate with me, Divine Monarch. 30/70 is unacceptable.”
Cheng Yang showed a pained expression. After hesitating for a long while, he gulped down a glass of wine and slammed his glass on the table forcefully. He quickly said, “40/60! This Monarch will take 60 and you will take 40! Let’s just say this Monarch is your friend now, Little Brother!”
Yang Kai shook his head again and raised his palm, “50/50! We’ll split the profits evenly!”
Cheng Yang bitterly said, “Little Brother, you are trying to take the lion’s share!”
Yang Kai rapped his knuckles against the table lightly, “That’s my bottom line. If it’s not okay with you, Divine Monarch, we can remain friends, but don’t bother speaking of this matter again. I will be honest with you, Divine Monarch, I do have something urgent to attend to so I need to return home as soon as possible. Lady Hong Hu is here for that reason.”
Cheng Yang glanced at Hong Hu as though trying to determine whether Yang Kai was speaking the truth. It was just that Hong Hu was eating the spirit fruit in her hands with her head lowered, so there was no way to read her expression.
After a brief struggle, he finally spoke again, “50/50 is not impossible, but this Monarch has two conditions that both Little Brother and Lady Hong Hu will need to accept.”
Hong Hu raised her head to look at him and smiled, “The affairs between the two of you have nothing to do with me. Why did I get pulled into this?”
Cheng Yang, however, replied seriously, “This matter requires you to come forward yourself, Lady Hong Hu.”
Curious now, she asked, “Go on.”
Cheng Yang abruptly ripped open his shirt and exposed his chest.
Everybody immediately looked in that direction and Xia Lin Lang gasped in shock while Yang Kai revealed a look of understanding.
Cheng Yang’s chest area was covered in what looked like fish scales. They grew densely on his skin, spreading from his chest all the way down to his waist.
He quickly explained, “After venturing deep into the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land, this Monarch’s body began showing signs of Monster Transformation caused by the erosion of the Ancestral Strength. Although I managed to withdraw in time, I did not come out unscathed. Following years of recuperation, I managed to resolve most of the Ancestral Strength in my body; however, a small portion remains. Like maggots on rotting bones, I am unable to get rid of them. I would like to ask Lady Hong Hu to help me resolve this calamity for me.”
The Ancestral Land’s Ancestral Strength was an extremely bizarre force. It was a force that could even suppress and seal a being as mighty as a Giant Spirit God. Cheng Yang might be in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he suffered greatly for the past few years after being contaminated by the Ancestral Strength.
It would have been nothing if he was a Divine Spirit as the Ancestral Strength would have been highly beneficial and contain no drawbacks for him. Unfortunately, he was pure Human, so the Ancestral Strength was nothing more than poison to him.
Cheng Yang was lucky that he had not been exposed to too much of the Ancestral Strength; otherwise, he would have undergone complete Monster Transformation, losing his conscious mind as a result.
Hong Hu examined him with a frown. A long while passed before she said, “I will need to check your condition thoroughly before I can be certain whether I can help you.”
To which Cheng Yang nodded, “No problem!”
After saying that, his figure flashed as he came to stand in front of her. She raised her hand and lightly touched the scales on his chest. Bits of fluorescent light flashed at the tips of her fingers and wandered across each of those scales. A short while later, she withdrew her hand.
He looked at her nervously.
Hong Hu lightly said, “Thanks to your powerful cultivation, you not only dispelled most of the Ancestral Strength, but also prevented the remaining Ancestral Strength from eroding too deeply into your body over the past few years; otherwise, it would have been useless even if I tried to help you.”
Cheng Yang was elated to hear those words, “Do you mean that you can help me dispel the rest of the Ancestral Strength, Lady Hong Hu?”
She nodded, “Give me three days.”
“Many thanks!” He breathed out deeply, feeling as though a large weight had lifted from his heart. Ever since leaving the Ancestral Land, the past few years had not been pleasant for him.
The Ancestral Strength was extremely peculiar and difficult to dispel. It did not affect his daily life for the most part, but it caused great inconvenience when it came to his cultivation. Every time he tried to exert his power, the Ancestral Strength would show signs of movement. This phenomenon made him extremely nervous. Now that he received Hong Hu’s guarantee, the depressed mood that shrouded over him for so many years lightened considerably.
“The way the Kun Clan handled this affair is wildly inappropriate. I will reprimand them for you when I get back,” she said.
Cheng Yang jumped in fright at her words and hurriedly waved his hands, “No, no. It’s simply caused by my lack of ability.”
Although he was exposed to so much Ancestral Strength because the Kun Clan had forced him to venture into the Demon Sealing Land, he did not dare to voice his dissatisfaction despite the grievances in his heart. He would not have enough lives to survive the ordeal if the Kun Clan came out of the Ancestral Land to cause trouble for him.
Yang Kai spoke up, “The first condition has been fulfilled. What is your second condition, Divine Monarch?”
Cheng Yang chuckled, “The second condition is indefinite and may never be fulfilled.”
“Please speak freely, Divine Monarch.” Yang Kai gestured politely.
“I became acquainted with you thanks to one of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring, so I will be truthful with you, Little Brother. I believe that there might be other Four Universe Pillars contained within the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises hidden in the Shattered Heaven. After all, the Profound Fish appeared in the world 3,000 years ago, only for the World Spring to appear now. These incidents indicate that the Four Universe Pillars might be rare, but they were not extinct in ancient times. My second condition is that… If we find any of the Four Great Universe Pillars or Twelve Minor Universe Pillars during the period of our cooperation, this Monarch will be the one to receive them. For me, most ordinary items are no longer useful. On the other hand, the Four Great Universe Pillars and the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars are extremely useful to me. Of course, if we come across such an opportunity, this Monarch will not take these items for free. You can consider it as part of my share!”
This request was not excessive. Cheng Yang was probably still obsessed over the World Spring, but Yang Kai was closely connected to the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land, so he could not make any moves on him. In that case, he could only settle for the second-best option.
Yang Kai nodded readily, “Good!” After a pause, he added, “But, since you have two conditions, Divine Monarch, I also have a condition of my own. I wonder if you will be able to grant my request, Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang smiled and said, “Since you agreed so readily, Little Brother, this Monarch will not take advantage of your good intentions. Please speak freely if you need something, Little Brother.”
Yang Kai said, “I need one of the Universe Cave Heavens after we finish exploring them. Moreover, I want you to promise me that you will never expose the location of that Universe Cave Heaven to anyone, Divine Monarch.”
Cheng Yang was about to ask what Yang Kai wanted to do with a fully-explored Universe Cave Heaven. It was no secret that these places were valuable when they remained hidden in the Void, but they quickly became of little value once somebody discovered them.
However, he suddenly noticed Xia Lin Lang sitting by the side and immediately understood the situation. He smiled and nodded, “Of course, that’s not a problem. Even if you want two or three of them, you can go ahead and take as many of them as you want, Little Brother. This Monarch will never give this information to anybody else.”
Likewise, Xia Lin Lang caught on to the situation and nodded at Yang Kai gratefully. Yang Kai was obviously asking for the Universe Cave Heaven for her sake.
At the same time, she couldn’t help feeling a little complicated. She was the one who kidnapped and brought him to Pear Flower Cave Heaven back then. It had not been many years since that incident, but now he was talking and laughing on friendly terms with Masters like Cheng Yang. Not to mention, he also had a close relationship with the Phoenix Clan of the Ancestral Land.
The negotiations were settled, and everybody was satisfied. When the banquet ended, Cheng Yang arranged accommodation for everybody and agreed to depart with Yang Kai after three days.
The reason for the delay was that Hong Hu needed three days to help him dispel the Ancestral Strength in his body. Moreover, Yang Kai had repeatedly stated that he had urgent matters to deal with and could not be delayed for too long. That was why they decided to proceed as soon as possible.
It was late at night when a knock on the door sounded. Yang Kai got up and opened the door. Xia Lin Lang was standing outside the door, so he smiled lightly when he saw her and said, “I was just about to look for you myself.”
While speaking, he stepped sideways and let her into the room.
Xia Lin Lang asked curiously, “Did you need me for something?”
“Take a seat.” Yang Kai gestured before he poured a cup of tea for her. Sitting down opposite her, he said, “Why don’t you speak first? Did you need me for something?”
“I came to thank you.” She gave a soft laugh, “I wanted to thank you for worrying about my living situation and even asking Bright Sun Divine Monarch for a Universe Cave Heaven.”
“It’s only proper; after all, I am partly responsible for the destruction of Pear Flower Cave Heaven.”
“But, the root cause lies with me. If I had not captured you back then, what happened afterward would not have taken place at all. It’s my own fault for falling into this situation. It would have been perfectly reasonable for you to ignore my circumstances; therefore, no matter what, I owe you my gratitude!”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “It’s no big deal.”
Xia Lin Lang fell silent for a moment before she looked up at him and asked, “Did you need me for something?”
“Yes. The thing is…” Yang Kai sat up straight and looked at her seriously, “I need you to do me a favour.”
“What do you need?” She was puzzled.
He explained, “You heard my negotiations with Cheng Yang during the day. If I cooperate with him, every Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise we discover will mean large amounts of treasures falling into our hands. There might even be all sorts of rare or extinct items. Greed brings out the worst in people, and although Cheng Yang is an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, I cannot trust him on his word alone. I need somebody I trust to help me supervise the process, lest he engage in mischief without my knowledge. It is not convenient for me to stay in the Shattered Heaven for long, so after considering everything, I came to the conclusion that I can only ask you for help.”
Xia Lin Lang exclaimed in astonishment, “You don’t trust Cheng Yang, but you trust me?”
Yang Kai smiled, “You and I have faced life and death together multiple times. I have faith in you.”
Xia Lin Lang stared at him calmly for a moment before she burst into laughter, “You’ve already said so much, so I can only do my best to help you.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I will not ask you for help without giving you anything in return. My agreement with Cheng Yang is a 50/50 share. You can take 10% out of my share. How is that?”
Xia Lin Lang simply shook her head, “If you didn’t come here in person, I would have suffered a tragic fate. It was also you who brought me out of the shattered space back then. This Xia Lin Lang might not be a righteous woman, but I will never forget how you saved my life twice now. I will help you manage your earnings and hand them over to you untouched when you return to the Shattered Heaven in the future. As for my compensation… You’ve already paid me, haven’t you?”
Needless to say, she was referring to the fully explored Universe Cave Heaven that he previously requested from Cheng Yang. To the cultivators living in the Shattered Heaven, having a safe place to stay was their greatest refuge.
“But… in what capacity do I perform this task?” Xia Lin Lang asked.
Yang Kai briefly pondered before saying, “I am Void Land’s Lord. If you don’t mind, I can appoint you as Void Land’s High-Rank Guest Elder right here and now. What do you think?”
She pursed her lips into a smile, “I don’t mind. I’m just afraid of causing trouble for you.”
“That won’t be a problem.” Yang Kai shook his head. Raising his teacup, he gestured at her, “So, have we come to an agreement?”
“Yes, we have.” Xia Lin Lang raised her glass in a toast, and they drank to their agreement
After seeing Xia Lin Lang off, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, immersed his mind in his Small Universe, and manifested his Soul Clone. He quickly figured out the situation in his Small Universe with a single thought.
Several years had passed since he left the shattered space, and during this period, he had been too busy to pay attention to what was happening inside his Small Universe, though he did try to keep an eye on his two Disciples, Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai.
Over the years, Zhao Ya had advanced to the Transcendent Realm from the Immortal Ascension Realm and was on the verge of advancing into the Saint Realm even though her cultivation was constantly being suppressed. Her aptitude was simply Heaven-defying. Furthermore, the World Energy in his Small Universe World was so rich that her cultivation continued to improve slowly even if she did not cultivate.
What’s more, the flow of time in his Small Universe was twice that of the outside world, so the several years delay that he experienced in the outside world meant that nearly eight years had passed in his Small Universe.
On the other hand, Zhao Ye Bai, whom Yang Kai initially had high hopes for and expected to inherit his legacy one day, seemed like a worthless potato in comparison.
After returning from their training experience, Zhao Ya had advanced to the Immortal Ascension Boundary and after less than a decade was on the verge of breaking through to the Saint Realm. In contrast, Zhao Ye Bai had only just advanced from the Qi Transformation Realm, to the Separation and Reunion Boundary, and was about to reach the True Element Boundary!
Although they had both advanced by nearly two Great Realms, Zhao Ya was doing so in much higher Realms. Moreover, she had accomplished that feat whilst under suppression. Meanwhile, Zhao Ye Bai had spared no effort in his cultivation. The gap between them could be seen at a glance.
Despite Zhao Ye Bai’s slow advancement in cultivation, there was one aspect that satisfied Yang Kai immensely. The young boy had an unparalleled affinity for the Dao of Space. Every time Zhao Ye Bai cultivated, Yang Kai could more or less detect signs of the Space Dao Essence in his Small Universe being stimulated.
Yang Kai had never told them about the situation outside of his Small Universe, but now that they were on the way back to the Star Boundary, it was time to give them more information about the outside world lest they fail to adapt once he brought them back.
When he summoned the both of them, the two little ones were naturally surprised to see their Honoured Master and quickly bowed in greeting.
He briefly told them about the 3,000 Worlds, followed by information on Void Land. Lastly, he told them about the situation in the Star Boundary. He also told them that the Star Boundary was the best place for them to cultivate before they reached the Open Heaven Realm.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai listened with great fascination, looking absolutely entranced by his tales. They never imagined that the world outside could be so vast and interesting.
After spending half a day explaining the situation in the outside world to them, he also answered some of their questions about their daily cultivation. Only then did he prepare to leave.
“Honoured Master!” Zhao Ye Bai suddenly called out to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked back.
“Will my Mother and my Grandma also go to the Star Boundary?” Zhao Ye Bai asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Both your Mother and your Grandma are ordinary mortals who have never cultivated. If they are in my Small Universe, I can ensure that they remain alive and well so long as I do not perish; however, they will not live long once they leave my Small Universe.”
Zhao Ye Bai’s expression turned a little sad. He had guessed that the reason his Mother and his Grandma remained so young and beautiful was related to his Honoured Master. His Grandma was already well over 100 years old, but her body remained healthy and her hair even turned from white to black. Be that as it may, he could not help feeling a little depressed when he heard those words being spoken out loud.
“If you have time on your hands, you should go down the mountain to spend more time with your Mother and your Grandma. If you teach them some Breathing Techniques, they can use them to enhance their health even if they have passed the best age to cultivate. In addition, your Small Universe will change from ethereal to corporeal once your cultivation reaches the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. When you reach that stage one day, you can transfer your Mother and your Grandma into your own Small Universe. Then, you can meet them whenever you want.”
Zhao Ye Bai immediately shouted excitedly, “This Disciple will work hard to cultivate! I will not let you down, Honoured Master!”
Zhao Ya swiftly kicked him, “Honoured Master has already left!”
He scratched his head and chuckled in embarrassment, “I’m sure Honoured Master can hear me. We are inside his Small Universe after all. He knows everything.”
She glanced sideways at him, “Including how there was a Junior Sister who waited for you at the foot of the mountain and handed you a letter recently?”
Zhao Ye Bai turned pale with fright, “You saw that, Xiao Ya!?”
“Hmph!” She clasped her hands behind her back and turned her back towards him.
Three days later, a portal opened wide and a large number of people rushed out from within. Cheng Yang and Yang Kai stood side by side while Hong Hu stood close behind them. Further behind came Xia Lin Lang, Qin Fen, and the others. Bringing up the rear were dozens of Cheng Yang’s subordinates.
Yang Kai glanced behind him, “You sure have a mighty army with the finest of arms under you, Divine Monarch!”
Cheng Yang was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and there were two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters under his command. Furthermore, he had more than ten Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters while there were several dozen Fifth and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters below them. No one was below the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Such a line-up was something that not even the current Void Land could compare to. Of course, these people were nothing if Zhu Jiu Yin and Old Man Bi Xi were included in Void Land’s forces.
Cheng Yang alone had such an impressive army under his command, so it was reasonable to assume the other two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven had equivalent forces.
Just how many Open Heaven Realm Masters were hidden in the Shattered Heaven?
Needless to say, Yang Kai was the one to request for so many people to be mobilised at once. He could not afford to linger in the Shattered Heaven for too long, so he could only ask Cheng Yang to dispatch more people.
After hearing what Yang Kai said, Cheng Yang chuckled, “Everyone knows that the Cave Heavens and Paradises have as many Masters as there are clouds in the sky, but nobody knows that there are many capable people in the Shattered Heaven, too. It’s just that the existence of the people in the Shattered Heaven are secrets that can never be brought to light.”
Yang Kai’s heart trembled, “Do you know the reason why the Cave Heavens and Paradises make things so difficult for High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like yourself?”
Cheng Yang burst into laughter, “Will you believe me if I say that I don’t know much either, Little Brother?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I believe you.”
Cheng Yang nodded, “There are rumours saying that the Cave Heavens and Paradises do this to strengthen their dominance over the 3,000 Worlds. That’s why all the cultivators who advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm but do not originate from the Cave Heavens and Paradises will be invited to join them. They either become part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises or they disappear without a trace. But, this Monarch does not believe that the Cave Heavens and Paradises, which have endured for countless eons and remained so powerful and prosperous, could be so spineless and underhanded.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. Likewise, this was something he had always thought to be strange. The Cave Heavens and Paradises boasted an inheritance that was passed down for countless generations. Not to mention, there were many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in those Sects to begin with. Why would they need to use such despicable means to strengthen their dominance over others?
It might have been a plausible reason if it involved only one or two of the Cave Heavens and Paradises; however, all 108 Cave Heavens and Paradises carried the same attitude. It was only natural for people to wonder about the actual reason.
“This Monarch has always believed that the major Cave Heavens and Paradises are hiding some huge secret. Moreover, this secret is something only the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters have the qualification to know. That is why all the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who do not originate from the Cave Heavens and Paradises tend to suffer a tragic fate. There are no exceptions. Why else would we hide in the Shattered Heaven for so many years? The 3,000 Worlds is vast and magnificent, so why wouldn’t we wish to travel the world and witness the wonderful sights?”
“A secret…” Yang Kai murmured under his breath. Although he could not determine whether Cheng Yang ‘s speculation was true or false, his limited knowledge of the situation indicated that there was some truth to those words.
Cheng Yang turned to the side and smiled, “Little Brother, you are different from this Monarch. Your potential is great. If you can figure out the truth one day, please let me know. It will answer all the questions that have been swirling around in this Monarch’s heart for so many years.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded. Now that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was something in the near future. Despite bearing the title of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Son-in-law, he was not actually from any of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. There was no saying whether he might actually learn the secret mentioned by Cheng Yang when he advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
A sudden thought struck him. The Proprietress had been in retreat for so many years now. It was certain that she would advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm when she came out of retreat, so what kind of difficulties would she face at that time? If the Cave Heavens and Paradises really did come forward, what would happen if he refused their demands?
Several days later, a group of people came to a stop in the void.
Cheng Yang carefully observed his surroundings before he nodded at Yang Kai in confirmation, “If this Monarch is not mistaken, there’s a high probability that a portal is hidden here. When this Monarch passed through this place in the past, the portal showed faint signs of opening only to vanish in the next instant. This Monarch has been searching for a long time, but my efforts have proven to be in vain. That’s why I could only mark down the location for the time being. Over the years, I would come here from time to time to investigate only to come up empty-handed. It’s up to you now, Little Brother.”
Yang Kai nodded and immediately manipulated his Space Principles.
Just like the previous occasion, a layer of ripples that were visible to the naked eye gradually spread out into the surroundings with him at the centre. Everywhere the ripples passed, space would become distorted.
The several dozen subordinates under Cheng Yang’s command watched with interest. The same was true even for Cheng Yang. Although he had vaguely seen some of the scenes when he was hiding in his home previously, that experience was far less profound than this time.
The layer of ripples created by the Space Principles was undoubtedly the best way-finding stones in the Void. If there was a portal hidden in this place, the ripples that swept over the portal were bound to produce a different reaction compared to the other areas.
This scene amazed Cheng Yang greatly. [Space Principles sure are useful in this situation. If only I was proficient in the Dao of Space, I’m certain I could discover all the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises hidden in the Shattered Heaven with enough time.]
It had to be said that these Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises were relics left behind in ancient times, so there was a high possibility that valuable treasures were hidden in them. After all, both the Profound Fish that appeared 3,000 years ago and the World Spring that appeared recently had emerged from Universe Cave Heavens left behind in ancient times. Two of the Four Universe Pillars had already appeared, so who could say whether more would be found?
An incense stick later, Yang Kai abruptly turned to look in a certain direction. There was a slightly different fluctuation in the Void coming from that direction.
Cheng Yang followed Yang Kai’s gaze, but could not detect any anomalies.
Nevertheless, another incense later, with Yang Kai diligently focusing his Space Principles in that direction, the anomaly in the Void was finally revealed. It became obvious that there was a large area that was different from the surrounding space.
“There is one here after all!” Cheng Yang exclaimed in excitement.
Yang Kai replied lightly, “I wonder whether it is a Universe Cave Heaven or a Universe Paradise.”
If it was a Universe Cave Heaven, then it was the legacy left behind by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master or even a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If it was a Universe Paradise, then it was the legacy of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so the value would not be as great as the former. Even so, every single Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise would at least contain the Dao Essence cultivated by the original Master.
Yang Kai had devoured the Spear Dao Essence in Pear Flower Cave Heaven and improved his mastery over the Spear Dao by leaps and bounds. These Dao Essences were undoubtedly a huge treasure for cultivators who cultivated that particular Dao.
Another hour passed by, and a huge gaping hole suddenly appeared in the Void, becoming a black hole with a clear aura of a Small Universe radiating from within.
The portal was open!
Yang Kai and Cheng Yang exchanged a glance with each other before the two of them moved at the same time and plunged into the portal. Hong Hu and Xia Lin Lang followed closely behind. Meanwhile, the rest stood outside waiting.
An hour later, four figures emerged. It was Yang Kai and the others.
“Sir, what is the situation inside?” One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters under Cheng Yang quickly asked about the situation.
Cheng Yang replied, “This is a Universe Paradise. The former Master was probably proficient in the Sword Dao. The Sword Dao Essence is quite abundant.” After saying that, he picked out a few people and instructed, “You will stay behind to explore this Universe Paradise. Any harvests must be organised and recorded. Pocketing anything privately will not be forgiven.”
“Yes!” Those people accepted the orders.
Afterward, he turned to Yang Kai and added, “I will leave the rest to you, Little Brother Yang.”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded and reached out his hand to cover the portal. Under the urging of Space Principles, the obviously abnormal Void gradually repaired itself and became indistinguishable from the surrounding environment after a while. Taking out a token, he injected his Aura and engraved some Space Principles into it, “I’ve used a Secret Technique to conceal the portal so that outsiders will not be aware of it even if they pass by this place. You can explore this place with peace of mind. In order to enter and exit through the portal, you will need this token. Recklessly trespassing into this place will most likely get you exiled to the Void.”
The expressions of the Open Heaven Realm Masters picked out by Cheng Yang immediately became unpleasant. Yang Kai’s actions clearly indicated that he did not trust them; otherwise, why would he create the token?
Even the eyes of Cheng Yang flashed slightly at those words. He never expected Yang Kai to pull out such a card.
Yang Kai ignored them, however, and simply handed the token to Xia Lin Lang before saying, “Gather up some people to stay behind to help with the exploration.”
Xia Lin Lang nodded and glanced at Qin Fen, “Qin Fen, you stay here.”
Qin Fen took the token and quickly said, “Yes!”
Yang Kai turned to the side and looked at Cheng Yang, “The next spot?”
Cheng Yang gave a slight smile, “Please follow me, Little Brother.”
They set off again with great energy while Qin Fen and Cheng Yang’s subordinates stayed behind, watching the group’s departure. It was not until the departing group was out of sight that they finally entered the Universe Paradise under Qin Fen’s lead.
Cheng Yang had been living in the Shattered Heaven for over 10,000 years. He spent most of his time in seclusion, sometimes spending up to several hundred or even 1,000 years in retreat. Even so, when it came to familiarity with the Shattered Heaven, there was nobody better than him except maybe the two other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
After so many years, it was only natural for him to know various bits of information that other people might not know. For example, the locations where the portals of various Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heaven might be hidden.
Under Cheng Yang’s guidance, Yang Kai searched no less than ten locations in the short span of three months. All of these locations were suspected to have hidden Universe Cave Heavens or Universe Paradises.
In the end, they discovered a total of five portals. The other five locations came up empty. Nevertheless, a success rate of 50% was very high. It could be said that Cheng Yang ‘s information was extremely accurate.
No matter how proficient Yang Kai was in the Dao of Space, he would never have found any of these portals within the Shattered Heaven without Cheng Yang’s guidance. During his escape with Xia Lin Lang previously, he had tried looking for a hidden Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise to seek refuge, but his efforts had been fruitless.
Among these five portals, three of them were Universe Paradises while the other two were Universe Cave Heavens. The harvest was bound to be plentiful if all of them could be fully explored and developed.
Yang Kai had nothing to worry about after leaving Xia Lin Lang to supervise the proceedings here. Regardless of the valuable treasures that might be discovered in these five locations, he and Cheng Yang would split the gains equally among them. As for where Xia Lin Lang would eventually decide to choose as her residence, that would be up to her own consideration.
“Little Brother, are you sure you don’t want to stay in the Shattered Heaven for a few more days?” After seeing what Yang Kai could do, Cheng Yang was reluctant to let him leave so easily, “I will be honest with you, Little Brother. I’m certain that Ku Yan and Tian Luo also know where some likely portals are located. If you can stay for a little while, this Monarch can ask them about these locations.”
The names ‘Ku Yan’ and ‘Tian Luo’ that he mentioned were the names of the other two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven. There was a total of three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven, and while they could not claim to be close friends, there was bound to be some communication between them.
Yang Kai smiled, “There’s no need to be so anxious, Divine Monarch. I will probably visit the Shattered Heaven again in the future. If you wish, you might as well make some inquiries first. It won’t be too late for us to cooperate again when I return next time!”
Cheng Yang raised his eyebrows, “That’s a promise then!”
Yang Kai nodded and turned to look at Xia Lin Lang, “If anything comes up, send Qin Fen to Void Land to find me!”
Xia Lin Lang nodded, “I will. Take care!”
Only then did Yang Kai turn to Cheng Yang and cupped his fist, “Until we meet again!”
“Come back soon, Little Brother. This Monarch will be waiting to hear from you!”
Yang Kai shot a glance at Hong Hu, and the two of them rushed into the depths of the void together.
After watching the two figures disappearing into the distance, Cheng Yang finally smiled and said, “Young Lady Xia, have you decided which Universe Cave Heaven you want yet?”
Xia Lin Lang replied, “Not yet. I wish to have a better look at them first.”
“As it should be. You have to shop around before buying something, even more so when it comes to choosing a place to stay. Take your time to compare between them. You only need to inform this Monarch once you have decided. Since Little Brother Yang and I have an agreement, I will not go back on my word. You should also rest assured. I will definitely keep my men tight-lipped about the location you choose as your residence. I will never reveal a word to the outside world.”
Xia Lin Lang gave an elegant bow, “Many thanks for your kindness, Divine Monarch!”
…..
Two figures transformed into streams of light that sped through the void as swiftly as the wind.
A month later, Yang Kai and Hong Hu finally came out of the Shattered Heaven. It was not until this moment that Hong Hu, who only recently left the Ancestral Land after living there for her entire life, could be regarded as having seen the splendour of the 3,000 Worlds.
Unlike the desolation found everywhere in the Shattered Heaven, each Great Territory that they passed through was filled with countless twinkling Stars and flickering lights. Moreover, the vitality nurtured by the many Universe Worlds and Spirit Provinces could clearly be felt.
Returning to Void Land from the Shattered Heaven was a long journey that took an extensive amount of time. That was because it was Hong Hu’s first time leaving the Ancestral Land, so she had never left her Imprint in any of the Universe Temples located throughout the Great Territories before.
They had no choice but to travel through each Great Territory with their strength alone. As a result, the time spent on their journey was undoubtedly longer than Yang Kai’s initial trip.
Yang Kai did not return directly to Void Land either. Instead, he first took a trip to Great Evolution Territory. He had not forgotten about the palace artifact he previously commissioned Grandmaster Ma Fan to refine.
So many years had passed since then, so the palace artifact should have been refined by now. Ever since witnessing the wonders of Heavenly Sword Union’s Heavenly Sword Palace, he had been green with envy towards those with palace artifacts.
Although the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace could be said to be a palace artifact, and a supremely high-end one at that, it was related to the Dragon Clan’s cultivation and inheritance, so it was not something he could wield carelessly. That was why he left the Crystal Palace in Four Phoenix Pavilion before he departed from the Ancestral Land.
Inside Great Evolution Territory, Yang Kai found the portal of Great Evolution Paradise with ease. Cupping his fist, he shouted in a loud voice, “Grandmaster, this Junior is here per our agreement. Please open the way.”
Following that, the portal opened. Yang Kai and Hong Hu slipped inside and a figure came to greet them. It was a young and beautiful girl.
“Junior Sister Cen!” Yang Kai nodded. He recognised that person as one of the remnants of Great Evolution Paradise known as Cen Cen, who was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
During his last visit here, he had gotten to know several Open Heaven Realm Masters of Great Evolution Paradise, and Cen Cen was one of them. There was also another person called Nalan Lu Shui, who was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. At the moment, Nalan Lu Shui was nowhere to be seen. There was no saying where she had gone.
“Senior Brother Yang!” Cen Cen returned the greeting and shot a curious glance at Hong Hu, who was standing behind Yang Kai.
“Is the Grandmaster here?” Yang Kai asked.
She nodded, “He’s here. Old Ancestor has been waiting for you. What you asked for has been completed, but…”
“But what?” A feeling of panic gripped Yang Kai’s heart as he secretly wondered whether something had gone wrong with his palace artifact.
She whispered, “Old Ancestor has been in a terrible mood recently.”
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter as he asked, “Why?”
“A bunch of hateful people arrived.” Cen Cen pouted, “You’ll see for yourself once you’ve met Old Ancestor.”
While speaking, she took the lead and showed them the way.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised. Not many people knew about the remnants of Great Evolution Paradise. He only knew about them from the Proprietress, so who would come here? Not to mention, with Grandmaster Ma Fan’s cultivation and status, who could put him in a terrible mood?
The pair followed behind Cen Cen and soon arrived at Grandmaster Ma Fan’s personal meditation area. Before they even got close though, Hong Hu whispered in Yang Kai’s ear, “Be careful, there are quite a few powerful little ones inside the room.”
Yang Kai raised his brow at those words. Hong Hu was on par with a top Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength; therefore, people that she would consider powerful would not be just any stray cat or dog by the side of the road. They were definitely in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm or above. What’s more, High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could only be from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Cen Cen stopped in front of them and turned around to speak, “Old Ancestor is inside. Please enter on your own, Senior Brother.”
“Many thanks, Junior Sister Cen.”
She then darted her eyes back around a bit before saying, “If you really want to thank me, then please speak to Old Ancestor on my behalf. Bring me along when you return to the Star Boundary. It has been so long since I last met Senior Sister Lan. I miss her greatly.”
“I’ll do my best.” Yang Kai smiled.
Cen Cen pumped her fists and cheered for him, “I’m counting on you!”
After Cen Cen departed, Yang Kai finally took a step forward with Hong Hu. Many eyes instantly turned to look at him as soon as he entered the hall. Yang Kai looked up and couldn’t help revealing a look of surprise. Staring at one of the old men, he laughed, “Elder Yu?”
The old man was Yu Chang Dao of Free and Unfettered Paradise. He was also High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder on paper. Having taken a fancy to a baby with the Innate Dao Body back in the Star Boundary, Yu Chang Dao had wanted to take the child on as his Legacy Disciple.
However, the baby’s Mother had insisted that her deceased husband’s dying wish was for the child to join High Heaven Palace. No matter how he tried to persuade her, she had refused to change her mind.
In the end, Yang Kai came up with a brilliant solution to the problem. He invited Yu Chang Dao into High Heaven Palace to become the Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. In this way, the child would remain as a High Heaven Palace disciple even though his Master was Yu Chang Dao. Not only would Yu Chang Dao get his wish, but High Heaven Palace would also receive an additional Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder!
It could be said to be a win-win solution where everybody was happy!
After Yang Kai left the Star Boundary, the first thing he did was to study and repair several broken Universe Temples scattered across the 3,000 Worlds. Next, he went to the Black Prison to transport Ore Stars from its depths to its periphery. Then, he cultivated inside the Astral Wind Divine Ability in the Shattered Heaven. When he obtained the World Spring, he was pursued relentlessly and entered the Ancestral Land as a result. Inside the Ancestral Land, he unlocked the Demon Sealing Land and improved his Dragon Vein to become a Grand Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, several decades had passed!
Yang Kai never imagined that he would run into Yu Chang Dao here, and it was not just him either. The other people in the room were also very familiar to him. They were the foreign affairs envoys from the major Cave Heavens and Paradises who should be watching over the Star Boundary.
Leaving aside Yu Chang Dao of Free and Unfettered Paradise, there was also Hong Xiang Ling of Azure Void Cave Heaven, Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven, and Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise. Hong Xiang Ling had persistently tried to matchmake Yang Kai in the past, so Yang Kai had a deep impression of the old man as a result.
There were a total of four Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and each of them was more or less the representatives of their respective Cave Heavens and Paradises. These four people were no strangers to Yang Kai either as they had all gone to the Star Boundary and met him before.
On the other hand, Grandmaster Ma Fan was nowhere to be seen.
“Sect Master!” Yu Chang Dao stood up. Although his cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, he still held the title of High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. He could also be regarded as part of High Heaven Palace, so it was only natural for him to be a bit polite towards Yang Kai.
Hong Xiang Ling laughed heartily, “Yang Boy!”
“Senior Hong!” Yang Kai cupped his fist and asked curiously, “Why are you here?”
Hong Xiang Ling chuckled, “Why can’t we be here? What about you, kid? Why did you come here?”
Yang Kai replied, “I previously commissioned the Grandmaster to refine an artifact for me, so I am here to collect it as promised!”
Hong Xiang Ling nodded and exclaimed, “The World Tree sure is amazing! I can’t believe it actually made the Iron Rooster move! I was wondering why he brought a group of his disciples to the Star Boundary several dozen years ago. It turns out that you had already made a deal!”
“Who are you calling an Iron Rooster?” A dissatisfied voice rang out as Grandmaster Ma Fan walked out of the room in the back and glared at Hong Xiang Ling.
Hong Xiang Ling slapped his mouth lightly and shamelessly responded, “I was talking about myself!”
“Hmph!” Grandmaster Ma Fan coldly snorted. Only then did he turn to look in Yang Kai’s direction. It was just that he did not look at Yang Kai, but rather at Hong Hu who was standing behind him, asking in a solemn tone, “This is…”
Yu Chang Dao, Hong Xiang Ling, and the others had also been curious about Hong Hu’s identity. Despite being in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they couldn’t help feeling a slight pressure from the woman in front of them even though the other party was not even exerting the slightest bit of strength.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural that they were concerned about her identity. It was just that Yang Kai did not take the initiative to introduce her, so they could not ask. Although they could not ask, Grandmaster Ma Fan was forced to. He was the Master of this place after all. Besides, he would not have revealed himself if he had not detected this woman’s unique aura.
Yang Kai quickly introduced Hong Hu, “This is Senior Hong Hu.”
Afterward, he introduced everybody else to Hong Hu, one by one.
Hong Hu smiled and nodded.
Yu Chang Dao raised a greying brow at those words, “I’ve heard that there are five Phoenixes. Red Phoenix, Azure Qing Luan, Yellow Yuan Chu, Purple Yue Zhuo, and White Hong Hu. Your aura seems… a little different.”
He only had this association after seeing that she was dressed in white.
She smiled and said, “I am the White Hong Hu you’re thinking of.”
Everybody turned pale without exception.
Yu Chang Dao said solemnly, “Forgive us for our disrespect!”
Meanwhile, Hong Xiang Ling asked seriously, “Why did the Phoenix Clan return?”
Hong Hu looked at him in confusion, “What?”
He frowned, “Didn’t you return from that place?”
“What place?” She queried, “I came from the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven.”
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the hall exchanged glances before Hong Xiang Ling quickly said, “I must have made a mistake. Please forgive me.”
Hong Hu gave Hong Xiang Ling a strange look and seemed pensive; likewise, Yang Kai looked confused.
When Hong Hu revealed her identity earlier, they had such a look of despair on their faces that one would have thought that the sky was falling. When Hong Hu explained that she was from the Ancestral Land in the Shattered Heaven though, they became extremely relieved instead.
[Where is this place that Hong Xiang Ling mentioned? What does it have to do with the Phoenix Clan?] Just as Yang Kai was pondering these questions, Grandmaster Ma Fan stretched out his hand and tossed out something. An object came flying towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai instinctively caught the object, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a miniature palace countless times smaller than normal. His eyes immediately lit up at the sight and he exclaimed in delight, “Grandmaster, is this…”
“Purple Heaven Palace!” Grandmaster Ma Fan replied casually, “It can be said that it lives up to its name. Refining this item cost an arm and a leg; however, these materials were provided by High Heaven Palace and Void Land. As for the details of how many resources were used, you only need to ask your Head Manager for the details. I also integrated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder that you left with me back then. You can slowly explore the specific effects after you finish refining it.”
Yang Kai played with the palace lovingly and said, “Many thanks, Grandmaster.”
The Crystal Palace could not be used carelessly, so it could be said that the Purple Heaven Palace was his first palace artifact. As for how much this palace artifact had cost, Yang Kai currently owned a First Class Star City and a large stake in a Super Star City. He also occupied the New Great Territory and the Black Territory, so how could he be troubled by something like cost? What’s more, Cheng Yang and Xia Lin Lang were currently exploring the five Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. Once these places had been fully explored, Yang Kai would gain yet another source of income.
The Void Land of today was no longer the same Void Land that used to worry about resources. There was an abundance in the storage and distribution of cultivation materials.
“Your skills are amazing indeed, Grandmaster,” Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven praised.
As one of the 36 Cave Heavens, it was a given that Clear Mind Cave Heaven had its own skilled artisans. It was not difficult for them to refine a palace artifact, but doing so as skillfully as Grandmaster Ma Fan was not easy. The palace artifact he refined was so small and exquisite that it could be held in one hand. That was the gap in their skills. Moreover, it was a gap that was absolutely impossible to overcome.
Yang Kai was happily playing with the palace artifact that Grandmaster Ma Fan had named the Purple Heaven Palace when he heard Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice ringing throughout the room, “Allow me to be honest with you all. I am now High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. I cannot make the final decision regarding your request. You should discuss it with the Sect Master instead.”
Yang Kai’s delighted expression turned to surprise as he instinctively felt as though he had been tricked. It was an ominous feeling indeed.
As an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, Ma Fan naturally had superb skills. There were only a handful of people throughout the vast 3,000 Worlds whose Artifact Refining skills could compare with his.
When others refined a palace artifact, it was almost a certainty that several dozens or even hundreds of Artifact Refiners would need to work together to complete the project. Even if their skills were superior, it would still be a collaboration between a dozen people at the least.
In contrast, Grandmaster Ma Fan had refined the Purple Heaven Palace all by himself from start to finish!
The number of people across the 3,000 Worlds who could achieve such a feat could be counted on one hand; therefore, an Artifact Refiner with such superb skills like him was a rare and precious talent for any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises. Forget Yang Kai’s yearning to recruit him, even the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises coveted him!
It was not that nobody had tried to recruit him; in fact, almost every Cave Heaven and Paradise had sent representatives to recruit him over the past many years. Even though they offered generous and bountiful rewards, Ma Fan rejected every single offer without exception. In his opinion, Great Evolution Paradise was his root. He was born as part of Great Evolution Paradise, and he would die as part of Great Evolution Paradise!
Yang Kai had the same idea at the beginning, so he tried to recruit Grandmaster Ma Fan as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder of High Heaven Palace. After gaining insight into the current situation of Great Evolution Paradise, he even used the existence of the World Tree as bait to lure Grandmaster Ma Fan into working for him.
It was just that Grandmaster Ma Fan never accepted the offer to serve as a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, though he did agree to refine the palace artifact for Yang Kai. In this matter, Yang Kai had never pressured him into making a decision either.
Who could have known that Grandmaster Ma Fan would make such a shocking statement when Yang Kai was completely clueless about the current situation?
For that reason, Yang Kai’s first reaction was not joy, as he felt that something extremely troublesome had fallen into his hands. He was still reeling from the shock when Yu Chang Dao looked at him with bright eyes, “You’re part of the family, Grandmaster? That’s great! Sect Master, we need to take good care of our family!”
Meanwhile, Hong Xiang Ling went one step further. He stood up and walked over to Yang Kai, “Yang Boy, I have a Disciple in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Not only is she as beautiful as a flower, but she also has a gentle temperament. It’s just that she has yet to meet a suitable life companion. More importantly, she has never been exposed to love and romance. She has always been obsessed with cultivation, so much so that she is showing signs of cultivation dissonance. I believe she needs a young and handsome man like you to save her…”
Before Hong Xiang Ling could finish speaking, Duan Rui Shan slapped his palm on Hong Xiang Ling’s face and pushed the latter aside, “Sect Master Yang, feel free to mention any conditions you want. I will not refuse as long as your demands are within Clear Mind Cave Heaven’s abilities to fulfil!”
Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise also chimed in, “Does High Heaven Palace need another Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder? This Lu has always felt a sense of kinship with High Heaven Palace. It’s a pity that you’ve been away for such a long time, Sect Master Yang. I could not join even though I wanted to join High Heaven Palace so badly.”
All four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters stared at Yang Kai with burning gazes, like starving ghosts faced with a table full of delicacies. They practically scrambled over each other to speak in their excitement.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling dumbfounded as he hesitantly asked, “W-What are you talking about?”
Seeing Yang Kai’s confused expression, which did not seem fake, the four High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help looking at each other.
Hong Xiang Ling was the one who eventually asked, “Kid, you still don’t know?”
“What should I know?” Yang Kai countered, “I just returned from the Shattered Heaven and only came here to retrieve my artifact from Grandmaster Ma Fan.”
Lu Zhen Yang frowned and turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, “Grandmaster, can Sect Master Yang really call the shots on this matter? He doesn’t seem to know anything.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan just sat there and watched them with a smile. Reaching out his hand, he took out a wine bottle and took a sip before he nodded, “Of course, he can! Well, even if he couldn’t before, now that I’ve said so, he has the authority to make the decision!”
The four Masters’ gazes became scorching hot once more.
Yang Kai’s expression turned bitter, “Grandmaster, just what is this situation? The least you could have done was to inform me about it beforehand.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan pondered in silence for a moment before he stood up, “Follow me!”
After saying that, he strode outside.
Yang Kai put the Purple Heaven Palace away and hurriedly followed. Hong Hu wanted to come along, but he waved her away and asked her to stay behind. Following Grandmaster Ma Fan out of the Grand Hall, he walked deeper into the void.
Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice came from the front, “Great Evolution Paradise has two Core Treasures. One of them is a replica of the Universe Furnace. The genuine Universe Furnace is practically impossible to find; moreover, it contains the Universe Essence and produces Innate Open Heaven Pills. Consuming Innate Open Heaven Pills will allow any Open Heaven Realm Master to break through their shackles and reach the next Order, without any limitations or drawbacks. The Open Heaven Pills that are commonly used in the world today were created by the ancient Great Experts who extensively studied the Universe Furnace’s Open Heaven Pills and consequently developed a pill recipe based on their research. The genuine Universe Furnace shakes the very foundation of the 3,000 Worlds every time it appears in the world, but nobody is capable of possessing it. The Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise were fortunate enough to see the Universe Furnace in person and threw themselves into long years of research. As a result, they spent countless years and resources to create a replica of the Universe Furnace. Although it is not nearly as profound as the real Universe Furnace, it is quite extraordinary in and of itself. This Old Master performs Artifact Refining with its help. You’ve seen that for yourself.”
Yang Kai nodded. When he first came here with the Proprietress to commission Grandmaster Ma Fan for an artifact, he had seen the latter activating the power of the Sun’s True Fire to refine an artifact using the replica of the Universe Furnace.
“The second treasure is known as the Good Fortune Divine Furnace!” Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice became solemn.
“Good Fortune Divine Furnace?” Yang Kai raised his brow at those words.
“This one is not a replica or imitation, but a naturally formed treasurer!” There was a sense of pride in Grandmaster Ma Fan’s voice, “According to the records written by my Ancestors, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace suddenly appeared in Great Evolution Paradise one day. It can be considered a gift from the Heavens. The World’s blessings are infinitely mysterious after all.”
Yang Kai asked curiously, “What makes the Good Fortune Divine Furnace so special?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan replied, “You’ll know when you see it for yourself.”
Yang Kai did not ask any more questions.
A short while later, they arrived in the depths of the void. There was a barrier shrouding over this area and Yang Kai could sense an extremely hostile aura before he even approached, naturally terrifying him.
It had to be said that even though he was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he could rival a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength when he transformed into his Grand Dragon Form; therefore, for him to have such a reaction only went to show the ferocity of the barrier.
“This place was originally Great Evolution Paradise’s highest level Restricted Area. Non-members of Great Evolution Paradise would never be allowed to enter. However, with the passage of time, Great Evolution Paradise has become desolate, so there is no reason to hold on to such rules anymore.” Grandmaster Ma Fan explained while taking out a crude and simple token. Forming a seal with his hands, a mysterious light penetrated the token before shooting out and transforming into a tunnel of light.
Grandmaster Ma Fan took the lead to enter the passage, and Yang Kai followed closely behind. The two of them walked along the tunnel that seemed tens of thousands of kilometres long, and at the end of the passage, a three-legged furnace that was as tall as a person and carved with intricate patterns that covered the entire surface entered Yang Kai’s vision.
“Is this the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?” Yang Kai observed the furnace curiously.
At first glance, there was nothing particularly strange or special about the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. The only thing that caught Yang Kai’s attention was the grey fog that permeated the interior of the furnace. It was extremely strange and when his Divine Sense penetrated the grey fog, it was like a rock sinking deep into the sea. The grey fog filled the entire Good Fortune Divine Furnace; moreover, it crept about slowly like a living thing.
Yang Kai frowned slightly and asked, “Is it alive?”
For a moment, he could swear that he detected a peculiar vitality from the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Grandmaster Ma Fan shook his head, “It is neither alive nor dead. Even the Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise could not determine whether the Good Fortune Divine Furnace was considered a living thing or not. They couldn’t even figure out why it appeared here in the first place. There were no signs before its sudden appearance, and nobody could move the furnace after it appeared here.”
“What a strange thing!” Yang Kai observed for a while before he asked, “What is so special about the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan said, “I’ll show you.”
While speaking, he made a sweeping motion with his hand and a large number of materials that exuded rich Wood Element Power were thrown into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Yang Kai could clearly tell that the Wood Element materials were of rather good quality.
All of them were Fifth-Order materials; furthermore, there were also quite a lot of them, as many as ten. After the many Fifth-Order Wood Element materials were thrown into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the grey fog wriggled and swallowed them whole. In the next moment, they vanished out of sight.
Grandmaster Ma Fan waited quietly for a while before he took out another Fifth-Order Wood Element material and threw it into the grey fog.
There was still no movement, so he tossed in another!
After repeating his actions four more times, the grey fog suddenly began writhing violently. Even the colour of the fog changed. The grey and dirty-looking fog suddenly became crimson red. In the next moment, the red fog shrunk abruptly before expanding violently again, and an object came flying out of the fog.
Grandmaster Ma Fan was clearly prepared for this situation, he reached out his hand and caught the object lightly before glancing it over and nodding, “Seems like my luck isn’t too bad today.”
Then, he casually tossed the object to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught the object and carefully examined it, his eyes contracting slightly at the sight, “A Sixth-Order material?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan affirmed, “This is what makes the Good Fortune Divine Furnace special.”
Yang Kai stared at Grandmaster Ma Fan in dumbfounded mazement, “How is that possible?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan replied, “If you’re asking me how this works, then I don’t know either. Even the Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise could not figure it out. The World is full of mysteries and there are many things that cannot be understood just because your cultivation is powerful. Hence, the reason why the Good Fortune Divine Furnace is called the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.”
Yang Kai felt his breath becoming short and ragged. What he was holding in his hand was a genuine Sixth-Order Wood Element material. He turned to look to the side only to see that the crimson red fog had gone back to a dull grey colour after spitting out this Sixth-Order material and his throat suddenly went dry!
“Grandmaster, does the Good Fortune Divine Furnace produce materials with higher Orders after consuming enough from the Order below?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
“Did Elder Yu and the others come here because of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan laughed, “Of course. What else is there in Great Evolution Paradise that is worth a trip here in person? After all, they don’t expect to recruit this old man.”
Yang Kai swallowed nervously, “With this divine object in hand, wouldn’t I be able to monopolise all the resources in the world?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Grandmaster Ma Fan doused Yang Kai’s excitement with those words, “The Good Fortune Divine Furnace might be able to produce a higher Order material in exchange for ones from a lower Order, but if you calculate in strict terms, the results are basically always a huge loss. Think about it; how many materials did I use just now?”
“Fourteen!” Yang Kai had watched carefully.
Grandmaster Ma Fan had thrown ten World Element materials into the furnace at the beginning. Afterward, he added four more before he finally obtained a Sixth-Order material. In terms of value, one Sixth-Order material was equivalent to ten Fifth-Orders materials; therefore, it was equivalent to losing four Fifth-Orders materials.
“It’s not that simple though. The losses you sustained this time were Wood Element materials, but what about Yin and Yang Element materials? Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials are worth more than ten times the value of Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials. Not to mention, Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials are easier to obtain while those of the Sixth-Order are extremely rare!”
Yin and Yang Element materials in the Sixth-Order and above were extremely valuable and often could not be bought regardless of the price offered.
Grandmaster Ma Fan just smiled meaningfully and asked, “Can you guarantee that every fourteen units of the same type of material will be exchanged for one of a higher Order? As I said just now; my luck today is relatively good. If your luck is bad, you might not get one in return even if you used dozens or even hundreds of materials. Luck is the most difficult element to predict out of everything.”
Yang Kai clenched the Sixth-Order Wood Element material in his hand and quickly said, “But, if I had to choose, I would rather consume several dozen Fifth-Order Yin or Yang Element materials in exchange for a single Sixth-Order counterpart.”
Fifth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials might be difficult to find, but they were much easier compared to those of the Sixth-Order. It had to be said that Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials were categorised as strategic reserves that could not be used easily, even among the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Back when Void Land was being besieged by Heavenly Sword Union and Zuo Quan Hui, the Great Emperors had required countless materials to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. If Yang Kai had not gone to the Black Prison, robbed Luan Bai Feng, and mined an Ore Star from the Black Territory’s depths, he would not have been able to get his hands on the necessary materials. The Great Emperors might still be stuck at the Emperor Realm even now if that had been the case.
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded, “That’s why they are here! The World Tree is infinitely mysterious. Even though the World Tree of the Star Boundary is just a clone, the feedback from it is so powerful that one can barely believe it. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have taken in quite a number of disciples from the Star Boundary and even dispatched many of their own disciples to be raised there. Over the past few years, many excellent and talented individuals with extraordinary aptitude have appeared in the Star Boundary. It can even be said that there have been more geniuses emerging from the Star Boundary in the past few decades than in the entire 3,000 Worlds over the past few thousand years. Not much time has passed, so these little ones have not fully grown and developed; even so, it is enough to see that there are many among them who are eligible to advance directly into the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Some of them might even be able to advance directly into the Seventh Order!”
The Star Boundary was Yang Kai’s homeland, so he couldn’t help feeling proud after listening to Grandmaster Ma Fan’s words. It was foreseeable that the Star Boundary would surely present a grand and prosperous scene in just a few hundred years!
Grandmaster Ma Fan thus sighed, “We’re talking about advancing directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm! Since the establishment of the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises, how many people have been able to advance directly into the Seventh Order? Not only does it require extraordinary aptitude but also incredible luck and fortune! In any case, one will require Seventh-Order materials in order to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The materials for the Five Elements will not pose too much of a problem for now as it is given that the Cave Heavens and Paradises will have some reserves, so they will not lack them. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters need these same materials for cultivation, as well, but even if they have some Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials in their reserves, there certainly won’t be enough. It is only natural that they will have to plan ahead.”
Yang Kai immediately understood the situation, “Is that why they want to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace? They want to create enough Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials to prevent their reserves from being stretched too thin when the time comes.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
Yang Kai exhaled a long breath. Putting himself in their shoes, he would have made the same choice if he was someone from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
“In that case, you could have negotiated with them yourself, Grandmaster. Why are you pushing such a highly beneficial deal on me?” Yang Kai was puzzled.
If they wanted to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, then they would surely need to pay a price. This was a good thing for Great Evolution Paradise. They could make a lot of money just by imposing any random condition. It was a highly beneficial deal that all but fell from the sky into their lap. There was no reason to pass up something like that to somebody else.
Be that as it may, Grandmaster Ma Fan had done just that. He even went so far as to proclaim himself as High Heaven Palace’s High-Rank Guest Elder. In doing so, he placed the full authority over the Good Fortune Divine Furnace in Yang Kai’s hands.
Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “You may only see four people here today, but those four aren’t just representing their four Cave Heavens and Paradises. They are also representing all the other Cave Heavens and Paradises. They are here to test the waters. Great Evolution Paradise has long gone into decline. At present, this old man is the only one supporting this Sect. Do you think Great Evolution Paradise has the qualifications to negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises? At the most, we can ask for some resources as compensation, but Great Evolution Paradise does not lack resources. This old man only needs to offer up a few Artifact Refining chances to earn more than enough resources for all of us.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly, “Grandmaster, are you saying that they will choose to use force instead if you refuse their request?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan affirmed lightly, “That’s the most likely outcome!”
Yang Kai was secretly surprised. According to Grandmaster Ma Fan, the Cave Heavens and Paradises were scrambling to prepare Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials in advance. The more they could procure, the better it would be for them. That was why they needed to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Even though they had always known about the existence of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, they had never bothered to set their sights on it, mainly because the uncertainty when using this strange innate treasure was too high. They might invest tens or even hundreds of materials only to come up empty-handed. Which Sect could possibly afford such losses?
In any case, each Sect was bound to have some reserves of Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials. The numbers might be small, but they were enough. It was just that the situation was different now. The current supply could no longer meet the demand, so they had to come up with different solutions.
Although they might suffer heavy losses from using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, all their losses would be worth it if they succeeded in producing a disciple who advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. After all, if one were to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, then their future limit would be the Ninth-Order!
Leaving aside the Seventh-Order materials for now, even the supply of Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials was insufficient for the near future. The Cave Heavens and Paradises would surely have a much greater demand for such materials in short order.
“At present, Void Land is the only Sect in the entire 3,000 Worlds that has the qualifications to negotiate with all the Cave Heavens and Paradises,” Grandmaster Ma Fan turned to look at Yang Kai.
The World Tree was the best example.
The Star Boundary was Yang Kai’s homeland, and the World Tree was growing in the Star Boundary. Regardless of his cultivation, he had more than enough right to speak on the matter. His status as a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary was enough for him to speak on equal terms with the Cave Heavens and Paradises at least in this situation.
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed, “What are your conditions, Grandmaster?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan laughed, “It’s easy to talk to smart people.”
Great Evolution Paradise was in a steady decline, so how could they negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on equal footing? Under such circumstances, there was nothing they could do to stop the Cave Heavens and Paradises from simply taking control of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
As a last resort, Grandmaster Ma Fan could only dump the risks on Yang Kai instead. Nevertheless, his actions would result in Yang Kai taking quite a large share of the profits from Great Evolution Paradise. It was only natural that he would refuse to take part in such a loss-making business.
“Regardless of the conditions you eventually agree upon with the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Great Evolution Paradise will receive half of the proceeds!” Grandmaster Ma Fan declared bluntly.
Even if it was only half the amount, it would still be far more than the amount Great Evolution Paradise would receive if they tried to negotiate on their own.
Yang Kai nodded without hesitation, “Fine!”
This deal was the equivalent of pie falling into his outstretched hand for nothing. There was no reason for him to be dissatisfied with receiving half of the benefits when he didn’t need to do anything to obtain them in the first place.
“Also, Great Evolution Paradise’s Dao Temple in the Star Boundary will need to be doubled in size. This old man wishes to send more disciples to cultivate at the Star Boundary!”
“That’s not a problem either.”
“That’s enough,” Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.
“Is that all?” Yang Kai was extremely astonished.
“What else should I ask for?” Grandmaster Ma Fan looked at Yang Kai flatly.
Yang Kai burst into laughter, “You’re truly an unselfish man, Grandmaster.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “It won’t seem sincere if I tried to take the lion’s share. Well, in any case, this old man is planning to come out of retirement.”
“Come out of retirement?” Yang Kai was curious.
“The little ones will surely experience rapid growth after being sent to the Star Boundary. They will need many resources for their cultivation once they advance into the Open Heaven Realm in the future. Great Evolution Paradise is not wealthy, so this old man will need to find a way to make more money. Seeing as this old man has no other skills, I can only perform Artifact Refining for others.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up when he heard those words, “Are you planning to help others perform Artifact Refining to earn resources, Grandmaster?”
“Do you have an idea?”
“Yes, I do! I have a great idea!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “If you don’t mind, Grandmaster, I can hire you as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner. For every artifact that you refine, I will pay you a certain amount according to the value of the artifact. What do you think?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan fell silent. It was obvious that he did not wish to be restrained in such a manner.
Yang Kai continued, “In addition, I can also send some disciples over to help you, Grandmaster. Whenever you are in a good mood, you can teach them something. If you are in a terrible mood, you can feel free to beat and scold them. Of course, the disciples will remain respectful and filial to you.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan glanced sideways at Yang Kai with an expression that seemed to say, “Brat, you are untrustworthy after all.”
Yang Kai struck while the iron was hot, “Grandmaster, you’ve already proclaimed to be High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder in front of Elder Yu and the others. Would it make a difference if you receive an additional title as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner?”
After hesitating for a long while, Grandmaster Ma Fan finally let out a long sigh, “I never imagined that this old man would have such a day!”
He had no choice but to rip his heart out for the sake of his disciples.
“In that case, do we have a deal, Grandmaster?” Yang Kai was ecstatic.
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded sullenly.
Yang Kai burst into hearty laughter, “Don’t worry, Grandmaster. The disciples I send to work under you will not add to your worries.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan snorted, “They won’t be able to learn anything from me without the necessary talent and skill.”
Yang Kai turned to look back at the Good Fortune Divine Furnace again, his gaze burning hot.
Grandmaster Ma Fan added, “What I showed you just now was the situation after putting in various materials of the same Element. As long as the amount is sufficient, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace will return a material of a higher Order; however, there’s another method as well.”
Yang Kai asked, “What method?”
Grandmaster Ma Fan said, “Take out a set of materials of the same Order and throw them in. You will know after you give it a try.”
Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai took out a complete set of Fifth-Order materials harvested from the Gourd Vine from his Space Ring. If there was any resource that Void Land did not lack, it was undoubtedly Fifth-Order materials. Ever since obtaining the Gourd Vine, Void Land could harvest a complete set of Fifth-Order Yin, Yang and Five Elements materials every month from it.
Yang Kai brought a lot of materials along with him when he first departed the Star Boundary. Now that several dozen years had passed, he was certain that Void Land had accumulated even more such materials by now.
After throwing the complete set of seven into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the grey fog wriggled like a living creature and greedily swallowed them up in the blink of an eye. A short while later, the grey fog suddenly turned crimson red and an object was spat out from the depths of the furnace.
Yang Kai caught the object, took a look, and exclaimed with raised eyebrows, “A Sixth-Order Water Element!”
Grandmaster Ma Fan explained, “Compared to only investing materials of the same Element, the chances of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace giving back a material of a higher Order increases up to 70 or 80% if you invest a complete set of materials in one go. It can almost be said that the chances of failure are minimal. However, this method has a drawback in that it is impossible to determine the Element of the material you will receive back from the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. You received a Water Element material this time, but it might be a Fire Element or Yin Element instead next time!”
Yang Kai sighed, “It really is amazing!”
There were two methods, both with their respective pros and cons. The first method might result in great losses, but one would receive a material of the same Element as the Element originally invested. On the other hand, although one would experience much less losses with the second method, there were a multitude of uncertainties that came with the results.
Yang Kai had the sudden urge to take all the materials that Void Land had been accumulating from the Gourd Vine over the years and throw them into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace right now. No matter how uncertain the results, he would eventually obtain some Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials if he threw in hundreds or thousands of sets, right?
When they returned to the Grand Hall, Hong Xiang Ling and the others immediately turned to look in their direction.
Lu Zhen Yang of Azure Nether Paradise said, “Sect Master Yang, we have been delayed here for quite a few days now. The Grandmaster refused to come out of retreat earlier, so there was nobody we could discuss with. Seeing as you have the right to call the shots regarding this matter, you need to give us a proper answer.”
Duan Rui Shan of Clear Mind Cave Heaven nodded in agreement, “That’s right, Sect Master Yang. Please feel free to name any condition you might have. We are here on behalf of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Naturally, we will not let Great Evolution Paradise suffer any losses from this transaction.”
Yang Kai turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, who had an aloof expression on his face, as though this matter had nothing to do with him. It was clear that he was unwilling to intervene at all.
Just as Grandmaster Ma Fan had mentioned earlier, Great Evolution Paradise simply could not refuse the Cave Heavens and Paradises borrowing the Good Fortune Divine Furnace under the current circumstances.
In this vast universe, Void Land was the only force that could negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on equal footing. The declining Great Evolution Paradise did not have this qualification.
Grandmaster Ma Fan’s previous act of hiding and refusing to meet anybody was nothing more than a tactic to buy time. It just so happened that Yang Kai was returning from the Shattered Heaven, so he quickly passed this troublesome matter over for Yang Kai to handle. Still, even if it was only for personal benefit, Yang Kai would not sell the rights to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace cheaply.
Facing everybody’s gazes, Yang Kai smiled lightly, “It has only been a few decades since you sent your disciples to the Star Boundary. No matter how extraordinary their aptitude, I’m sure their cultivation is not that high, right? There is still a long time before they advance to the Open Heaven Realm, so why are you in such a rush?”
Duan Rui Shan shook his head, “How can we not be anxious? Just as you said, the cultivation of the disciples we sent to the Star Boundary over the past few decades might not be too high, but their growth speed is too greater. I’m afraid it won’t take more than one or two hundred years before some of them begin to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “That fast?”
For some to advance into the Open Heaven Realm within another 100 or 200 years, the speed was simply too shocking to believe.
Hong Xiang Ling stated, “The disciples we sent to the Star Boundary were carefully selected in the first place, so their aptitudes and talents were already among the best. Moreover, they are cultivating in a place as wondrous as the Star Boundary, so how can they not improve quickly? To be honest, despite how long old men like us have lived, we have never seen such a prosperous sight before. The cultivation of those little ones advances practically every single day.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling slightly worried, “If their cultivation improves too quickly, will they not suffer from an unstable foundation?”
Yu Chang Dao shook his head, “We were also worried about this at the beginning; however, we discovered that there are no such issues after performing a thorough examination of the condition of our Disciples. The feedback they received from the World Tree and the highly abundant Heavenly Way and Martial Dao aura in the Star Boundary are enough to satisfy their advancement requirements. That is why they do not show any signs of an unstable foundation whatsoever even though their cultivation is progressing rapidly. Take my Disciple, Shi Da Zhuang, for example. Sect Master, do you know what his current cultivation is?”
Shi Da Zhuang was the child whom Yu Chang Dao tried so hard to recruit as his Legacy Disciple because of the baby’s Innate Dao Body which was extremely compatible with his inheritance. It was also because of Shi Da Zhuang that Yu Chang Dao became High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder. That was why Yang Kai had a deep impression of this Disciple.
At the time of Yang Kai’s departure, Shi Da Zhuang was a newborn baby, and about 30 years had passed since then. With his aptitude, it was obvious that his cultivation would not be too low.
Yu Chang Dao had no real intention to let Yang Kai guess, so he answered his own question, “That child is already in the Origin Returning Realm. In the near future, he will advance into the Origin King Realm, then the Dao Source Realm, and then Emperor Realm. After that, he only needs to condense his Dao Seal before he is ready to advance into the Open Heaven Realm!”
Advancing from a baby with no foundation to the Origin Returning Realm in the short span of a couple of decades was no longer something that could be achieved with talent alone. One would also need the guidance of a great Teacher and an extremely conducive cultivation environment. Fortunately, Shi Da Zhuang had both!
Yang Kai gasped softly. He himself had two disciples. Leaving aside Zhao Ye Bai who had mediocre aptitude, Zhao Ya was definitely the cultivator with the most Heaven-defying aptitude he had ever met. Nevertheless, even with her aptitude, and even if he did not suppress her cultivation for so many years, she might not be able to advance to the Origin Returning Realm within such a short time.
The reason for the difference in their cultivation was that one was cultivating in a Holy Land like the Star Boundary while the other was in his Small Universe.
Yu Chang Dao continued, “In another one or two hundred years, the disciples of each Sect will surely reveal a splendid scene of a hundred flowers blooming. At that time, there will be as many people advancing into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm as carp swimming upriver. There will most likely be people advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm too. Can you imagine how great the demand for materials would be among the Cave Heavens and Paradises? Forget the Fifth-Order materials; each Sect has an adequate stock of them, so there will be enough to go around. However, there won’t be enough Sixth-Order or Seventh-Order materials at all.”
In the past, those who could advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm generally held the status of a Core Disciple in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Most of the time, only one person would be born to each Sect every few hundred to 1,000 years. Qu Hua Shang of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and Ning Dao Ran of Free and Unfettered Paradise were such disciples.
It was precisely because Core Disciples were so rare and precious that Zuo Quan Hui tried to take revenge on Yang Kai for killing Zhao Xing during Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly.
Now though, thanks to the Star Boundary’s existence, there were bound to be more and more Core Disciples in the future.
Hong Xiang Ling followed up, “It is precisely because of this reason that we need to plan ahead; otherwise, it will be too late if we wait until the time comes when we need these materials.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “It has been a long time since I left the Star Boundary, so I don’t know much about the situation there.” His fingers tapped lightly against the table as he pondered in silence for a while. Then, he raised a finger, “The right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for one month in exchange for the opportunity to enter the Small Source Worlds of each Sect once for life experience.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan had been standing nearby, silently drinking wine from his bottle all this while, seemingly aloof and unaware of what was being discussed; however, as soon as Yang Kai spoke those words, he choked and spat out a mist of wine.
[This brat… sure is bold!] Ma Fan suddenly felt that leaving the matter involving the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to Yang Kai had been a wise choice indeed. That was because he would never have such thoughts if he were the one to do the negotiations. At most, he would have asked for resources from each Sect as compensation.
Thinking about it carefully though, this was like any business transaction where one should always try to take the lion’s share so that the other party had some space and leeway to bargain and negotiate.
Duan Rui Shan’s brow twitched visibly at those words, “Sect Master Yang, can you change your conditions? For example, each Sect pays a certain amount of resources in exchange for the right of use it for a certain amount of time.”
Lu Zhen Yang nodded in agreement, “That’s right, Sect Master Yang. The Small Source Worlds are extremely important to the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Our own disciples have to wait in line to enter the Small Source Worlds for training. Most of the time, many of them don’t even get a chance to enter despite waiting for hundreds or even thousands of years. We simply cannot afford to portion out an opportunity for you.”
Although Yu Chang Dao and Hong Xiang Ling remained silent, it was clear that they were of the same mind.
Yang Kai just smiled and negotiated, “You don’t need to feel so distressed. Thanks to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, I had the opportunity to enter a Small Source World for training once. It was a bountiful trip, and I’ve not forgotten the feeling. I’ve been thinking that it would be great if I had another opportunity to enter another Small Source World. As for this request… Well, it’s bound to be a little tight, but I’m sure it’s not too difficult for you all.”
Lu Zhen Yang looked like he was about to speak, but Yang Kai raised a hand and interjected, “Of course, I am simply making this suggestion. As for how things will actually be implemented, I’m sure you will need to discuss with the others first; after all, this matter involves all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. This decision is not something the four of you can make on your own.”
The words Lu Zhen Yang wanted to speak got stuck in his throat, which was a terrible feeling.
Yang Kai thus swiftly got to his feet, “I’ve been away from home for too long. I need to return to Void Land, so I won’t stay here any longer.” While speaking, he turned to look at Grandmaster Ma Fan, “Grandmaster, I’ll be taking my leave first. I will send some people over. At that time, I will be counting on you, Grandmaster.”
Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded lightly. It was something they had agreed to earlier, so he would not regret his decision.
Yang Kai glanced at Hong Hu and the two of them walked out.
“Shall we head back to the Star Boundary?” Hong Xiang Ling looked at the others. Now that Yang Kai, the only person they could negotiate with, was gone, it was meaningless for them to remain here any longer. Yang Kai had already named his conditions. Whether or not they could accept the conditions or how they were going to fulfil the conditions would require further discussion among the representatives of the other Cave Heavens and Paradises.
“Let’s go!” Likewise, Duan Rui Shan nodded and stood up. The rest quickly bid their goodbyes to Grandmaster Ma Fan and followed closely behind Yang Kai and Hong Hu’s departure.
Yu Chang Dao caught up to Yang Kai. Standing next to him, he spoke in a low voice, “Sect Master, in my opinion, Da Zhuang has a solid foundation. Moreover, his roots and his aptitude are absolute. There is a high possibility that he can advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm when he condenses his Dao Seal in the future!”
Yang Kai raised his brow at those words, “That’s good news.”
Yu Chang Dao smiled flatteringly, “About the materials that he will need when he advances into the Open Heaven Realm…”
Yang Kai turned to look at Yu Chang Dao and asked with a chuckle, “Elder Yu, are you asking me this question in your capacity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder or Free and Unfettered Paradise’s foreign affairs envoy?”
Yu Chang Dao answered with a straight face, “When it comes down to it, Da Zhuang is a High Heaven Palace disciple. Of course, this Old Master is discussing this matter with you in my capacity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Da Zhuang is a High Heaven Palace disciple. Naturally, High Heaven Palace will take full responsibility to provide all the materials he will need to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”
Yu Chang Dao immediately broke into a bright smile, “Da Zhuang is really fortunate to have joined High Heaven Palace.”
Yang Kai said gratefully, “It’s all thanks to your dedicated teaching over the years, Elder Yu.”
Hong Xiang Ling and the others watched as the one old fox and one young fox chattered away happily. They couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated by the sight. When Yu Chang Dao did not hesitate to become High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder in order to take Shi Da Zhuang as his Disciple back then, many of his friends laughed at and ridiculed him.
However, based on the current situation, his decision had been a wise one indeed. Thanks to his identity as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, he succeeded at forming a good relationship with Yang Kai, and as a result, it was much easier to get some benefits from, and reach agreements with Yang Kai.
Even if Shi Da Zhuang were to grow and develop under High Heaven Palace’s banner, he would still be Yu Chang Dao’s Legacy Disciple. That was something that would never change, regardless of the circumstances.
During the journey, Hong Xiang Ling and the others constantly tried to find opportunities to discuss the rights to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with Yang Kai, but the latter stubbornly refused to budge on his stance. Thus, the others could only sigh helplessly.
From Yang Kai’s viewpoint, he had already named his conditions. As for the rest, the Cave Heavens and Paradises would need to come to a consensus. Only then could the negotiation proceed any further. There was no need to waste their energy discussing this matter until then. Besides, he actually proposed similar conditions in the past.
When news about the World Tree first leaked out to the public, the news attracted many Cave Heavens and Paradises to investigate the situation. He had wanted to request opportunities to enter the Small Source Worlds of these top great forces in exchange for the right to accept disciples from the Star Boundary and establish a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary.
However, the proposal was rejected by Xu Ling Gong. The reason was that the qualifications to enter the Small Source Worlds were tough competition even among the disciples of each Cave Heaven and Paradise. They didn’t even have enough to go around for themselves, so how could they let somebody take advantage of them in that manner?
Even Xu Ling Gong had spoken back then, so Yang Kai could only settle for the second-best option and change his conditions.
However, the situation was different now. The Cave Heavens and Paradises had witnessed the mysterious effects of the Star Boundary’s World Tree with their own eyes over the past few decades. The rapid growth of their disciples was the best proof. What immediately followed was a large demand for higher Order Materials. If they wanted their disciples to successfully directly advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they had no choice but to compromise.
Compared to opportunities to train in the Small Source Worlds of each Sect, the advancement of their disciples was naturally their top priority. That was why Yang Kai was confident that he could reach a consensus with the Cave Heavens and Paradises to some extent!
The routes to the Star Boundary and Void Land were different. Yang Kai, Hong Hu, Yu Chang Dao, and the others travelled together for a month or two before they went their separate ways.
Yu Chang Dao and the others headed straight to the Star Boundary.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai set off for Void Land with Hong Hu. It took another two months before the two of them finally arrived at Void Territory after a long journey.
Looking from a distance in the void, the enormous Void Land and Star City stood next to each other. Void Star City had been restored to its previous prosperity and there was a steady stream of flight-type artifacts in all shapes and sizes coming in and out of the Void Dock. It appeared to be very lively.
In reality, Hong Hu had sensed the vitality of Void Territory as soon as they entered. Despite passing through many other Great Territories, there had not been any other one that was as lively as Void Territory. Moreover, flight-type artifacts were a rare sight in the vast void. It wasn’t until she saw the prosperity of Void Star City that she understood why this place attracted so many cultivators.
“Is this Void Land?” Hong Hu stared in amazement.
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s right. This is Void Land.”
Staring at Void Land that was covered by the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array, Hong Hu seemed to detect something, “I can sense the aura of the Dragon Clan. It’s not very pure, but it’s very strong!”
Yang Kai laughed and commented, “I forgot to tell you, Senior. Void Land sits on the back of Bi Xi. Old Man Bi Xi had been sleeping for tens of thousands of years, and the Spirit Province on his back gradually evolved into Void Land’s predecessor.”
“Bi Xi!” Hong Hu raised her delicate brow. As part of the Phoenix Clan, it was only natural that she knew about Bi Xi’s existence. Although she knew about him, she had never met him before, so she sighed in amazement, “I’ve always heard the saying ‘Bi Xi bears a heavy load’. Legend even had it that his back can carry the entire universe. Now that I see him today, he really lives up to his reputation!”
When they got closer, Yang Kai took out a jade, opened the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array, and slipped inside with Hong Hu.
Old Man Bi Xi’s Embodiment was sitting down cross-legged on one of the platforms located on a certain Spirit Peak. His long eyebrows drooped down to his knees and a mysterious language flowed out of his lips, imparting precious wisdom with every word.
Many Divine Spirits sat upright in front of him and listened attentively. These Divine Spirits included the Dragon Clan members who grew up on Dragon Island, Xiao Xiao who had taken in Tai Yue’s Source, Liu Yan who had the Phoenix True Fire, Luan Feng, Fan Wu, and the Stone Spirit Clan from the Star Boundary’s East Territory, Qiong Qi who was Flowing Time Great Emperor’s mount, and several others with a wide variety of Races.
The Divine Spirits in the Star Boundary might all carry different Sources and inheritances of their own, but they did not know how to cultivate or improve their respective bloodlines past a certain point. Needless to say, it was difficult for them to explore their own inheritance without any guidance.
Old Man Bi Xi might only be a Dragonkin, but he was old and wise, with an immense amount of knowledge and experience. Oftentimes, some Divine Spirits would gain valuable insight just by listening to a casual remark from him.
The Dragon Clan had made great progress under his earnest teachings over the years. Among them, Zhu Qing’s true form had grown to over 5,000 metres in length. While she was far from the standard of a Grand Dragon, she was now comparable to a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm in strength. Likewise, the rest of the Divine Spirits also experienced growth to a certain extent, though none as pronounced as Zhu Qing’s.
It was for this reason that all the Divine Spirits liked to gather around Old Man Bi Xi to listen to his teachings.
All of a sudden, Old Man Bo Xi raised his head and looked up into the sky in shock. Slowly getting to his feet, he announced in a loud voice, “An honoured guest has graced us! Welcome!”
The others looked up upon hearing those words only to see two streams of light descending from the sky and landing in front of them. One of them was Yang Kai, who had not shown up for several decades. The other was a woman dressed in snow-white robes whom nobody had seen before.
Zhu Qing’s beautiful eyes lit up, and she gazed at Yang Kai lovingly. Unfortunately, there were too many people here so no matter how much she missed him, it was inappropriate for her to act overly intimate in public.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao and Liu Yan did not have such reservations. The two of them had accompanied Yang Kai from the time he was young and weak. It could even be said that they were his longest companions.
Xiao Xiao scrambled over and stood in front of Yang Kai. Using both hands, he climbed along Yang Kai’s clothes until he reached his shoulders and sat down with a happy expression.
Meanwhile, Liu Yan ran over in small steps and came to stand in front of Yang Kai. Stretching her arms wide, she looked up and called out in a babyish voice, “Master, up!”
Yang Kai raised his hand and rapped his knuckles on her head, “Speak normally!”
Thanks to some lucky opportunities, Liu Yan had obtained a true body even though she was originally an Artifact Spirit. It was just that she had always maintained a child-like appearance. At this moment, she was acting adorable and childish on purpose.
After being hit on the head, her eyes immediately became misty and she stubbornly held out her arms and said, “Hold me!”
Yang Kai sighed and bent down to pick her up. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in satisfaction and tilted her small head to rest against his neck. Even the corners of her eyes crinkled with pleasure.
On the contrary, Zhu Qing’s smiling gaze immediately flooded with wanton murderous intent!
Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei, whom Yang Kai had brought out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, had grown considerably stronger thanks to the long-term consumption of the Dragon Blood Pills; moreover, they had been taught to assume Human Form by Old Man Bi Xi. When they saw this scene, the pair, who also looked like small children, rushed over. Standing side by side in front of Yang Kai, they stretched out their arms, “Carry us too!”
When Xiao Hei spoke, his saliva dribbled to the ground, which then began to sizzle and melt away, like it was being corroded by acid. It was a terrifying sight.
Liu Yan flushed slightly and looked down at the other two with a scornful look. Then, she abruptly turned around to look at Hong Hu and whispered a question in Yang Kai’s ear, “Master, who is this Aunty?”
“Aunty?” Hong Hu choked. She had been studying Liu Yan with great interest. Both of them were part of the Phoenix Clan, so she immediately detected the Phoenix True Fire inside Liu Yan’s body. That Source Strength was a little different from Luan Feng, who only had a weak Phoenix Clan bloodline. It was undoubtedly an extremely pure Phoenix Clan Source!
The corners of Hong Hu’s face twitched involuntarily when she suddenly heard Liu Yan’s remark. Still, she gave a fake smile and said, “What an adorable child! She is so cute and lovable!” While she was speaking, she reached out a hand and grabbed Liu Yan’s cheek, giving it a rough need and twist as she asked through gritted teeth, “Is this the person who inherited the Phoenix Empress’ Source?”
Caught between these two, Yang Kai was drenched in a cold sweat as he quickly shook his head and said, “It’s not her, but one of my wives. She isn’t here, so she is probably in retreat.”
Hong Hu nodded lightly, “That’s good!” Giving Liu Yan a sweet smile, she released her grip and patted Liu Yan on the head, “This Aunty is called Hong Hu. We are of the same Clan. This Aunty will make sure to take good care of you in the future.”
Liu Yan turned her head away, showing the back of her head to Hong Hu. Her posture screamed, “Who the Hell do you think you are, old hag!?” Moreover, a bright red mark marred her fair little face.
“So, it is Junior Sister Hong Hu! Please forgive my discourtesy!” Seeing that the atmosphere was turning chilly, Old Man Bi Xi immediately stepped forward to intervene.
Hong Hu bowed elegantly, “Greetings, Senior Brother Bi Xi!”
“Junior Sister, are you from the Ancestral Land?” Old Man Bi Xi asked.
Yang Kai looked at Old Man Bi Xi in surprise, “Senior, do you know about the Ancestral Land?”
Old Man Bi Xi chuckled, “After living for so long, it’s only natural to know a thing or two. Long ago, I visited the Ancestral Land. What’s more, I stayed there for some time before I returned.”
Hong Hu was curious, “Why do I have no recollection of this?”
Bi Xi simply replied lightly, “It was many years ago.”
She fell silent for a while, then she nodded, “It looks like it has been quite a while indeed.”
Seeing as Bi Xi claimed to have visited the Ancestral Land in the past, then he must have gone there before. Nevertheless, she had no recollection of this. In other words, she had yet to even be born during his visit! That was something that could be traced back to several tens of thousands of years ago.
“How is the situation in the Ancestral Land? Is it the same as usual?” Bi Xi queried.
Hong Hu smiled lightly, “The Ancestral Land has undergone great changes. It’s not possible to explain everything in a short time. I will tell you the details when we have the opportunity.”
“Good!” He nodded.
Yang Kai put Liu Yan down and spoke up from the side, “I don’t know what it was like when you visited the Ancestral Land, Senior, but the current Ancestral Land is not what it used to be. The reason Senior Hong Hu returned with me is to bring all the Divine Spirits in Void Land back to the Ancestral Land; after all, they will grow much faster there. They might even receive the opportunity to obtain the inheritance within their Source Strength.”
When Old Man Bi Xi heard those words, he said worriedly, “The Kun Clan is in the Ancestral Land. If the little Dragons from Void Land head there…”
Yang Kai smiled, “Don’t worry. The Phoenix Clan will take care of them. Not to mention, I’ve already talked to the Kun Clan and come to an agreement with them.”
Old Man Bi Xi nodded, “That’s for the best. I’ve thought of telling you about the Ancestral Land all these years, but I was worried about the Kun Clan. That’s why I never mentioned it. Seeing as you’ve already made the necessary arrangements though, it’s definitely a good thing to send them there.”
“Many thanks for your concern, Senior!” Yang Kai nodded.
In truth, he had wondered about this issue. Logically speaking, an existence like Bi Xi was bound to know about the Ancestral Land; even so, not a word about it had been spoken in all these years. Only now did the truth come to light. It was not that Bi Xi never bothered to tell Yang Kai, but that he was simply worried about the existence of the Kun Clan.
The Dragon Clan members in Void Land were far too weak. Rashly sending them to the Ancestral Land was equivalent to sending a lamb into the tiger’s den. Rather than sending them to their deaths, it was better to remain silent for now. Now that Yang Kai had made certain arrangements and a Phoenix Clan Master like Hong Hu would be protecting them, there was nothing to worry about anymore.
During their conversation, a stream of light suddenly sped in this direction. The light approached them in the blink of an eye, only to reveal a stunning figure.
Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, Zhu Jiu Yin!
She spent most of her time in retreat and rarely showed herself. Even Yang Kai had a difficult time trying to meet her. Only Shan Qing Luo could meet Zhu Jiu Yin frequently. The reason for her arrival at this moment was clearly that she had noticed Hong Hu’s Divine Spirit aura and came to check out the situation out of curiosity.
After not seeing her for so many years, Yang Kai could clearly sense that this woman’s aura had gotten deeper and more profound.
She was a Mature Divine Spirit, but had grown up in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary all her life until Yang Kai brought her out. As a result, she was unable to adapt to the World Principles of the outside world immediately, which was why she could not exert her full strength all this while. Even so, the strength she displayed back then was enough to easily suppress a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At present, she was probably a match for any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength.
“Phoenix Clan?” Zhu Jiu Yin exclaimed in surprise after a thorough examination of Hong Hu.
There was more than one person with a Phoenix Clan Source in Void Land; therefore, Zhu Jiu Yin was not unfamiliar with the aura of the Phoenix Clan. That was how she figured out Hong Hu’s origins at a glance. What surprised her was that the aura of this Phoenix Clan member in front of her was extremely powerful. This Phoenix was definitely not weak.
Hong Hu nodded as she was also examining Zhu Jiu Yin curiously. There were no Heavenly Moon Demon Spiders in the Ancestral Land, so it was her first time seeing this kind of Divine Spirit. For a time, she couldn’t identify her.
Yang Kai stepped forward and introduced them to each other. Only then could they consider themselves acquainted.
“The Ancestral Land?” Zhu Jiu Yin revealed a suspicious look, “What is that place?”
Hong Hu smiled, “It is the origin of all Divine Spirits. To be honest, Junior Sister Zhu, with how strong your bloodline is, you should have been able to sense the existence of the Ancestral Land. That is the instinct that can be found deep within the bloodline of every Divine Spirit after they reach maturity, regardless of their origins or Clan.”
A look of realisation came over Zhu Jiu Yin’s face, “So it’s that place!”
Just as Hong Hu mentioned, she had developed a vague sense that she was being summoned somewhere over the years. It was just that the sense was very weak and indistinct.
Ever since leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she had been trying to adapt to the World Principles of the outside world. Not to mention, she had yet to recover her strength completely. There was no saying whether there would be any dangers waiting for her either. That was why she did not bother to explore and investigate this feeling. Nevertheless, she originally planned to make a trip once she recovered her full strength. It was a surprise to learn the truth about that place from Hong Hu.
“The Ancestral Land is where all Divine Spirits originate from. It is a place filled with rich Ancestral Strength, which is highly beneficial to the cultivation of Divine Spirits. The reason Senior Hong Hu came along with me this time is to bring everyone with a Divine Spirit bloodline to the Ancestral Land. As for the specific situation in the Ancestral Land, Senior Hong Hu will explain to everybody in detail,” Yang Kai said while looking at everybody.
Many of the Divine Spirits looked fascinated.
Over the years, the strength of the Human cultivators who came from the Star Boundary had increased steadily. Leaving aside the fact that the Great Emperors and Yang Kai’s Wives had already advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm a long time ago, even most of the Pseudo-Great Emperors from back then had advanced to the Open Heaven Realm.
On the other hand, the Divine Spirits who used to dominate the Star Boundary barely took a step forward.
They felt very lost when it came to their futures as a result. Although listening to the teachings of Old Man Bi Xi over the past few years had helped them to a certain extent. the improvement of their bloodline was simply too slow.
It was not until today that they learned about a place where all the Divine Spirits originated. Moreover, the Ancestral Land was filled with the mysterious Ancestral Strength that was highly beneficial to the cultivation of the Divine Spirits. How could the Divine Spirits not be fascinated by such a mysterious place? For a time, they couldn’t help looking excited.
“On behalf of all present, I offer thanks, Senior!” Yang Kai cupped his fist at Hong Hu.
Hong Hu nodded, “Bring the one who inherited the Phoenix Empress’ Source to me. Once you have arranged everything, I will bring them back to the Ancestral Land.
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded.
Hong Hu would naturally receive hospitality from Old Man Bi Xi and Zhu Jiu Yin, so there was no need for Yang Kai to worry about her. Yang Kai asked Zhu Qing for details and learned that Su Yan was currently cultivating in retreat; thus, he left with a flash.
As soon as Yang Kai departed, a large group of Divine Spirits crowded around Hong Hu as though they had found a rare treasure. They eagerly asked about the situation in the Ancestral Land.
Hong Hu felt as though she was drowning in infinite enthusiasm, so she couldn’t help smiling bitterly for a while. She never imagined that so many Divine Spirits had gathered in Void Land. Not to mention, they consisted of so many different Clans. Even though she was surrounded by so many Divine Spirits, she patiently answered their questions one at a time. In their conversations with each other, the situation in the Ancestral Land gradually became clear to all.
Just as Yang Kai was rushing towards Su Yan’s cultivation location, a transparent and almost imperceptible silk thread came flying through the air and wrapped around his body at the speed of lightning. Yang Kai lowered his head to look, seeing a silk thread move like a living thing and swiftly wrap around him several hundred times, swaddling him so tightly that he resembled a dumpling.
Immediately after that, a tugging force came from the silk thread. Bundled up like a ball and unable to move a muscle, he was involuntarily dragged through the air at breakneck speed. His figure turned into a stream of light.
On one of the Spirit Peaks below, the graceful figure of Second Manager Bian Yu Qing stood on the branch of the tree. She looked up into the sky with a suspicious look in her beautiful eyes, “Why does that look like the Sect Master?”
When she looked again, there was nobody in sight anymore. In her confusion, she sent a message to the Governor of Void Star City, Mo Mei, “Did Sect Master return?”
Mo Mei replied a short while later “I don’t know!”
Bian Yu Qing frowned and murmured to herself, “I can’t believe I’m seeing things. Am I getting old?”
Inside a certain hall, Yang Kai was thrown to the cold ground like a wet rag. A plump body straddled him from above and a slender hand caressed his cheek. A slim finger pulled his chin upward, “Smelly man, are you finally willing to come back?”
Yang Kai could not move a single muscle. Looking around for a bit though, he winked at Shan Qing Luo, “Senior Zhu Jiu Yin is with Old Man Bi Xi. She won’t be back for the time being. Shall we enjoy a quick one? Or, would you prefer going for a hundred rounds?”
Shan Qing Luo blushed slightly and spat softly, “Why are you thinking of such naughty things as soon as you return!? Who will listen to you!?”
His tongue was so sweet that it was as though his mouth was filled with honey, “Luo’er, it has been so long! I missed you so much!”
Her body immediately softened at those words. Her face turned redder, but her large and watery eyes still glared at him, “Hmph! Missed me? If you missed me, then why didn’t you come to me? If I had not dragged you here just now, you’d probably be making love to Big Sister by now! I knew it! Out of all the Sisters, Big Sister has the largest place in your heart!”
Yang Kai replied seriously, “Every one of you is equally important to me! Nobody comes first or last!”
“Liar!” She pouted.
Getting nowhere with this conversation, Yang Kai flexed slightly and the silk threads that bound him snapped apart. Grabbing Shan Qing Luo’s elegant waist, he flipped over and pressed her beneath his body. He looked at her affectionately, “Words can be deceiving, but the body does not lie. Why don’t you feel it with your body?”
Shan Qing Luo turned her head away and closed her eyes, her lashes fluttering slightly.
…
After the dust settled, Shan Qing Luo lazily rested on top of Yang Kai’s body and muttered, “The Ancestral Land?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Senior Hong Hu came here to bring all the Divine Spirits in Void Land back to the Ancestral Land. Senior Zhu Jiu Yin seems to be quite interested in the idea as well. If things go as planned, she will bring you with her. I’m not worried since she will be taking care of you, but do be careful of the Kun Clan when you arrive there.”
Shan Qing Luo nodded, “I will.”
Yang Kai reached out and slapped her full, smooth as silk moon before saying, “I need to find Su Yan. Senior Hong Hu is waiting for her.”
The enchantress lying above him simply winked at him mischievously though and remarked, “No need. I’ve already sent a message to all my Sisters and asked them to come over.”
While saying so, she gave a wave of her hand and released a barrier. Several familiar auras immediately entered Yang Kai’s perception.
Under his dumbfounded gaze, Yu Ru Meng walked in the lead, followed closely by Su Yan, Xia Ning Chang, Xue Yue, and Ji Yao.
Yu Ru Meng stood with her back upright and her chest puffed out, staring down at the couple on the bed with a look of disdain. Su Yan stood there with her head slightly lowered. On the other hand, Xia Ning Chang, Xue Yue, and Ji Yao were blushing furiously. Their skin was flushed and they seemed to be at a loss for what to do.
“Everyone’s here!” Yang Kai gave a dry laugh.
Yu Ru Meng glared at Yang Kai before she turned to look at Shan Qing Luo, “Was the meal you had alone tasty?”
Shan Qing Luo rested on Yang Kai’s chest with a silly look in her beautiful eyes, “Tasty or not, you’ll know once you try it for yourself, Big Sister Ru Meng.”
Even though Yu Ru Meng was a Charm Demon, she had to reluctantly admit that she was not as good as Shan Qing Luo when it came to such shamelessness. Thus, she sighed to herself. [This devilish woman is bold indeed. No wonder this smelly man is so obsessed with her and visited her as soon as he returned.]
Xia Ning Chang’s head was hanging so low that she practically touched her chest as she murmured, “Luo’er said you were back, so I… I came to have a-a l-look. I-I’m going now!”
While speaking, she covered her face with her hands and turned to flee.
Shan Qing Luo, however, lifted a hand, and a snow-white spider thread wrapped around Xia Ning Chang’s waist. Ignoring Xia Ning Chang’s startled cry, she dragged the veiled beauty back to the bed and giggled happily, “You’re already here, so why are you leaving? No one can leave without taking good care of Husband!”
Yu Ru Meng turned to glance at Xue Yue and Ji Yao. Those two were absolutely terrified and their eyes were filled with horror. She sneered coldly and strode towards the bed, stripping off her clothes while walking, “You acted like pitiful widows when he was gone, always sighing and looking gloomy all day long. Why are you hesitating now that he is back? I don’t care. If I don’t drain this smelly man dry today, I won’t call myself Yu Ru Meng again!”
She went up and kicked Shan Qing Luo aside.
Looking at the situation on the bed, Su Yan suddenly stepped forward.
Ji Yao and Xue Yue hugged each other, trembling uncontrollably as they called out in a shaking voice, “Big Sister, you…”
Su Yan turned a deaf ear to them. Her gaze was firm, as though 1,000 men would not stop her!
..…
“Sect Master really came back?” Bian Yu Qing was dealing with some minor tasks in Void Land when she suddenly received the message. Following a check with her Divine Sense, she became filled with joy. She quickly set aside what she was doing and hurried towards the Main Conference Hall.
When she arrived in front of the Grand Hall, she saw a figure with one hand supporting his waist and one hand pressed against the wall for support. The figure was hobbling along, seeming as though each step required great effort. The figure was extremely familiar, and upon taking a closer look, she was shocked, “Sect Master!”
Bian Yu Qing hurried over and took Yang Kai’s arm. His complexion was as pale as paper and his aura was weak. He looked like he had been severely injured, so her expression became stern, “Sect Master, are you injured?”
Yang Kai opened his swollen eyes and stared at Bian Yu Qing for a long time before he seemed to recognise her, “Is it you, Second Manager?”
Bian Yu Qing was livid, “Sect Master, who injured you? This subordinate will immediately organise the troops to seek justice!”
Yang Kai coughed lightly and waved his hand dismissively, “No need. I admit defeat. The enemy is too strong. I am not their opponent.”
Yu Ru Meng, that Charm Demon, sure was cruel! She went so far as to use a Secret Technique to gather Yang to supplement Yin to suck him dry. Thankfully, his Dragon Clan bloodline was powerful. Not to mention, he recently became a Grand Dragon. If it had been the him from the past, he would have been a withered husk by now. Even so, he couldn’t help feeling weak and light-headed at this moment. It was no different from a life-or-death battle against a powerful foe!
Bian Yu Qing was absolutely shocked. It had to be said that Yang Kai was a powerful Master. Even when faced with a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Zuo Quan Hui, he had dared to fight head-on. In the end, he finally killed his mighty enemy even though his cultivation was weaker.
[Just what kind of terrible monster did the Sect Master encounter for him to be at such a disadvantage? I can’t even imagine it!]
“Sect Master, are we really not going to seek revenge?” Bian Yu Qing asked in confusion as this attitude was very unlike his usual attitude.
Yang Kai waved aside her suggestion, “It’s just that I’m too weak now. I will work hard on my cultivation and get even with them with my own power one day.”
Only then did she nod, “This subordinate understands.”
The two of them walked into the Grand Hall. After helping him into his seat, she heard him breathe a long sigh of relief.
Yang Kai then asked, “What happened in Void Land during the years that I was absent?”
Bian Yu Qing quickly replied, “Everything is running smoothly. The disciples are working hard on their cultivation and the Star City is prospering.”
He nodded, “Tell me about it.”
Hence, she immediately gave a brief summary of everything that happened in Void Land over the years. There was nothing particularly noteworthy. Back when Zuo Quan Hui led Heavenly Sword Union against Void Land, Void Land had eventually managed to turn the dangers around under Yang Kai’s leadership. Afterwards, news of the Star Boundary’s World Tree spread throughout the 3,000 Worlds and Void Land’s name became famous as a result.
That battle also allowed the entire universe to learn about Void Land’s powerful heritage! Even Zuo Quan Hui, a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master from Thousand Cranes Paradise, had died at the hands of Void Land’s Lord. Prior to this incident, it could be said that High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were essentially invincible existences in the 3,000 Worlds.
It could be said that aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Void Land was now the strongest in the 3,000 Worlds. In this respect, even those with countless years of inheritances could only sigh at their inferiority. Consequently, numerous great forces had been trying to befriend Void Land so that they could visit the Star Boundary and enjoy a share of the pie.
Unfortunately, the Star Boundary’s attitude was very clear. Regardless of the great force, they were free to recruit talents from the Star Boundary, but the outcome would rely solely on their abilities. If they had the ability to appeal to the native Star Boundary cultivators and recruit these talents into their respective Sects, then Void Land and High Heaven Palace would not interfere.
However, they were not allowed to establish Dao Temples in the Star Boundary. Each of the Cave Heavens and Paradises had a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary; hence, there were over a hundred Dao Temples spread across the Four Territories. There was simply not enough space to accommodate more.
This was the policy Yang Kai decided upon before he left, and Hua Qing Si handled the issue perfectly.
The Star Boundary had Hua Qing Si managing it, so there was nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, in Void Territory, the Star City was prosperous. It was now already a veritable First-Class Star City that was not inferior to the large-scale Star Cities under the command of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Furthermore, the monthly auctions where the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was featured drew even more people than before. It could be said that Void Land was making a fortune just by relying on this Star City. Not to mention, the large number of resources that Luan Bai Feng had to send from the Black Prison every year!
The current Void Land could be said to be extremely wealthy. As long as the disciples had enough contribution points, the resources they needed would definitely be supplied to them!
That was why many Emperor Realm Masters had advanced into the Open Heaven Realm over the past few decades. Many had even condensed their Dao Seals and had begun condensing the Yin, Yang and Five Element Powers. There was no doubt that the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land would experience an explosive wave of growth in the coming decades!
“So far, there are roughly twenty Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land and High Heaven Palace. There are basically no changes in this regard. On the other hand, we have 162 Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, 493 Fourth-Order Masters, and over 1,300 Open Heaven Realm Masters beneath the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
There were nearly 2,000 Open Heaven Realm Masters in total! It was a terrifying number indeed. Ordinary Second-Class great forces would be considered pretty successful with 100 Open Heaven Realm Masters among their ranks. However, Void Land had over 20 times that number! That was where heritage came into play.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Has Proprietress come out of retreat?”
Bian Yu Qing shook her head, “Bai Qi and the others have been standing guard over Madame Lan’s place of retreat over the past few years, but there have been no movements so far.”
Yang Kai frowned slightly. The Proprietress had been in retreat for close to 100 years already, but there was still no news from her so far. There was no telling whether her attempt was successful or not.
Be that as it may, it could be seen just how difficult it was for a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. It had to be said that the Proprietress’ aptitude was very high as she had advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, which made her comparable to the Core Disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
“Keep an eye on Proprietress and inform me immediately if there’s any news,” Yang Kai instructed.
“Yes!”
“Also, I stopped by Grandmaster Ma Fan’s place on my way back and received an unexpected windfall.”
“Grandmaster Ma Fan?” Bian Yu Qing pondered for a moment after hearing the name before quickly realizing something, “Are you referring to Grandmaster Ma Fan of Great Evolution Paradise?”
“Have you heard of him before?” Yang Kai looked at her curiously.
She smiled and answered the question, “Senior Sister Hua sent a message from the Star Boundary. Information on the situations at High Heaven Palace and Void Land is shared among us after all. I heard that Grandmaster Ma Fan brought a group of disciples to the Star Boundary several dozen years ago, and Senior Sister Hua allowed them to establish a Dao Temple there. There was an uproar at the time because of this incident.”
“Why?” Yang Kai frowned.
She explained, “That was because you instructed Senior Sister Hua to prevent any great forces aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises from establishing a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary before you departed back then. If things had played out equally for all parties, then nothing would have happened. The key point was that the Great Evolution Dao Temple had appeared out of nowhere. Those great forces with no qualifications to establish a Dao Temple were naturally dissatisfied with the situation, so they went to High Heaven Palace to argue with Senior Sister Hua.”
“How was this matter settled in the end?”
“In the end, the foreign affairs envoys from the Cave Heavens and Paradises came forward to suppress the storm. Afterwards, the great forces no longer dared to question anything again.”
“En,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
The name ‘Great Evolution Paradise’ would be quite unfamiliar to most of the great forces in the 3,000 Worlds. On the other hand, in the eyes of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Great Evolution Paradise used to be one of the 72 Paradises in the past. It was just that the Sect had fallen into decline due to certain reasons. Now that the Star Boundary was prosperous, Great Evolution Paradise’s presence in the Star Boundary undoubtedly meant that it was showing signs of revival. It was only natural that the rest of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were happy to see such a situation.
“Sect Master, what windfall did you receive from Grandmaster Ma Fan?” Bian Yu Qing asked curiously.
Yang Kai excitedly said, “Great Evolution Paradise has an innate precious treasure called the Good Fortune Divine Furnace…”
He then told her about everything he witnessed. After listening to his explanation, Bian Yu Qing looked extremely shocked and murmured under her breath, “How can there be such a mysterious object in this world?”
Yang Kai sighed in amazement as well, “If I had not witnessed it for myself, I would not have dared to believe it either! But, the Cave Heavens and Paradises are eyeing the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Grandmaster Ma Fan entrusted this matter to me, so I made a proposal. It won’t take long before they reach a consensus among themselves and come back to discuss it with me again. At that time, they will be taking turns using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Void Land has to make the first move before that happens. Second Manager, quickly prepare some materials and deliver them to Great Evolution Paradise. We will use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to produce the materials that Void Land lacks.”
The Cave Heavens and Paradises were preparing for the future of the disciples, so how could Void Land do any different? A large number of talents in the Fifth, Sixth, and even Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm were bound to emerge from the Star Boundary. It would be too late to figure out a solution when the time came that they needed the resources. It was better to prepare something like that as early as possible.
“Understood!” Bian Yu Qing nodded in affirmation, “Don’t worry, Sect Master. Void Land has accumulated quite a number of resources over the past few decades, so I’m sure they will be enough to create a sufficient supply of higher Order materials.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Leave enough for the disciples’ cultivation needs and deliver the rest to Great Evolution Paradise. Furthermore, gather some disciples gifted in Artifact Refining and send them along too. Opportunities to openly learn the skills of a Master like this are very rare.”
Bian Yu Qing’s eyes lit up as she asked, “Grandmaster Ma Fan is accepting Disciples?”
Yang Kai shook his head and smiled, “That’s not it. He is simply making plans for the future of his own disciples. As such, he intends to come out of retirement to earn some income by performing Artifact Refining. I have hired him as Void Land’s Chief Artifact Refiner. In the future, all the artifacts in Void Land can be left to him to refine.”
“That’s great news!” Bian Yu Bing exclaimed in delight. Both the Heavenly Executioner’s Sword and the Heavenly Net Umbrella that were placed in the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array had been refined by Grandmaster Ma Fan.
“That’s right. Have Yue He and the others been staying at the Star Boundary all this time?” Yang Kai asked. Although it had not been long since he returned, he did not detect any powerful auras with his Divine Sense perception. None of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of Void Land were here.
She answered, “I was just about to tell you about this, Sect Master. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land spend most of their time in the Star Boundary. One of the reasons is that there are too many people gathered there. There is certainly a need for some Masters to remain on guard to deter any unwanted incidents. The second reason is related to the development of the New Great Territory. The New Great Territory has an abundant stock of resources. Out of Void Land’s current reserves, more than half come from the New Great Territory. In addition, Senior Sister Hua sent a message a few days ago saying that they made some sort of special discovery in the New Great Territory recently. She requested that I let you know you should head to the Star Boundary as soon as possible if I happen to encounter you, Sect Master.”
“A special discovery?” Yang Kai’s brow lifted at those words.
But Bian Yu Qing just shook her head, “Senior Sister Hua did not mention any specific details about this discovery, but it should be good news.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before he nodded, “Got it. It’s true that I need to head to the Star Boundary as the Cave Heavens and Paradises are waiting for me to discuss matters regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Unfortunately, I cannot leave right now. I will head to the Star Boundary once I’ve seen Senior Hong Hu off.”
Hong Hu would most likely decline to stay in Void Land for a long time. The reason she came here was mainly to bring Su Yan, the one who inherited the Phoenix Empress’ Source, back to Four Phoenix Pavilion. The rest of the Divine Spirits were simply hitching a ride with her.
Afterwards, Yang Kai handed Bian Yu Qing a list with many precious resources recorded on it.
Three days later, Hong Hu came to bid her farewells, and Yang Kai did not try to stop her.
For the Divine Spirits, going to the Ancestral Land one day earlier would mean that they could reap the benefits one day sooner. Moreover, the current Ancestral Land was different from back then. With the opening of the Demon Sealing Land, the Ancestral Strength had become extremely rich. Not to mention, the Sacred Treasures of each Clan had re-appeared in the world. If nothing else, the Dragon Clan would enjoy immense benefits just by going to the Ancestral Land and cultivating in the Crystal Palace.
The group of Divine Spirits led by Hong Hu slowly left Void Land in an enormous ship. On the other hand, Yang Kai simply stood there and watched them off.
As expected, Zhu Jiu Yin followed along. For her, she had regained her freedom after her contract with Yang Kai to be a Protector had been annulled. If not because she wanted to teach Shan Qing Luo, she would have left Void Land a long time ago.
Su Yan and Shan Qing Luo had also gone along with the others. Su Yan was Hong Hu’s main reason for coming. The Four Phoenix Pavilion attached great importance to her thanks to her identity as the inheritor of a past Phoenix Empress’ Source. Shan Qing Luo had been reluctant to leave, but she could not win against Zhu Jiu Yin; therefore, she could only set off for the Ancestral Land.
Zhu Qing, Yang Xiao, the Dragon Clan, Xiao Xiao, Liu Yan, Jiu Feng, Luan Feng, Fan Wu, Cang Gou, the many Divine Spirits from the Star Boundary, and even those with only a trace of a Divine Spirit bloodline also went along with Hong Hu. Their departure was a mighty sight to behold.
Once they embarked on this journey, there was no saying when they would meet again. However, the Divine Spirits would surely have grown tremendously by the time they meet again!
“Husband, you seem a little reluctant to part ways with them.” Yu Ru Meng pressed herself against Yang Kai’s body and exhaled an orchid scent in his ear.
Yang Kai’s calves shuddered slightly, and he answered in a trembling voice, “It’s nothing. It’s not like we’ll never meet again.”
She glanced sideways at him with a smile, “Husband, why are you so nervous? It’s not like this Mistress will eat you.”
While saying so, she licked her lips with her bright red tongue.
The sight made a chill spread out from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, causing all the hair on his body to stand on end! Turning his head to the side, he saw a person passing by not far away and quickly called out, “Second Manager!”
Bian Yu Qing stopped in her tracks and turned to look in this direction, “Sect Master!”
He asked seriously, “Second Manager, did you come here because you have something to discuss with me?”
She responded in confusion, “No. This subordinate was simply passing by. I am on my way to the Star City!”
“Second Manager, you have something to discuss with me, right?” He repeated his question with a stern expression.
She blinked and answered in an uncertain voice, “Yes… I have something to discuss with you?”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I see. It must be something urgent. Let’s walk and talk.”
His figure came to her side in a flash, and he gave her a look. She then followed him in confusion.
Behind them, Yu Ru Meng gave a cold sneer, “Men!”
“Second Manager, you’ve worked hard all these years,” While leading Bian Yu Qing forward, Yang Kai spoke up suddenly.
Bian Yu Qing smiled, “Not that hard. If not for your kindness back then, Sect Master, I would have died a long time ago. I would not be standing here today. Besides, things in Void Land are wonderful now.”
It would have been better if the man from back then had survived until today. Even now, she could not forget the man named ‘Kou Wu’, who gave his life for her. If he was still alive today, she was certain that he would have great achievements to show for his efforts.
“Once you’ve finished dealing with the matters regarding Great Evolution Paradise, you should take some time to advance to the Open Heaven Realm. Managing Void Land all this time has caused significant delays to your cultivation,” Yang Kai said with some guilt.
Void Land and the Star Boundary were two large territories. One was managed by Head Manager Hua Qing Si while the other was managed by Second Manager Bian Yu Qing. They were both women who had to pick up the slack left behind by Yang Kai who had always been an arm-flinging shopkeeper; a great force would have many affairs, both big and small, to take care of after all.
As a result, their cultivation had never been particularly high. Thanks to the Star Boundary’s World Tree, Hua Qing Si had managed to condense her Dao Seal, but she had yet to advance into the Open Heaven Realm before Yang Kai departed back then. There was no saying what condition she was in now. The same was true for Bian Yu Qing!
Upon hearing what Yang Kai said, Bian Yu Qing felt a warmth flooding her heart and she nodded obediently, “Good. I will go into retreat once I have settled the matter regarding Great Evolution Paradise. I will not disappoint you. But, Sect Master, who will manage Void Land if I go into retreat?”
Yang Kai asked, “Do you have any good candidates to recommend?”
To which she replied, “In Void Land, aside from Senior Bi Xi whose cultivation is the highest, there are only your Wives and Void Star City’s Governor Mo Mei. Senior Bi Xi will never agree to manage these affairs and your Wives have no such experience either, so it might not be appropriate for them to rashly take over. Why don’t you leave things to Governor Mo Mei? She has managed the Star City very well over the years.”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “I had that idea too. This is the perfect timing; let’s head to Star City to inform Mo Mei about this matter.”
The two of them thus went to Star City together.
Mo Mei was naturally delighted to see that Yang Kai had returned. The truth was that she had already received news of his arrival. The Star City and Void Land were neighbours after all, so it was only natural that news travelled quickly between these two places. However, she was in charge of managing Void Star City, so she could not leave without notice.
Yang Kai informed Mo Mei that Bian Yu Qing would soon enter retreat in order to advance to the Open Heaven Realm. During that time, the management of Void Land would be temporarily handed over to her. To which she nodded in agreement.
After that, he casually made a cursory check of the financial situation in Void Star City before he finally took his leave. Yang Kai did not dare to remain in Void Land for long, so the day after sending Hong Hu off, he spoke to Bian Yu Qing once more before he made his move and set off for the Star Boundary in a rush.
In any case, Yang Kai had originally planned to visit the Star Boundary as soon as possible. There was still the discussion with the Cave Heavens and Paradises regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace after all. Not to mention, Hua Qing Si had sent a message saying that they made an interesting discovery in the New Great Territory. It was only natural that he went there as soon as possible.
It was definitely not because he was frightened!
Think about it; from the day he began cultivating until now, Yang Kai had experienced countless battles of varying intensity. When had there ever been a person whom he feared?
On this trip to the Star Boundary, Yang Kai travelled alone. Under the urging of Space Principles, he shuttled through the Void and would also transfer between the Universe Temples from time to time. In this way, it only took him half a month to arrive at High Heaven Territory.
The area around the Territory Gate was extremely lively. Ships of all shapes and sizes would frequently pass through the Territory Gate to enter High Heaven Territory.
News of the Star Boundary’s World Tree had spread throughout the 3,000 Worlds, as well as the fact that the Cave Heavens and Paradises had taken up residence in this remote Universe World and established their respective Dao Temples. Naturally, various other great forces flocked to this place.
Although they could not build their own Dao Temple in the Star Boundary, High Heaven Palace did not restrict their activities in the Star Boundary or High Heaven Territory. Needless to say, that was provided that they did not do anything harmful.
As a result, many Open Heaven Realm Masters would bring their youngest Disciples with them to the Star Boundary. They would then search for a random place and settle down there, which would allow their Disciples to be exposed to the light of the World Tree so that they would have greater accomplishments in the future. There were even more great forces searching for disciples with excellent aptitudes in the Star Boundary, hoping to recruit them for themselves.
It could be said that there were Open Heaven Realm Masters everywhere in the Star Boundary. Even an unremarkable old man that could be seen in any random small village might just be a Fifth or Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If these old men were looking around with glowing eyes, then they were surely searching for suitable Disciples!
Over the decades, the native cultivators in the Star Boundary had gradually gotten accustomed to such things. There had been some resistance when the great forces first tried to recruit people from the Star Boundary at the beginning; after all, the people in the Star Boundary only knew of High Heaven Palace and nobody had knowledge about the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises later established their respective Dao Temples in the Star Boundary and, as their fame spread, the natives in the Star Boundary slowly relaxed their vigilance.
Nowadays, it was not difficult for the Cave Heavens and Paradises to recruit disciples. Their reputation had spread so much that the people in the Star Boundary were familiar with all of them. These Cave Heavens and Paradises were known as the strongest great forces in the entire vast Outer Universe. The chance to join them was also a type of opportunity; however, these Cave Heavens and Paradises had made an agreement with Yang Kai in advance. Each Sect could only accept up to five disciples every 100 years.
If the great forces below the Cave Heavens and Paradises wanted to recruit disciples, they had to display a strong enough heritage. Even so, the young talents might be very picky about their choices. The Open Heaven Realm Masters who were responsible for recruiting disciples faced great difficulties as a result.
In the past, these Open Heaven Realm Masters had always been the ones choosing their disciples, but after coming to the Star Boundary, the scenario was reversed instead. These little ones who had barely grown any of their body hair were not only unafraid of these powerful Open Heaven Realm Masters, but they might also look down on the Sects they came from for not being good enough.
Be that as it may, the Open Heaven Realm Masters had no choice but to patiently explain that their Sects were not weak. They were simply not as powerful as the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Fan Liang Peng of Heavenly Martial Tower had a deep experience regarding such matters!
Heavenly Martial Tower could be considered a Second-Class great force that dominated Heavenly Martial Territory. As such, this Sect was not weak in the slightest. Moreover, Fan Liang Peng himself was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Heavenly Martial Tower immediately dispatched him to High Heaven Territory to investigate the situation in the Star Boundary when news of the World Tree first spread. After he submitted his report on the situation in the Star Boundary, Heavenly Martial Tower immediately placed great importance on this matter. Therefore, they gave him another task, he had to recruit five disciples with outstanding aptitude from the Star Boundary within 100 years!
For that reason, he spent great effort and searched the Star Boundary for decades before he found four disciples. From his perspective, these four disciples had extraordinary aptitudes and had an opportunity to advance directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future! When the news came back, the entire Heavenly Martial Tower practically jumped up and down in joy to celebrate.
In the past, only the Core Disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were eligible to advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was impossible for Second-Class great forces to nurture such talents. On the other hand, there was no lack of people with such aptitudes in the Star Boundary.
Given enough time for the four disciples to finish developing, the strength of Heavenly Martial Tower would definitely be elevated. Their status would also rise like a rising tide that lifted all boats.
Unfortunately, it was impossible for these four disciples to be brought back to Heavenly Martial Tower for cultivation. The feedback from the World Tree was the key to the growth of these disciples. If they wanted to stimulate the potential of these disciples, then they could only allow their disciples to cultivate in the Star Boundary. At the very least, the four disciples would have to cultivate until they condensed their respective Dao Seal before they could be brought back to Heavenly Martial Tower.
It was a pity that Heavenly Martial Tower did not have its own Dao Temple. Fortunately, they had a fairly good relationship with one of the Paradises. Heavenly Martial Tower’s Tower Lord personally came forward to discuss the matter. Only then could they send their four disciples into the Paradise’s Dao Temple to be nurtured. Needless to say, Heavenly Martial Tower paid quite a heavy price for this.
This had become a normal situation in the Star Boundary. Even if the Sects without a Dao Temple managed to recruit some disciples, they could only figure out a method to foster their disciples with the other great forces. The Dao Temples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were one of the options, and the native great forces in the Star Boundary were the other one.
High Heaven Palace currently fostered no less than thousands of disciples belonging to many other great forces. These disciples lived and cultivated in High Heaven Palace, and their situations weren’t really any different compared to actual High Heaven Palace disciples.
Similarly, the original great forces in the Star Boundary such as Azure Sun Temple, Serene Soul Palace, and Ahan Temple were also fostering many foreign disciples. The native great forces in the Star Boundary had gained enormous wealth as a result.
Now that Fan Liang Peng had taken in four disciples, there was only one last person before his task was considered complete. Naturally, he spared no effort in his search.
While passing through a small village a few days ago, he happened to encounter a child around ten years old. He observed the child for two days and determined that the child had great aptitude. It was perfectly in line with all the criteria set by Heavenly Martial Tower to accept disciples. The child was bound to have great achievements in the future.
Therefore, he immediately visited the child’s family and revealed his intentions. The child’s parents seemed to be honest people who were very easy to talk to. They smiled quietly no matter what he said to them.
When Fan Liang Peng finished his speech, the child’s Father finally scratched his head and responded, “Old Sir, we have no objections if you want to recruit Chai Shan into your Sect. It’s just that Chai Shan has his own ideas. If he agrees, then you can take him away.”
Fan Liang Peng broke into a wide smile upon hearing those words, “The child is extremely lucky to have such enlightened parents!”
If the parents had no objections, then what kind of opinion could a ten-year-old child have? His effort to recruit disciples was a done deal.
Turning his head to the side, he looked at the child named Chai Shan with a smile, “Child, would you like to join Heavenly Martial Tower? With your aptitude, your future achievements will surely be extraordinary. Nevertheless, you will need to obtain a good teacher and join a powerful Sect. Otherwise, your aptitude will be wasted without proper guidance!”
Fan Liang Peng originally thought that the child would immediately bow down and gratefully beg him to join Heavenly Martial Tower after listening to his question, but contrary to his expectations, the child waved his offer away dismissively, “I know. People have told me the exact same words before.”
Fan Liang Peng’s heart clenched upon hearing those words. [Somebody said the exact same words before? Who?]
The child named Chai Shan asked, “Old man, let me ask you this, who is the strongest in the Heavenly or something Tower?”
[O-Old man!?] The corners of Fan Liang Peng’s brow twitched. [I’m a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! It’s bad enough that you didn’t call me Senior, but how dare you call me an old man!?]
Nevertheless, children had no filters on their mouths, so as a responsible adult, he did not pick an argument with the child and simply answered with a smile, “The strongest Master is Heavenly Martial Tower’s Tower Lord!”
“What Order?”
“Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” He announced proudly.
“How many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are there in your Sect? What about Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters?”
“Uh, if you’re talking about Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, then our Tower Lord is the only one. As for Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, we have around six of them.”
“Tsk!” Chai Shan spat disdainfully, “One Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and just six Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters? Heavenly Martial Tower sure is weak!”
[Foul-mouth child, how dare you speak so disrespectfully!?] Fan Liang Peng nearly lost control and cussed out loud. In his mind, he was thinking that Heavenly Martial Tower was a Second-Class great force that dominated Heavenly Martial Territory. Even the Great Territory was named after the Sect itself!
While he did not dare to claim that Heavenly Martial Tower was very strong, there was no doubt that Heavenly Martial Tower was definitely considered mid-level among all the Second-Class great forces in the 3,000 Worlds! Which great force in the nearby Great Territories would dare not show Heavenly Martial Tower some respect!? Therefore, he could hardly believe that Heavenly Martial Tower was mercilessly scorned as weak by a ten-year-old child!
For a time, he could barely keep his composure. Just as he was about to reason with the child, Chai Shan leaped off the chair. It was clear that the boy could not be bothered to reason with him any longer.
Chai Shan put his hands on his waist and looked Fan Liang Peng in the eye, “Old man, please go back. I’m a man who will join High Heaven Palace one day. I’m not interested in Heavenly Martial Tower!” Then, he turned to look at his parents, “Father, Mother, don’t just let any random person into the house next time. It’s such a waste of time. I’m going off to play now!”
After saying that, he turned around and skipped out the door.
His Mother quickly shouted after him, “Don’t run so quickly! Be careful not to fall!”
“Got it!” His voice came from afar.
Meanwhile, Fan Liang Peng remained seated in his chair with dumbstruck silence. [I am a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. How did I become just ‘any random person’ in the eyes of a child?]
Chai Shan’s Father looked at Fan Liang Peng with a smile, “Old Sir, Chai Shan does not seem to be willing. Uh…”
Fan Liang Peng came back to his senses and coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, “You Son’s intentions to join High Heaven Palace shows that he has lofty aspirations indeed. It would seem that he is not fated with Heavenly Martial Tower. Ahem. Since we are not fated, then this Old Master will not disturb you any further.”
After leaving the small village, he looked back once more. Chai Shan was playing with a group of children in a carefree manner. Thus, he couldn’t help feeling a little emotional. [Have the times changed? Or, is the situation in the Star Boundary simply different?]
…
Inside the Grand Hall of High Heaven Palace, Yang Kai sat upright and listened to Hua Qing Si reporting on the changes in the Star Boundary over the years. When he heard about how High Heaven Palace was fostering the disciples that many great forces had recruited from the Star Boundary, he couldn’t help bursting into laughter, “I can’t believe they came up with that idea!”
Hua Qing Si said, “There’s no helping it. Aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Great Evolution Paradise is the only other Sect with a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary. The other great forces don’t have their own Dao Temples, so they have nowhere to place the disciples that they recruit. That’s why they can only choose fostering instead. In that regard, High Heaven Palace and the other native great forces in the Star Boundary have opened our doors for their convenience. Doing so does not increase our troubles after all. We also make sure that the cultivators under our foster care are all treated equally.”
Yang Kai nodded in agreement, “They are all cultivators from the Star Boundary after all. It’s only right for us to do so.”
Still, Hua Qing Si sighed, “To be honest, many of those disciples have extraordinary aptitudes. I have to admit that the people sent by the great forces to recruit disciples have extremely sharp eyes.”
He smiled, “Head Manager, are you feeling sad about the loss of talent?”
“A little,” She nodded.
“There’s no need for that.” He waved away her concerns, “Thanks to the feedback from the World Tree, the number of talents will only increase with time. Even if we accept them all into High Heaven Palace, we will not be able to care for them. On the contrary, it will only cause others to be jealous of us. This is the best solution to the problem. Although many great forces in the 3,000 Worlds have recruited disciples from the Star Boundary, they have no choice but to leave these disciples in the care of the great forces in the Star Boundary. In other words, they are spending resources to help the Star Boundary cultivate our talents.”
Her eyes lit up at those words, “As expected of you, Sect Master, you’ve seen through everything.”
He laughed, “These disciples come from the Star Boundary in the first place. Their homes are here, so no matter how high their cultivation becomes in the future, they will never forget about the Star Boundary.”
“That’s true!” She nodded.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai looked at Hua Qing Si with slight regret, “Head Manager, did you eventually advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
During this return trip, Yang Kai discovered that Hua Qing Si was already a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Hua Qing Si lifted a hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled, “With my aptitude, I’m already very satisfied to be able to advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
“Didn’t you try to use the Divine Dao Water I set aside for you?” Yang Kai asked.
To which she replied, “I didn’t see a need to try. It’s not because I’m being reserved either. We discovered quite a significant amount of Divine Dao Water in the New Great Territory over the years. It’s just that I know that even if I had used the Divine Dao Water to fortify my Dao Seal, I would still have had a long way to go before I could advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. There would have been a huge risk involved if I forced my way.”
He nodded lightly, “If there was such a risk, then it was better to be safe.”
“That’s what I thought too. Besides, a starting point in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm isn’t bad either. I will still have the chance to advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm one day.” She smiled.
“Second Manager told me that you’ve found something special in the New Great Territory. Is that true?” Yang Kai asked.
Nodding, Hua Qing Si reported, “I was just about to tell you about this, Sect Master…”
Just then, he raised his hand to stop her. He looked up and saw more than ten people coming towards them from the outside. Each of them was shrouded in an extraordinary aura which made it obvious they were extremely strong. They were High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Both Yang Kai and Hua Qing Si stood up to greet them.
Yang Kai was familiar with most of the people who just arrived, with only a few of them being unfamiliar faces to him. One of them was a charming and beautiful woman who stared at him with great interest with a pair of elegant eyes.
Yu Chang Dao was also among them, and he automatically introduced Yang Kai to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters whom the latter was not acquainted with. The rest of the unfamiliar faces were nothing special, but there was one person who was worthy of attention. It turned out that the beautiful woman came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and her name was Yu Xiang Die.
Yang Kai bowed in greeting, “Greetings, Martial Aunt Yu!”
Yu Xiang Die smiled sweetly, “I’ve long wanted to meet you, Young Master. It’s a pity you’re never around. Now that I meet you today, I can see that you have an extraordinary temperament indeed.”
Yang Kai humbly replied, “You praise me too much, Martial Aunt.” After a pause, he followed up with another question, “Where is Xu Ling Gong?”
Xu Ling Gong was supposed to be in charge of all matters related to the Star Boundary, but he was nowhere to be seen and Yu Xiang Die was here in his stead.
Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that it was rather strange.
Yu Xiang Die smiled, “Senior Brother Xu is busy with another matter. I’m afraid he left the Star Boundary some time ago.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly in response and did not inquire further.
After everyone took their seats, Hua Qing Si instructed somebody to prepare some tea before she stood respectfully to the side.
More than a dozen Open Heaven Realm Masters had suddenly come here together; moreover, these people included Yu Chang Dao and Yu Xiang Die. The former served as High Heaven Palace’s Supreme Guest Elder while the latter came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, which had a close relationship with Yang Kai.
The reason for their arrival went without saying. It was obvious that they came for the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
After everybody sat down, they chatted for a little while longer before Yu Chang Dao said, “Sect Master, we came here today mainly to discuss the matter regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with you.”
Yang Kai had expected the response, so he was not surprised. He nodded and asked, “Have the Cave Heavens and Paradises decided to agree to the request I made previously?”
Before Yu Chang Dao could speak, another High-Rank Open Heaven Master interjected instead, “Sect Master Yang, the opportunities to undergo training in the Small Source Worlds are extremely precious. Don’t you think that you’re trying to take the lion’s share by demanding the opportunity to undergo training in exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for one month?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t think so. I’ve personally witnessed the amazing effects of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. One month might seem short, but if you’ve made adequate preparations, you can obtain quite a lot of good things within that period. It will be more than enough to satisfy your disciples’ advancement needs for some time.”
Another person spoke up, “That might be the case, but each Sect will have to take certain risks when using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Besides, the number of materials consumed by the Good Fortune Divine Furnace can be very alarming. We cannot bear all the risks ourselves while you alone enjoy all the benefits. Isn’t that right, Sect Master Yang?”
Yang Kai looked at the man with a smile, “As far as I know, each Sect has more than one Small Source World. I am only asking for one opportunity from each of you. Why are you so reluctant to make some sacrifices? It is true that the Good Fortune Divine Furnace will consume a lot of materials, but it is well within your ability to bear such losses. You would not have tried to target the Good Fortune Divine Furnace otherwise. What’s more, if each Sect gets one month and more than 100 Sects take turns every month, then it will take more than ten years for everyone to get their turn. It’s not that I’m not willing to give each Cave Heavens and Paradises more time, it’s just that the people at the back of the line will have to wait a very long time if each Sect gets an extended usage period.”
That man shook his head, “The price is too high!”
Yang Kai calmly replied, “Since you’ve all decided to come together today, you’ve obviously discussed a solution in advance. Why don’t we just get straight to the point instead?”
Everybody looked at each other and nodded lightly in unison.
Yu Chang Dao said, “Sect Master, the outcome of our discussion is that we forgo the qualification to enter the Small Source World for training. Instead, we will provide a certain number of materials in exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Of course, each Sect can make a certain degree of concession in terms of the materials. We will not let High Heaven Palace suffer any losses. What do you think, Sect Master?”
Although he was High Heaven Palace’s Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder, Yu Chang Dao was here today to represent the Cave Heavens and Paradises; therefore, he could only negotiate with Yang Kai from the standpoint of Free and Unfettered Paradise.
Yang Kai burst into laughter and shook his head, “High Heaven Palace does not lack materials.”
If mere compensation in terms of materials was enough to exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, then Grandmaster Ma Fan would not have left this matter to Yang Kai. It would have been more beneficial for him to do the negotiations himself.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Master who spoke up previously frowned, “Sect Master Yang, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace belongs to Great Evolution Paradise. If you are unable to make a decision, then don’t you think you need to have a careful discussion with Grandmaster Ma Fan at Great Evolution Paradise?”
Yang Kai turned to look at that person, “I have full authority to make the final call when it comes to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Grandmaster Ma Fan left this matter to me, and I will not disappoint him.”
He then stood up and continued, “It looks like you have not come to a consensus, which is fine. It’s not too late to come back and discuss matters with me once you have reached an agreement amongst yourselves. But, don’t even bother to mention anything about providing materials in exchange for the use of the Good Fortune Divine Furnace again, not unless you are providing Yin and Yang Element materials in the Sixth Order and above!”
The reason why the Cave Heavens and Paradises wanted to borrow the Good Fortune Divine Furnace was to create more Yin and Yang Element materials in the Sixth Order and above, so how could they use those materials to exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?
Yang Kai’s statement had undoubtedly rendered everybody else speechless.
“I just came back to the Star Boundary, so I have many affairs to deal with. Please excuse me,” Yang Kai said and departed with a flash, leaving behind many Open Heaven Realm Masters looking at each other perplexedly.
Dong Su Zhu looked up into the sky from the top of a certain Spirit Peak. Hua Qing Si had immediately sent a message to inform the two Elders about Yang Kai’s return as soon as he arrived in the Star Boundary. Overjoyed to learn that her Son had returned, Dong Su Zhu had specially come out here to wait for his arrival.
Yang Ying Feng walked out of the bamboo building behind her, his arms clasped behind his back, and snorted, “He doesn’t even come back to visit his Parents as soon as he returns. We truly wasted our time raising this Son.”
Although he said those words, his eyes would glance around from time to time with an earnest expression.
Dong Su Zhu turned around to glare at him, “You talk too much! Our Son has a different status now. High Heaven Palace is so enormous and he has not returned for so many years; I’m sure he has many things to discuss with Manager Hua. You can go back if you’re upset. Nobody is forcing you to wait here.”
Yang Ying Feng sighed and muttered, “Defeated by a loving Mother!”
During their conversation, space nearby rippled. Immediately after that, a figure emerged. It was none other than Yang Kai, whom these two Elders had been yearning all day and all night to see.
Dong Su Zhu hurriedly went forward to greet him, “Son, you’re back!”
“Mother!” Yang Kai nodded in greeting before he turned to look at Yang Ying Feng nearby, “Father!”
Yang Ying Feng grunted sullenly in response, then he turned around and entered the bamboo building.
Dong Su Zhu took Yang Kai’s hand and examined him carefully. After a while, she finally said in satisfaction, “You didn’t get thinner. In fact, you’ve gotten stronger. You must have suffered a lot outside all these years.”
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “I’m used to it.”
He carefully perceived her aura and raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Mother, have you already advanced into the Open Heaven Realm?”
She nodded, “That’s right. I’m also in the Open Heaven Realm now.”
It all felt like a dream whenever she recalled everything that she experienced over the years. Starting from the Yang Family in the Great Han Dynasty up until now, it was difficult to imagine that she would advance into the Open Heaven Realm one day.
“Which Order?” He looked concerned.
She smiled, “Fifth-Order.”
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s great.”
Thanks to the feedback from the World Tree in the Star Boundary back then, his parents had been lucky enough to condense their Dao Seals. Yang Kai had personally examined them once, and with his parents’ original aptitude, the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm would have been their limit even if they managed to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. It was only thanks to the Star Boundary’s World Tree that they had hopes of a better outcome.
With a two-pronged approach involving the Divine Dao Water and the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, Dong Su Zhu managed to advance into the Open Heaven Realm in recent years.
“What about Father?” Yang Kai asked.
“He is also in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” Dong Su Zhu laughed.
Speaking of which, there had been some risks involved when the two Elders advanced into the Open Heaven Realm. Their aptitude had barely been enough after all. Advancing into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm would have been the safest choice. Be that as it may, they both knew that their future limit would be in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm if they could advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was why they decided to take the risk.
It was not purely for their own future achievements of course. They had been living under Yang Kai’s protection all these years; hence, they wished that there would come a day when they could help their Son instead of simply staying at home in retirement.
A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was bound to have some qualifications, right? That was why the two Elders had been working hard on their cultivation after their advancement. In any case, there was no shortage of resources in High Heaven Palace. Not to mention, Hua Qing Si strongly supported their cultivation and freely gave them whatever resources they needed.
“Come, come. Let’s go inside and talk,” Dong Su Zhu led Yang Kai into the bamboo hut by the hand.
The family of three spent a joyous and harmonious time together as they casually chatted with each other.
Dong Su Zhu suddenly said, “By the way, how are Xiao’er and Xue’er doing?”
Yang Kai replied, “They’re both doing well. Before I came here, Xiao’er followed a Senior to the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land. The environment in that place will be highly beneficial for his cultivation. Xue’er couldn’t follow him, so she stayed behind at Void Land to cultivate in retreat.”
Dong Su Zhu complained, “That little girl… Why doesn’t she know to come back and visit us?”
Yang Ying Feng stroked his neatly combed beard and quickly said, “Speaking of Xiao’er and Xue’er, there’s something we need to discuss.”
Yang Kai asked in confusion, “Father, what do you wish to discuss?”
Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu exchanged a glance with each other. In the end, Dong Su Zhu was the one to speak, “The two children can be said to have grown up together. Disregarding their hierarchy in the family, they can be said to be childhood sweethearts. Moreover, they spent so many years living and cultivating together. I’m sure they’ve secretly developed feelings for each other by now. As their Big Brother and Foster Father, you’ve always been running around outside all the time, so I have no idea whether you noticed anything, but it is as plain as day to the two of us.”
“But, there is a generational gap between them in terms of seniority and hierarchy. Xiao’er is your Adopted Son. When it comes to honorifics, he has to call Xue’er ‘Little Aunt’ by right.” Yang Ying Feng elaborated, “Kai’er, you’ve always been assertive. How do you think this matter should be handled?”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment.
The truth was that he had given some thought to Yang Xiao and Yang Xue’s matters in the past. When a man and a woman lived and cultivated together for hundreds of years, starting from when they were just little children, it was only natural for feelings to grow between them. It was just that the two little ones had never expressed anything to him, so he did not wish to speak rashly. Nevertheless, it was time to make up his mind now that his parents had brought up this matter.
A short while later, he answered, “In terms of seniority and hierarchy, there is no denying that Xiao’er is one generation younger than Xue’er, but if we look at it from the perspective of them as Disciples under the same Master, they share a Senior Brother and Junior Sister relationship. What I’m trying to say is that we should let nature take its course. We can leave this matter to them. If something really does come of this, then they each have their own seniority over the other. It’s not a big deal anyway. Cultivators don’t really care about these minor details. Besides, there is no real blood relationship between them. Even if they were to marry each other, it would be an auspicious matter.”
Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu exchanged a glance with each other, with Yang Ying Feng asking worriedly, “Even if that’s the case, will outsiders say anything?”
Yang Kai laughed, “Just let them follow their hearts. Why should we care what other people might say? If they can’t even withstand a few unsolicited remarks, then there is no need for them to be together.”
Dong Su Zhu nodded, “That’s true… To cultivators, age and seniority are not very important. Even among our Daughters-in-Law, many of them are much older than you. If we really had to follow honorifics, then we would have to call her ‘Senior’.”
Needless to say, she was referring to Yu Ru Meng.
As one of the Demon Race Demon Saints, Yu Ru Meng was countless times older than Yang Kai. Even Xue Yue, Shan Qing Luo, and Ji Yao were also much older than Yang Kai. There was no need to even mention Zhu Qing in this regard. Only Xia Ning Chang and Su Yan were of similar age to Yang Kai.
Yang Ying Feng also nodded, “Putting it this way, then we have nothing to worry about. We only need to clarify the two children’s intentions.”
“That’s right!” While speaking, Yang Kai laughed again, “By the way, Mother, Father, I came back to ask you for a favour.”
Dong Su Zhu smiled, “You are our Son. Just speak up if there’s something you need from us. Why would you need us to do you a favour?”
With a wave of his hand, two figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere. One was a stunning beauty, and the other was a slightly foolish-looking man. These two had been in the middle of doing something when they were summoned from the Small Universe by Yang Kai without any warning, so they were a little confused at first.
After looking around their surroundings and seeing Yang Kai, both of them quickly bowed in greeting, “Honoured Master!”
“Honoured Master?” Dong Su Zhu looked at Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai in surprise, “Kai’er, did you take on Disciples?”
Yang Kai nodded and made the introductions, “This boy with the silly look on his face is Zhao Ye Bai; this smart and quick-witted girl is Zhao Ya.” Then, he turned to those two and added, “These two are your Master’s parents!”
Zhao Ye Bai immediately became dumbstruck and asked in a panic, “Master, you have parents too?”
Yang Kai kicked Zhao Ye Bai, “Nonsense! Why wouldn’t I have Parents? Did you think I popped out of a rock!?
Zhao Ye Bai quickly waved his hand and responded in embarrassment, “No, no, no, Master! That’s not what I meant!”
Zhao Ya tugged at Zhao Ye Bai and knelt on the ground with a thud. She bowed respectfully, “Zhao Ya greets Grand Masters!”
Only then did Zhao Ye Bai return to his senses and hurriedly bow in greeting, “Zhao Ye Bai greets Grand Masters!”
Dong Su Zhu smiled brightly, waving her hand to help the two up as she called out, “What good children. Stand up, stand up.”
A gentle force wrapped around Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai, and they stood involuntarily.
“Oh my, this little girl is really quite pretty,” Dong Su Zhu examined Zhao Ya and did not hesitate to praise the girl.
Zhao Ya smiled sweetly and shyly said, “Thank you, Grand Master.”
Dong Su Zhu quipped, “I wonder which smelly brat will be so lucky to have you in the future.”
Zhao Ya blushed slightly and glanced at Zhao Ye Bai. On the other hand, Zhao Ye Bai was standing with his hands clenched tightly into fists, his head straight, and his chest raised slightly. It was obvious that he was very nervous. There was even a sheen of fine sweat covering his forehead.
[Numbskull!] Zhao Ya pouted to herself.
Seeing this scene, Dong Su Zhu immediately understood the situation. She then beckoned Zhao Ya over. When Zhao Ya approached, she took the young woman’s small hand, and took off one of the bracelets on her own arm before placing it in Zhao Ya’s hand, “Since this is our first time meeting each other, you can consider this a gift from your Grand Master.”
Zhao Ya looked down. Although she could not identify the Grade of the bracelet, she knew that it was an extraordinary item; thus, she quickly shook her head and said, “Grand Master, this is far too precious. I can’t accept this.”
“Just take it. It is the first time your Master has ever taken a Disciple. As your Grand Master, how can I fail to show some sincerity?”
Helpless, Zhao Ya turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “The gifts from your Elders cannot be refused!”
Upon hearing what her Master said, she finally pursed her scarlet lips and said, “Xiao Ya thanks you for the gift, Grand Master!”
“Good girl!” Dong Su Zhu smiled and patted Zhao Ya’s head.
Seeing this, Yang Ying Feng could only dig out a chainmail-like Artifact Armour from his Space Ring and hand it to Zhao Ye Bai, “This isn’t a particularly expensive item, but it suits your current cultivation. Consider this a meeting gift from your Grand Master.”
Having learned from Zhao Ya’s previous experience, Zhao Ye Bai did not refuse; instead, he cupped his fist and shouted in a deep voice, “Zhao Ye Bai thanks Grand Master for the gift!”
He took two steps forward and reached out to take the Artifact Armour with both hands. It was almost as though he was carrying a supreme treasure as he respectfully stepped back.
Although it was only the first meeting, the performance of the two children was enough for the two Elders to obtain an idea of their personalities.
Zhao Ya was undoubtedly more likeable thanks to her cheerful personality. On the other hand, Zhao Ye Bai was relatively slow-witted in comparison. He also had a simple and honest temperament. What’s more, these were the Disciples that Yang Kai took in. Regardless of their aptitude, there was nothing wrong with their characters.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai had been living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe ever since they were born. Although the environment in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was not bad, it was impossible to compare it with the current cultivation environment in the Star Boundary.
Among the countless Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds, the Star Boundary was the only place deserving of the nicknamed ‘Open Heaven Realm Cradle’ throughout history. Why else would the Cave Heavens and Paradises be so eager to send their disciples trillions upon trillions of kilometres away just to come here?
The reason why Yang Kai had made Zhao Ya suppress her cultivation previously was out of fear that her cultivation would improve too quickly. If her cultivation became too high, she would lose most of her malleability and fail to enjoy the full benefits brought by the feedback of the World Tree as a result.
“Xiao Ya.” Yang Kai looked at Zhao Ya, “In the past, I asked you to suppress your cultivation because I had my concerns. Now that we have arrived at the Star Boundary, there’s no need to deliberately suppress your cultivation anymore.”
Zhao Ya’s beautiful eyes lit up, “Master, are you saying that I can advance as I please now?”
He nodded in confirmation, which caused her to cheer in exhilaration.
Others could not understand her pain. There were times when she could clearly feel that the opportunity to break through was upon her and she would only need to enter retreat or even engage in a single battle to advance to the next stage. Unfortunately, she could only forcefully suppress herself because of her Master’s orders.
That feeling was similar to a starving person who could only stare at the mountain of delicacies in front of them and not take a single bite. Therefore, it was only natural that she would be ecstatic when she heard Yang Kai saying that she could advance as she pleased and that she no longer needed to suppress herself like before.
Yang Kai then turned to look at Zhao Ye Bai, “Xiao Bai, your aptitude is much poorer than Xiao Ya, but as your Master, I’ve always told you this, diligence makes up for lack of natural talent. Work hard in the future. Don’t let your Junior Sister leave you behind by too much!”
Zhao Ye Bai quickly said, “Yes, Master! This Disciple will work hard in my cultivation and live up to your expectations!”
“Mother, I will have to trouble you and Father to take care of these two children in the future,” Yang Kai looked at Dong Su Zhu.
Dong Su Zhu smiled from ear to ear, “No problem. Don’t worry and leave them to me. We will definitely take good care of them for you.”
The old couple disliked the fact that Yang Kai could not accompany them often. That was why they had worked hard to give birth to Yang Xue even though they had long passed the suitable age for childbearing. In the end, Yang Xue had left along with her Big Brother when she grew up.
With no children to accompany them, the two Elders had often felt lonely over the years; hence, there was no reason for them not to be happy when Yang Kai suddenly placed Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai under their care.
It would have been one thing if it were anybody else, but the key point was that these two children were Yang Kai’s Disciples! What was the difference with having their own grandchildren!? Not to mention, Zhao Ya was a naturally beautiful girl with a sweet tongue. On the other hand, Zhao Ye Bai had a gentle temperament although he could be a little stiff. They were both good children
It could be said that Dong Su Zhu was becoming increasingly satisfied the more she observed the two children.
When Yang Kai noticed his Mother’s attitude, he quickly reminded her, “Don’t spoil them too much. You need to punish them if they make a mistake. They will not grow up well without proper rules in place.”
“I know!” She waved her hand impatiently.
Yang Kai shook his head in frustration. Turning to look at Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai sternly, he warned them, “From today onward, the two of you will cultivate hard under your two Grand Masters. Be obedient. If I learn that you have committed any mistakes, I will not forgive you!”
“This Disciple would not dare!” The two children replied in unison.
Only then did he nod his head in satisfaction, “Father, Mother, I still have other matters to discuss with the Head Manager. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Dong Su Zhu nodded in understanding, “Go on then.”
After a quick bow, Yang Kai turned around to leave. He had just been about to discuss the matters regarding the New Great Territory with Hua Qing Si when they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Yu Chang Dao and the others; hence, he was still unclear about the situation over there.
When Yang Kai met Hua Qing Si again, the first thing he did was ask, “Just what is the situation in the New Great Territory?”
She replied, “The New Great Territory is extremely rich in resources. It’s a fertile land that has never been developed before. We have found many good things over the years. A few years ago, we even discovered a very interesting Universe World.
“A Universe World?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “How is it interesting?”
She gave a little hint, “You will have to find out the specifics for yourself when you see it. Believe me, you will be surprised, Sect Master.”
While saying so, she took out a Communication Bead to send a message. It didn’t take long before a person arrived. That person was slightly stunned to see Yang Kai and quickly bowed in greeting, “Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Long time no see, Hei He.”
The person who arrived was the second person Yang Kai included in the Loyalty List, Hei He. The first person to leave their name in the Loyalty List was Chen Tian Fei, who gave Yang Kai the Loyalty List in the first place.
When changes first occurred in the Star Boundary thanks to the World Tree, it was Hei He who brought Lan Xun to the 3,000 Worlds and travelled to Void Land to report the news to Yang Kai.
Hei He had been in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he was first taken in by Yang Kai, and there was no change to his cultivation at present. He was still in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nevertheless, his aura had obviously become much more profound. It was clear that his strength had improved significantly. It was just that the Open Heaven Realm required time to accumulate and precipitate experience, so it was not that easy to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Hua Qing Si instructed, “Hei He, bring the Sect Master to the Small Stone World!”
He quickly said, “Yes!”
Yang Kai nodded at Hua Qing Si lightly before pushing his Space Principles to wrap around Hei He. The two of them instantly vanished from the spot, and by the time they reappeared, they had already arrived at the New Great Territory’s Territory Gate.
There were two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters guarding the Territory Gate. It turned out to be Iron Blood Great Emperor and Martial Beast Great Emperor. These two were sitting cross-legged in the void with their eyes closed in meditation.
Upon detecting movement nearby, Martial Beast Great Emperor Mo Huang’s eyes opened and immediately lit up, “You’re back?”
“You’ve both worked hard,” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
Mo Huang smiled, “It’s not hard at all, just a little boring. At least I can still cultivate, which helps to pass some time.”
Yang Kai asked, “Has anybody tried to set their eyes on the New Great Territory over the years?”
Mo Huang laughed, “Of course! How could they not? Look over there at that guy sneakily looking around curiously. He is practically drooling to plunge in to check out the situation inside.”
Yang Kai looked in the direction that Mo Huang was pointing and saw several gazes staring in this direction from Star City.
The New Great Territory’s Territory Gate was located about a million kilometres from the Star Boundary. That distance could not be considered far, but it was located much closer to High Heaven Star City. It was possible to see most of what was happening inside Star City just by standing next to the Territory Gate.
Iron Blood Great Emperor Zhan Wu Hen said indifferently, “The two of us are Great Emperors of the Star Boundary, so as long as we are here, we can cope even if a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were to rashly attack us. Combined with the agreements you made with the Cave Heavens and Paradises previously, they don’t dare to do anything even if they are curious.”
Yang Kai nodded, “If anybody dares to act without regard for the agreement, please feel free to retaliate. I will bear full responsibility if anything happens.”
Mo Huang grinned, “That statement is enough for me. However, everything has been relatively stable over the years. Nobody has done anything to upset the balance yet.”
Yang Kai nodded. All of a sudden, he took a closer look at the two of them and exclaimed in astonishment, “Your cultivation…”
Mo Huang and Zhan Wu Hen exchanged a glance with each other and chuckled. They seemed to have expected Yang Kai’s surprise.
Mo Huang explained, “We didn’t notice anything initially either. It wasn’t until after you departed that the Great Emperors of the Star Boundary discovered something. Our cultivation improves rapidly if we cultivate in the Star Boundary. There is practically no need for us to refine any cultivation resources.”
Zhan Wu Hen added, “Because we are the Great Emperors acknowledged by the Star Boundary’s Will, the Star Boundary’s World Force is extremely compatible with our Small Universes. That’s why we can easily refine the power of the Star Boundary’s World Force for our own use.”
Mo Huang elaborated, “An average Universe World would not be able to withstand having seven or eight Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters refining its World Force in this manner. It wouldn’t take more than a few years before the World Force was completely exhausted, but the Star Boundary is different. Thanks to the feedback from the World Tree, the might of this World will only become stronger and stronger. Even if we cultivate and refine some of its World Force, our actions will not affect the Star Boundary.”
Those words made Yang Kai’s eyes gleam, “I can’t believe there’s something that great!”
Thinking about it again though, it was not that surprising.
In order to face Zuo Quan Hui back then, Yang Kai had borrowed the Star Boundary’s World Force to temporarily advance from the Sixth Order into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Although he fell back to his original state in the end, he gained great benefits from the experience. The heritage of his Small Universe had gotten much stronger, which saved him many years of hard cultivation.
It was precisely because of the compatibility between the Star Boundary’s World Force and his Small Universe that his heritage was enhanced significantly after he borrowed the Star Boundary’s World Force. If that was the case for himself, it would naturally be the same for the other Great Emperors of the Star Boundary!
The Open Heaven Realm cultivation was a long and arduous journey. One of the shortcuts was to refine the heritage of a Universe World that was compatible with themselves for their own use. Unfortunately, finding a Universe World in the vast 3,000 Worlds that was perfectly compatible with oneself was not an easy task.
However, the relationship between the Star Boundary and the Great Emperors was much simpler. The Great Emperors who were acknowledged by the Star Boundary’s Will were extremely compatible with the Star Boundary in the first place.
It was just as Mo Huang had mentioned earlier. An average Universe World would not be able to withstand seven or eight Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters refining its World Force in such a manner. The Universe World would surely decline once its World Force was exhausted.
The Star Boundary had no need to worry about this issue though. Under the constant feedback from the World Tree, the World Force would only get stronger and stronger. As long as the World Tree existed, it could be said that the Star Boundary’s World Force was practically inexhaustible.
That was why even though Mo Huang and Zhan Wu Hen had only advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm several decades ago, Yang Kai’s observation indicated that their heritage was no less than Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who had already broken through for hundreds of years.
Yang Kai couldn’t help becoming excited about this discovery. If that was the case, then the Star Boundary Great Emperors, himself included, would have a much easier time advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm compared to others. That was because cultivating in the Star Boundary was a shortcut for them!
What’s more, he initially planned to find an opportunity to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm upon his return from the Shattered Heaven.
The Proprietress had been in retreat for close to 100 years now, but even so, she was nowhere near breaking through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. It could be seen just how difficult it was to cross over from the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm!
It had not been long since Yang Kai advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Be that as it may, his heritage was extraordinary thanks to various opportunities he had come across. Ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could not compare to him at all. He had just enough qualification to try advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
It was precisely because of this plan that he came up with the brilliant idea of asking the Cave Heavens and Paradises to provide the opportunity to train in the Small Source Worlds in exchange for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
He only needed to enter one more Small Source World for training to accumulate his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm heritage to the peak, then he could enter retreat with peace of mind. But, he would need to fulfil his 100-year contract with Yin-Yang Cave Heaven before that.
Qu Hua Shang was put in isolation for 100 years, but based on a quick calculation of the time, there were only a couple dozen or so years left before she would be released.
There was no saying how long it would take for Yang Kai to try advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nevertheless, he could not keep Qu Hua Shang waiting. Yin-Yang Cave Heaven and Xu Ling Gong would not approve either. That was why he needed to wait for Qu Hua Shang’s 100-year isolation to end before he could proceed with his plan.
Enter a Small Source World belonging to one of the Cave Heavens and Paradises to train and accumulate his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm heritage to the peak, then head to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to pick up Qu Hua Shang, and finally enter retreat with peace of mind to attempt advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was Yang Kai’s original plan.
Now that he learned about the situation in the Star Boundary though, the opportunity to train in the Small Source World no longer mattered. Such opportunities were rare after all, and it was better to leave such opportunities to the other people in Void Land. It was enough for him and the other Star Boundary Great Emperors to cultivate with the help of the Star Boundary’s World Force alone.
Just as Yang Kai was quietly making plans in his heart, he heard Mo Huang saying something with a small laugh, “It’s because of the current situation in the Star Boundary that the Star Boundary Great Emperors have not gone to the Small Stone World to cultivate. All of us have stayed behind in the Star Boundary. Although the situation in the Small Stone World is similar to the Star Boundary, there are more limitations in the Star Boundary. With the exceptions of the Great Emperors, the other Open Heaven Realm Masters do not benefit from cultivating in the Star Boundary.”
Yang Kai asked in astonishment, “The situation in the Small Stone World is similar to the Star Boundary?”
This was only his second time hearing about the Small Stone World. Hua Qing Si had also mentioned the name earlier; however, he did not ask any questions and she did not explain in detail. It was unexpected to hear about the situation in the Small Stone World from Mo Huang at this moment.
“Don’t you know?” Mo Huang looked at Yang Kai questioningly.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I just came back not long ago. Head Manager Hua did not tell me anything in detail and simply asked me to check out the situation myself.”
Mo Huang nodded in understanding, “In that case, you should go. The Small Stone World is the name that Head Manager gave that Universe World. You will understand immediately once you arrive there.”
Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, I’ll be going now.”
The Territory Gate was protected by a special Space Array that Yang Kai had personally arranged together with Luan Bai Feng; therefore, a special token that he created was required for people to travel through it safely. Recklessly trying to trespass would only cause the trespasser to be exiled to the Void. This was the final defence he left behind to prevent the Cave Heavens and Paradises from putting their hands on the New Great Territory.
Other people might require a special token to use the Territory Gate, but Yang Kai had no such difficulties. Yang Kai activated his power to wrap around Hei He once more, then the two of them passed through the Territory Gate and entered the New Great Territory.
Hei He took the lead and Yang Kai followed closely behind. Along the way, they occasionally encountered figures shuttling through the void or ships speeding past them.
There were a total of about 2,000 Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land and High Heaven Palace combined. Out of these 2,000, approximately 1,500 of them had been dispatched by Hua Qing Si to explore and develop the New Great Territory.
It was all thanks to the hard work of these 1,500 Open Heaven Realm Masters over the past few decades that Void Land and High Heaven Palace had so many resources to splurge.
The cultivation resources and materials of various Orders produced by the New Great Territory accounted for half of Void Land and High Heaven Palace’s total income. Meanwhile, the other half came from the combined output of the two Star Cities and the Black Prison. It could be seen just how rich the New Great Territory was.
The pair travelled for more than half a month before a Universe World finally appeared in front of them. It was a green Universe World and Yang Kai could already sense the abundant aura coming from it before he even got close.
This Universe World was much bigger than the Star Boundary, almost five times the size in fact. Looking down from above, the entire Universe World seemed to be covered in large swathes of green, indicating it was filled with dense forests.
Hei He briefly checked his bearings before he led Yang Kai halfway around the Small Stone World and plunged into the clouds on the opposite side.
There was a Spirit Peak below them that soared into the clouds. Furthermore, there was a bamboo building atop the Spirit Peak where two familiar auras were residing.
Yang Kai and Hei He sped over in that direction.
The two people cultivating inside the bamboo building clearly noticed the arrival of Yang Kai and Hei He and immediately came out of the building and looked up into the sky.
A short while later, Yang Kai and Hei He landed lightly as Yue He greeted them joyfully, “Young Master!”
Behind her, Zhou Ya bowed elegantly, “Greetings, Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded and looked around his surroundings, “Are you the only ones here?”
There were over 20 Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land. The Great Emperors had stayed behind in the Star Boundary while Mo Mei, Yang Xue, and Yang Kai’s numerous Wives had stayed behind in Void Land. On the other hand, the others such as Yue He, Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, Zhou Ya, Hui Gu, Hua Yong, Shu Mu Dan, Xiang Ying, and Fang Yue had all gone to the New Great Territory.
However, the others who were stationed in the New Great Territory were nowhere to be seen at this moment.
Yue He explained, “The others are helping with the development of the New Great Territory. Although there are few dangers in this place, there are many tasks that require the presence of a Master to prevent any unexpected accidents. After some discussion, we decided to work in groups of two and take turns to rest. It happened to be my turn to rest with Senior Sister Zhou, so we returned to this place.”
Yang Kai nodded, “You’ve worked hard.”
Yue He smiled and shook her head, “It’s not hard at all.”
“Let’s go inside and talk,” Yang Kai gestured, to which the two women nodded in response.
Hei He cupped his fist and said, “Sir, this subordinate will return to his duties now.”
“Good, go on.” Yang Kai nodded.
Hei He took a deep breath and looked around somewhat reluctantly before soaring into the sky.
The three of them entered the bamboo building. While Zhou Ya was brewing tea, Yue He and Yang Kai talked about the development of the New Great Territory. Hua Qing Si had explained some of it to Yang Kai, but her understanding of the situation was not as detailed as Yue He’s; after all, Yue He and the others had been staying in the New Great Territory over the past few years. They were the first to know about any changes that occurred in this place, and it was only later that they would report the incident to High Heaven Palace.
The resources in the New Great Territory were extremely rich, indeed. The countless Universe Worlds that had yet to be developed contained a seemingly inexhaustible supply of cultivation materials of various Orders, as well as many rare and precious treasures.
For example, the newly-born Universe World that they discovered at the very beginning harboured precious treasures such as World Source Liquid, which was the main ingredient for refining Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills.
This was part of the reason why Yang Kai had sealed the New Great Territory’s Territory Gate and monopolised the resources in this place.
The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills had brought a lot of income and fame to Void Land, which in turn gathered large numbers of people to Void Star City. If a large quantity of World Source Liquid was leaked out into the world, then the advantage Void Land enjoyed would be gone forever.
In addition, many treasures such as the Divine Dao Water that could fortify a person’s Dao Seal and the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water that could cleanse the Powers from the Dao Seal to give a cultivator a chance to start over had also been found in great abundance here.
“Young Master, have you heard of the Four Universe Pillars?” Yue He asked all of a sudden.
Yang Kai’s expression became strange as he nodded, “I’ve heard of them before.”
He had more than heard of them before. During his trip to the Shattered Heaven, he had been hunted relentlessly because of the World Spring. In the end, he finally escaped by fleeing into the Ancestral Land.
Yang Kai thus asked suspiciously, “Did you discover one of the Four Universe Pillars in the New Great Territory?”
The Four Universe Pillars were incredible treasures. He himself had refined the World Spring, so he had profound experience in this regard. Thanks to the World Spring, Yang Kai’s Small Universe was incredibly firm and stable. His Small Universe would not be shaken when he engaged in brutal conflict with powerful enemies, allowing his World Force to always flow smoothly.
Without the risk of his Small Universe being shaken or destroyed, he could also raise living creatures inside his Small Universe to steadily enhance his heritage and reduce the time he needed for intense cultivation.
Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Bright Sun Divine Monarch would go crazy with jealousy over the Four Universe Pillars. It would be an amazing discovery if one of the Four Universe Pillars was found in the New Great Territory.
“Yes, and no.” Yue He smiled, “Since you know about the Four Universe Pillars, Sect Master, I’m sure you’ve also heard of the Four Great Universe Pillars and the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars.”
Yang Kai nodded.
“What we discovered in the New Great Territory is not one of the Four Great Pillars, but one of the Twelve Minor Pillars, the Profound Yin Bamboo. It’s just that we don’t have any Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the moment, so we can only place it aside for now. We agreed to wait for you to return and decide what to do with the Profound Yin Bamboo, Sect Master.”
The Twelve Minor Pillars and the Four Great Pillars were not the same although their effects were similar in that they fortified a cultivator’s Small Universe. There was no doubt, however, that the effects of the Four Great Pillars were stronger.
Refining any one of the Four Great Pillars was enough to reinforce a cultivator’s Small Universe and prevent any external force that was not beyond a certain critical threshold from affecting it. In comparison, the Twelve Minor Pillars did not have such magnificent effects. The Profound Yin Bamboo, for example, could only produce about 30% of the effect of one of the Four Great Pillars.
While the Four Great Pillars could be refined by any Open Heaven Realm Master regardless of their Order, the Twelve Minor Pillars could only be refined by High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Small Universe in their bodies had to materialize before they could refine the Twelve Minor Pillars; hence, those below the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm could not refine the Twelve Minor Pillars.
That was why even though one of the Twelve Minor Pillars had been discovered in the New Great Territory, Yue He and the others could only leave the Profound Yin Bamboo untouched and place a seal around the area for protection.
Yang Kai already had the World Spring, so he had no interest in the Profound Yin Bamboo. After a brief consideration though, he came up with a plan, “Give the Profound Yin Bamboo to whichever Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among yourselves advances into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm first.”
Yue He pursed her lips into a smile, “There is a large patch of Profound Yin Bamboo growing here, more than enough for many people. Besides, it is said that the Profound Yin Bamboo will continue to reproduce when placed in one’s Small Universe. Each person will only need to take a small piece of the root. You don’t need to worry about not having enough resources for everyone, Young Master.”
Yang Kai smiled after hearing her assurance, “That’s for the best.”
In this way, anybody from Void Land who advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm would receive a stalk of Profound Yin Bamboo. Even so, it would take a long time to nurture the Profound Yin Bamboo shoot so that it could produce satisfactory effects. The Profound Yin Bamboo could never compare with the World Spring in this regard.
“Young Master, do you want to harvest some of the Profound Yin Bamboo to sell? Many people will be interested in this item,” Yue He asked.
Yang Kai was silent for a moment before he said, “There’s no rush. Let’s revisit this topic when we’ve gotten stronger; otherwise, we don’t know how many people will become greedy once we reveal such treasures to the world.”
High Heaven Palace was monopolising the New Great Territory, so the Cave Heavens and Paradises were bound to hold some resentment. Unfortunately, given the existence of the Star Boundary’s World Tree, they could not voice their objections. They wanted to use the feedback from the Star Boundary’s World Tree to nurture the disciples of their respective Sects after all. Be that as it may, an uproar was bound to break out if news of the Profound Yin Bamboo’s existence were to leak out.
“What’s so special about this Small Stone World?” Yang Kai asked again, “Sir Martial Beast mentioned that the situation here is similar to the Star Boundary. Why don’t I detect anything?”
Yue He and Zhou Ya glanced at each other, then Yue He pursed her lips and smiled, “Young Master, why don’t you try refining the World Force of the Small Stone World?”
“Refine the World Force?” He looked surprised to hear those words, but soon a bold guess suddenly formed in his heart, “Don’t tell me, this place…”
Yang Kai closed his eyes while saying so and focused his mind. He then activated his power to refine the World Force belonging to this world.
A short while later, his expression became filled with astonishment. That was because he discovered that the World Force in this world could be refined and absorbed directly. What was even more surprising was that there was no backlash from doing so.
It had to be said that every Universe World had its own unique World Force. That was because their Heavenly Way and World Principles were different, so the World Force would also contain some subtle discrepancies. These subtle discrepancies were the deciding factors as to whether the compatibility between a Universe World and an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe was high or low.
If an Open Heaven Realm Master wanted to refine the World Force of a Universe World to enhance their heritage, then they had to choose Universe Worlds that were highly compatible with themselves.
Refining the World Force of a Universe World that was incompatible with them would not enhance their heritage. On the contrary, the World Force they absorbed would become an impurity that would damage their foundation. For non-severe cases, they would need to spend some time to remove these impurities. Not only was doing so a waste of time and energy, but they would also have nothing to show for all their efforts. For severe cases, the impurities might even cause their Small Universe to become unstable and their Order to regress.
However, the Small Stone World was obviously different. Yang Kai had only refined a small amount of the World Force, but he could clearly sense that the World Force that he refined just now was extremely compatible with his own Small Universe. There was not the slightest hint of discomfort.
“How is this possible? Is it the same for you?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Yue He and Zhou Ya nodded in unison.
Yue He then explained, “It’s because the Small Stone World has such a unique cultivation environment that we come here to cultivate whenever we have the time. As for why this World is like this, we have been unable to figure out the reason yet.”
Yang Kai suddenly recalled Hei He’s reluctance to leave earlier. He now understood the reason for Hei He’s reaction. The Small Stone World was an excellent cultivation paradise. Refining the Small Stone World’s World Force for one’s own use was much faster than refining various cultivation resources or consuming Open Heaven Pills. It was no wonder that Hei He wished to remain here to cultivate and increase his strength. Unfortunately, he had to return to the Star Boundary for his duties and could not stay here for long.
It was just as Mo Huang had mentioned before, the situation in the Small Stone World was similar to the Star Boundary!
Nevertheless, the limitations in the Star Boundary were certainly greater when comparing the two. That was because only the Great Emperors who were born in the Star Boundary and received the acknowledgement of the Star Boundary’s Will could absorb the Star Boundary’s World Force without any reservations to enhance their Small Universe’s heritage. Other people did not get to enjoy this privilege.
In comparison, the Small Stone World was open to all. Anybody could cultivate here without any worries.
Although the Small Stone World had its advantages, it also had its disadvantages.
When Yang Kai compared these two Universe Worlds, he could clearly sense that the World Force in the Small Stone World was not nearly as abundant as the Star Boundary. That was only to be expected though as the Star Boundary had the World Tree providing nourishment to it at all times. It was only natural that the Small Stone World could not compare in this regard.
Be that as it may, both Universe Worlds had their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Yang Kai was overjoyed, but also a little worried, “How long have you been cultivating here? Has the World Force in this world changed in any way?”
Logically speaking, the World Force of a Universe World was not inexhaustible. The Star Boundary was an exception to this rule thanks to its unique circumstances, but while the Small Stone World’s World Force might be amazing, there was a high possibility that the heritage of this World would be lost and it would be exhausted if the Open Heaven Realm Masters were to cultivate here over a long period. If that were to happen, this place would become a dead World.
The foolish act of killing a chicken for its eggs was naturally something Yang Kai wanted to prevent.
“This place was discovered 40 years ago,” Yue He replied, “We soon realised that this place was a little different from other Universe Worlds. As an experiment, we had eight Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters cultivating here together. If I really have to say, the Small Stone World’s World Force has indeed gotten a little weaker compared to 40 years ago, which was why we decided 20 years ago that only two Sixth-Order Masters can cultivate here at the same time. There have been no changes to the situation in the Small Stone World over the past 20 years since we implemented such a system.”
Yang Kai nodded at her response, “In other words, the World Force created by the Small Stone World itself is enough to support the continuous cultivation of at least two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters without decreasing. What about three people? Have you experimented before?”
Yue He nodded, “We experimented with three and four people. We did not detect anything with three people, but we noticed a slight reduction in the Small Stone World’s heritage with four people. To be on the safe side, we decided that we would only have two people per group, taking turns to rest and cultivate here.”
Yang Kai rubbed his chin with a pensive look, “The production of a Universe World’s World Force is mainly driven by the proliferation of the living beings within. The more prosperous these lives are, the more intense the World Force. The reason why the Small Stone World is so unique must be related to the living beings of this world.” Abruptly looking up, he asked, “Are there any special living beings in this world?”
Yue He nodded, “En. Please follow me, Young Master.”
She turned to lead the way while saying so, and Yang Kai followed behind her. They headed towards the foot of the Spirit Peak, and when they reached the base of the mountain, Yue He pointed in a certain direction, “Look there, Young Master.”
Yang Kai looked in that direction only to see a cave entrance that was as tall as a person at the bottom of the mountain. There were obvious signs of excavation around the cave; nevertheless, what surprised him was not the cave but the situation at the cave entrance. There was a bunch of strange-looking creatures going in and out of the cave-like ants
These living creatures looked like the Stone Spirit Clan that Xiao Xiao belonged to at a glance. Their entire body seemed to be made from rocks, but they were smaller and more delicate than Xiao Xiao. Every one of them was only around fifteen centimetres tall.
Not only had Yang Kai never seen this Race before, but he had never even heard about such a Race. It could be certain that there was no such living creature in the 3,000 Worlds, but they were right there in front of him. Under his Divine Sense’s perception, Yang Kai could be certain that these little ones were living creatures indeed. Each of them had their own distinctive aura.
“We call these little ones the Small Stone Race. That’s where the Small Stone World’s name came from.” Yue He explained from the side.
“What are they doing?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
In his field of vision, these fifteen-centimetre tall Small Stone Race clansmen stood with their arms raised, holding rocks of varying sizes above their heads. Seeming to come from various directions, they lined up neatly in a long queue to carry the stones into the cave. There were also some Small Stone Race clansmen walking out of the cave in a line. They were walking in the opposite direction, heading outward. It was obvious they were going to transport rocks again.
Strangely enough, those rocks were the most ordinary ores with no cultivation value. They were not cultivation resources either. The rocks came in varying shapes and sizes, with the largest ones almost as big as a woven basket. Even so, the Small Stone Race clansmen carried them with ease.
“They seem to feed on these ores,” Yue He beckoned to Yang Kai and strode towards the cave.
“Won’t we disturb them?” He asked worriedly.
To which Yue He pursed her lips into a smile, “We won’t. Don’t be fooled by their small size. They are very brave.”
During their conversation, they had already arrived at the cave entrance. It might be that the two of them were blocking the path of these Small Stone Race clansmen, so the Small Stone Race clansman nearest to Yang Kai held up a rock and glared at him. A strange shouting noise came from his mouth.
Yang Kai’s expression was strange, “Is this guy… angry?”
Yue He covered her mouth and giggled, “I’m afraid he is more than just angry…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the Small Stone Race clansman let out a shout and smashed the rock down hard. The rock hit Yang Kai on the toe.
Yang Kai quickly shifted sideways to let the Small Stone Race clansman pass. Only then did the Small Stone Race clansman pick up his rock again and march into the cave triumphantly as though he was a General who had won a war.
“They are quite hot-tempered indeed!” Yang Kai nodded. All of a sudden, he noticed a commotion at his ankle. He looked down to see a Small Stone Race clansman that wanted to exit the cave pushing hard against him. He quickly stepped to the other side, trying to stick to the wall so as not to block their path again.
These little ones didn’t seem to pay much attention to the two tall and large Humans in front of them; it was not a problem as long as these two did not block their way.
“Young Master, have you ever seen an ant’s nest?” Yue He asked from where she stood pressed against the other side of the wall.
“I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard of them.”
She nodded and continued, “The nest of the Small Stone Race is very similar to an ant’s nest. An ant’s nest consists of the Queen, the soldier ants, and the worker ants. Similarly, there is a clear hierarchical structure in the nest of the Small Stone Race.”
“Let’s go inside and have a look,” Yang Kai said.
Before the two of them could continue further inside, Yang Kai detected another series of movements. The ground was trembling slightly, as though many things were rushing in this direction from somewhere.
The Small Stone Race clansmen who were transporting the rocks also seemed to have noticed something. At this moment, they retreated into the interior of the cave in an orderly manner. It didn’t take long for all of them to vanish out of sight.
A short while later, in the direction where the strange noises had been coming from, a large swarm of menacing Small Stone Race clansmen suddenly appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision!
What surprised him was that the Small Stone Race clansmen who just appeared were distinctly different from the Small Stone Race clansmen earlier. The Small Stone Race clansmen from earlier were only fifteen centimetres tall and the colour of their body surface was relatively dull.
On the other hand, the Small Stone Race clansmen who just appeared were approximately thirty centimetres tall. The rocky surface of their body was noticeably brighter and shinier. Even the edges and corners were more distinct! More importantly, they had a mouthful of sharp teeth that resembled the serrated fangs of a shark. Their fangs gleamed with a cold light.
“Young Master, what we saw earlier were the equivalent of worker ants. The ones that just appeared can be considered soldier ants!” Yue He explained.
“Are they… having a war?” Yang Kai tutted in amazement.
While he was speaking, a strange sound also reverberated from within the cave. The Small Stone Race clansmen inside the cave had also dispatched their soldiers who were in charge of the battle.
The Small Stone Race clansmen that marched out of the cave were also around thirty centimetres tall. The surface of their bodies was not only covered in sharp and well-defined edges, but also shone with a glistening lustre. They were clearly different from the clansmen earlier who had been responsible for transporting rocks.
Looking at both sides, they seemed to be fairly equal in numbers. The invading Small Stone Race had around 1,000 clansmen among their ranks, and the same was true for the Small Stone Race clansmen who came marching out of the cave.
Both sides took up battle positions at the entrance of the cave, separated by a distance of several hundred metres between them. The Small Stone Race clansmen were lined up neatly in ranks and files that resembled a phalanx.
Furthermore, there were several clansmen holding stone hammers and stone clubs in both camps. Wielding these weapons made them look taller and fiercer. When they bared their fangs at each other, the cold light reflecting off their fangs looked even more sinister.
On the side of the Small Stone Race who came marching out of the cave, the largest Small Stone Race clansman among them came to stand at the front of the camp. He was holding a pair of stone hammers that were almost the same size as him. Walking along the front of the phalanx, he shouted out a series of battle cries in a rhythmic fashion.
Following his movements, all the clansmen began shouting in unison. Their shouts reverberated through the air incessantly, “Hah! Hah! Hah!”
Yang Kai watched the scene with a strange expression and whispered a question to Yue He, “Is this to boost morale before the battle?”
Yue He nodded, “Something like that.”
The Small Stone Race clansmen who came marching out of the cave were not the only ones performing this ritual. The invading Small Stone Race clansmen were doing the same. The actions on both sides were so similar that they looked like they were carved from the same mould. It didn’t take long for them to complete the ritual to boost morale.
Afterwards, both sides began to advance towards each other in an orderly manner. The distance of several hundred metres was closed in the blink of an eye as the two armies belonging to different Small Stone Race Clans charged towards each other. They soon became indistinguishable from one another.
Yang Kai and Yue He watched quietly.
The Small Stone Race clansmen might be small in size, but they were fierce and fearless in battle. Those with weapons would charge towards their enemies, raise their clubs and hammers high above their heads, and bring them down viciously. Oftentimes, it would only take one hit from a stone hammer to smash their enemy to pieces.
Meanwhile, those without weapons would lunge themselves at the enemy and engage each other in a melee. They would open their mouths to reveal their fangs and bite down hard on the bodies of their enemies. There was no doubt that their teeth were exceptionally sharp. Every bite was capable of tearing off pieces of rock from the bodies of their enemies.
During the fight, the sound of cries coming out of their mouths undulated throughout the battlefield!
For a time, the scene became extremely tragic. The Small Stone Race clansmen were dismembered one after another, turning into piles of rubble that scattered across the ground.
There were nearly 2,000 clansmen on both sides at the beginning, but it only took an incense for almost 300 to be killed in battle. After another quarter hour, only half of their numbers remained.
All of a sudden, the battle ceased. The two sides that had been fighting to the death earlier abruptly stopped and made peace without any warning. Immediately after, the surviving Small Stone Race clansmen began picking up the bodies of the dead Small Stone Race clansmen and returned the way they originally came. Even the many Small Stone Race clansmen who had lost various limbs in battle struggled to move their bodies and returned to where they came from.
Yang Kai was very puzzled by what he saw, “What are they doing?”
Yue He replied, “You will understand if you continue watching, Young Master. This Race is very strange. These battles seem to be a means of survival for them and happen quite often.”
“How high is their sentience? Have you tried communicating with them?”
Yue He shook her head, “Of course, we tried. Unfortunately, their sentience is not high enough for us to actually communicate with them.”
Yang Kai nodded and said nothing more.
The battlefield was cleaned up quickly, with both sides having lost some of their troops in the battle. The invading party slowly retreated. Likewise, the party defending the cave earlier carried the corpses of their clansmen or enemies back into the cave in an orderly manner.
Yue He beckoned to Yang Kai and followed behind the Small Stone Race clansmen into the cave.
The cave was generally as tall as a person, but some places were lower than average; hence, the two of them needed to bend down from time to time. Nevertheless, it was certainly as Yue He had mentioned earlier. The nest of the Small Stone Race was very similar to an ant’s nest. There were countless twists and turns inside, not to mention tunnels and passageways everywhere that stretched out in all directions to form a huge network of underground caves.
There were many Small Stone Race clansmen who had dug out little enclaves along the walls and were resting within them. Disturbed by the presence of Yang Kai and Yue He, they poked out their heads out of their little enclaves to stare at the two Humans with their black eyes.
As they headed deeper into the tunnels, Yang Kai carefully perceived his surroundings and was secretly shocked to discover that the ground had almost been hollowed out by the Small Stone Race.
After reaching a depth of almost a dozen kilometres, they suddenly arrived at a huge cavern. Inside the cavern were several bridge-like passages that connected to a large platform in the centre. A figure on the central platform that was much larger than the rest of the Small Stone Race clansmen appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision.
“That’s the Stone King of this Small Stone Race Clan!” Yue He said softly.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and looked up at the Stone King.
The Stone King had an extremely bloated body. Lying horizontally across the platform, his body, which was approximately ten metres long made him look like an enormous fatty; moreover, his entire body was as white as jade.
There was a group beside the Stone King that consisted of Small Stone Race clansmen who were almost as tall as a normal person. They were patrolling back and forth around the Stone King. Their numbers were few, only several dozen in total. In contrast, they were unusually large compared to the rest of the Small Stone Race clansmen and the rocky surface of their bodies resembled a full set of armour. They were truly an impressive sight to behold.
“Are those the Stone King’s Elite Guard?” Yang Kai raised a brow and asked.
Yue He nodded, “Most likely!”
At this moment, those Small Stone Race clansmen who withdrew from the battle earlier were carrying their loot along the passages leading to the central platform. The loot they were carrying was none other than the stone left behind by their clansmen or enemies after their death.
When they arrived in front of the Stone King, the Small Stone Race clansman in the lead raised the stone in his hands high above his head. The Stone King’s extremely fat body wriggled slightly as he lowered his head to sniff at the stone. Then, he opened his mouth that was larger than a washbasin and chomped down on the stone to swallow the entire thing whole.
*Kacha kacha…*
Crisp, crunching sounds echoed throughout the cavern. The Stone King’s teeth were extremely sharp, so chewing on the stone was almost like he was biting down on brittle bone instead. It only took several bites before he swallowed the entire stone.
The next Small Stone Race clansman holding a piece of rock had already approached the Stone King. When he delivered the rock to the Stone King’s face, the Stone King opened his mouth again.
One after the other, the Small Stone Race clansmen offered up their loot from the battle earlier and the Stone King did not refuse anything that was presented.
A short while later, the Stone King’s fat body suddenly shook violently. Yang Kai could sense that the Stone King seemed to be straining with great force. It was immediately followed by a plopping sound, and something came out of the Stone King’s posterior.
The Stone King was lying horizontally in the middle of the platform, but his posterior was suspended in the air. That was why the object fell straight down to the ground after popping out.
Yang Kai took a closer look.
The object that fell out of the Stone King’s posterior was an oval stone egg! It resembled a small pebble, and only after rolling around on the soft ground for a moment did the stone egg come to a stop. A Small Stone Race clansman who had been waiting nearby quickly rushed forward to pick up the stone egg before running into one of the tunnels nearby with small steps.
Yang Kai was amazed, “The Small Stone Race is oviparous?”
Yue He nodded, “This is another reason we say the Small Stone Race are very similar to ants, both in terms of their colony structure and their life cycle.”
Yang Kai released a small thread of his Divine Sense to follow after the Small Stone Race clansman carrying the stone egg. The Small Stone Race clansman soon arrived at another cavern. Inside the cavern were hundreds of stone eggs that were already neatly arranged together. Each stone egg contained a pulse of vitality.
Furthermore, there were specialised members of the Small Stone Race inside the nest who were responsible for taking care of these stone eggs. They monitored these stone eggs like nannies, examining them or touching one from time to time.
There were also several other caverns in the vicinity that were similar to this one. They were all used to store the stone eggs.
Yang Kai even witnessed the scene of Small Stone Race clansmen hatching from the stone eggs.
The Small Stone Race clansmen brought back some loot from the battle, but the harvest was not that great. The Stone King finished eating all the offerings in just a little over two hours. During this period, he laid as many as several dozen stone eggs.
After all the loot was offered up, the Small Stone Race clansmen who lost various limbs in battle also lined up and headed towards the Stone King. However, they had no loot to offer.
Just as Yang Kai was wondering what they were doing, the Stone King opened his mouth and chomped down on an armless Small Stone Race clansman. He finished eating that clansman in two of three bites.
The clansmen standing next in line did not show any reaction at the sight. They simply continued to wait in line and offered up their broken bodies to the Stone King. None of them showed any complaints, regrets, or fear.
“They even eat their own clansmen!” Yang Kai was shocked, “It seems that this Small Stone Race really doesn’t have much sentience after all.”
Yue He sighed slightly, “It’s also for the sake of the Clan’s continuity. The Stone King will only lay stone eggs after eating. He does not lay eggs under normal circumstances.”
Yang Kai frowned, “If it’s for the sake of the Clan’s continuity, then what was the reason for the battle just now? They lost several hundred clansmen in the battle, but less than 100 stone eggs were laid even after feeding all their winnings to the Stone King.”
“We believe that their actions are a means to control their population. Reproducing to ensure the continuity of their Race is their entire mission in life, but the resources in the Small Stone World are extremely scarce. They may perish with time if their population is not controlled. With their level of sentience, they might not understand the extinction of their entire Race, but they are still living creatures. It makes sense that they can instinctively sense the issue and take the corresponding measures to solve the problem!”
“Population control…” Yang Kai rubbed his chin as he pondered in silence. Everything that he witnessed earlier indicated that Yue He’s explanation made sense. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been cultivating and observing the environment in this place for more than 40 years, so it was only natural that they had a deeper understanding of this place compared to Yang Kai.
“The truth is that… Aside from the extremely unique cultivation environment here, we did not discover any valuable resources anywhere on the Small Stone World. We were initially confused by the situation, but we finally figured out the reason after realising that the Small Stone Race is scattered across the entire Small Stone World.”
Yue He explained quietly, “It might be that the Small Stone World used to have various resources, including cultivation materials. Unfortunately, these resources must have been devoured clean by the Small Stone Race. Although they can only feed on common ores nowadays, their reproductive ability is still too strong. It is necessary for them to control their population, and carrying out battles between different Clans is the best method to control their numbers.”
Upon hearing those words, Yang Kai nodded and said, “That makes sense. No wonder they fought so viciously just now only to stop and make peace abruptly. They even brought the corpses of their respective clansmen back to their nests.”
“There are no other living creatures in the Small Stone World apart from the Small Stone Race. If there is anything that can be said to be related to the unique cultivation environment in this world, then it can only be the Small Stone Race. It’s just that we have yet to figure out the relationship between the two,” Yue He said.
The World Force of a Universe World was closely related to its Heavenly Way and its World Principles. It was also closely related to the living creatures thriving within. Seeing as the only living creatures in the Small Stone World were the Small Stone Race, then the peculiarity of the World Force must be related to the Small Stone Race in some way.
Nevertheless, certain experiments would need to be carried out to verify this fact.
As soon as that thought crossed Yang Kai’s mind, his figure flickered. He came directly to the platform and stood in front of the Stone King. The Elite Guard patrolling the surroundings quickly noticed the abnormality and came charging towards him with a roar.
Even though he remained motionless though, Yang Kai’s Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura permeated the air. Space seemed to congeal, and the Small Stone Race Elite Guards immediately froze in place. They were unable to budge in the slightest. Then, Yang Kai wrapped his power around the Stone King, transferred him into his Small Universe, and placed him in a remote corner somewhere.
There were several million humans living in his Small Universe at this moment. Many cities and villages had also been established over the past 100 years or so, but many undeveloped areas still remained. Accommodating the Stone King was not an issue.
When the aura of the Stone King vanished, the entire Small Stone Race Clan panicked. Leaving aside the Elite Guard whom Yang Kai had immobilised, the rest of the Small Stone Race clansmen immediately began running around like headless flies. Horrified cries escaped from their mouths as they searched for the whereabouts of the Stone King.
Upon seeing this situation, Yang Kai decided to manifest the portal of his Small Universe. Traces of an oval gate immediately appeared in front of him, and the Stone King’s aura leaked out from within. The Small Stone Race clansmen that had been running around immediately snapped out of their panic like lost travellers who found their way and swiftly rushed towards the portal.
For a time, the entire nest was in chaos as the Small Stone Race clansmen plunged into Yang Kai’s Small Universe and vanished out of sight.
Under his watch, Yang Kai could clearly see that the initial group of Small Stone Race clansmen to rush into his Small Universe had gathered around the Stone King. They were working together as though attempting to carry the Stone King back to their original nest, but although it had been easy for them to enter, it was not the same when it came to leaving. How could they leave without Yang Kai’s approval? The portal he created through a Secret Technique was an entrance that only worked one way.
Yang Kai’s intentions were very simple. Since Yue He and the others had observed the situation for so many years but could not figure out the relationship between the Small Stone Race and the World Force of the Small Stone World, then he might as well transfer them into his Small Universe to investigate the situation. After all, even the slightest changes would not escape his perception in his Small Universe.
More and more of the Small Stone Race clansmen charged into the portal. This particular Small Stone Race Clan had quite a large population, about 3,000 members in total. Although they had experienced hundreds of casualties in the previous battle, those losses did not have much impact on the whole.
In less than an hour, all the Small Stone Race clansmen in the nest had poured into the portal and gathered around the Stone King. Panic spread out among the clansmen. Having been thrown into a whole new environment without any warning, it was only natural for them to have some difficulty adjusting.
Yang Kai carefully perceived the Small Stone Race, but could not detect what was different about them compared to other living beings. Nevertheless, now that the Small Stone Race had been migrated into his Small Universe, he would be able to discover something sooner or later as long as he waited patiently.
After that, Yang Kai brought all the unhatched stone eggs into his Small Universe and placed them beside the Small Stone Race clansmen. Only then did he beckon to Yue He, “Let’s go back.”
The two of them returned to the bamboo building where Zhou Ya was still waiting for them.
In the following days, there was nothing else to do. Yue He and Zhou Ya focused on their own cultivation, so there was no need to bother them for the moment. Meanwhile, Yang Kai monitored the Small Stone Race that he migrated into his Small Universe while scribbling something in the void in front of himself with his finger.
The New Great Territory was extremely large, and it had taken him half a month to travel from the Territory Gate to the Small Stone World with Hei He previously. Even so, this could only be considered the outer periphery of the New Great Territory. The inner region of the New Great Territory was even more expansive. As a result, it would take a lot of time to travel across the New Great Territory.
This was a problem that all Great Territories would face. Not everybody was proficient in the Dao of Space like Yang Kai, allowing them to rapidly move from one place to another. Throughout the various Great Territories, the best way for cultivators who wanted to travel quickly was to make use of Universe Temples.
Yang Kai was planning to build several Universe Temples in the New Great Territory to connect the entire New Great Territory together. In this way, his people would only need to transfer between the Universe Temples to travel quickly. There would be no need to waste so much time on the road again.
If it were in the past, he might have been at a loss for what to do, but after he was asked by the Cave Heavens and Paradises to fix the Universe Temples that had been in disrepair for many years, Yang Kai had gotten very knowledgeable about the mysteries of the Universe Array. If he really had to say, there was not much difference between a Universe Array and a Space Array. It was just that the Universe Array could function over a larger range than an ordinary Space Array.
For a Great Territory, the distance of several hundreds of billions of kilometres could not be covered by a Space Array; however, the Universe Array was different. As long as there were no obstructions, any two points could be connected together regardless of the distance.
Needless to say, the larger the distance, the greater the pressure faced when using the Universe Transference Law. If anybody were to try to travel across a distance too great for their physical body to bear, it was not uncommon for them to become heavily injured or even die before reaching the Universe Temple. That had been a common occurrence in early times, but nowadays, such occurrences were quite rare. That was because everybody would choose a suitable destination point and activate the Universe Transference Law according to their respective limits.
Yang Kai had already been planning on building these Universe Temples when he was back in Void Land, so he had instructed Bian Yu Qing to prepare enough supplies for him in advance. All he needed to do now was arrange a complete Universe Array, and then build a Universe Temple around it.
Yang Kai had been wondering as to where he should build the Universe Temple, but it would seem that the Small Stone World was no doubt a good choice.
The cultivation environment in this place was unique, so when the Universe Temple was completed in the future, the Open Heaven Realm Masters could return to this place to cultivate after accumulating fatigue from working hard outside. As for the locations of the other Universe Temples, Yang Kai would need to carefully survey the Great Territory before he came to a decision.
It took half a month for him to figure out the array pattern of the Universe Array and for everything to finally be ready.
During this half month, the Small Stone Race Clan that had been migrated into his Small Universe gradually adapted to their new environment. Yang Kai had deliberately chosen to place them in a mountain range when he migrated them into his Small Universe. At present, the Small Stone Race Clan had dug out a nest underneath a certain Spirit Peak and all the clansmen were living inside.
The new nest was not that different from the previous one. It was deep underground with a network of countless twists and turns. Thanks to the structured division of labour, the Small Stone Race clansmen were all performing their own tasks in an orderly manner.
After the past half month of careful observation, Yang Kai finally figured out the wonders of the Small Stone Race.
It was well-known that the survival and continuity of the living creatures in one’s Small Universe could be used to produce World Force and enhance the heritage of that cultivator. That was part of the reason why Yang Kai had placed the ten million people from Pear Flower Cave Heaven into his own Small Universe.
Pear Flower Cave Heaven had been destroyed, and those living there lost their home. Taking into account that his Small Universe was very stable because he had refined the World Spring, there was not much risk to place those people in his Small Universe. What’s more, their presence would continuously strengthen the heritage of his Small Universe.
Normal Open Heaven Realm Masters were generally unable to raise living beings in their Small Universe. It was not that they were disqualified to do so; it was just not worth the effort. Their Small Universe might become turbulent due to a battle with a powerful enemy, and there was a high possibility that all those living inside would suffer heavy casualties as a result. The losses would be impossible to recoup. That was why only Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm or above would even try to raise living beings in their Small Universe, as such Masters would rarely have any enemies to fight.
On the other hand, Yang Kai dared to do such a thing because he had refined the World Spring.
If those from Pear Flower Cave Heaven thriving in his Small Universe could continuously enhance the heritage of his Small Universe, then so could the Small Stone Race. Be that as it may, the benefits they both brought to his Small Universe were simply incomparable.
Yang Kai had carefully observed the benefits brought by similar numbers of Humans and the Small Stone Race clansmen, and during this past half month, there was practically a tenfold difference between them. In simple terms, having 3,000 Small Stone Race clansmen living in his Small Universe gave the same benefits as 30,000 Humans! That was an extremely terrifying comparison.
The situation would not have been so remarkable if that was the only difference. The key point was that the World Force produced from the survival and reproduction of the Small Stone Race was extremely pure. It could be said that they themselves were constantly producing extremely pure World Force.
Yang Kai was starting to understand why the Small Stone World was so special. It was all thanks to the Small Stone Race living there.
The entire Small Stone World had no other living creatures except the peculiar Small Stone Race. As the Small Stone Race thrived and reproduced in the Small Stone World, the World Force that they produced was similar to the powers of a World Fruit in that there were no impurities whatsoever. That was why the World Force was compatible with any Open Heaven Realm Master, as well as why it could easily be refined and absorbed.
After realising this point, Yang Kai suddenly had a very bold idea in his heart! This was just the result of bringing in one Small Stone Race Clan, so what would happen if he were to raise even more Small Stone Race Clans in his Small Universe? As long as there were enough of them, the heritage of his Small Universe would continue to grow stronger even if he did not cultivate.
The truth was that he had already begun to benefit from migrating those living in Pear Flower Cave Heaven into his Small Universe. It was just that not much time had lapsed, so the benefits were not that obvious.
On the contrary, the Small Stone Race could bring about ten times the benefits per individual. Yang Kai could almost imagine the scene where his cultivation soared steadily in the future. How wonderful would that be?
At present, he was not far from advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nevertheless, there was still the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm after the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was an extremely distant goal at the moment. While others might take tens of thousands of years or even longer to advance from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai would only need to take several thousand years or shorter if his current plan worked out…
The Small Stone Race was undoubtedly an extremely precious treasure to Yang Kai. Looking at the fearless Small Stone Race again, while incredibly innocent and naïve, they also had a certain glow of wealth about them now.
In order to achieve his goal, Yang Kai would need to migrate enough of the Small Stone Race into his Small Universe; hence, he did not hesitate and acted immediately.
The Small Stone Race had a massive population in the Small Stone World, with many clans of varying sizes scattered across the Universe World. The larger Clans might number from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. In contrast, the smaller Clans might number only a few hundred. The Small Stone Race Clan that he previously brought into his Small Universe could be considered a relatively small Clan.
In the following month, Yang Kai travelled around the Small Stone World and collected numerous Small Stone Race Clans into his Small Universe. The population of the Small Stone Race in his Small Universe had reached nearly 10 million by the time the month was over.
Once he reached this number, Yang Kai finally stopped. It was not that he did not wish to take in even more. If possible, he wanted to collect all of the Small Stone Race in the Small Stone World into his Small Universe; however, if he did that, then the treasured cultivation land that was the Small Stone World would lose its foundation. Such benefits could not be enjoyed by him alone.
What Yang Kai needed to figure out now was how to expand the Small Stone Race’s population. The growth of the various Small Stone Race Clans mainly depended on the reproductive abilities of the Stone King. In this aspect, they were similar to ants.
Yang Kai previously observed a Stone King devouring all kinds of ores and even the broken bodies of their own clansmen in order to gain the energy to reproduce; thus, it could be seen that the Stone Kings were not picky about their food. Even common ore could be eaten, so what else could they eat? What if they were fed with cultivation materials of varying Orders? Would that give the Stone King even greater reproductive abilities?
The Small Stone World probably contained cultivation resources in the past, it was just that all those cultivation resources had been eaten by the Small Stone Race. That was why Yue He and the others could not find anything of value in the Small Stone World. All they found was this strange existence they named the Small Stone Race.
Yang Kai split off a Soul Clone inside his Small Universe and stood inside the nest of the initial Small Stone Race Clan. With a flash of his thoughts, a piece of pale gold ore appeared in his hand. This was a Third-Order Metal Element material that was not that high in value.
He initially wanted to test if the Small Stone Race would be interested in such a material, but how could he have known that all the Small Stone Race clansmen in the nest would react as soon as he took out this item?
Countless Small Stone Race clansmen seemed to smell something in the air, and all of them turned their gazes in his direction. Even the Elite Guards patrolling around the Stone King stopped and looked his way. Meanwhile, the fat and bloated Stone King, who basically had no strength to move on his own, gave a strange cry that sounded extremely urgent.
Yang Kai couldn’t help raising his brow at the sight. Nevertheless, this situation proved that his conjecture was correct.
In the next moment, a dense wave of Small Stone Race clansmen poured towards him from all directions like the waves of the tide and surrounded him firmly in the blink of an eye.
Yang Kai hurriedly dropped the material in his hand.
Unexpectedly, there was not much of a scramble over the material as one of the Small Stone Race clansmen happened to raise a hand and caught the fist-sized material, which he then quickly rushed over to the Stone King.
A short while later, he arrived in front of the Stone King. Holding out the material in his hand high above his head as though he was offering a treasure, he delivered the material to the Stone King’s mouth. The Stone King took a bite, then following some crunching sounds, he swallowed.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai paid close attention to the changes in the Stone King. The effects were almost instantaneous! The Stone King quickly began trembling after consuming the Third-Order Metal Element material. Just like what Yang Kai had observed previously, he seemed to clench hard with great force and a moment later, a stone egg fell from his posterior that was suspended in mid-air with a light pop.
The Small Stone Race clansman who had been waiting below picked up the stone egg and placed it in the specialised cave.
However, the Stone King’s movements had not stopped. His fat body continued trembling, expanding and contracting in intervals. After a half cup of tea’s time, another stone egg popped out.
This cycle continued non-stop for the next two hours. It wasn’t until he produced nearly 40 stone eggs that he finally stopped.
Yang Kai watched in delight, feeling extremely excited inside. [As I guessed. The cultivation materials of various Orders turned out to be very useful for the reproduction of the Small Stone Race!]
If a mere Third-Order material was enough to stimulate the Stone King to produce some 40 stone eggs, then a Fourth-Order or Fifth-Order material would surely produce even more stone eggs. Therefore, Yang Kai took out a Fourth-Order material followed by a Fifth-Order material to feed to the Stone King.
The results of his experiments showed his conjecture was correct.
After eating the Fourth-Order material the Stone King produced more than 130 stone eggs. On the other hand, he reproduced non-stop for several days to produce more than 500 stone eggs after consuming a Fifth-Order material!
Hence, the reproduction issue of the Small Stone Race could be considered to be resolved. There was no need to worry about expanding the population of the Small Stone Race as long as the Stone King was given enough cultivation resources. Moreover, the increase in the Small Stone Race population would be highly beneficial to both the heritage of Yang Kai’s Small Universe and the Small Stone World.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai discovered something from his experiment. Feeding the Stone King Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order materials was not cost-effective.
When it came to materials of various Orders, the value of materials that were one Order higher was generally ten times the value of materials that were one Order lower. In comparison, the number of stone eggs produced by the Stone King after eating Third-Order, Fourth-Order, and Fifth-Order materials was far less than 10 times the difference.
When the Stone King consumed a Third-Order material, he had produced some 40 stone eggs. Conversely, with a Fourth-Order material he had produced slightly over 130 stone eggs, whereas with a Fifth-Order material, he had produced slightly over 500 stone eggs…
There was only a three to four-times difference between these results, which was vastly inconsistent with the difference between the value of the materials themselves.
By comparison, feeding the Stone King with Third-Order materials was the most cost-effective by far. That was because cost performance was higher and Third-Order materials were generally more abundant. Void Land itself had a huge demand for Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order materials. Whether it was for the disciples’ cultivation or advancement, these materials would all come into play.
Yang Kai did not have any First-Order or Second-Order materials in his possession, so he could not experiment with them. Nonetheless, judging by the Stone King’s appetite that never turned down anything, First-Order and Second-Order materials would definitely be useful too.
He collected almost 1,000 Small Stone Race Clans into his Small Universe one month ago, and seeing as each Clan had its own Stone King, there were over 1,000 Stone Kings in his Small Universe. If he wanted to nurture the Clans and expand their population through reproduction, then he would surely need large amounts of cultivation resources. Not to mention, the Small Stone Race in the Small Stone World also had to be nurtured.
Fortunately, High Heaven Palace and Void Land had large businesses and abundant resources, so what was this price compared to the benefits that could be gained in the future?
Besides, the Stone Kings were not picky towards cultivation resources. First-Order, Second-Order, and Third-Order materials could all be used. More importantly, materials below the Third Order were of little significance to Open Heaven Realm Masters. Yang Kai had originally thought of sending these materials to Great Evolution Paradise and tossing them all into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to see if he could get materials of higher Order, but in contrast, it would now seem that using them to feed the Stone Kings was a much better choice. Tossing these materials into the Good Fortune Divine Furnace might not yield any profit in return, but feeding the Stone Kings would surely result in even more of the Small Stone Race.
Thankfully, Yang Kai had many materials already in his possession, so with a flash of his thoughts, he divided all the Third-Order materials among the 1,000 Stone Kings and placed these resources in their respective nests. Only then did he withdraw his Soul Clone.
Inside the bamboo building, Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes. Yue He and Zhou Ya were meditating and cultivating beside him.
He woke them both and said, “I’ve figured out the situation in the Small Stone World.”
The two women immediately looked at him in curiosity, so he explained his experiments and speculations to them. After listening to Yang Kai’s explanation, they revealed looks of understanding.
They had guessed that the unique cultivation environment of the Small Stone World was closely related to the Small Stone Race, but since there were no Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, they had no means of collecting the Small Stone Race into their Small Universe for observation and could not confirm their hypothesis.
Yang Kai’s words undoubtedly confirmed their previous speculations, and it was only at this moment that they finally understood the reason why the Small Stone World was so special. It was all because of the existence of the Small Stone Race.
“We need to expand the population of the Small Stone Race. In order to control their population, they even go so far as to wage war with each other to reduce their numbers. That indicates that they instinctively realise that the materials in this world would not support them for much longer. They have no means of leaving the Small Stone World to search for resources, but it would be different if we helped,” Yang Kai said a little excitedly, “I’ve already done some experiments. A Stone King births dozens of stone eggs after consuming a Third-Order material and over 100 stone eggs after consuming a Fourth-Order material. As long as the resources are in sufficient supply, it will not be a problem to help them expand their population.
“Once the Small Stone Race population in this world increases to a certain level, the World Force will also become more abundant. When that happens, this World will be able to support more than two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters cultivating at the same time. It might even be possible for 10 or more Masters to cultivate here at the same time. This place will become a veritable cultivation paradise where any Open Heaven Realm Master can quickly improve their cultivation.
“Also, the benefits brought about by the Small Stone Race become even greater if we collect them and raise them in our Small Universe! Compared to raising the same number of other living creatures, they bring about ten times more benefit to the Small Universe!”
Both Yue He and Zhou Ya knew that Yang Kai’s Small Universe had fully materialized, so their beautiful eyes immediately brightened upon hearing those words.
Zhou Ya said, “We previously discovered one of the Twelve Minor Pillars, the Profound Yin Bamboo, in the New Great Territory, and now, we have the Small Stone Race. They are simply a perfect match!”
Similarly, Yue He nodded, “With the Profound Yin Bamboo supporting our Small Universes, they will become more stable. If we were to raise some Small Stone Race in our Small Universes on top of that, our heritage would increase steadily even without spending time to cultivate!”
The two women exchanged a glance with each other and could almost imagine the scene in the not-too-distant future where all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land and High Heaven Palace placed these two treasures in their Small Universes.
More importantly, both the Profound Yin Bamboo and the Small Stone Race could be cultivated, so as long as these resources were managed carefully, they could be said to be inexhaustible. With the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land and High Heaven Palace enjoying such advantages, how could there be any worries for the future?
“That’s why you need to work harder and advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible.” Yang Kai laughed, “But, the top priority at the moment is to obtain some supplies from High Heaven Palace.”
Yang Kai thus turned to look at Yue He, “Yue He, go and pay a visit to the Head Manager. Gather all the materials in the Third Order and below that are not being used by High Heaven Palace at the moment and bring them here.”
“En!” Yue He nodded and hurriedly turned to leave. She knew that this matter should be handled as soon as possible. The sooner they invested in this venture, the sooner they could all benefit from the Small Stone World.
Yang Kai turned to look at Zhou Ya, “You need to take a trip too. Find all the people who are exploring the area nearby and ask them to send over all the harvested materials in the Third Order and below. In addition, relay the message to everyone else. From now onward, all the materials in the Third Order and below that are harvested will be delivered here. There’s no need to send them back to High Heaven Palace.”
Nurturing the Small Stone Race was a long-term project. This process would definitely consume many resources in the future, but the New Great Territory should be able to satisfy these requirements. In any case, the value of materials in the Third Order and below was not that substantial. Using them on the Small Stone World would be perfect.
Zhou Ya nodded, “Big Brother and the others are not far from here. I’ll go there now.”
The ‘Big Brother’ she was referring to was none other than Mao Zhe.
Yang Kai waited in place for close to three days. Then, a huge ship broke through the clouds and hovered in mid-air. Several figures flew out from that ship and came in this direction.
When those figures approached, Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, and Zhou Ya bowed in unison, “Sir!”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’m sure you’re already aware of the situation.”
Mao Zhe said excitedly, “We’ve heard about the news. Sir, what do we do now?”
He couldn’t help but be enthusiastic. If the matter related to the Small Stone World was handled properly, it would benefit all the Open Heaven Realm Masters under Yang Kai’s command. Mao Zhe was only one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so if he could cultivate in the Small Stone World, he would surely be able to advance faster.
“How many materials in the Third Order and below do you have here?” Yang Kai asked.
Mao Zhe causally reported a number.
Yang Kai raised his brow when he heard the number and commented, “That’s quite a lot. It will probably last for quite some time.”
Yue He was already on her way back to High Heaven Palace, so it would not take too long before she returned with even more materials.
A short while later, dozens of Open Heaven Realms of varying Orders flew out from the ship. They each carried different amounts of materials in the Third Order and below and began scattering them across the Small Stone World to feed the Stone Kings.
Mao Zhe and the others did not stay for long either. When all the members returned, they set off again and headed deeper into the New Great Territory to continue developing this frontier land.
After waiting for another month or so, Yue He finally returned together with Hua Qing Si.
The matter regarding the Small Stone World was extremely important. It was not that Hua Qing Si had not paid attention to this matter in the past, but rather that she had not understood the specific situation here. Now that Yang Kai had discovered the truth, it was only natural that she wanted to investigate the situation in person.
They brought even more materials with them on this trip. All the materials in the Third Order and below that had been stored in High Heaven Palace all these years had been brought over. Thus, the number was simply astounding.
Furthermore, Hua Qing Si had ordered her subordinates to make large-scale purchases of the materials in the Third Order and below from High Heaven Star City. At the same time, she sent a message to Void Land so that they could also deliver the materials in the Third Order and below over to the Small Stone World.
Third-Order and below materials were extremely abundant in the 3,000 Worlds, but aside from the Third-Order materials, the First-Order and Second-Order materials were basically worthless.
If a cultivator had the aptitude to advance into the Open Heaven Realm at all, then it would generally not be difficult for them to ascend directly to the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm under normal circumstances. Only those whose aptitudes were too poor or could not obtain cultivation materials would choose to advance to the First or Second-Order Open Heaven Realm.
For that reason, there would always be a large surplus of First-Order and Second-Order materials regardless of the Sect or Great Territory. Naturally, it was not difficult for High Heaven Palace to acquire these materials. There would definitely be many people who were willing to sell the Low-Order materials in their possession.
Hua Qing Si personally went to investigate several Small Stone Race Nests and witnessed how the Stone Kings reproduced after eating the materials with her own eyes. Hence, she couldn’t help feeling amazed. [The Heavens have blessed High Heaven Palace and Void Land!]
She could not believe that the New Great Territory would have such a peculiar living creature like the Small Stone Race. In the future, it was practically impossible for the cultivation of the Open Heaven Realm Masters from High Heaven Palace and Void Land to progress slowly.
Hua Qing Si went up to Yang Kai who was busy working and declared, “Sect Master, I’m afraid we need a designated person to manage the Small Stone World.”
Yang Kai put his work down and nodded in agreement, “That’s what I was thinking too. I was just about to discuss this matter with you.”
The Small Stone Race’s population was incredibly large, and if they wanted the Small Stone Race to multiply rapidly and expand their population further, they would need to have somebody here to constantly feed them on a regular schedule. To that end, they would need a designated person to manage this matter.
“What do you think?” Yang Kai asked.
Hua Qing Si quickly replied, “I’ve travelled around the Small Stone World over the past few days. This Universe World is so vast that the land is several times larger than the Star Boundary. If you wish to manage this place, you will need at least 20 Masters present at all times. My suggestion is to divide the Small Stone World into twenty regions and then select twenty Third or Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Sect and assign them to a specific area. In this way, they will not be overworked and would have time to cultivate. I chose Third-Order or Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters for this task because the heritage of the Small Stone World is not that strong at the moment. If the Order is too high, the consumption when cultivating in this World will be too great. It may affect the increase of the Small Stone World’s heritage.”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “You have given great consideration to the matter, Head Manager. Good, we’ll use a complement of 10 Third-Order and 10 Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. We’ll consider it a benefit to them.”
Hua Qing Si pursed her lips into a smile, “I’m certain many people will be jumping at the opportunity to come here.”
The Small Stone World was such an excellent cultivation environment, so who would not want to come? It was just that High Heaven Palace was putting great effort into exploring and developing the New Great Territory, so almost all the Open Heaven Realm Masters were dispatched as a result, leaving most no chance to come and cultivate in the Small Stone World even if they wanted to. But now, 20 people were needed to manage the Small Stone World. How could they not compete for these 20 spots?
Unfortunately, the troublesome task of choosing 20 people to come here belonged to her.
“Perhaps, we should let them take turns. We can set a fixed duration. When that duration expires, someone else will take over.” Hua Qing Si muttered in a pensive tone.
“You can come up with a plan for this matter on your own. This situation is temporary anyway. When the Small Stone Race’s population increases to a certain extent, the conditions in this World will definitely be able to satisfy even more people cultivating here at the same time. The quota will not be such a competition by then.”
Hua Qing Si nodded, “When that time comes, the disciples can use their Sect Contribution Points to exchange for the qualification to enter Small Stone World.”
After a brief conversation with Yang Kai, Hua Qing Si formed a rough idea of the plans for the Small Stone World’s future. She suddenly looked at him and asked curiously, “Sect Master, what are you doing? Should I summon people over to help you?”
Yang Kai just shook his head, “Others won’t be of help. I’m planning to set up a Universe Array here.”
“A Universe Array!?” Hua Qing Si’s eyes lit up at his words. She had always remained in the Star Boundary and had basically never taken a step outside, let alone travelled the vast 3,000 Worlds. However, it did not mean that she lacked common knowledge about the Outer Universe.
It was only natural that she had heard of the Universe Array, which was the central Grand Array of the Universe Temples.
Almost every single Great Territory in the 3,000 Worlds had their own Universe Temple where cultivators could transfer to, thereby reducing their travel time by a significant margin.
It was a pity to hear that those Universe Temples were ancient creations and that the Universe Array itself was shrouded in mystery. As such, some Universe Temples in the 3,000 Worlds had lost their function as transit points due to long years of disrepair because the Cave Heavens and Paradises had no way to repair them.
[I can’t believe Sect Master has the ability to arrange a Universe Array here! Does that not mean that he has figured out the mysteries of the Universe Temple!? If that’s the case, it’s a huge boon for High Heaven Palace!]
With a Universe Temple acting as a transit point, the development of the New Great Territory would surely progress much faster. It would also be more convenient for High Heaven Palace disciples to travel back and forth.
“Arranging a Universe Array should cost a lot, right? Sect Master, do you need any material support?” Hua Qing Si asked.
“Before coming here, I already took adequate supplies from Second Manager. There should be enough supplies to set up three Arrays, so I don’t need anything for the time being. I will come to you if I need something.”
She nodded.
“Right!” Yang Kai suddenly recalled something, “How have the Cave Heavens and Paradises reacted to the matters involving the Good Fortune Divine Furnace?”
Hua Qing Si quickly reported, “Elder Yu came to discuss this matter with me once, but there seems to be no consensus among the Cave Heavens and Paradises yet.”
Yang Kai laughed when he heard those words, “They sure are in no hurry!”
Hua Qing Si nodded, “There is still quite a lot of time until the disciples they recruited from the Star Boundary fully mature, so they are in no hurry.”
“Good, just leave them hanging,” Yang Kai replied nonchalantly.
In any case, Void Land was currently using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, so the longer it took for the Cave Heavens and Paradises to come to a consensus, the more High-Order materials Void Land would obtain. Otherwise, Void Land would not have a turn when the Cave Heavens and Paradises began using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
“Sect Master, if they reach a consensus and come to discuss the matter with me again, how should I respond?” Hua Qing Si asked.
As things stood, Yang Kai would not be returning for some time. Arranging the Universe Arrays was by no means an overnight effort after all. It would take a long time to complete.
Yang Kai pondered for a while before he responded, “The rights to enter their Small Source Worlds for training must be obtained! Void Land has so many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and it will take a long time for them to advance into the next Order without opportunities. Besides, there will only be more Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters emerging in the future. Their growth period will be shortened significantly with the use of those Small Source Worlds. For that reason, there’s no need to discuss anything if they refuse to agree on this point.”
She nodded.
He continued, “There’s no reason for them to disagree since the Cave Heavens and Paradises each have more than one Small Source World. It’s just the right to enter their Small Source Worlds once per turn after all. There’s no reason for them to stubbornly refuse. Well… We can make some concessions on the duration they can use the furnace. The previous condition I offered was one month’s right of use in exchange for one right of entry into the Small Source World. If they try and discuss this matter with you again, three months is the bottom line! Any longer, and they will have to wait for my return.”
“I understand!” Hua Qing Si said in acknowledgement.
Yang Kai thus waved his hand lightly, “Good, you should get back to your work.”
“This Mistress will take her leave now.” After saying so, she soared into the sky and returned the way she came.
As Head Manager, there were many things that Hua Qing Si had to deal with. Leaving aside matters of the distant future, just looking at the near term, she had to choose 20 Open Heaven Realm Masters to manage the Small Stone World, arrange for High Heaven Star City to purchase materials in the Third-Order and below, and negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Most of High Heaven Palace’s burden rested on her slender shoulders.
With Yang Kai’s current capabilities, it would not take more than half a day for him to set up a normal-scale Space Array with enough resources; however, it took him three whole months to arrange the new Universe Array.
Although the Universe Arrays and the Space Arrays basically came from the same source and had many similarities, the Universe Array was undoubtedly more complex and sophisticated. In addition, Yang Kai was arranging a Universe Array for the first time. As he was unfamiliar with the method, he would occasionally make mistakes and his efforts for the past few days would be in vain whenever that happened.
Nevertheless, he finished setting up the first Universe Array after three months of hard work. The Universe Array was located directly on the Small Stone World, close to the bamboo building where Yue He, Zhou Ya, and the others were cultivating. Using a Secret Technique to leave his Imprint in the Grand Array, he immediately soared into the sky.
Now that the Universe Array was completed, the next step was to verify its effects. Matters like these could not be done by others because the consequences would be extremely serious if something were to go wrong. On the other hand, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, so even if he activated the Universe Transference Law and discovered a problem, he would at least be able to protect himself.
He travelled swiftly, and under the urging of Space Principles, his figure flickered as he left behind a trail of Space Beacons in his wake.
Exactly half a day later, a Grand Hall suddenly appeared in the void. The Grand Hall was huge, and the entire building was built on an abandoned Spirit Province. Even though it was obvious that the Grand Hall was built recently, there was nobody here.
Standing in front of the Grand Hall, Yang Kai looked around briefly. Only then did he raise his hands and form a set of seals to activate the Universe Transference Law. He could vaguely sense a connection with something in a far-off place, which was the exact direction where the Small Stone World’s Universe Array was located. When this feeling emerged, Yang Kai knew that there were no issues with the Universe Array he set up earlier.
He had spent more than 20 years repairing the Universe Temples that had long lost their function after years of disrepair. The ability to repair the Universe Temples indicated that he had already figured out the mysteries within them, so it was not a problem for him to set one up now.
There was no resistance, and his figure vanished from the spot three breaths later. By the time he came back to his senses, Yang Kai was already standing on the Universe Array in the Small Stone World.
Yue He had been waiting by the side all this time and her eyes immediately lit up at the sight of him as she looked at him in anticipation, “Young Master, is it done?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s done. But, using the Universe Transference Law is as time-consuming as ever.”
Even for a person like him who was proficient in the Dao of Space, using the Universe Transference Law took three full breaths before he was transferred back here. If it were anybody else, the duration would have been even longer.
This little bit of time would not matter under normal circumstances, but in a dangerous situation, such as being pursued by a powerful enemy, even a single breath could be the difference between life and death, much less three. That was why very few people in the Great Territories would use the Universe Transference Law to escape when being pursued. There was no chance for them to use the Universe Temples at all, unless they could find a way to escape from their enemies and create the space and time needed to activate the Universe Transference Law.
“There’s no helping it. The distance is too large when transferring to a Universe Temple. It’s only natural that it will take some time.”
Yang Kai pensively muttered, “The Universe Transference Law was passed down from ancient times. It is a Secret Technique specially used to communicate with the Universe Arrays. If we can figure out a method to modify the Universe Transference Law, we might be able to shorten the time taken.”
Yue He just laughed, “In that case, you will need to work hard on your own, Young Master. When it comes to the Dao of Space, there are not many people in the 3,000 Worlds who can help.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Arrange for somebody to build a Universe Temple around the Grand Array. Also, instruct the people who are still in this area to find an opportunity to leave their Soul Imprint here. That way, it will be much more convenient for them to travel back and forth in the future.”
“Don’t worry, Young Master. I will handle it properly!” She nodded.
Now that the central Universe Array had been completed, building a Universe Temple around it to protect it did not require any special skills. Anybody could do something like that.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai teleported with the help of the trail of Space Beacons that he left behind earlier and quickly returned to the Grand Hall from earlier.
During the three months that he spent setting up the first Universe Array, he had already asked his subordinates to construct two other Universe Temples in the New Great Territory beforehand. This Grand Hall was one of them while the other one was located close to the Territory Gate.
This arrangement was mainly to facilitate travel across the New Great Territory. When all three Universe Temples were finished, the speed at which the cultivators developed the New Great Territory would definitely increase by several times.
After entering the Universe Temple, Yang Kai took a rest for a few days before he started arranging the next Universe Array. The first Universe Array had taken him three months to complete, but practice made perfect in everything; therefore, the second Universe Array only took him two months to complete.
He tested the Grand Array in person again, and once he confirmed that there were no issues with the Universe Array, he headed to the Small Stone World to look for Yue He and asked her to arrange for somebody to guard the Universe Temple. After that, he rushed to the Universe Temple by the Territory Gate without stopping.
After another two months, the Universe Array at the Territory Gate was also successfully completed.
The three Universe Temples formed a triangle across the New Great Territory, covering more than half of its area. The Open Heaven Realm Masters of Void Land could freely choose any of the three Universe Temples as their destinations when they used the Universe Transference Law as long as they were in the New Great Territory.
Based on these different locations, Yang Kai divided the three Universe Temples into A, B, and C to distinguish between them. The one near the New Great Territory’s Gate was Universe Temple A, the one in the Small Stone World was Universe Temple B, and the last one in the further depths of the New Great Territory was Universe Temple C.
There had never been a Great Territory with so many Universe Temples before, so nobody could be certain as to what the outcome would be if the Universe Transference Law was activated in such a situation.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s personal experimentation showed that he could subtly sense all three Universe Temples if he activated the Universe Transference Law in the New Great Territory. By focusing on one particular Universe Temple, he could successfully transfer himself to it. It was no trouble at all.
After half a year, the population of the Small Stone Race in the Small Stone World had expanded to a certain extent, and the Small Stone World’s heritage was also enhanced accordingly.
Large batches of materials in the Third Order and below were steadily delivered to the Small Stone World. The Open Heaven Realm Masters in charge of managing the Small Stone Race were in charge of feeding these materials to the Small Stone Race. The Stone Kings in their respective nests practically laid 100 to 200 stone eggs a day now. If that was the case for one Clan, then there would be even more with thousands or tens of thousands of Clans.
The Small Stone Race that Yang Kai migrated away from the Small Stone World had more than been made up for.
Previously, the Small Stone World could only support two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters cultivating at the same time, but the current Small Stone World could support three with no trouble, and that was already after taking the Third and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters managing the Small Stone Race in the Small Stone World into account.
The growth of the Small Stone World’s heritage could easily be seen.
The same held true for Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
When High Heaven Palace previously delivered massive amounts of materials in the Third Order and below to the Small Stone World, Yang Kai had directly taken half of them and tossed them into his Small Universe. The materials were divided equally and scattered around the nests of the Small Stone Race.
Yang Kai no longer needed to feed them in person. In any case, the Small Stone Race clansmen would automatically search for resources, so as long as he tossed the materials nearby, there was no need to worry too much about them.
In the past half year, the number of the Small Stone Race clansmen in his Small Universe had increased from 10 million to 12 million. The unique Small Stone Race seemed capable of growing infinitely in number as long as they had enough resources. With every passing moment, the heritage of Yang Kai’s Small Universe was steadily growing stronger; hence, he also benefited from this growth.
The same numbers of Small Stone Race could bring 10 times more benefits to him compared to any other living creatures.
In the past, Yang Kai had been planning to search for an opportunity to raise even more Humans in his Small Universe; however, there was no such need anymore. Why would he need any other living creatures when he already had the Small Stone Race? What other living creatures could possibly bring more benefits than the Small Stone Race?
Yang Kai also took the time to look at the Profound Yin Bamboo, one of the Twelve Minor Pillars.
It was a dark and gloomy Universe World with no signs of living creatures whatsoever, and the Profound Yin Bamboo was located at the spot where all the World Energy in the Universe World seemed to converge. It was as though all the energy in the world was being used to support the existence of this particular Minor Universe Pillar.
There were not many stalks of Profound Yin Bamboo, only around a dozen or so, but each of them was as tall as a man.
Yang Kai tentatively relocated one of the Profound Yin Bamboo into his Small Universe.
Seeing as he already had the World Spring in his Small Universe, which was one of the Four Great Universe Pillars, his Small Universe was already extremely stable, so there was no need for him to use the Profound Yin Bamboo. The only reason for his action was to personally verify the effects and special characteristics of the Profound Yin Bamboo, lest the Open Heaven Realm Masters suffered from any mistakes when they collected and refined the Profound Yin Bamboo after advancing into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.
Moreover, Yang Kai deliberately placed the Profound Yin Bamboo next to one of the largest Small Stone Race Clans. This Clan had nearly 100,000 clansmen, so it was second to none compared to the other Small Stone Race Clans. The World Force produced by this particular Clan was naturally very rich.
As soon as he planted the Profound Yin Bamboo, Yang Kai immediately frowned.
It was not that the Profound Yin Bamboo was incompatible with the environment in his Small Universe. As one of the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars, the Profound Yin Bamboo was compatible with anybody’s Small Universe.
What made him frown was that the Profound Yin Bamboo seemed to be devouring the heritage of his Small Universe and turning that into its own growth nutrients.
That was very different from the World Spring. Refining the World Spring had not produced any such problems whatsoever.
When he realised that the World Spring and the Profound Yin Bamboo were completely different in the first place, Yang Kai relaxed slightly and began to wait quietly.
The Profound Yin Bamboo broke through the ground after a month. The World Force that was being devoured also increased with its growth, becoming more and more with time. Although the overall amount was not great, it was still a constant drain.
Who could withstand such consumption? When an Open Heaven Realm Master wanted to advance to the next Order, they needed to spend long years accumulating the heritage of their Small Universe, but if they planted the Profound Yin Bamboo in their Small Universe, it would be equivalent to feeding a ferocious beast that was benefitting from the heritage of their Small Universe. That would inevitably slow down the speed of their cultivation progress.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed tightly together. If this was all the Profound Yin Bamboo did, it would never have been listed as part of the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars. This was nothing more than a slow-acting poison to any Open Heaven Realm Master. Nevertheless, he patiently continued his observations.
The growth of the Profound Yin Bamboo was closely related to the World Force it consumed. Yang Kai tentatively tried to inject the power of his Small Universe into the Profound Yin Bamboo and discovered that he could increase the speed of its growth.
Another month passed, and the Profound Yin Bamboo finally grew to the height of a person. At this point, it finally showed some changes. The speed at which it was devouring the World Force became extremely slow. In fact, it was reduced to a point where it was practically negligible. Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief. If it was at this kind of rate, then the consumption was bearable. It would only take refining some Open Heaven Pills regularly to replenish the lost energy.
Following a series of experiments, Yang Kai discovered the differences between the Profound Yin Bamboo and the World Spring.
The effects of the World Spring, which was one of the Four Universe Pillars, was undoubtedly much stronger. He only needed to refine and integrate the World Spring with his Small Universe for the World Spring to strengthen and enhance it. There was no other price to pay.
On the other hand, the Profound Yin Bamboo was different. During its growth period, there was a need for the Profound Yin Bamboo to devour the Small Universe’s World Force and convert it into nutrients for its growth. The situation would only get better when it reached maturity.
Looking at the situation, it would seem that a cultivator would only need to pay the price to nurture the Profound Yin Bamboo for it to benefit their Small Universe.
Nevertheless, it was just as Yue He had mentioned. The Profound Yin Bamboo needed to exist on a large scale to be useful. One or two stalks did not prove to be very effective.
Fortunately, it was not difficult to make the Profound Yin Bamboo reproduce. Just like how a normal bamboo grew, it only needed enough nutrients for a single stalk of bamboo to grow into a whole bamboo forest.
With these special characteristics of the Profound Yin Bamboo, it was in line with being listed among the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars.
When the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land and High Heaven Palace advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, they would only need to consume some of their Small Universe’s heritage to nurture a Profound Yin Bamboo Forest. Nobody would refuse this level of sacrifice compared to the benefits that they would gain.
When it came down to it, the effects of the Profound Yin Bamboo would never be as strong as the World Spring no matter how much it reproduced. The two of them were not of the same grade in the first place.
Yang Kai did not remove the Profound Yin Bamboo from his Small Universe. On the contrary, he continuously poured his strength into it so that it reproduced even faster even though the Profound Yin Bamboo did not help him in any way.
Looking ahead into the future, Void Land and High Heaven Palace would surely generate countless Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Everybody would eventually need some, so it would be better to nurture as many of the Profound Yin Bamboo as possible now. It would be bad if there was not enough to go around when the time came.
Another month passed and Yang Kai was investigating the growth of the Small Stone Race population in the Small Stone World when a figure sped over from afar.
When the figure landed nearby, his fat body jiggled like a giant meatball. He ran over to Yang Kai in surprising agile steps and cupped his fist, “Subordinate Chen Tian Fei greets Sir!”
Looking up, Yang Kai swept a gaze over Chen Tian Fei and joked, “It’s been a few years since we last met, fatty. You’ve gotten even rounder.”
The blubber on Chen Tian Fei’s face bunched up into a smile and his small eyes were squeezed together so much that they were nowhere to be seen. He then spoke flatteringly, “It’s all thanks to you, Sir. This subordinate is living a good and carefree life with delicious food and beautiful clothes. That’s why I put on a little weight.”
His obesity was related to the Secret Art he cultivated. The larger his body, the stronger the power he could exert. Although he had been forced to submit himself to the Loyalty List and lost his freedom as a result, Yang Kai had never made things difficult for him over the years. Conversely, the development of Void Land and High Heaven Palace had allowed his cultivation to progress smoothly.
Over the years, he had become increasingly grateful for the choice he made back then. Even though he was listed as a slave in the Loyalty List, his future was undoubtedly more promising than the time when he served as Second Manager in Scarlet Star.
“I see.” Yang Kai nodded, “Is there something you need from me?”
Chen Tian Fei’s expression became solemn, “The Head Manager sent this subordinate to invite you back.” He lowered his voice as though afraid that others might hear him and whispered sneakily, “The Head Manager mentioned that the negotiations with the Cave Heavens and Paradises have reached a conclusion. She asks that you return and decide as soon as possible.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding, “I got it.”
Yang Kai had spent a long time at the Small Stone World without returning, so the Cave Heavens and Paradises were bound to become anxious; after all, the last time he left, he vanished for 30 years. If he vanished for another few decades or even hundreds of years, who would they discuss the matter relating to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with?
They originally planned to leave Yang Kai hanging so that he would lower his price, but who could have known that he was in no hurry at all? Seeing as Yang Kai was not anxious, the Cave Heavens and Paradises became anxious instead. Moreover, they could not enter the New Great Territory. They had no idea what Yang Kai was doing inside or how long they would need to wait for him to return.
“Sir, is there anything this subordinate can do?” Chen Tian Fei asked solemnly, “This subordinate is willing to climb a mountain of swords and cross a sea of fire for you. Even if I have to sacrifice this fat body, I am willing to complete your orders.”
Yang Kai smiled and lightly patted Chen Tian Fei’s stomach. A ripple of meaty waves immediately spread out, “What I want you to do is simple. Just keep on cultivating hard. We were too weak and small in the past, so the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm was acceptable. Unfortunately, Void Land and High Heaven Palace are on a different scale now. The Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm is not enough. You should hurry up and advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Chen Tian Fei’s expression immediately became bitter, “Sir, as you know, the cultivation of an Open Heaven Realm Master is all about accumulation. It’s not that this subordinate does not wish to hurry up. It’s just that my accumulation is simply not enough. This subordinate is devastated too.”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment and said, “Forget it. You don’t need to return to High Heaven Palace for now. Just find a place to cultivate in the Small Stone World. You are not allowed to leave until you reach the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Tian Fei’s eyes filled with tears and he sobbed gratefully, “Sir, you took such good care of this subordinate. This subordinate vows to devote his entire life to you in return!”
He was truly moved.
Back then, both Chen Tian Fei and Lu Xue had submitted to Yang Kai, but the difference was that Chen Tian Fei left his name on the Loyalty List as a slave while Lu Xue took the initiative to join Yang Kai.
Both of them had been in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm at the time, while Yang Kai was only in the Emperor Realm! However, Lu Xue left on a trip with Yang Kai and returned in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm! Conversely, Chen Tian Fei remained stuck in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai later took in Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, Zhou Ya, Hui Gu, and Luan Bai Feng. They were all powerful Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Thus, Chen Tian Fei couldn’t help feeling a sense of crisis. His cultivation was simply too low in comparison. The rest were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he was only in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even Hei He was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
He knew that there were only nine pages in the Loyalty List. In other words, Yang Kai could only accept nine slaves! Now that all nine pages had been filled, would he be disdained and abandoned by Yang Kai because his strength was too low? If he was truly abandoned, then he would not be able to continue living.
Once a person left their name on the Loyalty List, their name could not be removed unless they advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, the Loyalty List’s owner took the initiative to remove it, or they simply died!
For that reason, Fatty Chen had been living on the edge for all these years. He was scared that he would simply drop dead one day. That was why he always presented himself in a flattering manner every time he met Yang Kai. He was afraid that Yang Kai would consider him useless and decide to abandon him.
Now though, Yang Kai had allowed him to remain in the Small Stone World to cultivate, so it could be seen that Yang Kai had no thoughts of abandoning him at all. How could he not be emotional? The fear that he had been carrying in his heart all these years was finally resolved.
What’s more, this was the Small Stone World! Who among the Open Heaven Realm Masters in High Heaven Palace did not know about the wonders of the Small Stone World? All of them had worked hard to accumulate contribution points just to compete for the 20 slots to manage the Small Stone Race. It was a pity that only 20 people were chosen out of the 2,000 or so Open Heaven Realm Masters. Only a few people were destined to be the lucky ones.
Now that Yang Kai had spoken, Chen Tian Fei was also one of them. Not to mention, he did not even need to take care of the Small Stone Race, he only needed to find a quiet spot and focus on cultivating in retreat!
Chen Tian Fei was tempted to put his hands on his hips, throw his head back, and howl with laughter to show his happiness.
“Scram, scram!” Yang Kai kicked Chen Tian Fei in the butt.
Sure enough, Chen Tian Fei rolled over several times like a ball. Only then did he scramble to his feet and fled out of sight. Watching Chen Tian Fei’s departure, Yang Kai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. [Should I bring Yun Xing Hua over too?]
Among the nine people listed in his Loyalty List, Mao Zhe, Geng Qing, Zhou Ya, Hui Gu, and Luan Bai Feng were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Hei He and Xin Peng were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Only Chen Tian Fei and Yun Xing Hua belonged in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
He had not felt anything about it in the past, but as his strength steadily improved and the number of Masters Yang Kai came into contact with increased, a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master became indeed a little undesirable.
Upon further consideration though, he decided against the idea. Yun Xing Hua had been assisting Mo Mei in Void Star City all this time after all.
He dropped by to greet Yue He, then he activated the Universe Transference Law and arrived directly at Universe Temple A that was located near the Territory Gate.
Yue He had already arranged for several Open Heaven Realm Masters to guard this place, so when they noticed Yang Kai’s appearance, they bowed respectfully, “Sect Master!”
Yang Kai nodded and casually made some encouraging remarks to them before he headed straight towards the Territory Gate.
A short while later, he arrived at High Heaven Palace. The first thing he did was visit his Parents and check on the cultivation situation of his two Disciples.
Zhao Ya was as dazzlingly talented as ever. Even though it had only been half a year since she arrived at the Star Boundary, she had already advanced by three Minor Realms. It could be seen just how terrifying her aptitude was.
Naturally, it was also related to the extremely favourable cultivation environment in the Star Boundary. While inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe, she would not have been able to advance so quickly even if she did not deliberately try to suppress her cultivation.
In comparison, Zhao Ye Bai seemed a little pitiful. His cultivation was lower than Zhao Ya’s by several Great Realms, so it stood to reason that the speed of his cultivation should be much faster than hers. Even so, he only managed to advance by two Minor Realms.
After asking some questions and resolving certain issues that the two little ones faced during their cultivation, Yang Kai left.
He had not informed anybody about his return, but the representatives of the Cave Heavens and Paradises had clearly sensed his aura. It didn’t take long before Hua Qing Si came to report, “Sect Master, Elder Yu has sent a message. In three days, the representatives of the Cave Heavens and Paradises will be visiting High Heaven Palace to discuss the matter related to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with you.”
“Understood.” Yang Kai nodded, “Be sure to make some preparations in advance.”
The last time the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had gathered at High Heaven Palace, it was to discuss the construction of the Dao Temples in the Star Boundary and the recruitment of disciples. Hence, High Heaven Palace had some experience in providing hospitality to them.
“Yes!” She answered.
“By the way, how did they communicate with you all this time?” He asked.
Hua Qing Si briefly replied, “It’s basically Elder Yu acting as the middle-man to pass the messages to me. I have stubbornly kept to the three-month period and refused to budge, and they seemed unwilling to make things difficult for me. Since they are planning to gather at High Heaven Palace, I’m sure they have come to a consensus. They are coming to negotiate an outcome with you, Sect Master.”
Yang Kai laughed softly, “They can’t keep procrastinating. The earlier they start using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the earlier they will start harvesting benefits. It will be too late if they wait until their disciples are all grown up. It’s such a pity that there is so little time. If we could delay things a little longer, Void Land would surely receive even more benefits.”
A quick estimation indicated that the materials from Void Land should have arrived at Great Evolution Paradise by now, so Void Land should already be using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to create higher Order materials. That was why Yang Kai was happy to procrastinate. The longer they delayed things, the more chances Void Land would have to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Nevertheless, it did not matter too much. Even if they reached an agreement today, it would take some time for the Cave Heavens and Paradises to gather their materials and send them to Great Evolution Paradise. Void Land could go ahead and use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace until the materials from the Cave Heavens and Paradises arrived.
“There’s something else.” Hua Qing Si leaned closer and lowered her voice, “Shi Zheng of Lang Ya Paradise wishes to have a private meeting with you, Sect Master.”
“Shi Zheng?” Yang Kai frowned.
Needless to say, he was acquainted with all the foreign affairs envoys from the Cave Heavens and Paradises stationed in the Star Boundary. Shi Zheng was the foreign affairs envoy of Lang Ya Paradise and a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
“Did he say what it was about?” Yang Kai asked.
If it were any other Cave Heaven or Paradise, he would not have been so concerned. The key point was that Shi Zheng was from Lang Ya Paradise, and Lang Ya Paradise was the Master Sect of Zhang Ruo Xi’s Ancestor. Moreover, Zhang Ruo Xi was currently a Lang Ya Paradise disciple.
Hua Qing Si shook her head and said, “He didn’t say anything, but I think it has something to do with the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.”
The representatives of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were going to gather at High Heaven Palace in three days’ time to discuss the matter related to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace together. Hence, Shi Zheng’s intentions for asking for a private meeting with Yang Kai was obvious.
[Is he planning to use his private connections to get a better deal?] Yang Kai felt a little disgusted by the idea, but could not refuse due to his relationship with Zhang Ruo Xi. If he rejected Shi Zheng’s request, there was no saying whether Shi Zheng would harass Zhang Ruo Xi in the future. Be that as it may, the situation was such that he could not agree to over-the-top demands even if he met with Shi Zheng in private. That was something Shi Zheng had to understand.
“Invite him over then,” he ordered.
To which Hua Qing Si said, “Elder Shi claimed that there are too many eyes in the Star Boundary, so it is inconvenient for him to visit you recklessly. He asks that you take a small trip instead.”
[His sneaky and furtive actions are really giving off the vibe that he wants to discuss some sort of underhanded and dishonourable secret with me.]
She then continued, “Sect Master, if you do not wish to meet him, I will arrange for somebody to send a message to him.”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a long time before he said, “I will still need to meet him anyway. Where are we meeting?”
Hua Qing Si hurriedly handed over a jade slip.
He took the jade slip from her and used his Divine Sense to probe the contents. Understanding flooded his heart and he asked, “What about the time?”
She replied, “Elder Shi told me that he will be waiting for you there, Sect Master.”
[How rushed…]
Thinking about it again though, it made sense. Many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would be gathering in High Heaven Palace in three days. There would not be any other chances for them to meet if they did not rush the meeting now.
“I’ll go and take a look.”
“Sect Master!” Hua Qing Si hurriedly shouted after Yang Kai, “Be careful!”
Yang Kai nodded and vanished out of sight.
The place where Shi Zheng had chosen was still within High Heaven Territory, but it was quite a distance away from the Star Boundary. Moving quickly, Yang Kai arrived in less than four hours.
The void was tranquil, and a ship drifted quietly with two figures standing silently on the deck. Upon detecting Yang Kai’s aura, both of them turned to look in his direction. One of them looked surprised for a moment before shouting in excitement, “Sir!”
Yang Kai landed on the deck and looked forward with an equally pleasantly surprised look, “Ruo Xi?”
Shi Zheng was not the only person waiting for Yang Kai in this place, Zhang Ruo Xi was here too.
Speaking of which, Yang Kai had looked forward to seeing Zhang Ruo Xi when news about the World Tree spread and the Cave Heavens and Paradises began moving into the Star Boundary. Unfortunately, she never appeared even though the people from Lang Ya Paradise had arrived.
When Yang Kai asked Shi Zheng about the situation, he learned that Zhang Ruo Xi was cultivating in retreat. It was obvious at their reunion today that Zhang Ruo Xi was already an Open Heaven Realm Master.
“Sir, why are you here? Elder Shi told me that an honoured guest would be coming, and here I was wondering who it would be.” Zhang Ruo Xi smiled as brightly as a flower in bloom.
Yang Kai laughed, “I never thought I would meet you here either. Did you rush here from Lang Ya Paradise?”
She nodded, “I wanted to come back to visit, but I was in retreat previously. It was simply not convenient for me to come. Now that my cultivation has stabilised, the Master Sect finally allowed me to come.”
“What Order are you in?” He looked concerned.
“Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” She replied happily.
“Good! Very good!” He reached out to pat her head, though there was no denying that he felt a little regretful. If she had condensed her Dao Seal a little later, she might have had the chance to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nevertheless, regret was useless at this point. Once a cultivator had condensed their Dao Seal, the foundation was laid for which Order Open Heaven Realm they could achieve.
“How is the Master Sect?”
Zhang Ruo Xi smilingly replied, “It’s wonderful. Senior Sister Gu has always taken good care of me; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to advance into the Open Heaven Realm so quickly.”
The ‘Senior Sister Gu’ that Zhang Ruo Xi mentioned was none other than Gu Pan. As a Lang Ya Paradise Core Disciple, Gu Pan was one of its future pillars; therefore, her attitude towards Zhang Ruo Xi would hugely affect the treatment that the latter received in the Sect.
“In that case, I will have to thank her properly when I meet her again.” Yang Kai smiled. Speaking of which, he had not met Gu Pan since they last encountered one another during the Dao Theory Assembly.
Setting aside such thoughts, Yang Kai looked up and cupped his fist in a manner that was neither rude nor polite, “Greetings, Elder Shi!”
During the conversation between Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi, Shi Zheng simply stood to the side and watched with a smile on his face. He had not shown any intention of interrupting them. At this moment, he finally spoke up in a generous manner, “You are too polite, Sect Master Yang.”
Yang Kai said, “Why did you ask me to come here, Elder Shi?”
He was already unhappy with the fact that Shi Zheng had requested a private meeting with him before the Cave Heavens and Paradises met up to discuss the matters regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. In addition, he arrived only to see that Zhang Ruo Xi was also here. These points only solidified his impression that Shi Zheng was a cunning and sly man.
Although Yang Kai could understand Shi Zheng’s wish to utilise personal connections, for him to go so far as to bring Zhang Ruo Xi here showed clear intentions of taking advantage of the relationship between Yang Kai and her.
Shi Zheng responded, “You already have the answer in your heart, Sect Master Yang, why bother asking? Let’s sit down and talk.”
A feast had been prepared in advance on the deck, and a tantalising smell filled the air. Since Yang Kai was already here, he figured he might as well stay. There was nothing he needed to worry about since Shi Zheng was the one who had a request for him.
After thanking Shi Zheng, Yang Kai took a seat. Shi Zheng sat opposite Yang Kai while Zhang Ruo Xi knelt by the side and served them. The entire ship only had the aura of three people and there was nobody else in the vicinity.
“Sect Master Yang, you are young and promising indeed. This King admires you very much. Please allow this King to drink this toast to you,” Shi Zheng raised his glass.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Many thanks, Elder Shi.”
He raised his glass and gulped down the contents. Warmth filled his belly from the alcohol.
Zhang Ruo Xi refilled their wine glasses quietly.
“Sect Master Yang, the World Tree root that you brought out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and planted in the Star Boundary could be said to have benefitted this entire vast universe. This King will drink to that too!” Shi Zheng raised his glass for the second time.
“The results were unexpected. I did not anticipate this situation either when I planted the World Tree.”
Shi Zheng smiled, “But, there is no denying that the 3,000 Worlds has benefited. If not for your actions back then, the Star Boundary would not be producing so many peerless talents.”
After two glasses of wine, he continued, “I heard that Gu Pan received a lot of help from you in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Sect Master Yang. This King will drink this toast as thanks on behalf of Gu Pan.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and drank again! He secretly thought to himself, [Is this guy trying to get me drunk so that he can ask me for more benefits? If that’s the case, then I’ll drink you under the table!]
It was a good wine, but how could something brought to the table by a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master be of poor quality? Nevertheless, Yang Kai was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the body of a 10,000-metre-long Grand Dragon. How could mere wine make him drunk?
After three glasses of wine, Shi Zheng finally got to the point, “I’m sure you have some guesses as to why this King invited you here, Sect Master Yang. You are not wrong. This King is indeed here for the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.”
Yang Kai was slightly surprised by his bluntness and said, “The representatives of the Cave Heavens and Paradises will be gathering at the High Heaven Palace in three days’ time to discuss the matter regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace’s right of use together. As long as the condition I named is satisfied, all the Sects will be able to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Lang Ya Paradise is no exception. So, what is it that you wish to discuss with me, Elder Shi?”
Shi Zheng laughed, “The 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises make up more than 100 top forces in the 3,000 Worlds. I’m sure that meeting your requirements will not be a problem, Sect Master Yang. Even so, both parties are free to negotiate with each other. The time that each Sect can use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace is limited, not to mention that they will be taking turns to wait in line. Therefore, Lang Ya Paradise would like to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for a longer time!”
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows slightly, “How long?”
“Three to five years. If possible, eight to ten years.”
Yang Kai smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes, “You must be joking, Elder Shi.”
Even if each Sect was allowed to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for three months, it would take more than 300 months for the 100-plus Sects to each use it once. That meant that some 20 to 30 years would pass before each Sect could have another opportunity to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
Therefore, it was simply impossible for Yang Kai to allow Lang Ya Paradise to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for three to five years, much less eight to ten years.
This amount of time was nothing to Open Heaven Realm Masters under normal circumstances. For instance, repairing the Universe Temples had taken Yang Kai a whole 20 years to complete.
It was just that nobody was willing to wait so long; moreover, the elite disciples from various Sects in the Star Boundary would not take long to grow up, and once they condensed their Dao Seal, they would need a large supply of high Order materials.
Shi Zheng said sternly, “This matter might be difficult for others, but it shouldn’t be much trouble for you, Sect Master Yang. You only need to put forward conditions that cannot be met by any of the Sects during the meeting ij three days so that negotiations will break down. Before the results of the discussion come out, Lang Ya Paradise can use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for a while. As for how long we can use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, that will depend on your means, Sect Master Yang.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help rolling his eyes. [Void Land is currently using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. If I could create such an opportunity, why would I give up these benefits to outsiders?]
At that thought, he shook his head, “I’m afraid I will have to disappoint you, Elder Shi. I’m just the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace. The Cave Heavens and Paradises are existences that my generation looks up to. Although I have the qualifications to negotiate with them, I’m nothing more than the representative for Great Evolution Paradise. I cannot reach out for a yard after taking an inch. Besides, I’m sure that the discussion to be held in three days will reach a conclusion.”
Shi Zheng showed no signs of annoyance and simply chuckled before saying, “There’s no hurry to reject my request, Sect Master Yang. Since Lang Ya Paradise has a request for you, it’s only natural that we won’t let your efforts go in vain. Please look at this before we continue our discussion!” After saying so, he gestured to Zhang Ruo Xi, “Bring out that item and give it to Sect Master Yang.”
[Is he planning to give me a gift?] Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
There was a time when High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were a distant and unattainable existence to him. They were people whom he could only admire and respect. Yet now, he was not only standing on equal footing with the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, but also in the position for others to try and give him gifts to win his favour.
However, he was rather curious as to what Shi Zheng planned to give him. Ordinary treasures were not enough to interest him, but Shi Zheng seemed so confident. That could only mean that the gift was truly magnificent.
Zhang Ruo Xi entered the cabin and returned a short while later with an exquisite wooden box in her hands. The box was about the length of her arm and made from an unknown material. More importantly, it was radiating with the aura of a Sixth-Order material.
Yang Kai raised his brow at the sight. Just the box was a Sixth-Order Wood Element material that was worth at least 15 million Open Heaven Pills. Just what was the value of the item placed inside such a box?
Under Shi Zheng’s orders, Zhang Ruo Xi carefully placed the box in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai looked at the box suspiciously.
Shi Zheng gestured with a smile, “Please have a look, Sect Master Yang!”
However, Yang Kai remained motionless and shook his head instead, “Elder Shi, there are countless eyes targeting the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. Even if I wish to help you, I am powerless to do anything. Nonetheless, Ruo Xi is a native of the Star Boundary. Just because of that relationship alone, I will do my best to arrange for Lang Ya Paradise to be at the front of the line when the Cave Heavens and Paradises take turns using the Good Fortune Divine Furnace. As for the rest, I’m afraid I’m powerless to help you. So… there’s no need for me to see what’s inside the box. Please take it back, Elder Shi!”
If not for his relationship with Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai would not have come here at all. It was only for her sake that he was willing to accommodate Lang Ya Paradise to some extent, where possible. Unfortunately, over-the-top demands were beyond his ability. The Good Fortune Divine Furnace did not belong to him after all. He was only entrusted this matter by Grandmaster Ma Fan to discuss the Good Fortune Divine Furnace’s right of use with the Cave Heavens and Paradises on behalf of Great Evolution Paradise.
Shi Zheng chuckled, “There’s no need to worry, Sect Master Yang. This is something Lang Ya Paradise prepared especially for you. Let’s leave the rest aside for the time being. Please have a look, Sect Master Yang.”
Yang Kai grinned, “I’m afraid that I might be tempted if I look!”
Shi Zheng’s confidence indicated that the object inside the box was extremely extraordinary. Yang Kai was worried it might actually impress him.
“If this gift can tempt you, Sect Master Yang, then that’s exactly what this King wants!” Shi Zheng smiled and commanded, “Ruo Xi, open the box for Sect Master Yang!”
Zhang Ruo Xi was silent. Giving Yang Kai an apologetic look, she leaned over and placed her hand on the wooden box. She had been absolutely ecstatic when she saw Yang Kai earlier, but after sitting here and listening to the conversation between Shi Zheng and Yang Kai, she vaguely realised that something was wrong. It was just that Shi Zheng was a Lang Ya Paradise Elder. As a disciple, she could not disobey his commands.
The wooden box slowly opened.
When Yang Kai looked into the box, a black thread suddenly shot towards his body at the speed of lightning. It was so fast that he failed to react in time. If he had been on guard, the black thread might not have struck him. Unfortunately, the key point was that he had been unprepared. He had even widened his eyes to look into the wooden box, ready to see what treasure was contained inside. Who could have known a strange object would jump out instead?
As soon as the black thread emerged, an aura that made Yang Kai extremely uncomfortable permeated the air. The black thread immediately buried itself into his body and vanished out of sight.
On the other hand, the smile on Shi Zheng’s face grew deeper! However, his smile soon stiffened on his face. That was because the black thread that had plunged into Yang Kai’s body came back out and seemed to be trying to flee towards him instead.
A large hand suddenly reached out as swiftly as lightning and captured the black thread.
Shi Zheng was dumbfounded! Similarly, Zhang Ruo Xi and Yang Kai were dumbstruck!
The black thread struggled and wriggled violently in Yang Kai’s hands like a living creature. When he looked down at it, he discovered that the black thread had no head or tail. It resembled a large black earthworm. Moreover, its body was releasing an extremely distressing black aura that leaked out from within its body like steam.
[What the Hell is this!? I can tell at a glance that this isn’t anything good!]
Yang Kai looked up and met Shi Zheng’s eyes. The latter had a look of confusion on his face. The corners of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched slightly. Smiling at Shi Zheng politely, Yang Kai slowly placed the black earthworm in his hand back into the wooden box and gently closed the cover before he stuffed the entire box into his Space Ring.
“I like the gift very much, Elder Shi,” He nodded lightly.
Shi Zheng stared at Yang Kai solemnly and traces of his aura slowly began spreading out into the air.
Yang Kai stood up, “Elder Shi, I still have things to do at High Heaven Palace. I will be taking my leave; please excuse me.” Then, he turned to look at Zhang Ruo Xi and continued, “Ruo Xi, follow me back to the Star Boundary!”
Zhang Ruo Xi could tell that something was strange about the situation, so she nodded immediately.
Yang Kai wrapped his power around her, and with a flash of his thoughts, Space Principles began fluctuating in preparation for his return to the Star Boundary. With his current capabilities, he could use the Star Boundary’s World Force to return in an instant as long as he was still inside High Heaven Territory, regardless of the distance.
Shi Zheng stood up, and the aura of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master exploded. When the World Force surged violently, he threw a punch in Yang Kai’s direction. The power behind this punch was absolutely horrifying, causing the local space to warp, severing the connection between Yang Kai and the Star Boundary almost instantaneously.
In that moment of desperation, Yang Kai gently pressed his palm against Zhang Ruo Xi’s body to push her aside. He himself was struck squarely in the back by Shi Zheng’s fist and his figure was thrown forward like a ragdoll as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Everything occurred so suddenly that Yang Kai had already been injured by Shi Zheng before Zhang Ruo Xi had the time to react. She did not know whether Yang Kai was even still alive.
On the other hand, Shi Zheng showed no intention of paying attention to her at all. He pursued Yang Kai and sent several Divine Abilities at his crumpled body. Following that, he stood in the void and watched with his hands behind his back.
Yang Kai was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he had a history of killing a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Zuo Quan Hui; therefore, everybody in the Cave Heavens and Paradises had some understanding of his strength. That was also why Shi Zheng attacked without holding back in the slightest.
His original plan had failed, so he could only go for the kill. He believed that Yang Kai could not survive his vicious barrage of attacks; however, when the energy fluctuations of those Divine Abilities gradually vanished, he saw a blood-drenched Yang Kai standing there and staring at him coldly.
[He’s not dead?] Shi Zheng’s eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.
Not only was Yang Kai not dead, but he didn’t even look to be heavily injured.
For a moment, Shi Zheng wondered whether his eyesight was compromised. Everything that happened today had left him reeling from disbelief. First, the trap he prepared had been ineffective towards Yang Kai; then, his attacks had failed to settle the matter in a single blow.
[Just what kind of Monster is this brat!?]
“That hurt!” Yang Kai swung his arms and cracked his neck.
If it had been before Yang Kai most recently entered the Shattered Heaven, the sneak attack of a veteran Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might have killed him on the spot. The other party had struck without holding back in the slightest, so no matter how strong Yang Kai was, it would have been impossible for him to defend himself so suddenly.
Fortunately, he obtained the World Spring in the Shattered Heaven, so even if Shi Zheng was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, those Divine Abilities and the punch to his body were unable to affect his Small Universe in the slightest. All the power in those attacks were borne only by his body, so he did not experience any turbulence in his Small Universe like before.
Furthermore, he currently had the body of 10,000 metres long Grand Dragon. The clothes on his body were also transformed from his Dragon Scales; hence, his defensive abilities were outstanding!
Shi Zheng had attacked with everything he had, and Yang Kai was injured pretty badly as a result. Nevertheless, these injuries were nothing to an Open Heaven Realm Master as long as their Small Universe remained unharmed.
In the distance, Zhang Ruo Xi finally managed to come to a stop after being shoved aside by Yang Kai earlier. When she looked up and saw that Yang Kai was fine, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. A brief moment of hesitation appeared on her face, and then she turned around and sped towards the Star Boundary.
She had no intention of staying behind to fight beside Yang Kai because she knew that she would not be able to help with her Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation. On the contrary, she would only become a distraction for Yang Kai. All she could do was escape as far as possible so as not to become his burden! That was undoubtedly the correct decision to make.
She did not know the reason why Elder Shi Zheng had plotted against then attacked Yang Kai. Everything that happened just now was extremely difficult to believe. Not to mention, she had clearly felt an intense disgust when the black earthworm-like object emerged from the ‘gift’ that Elder Shi Zheng had wanted to give Yang Kai.
Upon seeing Zhang Ruo Xi escaping out of the corner of his eyes, Yang Kai secretly praised the girl for her intelligence. Only then did he turn to look at Shi Zheng in a leisurely manner and ask, “Why?”
Shi Zheng studied Yang Kai in disbelief, unable to understand why his Divine Abilities were ineffective against him. What puzzled him even more was why Yang Kai had not succumbed to his trap earlier. That was his biggest miscalculation. If his initial plan had worked, all the troublesome matters afterwards would not have happened in the first place.
All of a sudden, Shi Zheng seemed to realise something and asked, “Did you refine one of the Four Universe Pillars?”
“Is this incident your will alone, Elder Shi? Or, is this the stance Lang Ya Paradise is taking?” Yang Kai looked at Shi Zheng calmly.
It would not matter too much if this incident was merely the personal actions of Shi Zheng, but it would become intriguing indeed if it turned out that he actually represented Lang Ya Paradise.
“Which of the Four Universe Pillars did you refine?” Shi Zheng stared at Yang Kai intently.
“What was that black earthworm-like thing?”
Both of them questioned the other, but neither side answered the other’s questions.
Shi Zheng was the first to lose his patience. He had been completely exposed when his attack failed. If he wanted to make up for his mistakes, then he could only silence both Yang Kai and Zhang Ruo Xi. What’s more, those who refined the Four Universe Pillars had to die!
His murderous intent surged without warning, and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm World Force burst out violently. His figure charged towards Yang Kai at the speed of lightning.
A voice rang out in the universe, “Heaven and Earth, lend me your strength!”
In that moment, Yang Kai instantaneously understood one thing, Shi Zheng had decided on a meeting place located so far away from the Star Boundary because he was afraid Yang Kai would borrow the might of the Star Boundary to obtain the temporary powers of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, the truth was that Yang Kai could borrow the strength of the Star Boundary from anywhere as long as he was still within High Heaven Territory.
Following that shout, a look of panic appeared on Shi Zheng’s face. If he allowed Yang Kai to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, then he would have no confidence in his ability to kill Yang Kai within a short time.
What surprised Shi Zheng slightly was that nothing happened after Yang Kai’s confident shout. Yang Kai’s aura did not show any signs of being enhanced and the aura coming from him was still that of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai’s face twitched slightly as he muttered to himself, [This is awkward…]
He could borrow the Star Boundary’s World Force to obtain the temporary powers of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from anywhere as long as he was in High Heaven Territory, but right now, since he was half a day’s journey from the Star Boundary, even though he could clearly sense the Star Boundary’s World Force churning and rushing towards him, it would take a while to arrive from such a large distance!
How could Yang Kai afford to wait when there was a formidable enemy in front of him? By the time the Star Boundary’s World Force arrived, the outcome of the battle between them would have already been decided!
Shi Zheng did not know what was happening, but he had a vague guess. His body immediately tensed and a powerful surge of World Force spread out to form the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking net, which severed Yang Kai’s connection with the Star Boundary. The immense Star Boundary’s World Force that was rushing towards Yang Kai suddenly lost its target; hence, it turned around and returned to the Star Boundary.
“Break!” Yang Kai shouted, manipulating Space Principles as he thrust out ferociously with the Azure Dragon Spear. That blow immediately blasted a small hole in the sealed space.
“Heaven and Earth, lend me your strength!” He held his spear horizontally in front of him and shouted. The World Force of the Star Boundary that had just calmed down began churning once more, then it rushed towards him like the rising tide.
In the next moment, Shi Zheng charged forward. Numerous Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques rained down from above, causing Yang Kai to flee desperately.
That was not all. The hole that had been blasted open was repaired by Shi Zheng, effectively cutting off the connection between Yang Kai and the Star Boundary once more. As a result, the Star Boundary returned to peace for the second time!
Yang Kai felt as though his veins were about to pop from frustration. Urging his Space Principles to their limits, he used all his strength to break the barrier once more and shouted, “Heaven and Earth, lend me your strength!”
How could Shi Zheng possibly give Yang Kai the chance to succeed though? World Force surged and the enormous void turned into a cage again.
…
Inside the various Dao Temples on the Star Boundary, many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters frowned deeply. Some of them even came out and observed the changes in the Star Boundary.
The movements of the Star Boundary’s World Force were so obvious that it was impossible for them not to notice anything, especially since these tumultuous changes occurred repeatedly. These changes were simply far too conspicuous.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters initially suspected that something had happened to the Star Boundary, but upon careful consideration, the realisation quickly struck them, a Great Emperor was trying to borrow the Star Boundary’s World Force!
Although they had not personally witnessed Yang Kai borrowing the World Force back then, they knew about the incident. After understanding this point, they couldn’t help wondering, just which Star Boundary Great Emperor was doing this? Were they simply experimenting? Or, was there a deeper meaning behind these actions?
Unlike the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Great Emperors quickly came out of retreat and gathered together.
Aside from Iron Blood Great Emperor and Martial Beast Great Emperor who were guarding the New Great Territory’s Territory Gate, and Bustling World Great Emperor who was overseeing High Heaven Star City, the remaining five had been alerted to these changes. They included Serene Soul Great Emperor, Flower Shadow Great Emperor, Ice Feather Great Emperor, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor, and Heavens Revelations Great Emperor.
As they looked around at each other, Serene Soul Great Emperor frowned and asked, “Where is Yang Kai?”
All of them were here, so the abnormalities in the Star Boundary had nothing to do with them. In that case, only one possibility remained. Yang Kai was trying to borrow the Star Boundary’s World Force, but his attempts were interrupted for some reason. That was the only explanation for the repeated attempts.
They all shook their heads. Ever since learning that they could directly refine and absorb the Star Boundary’s World Force to enhance the heritage of their respective Small Universes, they had been cultivating in retreat without regard for affairs in the outside world. If not for the major commotion today, they would not have gathered together today. Who among them would know where Yang Kai was?
At that moment, Hua Qing Si rushed over in a hurry. Seeing that the five of them had come out of retreat, she quickly shouted, “Sect Master might be in danger!”
“What happened?” Serene Soul Great Emperor Yao Jun asked solemnly.
Hua Qing Si immediately informed them about how Shi Zheng had invited Yang Kai for a private meeting.
The five of them scowled after listening to the explanation.
Yao Jun said, “Looks like Yang Kai is really in danger after all. He would not have tried to borrow the Star Boundary’s World Force otherwise. This matter cannot be delayed, we need to assist him immediately!”
The rest nodded in agreement. Just as they were about to rush into the sky though, a voice suddenly rang out, “I’ll go!”
They turned to look in that direction only to see Yu Chang Dao heading towards them. It was obvious that he had heard their conversation just now. He was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who stayed at High Heaven Palace all the time after all, so it was extremely easy for him to investigate the situation if he wanted to.
Yu Chang Dao noticed the wary look that the Great Emperors were giving him and said, “This matter has nothing to do with the Cave Heavens and Paradises. The specific reasons will have to be carefully investigated. I will definitely give you an explanation when I return.”
This incident had occurred after Yang Kai went to meet with Shi Zheng, so the Great Emperors were naturally suspicious as to whether the Cave Heavens and Paradises had done anything underhanded in secret. That was why they were so vigilant when Yu Chang Dao appeared.
This matter could not be delayed though, and Yu Chang Dao knew that he could not explain himself quickly, so he decided not to waste his time. Nodding at the Great Emperors, he immediately soared into the sky.
There was no telling whether he had said anything to the other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Star Boundary, but numerous powerful auras quickly followed behind him. In the blink of an eye, some forty or fifty people turned into streams of light and set off in a mighty procession.
Yang Kai’s whereabouts were obvious as they only needed to head in the direction that the Star Boundary’s World Force had surged towards earlier.
Moments after the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters departed, the five Great Emperors quickly took to the skies after them. It would be for the best if this matter was unrelated to the Cave Heavens and Paradises; however, if the Cave Heavens and Paradises were involved, Yang Kai would have a hard time facing so many enemies alone. Even if their presence would not change the fact that they were powerless to resist, they could not allow Yang Kai to fight alone!
……
In the void, the sealed space formed by the power of Shi Zheng’s World Force would be broken by Yang Kai from time to time. Be that as it may, Shi Zheng would quickly fortify the cage again every time Yang Kai tried to borrow the strength of the Star Boundary.
After repeated attempts, Yang Kai roared furiously, “Show proper respect! Don’t go too far with your antics!”
Shi Zheng naturally ignored Yang Kai while every attack he unleashed was ruthless and lethal.
If it were any other, ordinary, Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, even those at the peak of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it would have been impossible for them to survive under the fierce attacks of a veteran Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master for so long. Nevertheless, Yang Kai grimly persisted. Despite being covered in blood and looking quite miserable, he managed to narrowly escape death every time.
Yang Kai finally understood the wonders of the World Spring. Without the World Spring, his Small Universe would have fallen into chaos or even possibly collapsed from the impacts by now. In contrast, his Small Universe remained as firm and resilient as ever thanks to the protection of the World Spring. It didn’t matter how powerful the attacks that Shi Zheng threw at him, none of them could shake his foundation.
All the injuries he sustained were physical wounds. Thankfully, the Dragon Scale clothes he wore on his body that gave him powerful defensive abilities and the immense restorative abilities of a Grand Dragon combined with his potent Wood Element Power allowed him to persevere.
A quarter-hour later, Shi Zheng vaguely noticed something wrong.
Yang Kai’s wretched appearance repeatedly gave him the illusion that he could kill him if only he tried a little harder; even so, every time he used his full power to deliver a fatal blow, Yang Kai somehow managed to survive.
[This brat just won’t die!]
How could he fail to realise that Yang Kai was simply trying to buy time? Yang Kai knew that Shi Zheng could form a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking cage, but he continued to try and borrow the Star Boundary’s World Force. Such obvious movements were clearly a means to inform the Star Boundary that something had happened to him.
If Shi Zheng’s guess was correct, then the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters stationed at the Star Boundary were already on their way here. His identity had been exposed to Yang Kai, so if he could kill him quickly, he might be able to continue hiding his identity. On the other hand, if he failed to kill Yang Kai, then all the years of forbearance would be in vain.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Shi Zheng’s expression became solemn all of a sudden. Forming a set of seals with his hands, and a giant sword sparkling with starlight suddenly emerged from behind his back. The giant sword that resembled a Star was a dazzling sight to behold. At the same time, Sword Qi exploded out, threatening to shatter the local space.
“Divine Manifestation!” Yang Kai was shocked.
There was a huge gap in power even among individual High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, and the biggest difference came from whether or not they had their own Divine Manifestation. Those who had their own Divine Manifestation were rare even among the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Yang Kai had a deep understanding of the immense strength of Divine Manifestations, and it turned out that Shi Zheng was one of the few who had one.
Luck had played a vital role when Yang Kai killed Zuo Quan Hui back then. Although Zuo Quan Hui had been in the Seventh Order for many years, he had not comprehended his own Divine Manifestation. If he had a Divine Manifestation, the outcome of their conflict would have been very different.
Cold murderous intent shrouded Yang Kai, and his exposed skin immediately got goosebumps. When the aura of death came down on him, he knew that he would not live to see the sun tomorrow if he continued to conceal his true strength. Hence, he immediately put the Azure Dragon Spear away and took a deep breath. With a great roar that rang out across the void, he shouted, “Dragon Transformation!”
A Dragon Roar rang out and golden light burst forth as Yang Kai’s body swelled abruptly. Following a series of cracking sounds, Dragon Scales covered his entire body, his hands turned into Dragon Claws, Dragon Horns emerged from his head, a Dragon Beard fluttered beneath his jaw, a Dragon Tail swept side to side, and his Dragon Eyes glowed majestically.
A 10,000-metre-long Grand Dragon suddenly manifested, and a powerful Dragon Pressure permeated the void. Golden Dragon Scales shone like Great Suns, illuminating the darkness.
“A Grand Dragon!?” Shi Zheng was so shocked that even the movement of his hands paused for a moment.
Shi Zheng had known that Yang Kai carried a Dragon Clan bloodline as that had been revealed outside of the Shadowless Cave Heaven to ward off his enemies at the time.
Nonetheless, Shi Zheng never imagined that Yang Kai was not just a random Dragonkin, but a genuine Mature Grand Dragon. It had to be said that a Grand Dragon was the equivalent of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in terms of strength!
[How can he be a Grand Dragon!? This brat is far too treacherous!] If Shi Zheng had known that Yang Kai had the strength of a Grand Dragon, he would never have bothered to fight with him here. He might be a veteran Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he did not have the confidence to kill a Grand Dragon. If he could not kill the other party, then why waste time trying?
Thinking back to how Yang Kai had repeatedly and desperately acted as though his life had been hanging by a thread, Shi Zheng nearly grounded his teeth to bits. [This boy has been hiding his strength just to keep me hanging and buying time by making me think that I have the ability to kill him!]
In the end, just when Shi Zheng decided to pull out his trump card and end things swiftly, Yang Kai finally revealed the truth. [How can he be so despicable and shameless!? Bastard!]
Yang Kai, who had transformed into a Grand Dragon, shook his head side to side and spoke in a thunderous voice, “Are you surprised?”
[Fuck your surprise!] For the first time in his life, Shi Zheng discovered that a person could be this shameless. He had the sudden urge to leave right now. Unfortunately, his Divine Manifestation had already been summoned, so there was no choice but to release the arrow on the string!
The shocking sword transformed into a dazzling stream of light that stabbed straight at Yang Kai’s enormous body. A razor-sharp aura that contained Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering force immediately appeared in front of Yang Kai’s Dragon Head.
Yang Kai opened his mouth and let out a roar. A brilliant golden ray of light shot out from his mouth.
Dragon Breath!
The fluctuation from that burst of horrifying energy caused a huge wave of ripples to spread outward. Nevertheless, the giant sword that had transformed into a stream of light slowly, but steadily pushed forward despite being enveloped by the Golden Dragon Breath.
[I can’t block it!] Yang Kai’s Dragon Eyes widened in horror. The power of the Dragon Source in his body had already been urged to its limits, but it was still not enough.
It was not his first time fighting a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but it was his first time facing the Divine Manifestation unleashed by one.
Besides, Zuo Quan Hui was obviously significantly weaker compared to Shi Zheng. Even if Zuo Quan Hui were to face such a blow, he would have to flee in the face of danger.
Although Yang Kai had advanced to become a Grand Dragon and obtained the capital to hold his own against a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it had not been long since his breakthrough. Not to mention, this was his first time fighting as a Grand Dragon, so he was sorely lacking in experience as a result. The main reason was that he had always assumed a Half-Dragon Form during his Dragon Transformation. Unlike back then, he was now an actual Dragon and was unfamiliar with his new Dragon Form, so it was difficult for him to bring out the true strength of a Grand Dragon.
A short while later, the giant sword suddenly trembled violently and broke through the blockade of the Dragon Breath to stab straight at his head.
In that moment of life or death, Yang Kai abruptly tilted his head. It was a pity that his enormous form, while extremely imposing, was not as agile or flexible as a Human body, and he failed to avoid the attack as a result.
A stream of blood mist erupted from his chest, accompanied by a low groan. At the same time, his 10,000 metres long Dragon Form was sent flying backwards as though he was struck by a mountain.
By the time Yang Kai finally managed to stabilize his figure, he looked down to see an additional wound the size of a house on his chest. Golden blood gushed out from the wound, and the surrounding Dragon Scales had been shattered to pieces.
Yang Kai was secretly horrified. It had to be said that the defensive abilities of a Grand Dragon were extremely powerful. Not to mention, he had concentrated all his strength on his chest at the last moment. Nevertheless, he was still injured by Shi Zheng’s shocking sword. The horrors of that sword could clearly be seen.
Fortunately, by some stroke of luck, he had managed to avoid being hit in a vital spot during the exchange, so although his current wound looked very terrible, it was not critical.
The only difficulty was that he could sense a strange force lingering around his wound. That force was producing traces of Sword Qi that hindered his regenerative abilities.
[This is a big loss!] Yang Kai forcefully swallowed a mouthful of blood and looked up.
Shi Zheng had already transformed into a stream of light on the horizon and escaped into the distance.
There was no hesitation in his actions. After unleashing his sword attack, he immediately turned around and fled without caring whether Yang Kai survived or not. That was because he knew that the Masters in the Star Boundary were already rushing over. If he did not leave now, he would not have another chance to leave again.
Yang Kai’s enormous Dragon Eyes stared at Shi Zheng’s back calmly. He was in no rush to give chase; instead, he sneered and sent a transmission out, “I’ll let you escape for a while. I’ll have to hand it to you if you manage to escape!”
Shi Zheng, who was fleeing in front, paused for a moment. He was tempted to turn around and kill Yang Kai on the spot.
After being taunted, he recalled that Yang Kai was a master of the Dao of Space, so running away would not allow him to escape. However, things had already reached this point, so he had no other choice but to keep his head down and proceed onward in hopes of fleeing from High Heaven Territory.
Yang Kai’s enormous body lay horizontally in the void as he urged his power to cover the wound on his chest. The force behind Shi Zheng’s attack was very heavy. Furthermore, that attack had a strong lingering effect. Even if a normal person did not die from those after-effects, they would lose their mobility and be forced to recuperate on the spot.
Thanks to Yang Kai’s incredible recuperative abilities, it only took a short while for him to suppress and seal the strange force in his wounds to prevent it from affecting his movements later. Only then did he push his Space Principles and chase after Shi Zheng.
In the void, Shi Zheng transformed into a stream of light and frantically raced towards the Territory Gate.
If he wanted to escape from High Heaven Territory, then his only option was to head towards the Territory Gate. As luck would have it, the situation in High Heaven Territory was different from the other bountiful Great Territories due to its remote location. There was only one Territory Gate leading in and out of High Heaven Territory; therefore, he had no other choice.
A short while later, Shi Zheng’s figure, which had been rushing forward, suddenly came to a halt. He stared at the enormous figure in front of him with a helpless gaze.
Having transformed into a Grand Dragon, Yang Kai’s body literally shone with a golden light. He was so dazzling that it was difficult not to notice him even from afar. Besides, Yang Kai had no intention of concealing himself and simply stood there openly to wait for Shi Zheng.
Upon seeing that Shi Zheng had finally appeared, Yang Kai snapped in annoyance, “You sure ran really slowly!”
He had already been waiting here for some time prior to Shi Zheng’s arrival.
“Grand Dragons are not immortal!” Shi Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Yang Kai snorted, steam coming out of his large nostrils as he declared, “You won the first round. Let’s begin the second round. I won’t lose this time!”
Shi Zheng gritted his teeth and said nothing. A giant sword that sparkled as brightly as a Star slowly emerged from his back and rose into the sky.
Yang Kai felt his teeth hurting at the sight. Without even thinking, he turned around and fled, his voice wafting over from far away, “Fine, you’ve got guts indeed! The second round is your win! I’ll be waiting for you up ahead for the third round!”
Shi Zheng was so furious that he nearly coughed up blood!
Not daring to waste time fighting Yang Kai, he simply wanted to end things as quickly as possible. His first attack might not have killed Yang Kai, but Yang Kai had been heavily injured nonetheless. If he followed up with a second attack, he might just be able to obliterate Yang Kai. That was why he summoned his Divine Manifestation without any hesitation.
Who could have known that Yang Kai would escape? He ran! Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he turned tail and ran!
Like punching cotton, Shi Zheng’s ferocious blow came to nought. Hence, there were no words to describe his agony!
[Didn’t that brat claim that he would not lose again with such confidence? Why did he turn and run as soon as the words left his mouth!?] Shi Zheng was tempted to ask Yang Kai if he even knew what the meaning of integrity was.
It would not have mattered so much if it was just a normal attack, but the key point was that the energy consumption from activating one’s Divine Manifestation was extremely high. It was true even for a mighty Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him.
Shi Zheng had already activated his Divine Manifestation twice. Although the effect had previously been somewhat useful, the Divine Manifestation he unleashed this time was completely pointless.
Divine Manifestations were trump cards to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, and as such could not be used casually. Once brought out, they should be able to play a decisive role in battle because the consumption was simply too great.
Even Shi Zheng only had enough strength to use his Divine Manifestation four or five times before he was completely exhausted. Moreover, this was the second time he cast his Divine Manifestation!
[If he does that again later…] The corners of his eyes twitched slightly. [Just who did I meet? Why didn’t I realise that he is such a… despicable person when I interacted with him in the past!?]
In any case, this attack was useless, and he had no other place to go, so he could only continue towards the Territory Gate.
In less than half a cup of tea’s time, he came across Yang Kai waiting for him again. Yang Kai’s enormous body lay horizontally across the void, his Dragon Claws waved about wildly and his Dragon Tail swept from side to side. He looked like he was doing warm-ups before a big battle.
As soon as they met again, Yang Kai immediately asked, “Are you going to cast that sword again? If you are, then hurry up! I’ll consider the third round your win again!”
Shi Zheng gritted his teeth to hold back the roiling blood in his chest and shouted, “Die!”
It was meaningless for him to win numerous rounds; after all, it only took losing one round for everything to end for him. This was an unfair fight through and through.
As soon as his shout rang out, he charged towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sneered. [Without the Divine Manifestation, why should a Grand Dragon like me fear you?]
This was his first battle since becoming a Grand Dragon, so having a powerful enemy to train his senses was exactly what he wanted. Hence, Yang Kai immediately became entangled with Shi Zheng.
After transforming into a Grand Dragon, his body became unimaginably enormous. In particular, his field of vision was very different from before. In the past, even after using his Dragon Transformation, his body retained some human characteristics, so his fighting style didn’t have to change much.
On the contrary, many of the battle skills he accumulated through past fights could no longer be used after transforming into a Grand Dragon. Yang Kai had to learn everything from scratch once more.
However, he could not win without transforming into his Grand Dragon Form because he was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Only by transforming into the Grand Dragon would he have the qualification to openly compete with a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
For a time, the scene was as tragic as could be. The majestic Grand Dragon was practically a punching bag for Shi Zheng and Yang Kai suffered endless beatings.
Shi Zheng threw numerous Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques in quick succession, and when those attacks landed on Yang Kai’s Dragon Scales, many of them were blasted off.
The attacks of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were extraordinary indeed. Yang Kai felt pain coming from all over his body. It was doubtful if there was a single spot on his body that did not hurt.
Fortunately, a Grand Dragon had innately powerful defences. Yang Kai also activated his Wood Element Power, which contained the condensed essence of the Immortal Tree. Relying on these abilities to heal these injuries during battle, he barely managed to persevere. In any case, his aim was not to kill Shi Zheng, but rather to buy time by delaying him here. That was enough.
As long as Shi Zheng did not cast his Divine Manifestation, he could not do anything to Yang Kai.
During the battle, Yang Kai gradually familiarised himself with the body of a Grand Dragon. At the beginning, he focused only on defending himself as he was powerless to fight back. However, he slowly became capable of counter-attacking as the fight went on.
Although the number of times that Yang Kai managed to counter-attack were few and far between, every one of those attacks frightened Shi Zheng greatly. There was no helping it, though, as even the local space would be shredded when the huge Dragon Claws swiped towards him. If he was caught in those Dragon Claws, even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him would die.
Hence, he summoned his Divine Manifestation once more while Yang Kai was unprepared. At the same time, he desperately drew upon his strength to create a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking cage around them.
This attack had to kill Yang Kai, for if he missed this opportunity, then he was bound to suffer a tragic ending. That was why he waited for a perfect moment to activate his Divine Manifestation and use the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking technique.
Yang Kai had no way to escape. Even if he had the ability to break the Void to flee, doing so would undoubtedly take a few breaths in this situation.
When Masters fought each other, a single breath was more than enough to determine the difference between life and death!
Shi Zheng originally believed that Yang Kai would try to escape again when he summoned his Divine Manifestation, but who could have anticipated that Yang Kai wouldn’t turn to flee this time around? Moreover, his Dragon Eyes seemed to indicate that he was taking pleasure in the misfortune of others.
Shi Zheng suddenly had an ominous feeling, as though something extremely bad was about to happen.
Before he could unleash his Divine Manifestation, Yang Kai suddenly clenched his enormous Dragon Claws into a fist and punched forward fiercely. A Dragon Roar reverberated through the air, “Cow Punch!”
[Cow punch? What kind of cow is he attacking?] Shi Zheng was a little dumbstruck; however, in the next moment, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The colour in his face drained abruptly as his Small Universe shook violently and his World Force became exceedingly chaotic.
Yang Kai’s fist had clearly struck empty space, but Shi Zheng felt as though all that energy was erupting inside his Small Universe.
[I can’t believe he has the means to attack my Small Universe directly!] Shi Zheng was absolutely horrified by the attack.
For Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Small Universe in their bodies was their foundation. It was their everything. Therefore, the slightest turbulence in their Small Universe was enough to affect the combat ability of any Open Heaven Realm Master.
Consequently, throughout countless years of inheritance, many brilliant and talented Ancestors from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had overcome various difficulties and paved the way forward by comprehending numerous Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques that could impact the Small Universe directly. These attacks were the closely-kept secrets of each Sect.
Nevertheless, these Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were bound to have traces that could be detected and guarded against.
Shi Zheng himself had learned such a Secret Technique and even used it during the battle, it was just that it was completely ineffective against Yang Kai. Having refined one of the Four Universe Pillars, Yang Kai’s Small Universe was flawless and extremely stable. It could be said to be the greatest nemesis of these Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
On the contrary, Yang Kai’s attack had shown no signs at all. Even if Shi Zheng wanted to defend himself, he did not know how to take precautions against the attack. Only then did he understand one thing. [Damn it! I’m the cow he’s punching!]
Yang Kai sneered, “Why did you think I was spending so much time fighting with you? You fell for it, didn’t you? You fool!”
The Cow Punch Secret Technique was very strong indeed; moreover, it was elusive and all but impossible to defend against. The only drawback to this Secret Technique was that it required quite a long preparation period beforehand. The preparation period varied according to the strength of the opponent.
Yang Kai had to follow the fluctuations of the enemy’s aura back to their Small Universe in order to successfully perform his Cow Punch Secret Technique.
Inside the Shattered Heaven, Blood Crow Divine Monarch had suffered from the Cow Punch Secret Technique greatly. Shi Zheng was simply following in his footsteps now. This Secret Technique was a bizarre method for the weak to overcome the strong against all odds.
Shi Zheng sprayed out a stream of blood mist that spread into the distance, and his aura abruptly weakened. His Small Universe had been bombarded by Yang Kai’s Secret Technique, causing it to shake and his World Force to become disordered.
If the injuries were only to this extent, then he would not be in such a miserable condition. He was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master after all. With his extraordinary cultivation, such a level of injury was nothing to him. The instability in his Small Universe would also calm down quickly.
The key point was that he had been activating his Divine Manifestation at that exact moment; hence, he was completely focused on the task at hand and the power in his body could not withstand the slightest bit of slack.
It was at this juncture that Yang Kai punched out at Shi Zheng.
When the giant sword rising into the sky behind his back shattered and collapsed, Shi Zheng instantly suffered an immense backlash. This situation was equivalent to being struck by his own attack, and it was only by luck that he did not die on the spot.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at the sight, “Elder Shi, you really do have extraordinary skills! You even hit yourself when you lose your temper! I’m impressed!”
Shi Zheng gritted his teeth, fresh blood trickling out the sides of his mouth. The rage and despair in his heart could not be described with mere words.
Powerful energy fluctuations suddenly appeared from afar. Both Yang Kai and Shi Zheng turned to look in that direction at the same time. Numerous light streams were rushing in this direction. They were none other than the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who had rushed over from the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai immediately became elated by the sight and turned to look at Shi Zheng, “Elder Shi, I’m afraid you’re doomed.”
At present, Shi Zheng’s aura was faint and chaotic. It was obvious that he was severely injured. Even Yang Kai had the confidence to take Shi Zheng down by himself, let alone with the arrival of so many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. It could be said that Shi Zheng had been completely backed into a corner at this point.
Shi Zheng took a deep breath and looked at Yang Kai with a slightly complicated expression. The rage that had filled him earlier vanished all of a sudden, and his entire being became extremely calm.
Yang Kai frowned. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
Meanwhile, Shi Zheng just sat down cross-legged in the void. His eyes that were quietly staring at Yang Kai abruptly became pitch black, and a thick black fog poured out of his entire body.
Yang Kai became vigilant. [This aura… is familiar.]
He suddenly recalled the ‘gift’ that Shi Zheng had given to him recently and frowned deeply. [Didn’t that worm that sprang out from the wooden box have the same aura? Just what is it?]
“Black Ink… Eternal!” Shi Zheng called out faintly. As soon as the words left his mouth, his entire body was shrouded in the churning black fog and disappeared out of sight.
In the distance, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who rushed over from the Star Boundary looked suspicious when they first caught sight of the situation. In the next moment, they seemed to recall something and their expressions changed drastically.
Yu Chang Dao and the foreign affairs envoy from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven called Yu Xiang Die urgently cried out to Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, run!”
But it was too late. The black fog wrapping around Shi Zheng exploded without warning. A large patch of inky blackness swiftly covered the surrounding void like a drop of ink that was dripped into a pool of clear water. The darkness covered a large region in an instant, and Yang Kai who was standing nearby was enveloped within.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters halted in their tracks. Every single person looked at the darkness fearfully. On the other hand, Yu Chang Dao and Yu Xiang Die looked extremely worried. Unfortunately, there was no time for them to hesitate.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters did not communicate with each other at all, but they still moved as though their hearts and minds were connected. They quickly split up and surrounded the large patch of void that was shrouded in the black fog from a distance. Following that, they immediately threw out various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques with Heaven Sealing Earth Locking effects.
The joint force of several dozen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters working together was so powerful that it only took a single breath before this region containing the black fog was turned into a solid cage.
When they finished sealing the void, they finally breathed a sigh of relief as they looked around nervously. However, Yang Kai was nowhere to be seen.
Yu Chang Dao was silent for a long while before he said, “Sect Master Yang seemed to be a Grand Dragon. With the strength of a Grand Dragon, it should not be too difficult for him to resist that evil thing.”
Yu Xiang Die muttered, “Let’s hope so.”
The strength of a Grand Dragon could indeed resist the erosion of that evil. It could even be said that the strength of all Divine Spirits had a natural advantage against it. Be that as it may, Yang Kai was currently stuck in the middle of that wicked fog. Nobody could say much about the current situation with any certainty and Yang Kai himself had yet to appear either, so there was no way to know his condition.
During their conversation though, the thick fog suddenly swirled around and Yang Kai’s enormous body rushed out from within.
“What is this!?” Yang Kai scowled deeply. That black fog gave him an extremely uncomfortable feeling. It was exceptionally sinister. Clearly, it was not something good; moreover, he had tried to search for Shi Zheng’s whereabouts inside the black fog only to discover that he could not detect Shi Zheng’s life aura anywhere. It was as if Shi Zheng’s last act was self-destruction.
[Why did he act so decisively?] Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling surprised.
Shi Zheng was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so even if he failed to kill Yang Kai and could not escape the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who came over to support Yang Kai, there was no need to kill himself on the spot.
However, that was exactly what Shi Zheng did. Speaking of which, all of Shi Zheng’s actions today puzzled Yang Kai greatly, especially the last words that Shi Zheng said earlier.
Turning around, Yang Kai saw many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters standing far away and looking at him in astonishment; thus, he swung around and headed straight towards them. He could not understand what had happened today, but these High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters might know something.
Contrary to his expectations, as soon as he moved, they reacted warily, as though they were about to face a great enemy. Their World Forces surged, and they all took up defensive postures.
One of them shouted, “Stay where you are and don’t move! If you take another step forward, we will attack without mercy!”
Locked onto by the Divine Senses and auras of several dozen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yang Kai felt mountain-like pressure bearing down on him even though he was in his Grand Dragon Form. His enormous figure was immediately frozen in place. His Dragon Head turned to look at them, and he asked in a thunderous voice, “What’s going on?”
For a moment, Yang Kai suspected that they were in league with Shi Zheng; however, he realised that the situation was different upon a closer look. Rather than plotting to harm him, it was almost like they were scared of him.
[Didn’t you come here to rescue me?] Yang Kai was a little speechless. What’s more, it was not until this moment that he realised something else, the space where he was standing had been sealed by an extremely powerful force.
The High-Rank Masters exchanged glances with each other, their Divine Senses fluctuating as they communicated silently. It was obvious that they were discussing something, but they couldn’t seem to reach a consensus despite their long discussion.
Yang Kai eventually lost patience and glared angrily at them, “What is the meaning of this!?”
Yu Xiang Die stepped forward to comfort him, “Yang Kai, please don’t be impatient. We are not targeting you specifically, but what happened today is a little complicated. Before we figure out whether you are safe or not, please don’t make any rash movements lest you cause any misunderstandings.”
She was the foreign affairs envoy from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, and he was a son-in-law of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven; therefore, he could only listen to her when she spoke up.
Yang Kai frowned slightly and said, “Shi Zheng seems to be dead, and I’m safe now.”
Yu Xiang Die shook her head, however, and said, “It’s impossible to tell whether you’re safe from your outer appearance. Let me ask you this, how are you feeling right now?”
Yang Kai shook his body a bit and replied, “It hurts a bit.”
Having just fought with Shi Zheng, his entire body was covered in wounds; hence, he was in terrible pain and desperately needed to find a place to recuperate.
Yu Xiang Die didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “I’m not asking you about that. I was asking you… whether there’s anything strange about your Small Universe?”
Yang Kai responded confidently, “There are no anomalies!”
What could be wrong with the World Spring protecting his Small Universe? Shi Zheng had repeatedly attempted to shake his Small Universe during their brief fight, but it was all to no avail.
Yu Xiang Die frowned slightly. Although he said as much, she did not dare to believe him completely. The 3,000 Worlds was vast, and there were many things that the general public, and even most disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, did not know about. Be that as it may, how could Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like themselves not be aware?
Even if something had happened to Yang Kai, it was impossible to tell from his outer appearance; otherwise, they would not have been fooled by Shi Zheng for so many years.
Yu Chang Dao explained, “Sect Master Yang, you’ve seen all of Shi Zheng’s anomalies for yourself. The Black Ink Smoke that he released before his death is also extremely corrosive. If the Small Universe of an ordinary Open Heaven Realm Master becomes corroded by the Black Ink Smoke, they will turn into the same existence as Shi Zheng. They will seem no different from the outside, but their nature will be changed drastically. Sect Master Yang, we are unable to determine whether you have been corrupted by the Black Ink Smoke.”
Only then did Yang Kai understand why they were being so vigilant towards him. He exclaimed in astonishment, “Is the Black Ink Smoke really that amazing?”
Thinking back, he had indeed felt as though the black mist had been trying to corrode his Small Universe when it entered his body. It was just that his Small Universe was flawless under the World Spring’s protection. It was impossible for the Black Ink Smoke to corrode him unless he opened a portal to accept the Black Ink Smoke into his Small Universe himself.
In this way, it was obvious that the object contained within the wooden box had been trying to invade his Small Universe; however, it was suppressed by the World Spring in his Small Universe. His Small Universe was perfectly protected, so that worm had been unable to invade him and was forced to flee as a result.
“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry. I have not been corroded by the Black Ink Smoke.”
They only watched him quietly.
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “What’s wrong? Don’t you believe me?”
Yu Xiang Die sighed, “It’s easy enough to confirm this fact. I’ll go and check out your Small Universe myself.”
[Why do those words… sound so familiar?] Yang Kai suddenly recalled something. Back when he was asked to repair the Universe Temples, the Ancestors from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had also made the same request.
“No!” Before Yang Kai could say anything, one of the High-Rank Open Realm Masters interjected, “If he has been corroded by the Black Ink Smoke, then you will also be in danger if you enter his Small Universe to investigate the situation, Elder Yu.”
Yu Xiang Die smiled, “No matter how you put it, Yang Kai is a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Son-in-Law. It’s only natural for me to take this risk as his Elder. Besides, he can transform into a Grand Dragon. He has a certain level of resistance to the Black Ink Smoke, so he might not have been corrupted.”
The High-Rank Open Realm Master shook his head, “It’s better to be cautious. Let’s send a message to our respective Ancestors and ask them to decide about the situation.”
Yang Kai was a little shocked. [Why are they dragging their Ancestors into this matter!?]
The Ancestors of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Most of the time, they remained inside their respective Sects and were not dispatched easily. [It looks like this matter is more serious than I expected.]
Yu Xiang Die pondered in silence for a moment, “I insist on investigating the situation inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. The Black Ink Smoke might be corrosive, but it can be resisted as long as one has enough strength.”
“There’s always a risk. The 3,000 Worlds is not ‘that place’ after all,” the High-Rank Open Realm Master from earlier quickly said.
At this moment, Yang Kai spoke up, “Will you be reassured if I can prove that I have not been corroded by the Black Ink Smoke?”
Yu Xiang Die looked at him, “How will you prove that?”
Yang Kai smacked his lips. He had not wanted to reveal the fact that he had refined the World Spring as that was something that would rouse too much greed in others. Bright Sun Divine Monarch had pursued him from the Shattered Heaven all the way to the Ancestral Land just for the sake of the World Spring.
If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would do that, how could the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters here be any different? These High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters might come from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, but one should never fully let their guard down around others. Shi Zheng was the best example.
Before coming here today, Yang Kai would never have believed that Shi Zheng would harm him in any way. He thought that Shi Zheng only wanted to discuss the matter regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace with him.
However, things might take a turn for the worst with how they stood at the moment. Not only was the space where he was standing sealed, but it was also impossible for him to fight so many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Besides, the misunderstanding would only get worse if he actually got into a fight with them. More importantly, it would be even harder to take the initiative if they invited the Ancestors of various Cave Heavens and Paradises here.
After weighing all the pros and cons, Yang Kai decided to tell the truth, “I have refined a World Spring, so it is impossible for external forces to corrode my Small Universe!”
“A World Spring!?” Everybody exclaimed in astonishment.
As High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, how could they not know about the World Spring? That was one of the Four Universe Pillars after all. The World Spring was a treasure that any Open Heaven Realm Master would wish for.
“Everybody, please have a look for yourselves!” While speaking, Yang Kai opened the portal to his Small Universe for them to see inside clearly.
The secret of his World Spring had been exposed, so he did not mind exposing even more. Besides, it was useless to only speak about such things. They would not believe him unless they saw the truth with their own eyes.
Numerous Divine Senses immediately passed through his portal in that moment and poured into his Small Universe. Yang Kai immediately frowned in response. It was an uncomfortable feeling, as though his home had been invaded by outsiders.
“Huh…” Somebody exclaimed in surprise, “His Small Universe has already materialized?”
The transformation of one’s Small Universe from immaterial to corporal was something that was reserved for High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Small Universe of those below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm were unable to fully materialize.
Be that as it may, the scene in front of them exceeded their understanding. Yang Kai was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but his Small Universe had already turned corporeal. How did he do it?
Leaving aside the future, Yang Kai was the only Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to have ever achieved such a feat throughout history. At least, there were no prior records written in the ancient books. That was why these High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were completely stunned.
“World Spring! It really is a World Spring!” Even more shocked voices ran out. A World Spring was such an obvious existence that they immediately noticed its presence at a glance.
Under the effects of the World Spring, they could clearly sense that Yang Kai’s Small Universe was flawless and extremely stable. It was difficult for his Small Universe to be affected by any external forces.
In addition to their feelings of envy, they also felt relieved. With the World Spring protecting his Small Universe, it was true that he would not be corroded by the Black Ink Smoke. What’s more, they did not sense any of the Black Ink Smoke’s aura in his Small Universe.
Before they could investigate Yang Kai’s Small Universe more carefully though, they felt an immense force shoving their Divine Senses out. Many of them were unsatisfied with what they saw so far. They seemed to have seen some peculiar things inside his Small Universe, but they were kicked out before they could get a better look.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had already returned to his Human Form and closed his Small Universe. He then asked, “There are no problems now, right?”
Everybody exchanged a glance with each other and Yu Xiang Die breathed a sigh of relief, “It’s no problem now. Come over here before we continue the discussion.”
Only then did he move and come to their side.
“You’ve worked hard.” She nodded at him, “It’s great that you’re safe. Please don’t blame us for being overly cautious. The Black Ink Smoke is simply too dangerous.”
“I understand.”
“Sect Master Yang, are you raising living beings in your Small Universe?” One of them suddenly raised the question. Although it was only a brief glimpse, there were so many villages and cities in Yang Kai’s Small Universe that the traces of living beings thriving inside could be seen clearly.
“That’s right. Is there a problem?” Yang Kai looked at that person.
“No problem, no problem at all. Your luck sure is good, Sect Master Yang.” That person sighed in amazement.
Countless years had passed since they first advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. They themselves had thought of raising living beings in their Small Universes to increase the speed of their cultivation, but this idea was not realistic. Even though they were in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, there were still times when their Small Universes became unstable. Who would dare to raise living beings in their Small Universe so casually? Those living inside would suffer tragic casualties if they were to encounter a powerful enemy, after all.
However, Yang Kai was different. With the protection of the World Spring, there was no need for him to worry about that problem. In other words, his cultivation would increase steadily even without him cultivating. It was equivalent to becoming stronger with every passing moment.
That was extremely enviable.
“What kind of creatures are those little rocks? Why have I never seen them before?” Another person asked.
“What little rocks? You must have been mistaken,” Yang Kai responded with a straight face.
“Sect Master Yang, I think I saw some Profound Yin Bamboo in your Small Universe…”
“What Profound Yin Bamboo?” Yang Kai vehemently denied, “There’s no such thing.”
“Don’t be like that, Sect Master Yang. We can negotiate the price if you really have the Profound Yin Bamboo. The Profound Yin Bamboo is different from the Four Universe Pillars. If we nurture it properly, we can gain an inexhaustible supply that is truly unlimited. Instead of enjoying such a treasure on your own, why don’t you exchange the Profound Yin Bamboo with us for something good?”
“Can I exchange them for the training rights of a Small Source World?” Yang Kai asked flatly.
[Didn’t you say that you don’t have the Profound Yin Bamboo?] Many rolled their eyes.
The person from earlier nodded repeatedly and smiled from ear to ear, “We can negotiate something!”
“What are the terms of negotiation?” Yang Kai looked at that person with great interest.
“Leave that for later.” Yu Chang Dao waved his hand decisively before declaring, “Let’s deal with the matter in front of us first before we talk about anything else.”
“Indeed!” Somebody agreed.
Yang Kai shot a look at the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who brought up the Profound Yin Bamboo earlier to indicate that they would have an in-depth discussion on the matter later. That person nodded lightly to indicate that he understood. Thanks to the looks they exchanged with each other earlier, everything they wanted to say had been said.
“Sect Master, just what happened today?” Yu Chang Dao asked while looking at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai replied innocently, “You’re asking me? That’s what I wanted to ask you. High Heaven Palace’s Head Manager informed me today that Shi Zheng of Lang Ya Paradise asked for a meeting with me. It seemed like he had something he wanted to discuss. Thinking that I had nothing better to do anyway, I decided to come. In the end, he gave me a generous gift as soon as I arrived.”
“A generous gift?” Yu Xiang Die frowned.
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s right. As you all know, Lang Ya Paradise and I have some connection with each other. Shi Zheng is a Lang Ya Paradise Elder. If he wants to give me a gift, there’s no way I can turn it down. So, I reluctantly accepted.”
The rest of them looked at each other with strange expressions. After a period of contact with Yang Kai, how could they not know his nature by now? He was the kind of person who did not act until he was certain that he could succeed. That was the case with the World Tree before, and that was also the case now with the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
He even went so far as to create a special Space Array to monopolise the New Great Territory, making it difficult for the Cave Heavens and Paradises to interfere in that matter. If somebody was willing to give him a gift, he would surely accept with unwavering enthusiasm, how could he possibly be reluctant in any way?
Nevertheless, they couldn’t be bothered to argue about his manner of blatantly talking himself up.
“What did he give you?” Yu Chang Dao asked in concern.
It was as though he really wanted to know what kind of treasures Shi Zheng had offered as a gift. It was just that Shi Zheng had been corrupted by the Black Ink; for that reason, the things that he offered as a gift should not be taken lightly. Precautions had to be taken in advance in case it turned out to be something bad.
“Here it is!” While speaking, Yang Kai took out the wooden box from his Space Ring and opened it abruptly.
A black thread shot out from within. Yang Kai was ready and immediately captured it in his hand. The headless and tailless thing that resembled a black earthworm struggled and wriggled in his hands, but could not escape.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were stunned for a moment, then they reacted as though facing a great enemy. Their expressions changed drastically, and they swiftly retreated using their various Movement Skills.
In an instant, the space within a 100 kilometres radius around him became devoid of people.
Yang Kai looked up at them and seemed a little speechless, “Why did you run so far? Don’t worry. I’m holding this thing, so it can’t escape.”
Nevertheless, he could understand why they fled. They had been so vigilant towards the Black Ink Smoke that was left behind after Shi Zheng’s death, what more this black earthworm-like thing in his hands?
This thing definitely came from the same source as the Black Ink Smoke. Moreover, it was stronger than the Black Ink Smoke. An ordinary person would definitely have gotten into trouble if they held the black earthworm with their bare hands.
Fortunately, his Small Universe was so perfect and flawless that this black earthworm could not corrode him at all. It could be said to have met its nemesis.
“Sect Master, please put away that Black Ink Insect!” Yu Chang Dao shouted from afar, “That thing is too dangerous! Open Heaven Realm Masters like us cannot afford to be contaminated!”
“So, this thing is called a Black Ink Insect?” Yang Kai glanced at the black earthworm in his hand, seeming to feel something.
The black smoke left behind after Shi Zheng’s death was called Black Ink Smoke, this thing was called a Black Ink Insect, and Shi Zheng had mentioned something before his death, Black Ink Eternal.
[What is this… Black Ink?] Yang Kai suddenly felt as though the 3,000 Worlds were not as simple as he initially thought. Then, he recalled what Xu Ling Gong mentioned in the past, that the universe was vast, and the waters were muddy. There seemed to be a secret in the shadows that was affecting the 3,000 Worlds, and the fog was about to be lifted before his eyes.
“Everyone, is there something you know that I don’t?” Yang Kai asked.
The crowd fell silent. A long time later, a white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master finally said, “Sect Master Yang, there are many secrets in the world. Some things are better left unknown.”
The words had only just left his mouth when he heard Yang Kai giving a cry of surprise.
Everybody thought that Yang Kai had been injured during his battle with Shi Zheng earlier, so they quickly looked at him in concern. In the next moment, their expressions changed drastically.
The Black Ink Insect that had been captured in Yang Kai’s hand all this time had escaped his grasp for some reason. It had transformed into a black thread that rushed towards the white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master at the speed of lightning.
The white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master immediately became drenched in cold sweat. He might be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he was bound to suffer a tragic end if he was corrupted by the Black Ink Insect. The only possibility was that his Small Universe would be invaded and he would eventually become corrupted by the Black Ink like Shi Zheng.
According to the ancient books, it was extremely tough to defend against the Black Ink Insect, unless they could kill it in time. If it got too close, then even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would suffer terribly.
Space suddenly condensed slightly, and under the fluctuations of Space Principles, the black thread that was rushing towards the white-robed Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master froze in place.
Yang Kai leisurely walked over, then he grabbed the struggling Black Ink Insect with his hand and looked up at the white-robed Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, “What did you say just now? I apologise, but I did not hear you clearly. Can you repeat what you said?”
The Black Ink Insect in his hand moved restlessly, as though it could escape from Yang Kai’s control at any time.
Everybody’s expression darkened. [He could have just spoken nicely. Why is he threatening others?]
Yu Xiang Die didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “With Sect Master Yang’s current strength and status, I believe he has the right to know about these things. What do you think?”
Everyone fell silent, and only a long while later, somebody finally nodded, “Alright, we’ll tell him.”
They had no choice but to explain the situation. Yang Kai was staring at them fixedly with the Black Ink Insect in his hand, which frightened all of them. Who would dare to go against him at this moment?
Besides, although these matters were only known to the Elders of the Cave Heavens and Paradises since ancient times, if it really came down to it, Yang Kai’s current strength and status certainly gave him the qualifications to know about certain secrets.
Naturally, the main reason was that he had been exposed to this matter today, making it useless even if they wanted to conceal the truth from him.
The others did not express their opinions, but not saying anything was as good as having no objections to the matter. Only then did Yu Xiang Die say, “Put the Black Ink Insect away.”
“Fine!” Yang Kai obediently placed the Black Ink Insect back into the wooden box and tossed the box into his Space Ring.
Everybody finally breathed a sigh of relief. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who were regarded as terrifying existences were played around by Yang Kai. Just thinking of the situation earlier, they couldn’t help feeling complicated.
The void was not the place to discuss such matters, so Yu Xiang Die raised a hand and summoned a ship. Everybody boarded and sat down on the deck.
Yang Kai widened his eyes and stared at the people in front of him with a thirst for knowledge.
Meanwhile, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters stared at Yu Xiang Die. Their meaning was clear, ‘since you brought up this matter, it is up to you to solve it.’
Yu Xiang Die rolled her eyes at them before she turned to look at Yang Kai, “If we have to be honest, our understanding of this matter is fragmented and not very comprehensive.”
Thanks to this incident, Yang Kai clearly felt her intent to protect him. When he had been suspected of being corrupted by the Black Ink Smoke, she had proactively offered to inspect his Small Universe. It could be seen that she truly regarded him as Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Son-in-Law.
That was why Yang Kai willingly believed her words and nodded, “In that case, please tell me what you know.”
She pondered in silence for a moment, seeming to arrange her thoughts. A short while later, she finally started her explanation, “In this world, there exists a peculiar race known as the Black Ink. We call them the Black Ink Clan!”
The Black Ink Clan was apparently extremely dangerous. The main reason was that they had extremely powerful invasive and corrosive abilities. This was something Yang Kai himself had personally experienced. Whether it was the Black Ink Smoke that Shi Zheng left behind after his death or the Black Ink Insect, both had such properties.
Once a cultivator’s Small Universe was corroded by the Black Ink aura, they would turn into the Black Ink Clan’s slaves and undergo a drastic change in mentality. However, it was impossible to tell the difference by appearance alone. Those who were converted looked no different from normal.
That was the case for Shi Zheng. Nobody ever thought that he had been corroded by the Black Ink Clan and became one of their servants.
Yang Kai listened with a deep frown. If that was the case, then the Black Ink Clan was truly difficult to guard against. Who could say whether the other party had been corrupted by the Black Ink Clan?
“The last time something like this happened in the 3,000 Worlds was over 70,000 years ago.” Yu Xiang Die lowered her voice slightly, “I’m sure you’ve heard of this before. There was once a Cave Heaven that took in an extremely talented disciple. This disciple had the ability to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. His aptitude was so great that it shocked both the past and present. That Cave Heaven devoted all their resources to nurturing him, and one day he finally advanced into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. However, he suddenly underwent a drastic change in nature and went on a massacre. That Cave Heaven suffered countless casualties as a result, which eventually led to its collapse. There was no choice but to remove their name from the list of Cave Heavens and Paradises.”
This was indeed a story that Yang Kai was familiar with as he had heard it from Yue He when he was still in the Emperor Realm.
Yu Xiang Die continued, “Because that disciple was not raised in the Cave Heaven but accepted into the Sect halfway through, a rumour spread across the 3,000 Worlds from then onward. Cultivators who were not raised in a Cave Heaven or Paradise were not allowed to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, lest they grow up and threaten the dominance of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help certain memories from flashing before his eyes…
His journey to the Open Heaven Realm had been wrought with countless obstacles set up by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Ti Zheng of Myriad Demons Cave Heaven did not even hesitate to lure him into the Shattered Heaven where a great ambush lay in wait just to hinder his advancement into the Open Heaven Realm.
In the end, he had been forced to break through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The Cave Heavens and Paradises finally stopped targeting him after that.
Yang Kai had no regrets about the matter. The Proprietress had been trapped in the Shadowless Cave Heaven at the time, and his cultivation in the Emperor Realm had been far too weak. He had no choice but to advance into the Open Heaven Realm for the opportunity to enter the Shadowless Cave Heaven to rescue her.
Even though he had no regrets, he could not help feeling some resentment towards the Cave Heavens and Paradises when he recalled everything he went through in the past. He had been cultivating on his own without provoking anyone, so why was he not allowed to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm? It was not until today that he learned the truth.
“The inheritance of the Cave Heavens and Paradises stretches back for countless aeons. If they were truly so petty, they would never have reached such prosperous heights. The reason they do not allow cultivators from the outside world to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm is not to show their dominance, but to prevent the past from repeating itself. The catastrophe from 70,000 years ago brought down a Cave Heaven. It’s obvious that nobody wants that to happen a second time.”
If anybody were to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and was secretly converted by the Black Ink Clan once more, it would be a catastrophe if they reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm undiscovered. On the other hand, anything beneath the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm would not make much of a difference. No matter how talented a person was, if they advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they could only reach the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm due to innate limits. The Cave Heavens and Paradises did not lack for Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so once the truth was exposed, many Ancestors would take action and the situation could be controlled.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow tightly together as he asked, “Is that to say that the genius was corrupted by the Black Ink Clan?”
Yu Xiang Die nodded, “That’s right. Nobody knows when he was enslaved as the only signs appeared after he advanced into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Since then, the Black Ink Clan has not appeared in the 3,000 Worlds again. To be honest, this is our first time seeing traces of the Black Ink Clan with our own eyes. We have only ever read about them in ancient records before.”
Yang Kai frowned for a moment before saying puzzledly, “That can’t be right. If the Black Ink Clan is so difficult to guard against, then there should be a lot more of them. Why has the Black Ink Clan remained silent for so many years that even you have never seen them?”
Yu Chang Dao explained from the side, “It is difficult to resist the corruption of the Black Ink Clan, but their main method of doing so is through the Black Ink Insects. It’s the thing you put back into that box just now. The Black Ink Insects are apparently very rare and precious. Unless they come across an extremely valuable target, the Black Ink Clan will not make a move so easily.”
“Then, that Black Ink Smoke…” Yang Kai glanced suspiciously in the direction that Shi Zheng had died. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had worked together to seal that space, and even now the black smoke churned and roiled, looking extremely ominous.
“Shi Zheng was clearly infected by a Black Ink Insect. When he saw us coming to aid you, he knew that he would not leave this place alive. That’s why he chose to die. After his death, the Black Ink aura in his Small Universe exploded out. This Black Ink Smoke is what’s left. At the end of the day, the Black Ink Smoke and the Black Ink Insect are from the same source.”
It was no wonder these people immediately fled several kilometres away when he took out the Black Ink Insect earlier. They were probably worried that the Black Ink Insect in his hands would explode.
Yang Kai rubbed his chin and pondered, “In other words, in the eyes of the Black Ink Clan, I’m considered an extremely valuable target.”
Yu Xiang Die laughed, “Of course. You might only be in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but the Star Boundary is now the focus of the entire 3,000 Worlds. The existence of the World Tree will also nurture many excellent cultivators in the future. Not to mention, you are a Star Boundary Great Emperor. If you were converted by the Black Ink Clan…” At that point, she suddenly stopped laughing and shuddered in fear, “Asking you to destroy the Star Boundary is a simple task. If the Star Boundary no longer existed, then the Open Heaven Realm Cradle would be gone too.”
Everybody looked at each other and finally understood why Shi Zheng had tried to corrupt Yang Kai.
On the other hand, Yang Kai suddenly recalled something.
The Ancestral Land had a Demon Sealing Land, and the Demon Sealing Land contained a long-dead Black Giant Spirit God. When he was cultivating in the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, he had glimpsed the shocking battle that took place in ancient times. In order to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God, the Dragon and Phoenix Clans had paid an enormous price. In the end, both the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress were forced to sacrifice themselves, burning all their Blood Essence just to stop the rampaging enemy.
Yang Kai had always wondered why that Giant Spirit God went to war against the Divine Spirits; after all, the Giant Spirit God Clan was an extremely peaceful and innocent Race. Although they were powerful, they did not provoke others for no reason. They only fed on dead Universe Worlds and travelled through the vast 3,000 Worlds for that reason.
Furthermore, he had not understood why the Giant Spirit God had been black in colour. That Giant Spirit God was a little different from Ah Da, whom he met in the past. Yang Kai initially thought that it was just the difference between individuals of an ethnic group, but looking at things now…
What if the Giant Spirit God in ancient times had been corrupted by the Black Ink? If his nature changed drastically after being corrupted by the Black Ink Clan, then that Giant Spirit God had been enslaved by the Black Ink Clan!
[Demon Sealing Land… Demon Sealing Land… That’s not a Demon Sealing Land! That’s a Black Ink Sealing Land!]
Too much time had passed, so what happened in ancient times could no longer be known. The knowledge that was passed down through word of mouth over countless generations, which was why the Black Ink Sealing Land had been misrepresented as the Demon Sealing Land instead.
No wonder Yang Kai had not sensed the existence of any Demon Qi when he first entered the Demon Sealing Land. That was because the land had nothing to do with Demons in the first place.
Nobody knew how a mighty Giant Spirit God had been corrupted by the Black Ink Clan in ancient times.
Both the Dragon and Phoenix Clans only succeeded in suppressing and sealing the Giant Spirit God by sacrificing the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Empress of the time in addition to half of the Ancestral Land. So many years had passed that even the Giant Spirit God had lost all vitality and the Black Ink Clan’s aura was nowhere to be found.
The Ancestral Strength was extremely peculiar and powerful; moreover, it clearly had some restraining effects towards the Black Ink Clan. If that was not the case, there would be remnants of the Black Ink Clan even though so many years had passed and the Giant Spirit God had died completely.
“The Black Ink Insect is extremely precious to the Black Ink Clan, which is also why the Black Ink Clan’s actions are generally aimed only at High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. After all, converting a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master is not worth the effort to them.” Yu Xiang Die explained, “Speaking of this, I’m sure you’ve also heard of another rumour. Aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, anybody else who advances into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and above would be pursued relentlessly. For that reason, many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters even flee to the Shattered Heaven, hide their names, and live in seclusion.”
Yang Kai asked pensively, “So, the reason why the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters are being targeted by the Cave Heavens and Paradises is that you are afraid they might come into contact with the Black Ink Clan?”
She nodded, “That’s part of the reason. All the Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises cultivate Secret Techniques to stabilize their Small Universes to prevent corrosion by external forces. Although the effects are not as great as the World Spring, these Secret Techniques will at least offer them some protection so that they are not completely powerless against the corrosion of the Black Ink Insects. On the other hand, it is different for those who were not raised by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Despite being High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, if they were targeted by the Black Ink Insect, they would only end up corroded by them.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. After listening to her explanation, the other question in his heart had been answered.
Having been to the Shattered Heaven, he knew that there were indeed many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters hiding there. All the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters hiding there were afraid of being rounded up by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Xia Lin Lang once mentioned that in order for the Cave Heavens and Paradises to maintain their dominance, any outsiders who advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm would either be recruited into their ranks or vanish without a trace, suspected to have been killed.
That was why, no matter how barren and dangerous it was in the Shattered Heaven, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters hiding there would not leave easily. That was also the reason why Xia Lin Lang would rather flee into the depths of the Shattered Heaven, where death was almost certain, than leave together with Yang Kai.
“I heard that many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters just vanish without a trace, never to be heard from again, after being taken away…” Yang Kai looked at Yu Xiang Die.
Yu Xiang Die remained silent.
The white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master replied, “They are not dead. The Cave Heavens and Paradises have never abused them either. They were simply sent to a certain place. As for where that place is… That information cannot be disclosed for the time being!”
Yang Kai took out the wooden box with a flip of his hand. The cover of the wooden box opened and closed, revealing the black thing inside that was eager to leap out of the box.
The white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master looked melancholic! [Am I being targeted? I’m definitely being targeted, right!?]
Yu Xiang Die stepped in to smooth things between them, “Yang Kai, please stop asking questions. You will understand when the time comes. There are many things that the Cave Heavens and Paradises have no choice but to conceal. It is not because we wish to do so, but because the truth will cause panic and havoc. It is not beneficial to the peace of the 3,000 Worlds.”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment. Putting the wooden box away, he grinned meaningfully, “When the time comes… Are you referring to the moment when I advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
She said nothing once more, so it could only be taken as tacit acknowledgement.
Yang Kai thus continued, “I have another question. Lan You Ruo is currently in retreat in Void Land and attempting to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. What will you do if she succeeds?”
Yu Xiang Die answered, “Lan You Ruo used to be a First Inn shopkeeper, and First Inn is the private property of Si Tu Kong from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. Hence, she can also be considered part of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven. When she advances into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven will take the appropriate measures. Besides, she herself knows about these things, so there is no need for you to worry.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly. Although his questions had gone unanswered, he could not inquire any further seeing as Yu Xiang Die had already said so much.
At this moment, Yu Chang Dao spoke up, “Friends, what we need to deal with right now is the matter related to Shi Zheng. Although he chose death, he had initially tried to corrupt Yang Kai with a Black Ink Insect. That can only mean that he has even more Black Ink Insects in his possession. This Old Master has reason to suspect that Shi Zheng is not the only person in Lang Ya Paradise to be corrupted by the Black Ink!”
As soon as that statement came out, the expressions of all the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters became solemn.
The fact that Shi Zheng had been corrupted by the Black Ink Clan was truly unexpected. Something like this had not happened in 70,000 years after all. The Cave Heavens and Paradises might have taken some precautions, but too much time had passed and their guard had clearly become too relaxed as a result.
If Shi Zheng had not tried to corrupt Yang Kai with the Black Ink Insect today, his identity would not have been exposed either.
In that case, how many more Shi Zhengs were there in Lang Ya Paradise? More importantly, how many other Shi Zhengs were there among the rest of the Cave Heavens and Paradises?
Nobody knew for certain the answers to those questions, but the situation seemed to have taken a turn for the worse all of a sudden.
Most importantly, where did the Black Ink Insect come from? It was impossible for people corrupted by the Black Ink to produce the Black Ink Insects themselves. The only ones who could produce the Black Ink Insect were the true Black Ink Clan clansmen. In other words, there was at least one pure Black Ink Clan clansman hidden somewhere in the 3,000 Worlds! Just thinking about the possibility was terrifying.
“Shi Zheng has set a precedent. Every one of us is a suspect. It isn’t just us, but all the High-Rank Open Heaven Masters in the Star Boundary too. That is why this Old Master has a suggestion. We will start with a voluntary examination to prove our innocence!” While speaking, Yu Chang Dao looked at the rest of the High-Rank Open Heaven Masters.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Masters hesitated for a moment before quickly nodding in agreement. This matter was an important one that might even affect the stability of the 3,000 Worlds. All the people present here today were not ignorant of the bigger picture, so they would not object to the suggestion.
“In that case, let us begin!” Yu Chang Dao, as the one to make the suggestion, took the lead, surging his World Force and opening the portal to his Small Universe, “Please take a look!”
Nobody held back out of politeness and numerous Divine Senses poured into Yu Chang Dao’s Small Universe in quick succession.
Yang Kai also joined in the fun. The main reason was that he wanted to know the difference between his Small Universe and the Small Universe of an actual High-Rank Open Heaven Master. His Divine Sense poured into Yu Chang Dao’s Small Universe. After some investigation and comparisons, he discovered that his Small Universe was still vastly inferior in terms of size and the richness of World Force when compared to Yu Chang Dao’s.
With the gap in their cultivation, it was only normal to experience those differences; nevertheless, Yang Kai was raising many living beings in his Small Universe in addition to the Small Stone Race. Given time, he would certainly enjoy a brilliant future.
After a while, everybody withdrew their Divine Senses once they confirmed that there were no issues with Yu Chang Dao’s Small Universe.
The Small Universe was the foundation of an Open Heaven Realm Master, so under normal circumstances, one would never allow others to investigate it. Doing so was equivalent to exposing all their secrets after all. It was just that this situation gave them no other choice. The best way to determine whether a person had been corrupted by the Black Ink was to take a look at their Small Universe. The Small Universe of an Open Heaven Realm Master corrupted by the Black Ink was vastly different from normal after all.
With Yu Chang Dao serving as an example, the others quickly opened the portals to their respective Small Universes and allowed the crowd to investigate freely. Every one of them was tense and nervous, scared that another Shi Zheng might appear among them.
Yang Kai finally realized why the Ancestors had been so adamant about investigating his Small Universe when he first began repairing the Universe Temples. Their actions were clearly a precaution lest he turned out to be corrupted by the Black Ink! It was not until they confirmed he was clean that they allowed him to act with peace of mind.
At the time, they also mentioned that the Universe Temples were related to the stability of the 3,000 Worlds. That was something he had yet to understand so far.
Although the Universe Temples were a convenient method of travel, it was a bit of an exaggeration to say that they were related to the stability of the 3,000 Worlds. Nevertheless, these words had come from the mouth of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it was impossible not to wonder about their deeper meaning.
After checking everybody, it was revealed that nobody else showed signs of being corrupted by the Black Ink and the tense atmosphere finally dissipated a bit.
However, thanks to this opportunity, Yang Kai learned about the wealth of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. The foreign affairs envoys of the Cave Heavens and Paradises had many amazing treasures in their Small Universes, some of which simply made one drool at the sight.
Yu Chang Dao nodded and followed up, “We can now be certain that there is nothing wrong with any of us present, but we will still need to check those in the Star Boundary.”
Yu Xiang Die added, “This matter is related to the Black Ink Clan. I’m sure they will take the overall situation into consideration. If anybody raises an objection, then there is no doubt that they have been corrupted by the Black Ink.”
The white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master hesitated for a long time before he carefully opened his mouth, “The Star Boundary’s existence is critical, so this matter cannot be delayed. If there exist other people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, there is no saying whether they were communicating with Shi Zheng. Now that Shi Zheng is dead, they might target the other Star Boundary Great Emperors. With the current cultivation of the Star Boundary’s Great Emperors, it will be difficult for them to defend themselves.”
While speaking, he would glance at Yang Kai from time to time. He was scared that Yang Kai might suddenly bring out that wooden box again. When he saw that Yang Kai did not react, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and volunteered, “I will head back to the Star Boundary first to ensure its safety.”
Yu Chang Dao nodded, “Many thanks for your hard work. Nevertheless, it is better to bring more people back with you so as to avoid any unexpected accidents. In addition, you can ignore all the others for now, but the Star Boundary Great Emperors must be investigated carefully!”
Yang Kai’s expression twitched slightly at those words, but he did not say anything. Yu Chang Dao’s actions were understandable. Shi Zheng had tried to attack Yang Kai mainly because of the Star Boundary; therefore, the other Star Boundary Great Emperors were also valid targets.
The white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master left quickly with seven or eight other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in tow.
Serene Soul Great Emperor and the others, who had come to help after realizing that Yang Kai was in trouble, soon encountered the white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and the others coming towards them before they even arrived at their location.
As they were only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, their cultivation was one Order lower than the foreign affairs envoys, so it was only natural for their speed to be slower. That was why they failed to arrive in time even though the dust had already settled regarding this matter.
Along the way here, they also ran into Zhang Ruo Xi. Following a brief inquiry, they hurriedly rushed here as though there were coals burning under their feet.
When both sides encountered each other and understood the situation, Serene Soul Great Emperor and the others immediately realized that the matter was urgent; therefore, they swiftly utilized the privileges of Star Boundary Great Emperors to bring the white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and the others back directly.
Meanwhile, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who remained in the Star Boundary immediately detected the return of the white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and the others; hence, they quickly came to ask about the situation.
The white-robed High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master and the others recounted everything that happened earlier, and everybody’s expression turned grim.
The Black Ink Clan and the Black Ink Insect… These were no trivial matters. If they did not handle this matter well, then all the Cave Heavens, Paradises, and the 3,000 Worlds would be dragged into this. It would surely lead to a huge catastrophe. That was why there was not much hesitation, and many High-Rank Open Heaven Masters quickly agreed to submit to an examination.
Many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered at the place where Shi Zheng died, their Divine Senses shuttling back and forth as they communicated with each other.
A short while later, they seemed to reach a consensus. Yu Chang Dao nodded and said, “Since everybody agrees, then let us head to Lang Ya Paradise immediately. Not only will this trip be highly dangerous, but we might also face the risk of death. Please mentally prepare yourselves for that possibility.”
Shi Zheng might be dead, but there were bound to be other Masters in Lang Ya Paradise who were corrupted by the Black Ink. This matter could not be delayed in the slightest; therefore, they had to ferret out the rest of those dangerous existences as soon as possible. It was impossible to remain calm if those people remained in Lang Ya Paradise. There was no saying how many others like Shi Zheng might appear in the future if nothing was done about them now. Most importantly, they had to find the Black Ink clansman in order to avoid future troubles!
They nodded in agreement, but did not pay much attention to the dangers that Yu Chang Dao mentioned earlier. They were all Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so who among them had not faced death head-on before? The Cave Heavens and Paradises had always shared both weal and woe. That was why, even if Shi Zheng was the only one in Lang Ya Paradise who had his identity exposed, the others could not sit idly by and do nothing.
“We need you to come with us too, Sect Master,” Yu Chang Dao said while turning to look in Yang Kai’s direction; however, Yang Kai was no longer there. Yu Chang Dao couldn’t help being taken aback for a moment, “Where is the Sect Master?”
Yu Xiang Die helplessly pointed in a certain direction. He looked in that direction and felt the corners of his brow twitching slightly at the sight.
At some point in time, Yang Kai had gone to the place where Shi Zheng had died. That place was swirling with the Black Ink Smoke, but he was moving around in the smoke without the slightest hindrance. Even if he had the protection of the World Spring in his Small Universe and was not afraid of being corroded by the Black Ink Smoke, wasn’t it too much for him to swim about inside it so fearlessly and unscrupulously?
“What is he doing?” Yu Chang Dao was puzzled.
Yu Xiang Die replied, “I think he is searching for the Small Universe Shi Zheng left behind.”
When the others were discussing matters seriously, she noticed Yang Kai sitting by the side looking bored; however, it didn’t take long before he seemed to think of something. He quickly ran off with an excited look in his eyes and plunged straight into the Black Ink Smoke. It would now seem that he was searching for Shi Zheng’s Small Universe.
Shi Zheng was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and his Small Universe had already been transformed from immaterial to corporeal. If he were killed by an enemy, his Small Universe might have shattered and scattered throughout the Void. Seeing as he died by suicide instead, his Small Universe should have remained intact. There was a high possibility that the Small Universe would be preserved.
In reality, Shi Zheng’s Small Universe had indeed been preserved. It was just that it was hidden somewhere within the Void and enveloped by a thick layer of Black Ink Smoke.
Yang Kai searched around for a bit and soon detected a weak Space Principle fluctuation. Utilising his own Space Principles in the direction of that energy fluctuation, he opened the portal to Shi Zheng’s Small Universe and slipped inside.
As soon as he stepped into this place, he couldn’t help being a little startled. That was because Shi Zheng’s Small Universe was different from any Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise that he had ever entered before. This entire world was dyed in black, as though smeared in pitch-black ink.
He immediately understood why the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had suggested investigating each other’s Small Universes.
The Small Universe of an Open Heaven Realm Master corrupted by the Black Ink was certainly very different from the ordinary. Moreover, the difference was so obvious that it was impossible to conceal and could be seen at a glance. Relying on this method of investigating the Small Universe would accurately reveal whether a person had been corrupted by the Black Ink.
Yang Kai quietly perceived his surroundings. The Universe Paradise that Shi Zheng left behind after his death contained a rich Sword Dao Essence, which was in line with the Divine Manifestation he displayed before.
This Sword Dao Essence was useless to Yang Kai, but he would not have refined this Dao Essence even if it proved otherwise. Shi Zheng had been corrupted by the Black Ink, so who knew whether there was anything wrong with his Dao Essence?
Yang Kai’s purpose in coming here was to search for Shi Zheng’s legacy. After investigating the Small Universes of the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters earlier, he saw various different treasures. Shi Zheng was also a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, so he should also be fairly wealthy.
There were no traces of living beings in the Small Universe, which indicated that Shi Zheng had not raised any living beings. Not everybody was as blessed as Yang Kai to meet the conditions to raise living beings after all.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense spread out like the tide and he soon found several buildings that resembled houses. Those buildings stood out conspicuously with no intention of concealment whatsoever. The Small Universe was the foundation of an Open Heaven Realm Master after all, so there was no need to worry about their treasures being stolen even if they left the treasures out in the open, unless they were dead.
There were pronounced energy fluctuations within those buildings; therefore, Yang Kai quickly rushed over with gleaming eyes and soon arrived. A quick search of the buildings immediately brought a smile to his face.
The wealth of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was quite substantial indeed. Leaving aside the hundreds of millions of Open Heaven Pills, there were also cultivation materials of various Orders, including Sixth-Order and even Seventh-Order ones. Not to mention, there were quite a large number of them. He even found some Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Yin and Yang Element materials. In addition, there were many artifacts that looked extremely extraordinary.
Shi Zheng was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so there was no saying how long he had lived. In any case, all the treasures that he accumulated in his life and stored in his Small Universe were now taken away by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai searched for a little while longer but found nothing else. Only then did he leave this place. Be that as it may, he used a Space Secret Technique to completely suppress and seal the portal of this Small Universe.
This place was within the boundaries of High Heaven Territory, so if the World Force from Shi Zheng’s Small Universe leaked out into the Void, it was bound to be absorbed by the Star Boundary World Tree. The power of the Black Ink Clan was far too bizarre. More importantly, Yang Kai was unable to determine the ramifications of the World Tree devouring this evil energy.
In that case, he might as well suppress and seal this place completely! With his current attainments in the Dao of Space, there should not be anyone in the 3,000 Worlds who could break through his Space Secret Techniques.
The only thing that continued to pose a problem was the Black Ink Smoke that Shi Zheng left behind. This thing could be said to have come from the same source as the Black Ink Insect. Furthermore, it was extremely corrosive. Leaving it here was not very safe. If a curious passerby were to approach this place, they would most likely end up being corrupted by the Black Ink.
Just as Yang Kai was trying to figure out a solution to the problem, he suddenly heard somebody calling him via transmission. Therefore, he returned to the deck of Yu Xiang Die’s ship.
“Have you finished your discussion?” Yang Kai asked.
Yu Xiang Die nodded, “Yang Kai, we need to head to Lang Ya Paradise as soon as possible. Seeing as Shi Zheng has been corrupted by the Black Ink, Lang Ya Paradise might be in danger.”
Yang Kai simply nodded, “Alright.”
She continued, “If you have nothing better to do, we would like you to come along with us!”
“No problem!” Yang Kai agreed readily.
Everybody couldn’t help being a little taken aback by his answer. They had been thinking about all the ways to persuade him if he refused to join them, but who could have known that he would agree so readily? All the words that they prepared in advance subsequently became redundant.
In their opinion, the biggest reason they wanted him to accompany them was that his Small Universe had the protection of the World Spring. There was no need to worry about him becoming corrupted by the Black Ink. It could be said that any one of them might become infected and be turned, but Yang Kai would not face such issues. He was somebody whom they could put their absolute trust in. In such a treacherous battlefield, a person whom they could trust explicitly would oftentimes make a big difference; otherwise, they would not have wanted to bring him along.
“This trip might be dangerous!” Yu Xiang Die looked at Yang Kai seriously.
Yang Kai laughed, “I faced danger too, when Shi Zheng was trying to kill me earlier. The Black Ink Clan affects the peace of the 3,000 Worlds. This Yang Kai might have been on the safe side for some time, but I am also partially responsible for this matter.”
He then quickly advanced the conversation and asked, “Have you decided on your course of action? You don’t expect all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise to open the portal of their Small Universe for you to check, right?
Yu Xiang Die shook her head and replied, “We don’t need to check all the Open Heaven Realm Masters. As I told you before, the Black Ink Insect is very rare and precious in the 3,000 Worlds. The Black Ink Clan will not bother to corrupt any cultivators below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. That is why we only need to investigate the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. At that time, we only need to investigate their Small Universe to discover any problems as soon as possible.”
After pondering in silence for a moment, Yang Kai shook his head and said, “That’s not enough! If there are more Masters who have been corrupted by the Black Ink in Lang Ya Paradise, then your actions will only force them to take drastic measures. There’s no saying how much harm you will cause to Lang Ya Paradise if that were to happen. You might also put yourselves in danger. What if those people choose suicide like Shi Zheng and the Black Ink Smoke in their bodies permeates the air? How can any eggs be left unbroken when the nest has been disturbed? What’s more, you are not looking for the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, but the actual Black Ink clansman behind them! Investigating the Small Universe is the easiest way to alert them to the situation.”
Yu Xiang Die sighed, “How can we not know that? But investigating Small Universes is definitely the most convenient and effective method. Besides, we can’t think of a better idea. The people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink look no different from ordinary people on the outside. As for the actual Black Ink clansman, we might be able to capture a few people who had been corrupted by the Black Ink and interrogate them thoroughly.”
Yang Kai again shook his head, “Shi Zheng clearly had the strength to fight still, but when he realised that you were approaching and that he no longer had hope of escaping, he resolutely ended his life. His actions go to show that the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink have blind allegiance to them. Although you can find the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, judging by Shi Zheng’s actions earlier, it is impossible to learn the whereabouts of the Black Ink clansman from them.”
Everybody looked at each other in distress. They undoubtedly had a greater understanding of the Black Ink Clan than Yang Kai. Even though it was their first time seeing somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink, there were some records in ancient books after all. Besides, they also witnessed the scene of Shi Zheng’s suicide just now, so they knew that Yang Kai was speaking the truth. The people who had been corrupted by the Black Ink were literally loyal to the death, so it was extremely difficult to obtain any clues from them.
“Do you have any good ideas?” Yu Xiang Die asked.
Yang Kai rubbed his chin quietly, then he suddenly turned to look at the Black Ink Smoke that Shi Zheng left behind. An inexplicable light flickered in his eyes and a short while later, he finally asked, “Do you know whether the people who are corrupted by the Black Ink can sense each other?”
Yu Xiang Die shook her head, “That has never been confirmed; after all, the 3,000 Worlds has been stable for so many years, with the exception of the incident from 70,000 years ago. At the time, only one person had been corrupted by the Black Ink. Besides, very little information on the Black Ink Clan has been recorded in the ancient books.”
Yang Kai thus said enthusiastically, “We should prepare for the worst-case scenario. Assume that there is a pure Black Ink clansman concealed within Lang Ya Paradise, there are many Masters who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, and these Masters are able to sense each other.”
Yu Chang Dao looked at Yang Kai with a puzzled expression, “Sect Master, why does it seem as though you are very excited?”
“Nonsense!” Yang Kai flatly denied, “I’m simply making assumptions. How can I possibly be excited?”
Somebody asked puzzledly, “So, what if the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink can sense each other? And, so what if they can’t?”
Yang Kai rubbed his chin and replied, “I have a bold idea! Wait here for a moment, I’ll be right back!”
While saying so, he suddenly turned around and charged into the Black Ink Smoke.
Everybody looked at each other, not having any idea what Yang Kai was doing.
In the blink of an eye, the Black Ink Smoke that was as dense as fog began to churn violently and recede at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.
Somebody exclaimed in astonishment, “Is he collecting the Black Ink Smoke!?”
If that was not the case, then there was no other explanation for the scene in front of them.
The expressions of Yu Chang Dao and Yu Xiang Die changed greatly at the sight, and they nervously paid close attention.
After refining the World Spring, Yang Kai’s Small Universe was flawless and impermeable. External forces could not invade or harm his Small Universe. Even the Black Ink Smoke and the Black Ink Insect could hardly shake him in any way; however, those were only external forces. There was no saying what would happen if Yang Kai opened a portal into his Small Universe and collected the Black Ink Smoke into his body.
Be that as it may, the scene in front of them clearly indicated that he was doing exactly that. For a time, all of them were extremely nervous. They also secretly thought to themselves that Yang Kai was far too daring. Even High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like them were terrified of the Black Ink Smoke, but he was actually accepting it into his body!
Yang Kai had indeed opened the portal to his Small Universe inside the Black Ink Smoke and guided it into his body.
He had been wondering about what to do with the Black Ink Smoke just now. The Black Ink Smoke did not look like it was about to disappear any time soon, but he could not leave it be without doing anything either. The only solution was to set up a Grand Array that would cover this area and turn this region into a Restricted Area. Be that as it may, doing so would only draw more attention to this place. Who could say whether a random passerby with abundant curiosity would try to break the barrier to take a peek inside?
Upon learning that Yu Chang Dao and the others planned to bring him to Lang Ya Paradise with them, Yang Kai couldn’t help but entertain the idea of taking the Black Ink Smoke away with him to avoid future troubles!
He had completely suppressed and sealed the portal to Shi Zheng’s Small Universe with a Secret Technique, so without him, other people would never be able to open it even if they knew the location. If he could take the Black Ink Smoke away with him, then he would truly have nothing to worry about anymore.
At the same time, he had an idea that he wanted to verify. His understanding of the Black Ink Clan and the people corrupted by the Black Ink was too lacking. The Cave Heavens and Paradises did not know much about this topic either, so he might be able to use this opportunity to do some experiments.
Naturally, Yang Kai was not foolish enough to gather all the Black Ink Smoke into his Small Universe in one go; after all, it would be too late for regrets if something went wrong.
He first tried to collect a small amount of the Black Ink Smoke into his Small Universe. To his pleasant surprise, he soon discovered that the Black Ink Smoke remained suppressed by the power of the World Spring even when it was inside his Small Universe. It was unable to cause any disturbances, much less affect his heart or mind. In this way, he confidently and boldly went ahead with his idea.
[The World Spring is amazing! No wonder it is listed as one of the Four Universe Pillars!] When he first obtained the World Spring in the Shattered Heaven, Yang Kai never imagined that it would have such a powerful suppression effect on the Black Ink Clan.
If that was true for the World Spring, then the other three would surely be no different. The Four Universe Pillars were pretty much the nemesis of the Black Ink Clan!
It didn’t take longer than an incense for all the Black Ink Smoke to be collected into Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
When he returned to the group, they stared at him extremely vigilantly. Several dozen auras were locked firmly on him, and they looked as though they would blast him to smithereens at the slightest sign of trouble.
Yang Kai felt awkward for a moment before he quickly opened the portal to his Small Universe, “Please calm down, everyone. I have not been corrupted by the Black Ink. Please take a good look.”
They did not hold back. At this time, it was better to err on the side of caution. Numerous Divine Senses poured into Yang Kai’s Small Universe to investigate the situation.
In one corner of his Small Universe, a large cloud of Black Ink Smoke seethed as though it had a mind of its own. Fortunately, it was suppressed and sealed in place by an invisible force that made breaking through impossible. Apart from this spot where the Black Ink Smoke existed, the rest of Yang Kai’s Small Universe was business as usual.
Everybody breathed a sigh of relief. It was not until this moment that they knew the World Spring had such a wonderful effect, and they couldn’t help feeling envious for a time.
One should not be fooled by the fact that their cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s. If they were to encounter the Black Ink Insect or the Black Ink Smoke, they would be powerless to resist.
“Yang Kai, please be very careful. If you notice anything strange about the Black Ink Smoke, you must immediately split off and abandon the contaminated land. Even if you have to damage your Small Universe, you must never allow yourself to be corrupted by the Black Ink!” Yu Xiang Die warned.
Splitting off and abandoning the contaminated land in one’s Small Universe was the method recorded in the ancient books of the Cave Heavens and Paradises to defend against the Black Ink Smoke and Black Ink Insects. Doing so would damage one’s Small Universe and might even cause their cultivation to regress, but it was still better than being corrupted by the Black Ink.
“I understand!”
“Sect Master Yang, those small stone creatures…” One of them remained curious about the Small Stone Race living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
“Small stone creatures? I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must be mistaken.”
Brushed aside by Yang Kai, that person looked extremely speechless. [I’m not blind. Those strange stone men were running around everywhere. How could I have seen wrongly?]
“Good! Let’s stop the idle chat here!” Yu Xiang Die looked around, “We should set off for Lang Ya Paradise as soon as possible. If there are no objections, then we should depart now!”
Everybody nodded in agreement; thus, Yu Xiang Die immediately steered the ship to head towards the Territory Gate.
On the deck, Yang Kai said, “Seniors, I have a plan, but I don’t know if it is feasible.”
Everybody immediately became curious and Yu Xiang Die asked, “What plan do you have? Let’s hear it.”
Yang Kai explained, “I’m sure your original plan is to head straight towards Lang Ya Paradise to investigate the Small Universe of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, find those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, and follow the trail in search for the true Black Ink clansman.”
She nodded.
“This plan is simple and straightforward indeed, but we have already mentioned the drawbacks earlier. We might also alert the enemies and make the Black Ink clansman behind the scenes become vigilant. Besides, those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink might not reveal any useful information. If that’s the case, then we will only capture some of the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink at most. That only treats the symptoms and not the root cause. The Black Ink Clan clansman hiding behind the scenes might use the Black Ink Insect to corrupt others in the future if we cannot find them.”
At this point, Yang Kai suddenly proposed, “But, what if I infiltrate them? As you know, I have not been corrupted by the Black Ink; however, the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink don’t know that. When Shi Zheng attacked me this time, he believed that his success was a certainty. I’m sure the rest of the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink think so too. That’s why, in their opinion, Shi Zheng would have succeeded. So… they will believe I am one of them!”
Everybody nodded when they heard those words. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were not fools. Not to mention, Yang Kai had already made his meaning so simple and clear. It was not difficult for them to understand.
“So, my idea is… Let me go to Lang Ya Paradise first to figure out just who has been corrupted by the Black Ink. It will be even better if I can figure out the identity or location of the Black Ink clansman. At that time, the enemy will be in the dark but we are not. It won’t be too late for you to take action then!”
Yu Xiang Die pondered for a moment, then she nodded lightly, “This is a good idea indeed. But, in doing so, you will face great danger if you are exposed.”
If this plan was implemented, then the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could not enter Lang Ya Paradise with him. On the contrary, they would be required to lie in ambush and wait for news from him. They could only make a move once they received confirmation from Yang Kai.
In response, Yang Kai just smiled, “Their strongest means are the Black Ink Insects and the Black Ink Smoke. Unfortunately, both these two things are ineffective against me. The hardest part is trying to get them to accept me! That is why I asked whether the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink can sense each other and verify each other’s identities as a result.”
Yu Chang Dao immediately understood, “Sect Master, did you collect the Black Ink Smoke into your Small Universe for this reason?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It will be for the best if they are unable to sense each other. If that’s the case, then they will have no way to judge whether I have been corrupted by the Black Ink. At that time, I only need to mention Shi Zheng and I’m sure they will not suspect me too much. But, if they have the means to sense each other…”
While saying so, he suddenly lifted his hand and a wriggling ball of Black Ink Smoke immediately appeared above his palm.
The expressions of the Masters around Yang Kai changed drastically at the sight, and they swiftly retreated.
Yang Kai quickly stored the Black Ink Smoke and chuckled, “I’m sure this will be enough to reassure them.”
Yu Xiang Die glared at Yang Kai, “Use your mouth to talk; don’t frighten others!”
“Yes, yes,” Yang Kai quickly nodded in agreement. “In any case, let me infiltrate them and figure out the truth. It will be better than attacking them head-on from the start.”
Yu Xiang Die nodded lightly before asking the crowd, “What do you think?”
Their previous plan had been much simpler, but there was no real hope of capturing the real Black Ink clansman with it. On the other hand, Yang Kai’s methods might be a little convoluted, but were more likely to eradicate the Black Ink Clan threat once and for all.
Comparing the two, the answer was obvious.
“I agree with Sect Master Yang’s proposal,” somebody said.
“And I!”
“Count me in!”
…
A short while later, everybody came to an agreement.
Yu Xiang Die then declared, “Since nobody has any other opinions to express, we will act according to this new plan.” She turned to look at Yang Kai, “It’s just that… doing this will not guarantee your safety. When you enter Lang Ya Paradise, you have to be very careful. We will try and figure out a way to sneak in and meet up with you.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Even if I am exposed, I can flee if I can’t win. I’m good at this kind of thing. At that time, I will need your help to clean up the situation, Seniors.”
“That’s easy enough,” Everybody nodded once more.
Yang Kai did not know whether it was only his imagination, but he seemed to sense a trace of approval in the eyes of these High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
In the past, even though he could stand on equal footing with the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and negotiate with them in certain areas, he had never received their true recognition.
For all this time, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had always looked at him like he was a young upstart.
That was not difficult to understand though as the Cave Heavens and Paradises had spent years to achieve the prosperity, heritage, and fame they enjoyed today.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had relied on the Star Boundary’s World Tree and his status as a Star Boundary Great Emperor to obtain the right to speak to them on equal footing. Didn’t that make him a nouveau riche in the eyes of aristocratic families with a long history of inheritance?
Nevertheless, the situation was different now. Technically speaking, he could have ignored the matter related to Lang Ya Paradise as he was not part of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Although he held the title ‘Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Son-in-Law’, he had yet to actually marry Qu Hua Shang.
However, Yang Kai had taken the initiative to volunteer to infiltrate the enemy’s base to gather intelligence. The courage to take on such a task was not something just anyone would possess.
Lang Ya Territory was vast and boundless. It was also the Great Territory where Lang Ya Paradise was headquartered. Even Void Land had its own Great Territory, so as one of the 72 Paradises, it was only natural that Lang Ya Paradise owned a Great Territory too.
Aside from the central area in Lang Ya Territory that was off-limits to outsiders, travellers were free to access all the other areas in the Great Territory. This was basically the case with all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. The reason was that the large-scale Star Cities under their control relied on travelling cultivators to gain popularity. Who would come and do business with them if the entire Great Territory was sealed off? Take Void Territory for example. Aside from Void Land itself, the other areas could be freely accessed by all cultivators.
The group of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters quietly sneaked into Lang Ya Territory; after that, Yang Kai headed to Lang Ya Star City alone while Yu Xiang Die and the others remained hiding outside. If such a large group of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters entered Lang Ya Star City all of a sudden, they would surely attract Lang Ya Paradise’s attention. It would be inconvenient for them to act freely if that happened.
The current plan was for Yang Kai to infiltrate Lang Ya Paradise, learn the identity and whereabouts of the people corrupted by the Black Ink, follow the trail in search of the pure Black Ink clansman, and notify Yu Xiang Die and the others about his findings as soon as possible. It was an arduous task and much needed to be done in short order!
Yang Kai came to the Star City’s Void Dock and, looking around, saw that it was crowded with people coming and going in an endless stream. Any Star City under the control of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises were First-Class and had high popularity. Cultivators from different Great Territories across the 3,000 Worlds would gather in these Star Cities, bringing incalculable benefits to the Cave Heavens and Paradises every year.
If Void Star City had not attracted interest with the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, it would never have become a First-Class Star City; however, in comparison to Lang Ya Star City, Yang Kai discovered that, although Void Star City could be considered to be in the same tier, it was still quite inferior to Lang Ya Star City in terms of heritage. That was understandable, though, as Lang Ya Paradise had existed for hundreds of thousands of years. It was simply impossible for a newly-emerging great force like Void Land to compete.
There was a Master overseeing the dock, and his aura was completely undisguised, revealing that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Thus, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling amazed by Lang Ya Paradise’s impressive assets. Even the person in charge of the Void Dock was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It had to be said that the person overseeing Void Land’s Dock was Jin Yuan Lang, who was only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai obediently stood at the end of the line, waiting for the Lang Ya Paradise disciples to inspect him. Before it got to his turn, one of the Lang Ya Paradise disciples seemed to receive some instructions and headed straight for him. The Lang Ya Paradise disciple approached him and politely said, “Senior Brother, Martial Uncle Zong invites you into the inner hall.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little surprised. He did not know why he would be noticed by this ‘Martial Uncle Zong’ when he was simply standing in line quietly. Before he could understand the situation though, the Lang Ya Paradise disciple headed to another person and repeated similar words. There was also a third person who received this treatment.
Yang Kai looked at the other two and discovered that they were just like him, giving off the aura of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven. Only then did he realise something, he had not been targeted specifically. On the contrary, all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Masters entering Lang Ya Star City would receive similar invitations.
It was probably for the stability of Lang Ya Star City. Even if there were Masters overseeing Lang Ya Star City in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, if anybody with nefarious intentions were to infiltrate, it would create a huge loss if anything went wrong.
After understanding this point, Yang Kai calmly walked towards the Inner Hall by the side of the dock. There was also a man and a woman following behind him, but he did not know their origins.
Inside the Inner Hall was a middle-aged man sitting behind a long desk. His aura was extraordinary and, as soon as Yang Kai and the other two walked in, he observed them carefully without any reservations. It was not until the three of them had approached that he finally opened his mouth, “Please take a seat.”
Yang Kai and the other two exchanged a glance with each other before they took their respective seats.
The middle-aged man showed no hospitality. According to his self-introduction, he was called Zong Yu Quan and he was in charge of overseeing the dock at Lang Ya Star City as well as inspecting the cultivators passing through.
There was no particular reason for inviting these three over, he simply wanted to question them about their respective origins and backgrounds. That was part of the protocol at Lang Ya Star City since ancient times. While they could ignore anybody below the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, those in the Sixth-Order and above would need to be inspected thoroughly to enter Lang Ya Star City.
The man and the woman reported their respective identities and origins and Zong Yu Quan verified them one by one. After confirming that there were no problems, he gave them each a special token before he released them. Before they departed, he also warned them not to cause any trouble in Lang Ya Star City; otherwise, they would be killed without mercy. Both the man and the woman clearly knew the rules here. It was probably not their first time coming here, so they naturally responded in affirmation.
After the two of them departed, Zong Yu Quan finally turned to look at Yang Kai, “Where did you come from, Your Excellency? Why did you come to Lang Ya Star City?”
Although they were both in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Zong Yu Quan had always maintained a slightly arrogant attitude when facing Yang Kai and the other two. Having been born in one of the 72 Paradises, his heritage was not something that normal people could achieve; therefore, he was indeed superior compared to other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who did not come from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Yang Kai had been wondering whether he should conceal his identity or tell the truth. It was just that Zong Yu Quan clearly had a method to verify a person’s identity, so concealing his name might be unrealistic. Besides, the main purpose of his visit was to search for the people who had been corrupted by the Black Ink Clan, so it would not be convenient for him to act if he concealed his identity.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai did not reveal his identity directly. Taking out a token, he smiled and asked, “Senior Brother Zong, do you recognize this item?”
Zong Yu Quan looked up and raised his brow in astonishment, “That is a token belonging to a Lang Ya Paradise Core Disciple. Where did you get it?”
That item was equivalent to a status symbol in Lang Ya Paradise. Only Core Disciples were qualified to possess one. It was impossible for ordinary people to obtain one. Be that as it may, one of these items had appeared in Yang Kai’s hand. It was only natural for Zong Yu Quan to be surprised.
He did not suspect that Yang Kai had obtained this token by killing the owner and stealing the other party’s treasures. If that was truly the case, then Yang Kai would never have had the guts to come here; hence, the only explanation was that he either picked it up from somewhere or it was given to him by one of Lang Ya Paradise’s Core Disciples.
This token was indeed given to Yang Kai by Gu Pan. After returning from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, many of the cultivators who escaped with their lives thanks to Yang Kai’s help had given their respective tokens to him before they went their separate ways. They had invited him to visit them at their respective Sects whenever he had the time.
Gu Pan had given him this token back then.
Yang Kai had thought about visiting Lang Ya Paradise whenever he had the time; after all, Zhang Ruo Xi was staying in Lang Ya Paradise and this token would allow him to visit her easily. It was just that he had been so busy running around for so many years that he only managed to visit Lang Ya Paradise briefly, and upon discovering that Zhang Ruo Xi was in retreat, he swiftly departed. If it was not for the Black Ink Clan, he would not have come here again so soon.
“This is something Gu Pan gave me,” Yang Kai replied honestly.
Zong Yu Quan exclaimed in surprise, “Your Excellency, are you acquainted with Junior Sister Gu?”
“We are friends who faced life and death together,” Yang Kai nodded.
Yang Kai’s answer truly left Zong Yu Quan scratching his head in puzzlement. It stood to reason that he, as a disciple in Lang Ya Paradise, was acquainted with Gu Pan. Although they were not very familiar with each other, they had at least interacted with each other on a few occasions in the Sect.
As one of the few Core Disciples in the Sect, Gu Pan was a rising star who had advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was something Zong Yu Quan could not compare with. Besides, for her to give her token to another person, it could be seen that the relationship between them was not superficial.
He pondered in silence for a moment before he finally asked, “May I ask who this Fellow Brother is?”
“Void Land’s Yang Kai!” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
Zong Yu Quan’s eyes immediately brightened, and he stood up, “Are you the same Yang Kai who is Void Land’s Lord and the Star Boundary’s Great Emperor, within High Heaven Territory?”
[I can’t believe I have such prestige now! That feels really amazing for some reason!] Yang Kai nodded reservedly, “It is this Yang!”
An inexplicable glint flashed across Zong Yu Quan’s eyes, and he instantly became much more welcoming, “Oh, my! I’ve long admired you! I’ve long heard about you, but never had the chance to meet you. Now that I see you today, you definitely live up to your reputation!”
“You are too polite, Senior Brother Zong!” Yang Kai nodded his head with a smile.
Zong Yu Quan did not doubt Yang Kai’s identity. Seeing as the Core Disciple’s token had been brought out, there was no benefit to be gained even if this person was an impersonator. That was why he was confident that the person in front of him was Yang Kai even though he had never met Yang Kai before.
After that, they exchanged pleasantries for a little while longer before Zong Yu Quan finally shouted, “Come in!”
The Lang Ya Paradise disciple who guided Yang Kai to this place earlier stepped into the room and cupped his fist, “Martial Uncle Zong!”
Zong Yu Quan said, “Return to the Sect and inform Elder Gu Pan that a friend of hers has arrived in the Star City. Please ask her to come here!”
The disciple glanced at Yang Kai curiously before he left to carry out his orders.
Zong Yu Quan then asked for tea to be served. His attitude seemed to indicate that he regretted not meeting Yang Kai earlier. Even though Yang Kai was a little taken aback by Zong Yu Quan’s enthusiasm, he had no choice except to make perfunctory conversation with the other party.
Zong Yu Quan clearly had great curiosity towards the Star Boundary’s World Tree and asked many questions regarding it. When he learned that the feedback of the World Tree was only effective for cultivators who had yet to condense their Dao Seals and had no benefit towards those who had condensed their Dao Seals and advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, he sighed with regret.
“I wish I had been born 3,000 years later!” He smiled bitterly, “I’ll be honest with you, Junior Brother Yang. Even though I advanced into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm during my initial breakthrough into the Open Heaven Realm, I actually had the qualification to advance into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. But, just to be on the safe side, I chose to advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. If I had something like the World Tree back then, this Senior Brother would have advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm with no problem.”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “You are now a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm too, Senior Brother.”
Zong Yu Quan said, “That’s different! The limit for the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm is the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but if I advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm back then, my limit would have been the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The difference of one Order is as vast as Heaven and Earth!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm might only have a difference of one Order, but the gap in strength was like day and night. Just like how a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could easily kill a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master killing a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master required little to no effort on their part.
Back in the Shattered Heaven, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Xia Lin Lang didn’t even have the courage to face Bright Sun Divine Monarch. Furthermore, she had been chased to the brink of desperation.
“Now that we have the World Tree in the Star Boundary, even more rising stars will surely emerge in Lang Ya Paradise. This is all thanks to you, Junior Brother Yang.”
“It was just a coincidence,” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively.
When he first planted the World Tree, he had simply wanted to stabilise the Star Boundary. Who would have thought that it would make the Star Boundary so famous? And now, the small and remote Star Boundary had become the centre of attention of the entire 3,000 Worlds. The name ‘Open Heaven Realm Cradle’ was well-deserved indeed.
“Elder Shi Zheng is a long-term resident of the Star Boundary. You can always visit him if you need anything in the future, Junior Brother Yang. Lang Ya Paradise has a long history with you after all, so it’s only natural that we help each other,” Zing Yu Qian said with a smile.
Yang Kai nodded, “I met Elder Shi Zheng just before coming here. He took great care of me.”
Zong Yu Quan asked in concern, “How is Elder Shi doing?”
Yang Kai smiled, “He is doing just fine.”
After conversing for a bit more, Zong Yu Quan seemed to receive some sort of message. He then said apologetically, “This Zong needs to oversee the dock and verify the information of the people who come and go here. I’m afraid I can’t stay and chat any longer, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai tactfully stood up, “Please go ahead, Senior Brother.”
Zong Yu Quan nodded, “Junior Sister Gu will be here soon. Why don’t you take a stroll around Star City? There are many treasures that can be found in Lang Ya Star City. If you find anything you like, feel free to let me know.”
“I will!” Yang Kai responded. When he turned around to leave, a strange idea suddenly came to him. He nodded lightly at Zong Yu Quan and murmured softly, “Black Ink Eternal!”
That was what Shi Zheng mentioned before he died. Yang Kai had not understood what those words meant at the time, but he came to understand their meaning after listening to the explanation from Yu Xiang Die and the others.
Those who had been corrupted by the Black Ink generally looked no different on the surface, but their hearts had already undergone a drastic change and they were only loyal towards the Black Ink Clan. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Master like Shi Zheng had shouted those words just before his death. It could be seen just how dangerous the Black Ink Clan’s influence was.
The truth was that Shi Zheng probably lost his sense of self a long time ago; furthermore, these words were most likely a belief that they upheld or some kind of mantra they lived by.
It was not as though Yang Kai had noticed anything out of the ordinary when he said these words at this time. He simply wanted to probe the waters and did not expect any response to his statement.
Contrary to expectations, Zong Yu Quan stared at Yang Kai with a stunned expression for a moment before he reached out to touch his chest lightly and whispered, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and turned to leave. Exiting the dock, he turned into a crowded street and quickly blended into the crowd with the help of the stream of people passing by.
A short while later, he came to a halt in front of a shop. Although his expression was normal on the surface, Yang Kai was cursing madly deep down in his heart. [Didn’t they say that the Black Ink Insects were precious, so the Black Ink Clan will only target High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters!? I can’t believe Zong Yu Quan is one of those who were corrupted by the Black Ink!]
This discovery was so shocking that he could barely believe it.
Yu Xiang Die and the others told him that the Black Ink Insects were extremely precious to the Black Ink Clan and converting a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was simply not worth the effort. That was why the Black Ink Clan would only target High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
For so many years, all the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who did not come from any Cave Heaven or Paradise had either been recruited by the Cave Heavens and Paradises or sent to some unknown place instead because the Cave Heavens and Paradises were afraid that these people might be targeted by the Black Ink Clan. At that time, it would only take one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch.
However, a casual probe from Yang Kai had confirmed that Zong Yu Quan was corrupted by the Black Ink!
Looking at the situation now, it would seem that Zong Yu Quan had been probing Yang Kai when he either intentionally or unintentionally mentioned Elder Shi Zheng earlier. In that case, he probably knew about the plan in the Star Boundary too. The fact that he responded without the slightest hesitation when Yang Kai said the words, ‘Black Ink Eternal’ clearly indicated that he believed Shi Zheng had succeeded!
The truth was that Yang Kai would not have been able to escape unscathed during his encounter with the Black Ink Insect if he had not coincidentally obtained the World Spring. Hence, in the eyes of a person corrupted by the Black Ink like Zong Yu Quan, Shi Zheng’s success was only to be expected.
[Just how many people have been corrupted by the Black Ink in Lang Ya Paradise!?] It would seem that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, so Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a slight sense of panic.
He wandered around the Star City aimlessly for some time, but it didn’t take long for a familiar Divine Sense to appear in the surroundings, seemingly searching for something in Star City. It was Gu Pan’s Divine Sense.
Yang Kai quickly responded to her probing. She quickly confirmed his location, and a petite figure descended from the sky a moment later. Many people stopped and looked around on the street, wondering who was so bold as to act so recklessly in Lang Ya Star City. However, they quickly understood upon seeing the clothes she was wearing. Upon seeing that she was from Lang Ya Paradise, they were not surprised by her actions.
“Senior Brother Yang,” Gu Pan landed in front of Yang Kai and nodded in greeting.
“Junior Sister Gu!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, “It’s been a few years since I last saw you, but your noble bearing remains the same!”
The last time he met her was during Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly. In the blink of an eye, nearly 100 years had passed.
She replied, “You seem to have gotten stronger, Senior Brother Yang.”
He chuckled, “I was lucky and came across some opportunities.”
She asked curiously, “Senior Brother Yang, did you come here for something?”
He casually said, “It’s nothing important. I mainly came here to see you.”
Gu Pan studied him seriously for a moment before all of a sudden, she took out a jade slip and turned to face him while speaking calmly, “Senior Brother Yang, please repeat what you said just now.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai asked, somewhat bewildered.
To which Gu Pan frankly stated, “I’m collecting evidence. When Senior Sister Qu comes out from retreat, I’m going to inform her that you were busy picking flowers everywhere while she was in seclusion!”
Yang Kai’s expression turned as black as the bottom of a pot as he protested, “There’s no such thing! Besides, even if I want to mess around, I wouldn’t be interested in your small body!”
Gu Pan giggled, “One may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature. Who knows what kind of special interests you have, Senior Brother?”
Yang Kai looked a little crestfallen as he mused, “Junior Sister, you’ve changed. You were not like this before. You used to be so innocent, but you’re so suspicious of everything now…”
“Haha…”
“Come, have some dried fish!” Yang Kai suddenly took out a large bag of dried fish from his Space Ring.
Meanwhile, Gu Pan continued to point the jade slip at him and used a Secret Technique to record his current actions as she stated, “Look at this, Senior Sister Qu. Senior Brother Yang is deliberately catering to bribe me so I keep silent about his crimes!”
Yang Kai raised a fist and rapped his knuckles on her head. At the same time, he stuffed a dried fish in his hand into her mouth, “Stop fooling around! I came here for a reason!”
Although Gu Pan’s mouth was stuffed to the brim, she did not forget to add another sentence, “Senior Brother is getting angry out of shame and being unreasonable!”
He glanced sideways at her.
Fortunately, she quickly put the jade slip away and swallowed the dried fish in her mouth, “This is not the place to talk. Follow me, Senior Brother.”
While saying so, she soared into the sky, after which he quickly followed behind her.
They soon left Lang Ya Star City and headed straight for the central area of Lang Ya Territory. That was where Lang Ya Paradise’s headquarters was located.
Yang Kai travelled forward with Gu Pan. The space ahead was empty, but he could sense that there was an enormous array covering the entire area in front. Passerbys could not see the inside of Lang Ya Paradise’ from the outside.
When they arrived in front of the Grand Array, Gu Pan took out a token. After a flash of light, a magnificent scene immediately entered Yang Kai’s eyes. Countless small Spirit Provinces dotted the void like Stars, surrounding three large Spirit Provinces that formed a triangle in the middle. Even though they were separated by a distance, Yang Kai could clearly sense the abundant World Energy and dense World Force coming from those Spirit Provinces.
It was not his first time entering a Cave Heaven or Paradise. In the past, he had also seen the heritage of a top great force with a long history during his time in Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Nevertheless, Yang Kai could not help feeling amazed by the sight of Lang Ya Paradise at this moment. The Cave Heavens and Paradises truly deserved their reputations. Void Land could not compare with them at all. It was not just a matter of the number of Masters and disciples in the Sect, but also the accumulation of time and inheritance.
At present, what Void Land lacked the most was time.
The area after entering the Grand Array could finally be considered the core of Lang Ya Paradise. This place that was covered by the Grand Array was not a place where ordinary people could enter.
They continued forward and soon arrived at a certain Spirit Province. This Spirit Province was not very big, but it had a beautiful environment. That was especially true for the huge lake in the middle. The lake even had large fish swimming about freely. Surprisingly, there was nobody on this Spirit Province.
Gu Pan explained, “This is where I cultivate. Most of the time, other people will not come here.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help gnashing his teeth in envy. A great force is a great force indeed. Even a Core Disciple can monopolise a Spirit Province without anybody’s interference.
“Why did you come here, Senior Brother?” Gu Pan led him to a bamboo building by the lake and poured him a glass of water.
“The thing is… Elder Shi Zheng asked me to give you a message, Junior Sister.” Yang Kai had given some thought to this matter on the way here. His initial plan was to visit Gu Pan as soon as he arrived here. With her identity as a Core Disciple, it would be easier for him to move around unnoticed.
However, thanks to his experience with Zong Yu Quan, he could no longer decide whether even she was safe or not. A mere Zong Yu Quan had been corrupted by the Black Ink, so wouldn’t a Core Disciple like Gu Pan be targeted too? She would definitely be more valuable to the Black Ink Clan than Zong Yu Quan if she was corrupted.
If possible, Yang Kai did not wish to suspect her; unfortunately, this matter was related to the Black Ink Clan. It was better to err on the side of caution. Otherwise, he might set off a turmoil in Lang Ya Paradise if the truth was exposed. Many people would die if that happened.
“Elder Shi has a message for me?” Gu Pan was a little taken aback. Although she was also a Lang Ya Paradise Elder, she had not interacted much with Shi Zheng in the past. That was why she couldn’t help being surprised.
Yang Kai nodded.
Gu Pan sat opposite him and asked curiously, “What did Elder Shi want to tell me?”
Yang Kai stared at her and spoke in a solemn manner, “Elder Shi said… Black Ink Eternal!”
Zong Yu Quan’s reaction had convinced him that these words could help him distinguish between friend and foe. If Gu Pan responded with those words, then there was no doubt that she was also corrupted by the Black Ink. For that reason, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling anxious as soon as the words left his mouth.
On the opposite side, Gu Pan stared at him blankly before she nodded lightly, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai’s expression became a little melancholic, and he couldn’t help feeling heartbroken! [Has this petite and adorable little girl also been corrupted by the Black Ink?]
Suddenly, something unexpected occurred. A paintbrush appeared out of nowhere, and with a surge of Sixth-Order World Force, the paintbrush danced in the air and struck Yang Kai a dozen times in a row.
A chain suddenly wrapped around his body, and a powerful restraining force shackled him firmly in place. Immediately after that, Gu Pan grabbed hold of the paintbrush and made several smooth strokes. Another layer of restraint was instantly layered onto his figure.
Everything happened so quickly, and Yang Kai had been distracted due to his distress at the time, so he had been caught completely off guard as a result. By the time he recovered from his shock, it felt as though there was an entire Universe World bearing down on him. The pressure caused him to hunch over and become breathless.
Gu Pan moved extremely fast. After using a Secret Technique to shackle Yang Kai in place, she quickly soared into the sky without the slightest hesitation. Although both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she had witnessed his ability with her own eyes.
During Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly, Zhao Xing of Thousand Birds Paradise had also been in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm; even so, he had been killed by Yang Kai almost immediately in their confrontation on the Prison Star. Not only was he a Core Disciple of Thousand Birds Paradise, but he had also advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm some decades earlier than them.
Gu Pan was a Core Disciple of Lang Ya Paradise; nevertheless, she had to admit that she was not very different from Zhao Xing in terms of strength even after 100 or so years of accumulation.
Seeing as Yang Kai had already been capable of killing Zhao Xing easily at that time, the current Yang Kai was definitely not somebody she could fight against. That was why she immediately tried to flee after using a Secret Technique to bind and imprison him. If it were anybody else in their generation, she would have taken the opportunity to try to deal a lethal blow; unfortunately, her opponent was Yang Kai, she knew she wasn’t capable enough, so she chose to escape instead.
Suddenly, Gu Pan felt a large hand grab her ankle. When she turned around to look, her expression became shocked. That was because Yang Kai had broken free of the multiple layers of restraint that bound his body in an instant.
He remained seated in his original position, but his outstretched hand gripped her as firmly as iron shackles. She was flooded with despair! Even though she knew that he was much stronger than her, she never expected him to be so powerful.
“Get down!” Yang Kai shouted, and with a yank of his hand, Gu Pan was unceremoniously dragged downward and slammed into the table with a loud bang. The wooden table shattered and dust flew everywhere.
World Force fluctuated, and the paintbrush in Gu Pan’s hand emitted a bright light, but before she could act, Yang Kai had already placed a palm on her forehead and a heavy power fluctuated out like a sharp weapon.
Pursing her lips, she lay quietly in front of him. Her entire body was stiff, and her clear eyes glared at him fixedly.
Yang Kai grinned, “Junior Sister, why did you attack me so suddenly?”
She calmly replied, “Don’t you know why I attacked you?”
“Please enlighten me, Junior Sister!”
Sorrow flashed across Gu Pan’s eyes as she shook her head, “You are no longer the Senior Brother Yang I know.”
“Who am I, if not me?” Yang Kai bent down and stared at her intently with a sharp gaze, looking as though he was going to eat her.
Gu Pan turned her head to the side and declared, “There’s no point talking. Just kill me!”
He laughed, “Kill you? Won’t that be going too easy on you?”
While saying so, he suddenly reached out his hand and took out a wooden box from his Space Ring. He waved his hand, and World Force fluctuated. It was only after he placed a barrier in all directions that he opened the wooden box. The Black Ink Insect immediately rushed out of the wooden box, only to be caught by him.
Gu Pan had been indifferent even when facing death, but her expression immediately twitched at the sight of the Black Ink Insect as she muttered, “I knew it. You’ve been corrupted by the Black Ink after all. To think that you even have something like the Black Ink Insect.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai looked at her in surprise, “You can actually recognise the Black Ink Insect, Junior Sister. In that case, this will be much easier to explain. Junior Sister, why don’t I show you the true path?”
Closing her eyes, Gu Pan she spoke quietly, “I may not be your opponent, but it is not difficult for me to destroy my own Small Universe.”
Yang Kai simply nodded in appreciation, “I couldn’t have known from your appearance! Unlike your stature, it turns out that your courage is not small, Junior Sister! But, it doesn’t matter. I like those with courage, it makes breaking your bones one by one all the more pleasant! You’re not allowed to cry, Junior Sister!”
Widening her eyes, Gu Pan glared at him, “Go ahead and kill me! If you are planning to corrupt me with the Black Ink, I advise you to give up on the idea. I will kill myself immediately if you dare to release the Black Ink Insect!”
Yang Kai stared at her coldly, his murderous intent surging. Nevertheless, she stared straight back at him without any fear. It was only a long while later that he suddenly released her and placed the Black Ink Insect back into the wooden box. Gu Pan immediately leaped up in response and distanced herself from Yang Kai as much as possible, staring at him suspiciously.
On the other hand, Yang Kai stood up calmly and cupped his fist, “I’m sorry, Junior Sister Gu, I had no choice but to test you just now. Please forgive my discourtesy!”
Gu Pan stared at him warily and asked, “What are you plotting here? If you don’t kill me, I will expose your identity as somebody who has been corrupted by the Black Ink to the entire Lang Ya Paradise. At that time, you will have nowhere to escape!”
Yang Kai grinned, “If I die, won’t Senior Sister Qu become a widow? Are you really willing to do that?”
“Senior Brother Yang is dead already. You are not him!”
Yang Kai knew that it was useless to explain, as no matter how hard he tried, anybody who had some understanding of the Black Ink Clan would no doubt believe that he had already been corrupted when they saw him holding the Black Ink Insect in his hand. Therefore, he simply pushed his World Force to open the portal to his Small Universe and said, “You will understand the truth if you take a look for yourself, Junior Sister. I will explain everything to you once you have confirmed it for yourself.”
Gu Pan looked at Yang Kai suspiciously. His expression looked very sincere, and he did not look like somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. More importantly, if he had really been corrupted by the Black Ink, then his actions just now did not make sense. He could have released the Black Ink Insect into her Small Universe so that she would also be corrupted as well. However, he had not done that!
Bewildered, she poured her Divine Sense into his Small Universe and carefully examined the situation. To her surprise, she was greeted by the sight of tens of millions of living beings thriving in his Small Universe. She saw the ant-like Small Stone Race, the World Spring, and the billowing Black Ink Smoke that had been suppressed and sealed in a certain corner of his Small Universe…
A long while later, Gu Pan finally withdrew her Divine Sense. The hostility on her face had melted away and she looked at him in surprise, “Senior Brother, you…”
He smiled at her, “You believe me now, right?”
“Senior Brother, your Small Universe has already fully materialized!?”
Yang Kai’s face twitched at those words and he snapped, “Is that all you saw?” [You’re focusing on the wrong thing, Junior Sister!]
Gu Pan then asked, “Those billowing clouds that resemble thick, black ink… Is that the Black Ink Smoke?”
He nodded.
She could not understand, “How did you suppress and seal the Black Ink Smoke? As far as I know, that thing is extremely corrosive. If it invades the Small Universe of a cultivator, it will quickly spread out and contaminate them. Eventually, the owner of the Small Universe becomes corrupted by the Black Ink. The only solution to this problem is to sever the contaminated land in the Small Universe as soon as possible. The slightest hesitation will result in dire consequences.”
Yang Kai simply smiled and asked, “Did you see the spring?”
Gu Pan nodded, and in the next moment, realisation suddenly struck her, “One of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring!?”
She was not ignorant about the World Spring. In truth, as a Core Disciple, she had already heard about some of the secrets in the 3,000 Worlds that other people did not know from her Honoured Master after she advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Among those secrets included the existence of the Black Ink Clan.
When her Honoured Master told her about these matters, he also mentioned the Four Universe Pillars. That was because the Four Universe Pillars could be said to be the nemesis of the Black Ink Clan. It was just that she had only heard of such things before and this was her first time seeing the actual thing in person, so it had taken her a while to react.
After understanding this point, her entire body relaxed and she breathed out in relief. She spoke in a relieved voice, “In other words, you have not been corrupted by the Black Ink, Senior Brother!”
Yang Kai smiled, “How could I lie to you about something like that?”
Gu Pan was bewildered, however, and asked, “If you’re not corrupted by the Black Ink, Senior Brother, then why did you try to test me earlier?”
The smile on his face gradually faded, and he looked at her solemnly, “Junior Sister, the things that I’m going to tell you may be a little hard to accept. Please mentally prepare yourself.”
Those words made her stiffen in surprise for a moment, then she sighed, “Somebody in Lang Ya Paradise has been corrupted by the Black Ink, right?”
He nodded.
“Is it Elder Shi Zheng?” Gu Pan asked.
Yang Kai was surprised, “How did you know, Junior Sister?”
She responded sadly, “After my advancement into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, my Honoured Master told me about the Black Ink Clan. At the time, he also mentioned the Black Ink Insect and the Black Ink Smoke. Honoured Master said that these two things came from the same source. Moreover, the Black Ink Smoke would only appear following the death of somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. Seeing as you have suppressed and sealed the Black Ink Smoke in your Small Universe, that can only mean that you killed somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. In addition, you came all the way to Lang Ya Paradise and deliberately tested me after meeting me. That can only mean that this matter is related to Lang Ya Paradise. At present, the only person in Lang Ya Paradise who is in contact with you, Senior Brother, is Elder Shi Zheng who was stationed at the Star Boundary!”
“Junior Sister is beautiful and intelligent indeed!” Yang Kai nodded, “It was indeed Elder Shi Zheng who was corrupted by the Black Ink. If that were all, I would not have tried to test you as soon as I met you, but the truth is…”
All of a sudden, Gu Pan raised a hand to interrupt him, “Senior Brother, before that, please check my Small Universe and verify my identity.”
Yang Kai couldn’t stifle his laughter as he waved his hand, “No need. I’ve seen your reaction just now, Junior Sister. To be honest, I already knew when I saw you trying to run away. The reason why I continued to test you after that was just to be on the safe side. Please forgive me, Junior Sister.”
“Even so, you should check properly. The power of the Black Ink Clan is extremely treacherous. Only by seeing with your own eyes can you be certain that you will be safe!” While saying so, she proactively opened the portal to her Small Universe.
Helpless, he could only probe her Small Universe with his Divine Sense.
She was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but her situation was different from his. Her Small Universe had not transformed from immaterial to corporeal, so there was no actual substance in existence. Nevertheless, the inside was filled with abundant World Force.
A short while later, Yang Kai retrieved his Divine Sense and nodded his head at her, “It’s fine.”
Gu Pan closed the portal to her Small Universe and cleaned up the shattered table before she asked, “Senior Brother, just what is going on?”
Yang Kai sighed and told Gu Pan about how Shi Zheng had invited him for a private meeting previously.
Gu Pan’s expression became increasingly solemn as she listened. She never imagined that a foreign affairs envoy and Inner Elder of her Sect would turn out to be somebody who was corrupted by the Black Ink. In fact, if Shi Zheng had not tried to corrupt Yang Kai with the Black Ink, his identity would not have been exposed.
The World Spring was extremely rare; therefore, Shi Zheng never planned for the possibility that Yang Kai had refined one. That was what prevented the invasion of the Black Ink Insect and caused the attempt to corrupt Yang Kai with the Black Ink to fail. In addition, Yang Kai had already become a Grand Dragon, so there was no way to silence the witness to the crime.
Furthermore, as long as Yang Kai was in High Heaven Territory, he could borrow the might of the Star Boundary to immediately warn the others stationed there. Once the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters arrived at the battlefield, Shi Zheng was cornered. His only option was suicide! Even if he could have stayed and fought to the death, the final outcome would not have changed at all under those circumstances. He might even end up being captured alive. In that case, a swift death was the best option available to him.
“After discovering Shi Zheng’s identity as somebody who had been corrupted by the Black Ink, we guessed that there might be more people who have been corrupted inside Lang Ya Paradise. There might even be a pure Black Ink clansman hiding in this place. The Seniors intended to come straight to Lang Ya Paradise to investigate everyone one by one; however, I believed that we would only alert the enemy by doing so. That is why I volunteered to take the initiative and see if I could infiltrate the ranks of those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink. If I can figure out who is an enemy and who is a friend, then I might be able to uncover the hiding place of the true Black Ink clansman. That would be the ideal outcome.”
“When I was at Lang Ya Star City’s Void Dock earlier, I was summoned by a Senior Brother named Zong Yu Quan. After chatting for a bit, I casually tried testing him just before we parted ways and confirmed that he had been corrupted by the Black Ink!” Yang Kai quickly said.
Gu Pan was shocked, “Senior Brother Zong has been corrupted by the Black Ink!?”
He nodded solemnly, “Black Ink… Eternal! That was what Shi Zheng mentioned before he killed himself. I don’t know what those words meant, but it’s most likely a firm belief held by the people who have been corrupted by Black Ink. Saying those words to Zong Yu Quan was nothing more than a whim at the time. I never imagined that Zong Yu Quan would respond to me in the same manner.”
Gu Pan understood, “Is that why you used the same words to test me?”
“That’s right. I didn’t expect you to be so decisive and imprison me immediately, Junior Sister!”
Gu Pan explained, “Honoured Master told me about the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, so I know about the existence of the Black Ink Clan; however, information on the Black Ink Clan has always been controlled within the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Even the non-Core Disciples in the Cave Heavens and Paradises will not know about these matters. On the contrary, you are not a disciple of any Cave Heaven or Paradise. That’s why I misunderstood you when you mentioned the Black Ink out of nowhere.”
“So, that’s how it is!”
“Senior Brother, this matter is very important. We need to report this to the Sect Master!”
Yang Kai frowned slightly at that suggestion and said, “I’ve thought of doing that, but what if your Sect Master has been corrupted by the Black Ink? All the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink are currently hiding in the dark. There is no way for us to figure out their identities. The only person I can trust right now is you.”
Gu Pan hesitated before saying, “I don’t think that’s likely. If that was truly the case, then I would have been corrupted by the Black Ink a long time ago. You might not know this, Senior Brother, but Lang Ya Paradise’s Sect Master is my Honoured Master. He is also the one who told me about the Black Ink Clan.”
Zong Yu Quan’s talent and future potential were certainly not comparable to Gu Pan’s, who advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nevertheless, even he had been corrupted by the Black Ink, so there was no reason why Gu Pan wouldn’t be targeted if that were possible.
After listening to Gu Pan, Yang Kai also felt that it was unlikely for Lang Ya Paradise’s Sect Master to be related to the Black Ink Clan.
“Zong Yu Quan has probably identified me as one of their own. If there exists communication between the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink, then the news would surely have spread among them by now. If I go and visit the Sect Master at this time…” Still, Yang Kai couldn’t help hesitating.
However, Gu Pan argued, “Lang Ya Paradise has a Dao Temple in the Star Boundary, so it can also be considered as having a cooperative relationship with the Star Boundary. Not to mention, you are a Star Boundary Great Emperor. It’s only natural for you to pay a visit to the Sect Master after coming to Lang Ya Paradise. Even if the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink learn about this matter, it should not be a problem.”
This was true. As a Junior and a Star Boundary Great Emperor, there was no reason for Yang Kai not to pay a visit to the Sect Master after coming to Lang Ya Paradise as that was just basic etiquette.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he nodded, “Then, I shall trouble you to make the arrangements, Junior Sister.”
“Come with me, Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai walked out of the bamboo building with Gu Pan. Afterwards, they soared off and headed straight for the middle of the three huge Spirit Provinces. Along the way, they passed by many people from Lang Ya Paradise. Most of them would stop and bow politely from a distance when they saw Gu Pan. It could be seen that a Core Disciple like her enjoyed a very high status.
All of a sudden, Gu Pan stopped and bowed to an elderly man who slowly approached them in the void, “Martial Uncle Yuan!”
The elderly man with the surname Yuan glanced at Gu Pan with a smile and nodded in greeting, “Martial Niece, are you looking for the Sect Master?”
She replied, “Yes, Martial Uncle.”
Nodding lightly, he glanced at Yang Kai and asked curiously, “Martial Niece, who is this? He doesn’t look like a Lang Ya Paradise disciple.”
She explained, “Replying to Martial Uncle, this is Void Land’s Lord, Yang Kai. Senior Brother Yang is an old acquaintance of mine who came to visit me while passing through Lang Ya Paradise.”
He was surprised, “Oh? You are Void Land’s Lord, Yang Kai?”
“Junior Yang Kai greets Senior Yuan!” Yang Kai bowed in greeting.
The elderly man with the surname Yuan stroked his beard with a smile, “You’re being too polite. This Old Master has heard your name often in recent days. From what I see, it’s true that talented individuals are born every generation!”
“You are praising me too much, Senior. This Junior is inferior to you in every way. It is impossible to compare with your prestige, Senior!”
The elderly man with the surname Yuan immediately looked pleased at being flattered and laughed loudly, “Boy, you have a keen way with words! Your future is promising indeed!” He then smiled at Yang Kai in a friendly manner, “If you’re not in a hurry to leave, you should stop by my residence. I have lots of fine wines. It’s a pity that I have nobody to share them with!”
Yang Kai nodded cheerfully, “If there are fine wines, then I can’t afford to miss this opportunity. I will definitely pay you a visit one day!”
The elderly man with the surname Yuan smiled in response and waved his hand, “Go on then. The Sect Master is free right now. If you go any later, he might enter retreat.”
“In that case, this Junior will take his leave now,” Yang Kai cupped his fist and continued forward with Gu Pan.
A short while later, Gu Pan sent a Divine Sense transmission, “Senior Brother, do you plan to go and sound out Martial Uncle Yuan?”
If that was not the case, he would not have answered so cheerfully.
Yang Kai asked, “Do you think there is a chance that this Senior Yuan might be corrupted by the Black Ink?”
Gu Pan pondered in silence for a moment before she shook her head, “I don’t know. Martial Uncle Yuan Du is one of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. He is usually very kind and treats the disciples very well. His only weakness is that he likes listening to flattery a little too much. I hope he isn’t one of those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink.”
Yang Kai felt a little speechless. No wonder his casual flattery had made Yuan Du so happy just now. It turned out that Yuan Du liked receiving such praise. As for whether he had been corrupted by the Black Ink or not, there was nobody who could say for sure; after all, if Yang Kai had not come here today, Gu Pan would never have believed that Elder Shi Zheng was also one of those who were corrupted by the Black Ink!
The pair continued forward, and a short while later, they landed in front of a grand palace located in the central Spirit Province. Gu Pan walked inside with great familiarity and came directly to an inner hall. When she knocked lightly on the door, a stern voice soon came from within, “Enter!”
The doors opened slowly. Beckoning towards Yang Kai, Gu Pan took the lead to enter. The hall was not that large, and when Yang Kai looked up, he immediately saw a middle-aged man standing in front of an easel. He was holding a paintbrush in his hand and seemed to be wholeheartedly drawing something.
“Honoured Master!” Gu Pan called out softly.
“En!” The middle-aged man responded without lifting his head or pausing the movements of his hands.
Yang Kai took the opportunity to study the Sect Master of Lang Ya Paradise. Along the way here, he had asked many questions about this Senior and learned that he was called Li Yuan Wang.
Li Yuan Wang was at the peak of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, just one step away from advancing into the Eighth-Order. Even among all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the various Cave Heavens and Paradises, he was ranked in the top tier.
Seeing him at this moment, his aura was certainly extraordinary. The paintbrush in his hand seemed almost alive in his hands, drawing a beautiful scenery in a single motion. Moreover, the paper spread out in front of him radiated with a faint World Force. This World Force was not the World Force that he mobilised, but rather it seemed as though the drawing itself had become an independent world.
When Yang Kai met Gu Pan for the first time, he had found it strange that she used a paintbrush as her weapon; such an artifact was very rare after all. Judging from the current situation though, it would seem that this was an influence from her Master, Li Yuan Wang.
Yang Kai waited quietly, observing Li Yuan Wang from time to time. Although Gu Pan could more or less confirm that Li Yuan Wang had not been corrupted by the Black Ink, nobody could say for sure. What if he had been corrupted by the Black Ink?
A long while later, Li Yuan Wang finally stopped painting. He took three steps back to study his work before he nodded repeatedly in satisfaction. Without even lifting his head, he called out, “Kid, come here. Tell me, how is this King’s painting?”
Yang Kai was startled when he heard those words, but he responded quickly, “Yes!”
Gu Pan hurriedly grabbed him by his sleeve and subtly shook her head at him, “Don’t go, Senior Brother!”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai looked at her in puzzlement.
She said nothing and simply shook her head with a troubled expression on her face.
Li Yuan Wang looked up at her and snapped unhappily, “What do you mean by that, little girl? This Master worked hard to produce this painting. What’s wrong with asking your friend to take a look? Hurry up and let go!”
Only then did Gu Pan release her grip on Yang Kai’s sleeve in a helpless manner. She also turned her head to the side, unable to bring herself to watch what would surely happen next.
Li Yuan Wang looked at Yang Kai with a smile, “This little girl has always made such a fuss over nothing. As her Master, I have failed to educate her well. Please do not take her words to heart.”
Yang Kai naturally denied those statements. Walking over to easel, which had been facing away from him the whole time, he finally saw the ‘painting’ and could only draw in a sharp breath of shock.
“How is it?” Li Yuan Wang asked earnestly from the side, “Hasn’t this King’s painting technique simply reached beyond the mundane and ascended to the highest heights?”
Yang Kai looked at the picture scroll in front of him as though it had picked up a dagger and stabbed him in the gut. The ‘masterpiece’ looked like it had a cloud of ink in the east and a drop of ink in the west, all smeared together in what could only be described as a chaotic mess. For a while, he didn’t know what to think and could only say quickly, “Senior, this painting is more. It has not just ascended to the Peak! It exceeds beyond and has reached the extraordinary! It shocks history and dazzles the present! There is a universe within this painting!”
[My conscience… it hurts! It feels like I’m going to suffocate!]
Gu Pan looked at Yang Kai with a shocked expression.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan Wang became absolutely animated, “That’s right! This King has cultivated his painting techniques for thousands of years. In this world, who would dare claim to be the best if this King claims to be second best?”
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said in a low voice, “I cannot speak about the future, but there are definitely no precedents to Senior’s painting skills!”
“En!” Li Yuan Wang nodded repeatedly while rubbing his chin and staring at his own painting. After a long time, he suddenly asked, “You mentioned that there is a universe in this painting. Tell me more!”
[Tell you what? Even the constantly wriggling Black Ink Smoke that is currently suppressed and sealed in my Small Universe looks better than this painting! No wonder Gu Pan tried to stop me from approaching earlier. She obviously knows her Master well. This painting is truly… an eyesore!]
“Go on! Why aren’t you speaking?” On the contrary, Li Yuan Wang did not seem to have any self-awareness and continued urging Yang Kai to speak.
Yang Kai’s impression of Lang Ya Paradise shattered immediately. [Even the Sect Master has such behaviour. It’s no wonder Yuan Du, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who serves as one of the Vice Sect Masters, likes listening to flattery so much! This is a prime example of the saying ‘If the foundation is crooked, the roof will be too!]
Yang Kai held his thoughts in for a long time, not knowing what to say in response. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Li Yuan Wang and blurted out, “Senior, Black Ink Eternal!”
Gu Pan’s exquisite ears twitched slightly when she heard those words. She stared at her Honoured Master, watching for any changes in his demeanour while secretly drawing upon her World Force.
Li Yuan Wang stared at Yang Kai blankly. A long time passed before he asked curiously, “What did you say?”
Yang Kai quickly waved his hand dismissively, “It’s nothing! It’s nothing!”
The words had just left his mouth when a majestic World Force swirled and surged. The splattering-like drawing on the picture scroll instantly came alive, and the scattered patterns in the painting wriggled incessantly. With a flash of light, the world itself flipped upside down!
By the time Yang Kai and Gu Pan recovered their senses, they were no longer standing in the hall, but instead in some unknown world!
The light in this world was bizarre and the scenery was distorted. Yang Kai looked around only to see that nothing in this world was normal.
Li Yuan Wang was sitting on something that resembled a throne, not far ahead. He leaned forward slightly with one hand under his chin, staring at Yang Kai calmly, but with great hostility. Around him, terrifying bursts of energy emerged one after another to form sharp swords that hummed uncontrollably. Sword Intent permeated the air with overpowering murderous intent.
[This is the world within that painting!] Yang Kai immediately understood the situation. The painting really turned out to contain a universe inside! It was not until this moment that he realised he had underestimated Lang Ya Paradise’s Sect Master. The painting was not a random scribble. It was just that he didn’t know how to appreciate it.
Gu Pan stood nearby, feeling a little shocked. It was obvious that she had also realised the peculiarity of the world within the painting. She had always thought that her Honoured Master’s painting skills were terrible. Who could have known that he had such strange methods?
“Boy, what did you say just now? Can you repeat what you said? I didn’t hear you clearly,” Li Yuan Wang stared at Yang Kai with a sharp gaze. Naturally, he heard everything clearly and was simply seeking confirmation. Pretending not to know anything earlier was so that he could mislead Yang Kai in order to drag him into the world within the painting while the other party remained unguarded.
Yang Kai turned to look at Gu Pan. At this time, it was useless for him to explain, so it was better for her to speak instead.
Gu Pan understood and blurted out a shocking statement, “Honoured Master, Elder Shi Zheng has been corrupted by the Black Ink!”
Li Yuan Wang’s hostility froze abruptly. He could distrust Yang Kai, but he was willing to believe the words of his own Disciple; thus, he asked with a grim expression, “Where did you receive this information? Can it be trusted?”
She nodded heavily, “Senior Brother Yang witnessed it himself and came here from the Star Boundary for this very reason.”
“Tell me more!” He turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai quickly repeated what he told Gu Pan earlier. Li Yuan Wang’s expression changed, becoming more and more solemn.
It was not until Yang Kai finished explaining that Li Yuan Wang finally asked, “You managed to test Zong Yu Quan with those words, so you tried to test this King too?”
Yang Kai nodded, of course, he would never say that the main reason was that the terrible painting had rendered him speechless, so he randomly blurted out that phrase.
“Words have no proof. Open your Small Universe, this King wants to check for himself,” Li Yuan Wang stood up. He subconsciously believed that Yang Kai was not lying; otherwise, Yang Kai would not have come all this way from the Star Boundary for no apparent reason. However, this matter was related to the Black Ink Clan, so it was better to err on the side of caution.
Yang Kai felt helpless. His Small Universe had been checked too frequently recently. Unfortunately, this was the simplest and most effective method to determine whether the other party had been corrupted by the Black Ink.
Yang Kai opened the portal to his Small Universe and Li Yuan Wang’s Divine Sense immediately poured in. A short while later, he looked at Yang Kai in shock, “You sure are bold. I can’t believe you dared to suppress and seal the Black Ink Smoke in your Small Universe.”
Yang Kai laughed wryly, “If not for the World Spring, this Junior would not have dared to act so rashly.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly, but just as he was about to speak, he heard Yang Kai saying, “Senior, it’s your turn now!”
His mouth fell open, “Huh?”
Yang Kai stared at Li Yuan Wang and said, “Senior, please open your Small Universe and allow this Junior to inspect it.”
Li Yuan Wang was so furious that he laughed, “You want to check my Small Universe?”
Yang Kai replied seriously, “That’s the only way to confirm that you have not been corrupted by the Black Ink, Senior!”
“If this King had been corrupted by the Black Ink, you would be dead by now!”
“That’s not true. Who knows? Maybe you’re just trying to misdirect us!” Yang Kai shook his head.
Li Yuan Wang looked at Gu Pan and pointed a finger at his head, “Is there something wrong with your friend’s head?”
Gu Pan replied, “Honoured Master, I would also like to take a look.”
Li Yuan Wang immediately looked heartbroken, “Xiao Pan’er, why are you being like this? Is it true that girls will always side with outsiders when they grow up? Your Honoured Master raised you up with such difficulty. Do you think it was easy?”
Yang Kai stepped forward and quickly interjected, “Senior, this matter is too important to simply brush aside. If you insist on refusing to allow us to check your Small Universe, then this Junior can only assume that you have been corrupted by the Black Ink and you do not dare to let others inspect you. If that is the case, please don’t blame this Junior for disrespecting you!”
Li Yuan Wang looked at Yang Kai with a smile, “What are you going to do if this King has been corrupted?”
“Those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink consider me their comrade now. If you and I begin fighting, then this matter will remain unresolved. Those corrupted by the Black Ink will surely become vigilant as a result. If you have not been corrupted by the Black Ink, then you will not want something like that to happen. Senior, please cooperate!”
Li Yuan Wang couldn’t help feeling a headache. Nevertheless, he had to admit that Yang Kai was right.
Now that Yang Kai had given Zong Yu Quan the impression that they were comrades, the latter would definitely have passed the message to the others who were corrupted. Therefore, they would alert their enemies and create needless trouble if a fight were to break out between them now.
Yang Kai could ignore these matters because he was not a member of Lang Ya Paradise; however, as Lang Ya Paradise’s Sect Master, Li Yuan Wang could not disregard such concerns. Gritting his teeth, he turned to look at the sky with a despairing expression, “Good! Go on! Look!”
While saying so, he opened the portal to his Small Universe.
Yang Kai and Gu Pan’s Divine Sense immediately poured into the portal.
Li Yuan Wang’s body shuddered as he woefully despaired, “The humiliation… To have my own Disciple inspect my Small Universe. Not to mention, there’s a man looking around inside my body! Ah! This King has been defiled!”
Yang Kai leaned close to Gu Pan and whispered in her ear, “Has your Honoured Master always been so dramatic?”
Gu Pan nodded with a complicated expression.
Yang Kai sighed, “It must have been hard for you while growing up!”
“Brat!” Li Yuan Wang roared in anger, “This King can hear you! I’m not deaf!”
“Hahahahaha!” Yang Kai withdrew his Divine Sense and nodded at Li Yuan Wang, “There are no problems, Senior.”
“Hmph!” Li Yuan Wang looked extremely upset. With a wave of his hand, the distorted scenery in their surroundings vanished, and the three of them returned to the room from before. He then looked at Gu Pan and warned her earnestly with a serious expression, “In the future, you should not interact so much with friends like this one. It is best if you cut off your friendship and never communicate with each other again, so as not to be led down the wrong path!”
Yang Kai’s expression darkened, “Senior, I’m not deaf either!”
Li Yuan Wang snorted, “So? Do you want to hit me? Go on then, come and hit me!”
“Honoured Master!” Gu Pan glared at Li Yuan Wang sternly, “Please show some propriety!”
Li Yuan Wang coughed lightly and clasped his hands behind his back with the air of a senior expert. He then spoke in a low voice, “At present, we know that Shi Zheng and Zong Yu Quan have been corrupted by the Black Ink. Shi Zheng is dead, and Zong Yu Quan is overseeing the Star City’s Void Dock. I don’t know how many more of their accomplices are in the Sect… This will be troublesome.”
Yang Kai nodded and said, “There is only one thing that we can be sure of right now, the people who have been corrupted by the Black Ink are unable to sense each other.”
Li Yuan Wang glanced at Yang Kai and nodded in agreement after a moment.
If they could sense each other, then Zong Yu Quan would definitely have sensed that something was wrong with Yang Kai’s identity. In that case, he would not have responded to the probe either. Needless to say, they did not rule out the possibility that he was simply playing along to lull them into a false sense of security, but his reaction had been very natural under those circumstances. He did not look like he was carrying out any nefarious plans.
In this way, it seemed Yang Kai would be able to hide himself and infiltrate the enemy ranks successfully.
Gu Pan looked at Yang Kai and asked, “Senior Brother, do you have a plan?”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment, “The top priority is to invite the rest of the Seniors over. They snuck into Lang Ya Territory with me, but exposing their presence would make things inconvenient, so they remained hidden. If they join us, it will be easier for us to deal with those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded, “I will handle this matter. Give me their location.”
Yang Kai immediately took out a jade slip. With a surge of his Divine Sense, he engraved the location of where Yu Xiang Die and the others were hiding in the jade slip. After that, he handed the jade slip to Li Yuan Wang. With the help of Lang Yan Paradise’s Sect Master, it would be easy for Yu Xiang Die and the others to quietly enter the core of Lang Ya Territory.
“Then, the only thing left to do is to identify those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink.” Yang Kai looked at Li Yuan Wang, “Senior, the Cave Heaven Paradises have some understanding of the Black Ink Clan, so do they not have a method to distinguish between friend and enemy?”
Li Yuan Wang nodded, “There is one!”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “What is it?”
Li Yuan Wang pondered for a short while before he spoke, “The power of the Black Ink Clan is treacherous, but also extremely hidden, so it is very difficult to detect. That is why our Ancestors developed a Spirit Array especially to identify those corrupted by the Black Ink Clan. It is called the Revealing Black Ink Array! All the Cave Heaven Paradises have this inheritance. As long as somebody who was corrupted by the Black Ink stands on the array, their identity will be revealed. That is how we can easily determine who has been infected. But, if we actually do that, we will also need to narrow down our inspection targets. You can’t expect me to summon all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise and ask them to stand on top of the array for inspection.”
Yang Kai nodded. If they did that, it would be no different from inspecting the Small Universes of others. They would definitely alert their enemy to their movements. At the time, the identities of those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink would be exposed and a huge battle would break out among the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. The situation would surely go out of control.
“That is why you will still need to infiltrate the enemy and identify who has been corrupted by the Black Ink!” Li Yuan Wang looked at Yang Kai, “In a sense, Lang Ya Paradise is pretty lucky. You immediately figured out Zong Yu Quan’s identity as soon as you arrived, so perhaps you can go from there!”
Yang Kai nodded “That’s what I think too. Hmmm. I will need you to provide me with a list of names, Senior.”
“What list of names?”
“A list of the names of all the people who were on good terms and had close relationships with Shi Zheng and Zong Yu Quan, including both the Sixth-Order and the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters,” Yang Kai said pensively, “I think we don’t need to inspect the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even if the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are corrupted by the Black Ink, their value isn’t high. I don’t think they will be targeted.”
“Good!” Li Yuan Wang agreed readily, “I’ll prepare a list of names and have it delivered to you soon. Just stay with Xiao Pan’er for now and act as the situation requires!”
“Senior may rest assured, I will handle this matter diligently.”
“I’ll leave everything to you!” He suddenly cupped his fist at Yang Kai with a solemn expression.
Yang Kai responded, “You are too polite, Senior. I might not be part of a Cave Heaven or Paradise, but I understand the dangers of the Black Ink Clan. I may be helping Lang Ya Paradise, but it is also for my own sake.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded. All of a sudden, he turned around and warned Gu Pan, “Xiao Pan’er, take care of yourself. Don’t let any smelly man take advantage of you. If anybody dares to bully you, tell me immediately. I will beat him up on your behalf!”
While saying so, he glared at Yang Kai threateningly.
Gu Pan stomped her feet, “Honoured Master, just stop talking!”
[Having a Master like him is way too embarrassing!]
Yang Kai and Gu Pan returned to her private Spirit Province. An hour later, another person flew over. He was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and Gu Pan’s Senior Brother with a brave and heroic figure. Moreover, he had an extraordinary bearing on him.
Gu Pan introduced them to each other, and Yang Kai learned that the other party was called Dong Peng.
“Junior Brother Yang, I’ll leave this to you!” Dong Peng handed a jade slip to Yang Kai and lowered his voice, “Honoured Master asks that you be careful, Junior Brother.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Many thanks for your concern, Senior Brother. I will act prudently.”
Dong Peng nodded and patted Gu Pan’s small head before he soared into the sky again.
Yang Kai poured his Divine Sense into the jade slip, but after studying the contents, he couldn’t help scowling deeply.
Gu Pan asked in concern, “What is it?”
“There’s quite a lot of names. Take a look for yourself,” He handed the jade slip to her.
The names inside the jade slip were divided into two separate lists. One listed the people who had a close relationship and frequent contact with Shi Zheng while the other was related to Zong Yu Quan. There were nearly 100 names in total. In addition, all of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above. Even those in the Seventh Order numbered as many as eight.
It could be seen from these lists alone just how deep the heritage of the Cave Heavens and Paradises was. The two lists covered only a portion of the Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, so just how many Masters were there in Lang Ya Paradise?
Written next to each name was not just the information on their respective cultivation, but also the positions that they held in Lang Ya Paradise. Among them, there were more than a dozen who were currently not in Lang Ya Paradise. They were probably out on missions, so there was no need to consider these people for the time being. Even so, there were over 80 people left! Yang Kai alone couldn’t check out all 80 of these people one at a time. Doing so would be stupid.
The phrase ‘Black Ink Eternal’ was a convenient method to sound out those who had been corrupted by the Black Ink. As long as the other party was corrupted by the Black Ink, they would surely respond to those words; however, if he simply went up to somebody and said these words, wouldn’t it be awkward if the other party was not corrupted by the Black Ink?
Therefore, this investigation method could not be used too frequently.
On top of that, according to Li Yuan Wang, all the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Cave Heavens and Paradises knew about the Black Ink Clan. They would definitely react in some manner if Yang Kai were to speak those words to them, regardless of whether they were corrupted by the Black Ink or not. Just like how Li Yuan Wang had taken him by surprise and detained him inside the world of the painting!
If Yang Kai wanted to discover the identities of those who had been corrupted by the Black Ink, then he would need to come up with a different method!
Zong Yu Quan was indeed a breakthrough point. Nevertheless, Yang Kai felt that he should not be in such a hurry to contact Zong Yu Quan. It would be inappropriate if he seemed too eager.
Besides, from Zong Yu Quan’s point of view, he had already recognised Yang Kai as his companion, so he was bound to contact Yang Kai even if the latter did not contact him first. Yang Kai would be able to obtain more information from him at that time.
After making up his mind, Yang Kai settled down in Gu Pan’s Spirit Province. There was nothing to do over the next few days, so he went around with Gu Pan and enjoyed the wonderful scenery in Lang Ya Paradise. There were countless Spirit Provinces, each one with its own unique features.
Such a scene, where a man and a woman were inseparable from each other, created many rumours. Many people secretly speculated that Core Disciple Gu Pan had some sort of relationship with Yang Kai.
In the beginning, they did not know Yang Kai’s identity; very few people knew about his arrival here after all. It was just that Gu Pan’s status was special, so he received quite a lot of attention for always being by her side.
After making several inquiries, the general public learned that he was actually Void Land’s Lord. In other words, he was the one who won first place during Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s Dao Theory Assembly, embarrassing many Cave Heavens and Paradises in the process.
That was too much! Although Gu Pan held a high status in Lang Ya Paradise, due to her short cultivation time as well as her petite figure, she was considered a Little Sister who never grew up in the eyes of her many Senior Brothers and Sisters; therefore, her many Senior Brothers and Sisters took great care of and doted on her.
It would not have been an issue if Yang Kai and Gu Pan were in love with each other; however, the key point was that Yang Kai was a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Son-in-Law! He was bound to marry into Yin-Yang Cave Heaven one day. [Why is he not standing guard for that seductress, Qu Hua Shang, and waiting for her to come out of retreat to complete their marriage ceremony!? Why did he come to Lang Ya Paradise to flirt with Little Junior Sister!?]
What’s more, Gu Pan seemed to be very interested in Yang Kai. She spent all day alone with him, bringing him to this Spirit Province to check out the scenery or that Spirit Province to watch the sunrise and sunset.
For that reason, many Senior Brothers were on the verge of despair. They felt as though the delicate flower that they nurtured and raised with extreme care was about to be devoured by a pig.
By some strange circumstances, while there were no clues regarding those who were corrupted by the Black Ink, the undercurrents began moving beneath the surface of Lang Ya Paradise.
On a certain day, Yang Kai was again following Gu Pan to one of the various Spirit Provinces. He had heard that there was a shopping district for the Inner Disciples of Lang Ya Paradise where many good things could be found.
More importantly, the person overseeing this shopping district was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master whose name was on the list given to Yang Kai by Li Yuan Wang.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a little distressed. He had been waiting around for more than ten days now, but aside from confirming that Zong Yu Quan was one of those who were corrupted by the Black Ink, he did not have any other clues. The main reason for going to the shopping district was to see if there was anything wrong with the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master overseeing the area.
However, halfway through their journey, a stream of light sped towards them from an off-angle and blocked their path. This newcomer gave off the aura of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and had a tough and sturdy build. As soon as he appeared, he rudely looked Yang Kai up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Senior Brother Zhong Fan!” Gu Pan glanced at the person who came and gave a bow before she asked, “Can I help you, Senior Brother?”
Zhong Fan was born with a fierce face, so he did not look like a good person from his appearance alone. Be that as it may, he squeezed out a smile at Gu Pan that could make a child cry in his best attempt to appear gentle, “It’s nothing. I heard that you had a guest, Junior Sister, so I came over to have a look.” When he turned to look at Yang Kai, his attitude was no longer courteous. He growled, “Are you Yang Kai?”
“Yang Kai greets Senior Brother Zhong!” Yang Kai bowed, feeling a bit curious. [Why is this guy called Zhong Fan blocking our way? Not to mention, his attitude… does not seem friendly!]
Yang Kai quietly compared the name against the name list and discovered that Zhong Fan’s name was not on it.
Zhong Fan waved his hand and roared angrily, “Who are you calling Senior Brother? Stop trying to get close to me! Boy, eat my hammer!”
Yang Kai was totally confused! [What? Why is he taking out his hammer!?]
He looked up only to see two large sledgehammers appearing in Zhong Fan’s hands all of a sudden. These two sledgehammers resembled ordinary iron tools but under the surging of Zhong Fan’s World Force, the sledgehammers abruptly swelled and became as big as mountains.
Zhong Fan raised one of the sledgehammers high into the air and slammed it down towards Yang Kai in a ruthless move. A furious roar came from his throat, “This King hates unfaithful men the most! If you want to play with Junior Sister Gu’s feelings, then you will have to get through me first!!”
The blow was so heavy that even if there was a mountain in front of them, it would surely shatter into pieces.
Gu Pan’s beautiful face turned pale as she shouted, “Senior Brother Zhong, stop!”
Before the words could leave her mouth though, a gentle force pushed out at her. Yang Kai had stretched out a hand to send her out of harm’s way. Meanwhile, he dodged to the side.
Zhong Fan’s attack subsequently struck nothing. When he turned around to look, he saw that Yang Kai had already appeared at another spot without him noticing.
Yang Kai stared at Zhong Fan helplessly, “Senior Brother Zhong, is there some sort of misunderstanding between us?”
Zhong Fan shook his head and raised his sledgehammer to attack Yang Kai again, “Misunderstanding or not, we’ll talk after I teach you to show proper manners!”
Yang Kai dodged again. The techniques that Zhong Fan cultivated were simple and straightforward. His personality was probably similar in that aspect. The two sledgehammers that were as large as mountains contained great power, but he held them effortlessly in his hands. Even though the power behind his attacks was great, that only mattered if he could hit his target.
If it were ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they might not come out unscathed in the face of Zhou Fan’s vicious barrage, but if Yang Kai, who was a Master of the Dao of Space, could not dodge these attacks, then he would have cultivated all his years in vain.
After missing repeatedly, Zhong Fan was livid, “Brat, you’re as cowardly as a mouse! How could a person like you even think to deceive Little Junior Sister Gu!? Junior Sister, you better open your eyes wide! You should never go after a man with so little courage!”
Gu Pan’s face flushed beet red as she stomped her foot and shouted, “What are you saying, Senior Brother Zhong!?”
“You’re blushing? You ARE blushing!” Zhong Fan’s rage burned even greater at the sight of the red hue on Gu Pan’s cheeks. His aura as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master rose steadily, erupting out of him like a volcano as a roar came out of his mouth, “Ahhhh! I’ll fight you to the death, you bastard!”
“Senior Brother Zhong, the relationship between Junior Sister Gu and I is not what you think!” Yang Kai tried to explain. He had to investigate the Black Ink Clan at the moment, so how could he be in the mood to fight with others? Much less a fight as meaningless as this one.
Not to mention, this place was Lang Ya Paradise. So, what if he won against Zhong Fan? Things would end badly for him if he made an enemy out of all the Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
Zhong Fan was even more enraged, “How dare you eat then refuse to pay!? I’m going to crush you to death with my hammer, you brat!”
The blush on Gu Pan’s face had already spread to her neck, “Senior Brother Zhong, please stop talking!”
His voice was so loud that half of Lang Ya Paradise would have heard him by now. If rumours spread about this, she would never be able to prove her innocence!
Yang Kai sighed. [This isn’t getting anywhere. This guy is so obstinate. How did he manage to cultivate until the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!?]
Seeing as he could not get through the other party with words, Yang Kai decided not to explain with words. One of the sledgehammers was smashing down on him again, so he dodged and came to Gu Pan’s side. Reaching out to grab her by the waist, he manipulated Space Principles and instantly vanished out of sight.
“Where’d he go!?” Zhong Fan looked around wildly, but there were no signs of Yang Kai anywhere. After searching for some time, he confirmed that Yang Kai had escaped and roared at the sky, “You heartless thief! Come quickly and fight me to the death!”
In a remote Spirit Province, the figures of Yang Kai and Gu Pan reappeared.
Gu Pan looked at Yang Kai apologetically, “I apologise, Senior Brother Yang. Senior Brother Zhong has always been like this. I’m afraid he misunderstood after listening to some strange rumour. He does not have any malicious intentions.”
Yang Kai smiled, “I know. If not for that, I would not have held back just now.”
“Eh?” Gu Pan suddenly turned to the side, “Why are you here, Senior Brother Lin?”
Not far away, under a towering tree, a young man dressed in snow-white robes stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His back was facing them, and his head was slightly raised towards the sky. His posture was suave, but an air of melancholy lingered around him.
They heard him sigh softly, “The trees may prefer the quiet, but the wind refuses to stop!”
Yang Kai and Gu Pan exchanged glances with each other in confusion.
Senior Brother Lin continued, “I had no plans to participate, but since we encountered each other, it would be inappropriate to feign ignorance. In that case… Draw your sword, young man!”
After saying that, he stretched out his arm and a branch fell into his hand. In an instant, Sword Intent soared into the sky and the leaves of the towering ancient tree rustled noisily!
Countless fallen leaves rained down from above, and every leaf transformed into a sharp sword that swirled around the young man. There were at least tens of thousands of them.
Then, the young man raised the branch in his hand and pointed at Yang Kai with a burning fighting spirit!
Yang Kai’s expression naturally darkened.
Zhong Fan, whom he met earlier, had attacked him with a sledgehammer almost on sight, and now, this Senior Brother Lin whom he just met was asking him to draw his sword without any reason…
[Is there something wrong in the head with these Lang Ya Paradise disciples?] Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking of Li Yuan Wang’s eccentric personality and sighed in amazement. [If the foundation is crooked, the roof will be too.]
Senior Brother Lin’s Sword Intent burst into flames as he stared at Yang Kai with sharp eyes, “Sword Masters are killers. This Senior Brother’s murderous intent is too strong. That is why I don’t wish to attack you, much less bully the small and weak. For Little Junior Sister’s sake, I will give you a chance to answer my question. If your answer can satisfy me, then I may be willing to show mercy to you.”
Yang Kai asked helplessly, “What do you want to ask, Senior Brother?”
Senior Brother Lin glanced at Yang Kai before glancing at Gu Pan. Then, he questioned, “Can you be faithful to Junior Sister? I advise you to answer with a ‘yes’. If you answer with a ‘no’, then you will suffer some physical pain.”
Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Senior Brother Lin, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood. Junior Sister Gu and I are not…”
Senior Brother Lin gave a long sigh, “Sure enough, you are a heartless thief who eats then refuses to pay! Pay with your life!”
The branch in his hand trembled slightly and thousands of fallen leaves transformed into Sword Dragons. His figure followed his sword, thrusting towards Yang Kai. Everywhere he passed, space was sliced open in his wake.
Yang Kai felt his teeth hurting. Immediately manipulating Space Principles, he grabbed Gu Pan and left with a flash.
“Where is he?” Senior Brother Lin’s attack struck nothing but air, and when he looked around, he couldn’t find Yang Kai anywhere. Thus, he frowned and pondered silently for some time before he let out a long sigh, “Who can be my opponent in this world? Life is as lonely as snow!”
After that, he went back to stand under the towering tree with his hands clasped behind his back and his head raised slightly to look up at the sky.
A fiery-red figure sped over from a distance and landed beside Senior Brother Lin a moment later. This person was a woman with a curvaceous figure and a stunning appearance. It was just that she was enveloped in a malevolent aura right now, and her entire body gave off the feeling that she could not be approached. It was a feeling that made others shudder in fright.
She landed nearby and looked around, her beautiful brow furrowing tightly. Turning to look at the only other person present, she shouted, “Lin Xuan!”
Lin Xuan turned around, but his eyes remained slightly raised towards the sky. He looked down his nose at the woman, “Oh, it’s you, Senior Sister Zhou. Can I help you?”
Senior Sister Zhou quickly said, “I heard that some bastard abandoned Little Junior Sister Gu after thoughtlessly sleeping with her. Who is it?”
Lin Xuan replied, “I think it was a guy called Yang Kai. He was here just a moment ago, but he ran away after getting beaten by me. He couldn’t even take a single blow.”
Senior Sister Zhou roared in fury, “Somebody actually did that to Junior Sister Gu!? Damn it! Where did he go!?”
Lin Xuan casually pointed in a certain direction, “I think he went that way!”
She nodded and soared into the sky, clearly intending to give pursuit; however, she soon turned around and came back. Standing in front of Lin Xuan, she studied him with a suspicious gaze.
He was confused, “Do you need something else, Senior Sister Zhou?”
“Why won’t you look at me directly? Are you looking down on me?” she asked coldly.
His head remained slightly raised, looking up at the sky, as he explained, “Of course not. It’s just that I made some mistakes while cultivating, so my meridians are blocked and I cannot lower my head.”
“So, that’s how it is!” She immediately understood. After staring at him for a short while, she suddenly reached out her hands. She placed one hand on his head and the other hand gripped his lower jaw.
Lin Xuan did not understand and thus asked, “Senior Sister Zhou, what… Gah!”
A strong force came out. Following a loud crack, his head turned half a circle. His head which was originally lifted slightly to the left was now lifted slightly to the right.
Senior Sister Zhou took three steps back and stared at him for a short while before she nodded in satisfaction, “This is much better! I’m going to teach that heartless thief a lesson!”
After declaring so, she took to the sky.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan remained standing there. His appearance was dishevelled, and he was in so much pain that tears threatened to leak out of his eyes.
“There’s something wrong!” As Yang Kai and Gu Pan rushed through the void, numerous auras seemed to appear and disappear in their surroundings, giving Yang Kai the illusion that he was caught in enemy territory and powerful foes were lying in ambush all around him.
Gu Pan looked apologetic as she whispered, “Senior Brother Yang, I apologise. My Senior Brothers seem to have misunderstood something. It’ll be fine once I explain the situation to them later.”
Yang Kai just shook his head lightly, “There’s nothing for you to apologize for. I know I am innocent. Besides, those two Senior Brothers of yours are merely concerned about you. It’s not a problem. Huh?”
While speaking, he suddenly came to a halt. Two figures were coming towards them. It was a man and a woman, travelling side by side. The man was handsome and arrogant while the woman was beautiful and refined. Both of their movements were perfectly in sync, almost as if they came from the same mould. Even their breathing was the same.
What surprised Yang Kai even more was that these two seemed rather similar in appearance. They were most likely a pair of twins.
Those two approached Yang Kai and Gu Pan with a smile, showing no intention of stopping at all. It didn’t take long for them to arrive in front of Yang Kai, but before he could speak, the two newcomers abruptly began weaving around each other in a circular manner at lightning speed. They soon became a blur of figures that surrounded Yang Kai and Gu Pan.
Gu Pan exclaimed in astonishment, “Senior Brother Ri Hua, Senior Sister Yue Hua, what are you doing!?”
The pair did not answer, but giggling sounds soon entered Yang Kai and Gu Pan’s ears from their surroundings. The laughter that filled their ears sounded both enchanting and demonic and had the effect of disrupting their consciousness.
For a time, Yang Kai felt dizzy and groggy. Using all his strength to shake his head, he managed to suppress and dispel the effects of the noise, but when he looked up again, he saw that the pair of twins had already disappeared into the distance at a high speed. Their voices came from afar, “Hehe… Haha…”
The corners of Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he muttered, “What is with those two?”
There was no answer though. Surprised, he took a careful look around, but Gu Pan was nowhere to be seen. She had clearly been kidnapped by the man and woman pair at some point!
Watching the man and woman taking Gu Pan away, Yang Kai stood on the spot and rubbed his chin in contemplation. [Something strange is clearly going on. Are they worried that they might accidentally injure Gu Pan in a fight? Is that why they tried to take her away? Now that she is gone, will there be a mad torrent of attacks raining down on me soon?]
Yang Kai felt a terrible headache. His main purpose in coming to Lang Ya Paradise was to investigate the Black Ink Clan, so he was supposed to maintain a low profile. Why would he want to have any conflict with the Lang Ya Paradise disciples? It was just that the current situation was very troublesome indeed.
Not daring to remain in one place for too long, Yang Kai turned and sped in a certain direction. This matter had to be resolved with Li Yuan Wang’s help.
Unfortunately, before he could get far, the sturdy figure of a man appeared in front of him.
That man stood there quietly with a long sword in his hands, surrounded by an extraordinary bearing and majestic aura. More importantly, he seemed to be waiting for Yang Kai. When he sensed Yang Kai’s arrival, he opened his eyes and a flash of light seemed to cross their depths. He grinned at Yang Kai and declared, “I’m lucky indeed!”
Yang Kai frowned slightly and cupped his fist, “Void Land Yang Kai greets this Senior Brother! How should I address you, Senior Brother?”
The man answered dismissively, “Wang Gao Yang!”
“So it is Senior Brother Wang Gao Yang!” Yang Kai nodded and asked curiously, “Senior Brother Wang, how did you know I would be coming here? Why are you waiting for me here on purpose?”
Wang Gao Yang shook his head, “I didn’t, but if you ran in another direction, you would find Senior Brother Liu, Senior Brother Zhang, and Senior Brother Zhao waiting for you. That’s why I said that my luck is good indeed!”
“So, that’s how it is!” Yang Kai immediately understood. He had been surrounded on all sides like a dumpling. There were people stationed in all directions, so he was bound to encounter one of them no matter where he ran. He then frowned and said, “Senior Brother Wang, I’m afraid that there’s a misunderstanding. There is nothing going on between Junior Sister Gu and I!”
“I know!” Wang Gao Yang nodded lightly.
Yang Kai was overjoyed, “So you knew, Senior Brother Wang!”
[I finally met a normal person!] Yang Kai was filled with a sense of gratitude. [All the Lang Ya Paradise disciples are completely influenced by Li Yuan Wang. None of them can communicate properly. I’m so glad this Wang Gao Yang seems to be quite reasonable.]
“Since you know the truth, Senior Brother Wang, then…”
“It doesn’t matter whether or not it is a misunderstanding,” Wang Gao Yang interjected before Yang Kai could finish speaking. Raising his sword, he pointed at Yang Kai and said, “I heard that you’re strong! Zhao Xing of Thousand Birds Paradise died at your hands.”
Yang Kai replied grimly, “That was also a misunderstanding!”
The main reason for that incident was that Yang Kai had used too much strength and killed Zhao Xing by accident.
Wang Gao Yang grinned, “I like guys who can fight! Enough nonsense! Fight me!”
After saying that, he swung his sword downward. World Force surged, and a Sword Light sliced through the void towards Yang Kai like a whip.
Yang Kai pursed his lips with a speechless expression. He originally thought that he had encountered a normal person who could be reasoned with, but in the end, this person was still looking for a fight.
Space Principles fluctuated, but Yang Kai quickly noticed that something was wrong. Thus, he swiftly moved to dodge the Sword Light.
Wang Gao Yang moved forward with his sword, and with every step he took, he slashed out wildly. His fighting spirit burned brightly, and he roared with laughter, “How can we be unprepared when we know you are proficient in the Dao of Space? We only allowed you to escape earlier to get you to lower your guard. This whole region has been sealed with a Grand Array. Let’s see where you can run now!”
[Are all Lang Ya Paradise disciples insane!? Just to force me into taking action, they even went so far as to seal this space with a Grand Array?!]
While avoiding Wang Gao Yang’s attacks, Yang Kai earnestly tried to persuade the other party, “Senior Brother Wang, weapons have no eyes. You and I have no bad blood between us. Why must we fight such a meaningless battle?”
Wang Gao Yang turned a deaf ear. However, the Sword Light became more and more violent. In the end, his attacks turned into a raging storm that rained down on Yang Kai as he finally said, “The likes of Zhao Xing would not have survived more than ten attacks at the hands of this Wang. More than 2,000 years have passed since this Wang advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm and I am only one step away from the Seventh-Order. The strength of my heritage is incomparable to that of Zhao Xing. Junior Brother Yang, if you dare to look down on me, then you will be the only one who suffers instead.”
Yang Kai’s brow twitched at those words. This was his first time meeting a person who praised themselves during a battle. Be that as it may, what Wang Gao Yang said was true; it was impossible for Zhao Xing to be his opponent. Zhao Xing had only advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm one or two hundred years ago, so he could only be considered a newly-advanced Sixth-Order Master. On the other hand, Wang Gao Yang was a veteran Sixth-Order Master. He was not inferior to Mao Zhe and the others. In fact, he might even be superior to them.
Yang Kai sighed, “Senior Brother Wang, let’s stop here. I don’t wish to hurt you!”
The movement of Wang Gao Yang’s hands froze. Immediately after that, he roared with fury, “How dare you humiliate me!? I only planned to punish you lightly on account of your relationship with Junior Sister Gu, but since you have the gall to say that, I’ll deal with you properly!”
While speaking, Wang Gao Yang charged towards Yang Kai as the World Force of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master fluctuated violently.
Yang Kai let out a long sigh. Judging by the current circumstances, it was impossible to avoid this fight. The Lang Ya Paradise disciples even went so far as to use a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array. If he continued to avoid the situation, he would only become more and more passive. Compared to that outcome, he might as well go wild and reveal his true strength. That might make them back down instead.
He took a deep breath and reached his hand out. The Azure Dragon Spear appeared in the palm of his hand, and he quickly said, “Senior Brother Wang, if you insist on fighting, then please excuse my discourtesy!”
When the words left his mouth, the spear stabbed forward.
Wang Gao Yang’s eyes lit up, “Good!”
Sword Light surged and covered the entire sky; however, the excitement in Wang Gao Yang’s eyes quickly turned solemn before it was replaced by shock. That was because the Sword Light that filled the sky abruptly disappeared into nothing when it stabbed towards his opponent.
On the other hand, an extremely majestic World Force came from the front. This force caused him to feel an involuntary sense of suffocation.
*Hong hong hong…*
Following the sound of explosions, a violent force erupted and a brilliant light spread out. Wang Gao Yang’s figure was steadily pushed back.
[I’m not his opponent at all!] There was an incredulous expression on Wang Gao Yang’s face. He was at the peak of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In other words, he was only one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
It was not as though there were no other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were stronger than him in Lang Ya Paradise, but there were definitely not many of them. He originally believed that he could defeat Yang Kai easily. Who could have expected this outcome instead?
[Is this really the strength that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master can exert!?]
Every single collision shook his Small Universe to the core; moreover, the next wave of attacks slammed into him before he even had the time to catch his breath.
When Yang Kai first advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm outside the Shadowless Cave Heaven, even an existence like Mao Zhe was no match for him. Since then, how much stronger had he become compared to the past?
It was true that Wang Gao Yang was strong. Unfortunately, his strength could only be said to be on par with Mao Zhe, so how could he be Yang Kai’s opponent?
Beneath the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai could be said to be invincible. He even stood a fighting chance against a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master if he transformed into his Grand Dragon Form. Otherwise, he could not have lasted for so long during his battle with Shi Zheng.
Thanks to the protection of the World Spring in his Small Universe, there was no need for him to worry about it being shaken by the impacts from opponents in the same Order.
In contrast, Wang Gao Yang soon began to falter under the brutal collision of powers. His Small Universe became unstable, and the flow of his World Force became obstructed. Consequently, the power that he could exert was affected too.
Therefore, he looked extremely vexed. He had never encountered an opponent like Yang Kai before.
Under the never-ending attacks, he retreated steadily and hurriedly shouted, “Wait…”
“Get down!” Yang Kai ignored Wang Gao Yang and the Azure Dragon Spear slammed down wildly with the force of a falling mountain.
Wang Gao Yang raised his sword in defence. There was a loud explosion, then his entire figure plummeted like a falling meteor as he crashed downward.
As Wang Gao Yang was blown away, he didn’t forget to shout at the top of his lungs, “Yang Kai! How dare you abandon Junior Sister Gu after thoughtlessly sleeping with her!? I will never forgive you even if I die!”
The thunderous voice resounded across the void as Yang Kai’s expression instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
[This guy… Even after losing the battle, he does not forget to disgust me one last time!] He felt a slight twinge of regret. [I held back too much. I should have beat him up so badly that he can never speak another word again.]
“Bastard, I’ve finally found you!” A coquettish shout rang out at that moment, accompanied by a fiery-red figure who charged straight at Yang Kai. Without giving Yang Kai any time to react, a pair of tender fists smashed down on his head with an incomparably violent force.
This person was none other than Senior Sister Zhou, who met up with Lin Xuan earlier!
Rushing over from Lin Xuan’s place, she arrived just in time to see Yang Kai defeating Wang Gao Yang. She initially wanted to question Yang Kai thoroughly about the situation; after all, it would have been a happy and beautiful matter if Yang Kai and Gu Pan were in love with each other.
However, thanks to Wang Gao Yang’s remark, she immediately believed that Yang Kai had done something indecent, so how could she be in the mood for careful questioning? They could talk after she beat him up first!
Hence, a vicious wave of Fist Qi swept towards Yang Kai. He immediately held his spear horizontally across his chest in defence.
Following two consecutive explosions, he was sent flying backwards. An indescribably terrifying force ran rampant inside his body, causing the vitality in his chest to churn fiercely.
Meanwhile, Senior Sister Zhou was unforgiving. She stuck so close to him that it was almost as though she was his shadow. Her fists transformed into fist shadows that covered the entire sky, bombarding him indiscriminately with a series of attacks.
For a time, he was beaten so badly that he could barely react out of shock!
This woman who came out of nowhere was much stronger than Wang Gao Yang. Furthermore, her fighting style was simple but brutal. Her punches were not only fast, but each one was also packed with an intense Intent and the World Force of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Any ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be defeated quickly against this kind of opponent.
Having lost the initiative, Yang Kai could only defend desperately. Hundreds of punches struck his body in the short span of a few breaths, and he suffered so much pain that he grimaced.
Fortunately, her attacks did not seem to carry any killing intent. It would seem that she came with the intention of punishing him.
A short while later, Senior Sister Zhou stopped attacking and stood there looking at Yang Kai as she said coldly, “Follow me to go and meet Junior Sister Gu. You will obediently apologise to her and reflect on your mistakes, then you will write a letter to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to cancel your marriage with Qu Hua Shang. If you do that, then this incident will end here!”
Yang Kai shook his head hard, causing a series of cracking sounds to come from his entire body. Looking up at her, he grinned widely, “You are the first woman to ever punch me like this!”
The corners of her mouth lifted, “If you refuse to comply, then I’ll punch you even harder!”
“In that case, I’ll be looking forward to your performance!” A sense of aggression surged in Yang Kai’s heart.
Senior Sister Zhou’s expression became colder upon hearing those words as she asked, “Is Qu Hua Shang that great? You would rather take a beating than dissolve your marriage to her?”
Yang Kai shook his head in response and declared, “There is nothing going on between Junior Sister Gu and I. You are the ones who have misunderstood something!”
She gritted her teeth, “It might have been a misunderstanding if only one person had this misconception, but are you saying that so many people have misunderstood you? You really are a heartless thief after all!! Little Junior Sister is too naïve! Why did she fall for somebody like you!? Good! I’m going to beat you half to death! Let’s see if you will reflect on your mistakes when you’re lying bloody on the ground!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she charged towards him once more. Contrary to her expectations though, Yang Kai did not avoid her charge. He even put away the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands and raised his fists to meet her attacks.
In an instant, the two became locked in a brutal melee, their respective World Forces exploding out wantonly.
…..
“They’ve begun fighting!” In front of a Grand Hall, Li Yuan Wang stood with his hands behind his back as he looked out into the distance. His gaze seemed capable of breaking the barriers of space to clearly see what was happening far away. Next to him stood Gao Ting, one of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
Gao Ting was also looking in the direction of the battlefield, and upon hearing those words, she turned to look at Li Yuan Wang and asked, “Is this really okay? Yang Kai killed a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm in the past. The children in the Sect won’t be his opponents.”
Li Yuan Wang chuckled, “Of course they’re not his opponents!”
Gao Ting frowned, “Be careful, or you might break their confidence!”
“I want to break their confidence a little, lest they mistakenly believe that they are amazing just because they come from one of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. The 3,000 Worlds has been at peace for so long that the disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises are lacking in real training. They all believe that they stand above the others, refusing to look at those who did not come from a Cave Heaven or a Paradise. If turmoil breaks out one day, they are bound to suffer badly at this rate.”
Gao Ting’s scowl grew deeper, “Is the situation that serious?”
Li Yuan Wang shook his head, “It’s hard to say. Everything is murky right now, but it’s always better to prepare just in case.”
Gao Ting fell silent for some time and did not say anything else. She had initially wanted to stop this whole farce, but there was no reason to stop them if Li Yuan Wang, who was the Sect Master himself, planned to use Yang Kai for training purposes. Besides, facing some setbacks while growing up might not be a bad thing.
“How did the Ancestor respond?” Li Yuan Wang suddenly asked via Divine Sense.
Gao Ting replied, “The Ancestor said that you should go ahead with your plans. He will bear the responsibility!”
Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly, but his gaze was filled with pain, “Who knows how many people will die in Lang Ya Paradise? I hope not too many must be killed.”
…..
In the void, the battle was in full swing! All of a sudden, the two intertwined figures broke apart.
An unusual flush spread across Senior Sister Zhou’s face. She gritted her teeth and glared at Yang Kai, “I’m a woman! How dare you hit me!? I’ll kill you!”
Then, she lunged at Yang Kai with even greater ferocity; however, it didn’t take more than a few breaths for her to be sent flying through the void.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood alone with the air of a person who could hold himself against thousands of men with his strength alone and coldly snorted, “Next!”
A figure flew over and grabbed Senior Sister Zhou by the waist. He looked at her with a warm gaze and asked, “Are you okay?”
She turned away, refusing to let this person see the black eye she was sporting. In fact, she seemed rather bashful as she muttered, “I can’t beat him. This bastard might have a lousy character, but he is indeed very strong.”
The person who came exclaimed, “I’m going to take care of him!
“Be careful, Senior Brother Zhao!” She reminded him.
Senior Brother Zhao nodded and released his grip around her. With every step he took, the World Force aura around him became thicker as his momentum rose higher and higher.
Yang Kai turned to look at this person with a solemn expression.
Senior Brother Zhao stood ten paces in front of Yang Kai. His majestic World Force surging madly, pressing down on Yang Kai as though trying to put pressure on him.
Yang Kai remained motionless, simply standing there quietly as he stared at Senior Brother Zhao in return.
A short while later, Senior Brother Zhao frowned, “Why did you hit a woman?”
He initially wanted to use his rich World Force to intimidate Yang Kai, but who could have known that the other party would be so resilient in the face of his strength? It was only then that he realised his opponent was not an easy target. It made sense when he thought about it. If Yang Kai was such an easy target, Junior Sister Zhou would not have been defeated.
“Sorry…” Yang Kai suddenly muttered with resignation in his voice.
Senior Brother Zhao nodded in satisfaction, “It’s good that you can reflect on your mistakes! But, you shouldn’t be saying these words to me. You should say them to Junior Sister Zhou and Junior Sister Gu instead.”
Yang Kai said, “I’m saying it to you.”
Senior Brother Zhao was surprised, “Why?”
Yang Kai suddenly stretched out a hand. Mid-motion, his hand turned into a fist and he punched it out lightly as he shouted, “Cow Punch!”
Senior Brother Zhao instantly widened his eyes, reacting as though he had been struck by lightning. Opening his mouth, he spurted out a mouthful of blood and at the same time, his body staggered backwards.
Yang Kai sighed in a sorrowful manner, “Activating your World Force so recklessly will only reveal all your flaws to me! I couldn’t help myself. Sorry, Senior Brother!”
Yang Kai could only use his Cow Punch if he could trace back his opponent’s aura to its source. In other words, he had to track the other party’s World Force to their Small Universe in order to attack the latter directly.
In the midst of a fierce battle where World Force was moulded into attacks that were swiftly thrown at each other, it might have taken Yang Kai some effort to prepare; however, Senior Brother Zhao had recklessly and unscrupulously mobilised his World Force in front of Yang Kai. That was equivalent to pointing Yang Kai in the direction of the answer without the slightest concealment.
With one punch, Senior Brother Zhao was defeated!
All the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters watching this battle from the shadows were horrified.
They had witnessed Yang Kai’s battles against Wang Gao Yang and Senior Sister Zhou just now; hence, there was no denying Yang Kai’s strength. Even veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Wang Gao Yang and Senior Sister Zhou were not his opponents. Nevertheless, the strength Yang Kai displayed had still been within the range of their cognition.
On the contrary, this most recent scene was simply too unbelievable. Senior Brother Zhao, who was significantly stronger than Wang Gao Yang and Senior Sister Zhou, was defeated by a single punch from the enemy and suffered severe injuries on the spot!
[Is he really in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!? Isn’t he a Seventh-Order Master hiding his cultivation?!] Be that as it may, the energy fluctuations coming from Yang Kai’s body clearly indicated that he was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Bystanders might not know why Senior Brother Zhao became injured all of a sudden, but Senior Brother Zhao himself understood clearly. Although that punch seemed almost powerless, a ferocious force had exploded within his Small Universe in that moment. It caused his Small Universe to shake and tumble, leading his World Force to almost go berserk as a result.
“Next!” In the void, Yang Kai looked around with a majestic and imposing air.
Many of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were eager to make a move earlier, had gone quiet now. Wang Gao Yang, Senior Sister Zhou, and Senior Brother Zhao had all been defeated; therefore, Yang Kai’s strength caused them to feel despair.
How could a cultivator who was not from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises be so powerful? As far as they knew, the Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had always been stronger than ordinary cultivators. That was because their heritage was different. Within the same Order, unless there was a huge gap in accumulation, the disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises would always be stronger.
Therefore, all the onlookers felt extremely vexed inside their hearts.
Not only had Yang Kai toyed with the feelings of their adorable Little Junior Sister Gu Pan, but after thoughtlessly sleeping with her, he had the gall to abandon her! What’s more, he was unscrupulously and defiantly flaunting his strength in front of them now!
Even though they wanted to help seek justice for Gu Pan, they could not defeat Yang Kai. Going up against him would only bring more humiliation upon themselves. It was to the point where they had already disgraced Lang Ya Paradise completely at this point.
A figure stood on one of the Spirit Provinces, watching the scene from afar. He could not help frowning slightly at the sight. A short while later, he gave a small sigh. Taking a step forward, his figure instantly blurred in place. His movements were neither hurried nor slow, but his speed was extremely fast. By the time he took his second step, he was already standing in the void. On his third step, he had already arrived in front of Yang Kai. His black hair was dishevelled from the wind, but his figure was stalwart and upright. More importantly, his World Force surged fiercely around him.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at this person and grinned, “The heritage of the Cave Heavens and Paradises is indeed extraordinary!”
The people who came to challenge him were each stronger than the last. It started off with Wang Gao Yang, followed by Senior Sister Zhou, and then Senior Brother Zhao. And now, this person’s aura was even more powerful than the previous three.
“Senior Brother Le Mang! It’s Senior Brother Le Mang!” Somebody exclaimed from the shadows.
“Senior Brother Le Mang finally showed up! That bastard is going to get his just desserts!” Another person exclaimed in delight.
“How dare he bully the people of Lang Ya Paradise? That brat is too arrogant! He must be beaten so badly that he vomits three litres of blood!”
“Can Senior Brother Le Mang win against him? I just hope he doesn’t lose. That will really cause Lang Ya Paradise to lose all face….”
“Bah! Sect Master once said that Senior Brother Le Mang is the strongest person beneath the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm in Lang Ya Paradise! How could he possibly fail to defeat that brat!? Not to mention, Senior Brother Le Mang effortlessly took first place in the Sect’s Martial Arts Meeting 300 years ago.”
“True! Don’t hold back against him, Senior Brother Le Mang! Beat him up until his face is black and blue!”
When this Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master called Le Mang appeared, many Divine Senses surged and interweaved in the surrounding void as the others chatted passionately with each other.
Yang Kai glanced at Le Mang, “Looks like you’re quite popular in Lang Ya Paradise!”
Le Mang chuckled, “As the Eldest Senior Brother, I have to act like the Eldest Senior Brother.”
Yang Kai suddenly recalled the memory of his training in the Divine Armament World and nodded lightly, “I was also an Eldest Senior Brother for a time.”
Le Mang’s eyes brightened slightly, “I’m sure we will have many common topics to talk about.”
“For example?” Yang Kai looked at Le Mang with a smile.
Le Mang replied, “For example, enmity should be resolved rather than settled. In my opinion, this dispute is unnecessary. Why don’t you just apologise to Junior Sister Gu or something, Junior Brother? Then, we can exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk instead. What do you think?”
Yang Kai shook his head and said, “I had no intention of starting a fight in Lang Ya Paradise. It’s just that your Fellow Brothers refuse to listen to my explanation.”
Le Mang said, “But, you have to admit to your mistakes if you made a mistake. In this world, it is normal for a man and a woman to love each other. If you can remain faithful to Junior Sister Gu, the Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters will not make things difficult for you. Junior Sister Gu is young and it has not been long since she started cultivating. In the eyes of us Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, she is no more than a little girl. Nobody is willing to let her suffer any grievances. If anybody were to wrong her, then that person will be our enem… gah!” Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly raised a hand to clutch at his eyes. He stared at Yang Kai incredulously, “Junior Brother, why did you hit me? I was still speaking!”
Yang Kai raised his fist, which was as large as a pot, and pondered in silence for a moment, “I apologise, I couldn’t hold back. Please continue.”
Le Mang glanced at Yang Kai suspiciously before he continued, “I’ve heard about you and Qu Hua Shang, but it doesn’t matter. You have not completed your marriage ceremony yet, so you can just write a letter to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to call off this marriage. The reputation of the Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciples is not very good. How can Qu Hua Shang compare to Little Junior Sister… guh… why did you hit me again!?” He clutched at his other eye and complained a little unhappily, “Are you planning to hear me out?”
Yang Kai was already lunging forward like a tiger rushing down the mountain as he grinned, “You can continue speaking, I’ll just start attacking…”
Le Mang was furious, “Won’t I suffer a huge loss then!?”
While speaking, he charged forward to meet Yang Kai’s attack. Their World Forces collided with each other, and their figures became entangled like spinning tops. For a time, they soared up, down, left, and right, their battle spreading out in all directions across the void.
The rumbling sounds of their battle rang out incessantly, and terrifying energy fluctuations swept out across the world. The two figures moved so fast that most people could not see how the battle was going. There was no telling who was winning and who was losing.
In just a few dozen breaths of time though, the two figures suddenly separated. One person stood proudly while the other collapsed in a miserable state.
The spectators anxiously turned to look in that direction, but the sight that entered their eyes made their blood run cold. The person standing tall in the void was none other than Yang Kai. On the other hand, the person who had been knocked down was the strongest Master beneath the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm in Lang Ya Paradise, Le Mang.
Le Mang’s pitiful voice came from afar, “I might not be able to win against you, but my words are logical and reasonable. Will you admit your mistakes!?”
Yang Kai ignored Le Mang and looked around his surroundings like an eagle staring at a pack of wolves as he asked in a grim voice, “Who else?”
Silence reigned as not a single Open Heaven Realm Master hiding in the shadows answered.
Even Senior Brother Le Mang was no match for Yang Kai, so who else among the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise could defeat him? Thinking about it again, during the battle between Yang Kai and Senior Brother Le Mang earlier, the winner was decided in no more than a few dozen breaths of time! In other words, the gap between their strength was immense. It would have been impossible for the battle to end so quickly otherwise.
It was difficult to believe that an outsider could be so arrogant in their home; unfortunately, Yang Kai was outrageously strong. The Lang Ya Paradise disciples were filled with rage, grief, and indignation. In the battle today, Lang Ya Paradise had been thoroughly disgraced.
“Hmph! Is there no one who dares to fight amongst you?!” Yang Kai declared arrogantly.
All the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise hiding in the shadows felt their faces twitch upon hearing those words. They were already filled with rage and indignation in the first place, but they had no choice but to admit that the opponent was truly powerful; after all, he openly won against the person who was deemed the strongest Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the Sect. That was why they could only hold back their rage no matter how humiliated they felt.
Nevertheless, on the Martial Dao, one generally grew braver after suffering humiliation! Not to mention, this brat just had to add fuel to the fire. He was being far too disrespectful towards Lang Ya Paradise. How could they bear such humiliation!?
“Everybody, attack together! Kill!” A furious roar came from the void and a figure emerged and charged straight towards Yang Kai. His expression was filled with a malevolent aura!
Immediately after that, the second figure emerged, followed by the third and then a fourth…
Yang Kai looked up and saw countless Sixth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters charging towards him. There were people coming from all directions, and they surrounded him tightly in the blink of an eye.
He immediately broke out in cold sweat at the sight. Everywhere he looked, there were Open Heaven Realm Masters surrounding him with savage expressions. Some were threateningly pounding their fists against their palm with loud thudding sounds. Others were grinning at him ferociously while sliding their fingers across their necks in an extremely vivid and threatening gesture.
Forcing himself to calm down, Yang Kai shouted righteously, “Ganging up against me when you can’t win alone… Have you no shame!?”
Despite their anger, they were still Lang Ya Paradise disciples after all, so when Yang Kai questioned them in that manner, many of them looked embarrassed. That was indeed the case. Since they could not defeat him alone, then they could only use numbers. It would be bad for their reputation if word got out about this incident.
“He is a person who has no care for dignity and abandons a woman after thoughtlessly defiling her! He is worthy of public punishment!” Somebody roared furiously.
“Right! That’s right! All have the right to punish such an evildoer!” Somebody else quickly nodded in agreement.
“Don’t waste time talking nonsense with him! Attack together!”
As soon as those words rang out, countless Sixth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters charged forward at the same time and buried Yang Kai in the blink of an eye.
A chaotic mess of World Forces fluctuated as the sound of punches and kicks rang out incessantly. Although many people were sent flying backwards, the openings this created were quickly filled by others.
Somebody who could not squeeze their way in from the outside became so anxious that they hopped from side to side. Whilst trying to squeeze their way in, they even shouted, “Senior Brothers, please move aside! Let me punch him once or twice to vent my anger!”
Yang Kai, who was being kicked and punched by the mob surrounding him, felt as though his lungs were about to burst from fury when he heard that statement.
If this were a life-or-death fight, he might have suffered a disastrous ending after being surrounded by so many people; however, he also might have been able to kill his way out of this encirclement. Regardless of the outcome, he would surely end up heavily injured while Lang Ya Paradise suffered countless casualties.
Unfortunately, this was not a real life-or-death fight. The Lang Ya Paradise disciples might be using a dishonourable method, but they held back in terms of their strength. One should not be fooled by how eager they seemed at the thought of slashing Yang Kai to a million pieces in order to relieve the hatred in their hearts. When they actually made a move against him, none of them dealt a serious or fatal blow. The force behind those punches and kicks could only cause him to suffer some flesh wounds at the most. Nevertheless, it was enough to teach him a lesson.
The kicking and punching continued, and there was no saying how many blows Yang Kai suffered with each passing moment. Fortunately, it did not matter too much since he had his Dragon Scale Armour to protect himself. These clothes were the manifestation of his Dragon Scales, so their defensive properties were extraordinary.
It was just that he could not protect his face. Some of the less scrupulous ones would specifically aim for this obvious opening, and the punches that struck him there left stars spinning around in his eyes.
“Hou…”
When a Dragon Roar rang out, a violent coercive force that was nearly tangible swept out in all directions. Numerous figures were sent flying, revealing Yang Kai who stood in the centre of the crowd that was besieging him.
At this moment, Yang Kai’s face was bruised, and his eyes were so swollen that they were no more than slits on his face. His entire appearance was a dishevelled mess. Glaring at the people around him angrily, he shouted through gritted teeth, “You’re all too much! Do you take this Yang as somebody who is weak and easy to bully!? If anybody else dares to take a step forward, then don’t blame this Yang for retaliating mercilessly!”
The countless Open Heaven Realm Masters who were pushed back earlier stared at him for a moment. Then… all of them charged forward again without saying a single word.
“Shameless!” Yang Kai cursed. His figure dropped downward all of a sudden. When he had fallen by several thousand metres, he abruptly turned around and fled in a certain direction to break out of their encirclement.
Numerous streams of lights followed closely behind him, sticking to him like shadows. Various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques blasted in his direction as somebody even yelled, “Don’t let that bastard escape!”
He dodged their attacks desperately. It felt as though he had fallen into a sea of Lang Ya Paradise disciples, and there was no way for him to outrun the people chasing behind him.
After suffering the defeat earlier, Yang Kai no longer dared to remain in one place for long. He would only be mobbed by the crowd again if he was surrounded once more. No matter how powerful he was, he could not fight against so many of Lang Ya Paradise’s elite disciples. More importantly, there was no life-or-death hatred between them, so the methods he could use were severely restricted.
Lang Ya Paradise boasted an inheritance that lasted for countless years and had been listed as one of the 72 Paradises since ancient times. Be that as it may, there had never been a day when it was as lively as today in recent history.
On one of the Spirit Provinces, a group of weaker Lang Ya Paradise disciples were listening to the teachings of an Open Heaven Realm Master. These disciples were in the Emperor Realm and below. Although their cultivation was low, they were the future of Lang Ya Paradise. The Martial Uncle instructing them was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. His teachings were generally explained using simple terms so that the disciples could benefit from his lecture.
Just as he reached an interesting point in the story he was teaching, a stream of light rushed past above their heads at the speed of lightning. All the students looked up in confusion, but the one teaching shouted sternly, “The greatest obstacle in the path of cultivation is being distracted. You should remain focused at all times!”
“Yes!” The disciples replied respectfully and quickly returned to their seats to listen intently.
*Shua shua shua…* Countless streams of light flew overhead after, during which someone could be heard shouted, “Quick! Hurry up! Senior Brother is restraining that brat up ahead! The bastard dared to toy with Little Junior Sister Gu’s feelings and refuses to pay after eating!”
“What!?” The Martial Uncle instructing the disciples below became livid upon hearing those words. He stood up and yelled, “How dare somebody toy with Junior Sister Gu’s feelings!? Which shameless man dares to do that!?”
After saying that, he too rushed into the sky.
The disciples sitting below looked at each other. What happened to the words he said earlier about how the largest obstacle in the path of cultivation was distraction and that they should remain focused at all times?
The Martial Uncle instructing the disciples abruptly turned back and looked at the group of disciples, “This is the end of today’s lesson. Go back and cultivate on your own. This Martial Uncle has something important to do right now. I will resume the lecture tomorrow!”
He left again after saying that.
The disciples immediately exploded in discussion with someone saying, “Did you hear that? One of the Martial Uncles claimed that somebody toyed with Martial Aunt Gu’s feelings! Who is this Martial Aunt Gu?”
“I know!” A female disciple said, “It’s that Martial Aunt who advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm and is expected to become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the future! She has a very high status in the Sect!”
“Just who is so daring as to do something like that?”,
“I’m afraid that person will suffer a disastrous end!”
“Hmph! If I meet that guy, I will definitely teach him a lesson! I hate heartless thieves who abandon a woman after thoughtless sex the most! If I can get a lover, I will definitely cherish her for the rest of my life!”
“Who abandoned whom after thoughtless sex!? Tell me! Who abandoned whom!?” A voice suddenly rang out from behind the disciples.
The crowd looked over in surprise only to see a young man standing behind them. His face was so bruised and swollen that his eyes were no more than slits on his face; still, it was clear he was currently glaring furiously at the person who spoke just now.
“You are…” That person who spoke earlier looked suspicious. [I’ve never met this person before. Who is he?]
In the midst of his confusion, the swollen-faced newcomer raised a palm and slapped the one who spoke. A powerful force descended from the skies, and the person who spoke earlier was slammed to the ground with his limbs spread out around him.
“An Open Heaven Realm Master!” The disciples were horrified.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I hate people like you who chatter away so confidently when you know nothing! Junior Sister Gu and I are innocent! What do you mean by abandoning her after thoughtlessly sleeping with her!?”
[This is the person all those Martial Uncles and Martial Aunts are chasing! Why is he here? Then, who is the person they were chasing?]
One of the female disciples swiftly used a Secret Technique and screamed loudly without the slightest hesitation, “Martial Uncles, save us! That heartless thief is here!”
Although she was not particularly powerful, she was still in the Emperor Realm, so how could the Open Heaven Realm Masters nearby fail to hear her shout? The crowd had been chasing Yang Kai when they suddenly lost sight of him, so they were currently searching for his whereabouts. Upon hearing that scream, they immediately came rushing over. Countless streams of light instantly entered Yang Kai’s field of vision once more.
Yang Kai felt his entire body ache at the sight. Glaring at the female disciple, he was astonished to see that the other party actually returned the glare without showing any weaknesses.
“Good, good, very good! You are all too excellent for words!” He gritted his teeth and quickly turned to flee. Needless to say, he did not cause trouble for the disciples in the Emperor Realm and the Dao Source Realm. That would be too unreasonable.
Seeing as he was proficient in the Dao of Sace, Yang Kai could easily escape his pursuers with his Instantaneous Movements once he fled out of the area covered by the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array; however, it didn’t take long for them to discover his whereabouts again.
It was not that Yang Kai’s ability was poor, but rather that he was at an extreme disadvantage due to the overwhelming number of enemies. No matter where he escaped, he would soon be found once more. Then, it would only take a shout for the many hunting Open Heaven Realm Masters to come rushing after him again.
[This is a mess…] Yang Kai was feeling a little speechless. He only came to Lang Ya Paradise to investigate the presence of those corrupted by the Black Ink Clan. Not only did he have no clues regarding those corrupted though, but now he was running around like a rat in the streets with all of Lang Ya Paradise trying to hunt him down.
The attention on him was too great at the moment, so he had to lay low for a few days. It would not be too late to reveal himself again once the commotion had died down.
Needless to say, Yang Kai could not return to Gu Pan’s place. She would surely have many Open Heaven Realm Masters monitoring her, so if he showed up, he would simply be forced to run again. It would only lead to an endless cycle.
[But… the most dangerous place is also often the safest place.] After thinking for some time, Yang Kai quickly came up with a brilliant idea.
A short while later, Yang Kai sank to the bottom of the enormous lake in the Spirit Province where Gu Pan resided. He concealed his aura and pretended to be one of the rocks.
[Nobody will find me if I hide here, right?]
Thinking back on everything that happened today, Yang Kai felt extremely vexed. He came here for the safety of Lang Ya Paradise only to be hunted to the ends of the Earth by them instead. Not to mention, he was beaten up by a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters. His face was still bruised and swollen from the encounter. [I will definitely have a talk with Li Yuan Wang about this matter. I’m going to make him compensate me dearly for my losses!]
From time to time, Yang Kai would sense the movements of several Open Heaven Realm Masters passing by overheard. It was obvious that the Masters of Lang Ya Paradise were searching for his whereabouts.
In the beginning, the frequency of the Open Heaven Realm Masters passing by overhead was very high; however, with the passage of time, the frequency slowly reduced. It could be seen that the Open Heaven Realm Masters were slowly calming down, so they stopped trying so hard to find him.
After a few days, Yang Kai finally stopped detecting the traces of Open Heaven Realm Masters passing by overhead. Thus, his worries were gradually laid to rest.
Senior Sister Zhou landed on top of a certain Spirit Province. There were several people waiting for her below who cupped their fists in greeting as soon as they saw her, “Senior Sister Zhou.”
“How is it? Did you find any clues?” She asked.
They shook their heads in response, “We can’t find him. That brat is too good at hiding. We can’t detect his aura at all.”
She gnashed her teeth at those words, “I heard from Junior Sister Gu that he is very skilled at the Dao of Space, and excelled at escaping. It would now seem that those words were true!”
“Senior Sister Zhou, let’s just forget it. He is a guest after all. Besides, it’s a fact that we can’t defeat him. Having so many Fellow Brothers bullying him together is simply unreasonable!”
She glared at the person who spoke, “Bully him? Just who bullied whom? That bastard doesn’t even put Lang Ya Paradise in his eyes. Did you forget who claimed that he was invincible in Lang Ya Paradise?”
The others lowered their heads at those words. It had truly been a humiliating experience whenever they recalled that scene. They had to acknowledge Yang Kai’s strength, but it was too much for him to claim that there was not a single person who could fight him in Lang Ya Paradise. If that was not the case, they would not have ganged up on him in the first place.
“But, even if we find him, there is no guarantee that we can do anything to him with our strengths,” somebody said, “We each have our own respective duties to complete. Despite searching for the past several days, our efforts have been futile and we only managed to accumulate a bunch of unfinished tasks as a result. That’s the reason why many of us have already given up the search.”
Senior Sister Zhou’s brow furrowed tightly. What was said was true. She had fought Yang Kai herself, so she knew just how strong he was. With their current numbers alone, they might not be his opponent at all, but she simply couldn’t bear this rage and indignity!
At that moment, the Disciple Token hanging at her waist suddenly flashed a burst of light. It was not just her, the same was also true for the other disciples. She was stunned as she muttered, “An announcement from the Master Sect…”
The Disciple Token was not just a symbol of their identity; it could also be used to pass messages and information between each other. If only her token had reacted, then it might have been somebody sending her a private message. However, everybody’s tokens reacted at the same time, which could only mean that it was an announcement from Lang Ya Paradise.
Holding up their tokens, they all poured their Divine Senses into them. A short while later, their expressions became strange.
Senior Sister Zhou couldn’t help bursting into laughter, “That bastard surnamed Yang, let’s see if you don’t die now!”
The others also looked excited, “It looks like his actions have enraged the Sect Master. That’s why the Sect Master is mobilising all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise to deal with him!
“Won’t that be bad?” Somebody hesitated.
“It is the Sect Master’s orders. What’s so bad about it? What’s more, if we can capture him, then we will have the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World for training! Don’t you want to go?”
“Of course, I do! How can I not want that? The last time Senior Brother Zhao entered the Five Lights World for training, his cultivation rose significantly! It’s a pity that too many people are waiting in line. Even if I could join the line now, it would be hundreds of years before my turn.”
“If you want that opportunity, then don’t hesitate! Let’s form a team. The Sect Master said that there is no limit to the means or the number of people who can act. As long as those who work together succeed at capturing Yang Kai, then they will all be given priority to enter the Five Lights World for training!” Senior Sister Zhou clenched her tender fists with a cracking sound.
“We will follow Senior Sister Zhou!” Several people quickly nodded in agreement.
Inside the Grand Hall, Li Yuan Wang held a steaming cup of tea in his hands. Blowing on his tea, he took a sip and swallowed with a gulp. It was a blissful feeling!
One of the three Vice Sect Masters, Gao Ting, glanced sideways at Li Yuan Wang, “Sect Master, doing this… Aren’t you going overboard!?”
Li Yuan Wang had sent a message to all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Gao Ting herself had also received the message, in which the contents were written as clear as day, “Void Land’s Lord, Yang Kai, displayed extremely defiant and arrogant behaviour recently. Not only did he come to Lang Ya Paradise and cause trouble, but his actions also greatly disgraced the Main Sect. Therefore, I order all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise to capture him quickly. There are no limits on the means or number of people involved. Moreover, anybody who has a hand in capturing Yang Kai will be rewarded with an opportunity to train in the Five Lights World!”
Gao Ting had been stunned upon seeing this message.
This entire farce started out as a small misunderstanding between the disciples. In addition, Yang Kai had remained hidden somewhere to avoid the limelight over the past few days. The Open Heaven Realm Masters pursuing him earlier were beginning to return to their positions and resume their duties, so it seemed that this farce was about to come to an end.
Who could have known that Li Yuan Wang would make a move at such a critical moment? How could the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise ignore the Sect Master’s orders? What’s more, the prize at the end was the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World!
At this rate, all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise would participate. Even the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might get involved…
“How is it going overboard? It’s perfect!” Li Yuan Wang continued drinking his tea without even raising his head.
Gao Ting sighed, “Sect Master, the situation is getting out of hand. I’m afraid it won’t end well.”
“It will be fine!” Li Yuan Wang smiled and waved his hand dismissively, “In fact, it would be best if things got out of hand. We can take advantage of the ruckus to catch a bigger fish…”
Upon hearing this, Gao Ting looked pensive and nodded after a moment, “I understand your intentions now, Sect Master.” Pausing slightly, he continued with a question, “But, Sect Master, are you sure you are not using official matters to exact your personal revenge? You should know that the rumours are just a misunderstanding, right?”
Li Yuan Wang chuckled, “Of course, I know. Don’t you think I understand what kind of person Pan’er is?”
Gao Ting looked at Li Yuan Wang speechlessly, [If you didn’t grit your teeth and look like you were about to tear someone apart when you were saying those words, I might have believed you! You’re clearly using this opportunity to get your revenge!]
It was true that the Sect Master knew that the rumours were just a misunderstanding; nevertheless, such rumours were damaging to Gu Pan’s reputation. It was only natural that he wanted to teach that brat a lesson.
Li Yuan Wang suddenly became serious, “I did this for two reasons. The first reason is that I want to muddy the waters further so that boy can work easily. The second reason is that I want the Lang Ya Paradise disciples to know what it means to always have somebody better than them out there.”
Gao Ting spoke against his conscience, “Sect Master is indeed wise. In that case, let us wait for good news.”
Beneath the huge lake, Yang Kai calmly lurked in his hiding place. He could no longer sense the auras of the Open Heaven Realm Masters passing overhead recently, so the storm was probably over; even so, he did not reveal himself so quickly just to be on the safe side. He planned to remain in hiding for a few more days.
However, all of a sudden, a large group of people radiating tyrannical energy fluctuations suddenly passed by overhead. Their Divine Senses were spread out into the surroundings, searching every corner of the area.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed at the sight as these people were clearly searching for him. [Why are they so persistent? This is so annoying…]
He was secretly glad that he did not reveal himself so rashly, or he would have faced another round of trouble; hence, he continued to wait in hiding.
Yang Kai soon realised that something was wrong though. Logically speaking, he had remained in hiding for so many days now that the Lang Ya Paradise disciples should have given up on their efforts by now. There were no life-or-death grudges between them after all. Even if he beat up a few people, they had returned just as many hits; therefore, they could be considered even.
Those who could cultivate to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were not petty and small-minded people who would go around recklessly forming blood feuds. In fact, there was a chance that they might become friends after exchanging blows.
Who could have known that Lang Ya Paradise would be so persistent? That was not all. The storm that had gradually subsided suddenly took a turn for the worse, and even more people began to search for traces of his whereabouts.
Above the lake, various powerful auras would pass by from time to time. Moreover, they travelled in groups ranging from two to five people. Most importantly, every single one of them was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
[What is going on?] Yang Kai was absolutely confused. After giving some thought to the situation, he took out a Communication Bead to ask Gu Pan about the current situation. He had the means to communicate with Gu Pan thanks to their interactions over the past few days, so his Divine Sense surged, and he sent the message out.
Inside the bamboo building, Gu Pan looked at the siblings, Gongsun Ri Hua and Gongsun Yue Hua, and begged, “Senior Brother Ri Hua, Senior Sister Yue Hua, please let me go.”
Gongsun Ri Hua and Gongsun Yue Hua shook their heads in unison. Gongsun Yue Hua said, “We can’t, Junior Sister. Our duty is to watch over you carefully and stop you from meeting that brat, lest you suffer losses again.”
Ever since Gu Pan was kidnapped by these siblings, the two of them had remained beside her without taking a single step away all this time. At present, she couldn’t even take a step out of this bamboo building, much less inquire about Yang Kai’s news.
Therefore, she was completely clueless as to what was happening to Yang Kai these days. It was just that there had been powerful energy fluctuations recently, but these energy fluctuations soon disappeared. After that, large groups of Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had formed teams to search the area. In particular, the area around her Spirit Province was carefully searched. Many Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters would come to investigate from time to time.
Hearing Gongsun Yue Hua say this, Gu Pan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Senior Sister Yue Hua, there really is nothing going on between Senior Brother Yang and I. Won’t you just trust me this once?”
Gongsun Yue Hua replied, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but that boy has provoked public outrage and humiliated our Fellow Brothers and Sister. We need to find him and take revenge to regain our honour. Besides, the Sect Master…”
Gongsun Ri Hua suddenly coughed lightly, and Gongsun Yue Hua hurriedly fell silent.
Gu Pan looked from one to the other and suddenly felt an ominous feeling, “What happened with Honoured Master?”
“It’s nothing. Aha… haha… Junior Sister, don’t worry.” Gongsun Ri Hua waved his hand hastily.
At that moment, Gu Pan’s expression changed, “Senior Brother, Senior Sister, I want to take a bath. Why don’t you stand down for a bit?”
The siblings exchanged a glance with each other before Gongsun Yue Hua said, “Then, we’ll be outside. If you behave well, I’ll make something delicious for you later.”
If Gu Pan wanted to take a bath, then there was no reason for them to stay in the same room.
Gu Pan nodded. When the siblings departed though, she closed the room door and set up a barrier. Only then did she take out a Communication Bead. Unfortunately for her, before she could immerse her Divine Sense to investigate the message, a slender, jade-white hand suddenly reached out from the side to snatch the Communication Bead from her.
Startled, she looked up only to see Gongsun Yue Hua smiling at her.
Gongsun Yue Hua reached out a hand and rapped her knuckles on Gu Pan’s head, “Junior Sister Gu, I can’t believe you’ve learned to lie to this Senior Sister now!”
Gu Pan was stunned, “Senior Sister, didn’t you leave the room?”
Gongsun Yue Hua smiled and held up the Communication Bead, “Is this the Communication Bead to contact Yang Kai?”
“No, Senior Sister! Please return it to me!”
Gongsun Yue Hua shook her head, “If it’s a Communication Bead to contact him, then I can’t return it to you. I’m sorry, Junior Sister Gu!”
While they were speaking, Gongsun Ri Hua entered the room. The siblings seemed to be connected in mind. She tossed the Communication Bead to her Big Brother and stopped Gu Pan from acting out.
Then, Gongsun Ri Hua sat down and poured his Divine Sense into the Communication Bead to probe the message contained inside. A short while later, he raised his head and said, “It’s him!”
Gongsun Yue Hua asked, “What did he say?”
He replied, “He is asking Junior Sister Gu about the situation in Lang Ya Paradise. It seems that he is hiding very deeply, so he doesn’t know what has been happening outside recently.”
“Ask him where he is.”
He nodded lightly. With a surge of his Divine Sense, he sent out a message.
Beneath the lake, Yang Kai waited quietly for a moment. When he sensed a return message from Gu Pan, he quickly checked it; however, his expression immediately became strange. After pondering in silence for a bit, he replied to the message with one of his own.
Inside the bamboo building, the Communication Bead fluctuated slightly. Gongsun Ri Hua hurriedly checked the message, but he soon scratched his head in confusion, “What is he saying?”
“What’s wrong?” Gongsun Yue Hua looked over suspiciously. Gu Pan also looked nervous. She was worried that Yang Kai might expose his whereabouts because he was unaware of the situation.
With an affectionate look on his face, Gongsun Ri Hua slowly recited, “The mountains are picturesque, but they cannot compare to the small mole between your brow. It doesn’t matter even if the world is overturned, after all, it’s nothing but transient prosperity compared to you.”
Gongsun Yue Hua snapped with a dark expression, “I am your Little Sister! Who do you think you are talking to!?”
He quickly explained, “That’s what he said!”
Gu Pan was extremely surprised, “Senior Brother Yang said that?”
“That’s right!” Gongsun Ri nodded repeatedly.
Gongsun Yue Hua glanced teasingly at Gu Pan, “And, you said that there’s nothing between the two of you when he is spewing such cringe-worthy words? Although this brat’s character isn’t anything good, it seems he has a sweet tongue. Junior Sister, you’re too naïve. No wonder you were deceived by him.”
Gu Pan only wore an odd look on her face as she asked, “Senior Brother Ri Hua, what did you say to Yang Kai earlier?”
Gongsun Ri Hua replied casually, “Nothing much. I just asked how he was doing. I didn’t dare to ask where he was, for fear of alerting him.”
“What were your exact words?” Gu Pan demanded.
He scratched his face apologetically, “That’s the gist of what I meant.”
“The exact words!” Gongsun Yue Hua also pressed for an answer with a curious look.
Gongsun Ri Hua cleared his throat, “Are you okay, Senior Brother Yang? Did you get hurt?”
Gu Pan breathed a sigh of relief. Gongsun Yue Hua nodded and said, “That’s nothing.”
Gongsun Ri Hua continued, “…Xiao Pan’er, who deeply misses you!”
Gu Pan’s face instantly turned beet-red, and she stomped her feet angrily, “Senior Brother Ri Hua, I’m going to ignore you in the future!”
“What did I do wrong?” Gongsun Ri Hua didn’t seem to understand.
Gongsun Yue Hua pondered for a moment and shook her head, “There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”
“Oh? There’s another message!” Gongsun Ri Hua exclaimed and hurriedly checked the message.
“What did he say this time?” Gongsun Yue Hua asked quickly.
“He said, ‘Enter my heart (Xiang Si Sect) to understand the bitterness of my lovesickness (Xiang Si). In the long term, my lovesickness (Xiang Si) is forever. In the short term, my lovesickness (Xiang Si) is infinite!’ Huh? Which Sect is this Xiang Si Sect?” Gongsun Ri Hua looked confused.
“Moron!” Gongsun Yue Hua smacked her Big Brother mercilessly, “Those are flirtatious words. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. This brat’s mouth is as sweet as honey. Junior Sister Gu, be careful of men like him. Men with honeyed words cannot be trusted!”
Gu Pan sat on the edge of the bed, too exhausted and exasperated to explain anything. Nevertheless, she felt a little at ease. Seeing as Senior Brother Yang was answering in such a manner, then he must have noticed something was off; otherwise, he would never be so frivolous.
“How should we reply to him?” Gongsun Ri Hua asked.
“I’ll do it!” Gongsun Yue Hua volunteered and took the Communication Bead from the hands of her Big Brother. After pondering in silence for a while, she sent out a message with a surge of her Divine Sense.
Deep beneath the lake, Yang Kai held the Communication Bead between his fingers. He raised his brow at the message and murmured softly to himself, “Compared to a night of lovesickness… even the ends of the world are not vast enough to convey this loneliness! Who is this!?”
He could be certain that Gu Pan’s Communication Bead was no longer in her possession; otherwise, she would never have spoken in such a manner. Nevertheless, he was not worried for her safety. She was a Lang Ya Paradise Core Disciple. Even if she had been kidnapped by a pair of twins previously, Lang Ya Paradise’s main purpose was to separate him from her. They had no intention of harming her.
[To think they even tried to contact me by imitating Gu Pan.] Whilst he was feeling speechless, the Communication Bead received another message, “Senior Brother, where are you? I’ll come and find you!”
Yang Kai smacked his lips. [I guess they couldn’t resist asking about my whereabouts.]
After briefly considering his answer, he replied to the message.
Inside the bamboo building, Gongsun Yue Hua announced excitedly, “Found him!”
Gongsun Ri Hua quickly asked, “Where is he?”
She shook her head, “He doesn’t know his exact location either. There are countless Spirit Provinces in Lang Ya Paradise, so he does not know the name of the one where he is hiding. Even so, he gave us some clues.”
Gongsun Ri Hua grinned, “It’ll be easy with clues! Pass the information to our Fellow Brothers and Sisters and ask them to split up to search for him. I’m sure we’ll find him soon!”
Nodding in agreement, Gongsun Yue Hua quickly passed the message on to the others.
Inside Lang Ya Paradise, the Open Heaven Realm Masters who formed teams to search for Yang Kai’s whereabouts suddenly received a communication from the Gongsun siblings. They immediately became overjoyed after reading this message. Although the clues provided were not comprehensive, it was still better than how they were forced to wander around like headless flies right now. As long as they focused their search around the clues, they would eventually discover Yang Kai’s hiding place.
Many Open Heaven Realm Masters instantly began searching with all their might.
In just half a day, they found a Spirit Province that was very similar to what was described in the clues. The first team to discover the place was led by Senior Brother Zhao, who was previously severely injured by a single Cow Punch from Yang Kai. Senior Brother Zhao stared at the Spirit Province in front of him with some hesitation, “It can’t be, right? Is he hiding here?”
Another Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master on the team spoke through gritted teeth, “That brat is treacherous indeed. I can’t believe he was hiding here. It’s no wonder we failed to find him even after all this time!”
At this time, several other teams also arrived here in their search. It was obvious that they had been following the clues. Everybody looked at each other with slightly speechless expressions.
That couldn’t be helped. The Spirit Province in front of them belonged to the Sect Master. The Sect Master had an extremely hectic schedule, so he spent most of his time at the Main Conference Hall located on the central Spirit Province. Although he rarely returned to his residence, there was no doubt that this Spirit Province belonged to him. Under normal circumstances, nobody would dare to come here for no reason.
“Should we inform the Sect Master?” Somebody asked tentatively.
“That brat is as cunning as a fox. I’m sure he noticed the commotion when we rushed over. If we take the time to inform the Sect Master, he will surely escape. Let’s take action first and talk later. Once we capture the thief, the Sect Master will not blame us!”
“That’s true!”
“In that case, let’s begin!” Senior Brother Zhao shouted and took the lead to charge towards the Spirit Province. Everybody else quickly followed closely. More than a dozen Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters swarmed into the Spirit Province in an instant as their Divine Senses spread out unscrupulously, searching for traces of anything suspicious.
A short while later, even more Open Heaven Realm Masters who received the information rushed over. It was not just the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but also the Fifth-Order and even Fourth-Order Masters who had joined in. Even though Li Yuan Wang only sent the message to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, this matter was a raging topic in Lang Ya Paradise, so it was only natural for the news to spread quickly.
Upon learning that capturing Yang Kai would give them the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World for training, even the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wanted to try their luck. They could not dismiss the chance that they might be lucky enough to obtain that opportunity despite knowing that it was impossible for them to compete against Yang Kai. It was the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World for training! Normally, only Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had the qualifications to obtain the rights to entry.
In less than an hour, over 1,000 Open Heaven Realm Masters had gathered in the Spirit Province.
Li Yuan Wang’s Spirit Province was not considered a Restricted Area in Lang Ya Paradise, but few people generally came here; therefore, it was an unprecedented sight for over 1,000 people to gather in this place. Not to mention that every one of them was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above.
In the beginning, they could be considered restrained and only used their Divine Senses to search for Yang Kai’s whereabouts; however, their methods became increasingly forceful after some time, so much so that they practically dug up the entire Spirit Province.
When Sect Master Li Yuan Wang received the news and rushed over, he saw that the once prosperous and picturesque Spirit Province had become a complete mess. The entire Spirit Province was broken and ruined. Looking down at the scenery below, his brow twitched violently.
When they noticed the arrival of the Sect Master, all the Open Heaven Realm Masters hurriedly bowed in greeting, “Greetings, Sect Master!”
“What are you all doing?” Li Yuan Wang asked grimly.
Senior Brother Zhao stepped forward and cupped his fist, “Reporting to Sect Master, we are searching for Yang Kai!”
Li Yuan Wang felt his chest tighten as he asked in a slightly higher-pitched tone, “If you are searching for Yang Kai’s whereabouts, then why are you searching my residence?”
Senior Brother Zhao replied, “We received solid information saying that Yang Kai is hiding here!”
“Huh?” Li Yuan Wang was surprised, “Where did you get this information?”
“It was sent by Junior Brother Gongsun Ri Hua and Junior Sister Gongsun Yue Hua. They seemed to have discovered the information from the communication between Junior Sister Gu Pan and Yang Kai.”
Li Yuan Wang mulled over this news and vaguely understood how the entire situation came about. He then asked with a stern expression, “Then… have you found him?”
Senior Brother Zhao shook his head, “Not yet!”
“Idiots, the lot of you!” Li Yuan Wang roared furious, “How can you not realise that you’re being led by the nose by the enemy!? How did my Lang Ya Paradise raise such fools!?”
Senior Brother Zhao was extremely stunned, “Sect Master, do you mean to say that Yang Kai is not hiding here?”
Li Yuan Wang was absolutely devastated as he shouted, “If he was hiding here, how could he possibly escape this King’s perception!? Even this King does not detect him anywhere, so how are you expecting to find him here!?”
Senior Brother Zhao bowed his head in contemplation. After a while, he suddenly seemed to come to a realisation, “Disciple understands now!”
Li Yuan Wang looked at Senior Brother Zhao, “What do you understand?”
“The siblings, Gongsun Ri Hua and Gongsun Yue Hua, have defected to the other side. In order to act as decorative thugs, they have deliberately spread fake news to confuse us!” Senior Brother Zhao quickly and enthusiastically declared.
Li Yuan Wang felt something hot and sweet rising up in his throat and nearly coughed up blood as a result. He then looked at Senior Brother Zhao in despair and earnestly gave a warning, “In the future, don’t lower your head when you walk!”
Senior Brother Zhao was confused, “This Disciple does not understand. Please enlighten me, Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang sighed, “This King is worried that the water in your head will accidentally spill out!” Turning his head to the side, he waved his hand dismissively, “Scram, scram! All of you get lost!”
When the disciples saw that the Sect Master was in a terrible mood, they quickly ran away in fear. However, Senior Brother Zhao continued to mull over the Sect Master’s words. Whilst walking, he shook his head and turned to the Junior Brother beside him with a puzzled look, “Do I have water in my head?”
The Junior Brother glanced at Senior Brother Zhao and answered cautiously, “Everybody has water in their head, right?”
“Oh!” Understanding seemed to strike Senior Brother Zhao; thus, he hurriedly raised his head so that his nose pointed towards the sky.
A figure suddenly appeared beside Li Yuan Wang. Observing the messy ground below, he smiled lightly, “Sect Master, about that stone you dropped before, does your foot hurt?”
Li Yuan Wang sighed, “That’s quite enough gloating! This is that brat’s first time here, so he couldn’t have known that this Spirit Province belonged to this King. Xiao Pan’er probably just told him about it when she took him on a tour around Lang Ya Paradise.”
Gao Ting nodded, “Now that he is being chased and surrounded by countless Lang Ya Paradise disciples, he is undoubtedly annoyed that you, the Sect Master, are not stopping their movements. That’s why he deliberately invited them here to annoy you.”
“I swear I’m going to get even with him!” Li Yuan Wang was livid.
Gao Ting revealed a look of admiration, “That boy sure is stubborn. Despite being in quite a bind, he refuses to come to you. Honestly, he could have talked to you about the situation and asked you to step forward to put an end to everything.”
Li Yuan Wang coldly snorted, “It’s not like he knows about the order this King issued!”
Gao Ting nodded lightly, “That’s true!”
Meanwhile, many streams of light raced through the sky above the Spirit Province where Gu Pan lived. A very large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters then landed in front of the bamboo building.
Noticing the commotion, Gongsun Ri Hua and Gongsun Yue Hua quickly walked out to investigate the situation, but both of them were taken aback by the sight that greeted them.
“Senior Brother Zhao, have you caught the thief?” Gongsun Ri Hua asked.
Senior Brother Zhao turned his nose up and squinted at Gongsun Ri Hua, “Traitor!”
Gongsun Ri Hua was stunned… [Huh? Why did I suddenly become a traitor?]
Before Gongsun Ri Hua could make sense of the situation, Senior Brother Zhao gestured with his large hand, “Beat him up!”
A large number of Open Heaven Realm Masters sprang out from behind and buried Gongsun Ri Hua under them in the blink of an eye. The sound of kicking and punching came out, mixed with the sound of Gongsun Ri Hua’s cries of agony!
Gongsun Yue Hua watched helplessly as her Big Brother was surrounded and beaten by so many people. She couldn’t help shuddering at the sight. Although she did not understand the situation, she didn’t dare to stop them either!
After a while, the crowd finally dispersed. Gongsun Ri Hua was beaten black and blue and left lying on the ground, groaning in pain.
“Let’s go!” Senior Brother Zhao waved his large hand and flew away arrogantly with a group of people following behind him.
“Just what is going on!?” Gongsun Ri Hua shouted furiously from where he lay on the ground with a badly swollen face. His Fellow Brothers suddenly came to beat him up and left just as abruptly as they came. These actions left him completely confused. [What happened to Yang Kai? Did they manage to capture him?]
Gongsun Yue Hua watched from the side in trepidation. It was fortunate that she was a woman, which made it difficult for their Fellow Brothers to hit her; otherwise, there would have been one more person lying on the ground right now.
Gu Pan hid behind Gongsun Yue Hua, looking apologetic. She had a vague guess about the situation, but she was in no position to explain; therefore, she could only silently apologise in her heart.
Above the lake, a team of three people suddenly turned back after leaving earlier. One of those three people was Senior Brother Zhao.
Senior Brother Zhao held his head high and glanced at the lake below him out of the corner of his eye. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he asked, “Has anybody checked the bottom of this lake?”
The two Junior Brothers beside him shook their heads in unison. The one that looked slightly younger answered, “Although nobody checked the bottom of the lake, many Fellow Brothers have passed by from above over the past few days. Their Divine Sense perception did not detect any abnormalities.”
Senior Brother Zhao shook his head and said, “We can’t be careless. Yang Kai is a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Not to mention, he is extremely strong. I’m certain he has some Secret Techniques to conceal his aura so that he can escape Divine Sense perception. It might not mean that he is not hiding here. Don’t people always say that the most dangerous place is the safest one to hide in? Junior Sister Gu is being placed under heavy watch here. For all we know, maybe that brat likes taking risks!”
The Junior Brother nodded repeatedly, “Your words make sense, Senior Brother Zhao! I’ll go down and take a look!”
“You can’t!” Senior Brother Zhao raised a hand to stop his Junior Brother, “You might be in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but you are definitely not his opponent. If he really is hiding underwater, then you will suffer a tragic fate if you go alone.”
Beneath the lake, Yang Kai held his breath and concentrated with a frown. The auras of the three Open Heaven Realm Masters above him were like bright lights in the dark night, so how could he not perceive them?
[Have my whereabouts been exposed? That shouldn’t be. I have not revealed any flaws. These three are probably hanging around for some other reason.]
Under the current circumstances, he did not dare to move about rashly. He was unfamiliar with the land and the people in Lang Ya Paradise, so finding a new hiding place would not be easy. If he was discovered here, then he would need to continue escaping.
A World Force that seemed rather familiar suddenly surged violently from above. Immediately after that, Yang Kai was astonished to discover that the water in the lake was seething fiercely. The water ascended all at once, as though there was an invisible force pulling it upward. In the blink of an eye, all the water in the lake became suspended in mid-air and the scenery at the depths became unobstructed.
High up in the sky, Senior Brother Zhao’s World Force fluctuated vigorously. He was holding his hands above his head in a lofty manner. It was obvious that the anomaly in the lake was caused by a Secret Technique that he used. The lake might be large, but such a feat was not difficult for a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him.
The two Junior Brothers by the side praised Senior Brother Zhao greatly, “Senior Brother Zhao, you are amazing!”
“Your skills are truly strong and powerful, Senior Brother Zhao! This Junior Brother is impressed!”
Senior Brother Zhao stood with his nose in the air as usual but humbly replied, “It’s nothing. These are just some paltry tricks… Huh?”
Before he could finish speaking, he glanced at the bottom of the lake out of the corner of his eye and noticed something. There was a familiar figure standing there, silently gawking at him.
The other two Junior Brothers also noticed Yang Kai at this moment. They were both surprised and delighted as they shouted, “Your genius truly knows no bounds, Senior Brother Zhao! That bastard really was hiding here!”
At the bottom of the lake, Yang Kai was feeling speechless. [How did you find me when I hid myself so thoroughly? They are not giving me the chance to have a peaceful and quiet life at all! I only came to Lang Ya Paradise for the Black Ink Clan and the people corrupted by the Black Ink. Just what sin did I commit for this calamity to befall me!?]
Looking at the instigator known as Senior Brother Zhao, Yang Kai was filled with resentment!
Senior Brother Zhao suddenly had an ominous feeling, but before he could react, he saw Yang Kai slowly throwing a punch in his general direction.
“Cow Punch!”
*Pu…*
His Small Universe was shaken by the impact. Consequently, fresh blood spurted out of his mouth and his aura slumped instantly. The whole scenario seemed strangely familiar…
“Senior Brother Zhao!” The two Junior Brothers nearby were shocked by the sight.
Before their voices could even carry far, all the lake water that was being suspended in mid-air by Senior Brother Zhao’s Secret Technique came crashing down. This was the result of his Small Universe being bombarded by Yang Kai’s Cow Punch. His Small Universe had been shaken so badly that his World Force could not flow properly.
When the huge amount of lake water came crashing down, the entire Spirit Province seemed to tremble from the impact.
Yang Kai’s figure penetrated the falling lake water and charged towards Senior Brother Zhao with an air of cold hostility.
Senior Brother Zhao’s expression changed drastically as he shouted, “Watch out!”
He struggled to mobilise his World Force and swung his fist at Yang Kai. Unfortunately, due to the severe shock to his Small Universe, he couldn’t even muster up enough strength to rival a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s power with this blow.
Yang Kai raised his hand and parried the attack easily. At the same time, he punched out and hit Senior Brother Zhao directly in the face.
A violent force erupted and stars burst out in Senior Brother Zhao’s vision as he plummeted to the ground like a meteorite falling out of the sky.
The reaction of the two Junior Brothers in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were not slow. When Senior Brother Zhao took the hit, they simultaneously attacked from both sides, using the best Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities they could in that short time, throwing everything they had at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai abruptly turned his head to look at the person on his left and grinned savagely. Under the disbelieving stare of the other party, he took the attack head-on just to close in on him.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was instantly shocked to the core! There were no life-or-death grudges between them, so he had held back in his attack; nevertheless, even if he held back his strength, he was still a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. No ordinary Master could have taken his attacks so lightly.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai had taken the attack head-on without flinching. The expression on his face barely even changed.
Therefore, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wondered whether he had held back too much. The power of his Secret Technique might have failed to come through as a result. Before the thought could finish forming in his head though, a fist slammed into his lower abdomen. An indescribably terrifying force burst out, and he immediately doubled over in pain, his complexion going pale.
“Get down!” Yang Kai flipped around and kicked his victim to the ground. That man crashed down beside the unconscious Senior Brother Zhao.
Having witnessed his two Senior Brothers suffering such a brutal fate, how could the remaining Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master remain ignorant of Yang Kai’s strength? In his desperation, he didn’t even dare to hold back his strength and fiercely urged the power of his Small Universe. His palms transformed into palm shadows that covered the entire sky, looming down on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai ignored the attacks and lunged towards the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Charging straight at the man, he easily countered the attack under the other party’s horrified gaze.
The two of them became entangled in battle, and their World Forces collided viciously. As soon as they exchanged blows with each other though, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master immediately felt an ominous sensation. The heritage of his Small Universe was significantly weaker than the other party’s. Such a reckless fight would definitely end in a loss for him. Unfortunately, he was stuck riding a tiger and could not get down. It was impossible for him to get away from Yang Kai now.
Three moves later, his complexion turned deathly pale and his figure became unsteady. Five moves later, he was seeing stars. His Small Universe was shaking uncontrollably like an ancient building that had just experienced an earthquake. Accordingly, his fighting ability decreased steadily.
“You get down too!” Yang Kai shouted and his palm came smashing down.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master screamed in agony and dropped straight to the ground. His fall created a large crater. Lying in the middle of the depression, he couldn’t find the strength to move at all.
Looking up at the young man descending from the sky, all three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise lying side-by-side on the ground experienced a mixture of extremely complicated emotions.
They were all Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but the other party had defeated all three of them on his own in such a short span of time. Not to mention, it was an overwhelmingly one-sided victory. All parties had held back since they were not fighting a life-or-death battle, but even if it had been a real battle, these three were certain that they would not have fared any better.
[Is he really a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? Is there such a powerful Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master? How is this possible?!]
Yang Kai landed in front of those three and clasped his hands behind his back. Looking down at them from above, he smacked his lips and asked, “Why did you have to do this, Senior Brothers? Would it kill you to leave me hiding safely below? Why did you have to force me to reveal myself?”
Two of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters looked ashamed, but Senior Brother Zhao remained resolute. Even though he was lying on the ground, his head remained raised slightly. He didn’t even look straight at Yang Kai and only glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes.
Yang Kai noticed Senior Brother Zhao’s posture and wondered, [Is he really that stubborn?]
Thinking about it again, this person had fought Yang Kai twice. On both occasions, he had been injured by the Cow Punch Secret Technique before he could even do anything. It was only natural that he felt resentful inside. After all, it was understandable for disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises to be somewhat prideful of their respective strengths.
At this moment, the Disciple Tokens hanging around the trio’s waists suddenly fluctuated with a weak pulse of energy in unison. They quickly checked the message, and a few moments later, Senior Brother Zhao sighed and said, “It’s our defeat, so we will withdraw now. In the future, we won’t cause any more trouble for you.”
“Quit what?” Yang Kai scowled deeply.
Senior Brother Zhao replied, “The Sect Master issued an order…”
“Senior Brother Zhao!” One of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nearby quickly interrupted.
The people who successfully captured Yang Kai would obtain the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World for training. That was the order issued directly by the Sect Master himself; however, it would seem that Yang Kai was ignorant of the situation. Since he did not know, then it would be better to continue keeping him in the dark; after all, if the news were to spread that all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had mobilised against a single person in their own territory, Lang Ya Paradise would undoubtedly lose a lot of face.
Yang Kai glanced at the one who spoke earlier before he turned to look at Senior Brother Zhao pensively, “Are you hiding something from me?”
The person who spoke earlier quickly denied, “No! No! It’s nothing! Junior Brother Yang, you’ve misunderstood me!”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai grinned savagely. Then, he formed a fist with one hand and an open palm with the other. Palming his fist, the thudding sound of flesh against flesh echoed as he approached them slowly.
“We’ve already lost. What else are you going to do to us?” All three of them turned pale with fright.
A short while later, Yang Kai stood in front of the three people whose faces were swollen and bruised and snarled through gritted teeth, “Li Yuan Wang, I’ll get you back for this!”
He never imagined that Li Yuan Wang would use him as a sharpening stone to train the Lang Ya Paradise disciples. Li Yuan Wang had even gone so far as to issue an order saying that the person who managed to capture Yang Kai would obtain the right to enter the Five Lights World for training as a reward.
This was something that had been puzzling Yang Kai recently. After hiding for a few days, it seemed like this incident was going to blow over and things were about to end peacefully. Contrary to his expectations, however, the storm suddenly kicked up again for some reason. The number of people searching for him increased dramatically. Moreover, they were much more enthusiastic than before.
It turned out Li Yuan Wang was pulling the strings all along!
The chance to train inside a Small Source World was an extremely precious opportunity even in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. How could the Open Heaven Realm Masters not go all out with such a reward being offered?
However, there was one thing Yang Kai could not understand.
[Li Yuan Wang knows the real reason I came to Lang Ya Paradise. Since he knows, why is he doing this? Isn’t it better to investigate quietly? Unless… He is trying to muddy the waters? It’ll be easier to blind the fish and catch them all in one fell swoop that way!]
All of a sudden, Yang Kai understood Li Yuan Wang’s ideas and intentions. [Even so, would it kill you to inform me beforehand!? You issued the order without even telling me anything! If not for my strength, the person lying on the ground with a swollen and bruised face would have been me instead!]
Li Yuan Wang’s order could not be concealed. Yang Kai was bound to learn the truth sooner or later. It was only out of this consideration that Senior Brother Zhao and the two others had revealed this matter to Yang Kai lest they suffer at his hands again.
Be that as it may, Li Yuan Wang had issued another order just now. Those who were defeated by Yang Kai would have to withdraw and could no longer participate in this training. There was no doubt that this order was beneficial to Yang Kai. He could not kill the Lang Ya Paradise disciples after all, so even if he defeated them, they could simply recover and make a comeback. If that were the case, it would only form an endless cycle.
[Is he planning to make me fight all of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise!?] There was no saying whether Yang Kai might be able to discover something in the process of fighting, but that was undoubtedly what Li Yuan Wang was aiming for!
It was not to say that this was not a valid method, but… Yang Kai could not help feeling very displeased. For some reason, he felt as though he had been used. Anybody else in his shoes would not have been comfortable with the idea either.
Fixing his gaze upon Senior Brother Zhao and the other two, Yang Kai suddenly thought of something and grinned.
The three of them had been beaten so badly by Yang Kai that they were now traumatised. Thus, they subconsciously shuddered in fear under his seemingly predatory gaze. Senior Brother Zhao, as the group’s leader, plucked up his courage and asked warily, “What do you want?”
Yang Kai responded with a straight face, “Don’t be nervous. You’re Senior Brother Zhao, right? Your Space Ring looks very exquisite. I like it very much! Can I have a look?”
Senior Brother Zhao couldn’t help widening his eyes at those words. [Isn’t this daylight robbery!?]
Most of his wealth was contained inside his Space Ring. If he were robbed of everything, then how was he supposed to survive in the future? Therefore, he immediately clutched at his Space Ring and yelled, “Don’t even think about it!”
[Since Li Yuan Wang wants to muddy the waters, then I am going to do exactly what he wants! However, I refuse to be used for nothing. Seeing as he made the first move, then he can only blame himself if I retaliate in kind!]
Nevertheless, robbing the Open Heaven Realm Masters of their Space Rings was a little too much. Even Yang Kai could not bring himself to do something like that. He only said that just to frighten Senior Brother Zhao and the others so that he could advance by retreating.
A short while later, Yang Kai came to an agreement with those three.
Senior Brother Zhao glared at Yang Kai furiously and snarled, “You’re deranged!”
Yang Kai snapped impatiently, “Stop complaining. Everybody, hand over a set of Sixth-Order materials or items of the same value! If you refuse, then I will hang you up like an offering to the Heavens on that Spirit Province over there!”
While speaking, he took out a bare tree trunk from somewhere and held it in front of him as though he was holding a flagpole. Moreover, the Spirit Province he was talking about was none other than the place where all the weaker Lang Ya Paradise disciples lived.
Senior Brother Zhao and the others couldn’t help feeling a bitter aftertaste in their mouths, almost as though they had bitten into a sour gourd. Unfortunately, they were helpless to fight back when faced with such an invincible enemy. If they were tied to the tree trunk on the Spirit Province in the distance, they would be seen by countless lower Lang Ya Paradise disciples. How could they hold their heads high in the future?
A set of Sixth-Order materials was certainly worth a lot. If these materials were converted into Open Heaven Pills, they would be worth at least 100 million Open Heaven Pills each. Be that as it may, this price was something that the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Lang Ya Paradise could afford to pay.
Comparing one’s dignity to one’s wealth, there was no doubt that the former was much more important.
What’s more, Yang Kai had previously planned to rob them of their Space Rings entirely. If he were to do that, then their losses would only become greater; hence, his price was not unacceptable to these three even though it was undeniably high.
Looking at each other, the three of them each took out some materials to hand to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned from ear to ear, “Senior Brothers, you are so magnanimous. This Junior Brother is overwhelmed by your favour!”
All three of them had cold expressions on their faces. None of them said a word as they sat down cross-legged to recover from their injuries.
Yang Kai took several steps forward before seeming to recall something. Digging around in his Space Ring for a while, he suddenly tossed a Spirit Pill to each of them, “This is a healing pill refined by Void Land. The effects are pretty good. You should give it a try, Senior Brothers!”
“Will this cost us money?” One of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters asked warily, clearly still traumatized by the banditry he had just experienced.
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment, “I can name a price if you’d like.”
That Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s expression darkened, and he looked like he wanted to slap himself on the mouth.
Yang Kai burst out laughing, “I was joking. Senior Brothers, please rest assured. This Yang is also reasonable. Since I have received proper payment already, I won’t trouble you any further.”
After saying that, he manipulated Space Principles and his figure vanished out of sight.
Once they confirmed that Yang Kai was gone, Senior Brother Zhao and the other two finally breathed a sigh of relief in unison. All three of them could not understand how the situation ended up like this. It was the Sect Master’s orders to use Yang Kai as the goal of their training exercise, but in the end, not only were they completely defeated, but they also had a set of Sixth-Order materials stolen from them in a twisted manner. It was absolutely heartbreaking!
The trio looked at the healing pill in their hands as though they were looking at a piece of stale chicken. Lang Ya Paradise had their own Alchemists, and the quality of the Spirit Pills refined by these Alchemists was naturally quite impressive. For that reason, they had no interest in the products of outsiders. Nevertheless, there was no denying that this Spirit Pill was something they obtained at a huge cost. Just throwing it away seemed like a massive waste.
Senior Brother Zhao hesitated for a while, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and tossed the Spirit Pill into his mouth. A moment later, he exclaimed in surprise, “The quality of this Spirit Pill… is surprisingly good!”
The two other Junior Brothers were a little surprised to hear his observation; therefore, they quickly ate the Spirit Pill only to discover that it was just as Senior Brother Zhao said. The effects of this Spirit Pill were certainly no inferior to the Spirit Pills refined by Lang Ya Paradise.
Senior Brother Zhao looked thoughtful, “It seems that Void Land has Alchemists with impressive skills!”
Unbeknownst to him, the Alchemy Skills of both the Wondrous Pill Great Emperor and Xia Ning Chang had improved by leaps and bounds after they advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The two of them had condensed their Dao Seals through the Alchemic Dao in the first place, so they naturally had a unique advantage in Alchemy.
Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of a certain bamboo building. He had no other intentions in coming here. His main reason was only to inform Gu Pan that he was safe. There had been no communication between them since she was kidnapped by the twins a few days ago. Even the messages in the Communication Bead had been clearly sent by somebody who was impersonating her.
Inside the bamboo building, Gongsun Ri Hua sat there with his swollen and bruised face. Gongsun Yue Hua was helping him to apply medicine, but every touch made him yelp in pain. He screamed and cursed, “Those bastards are too hateful! I kindly sent them the information, so why did they come and beat me up!?”
That group of people had come without saying anything or asking any questions and left immediately after beating him up. After suffering this grievance for nothing, his lungs were about to explode from rage.
Likewise, Gongsun Yue Hua was angry, “Next time, we’ll teach them a lesson one by one!”
Meanwhile, Gu Pan sat quietly by the side. Although she had a vague understanding of the situation, she was not in the position to speak up.
At that moment, a familiar aura suddenly appeared outside the bamboo building. She immediately stood up, pushed open the door, and asked in concern, “Senior Brother Yang, are you alright?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m fine. Junior Sister, don’t worry!”
Upon hearing his voice, Gongsun Ri Hua rushed out from behind Gu Pan and glared at Yang Kai furiously, “Boy, how dare you show up here?”
Yang Kai glanced at Gongsun Ri Hua’s swollen and bruised appearance. Blinking in surprise, he suddenly took out a Spirit Pill and held it between his fingers. He waved the Spirit Pill about and asked, “Senior Brother, I have some good healing pills with me. I guarantee that they will cure all your ailments. Would you like one?”
Gongsun Ri Hua was taken aback for a moment. Unable to understand the reason behind Yang Kai’s actions, he shook his head in confusion, “No!”
“No, no, no! You do need it, Senior Brother!” Yang Kai insisted.
“I told you I don’t need it!” Gongsun Ri Hua replied impatiently. In the next moment, his expression changed drastically, “W-What… What are you doing!?”
*Hong hong hong…*
Following a loud commotion, Gongsun Ri Hua found himself lying on the ground, his condition was even worse than before.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was still holding the healing pill between his fingers. Crouching down, he looked at Gongsun Ri Hua and said with a sincere and happy smile, “Senior Brother, I’ll only ask once. Do you want this healing pill? Or, do you want this healing pill?”
Gongsun Ri Hua was on the verge of tears! It all started when a group of his Fellow Brothers came over and indiscriminately beat him up. He had only just applied some medicine and the swelling on his face had not even subsided, yet Yang Kai had suddenly come over and beat him up again!
[I’m a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master! I can’t believe I was beaten up twice in the short span of less than an hour! There is no justice left in this world!] At this moment, he felt as though he was the most pitiful Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the world.
“Yes yes!” He nodded repeatedly, for fear that his situation would turn bleaker if he dared to say the word ‘no’ again. It made no sense. Why would somebody in this world forcibly give him a healing pill? Just what kind of mentality was that?
Yang Kai’s smile widened even further as he stretched out his hand, “Please pay with a set of Sixth-Order materials or items of equal value!”
Gongsun Ri Hua turned pale from the shock, “This is robbery!”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment, and then he nodded in agreement, “You’re right. This is robbery!”
[He admitted it! I can’t believe he admitted it!] Gongsun Ri Hua was immediately overwhelmed by Yang Kai’s audacity.
Even Gongsun Yue Hua couldn’t help covering her red lips with her hand, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief.
“Hurry up! Don’t dawdle!” Yang Kai urged.
Gongsun Ri Hua hesitated for a while, then he recalled the horrifying and overwhelming strength that Yang Kai had displayed just now. He had to admit that even with his Little Sister’s cooperation, the two of them would be no match for Yang Kai.
It was bad enough that he had been beaten up so badly; however, if his Little Sister was also beaten in the same manner, she would not be able to lift her head high in public again. She was a woman after all.
Sighing heavily, he admitted defeat, “It’s my loss. Brat, don’t get too arrogant. There are so many talented people in Lang Ya Paradise. Somebody will definitely defeat you one day!”
Yang Kai grinned at Gongsun Ri Hua, “I’ll be waiting!”
Gongsun Ri Hua coldly snorted. Taking out a bunch of materials from his Space Ring, he handed them over to Yang Kai.
In response, Yang Kai tossed the healing pill directly into Gongsun Ri Hua’s mouth. He stood up and turned to look at Gongsun Yue Hua, who was standing behind Gu Pan all this time. He grinned and revealed a set of pearly-white fangs that flashed with a cold light.
Gongsun Yue Hua turned pale, “Junior Brother, do you still have more healing pills? I’d like to buy one too!”
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, “I like how you are so reasonable and easy to communicate with, Senior Sister. I have more than enough healing pills, so I’m sure I can satisfy your needs. How many do you need, Senior Sister?”
“Haha…” She forced a laugh, “One is enough.”
A short while later, both goods and money exchanged hands.
Yang Kai smiled happily and made his last sales pitch, “Senior Sister, if you need more healing pills in the future, please come to me!”
“Of course, of course!” She quickly responded.
Then, he turned to look at Gu Pan, “Junior Sister Gu, I’ll come and visit you when I have finished my business here.”
Gu Pan replied earnestly, “Senior Brother, please take care.”
Gongsun Ri Hua and Gongsun Yue Hua looked at Gu Pan speechlessly. [At this time, the one you should be worried about is not that bastard surnamed Yang! You should be more concerned about your Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, right? Can you not be so obvious about siding with the outsiders!? Who knows how many other Fellow Brothers will suffer losses after this?]
Although they could send out a message to inform the others about the situation, according to Li Yuan Wang’s previous orders, the two of them had already been eliminated from this training exercise. Besides, they would only be suspected of cheating if they sent out a message at this time.
Even though they were extremely unhappy with what Yang Kai had done, they had their pride as Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise; therefore, be it Senior Brother Zhao and his two followers, or the Gongsun siblings, they quietly accepted the reality that they had been eliminated from the game and did not interfere further.
Yang Kai lurked quietly on top of a triangular-shaped Spirit Province.
This entire Lang Ya Paradise training had unfolded without his knowledge. As the ultimate goal of this training, he had to face all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise with his power alone. He might possess extraordinary strength, but he did not dare to claim that he would have the last laugh in this incident. Nevertheless, it was possible for him to obtain some benefits in the meantime.
At present, he controlled two large-scale Star Cities in Void Territory and High Heaven Territory, as well as several Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens in the Shattered Heaven. In addition, he also had the support of the resources in the New Great Territory. Be that as it may, nobody would ever complain about having too many resources.
A set of Sixth-Order materials each, with there being hundreds of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise! If every one of them ‘bought’ a healing pill from him, the benefits he would receive were bound to be rather considerable.
More importantly, the Good Fortune Divine Furnace required large amounts of materials. It was a bottomless pit that would never be filled no matter how many resources were thrown into it. That was why Yang Kai was bursting with motivation at this moment!
After a short wait, several figures passed by overhead. Their Divine Senses surged as they searched for any suspicious traces.
Yang Kai frowned slightly, [Why are there Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters mixed among this team? Aren’t they looking down on me a little too much? How can I tolerate this!?]
Thus, he rose straight into the sky and sped towards the group of four!
Among those four people, two were Sixth-Order and two were Fifth-Order. They were spread out in an awl formation to search their surroundings.
All of a sudden, a violent aura swept towards them from below like a tsunami and they immediately turned pale from shock.
Before they could get a clear grasp of the situation, Yang Kai had already charged straight into their ranks like an arrow released from the string. An overwhelming World Force swept outward at the same time.
The two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were instantly slammed by the impact. Their figures swayed and staggered unsteadily like small boats caught in the middle of a storm. When they hastily stabilised their figures and looked over, they saw that one of their Senior Brothers in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm had been punched in the chest. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master immediately coughed up fresh blood, and his complexion turned pale.
[Isn’t that… too harsh?] Although they could tell that this punch would not endanger the life of their Senior Brother, injuries were inevitable.
The Senior Brother who was punched in the chest tried to fight back, but the attacker punched him again and again. After that, he dropped out of the sky like a broken paper kite. The World Force lingering around his body also became incredibly chaotic. That was a clear sign that his Small Universe had been shaken violently.
A powerful Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master instantaneously lost all combat capability. It could be seen that the attacker’s strength was horrifying indeed!
The reaction of the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was not slow. He quickly blasted various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at the enemy, but he was not in time to change the fate of his comrade. Watching his Fellow Brother collapsing to the ground immediately flooded him with a mixture of fear and rage. Hence, he did not dare to hold back his strength whatsoever.
Be that as it may, his efforts were in vain. In less than ten breaths, he too screamed in agony and followed in the footsteps of his comrade.
Standing in the void alone, Yang Kai looked absolutely dominant. All of a sudden, he turned around to look at the two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Both of these two immediately turned pale as they felt like the abyss itself was staring at them!
“Run!” One of them shouted. Then, they immediately split up to the left and the right as if they had discussed it in advance. Even their two Senior Brothers in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were not Yang Kai’s opponents, so how could two Fifth-Order Masters like them possibly resist? At this point, their only option was to escape. Nevertheless, how could they manage that?
Yang Kai raised a hand and slapped his palm towards the two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters as though he was swatting at mosquitoes.
A short while later, Yang Kai happily stood in front of the four battered people and said with deep concern, “Your injuries are terrible!”
The four of them were speechless. [Why are you mentioning the obvious? Besides, who gave us these injuries? I can’t believe he is shedding crocodile tears and pretending to be concerned! What a jerk!]
Even though their hearts were filled with grief and resentment, their strength was certainly incomparable to the other party; therefore, there was nothing they could say in return. They never imagined that a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could have such terrifying strength. It could be said that today they witnessed an eye-opening sight indeed.
One of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who seemed to be the group’s leader, coughed lightly and spoke, “Junior Brother Yang, your skills are amazing and your heritage is extraordinary, we admit defeat!”
Admitting defeat meant that they would be eliminated from this training event, and the chance to enter the Five Lights World for training would have nothing to do with them anymore. Although it was a pity, there was no helping it since they were weak.
As Lang Ya Paradise disciples, they had their own pride; therefore, they admired Masters like Yang Kai to a certain extent.
“My respects!” Yang Kai cupped his fist. Then, with a flip of his palm, a jade bottle suddenly appeared in his hand and he smiled and said, “This Yang has some good healing pills. Please give them a try!”
While speaking, he gave a flick of his wrist and four Spirit Pills flew out, stopping in front of these four.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who spoke earlier nodded lightly, “Many thanks!”
He thought that Yang Kai took out these healing pills due to a sense of guilt for hurting them, so he did not think too much about the other party’s intentions. They each stuffed one Spirit Pill into their mouths without a second thought.
“Hmm? This healing pill is pretty good!” He raised his brow in surprise.
One of the other Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters added, “The taste is also quite nice…”
Yang Kai suddenly reached out his hand, “That will be one set of Sixth-Order materials or items of equal value!”
“W-Wha…?” The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was taken aback.
Yang Kai’s expression became grim, “What’s wrong? Are you refusing to pay after buying something from me? Senior Brother, are you planning to rob me? This Yang might be alone, but I am not easy to bully!”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was confused, “What did I buy from you?”
[Besides, who bullied who? It’s obvious that the four of us were bullied by you!]
The other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master looked at Yang Kai with a strange expression and asked hesitantly, “Junior Brother Yang, you can’t be referring to the healing pill, right?”
“What else could it be?” Yang Kai responded matter-of-factly.
The group of four were rendered speechless for a time, but in the end the first Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master eventually asked, “Junior Brother, were these healing pills not a gift?”
Yang Kai glanced sideways at the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, “When did I ever say I’m giving them to you? This item is extremely valuable. I was planning to sell it from the start!”
[A single healing pill is extremely valuable? There should be a limit to acting shameless!]
“Hurry up now! Even Senior Brother Zhao and the others bought this healing pill at this price, so you are no exception. This Yang has always been reasonable and fair when doing business!”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was stunned, “Even Senior Brother Zhao bought this Spirit Pill?”
Yang Kai nodded, “En! The Gongsun siblings also bought a healing pill each from this Yang. If you don’t believe me, you can contact them and ask. I’m sure you have each other’s contact information, right?”
Judging by his expression, he did not seem to be lying. The two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters questioned in their hearts. [Could it be that Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Brother Gongsun, and Senior Sister Gongsun really bought these healing pills? How can the Senior Brothers and Senior Sister tolerate something like that?]
“Ahem, wait a moment please!” The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who started speaking first took out a Communication Bead. His Divine Sense surged as he tried to contact the other party.
“Senior Brother Zhao, this Junior Brother has a question!”
“Oh? Junior Brother Yu? What is it?”
Yang Kai claimed that you bought a healing pill from him. Is that true?”
There was no reply from Senior Brother Zhao.
“Senior Brother Zhao? Senior Brother Zhao, are you still there?”
“I’m here!”
“Is this true?”
“Uhh… That’s the gist of it!”
[What does he mean by ‘That’s by the gist of it’?] Junior Brother Yu could not understand the meaning behind Senior Brother Zhao’s words. Just as he was about to ask more questions, Senior Brother Zhao sent another message, “You should just buy the healing pill, Junior Brother Yu. Exchanging money to avoid disaster is better than being hung on a tree and put on display for all the Junior disciples to see. You can earn more wealth if it is lost, but you can never pick up your face if you lose it.”
[Hung on a tree?] In the midst of his confusion, he saw that Yang Kai had taken out a bare tree trunk that was a couple dozen metres tall at some point in time. Moreover, Yang Kai would occasionally glance over at them while fiddling with some rope, as though trying to figure out the most convenient way to hang them from the tree.
He couldn’t help shuddering in fear and quickly replied to the message, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Zhao! Please recuperate well, Senior Brother Zhao. This Junior Brother will visit you later!”
“You should recover from your injuries first!”
Putting the Communication Bead away, Junior Brother Yu looked at Yang Kai speechlessly. Then, he smiled bitterly and said, “Junior Brother Yang, you sure are good at doing business!”
Yang Kai looked proud, “Of course! How else could I have provided for my family if I was not? Have you understood the situation, Senior Brother?”
Junior Brother Yu nodded. Even Senior Brother Zhao had admitted defeat, so what else could he do? Helpless, he could only bring out resources that were worth a set of Sixth-Order materials and give them to Yang Kai.
Seeing this, the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could only do the same.
Yang Kai happily received the resources, then he turned around to look at the two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Those two nearly burst into tears!
One of the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that looked older said, “Senior Brother Yang, even if I gather all of my wealth, I don’t have that much! I haven’t swallowed the Spirit Pill. Why don’t I return it to you!?”
After saying so, he spat out the Spirit Pill onto his palm and tremblingly handed it back to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s expression darkened, “It’s all covered in your spit now. Who would want this? This Yang does not have a policy of accepting returns for goods I have sold!”
The Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wailed, “But, Senior Brother Yang, I really don’t have that much wealth! This healing pill of yours… I simply can’t afford it!”
Ordinary Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be considered extremely wealthy if they had resources worth a few tens of millions of Open Heaven Pills in reserve; after all, they needed to cultivate constantly, so it was hard to retain any balance after buying cultivation resources.
Although a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from a Cave Heaven or Paradise would be in better condition and have more wealth than average, it was still impossible for them to have over 100 million Open Heaven Pills worth of resources just lying around. That was the wealth that belonged only to Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and above.
“That’s right, Senior Brother Yang! We are not trying to deceive you!” The other Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master joined in.
Yang Kai sighed, “I know you are not lying to me, and I also believe that you don’t have that much wealth. But, if you don’t have enough yourself, I’m sure you can borrow some…”
While speaking, he shot a sharp glance to the two people standing beside the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
All four of them were shocked! [Can you really do that!? Isn’t that a little too much!?]
“I don’t have much time. If you’re not willing to pay up, then I won’t force you either; however, I can’t say what kind of consequences you will face as a result!” Yang Kai quickly said when he saw that those two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were hesitating.
The younger Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master asked weakly, “Dare I ask, Senior Brother Yang, what are the consequences?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Have a guess!”
Although Yang Kai did not say anything specific, both of them had an extremely ominous feeling. If they did not buy this healing pill, something very bad would be waiting for them.
The older Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said, “Senior Brother Yang, our cultivation is not as high as our Senior Brothers. We are only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Can you… lower the price of this healing pill?”
“You get what you pay for, no? What does this have to do with your cultivation!?” Yang Kai glared.
[Don’t you feel embarrassed saying ‘you get what you pay for’!? Where in this world would you find such an expensive healing pill!?] Despite the retorts in their hearts, they did not dare to say a word. The two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters glanced towards the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters hesitantly, “Senior Brothers, these Junior Brothers are in trouble. Please help us, Senior Brothers!”
The two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were having a headache. Unfortunately, things had already reached this point. In order to settle this matter, they could only provide a loan to their Junior Brothers. They could not watch without doing anything as Yang Kai hung their two Junior Brothers up on the tree like an offering to the Heavens, right?
“Many thanks for the generosity!” Yang Kai kept his things and smiled brilliantly, “Please focus on your recovery. I won’t disturb you any longer.”
After saying that, he turned and left!
Not long after Yang Kai departed, Senior Sister Zhou, who was dressed in fiery-red robes, rushed over with a group of people. She was shocked to see the four of them with bruised and swollen faces. Not to mention, they looked as depressed as grieving widows, “What happened to you?”
The older Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wept bitterly, “Senior Sister Zhou, why did you only come now…”
“What happened?” She asked with a frown.
Junior Brother Yu sighed, “Yang Kai wounded us, then forcibly sold us a healing pill each!”
Senior Sister Zhou was livid, “How dare he do something like that!?”
However, thinking about it again, it seemed plausible. When she went to cause trouble for him previously, he had not held back either. If that was the case for a woman like her, it only went to show Yang Kai’s brutal nature.
Senior Sister Zhou glanced at Junior Brother Yu again, “Did you say that Yang Kai sold you some healing pills?”
Junior Brother Yu nodded.
She was puzzled, “Why would he sell you healing pills? Is he that kind-hearted?”
Junior Brother Yu replied in a distressed tone, “It’s not out of kindness! Senior Sister Zhou, you don’t understand. That healing pill of his cost each of us a set of Sixth-Order materials!”
“What!?” She was absolutely taken aback. [What kind of healing pill is worth a set of Sixth-Order materials!? That’s over a 100 million Open Heaven Pills per pill!]
Only then did she understand the situation, “He’s selling by compulsion!?”
“That’s right! That’s right!” Junior Brother Yu and the others nodded repeatedly, “It’s not just us. Even Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Brother and Sister Gongsun have been forced to buy those healing pills.”
“Damn!” Senior Sister Zhou gnashed her teeth furiously, “It’s bad enough that he came to Lang Ya Paradise and bullied our disciples. I can’t believe he even uses such a despicable method to make money! Does he think that there is nobody in Lang Ya Paradise that can defeat him!?”
The older Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master added, “Senior Sister Zhou, please take revenge for us!”
She snorted, “Rest assured, he better not let me find him. If I meet him, I will definitely beat him up so badly that even Junior Sister Gu cannot recognise him! At that time, you should sell some healing pills to him!”
He was overjoyed to hear those words, “We’ll be relying on you, Senior Sister Zhou!”
She glanced at them and waved her hand dismissively, “Since you have been defeated by Yang Kai, you should focus on your recovery. Don’t interfere in this exercise anymore.”
“Yes!” They responded politely.
Afterwards, Senior Sister Zhou led her team into the sky and soon vanished out of sight.
A young man in her team spoke up all of a sudden, “Senior Sister Zhou, is Yang Kai really that strong? There were two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Junior Brother Yu’s team. How could they fail to be his opponent when they are fighting two against one?”
Senior Sister Zhou frowned in contemplation for a moment before she answered, “That guy is definitely the strongest Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that I’ve ever met in my life. Even Senior Brother Le Mang is not his opponent. Don’t you dare let down your guard.”
Everybody was shocked by what they heard. Although they heard the rumours that Senior Brother Le Mang had been defeated by Yang Kai, they had not witnessed the situation with their own eyes and were not aware of what transpired at the time. They even assumed that the rumours were exaggerated and misrepresented. They knew Senior Brother Le Mang’s strength after all. How could he be defeated by somebody in the same Order? It was not until they received confirmation from Senior Sister Zhou that they realised the rumours were true.
The person who spoke earlier said, “If that’s the case, then even if we encountered Yang Kai, we might not be able to defeat him!”
They had three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in their team. Nevertheless, based on Yang Kai’s previous performances, they would suffer a miserable fate even if they ran into him with such a force Kai.
Senior Sister Zhou replied, “It doesn’t matter. If we encounter him, then we only need to delay him. I’m sure our Fellow Brothers and Sisters will quickly come to our aid. At that time, he will have nowhere to escape!”
They nodded at her words.
“Where should we go now, Senior Sister Zhou?”
She said, “Yang Kai is proficient in the Dao of Space and excels at escaping. He just defeated Junior Brother Yu and the others not long ago, so he definitely escaped towards the other side of Lang Ya Paradise. Let’s go and search for him there!”
“Senior Sister Zhou, your plan is brilliant! I’m sure we’ll be able to locate Yang Kai now!”
…..
At the place where Junior Brother Yu and the others were recovering, the four of them sat down cross-legged and meditated on the spot. Yang Kai’s attacks earlier were quite heavy. Although they still retained some mobility, it was not easy for them to move around at the moment; therefore, they planned to recuperate for a while before heading back to their respective homes.
Not long after Senior Sister Zhou departed though, two others passed by in the sky overhead. They quickly landed after seeing the four people below. When they saw the miserable condition of Junior Brother Yu and the others, both of them were completely shocked.
One of them asked, “Junior Brother Yu, what happened to you?”
Junior Brother Yu opened his eyes with a sheepish expression on his face, “Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Ye, my apologies for showing you such an embarrassing sight.”
Senior Brother Wang looked pensive, “Don’t tell me; did you Junior Brothers encounter Yang Kai?”
If not for that case, there was no other explanation for the situation in front of them. The two of them quietly observed the situation and were shocked. It turned out that Yang Kai had attacked quite ruthlessly!
Junior Brother Yu nodded in embarrassment, but just as he was about to describe what happened, he suddenly looked behind the two newcomers with an expression of fear and terror. They also noticed that something was wrong at the same time and hastily surged the power of their Small Universes to defend themselves.
However, they felt a violent force coming towards them from behind before they could even turn around and were instantly swept up by it. Despite fighting back desperately, they were no match for this force and their Small Universes were instantly shaken, causing them to see stars spinning around in their vision.
A short while later, Yang Kai crouched down in front of his two latest clients, took out a jade bottle, and said, “Senior Brothers, these are the healing pills that Void Land produces. Would you like to try them?”
“What do you mean?” Senior Brother Ye did not understand.
Junior Brother Yu gave an awkward cough from the side and explained the situation clearly.
Both Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Ye were completely taken aback. [Can you even do that!?]
Even Junior Brother Yu was stunned. He never imagined that Yang Kai had been hanging around in the vicinity instead of leaving. Yang Kai had not revealed himself when Senior Sister Zhou and the others came by earlier. It was not until Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Ye arrived that he suddenly revealed himself and caused trouble for them.
Senior Brother Wang was actually rather carefree about the whole situation. Spitting out some blood, he laughed and said, “Junior Brother Yang, your strength is extraordinary indeed! This Wang is inferior, so there’s nothing much to say. The healing pills… I’ll take one of them!”
Yang Kai turned to look at Senior Brother Ye, “What about you, Senior Brother?”
Senior Brother Ye felt as though he was suffering from a toothache, but he still said, “Give me one too.”
“Senior Brothers, you are too generous!” Yang Kai was absolutely delighted.
Yang Kai received a large number of materials and gave out two healing pills in return. Only then did he say, “You should stay here and focus on recovering. I’ll be taking my leave now!”
After saying that, he stepped forward and vanished out of sight.
Junior Brother Yu looked around suspiciously. Yang Kai had done the same thing previously, but it turned out that he had not left far. There was no saying whether he was hiding nearby again; therefore, Junior Brother Yu had a sneaking suspicion that the same situation was repeating itself.
Soon after, several streams of light rushed over from a distance and quickly arrived above their heads. The person leading this group was a large-bodied man. He looked down in puzzlement and asked, “Senior Brothers, why are you gathered here? Was there a fight here just now? This Junior Brother detected some energy fluctuations coming from here!”
Junior Brother Yu and the others looked up and desperately tried to signal to their comrades to leave as quickly as possible. Having been eliminated from the training, they were not in a position to aid others, so they could only hope that the Junior Brothers who came here would understand their kind intentions.
The person who came blinked his eyes before flying down and landing in front of them, “Senior Brothers, do you have something to say to me?”
Junior Brother Yu and the others slapped their palms against their faces before closing their eyes, unable to bring themselves to watch.
In the next moment, Yang Kai’s aura emerged again, seemingly out of nowhere. A violent burst of energy swept out, accompanied by a series of agitated screams. Shockingly, everything became calm again in the short span of several breaths!
Yang Kai stood in front of the Lang Ya Paradise disciples collapsed on the ground with a huge smile on his face, “Senior Brothers, you sure are enthusiastic. This Yang is ashamed.”
Junior Brother Yu looked up at the sky and gave a long sigh. [Which Senior Brother or Senior Sister in Lang Ya Paradise can come and teach this guy a lesson? If this continues on, it won’t be long before Lang Ya Paradise loses all face.]
The new group that just arrived were dazed. There were six of them, with two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and even two Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Be that as it may, they had been completely defeated in a short span of time. It was simply unimaginable.
“Come, come, come. Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers, it’s time for some medicine.” Yang Kai enthusiastically took out some healing pills.
…
“Everyone, please recuperate here with peace of mind. This Yang will be leaving first!” After receiving another batch of materials, Yang Kai cupped his fist with a smile and stepped into the Void.
Junior Brother Yu glared at Yang Kai resentfully. [You’ve said those words three times now!]
The six people, who were forced to buy the healing pills a moment ago, remained in a daze. In particular, the two Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and two Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were feeling indescribably heartbroken.
Losing a set of Sixth-Order materials was a heavy blow for any Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in Lang Ya Paradise, but such a loss was still within the acceptable range if they remained strong-hearted.
In contrast, this kind of loss was practically a lethal blow to the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Not to mention, they could not even take out so much wealth at once and were forced to borrow from others to make up for what they lacked.
Junior Brother Yu suddenly stood up, “We cannot stay here any longer. This guy is obviously using us as bait to lure in the fish!”
His words immediately awakened everybody to the situation. Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Ye nodded in agreement, “You’re right. If we are gathered in this place, our Fellow Brothers will surely stop to investigate the situation if they pass by. At that time, they will also be implicated in this mess.”
The large-bodied Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master looked at them with an aggrieved look. That was how his team had been lured down previously. He asked sorrowfully, “Why didn’t you leave earlier, Senior Brothers!?”
If they had left earlier, then he would not have come over to investigate out of curiosity. He even specially flew over for this purpose. In the end, he had been struck by Yang Kai who had been hiding in the dark.
Junior Brother Yu replied awkwardly, “I only just understood this myself.”
Senior Brother Wang glanced at the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters crying desolately over their losses. Then, he made a suggestion, “Send out a message to inform the others that those below the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm should not participate in this training.”
Although the Sect Master did not disallow the participation of those below the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, only those in the Sixth-Order were informed of it. The only reason there were Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters participating in this training was that they were hoping to reap some benefits. In the end, they not only failed to gain any benefits, but suffered great losses instead. They would not be able to recover from such a blow for the next few hundred years.
Junior Brother Yu hesitated, “We have already been eliminated, so this training no longer has anything to do with us. I don’t think it is appropriate for us to send out a message.”
Senior Brother Wang shook his head, “I’m not saying we should inform our Fellow Brothers about his whereabouts. It’s enough if we tell them about the healing pills. The Junior Brothers in the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm will understand. This doesn’t count as interference.”
The words had just left his mouth when Yang Kai’s figure appeared out of nowhere. Yang Kai stared at Senior Brother Wang blankly and asked, “Senior Brother, your injuries don’t seem to have gotten better. I still have over 100 hundred healing pills with me. Would you like some?”
Senior Brother Wang shuddered at the thought. The corners of his mouth twitched as he replied, “No need, no need. I’m grateful for your kindness, Junior Brother Yang. My injuries will heal just fine if I go back and rest for a short while. Well, goodbye!”
After saying that, he soared into the sky.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai turned to look at the others. They didn’t even bother to be courteous and escaped out of sight in the blink of an eye. Looking at their vanishing backs, Yang Kai clicked his tongue in annoyance, [There goes my bait.]
Needless to say, he was not going to allow them to ruin his chances of making a fortune. If the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wanted to participate in this training, then they should be prepared to be injured by him and forced to buy a healing pill.
However, he knew that it was meaningless to stop them from warning the others. The news was bound to spread soon enough. Accordingly, the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would automatically withdraw from the training. If that happened, then his sources of income would be greatly reduced!
[I can’t remain passive! I have to take the initiative to attack! That’s the only way I can rob… er, recoup my losses to the greatest extent!]
Many years had passed since the last time Lang Ya Territory was so lively. The figures of countless Open Heaven Realm Masters patrolling above each of the Spirit Provinces could be seen. These Open Heaven Realm Masters moved about in teams, spreading their Divine Senses into their surroundings as though they were searching for something. Even though they were patrolling, they remained vigilant at all times. Their World Force lingered around their bodies, always on guard against sneak attacks.
The weaker disciples who did not know what was happening looked up in curiosity.
“What are the Martial Uncles and Aunts doing? Has there been an enemy invasion in Lang Ya Territory?” Somebody asked.
A well-informed person sighed and explained, “It’s not an enemy invasion. We simply have a special guest.”
“A guest? What kind of guest could make so many Open Heaven Realm Masters be dispatched together? I even saw Martial Aunt Zhou and Martial Uncle Le Mang flying around earlier. They were rushing about with very serious expressions.”
“Void Land’s Lord, Yang Kai. Have you heard of him?”
“Sounds familiar. I think I’ve heard of him before.”
“Of course, he sounds familiar. He comes from the Star Boundary, which currently has the World Tree. Didn’t Lang Ya Paradise select a group of disciples with low cultivation and high aptitude to send to nurture in the Star Boundary several years ago?”
“So it’s him!”
“This guest is not simple. He seems to have defeated many of our Martial Uncles and Martial Aunts in the Open Heaven Realm. The Sect Master issued a command to mobilise all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise for a training exercise, with this person as the target. Anybody who can capture him will be rewarded!”
“Isn’t that to say that Yang Kai will have to face all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise by himself!?”
“That’s right!”
“In that case, he must have suffered a disastrous fate by now.”
“That’s why I said this person isn’t simple. The training has gone on for more than ten days now, but Void Land’s Lord continues to roam about freely. On the contrary, no less than 100 Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise have been defeated by him!”
“Wow… Are you serious!?”
“I wish it were fake, but it’s the truth. Ah… It’s Martial Aunt Gu!” The disciple who was speaking earlier suddenly looked up into the sky and stared at the leading figure flying overhead with an obsessive gaze. He shouted at the top of his voice, “Martial Aunt Gu!”
Many other disciples shouted along, immediately setting off a deafening chorus of the name ‘Martial Aunt Gu’.
Above them, a beautiful woman leading several Open Heaven Realm Masters behind her happened to be passing by swiftly. When she heard the voices, she looked down and smiled warmly.
The disciples below instantly went crazy, “Martial Aunt Gu smiled at me! Hahahaha! Martial Aunt Gu smiled at me! I’ll have no regrets even if I died today!”
“Bullshit! Martial Aunt Gu was smiling at me!”
“Junior Brother, you must be blind!”
“You’re the blind one, Senior Brother!”
The disciples were burning with passion. It could be seen that this ‘Martial Aunt Gu’ was very popular in Lang Ya Paradise. It was not surprising; after all, this Martial Aunt by the name of Gu Ling’er was not only extremely beautiful, but also incredibly gentle and helpful to others. Many of the weaker disciples also received her support before.
Therefore, her popularity was high among both the weaker disciples and the Open Heaven Realm Masters. Countless Fellow Brothers secretly had feelings for her, but did not dare to express them, lest they offended her.
While the weaker disciples were going crazy, the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were also going crazy!
Five days ago, Yang Kai suddenly changed his behaviour. He no longer remained in hiding and instead took the initiative to attack. Following that, the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters who were eliminated from this training soared.
Nobody could figure out what he was thinking, but at present, almost the entire Lang Ya Territory had become his hunting grounds. Their status as the hunter and the prey constantly switched back and forth between Yang Kai and Sixth-Order Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
There were traces of battle everywhere one went.
After eliminating more than a dozen Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yang Kai’s various actions finally spread to the public. Everybody learned that he would forcibly sell a healing pill produced by Void Land to his victims after he defeated them. Moreover, the price of each healing pill was a set of Sixth-Order materials!
What’s more, nothing good would come from refusing to buy the healing pill.
There was once a Junior Brother in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm who refused to buy the healing pill. In the end, he was hung up on a tree trunk like an offering to the Heavens and placed on the Spirit Province where the lower disciples lived to be publicly witnessed by all. It was said that the incident terribly traumatised him, and he was too ashamed to show his face in public again.
That was why Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang issued an order. Anybody who was defeated by Yang Kai should choose to exchange money to avoid disaster rather than to humiliate themselves just to save on a set of cultivation resources. After all, the face that they lost could never be recovered.
In this way, all the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who originally participated in this training hoping to pick up some benefits quickly withdrew in horror. There was no helping it. A set of Sixth-Order materials was simply too expensive for them. Even if they came from Lang Ya Paradise, they could not afford such a price.
Not to mention, judging by the experiences of their comrades who encountered Yang Kai previously, it would seem that Yang Kai would not look the other way even if they were Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Out of all the Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were defeated by him before, who had not bought a Spirit Pill from him?
Yang Kai’s behaviour roused the rage and indignation of all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. Not only did he abandon Junior Sister Gu Pan after thoughtlessly deflowering her, but he was also earning a fortune from this training! It was simply intolerable!
Nevertheless, it was undeniable that he was extremely strong. Even if two or three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joined forces together, things would not end well for them if they encountered him.
As the Eldest Senior Brother, Le Mang immediately shouldered the responsibility of coordinating the troops!
At this moment, the identity tokens of many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise would occasionally flash. Numerous Divine Senses poured into their respective identity tokens, and communications flowed endlessly between them.
“Senior Brother Ning’s team has been defeated. They were located in the Purple Clouds Spirit Province. Judging by the traces of the battle, it probably lasted for no more than a quarter-hour. I repeat; Senior Brother Ning’s team has been defeated. They were located in the Purple Clouds Spirit Province. All the Fellow Brothers in the vicinity should increase their vigilance!”
“There were four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Senior Brother Ning’s team! I can’t believe they were eliminated! How are the injuries of those Senior Brothers?”
“They did not suffer any life-threatening wounds, but their injuries are not light either. It will take ten to fifteen days for them to recover. The complexions of Senior Brother Ning and his team aren’t very good. Senior Brother asked us to work hard to avenge them.”
“Isn’t that bastard being a bit too ruthless!? He seriously injures all the Fellow Brothers who encounter him just so he can sell that healing pill of his. Hateful!”
“You should be careful too, Senior Brother Li. That bastard surnamed Yang likes to turn around and attack the same spot. Several teams have already suffered losses from his tactics.”
“We located Yang Kai at Tiger Roar Spirit Province! Requesting reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements! Ahh!”
“Junior Brother Zhou! Junior Brother Zhou!”
There was no reply.
After a short pause, somebody spoke up, “I’m afraid Junior Brother Zhou’s team may have already encountered misfortune. Don’t panic, Fellow Brothers. Be sure to persevere until the end. We have the advantage in numbers. Victory belongs to us!”
After a moment of silence, someone said, “Junior Brother Zhou’s team may have already encountered misfortune. Don’t panic, fellow brothers, be sure to hold on, we are numerous and powerful, and victory will surely belong to us.”
“That bastard is too elusive! Purple Clouds Spirit Province is in the northeast while Tiger Roar Spirit Province is in the southwest. How did he get there so quickly?”
“The Dao of Space is truly unparalleled and mysterious. Amazing!”
All of a sudden, a Divine Sense fluctuated in all of their identity tokens. They investigated the phenomenon and discovered that it was a message from Senior Brother Le Mang, “All teams are to merge together with others in the vicinity. Make sure that there are no less than five Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in each team. Every team will be responsible for the areas in their vicinity, and they are not allowed to leave their designated areas without authorisation. Those who discover Yang Kai’s whereabouts must report their findings immediately, and the teams nearby are to provide support!”
“We will obey your orders, Eldest Senior Brother!” Everyone responded quickly.
Over the past ten days or so, many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise came to deeply understand Yang Kai’s strength. Two or three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters working together were not enough to match him in battle at all. Four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were barely enough to fight back, so only five Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had enough combat force to face him.
It was precisely because of this consideration that Le Mang made this adjustment to their formation.
Every team had five Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters working together, and each team was in charge of an area. In this way, it was enough to prevent Yang Kai from moving around undetected. As soon as he revealed his whereabouts, Lang Ya Paradise would be able to take the initiative in the battle.
All the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had been mobilised. If they were still unable to defeat Yang Kai, they would not have any face left to show.
…..
In front of the Grand Hall on the Main Spirit Province, Li Yuan Wang’s expression was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Gao Ting stood by the side and glanced at him from time to time.
“If you have something to say, then spit it out! Why are you holding back!?” Li Yuan Wang’s brow twitched.
Gao Ting smacked his lips, “That Brat has caused such a huge commotion. How are we supposed to end things now?”
The truth was that there was nothing wrong with Li Yuan Wang’s decision. Using this training to muddy the waters would certainly make things more convenient for Yang Kai to act. In fact, they might even make some unexpected discoveries along the way; however, the current situation had vastly exceeded the expectations of both Li Yuan Wang and Gao Ting.
Yang Kai had eliminated over 100 Open Heaven Realm Masters in the span of ten days. Be that as it may, he remained high-spirited and full of energy. That was not all; he was also making a killing by selling his healing pills by compulsion. He had obtained a large number of cultivation resources from the Lang Ya Paradise disciples already.
Li Yuan Wang had known about Yang Kai’s strength; after all, Yang Kai had killed a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master before. How could the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise be his opponents? Nevertheless, even if one or two people were not his opponents, eight or ten of them should have no trouble defeating him, right? Li Yuan Wang believed that Yang Kai would eventually be captured by the Lang Ya Paradise disciples during the training, which would have provided a satisfactory ending to this debacle. Unfortunately, the current situation seemed to be going horribly wrong.
Leaving aside everything else, just the loss of the cultivation resources by the Lang Ya Paradise disciples was enough to break Li Yuan Wang’s heart! He couldn’t help cursing to himself. [Did you come to Lang Ya Paradise to search for the Black Ink Clan or carry out robbery!?]
Gao Ting had previously ridiculed him for lifting a stone only to smash his own foot with it, and looking at the current circumstances, it would seem to be true!
The changes occurring throughout Lang Ya Paradise were also felt by Yang Kai. The teams he encountered before only had three or four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at most. With his current strength, it was not difficult for him to cope with such numbers. Now, however, every team had at least five Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Some teams even had seven or eight!
He couldn’t help feeling troubled. There were so many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that it was tough for him to eliminate them all at once without transforming into his Grand Dragon Form! If he did not eliminate all of them together, then he could not sell his wares with peace of mind.
Of course, the current situation was within his expectations.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise might be a little crooked because of Li Yuan Wang’s unrighteousness, but they were still Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, not fools who had never seen the world or cultivated before. After suffering so many losses, even they had learned their lesson.
That was why Yang Kai believed that it was time for him to change his strategy. If there was no way to defeat an entire team in one go, then he simply needed to attack them twice or thrice instead!
[In the worst case, I can put them on credit! I’ll just go door-to-door to collect my debts from them after the training ends. Yes! What a great idea!] Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling proud of his wit.
The thought had only just crossed Yang Kai’s mind when he suddenly detected a stream of light speeding by over where he was hiding. The aura coming from the stream of light belonged to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
His eyes immediately lit up at the sight. [That’s another set of Sixth-Order materials!]
With a flicker of his figure, Yang Kai immediately blocked the path of the other party.
Startled, the passing Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master quickly came to a halt and turned pale with shock when he caught a clear glimpse of Yang Kai’s face, “S-Senior Brother Yang!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, the sight of a fist rapidly growing larger filled his entire vision. He hastily pushed his World Force to retaliate, but it was already too late. Even though they were both in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, meeting Yang Kai alone was no different from a fish lying on a chopping block.
In just three breaths, the passing Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was knocked to the ground by Yang Kai and crashed hard into a forest below.
Yang Kai quickly descended and looked at the other party with a smile, “Junior Brother, your courage isn’t small!”
When he first saw that this person was acting alone, he thought that Lang Ya Paradise was using him as bait to lure him into a trap. However, there were no traces of any other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from Lang Ya Paradise up until now. It could be certain that this person was indeed acting alone; therefore, Yang Kai couldn’t help praising him. In this situation where all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were in danger, which one of them did not move about in a large team? There was no denying that this person was bold indeed.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai frowned, “Junior Brother, why do you look so familiar? Moreover, your injuries…”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master looked like he was about to cry as he said, “Senior Brother Yang, we met each other just three days ago! You gave me these injuries!”
“Huh?” Yang Kai’s expression became strange, “Is that to say that you’ve been eliminated?”
“That’s right!” The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master nodded aggrievedly. Just why was his luck so terrible? He had already been eliminated from the training three days ago. Today, he was simply heading towards another Spirit Province for an errand. He was not participating in the training, so who could have expected that he would be captured by Yang Kai again? How did this make sense!?
Likewise, Yang Kai was a little speechless.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master cautiously said, “Senior Brother Yang, if there’s nothing else, then this Junior Brother will be leaving first.”
“Wait!” Yang Kai suddenly raised a hand to stop the other party.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master felt his heart clench at those words, and an ominous feeling suddenly flooded him, “How may I help you, Senior Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai observed the other party seriously, “I’m sorry, Junior Brother. It seems that my attack was a little heavy-handed. The main reason is that I’m fighting alone, so I have to act a bit forceful in order to persist.”
“It’s okay. They are only flesh wounds; it’s nothing serious. I’ll be fine after recuperating for a few days.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded. Changing the subject abruptly, he asked with ‘concern’, “Would you like another healing pill?”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master clutched at his Space Ring in panic, “Senior Brother Yang, I already bought one earlier…”
Yang Kai considered for a moment and generously replied, “I’ll make it half-price for the second pill.”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was rendered speechless.
A short while later, Yang Kai patted the shoulder of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in front of him and earnestly advised the other party, “It’s not safe outside these days, so don’t run around for no reason. You should stay at home and focus on your recovery.”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master looked absolutely depressed and answered weakly, “Many thanks for your concern, Senior Brother Yang. I’ll be leaving now…”
The wealth that he accumulated with great difficulty over the years had all been lost after encountering Yang Kai twice in just three days. Thus, he vowed that he would not reveal himself again until the training was over! If he met Yang Kai again, he wouldn’t be able to afford another healing pill even if it was at half-price!
He rushed into the sky after saying goodbye to Yang Kai, his tears scattering in the wind!
An hour later, in the sky above Menacing Earth Spirit Province, a group of six people swept past at a high speed while on patrol. All six of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The person leading the team was Gu Ling’er, who held high popularity among all Lang Ya Paradise disciples.
Her team originally consisted of three Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but they merged with a nearby team after receiving Senior Brother Le Mang’s order. That was why they currently had a total of six Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The six of them were in charge of monitoring Menacing Earth Spirit Province and the void surrounding it. They hardly made any stops, their powerful Divine Senses spreading across every bit of ground. The slightest rustling of the wind could not escape their perception.
All of a sudden, the six of them turned to look in a certain direction at the same time. In that direction, a layer of ripples spread out in space, as though a pebble had been thrown into a calm lake. Immediately after that, a figure appeared out of nowhere.
Somebody in the team exclaimed in shock, “It’s Yang Kai! Yang Kai has appeared!”
“Hurry up and notify the others!”
“We found Yang Kai at Menacing Earth Spirit Province! Fellow Brothers in the vicinity, please send aid as soon as possible!”
The message was sent out instantly; then, under Gu Ling’er’s leadership, the six of them swiftly charged towards Yang Kai. Their World Force surged violently, giving him no chance to escape!
They initially thought that Yang Kai would flee, but who could have known that Yang Kai was only taken aback for a moment but chose to stand his ground? In fact, he even charged towards them with a look of joy, as though he was meeting a friend he had not seen in years. Therefore, they were rather stunned by the situation!
There were less than three kilometres between them, and their various Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities had long been prepared. As long as Yang Kai closed the distance a little more, then they could show him what a one-way trip with no return meant!
Yang Kai suddenly raised a hand, and his deep voice reverberated in the Void, “Near Distant Horizon!”
The distance between them suddenly stretched out infinitely!
At the same time, Gu Ling’er noticed that something was wrong and shouted, “Attack!”
Numerous Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques burst out with blinding light, accompanied by a horrifying power that blasted towards Yang Kai. But in the next instant, they all witnessed an incomprehensible scene. The Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques they blasted outward became as slow as a turtle’s movements, pressing forward little by little as though the void had solidified at this moment.
It would not have been shocking if that were all though. What astonished them, even more, was that Junior Brother Liu, who stood to the right of Gu Ling’er, suddenly appeared in front of Yang Kai for some reason.
On the other hand, the others got further and further away from Yang Kai! Space had suddenly become chaotic, and they could not distinguish the difference between each other as a result.
Nevertheless, this disorder only lasted for a short moment before it was destroyed by the Divine Abilities they exploded together. The Void soon returned to normal, but when they looked up again, Yang Kai was already nowhere to be seen. He had appeared without warning and disappeared just as suddenly, like an elusive ghost.
“Junior Brother Liu is gone!” Somebody noticed an anomaly and exclaimed in shock.
Their team initially consisted of six people, but there were only five left now. Moreover, they saw Junior Brother Liu appearing in front of Yang Kai for some inexplicable reason only to be punched in the gut by the latter.
Their expressions were ugly, “Junior Brother Liu must have been kidnapped!”
In the Spirit Province where Gu Pan lived, the figures of Yang Kai and Junior Brother Liu emerged. Gongsun Ri Hua, who had been recuperating from his wounds, came out to investigate the situation when he sensed the commotion, but upon recognising the people who just arrived, he immediately turned around and closed the door behind him with a resolute bang. He avoided Yang Kai as though he was avoiding a great disaster!
Junior Brother Liu screamed, “Senior Brother Gongsun, save me!”
Yang Kai looked at Junior Brother Liu quietly, “Senior Brother Gongsun was eliminated a long time ago. I’m afraid he can’t save you!”
Junior Brother Liu had a look of despair on his face and reluctantly said, “Give me a healing pill.”
Yang Kai patted Junior Brother Liu on the shoulder, “A wise man will submit to the circumstances!”
The two teams in the vicinity of Menacing Earth Spirit Province hurriedly rushed over to provide support when they received the message, but by the time they arrived, they saw that Yang Kai had vanished out of sight. Junior Brother Liu had also vanished along with him. There was no need to wonder what was happening. The bastard surnamed Yang was undoubtedly hiding somewhere and coercing Junior Brother Liu into buying a healing pill at this moment. Hence, they all paid silent tribute to Junior Brother Liu!
A message of distress suddenly came from their Identity Tokens again. It was full of panic, “He’s here! He’s here at Wu’an Spirit Province! We have engaged in battle with him. Fellow Brothers in the vicinity, please come and provide aid as soon as possible! Ah! Senior Brother Hua is gone!”
Once again, they paid silent tribute to Senior Brother Hua!
Junior Brother Liu was still reeling from the shock of suffering such a huge loss when a figure abruptly appeared beside him. This was followed by Yang Kai’s reappearance.
Senior Brother Hua, who had been kidnapped and brought to this place, resisted and struggled violently. Catching sight of Junior Brother Liu nearby, he became overjoyed and shouted, “Junior Brother Liu, please help me capture this thief!”
Junior Brother Liu looked extremely awkward as he said, “Senior Brother Hua, I’ve already been eliminated!”
Senior Brother Hua’s mouth fell open in shock, and he stood there blankly. Looking around, he saw that not a single teammate was around him.
Yang Kai cracked his fists and walked towards Senior Brother Hua with a savage grin, “Senior Brother Hua, is it? Who did you just say you wanted to capture?”
Senior Brother Hua quickly dispelled the World Force around him and did his best to squeeze out a harmless-looking smile, “Junior Brother Yang, you must have misheard. I have no intention to capture anybody. Rather, I’ve always wanted to obtain a healing pill from Void Land…”
Inside the building, the Gongsun siblings rolled their eyes in unison. Meanwhile, Gu Pan stifled her laughter.
When Senior Brother Hua finished buying the healing pill, Yang Kai vanished once more. Senior Brother Hua and Junior Brother Liu looked at each other and choked on their tears.
Back at Menacing Earth Spirit Province, the two teams that came to provide support soon left. They had their own sites to monitor, so they could not remain for long. However, Gu Ling’er’s team sent out another distress signal as soon as the reinforcements left. By the time they arrived at the scene again, there was already one less person on Gu Ling’er’s team.
For the next half day, the entire Lang Ya Paradise was thrown into chaos. Yang Kai’s figure was extremely elusive, and somebody would suffer a tragic fate every time he appeared.
The plan that Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang came up with previously could not be said to be wrong. Since Yang Kai was so strong that three or four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joining forces could not be his opponents, it was only natural that they had to merge their teams together. The truth was this plan had already shown some effect. At the very least, Yang Kai was not as bold as before. Furthermore, the teams that encountered him were no longer completely wiped out all at once.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai simply became more cunning. He did not confront them directly and turned extremely elusive instead. It was almost as though he had countless Soul Clones. One moment he was there, the next moment he was somewhere else. What’s more, every time he appeared, he would not leave empty-handed.
One after another, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were captured. When the news spread, all the teams were filled with a sense of terror. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise never imagined that a single person could toy with them so easily. They had always heard about the mysteriousness and unpredictability of the Dao of Space, but it was not until today that they witnessed it for themselves. Therefore, they couldn’t help but admire Yang Kai’s ability to utilize Space Principles so freely.
Gu Ling’er led the remaining two people in her team and hurriedly escaped in the direction of the nearest Spirit Province.
When Yang Kai reappeared at Menacing Earth Spirit Province just before, he had captured another of their team members. With only the three of them left, how could they be Yang Kai’s opponents?
The morale in the team was low. Gu Ling’er and her two comrades rushed towards the nearest Spirit Province as fast as they could. Only three people remained in her team, so it was impossible for them to be Yang Kai’s opponents. It was urgent that they sought protection from another team.
She had already sent a message to the Senior Brother who was leading the team at the nearby Spirit Province. That Senior Brother was also leading his team here in a hurry to meet up with them, lest Gu Ling’er and her comrades suffered a tragic accident before they arrived.
“Why is that bastard targeting us so persistently!?” A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the team with the surname Sun looked distraught.
Ever since Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang issued the order to change their strategy, their team was the first to encounter Yang Kai and lose their members. In less than half a day, the members of their team had gone missing one by one.
The rest of the teams had also lost some members, but the situation of those teams was by no means as serious as their situation. Yang Kai had targeted them over and over again, causing their original team of six to dwindle down to three. The situation was becoming increasingly terrible. There was a high possibility that they would be the first team to be wiped out completely since they changed their strategy!
“Did we offend him in some manner?” The other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master suddenly raised the question.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Sun wailed, “I didn’t offend him! Did you offend him!?”
“I didn’t either!”
Both of them turned to look at Gu Ling’er at the same time. If nobody had offended Yang Kai, then the biggest possible reason could only be Junior Sister Gu Ling’er. That bastard surnamed Yang was a notorious sexual predator after all! It was bad enough that he abandoned Junior Sister Gu Pan after thoughtless sleeping with her, but could it be that he was now interested in Junior Sister Gu Ling’er as well?
As soon as that thought crossed their minds, both Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were filled with infinite anger!
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Sun quickly said, “Junior Sister Gu, if that Bastard appears again, you must escape quickly. Junior Brother Qian and I will do our best to hold him back! You must not fall into his evil clutches!”
Junior Sister Gu Ling’er was such a kind and gentle woman. They did not dare to imagine the consequences if she were to fall into that deviant’s hands.
Gu Ling’er’s voice was gentle as she shook her head, “How can I let my two Senior Brothers take such a risk? We are a team, so we should advance and retreat together!”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Sun was extremely touched, and the corners of his eyes became moist. Just as he was about to speak, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Qian suddenly shouted, “He’s here!”
Ripples spread across the void once more. That was the sign of Space Principles being manipulated. Besides, Yang Kai’s previous appearances had always been accompanied by these movements.
Sure enough, Yang Kai abruptly appeared a moment later and blocked their path. Looking at the three people in front of him, he grinned from ear to ear.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Sun gritted his teeth. Taking a sudden step forward, he stood in front of Gu Ling’er protectively and shouted, “Run, Junior Sister Gu!”
At the same time, he charged towards Yang Kai boldly and without hesitation or looking back. Then… there was nothing else…
Looking at the spot where Yang Kai and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Sun had vanished together, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Qian anxiously said, “Junior Sister Gu, let’s go quickly! We can’t let Senior Brother Sun’s sacrifice be in vain!”
Knowing that she had no way to avenge Senior Brother Sun, Gu Ling’er could only nod in agreement, “Good!”
However, Yang Kai reappeared less than ten breaths later and took Senior Brother Qian away with him.
At this point, Gu Ling’er was the only survivor of her team. She gritted her teeth. Shouldering the hope and future of her fallen teammates, she rushed towards the nearest Spirit Province with all the speed she could muster.
In the distance, many streams of light entered her field of vision. It was the Senior Brothers from the nearby Spirit Province who had rushed over to meet her; thus, she couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief at the sight.
The Senior Brother in the lead who was coming from the front had clearly noticed her and enthusiastically called out, “Junior Sister Gu, come quickly!”
Gu Ling’er nodded.
At that moment though, a sudden anomaly occurred. The Void in front of her suddenly collapsed, and a pitch-black hole formed out of nowhere. The black hole was connected to an unknown location and the insides were filled with nihility, causing one to feel dread at the sight.
Gu Ling’er’s expression immediately changed. She rapidly came to a halt and just barely managed to stop before the anomaly. Unfortunately, before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a large hand emerged from the black hole and dragged her into it. All that was left behind was her startled scream!
“Junior Sister Gu!” Senior Brother Dui, who came to meet Gu Ling’er, roared with grief and indignation. He rushed forward in a few steps, but she was no longer anywhere to be found. Even the black hole that appeared out of nowhere had disappeared.
All those who remained felt a little lost seeing this result! On the other hand, Senior Brother Dui’s expression was extremely ugly.
After he received the message from Gu Ling’er, he immediately rushed out to meet her. He never imagined that Yang Kai’s efficiency would be so high as to defeat the remaining three people in Gu Ling’er’s team in such a short time. At the end, he even watched as Gu Ling’er was captured right in front of his eyes.
“Send a message…” Senior Brother Dui looked extremely solemn, “The team led by Junior Sister Gu has been completely wiped out! Menacing Earth Spirit Province has fallen!”
Somebody in the team quickly sent out the message.
The identity tokens that had been flashing incessantly suddenly fell silent. A short while later, the energy in the identity tokens carried by all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fluctuated violently and urgently as messages streamed into the identity tokens quickly.
“Avenge Junior Sister Gu!”
“If we fail to capture Yang Kai, this Wu will never call himself Human again!”
“He is crazy! How can he bring himself to harm somebody as gentle as Junior Sister Gu!? That bastard surnamed Yang isn’t Human!”
“Has anybody seen him!? I’m going to fight him to the death!”
…..
Gu Ling’er was not only popular among the lower disciples, but also the Open Heaven Realm Masters. In fact, her popularity among the Open Heaven Realm Masters might even be higher; after all, the lower disciples rarely had the chance to meet her due to the difference in status. In comparison, the Open Heaven Realm Masters were different. As long as she was not in retreat for cultivation, she would often interact with them.
The Spirit Province where she lived regularly had Fellow Brothers hanging around eagerly just to catch a glimpse of her face. Some would also pretend to pass by and greet her along the way. They were satisfied just to see her smiling back at them.
Sect Master Li Yuan Wang once tried to find a Dao Partner for her within the Sect, but his efforts failed to come to fruition. There was a rumour that she wanted to focus on her cultivation and ascend to the peak of the Martial Dao, so she had not given much consideration to her future partner. That rumour gave many Fellow Brothers in the Sect great despair and hope all at once.
And now, this woman, who was regarded by many Senior Brothers as somebody to protect with their lives, had been taken away by an outsider like Yang Kai. Not to mention, it was the same Bastard who had previously abandoned Junior Sister Gu Pan after thoughtlessly deflowering her. How could they feel at ease with such a disaster looming over them?
Many of the Fellow Brothers were about to go crazy. They anxiously searched for Yang Kai’s whereabouts, lest an unwanted accident occur when Yang Kai and Gu Ling’er were alone together. However, Yang Kai’s location was a mystery. He was so elusive that there were no clues no matter how hard they searched.
On top of a small Spirit Province, Yang Kai quietly stood in front of Gu Ling’er, who had a wary expression on her face. Meanwhile, his brow was furrowed tightly together with a very troubled look.
Gu Ling’er was also observing him at this moment. Although the entire Lang Ya Paradise had been thrown into chaos thanks to the trouble Yang Kai caused, it was actually her first time meeting him in person.
At first glance, there was nothing special about him. His appearance was extraordinary and his aura was impressive; nevertheless, there was no lack of Open Heaven Realm Masters with similar appearances and auras. There was nothing about him that made him stand out of the crowd. He did not look like somebody who could defeat so many Fellow Brothers so easily.
Unlike the descriptions provided by her Fellow Brothers, Yang Kai looked conflicted. It seemed as though he was making a difficult decision. Despite observing her for some time, he said nothing. In the end, Gu Ling’er spoke first, “I’m older than you, and I’ve cultivated for longer than you. Can I call you Junior Brother?”
Her voice was as soft and gentle as water, which greatly aroused the protective instincts of a man.
“En! That’s no problem!” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively. Strictly speaking, all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters. The only exception was the newly-advanced Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Gu Pan.
“What are you planning to do to me, Junior Brother?” She tilted her head to the side, looking pure and innocent. When she smiled, her eyes formed crescents on her face. She did not look scared in the slightest. On the contrary, she smiled and asked, “Are you going to sell your healing pill to me? I heard that all the Fellow Brothers who were defeated by you had to buy a healing pill from you.”
Yang Kai nodded, “The healing pill will definitely be sold…”
“Then, I’ll buy one.” She blinked her large eyes at him, “It costs one set of Sixth-Order materials, right?”
He laughed, “You sure know the market well.”
She pursed her lips and replied, “So many Fellow Brothers have bought healing pills already, it’s only natural that the news has spread. If you don’t want people to know about something, then you have to do it yourself. Isn’t that right, Junior Brother Yang?”
His eyebrows furrowed together slightly, “Are you trying to hint at something, Senior Sister?”
She shook her head, “Nope, I was just saying.” After a pause, she continued, “Junior Brother, I’ll buy a healing pill from you. I’m no match for you anyway, so I might as well withdraw from the training.”
Who could have imagined that Yang Kai would shake his head?
She was puzzled, “What do you mean, Junior Brother?”
[Is he planning to let me off easy?] That was not impossible. She knew what kind of impression she had on men; therefore, it made sense if he turned a blind eye to her for that reason.
Just as she was about to thank him, she heard him speak, “You are not injured, Senior Sister, so you don’t need a healing pill.”
[He plans to let me off after all…] She smiled brightly. Although she knew that her charm was not always a useful or even wanted trait, it could be considered a good thing if she could save on a set of Sixth-Order materials because of it.
However, Yang Kai clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles cracked, “Why don’t I hit you first, Senior Sister, then you will need a healing pill!”
Gu Ling’er was absolutely speechless. [Are you still Human!? You’re a Demon, aren’t you!?]
“Are you joking, Junior Brother?” The smile on her face stiffened.
Yang Kai shook his head and approached her with a serious expression, “This Junior Brother has always been fair in business. Come, come! Bear with me, Senior Sister. I promise not to hit your face!”
Her complexion immediately turned deathly pale, and she staggered backwards weakly.
All of a sudden, he froze and looked extremely conflicted, “But, it’s not good to hit a woman… Haih! I’m such a kind-hearted man who is afraid of harming the innocent after all!”
He raised his head to the sky and sighed with a sorrowful expression.
Gu Ling’er breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Junior Brother, there’s no need to blame yourself. I’ll just buy the healing pill.”
He suddenly looked at her, “Senior Sister, why don’t you do it yourself? I fear that I might use too much strength if I raise my hand against you. It would be bad if I failed to control my strength properly and accidentally injure you seriously.”
Gu Ling’er weakly asked, “Junior Brother, are you serious?”
Her appearance was so pitiful that any man who saw her would surely feel compassion for her; however, this matter was related to a set of Sixth-Order materials, so how could Yang Kai back down?
“Senior Sister, I don’t have much time. Somebody might come and investigate this place at any moment. If somebody were to come, then please don’t blame me for being forceful with you, Senior Sister!”
She stared at him with her pretty eyes, thinking that the man in front of her was quite unreasonable. [I’ve already said that I’ll buy a healing pill from him, so why does he still want to injure me!?]
“Haih!” Yang Kai sighed, “It looks like you’re somebody who cherishes your honour. If that’s the case, then please don’t blame this Yang for being cruel!”
Without wasting any more time, he surged the World Force and reached out a hand towards her.
His palm rapidly grew larger and larger in the field of her vision, instantly covering the entire sky. Although she instinctively struggled to resist, she was horrified to discover that her Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation was ridiculously weak in the face of Yang Kai’s strength. His palm that came slamming down towards her contained the aura of death, and she couldn’t help wondering whether he actually planned to kill her.
“Junior Brother, I’m one of your own!” She suddenly shouted at the top of her voice.
His hand stopped right above her head, and he stared at her with a deep scowl, “What do you mean?”
Not only was she drenched in cold sweat, but her complexion was also extremely pale. She took some time to calm her emotions before she finally looked at him and lowered her voice to a whisper, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly at those words, and he asked, “Senior Brother Zong Yu Quan?”
She nodded, “Senior Brother Zong sent me a message earlier to inform me about this matter.”
“So, that’s how it is!” Yang Kai quickly understood the situation, and then the power in his hand surged slightly and landed on the top of her head.
Her delicate body flew backwards like a paper kite as a result. She slumped to the ground and looked at him in disbelief, blood trickling out the corners of her mouth, “Why!?”
[I’ve already mentioned that I’m one of his own, so why did he hit me!?]
He slowly walked over and said in a low voice, “Senior Sister, please don’t be mad. Everybody has been injured by me so far, and there are no exceptions. If you were to come out unscathed, then you might arouse suspicions! It works out well now! Here is a healing pill, Senior Sister!”
Gu Ling’er stared at him speechlessly. [Is there something wrong with this guy!? I’m a woman! So what if you make an exception!?]
In any case, he had not attacked her ruthlessly. His strike only gave her some light wounds that she would recover completely from after recuperating for a few days. Taking the healing pill from him, she swallowed the healing pill without another word. She couldn’t be bothered to say anything more to him.
“Senior Sister, you forgot something!” Yang Kai reached out his hand towards her. The meaning behind his gesture was glaringly obvious.
Gu Ling’er was tempted to stab him to death with her sword…
Resources worth a set of Sixth-Order materials were not hard for her to bring out though; therefore, she quickly gathered the necessary resources and handed them to him.
Yang Kai wore a big grin on his face, “Nobody will suspect anything now. By the way, Senior Sister, who else is on our side in Lang Ya Paradise?”
She glared at him, flames of fury erupting from her beautiful eyes!
“Hahaha!” He gave a dry laugh, “I won’t disturb you while you’re recovering from your wounds, Senior Sister!”
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Inside the Void, Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn.
This training, in which he was the ultimate goal, involved all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. It was something that Li Yuan Wang organised seemingly on a whim. Although he had not interacted with Li Yuan Wang much, Yang Kai could roughly guess his intentions.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai never imagined that he would receive such an unexpected harvest!
He originally thought that Zong Yu Quan was an exception; after all, corrupting the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with the Black Ink was not very worthwhile for the Black Ink Clan. The Black Ink Insects were so rare and precious that it was a given they would choose to corrupt the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters if possible.
The capability and role that people like Shi Zheng could play was much greater than that of Zong Yu Quan or Gu Ling’er. Be that as it may, it turned out that Zong Yu Quan was not the only one in Lang Ya Paradise. There was also Gu Ling’er, and maybe even more…
Just now, Gu Ling’er had been annoyed by Yang Kai’s actions and refused to answer his questions; however, her refusal to respond was already a response in and of itself. It meant that Zong Yu Quan and Gu Ling’er were not the only ones corrupted by the Black Ink among the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise! There were more of them out there!
Yang Kai secretly rejoiced that he had been ruthless against the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters participating in the training to conserve time and strength.
Consequently, he was now known for his brutality. Gu Ling’er would not have automatically revealed herself otherwise. She had assumed that revealing her identity would make him more merciful towards her. Unbeknownst to her, he had another important task at hand and she overplayed her hand as a result.
Yang Kai had been wondering whether he should hold back against the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, but it would not seem that he actually needed to do the opposite now!
Following the annihilation of the six-man team led by Gu Ling’er at Menacing Earth Spirit Province, everybody in Lang Ya Paradise felt a sense of danger. Yang Kai’s elusive movements left them feeling helpless while his immense strength left them in despair.
In the past, they used to hold great pride in the fact that they came from Lang Ya Paradise. They believed that all the other Open Heaven Realm Masters outside of Lang Ya Paradise were nothing special. Even the Sect Masters of the Second-Class great forces, who were also in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, were not put in their eyes.
However, Yang Kai’s arrival taught them that there were people beyond people. Looking back at their pride and arrogance, they couldn’t help feeling ridiculous. They had been frogs at the bottom of the well, staring up at the narrow sky and thinking how vast it was while knowing nothing.
Half a day later, another seven-man team was wiped out. What happened to them was similar to what happened to Gu Ling’er’s team. Yang Kai would grab one person and leave immediately every time he showed up. By the time they reacted, he had already disappeared; therefore, great hatred and grievances grew in their hearts!
To this day, out of all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise who participated in the training, almost 200 of them had been defeated by Yang Kai. The remaining people were filled with apprehension and terror. Their Divine Senses swept out across their surroundings at all times, out of fear that Yang Kai would appear out of nowhere to abduct them.
They knew that Yang Kai relied on the mysteriousness of the Dao of Space, so as long as they could limit this ability, it would be easy to overpower him with so many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
As the Eldest Senior Brother, Le Mang shouldered the heavy responsibility of avenging his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters who were eliminated from the training and redeeming Lang Ya Paradise’s reputation.
He was the one who had been presiding over the coordination of the teams previously; thus, he had always paid attention to the changes that took place during the training. For some reason, he had been silent for the past few days though. Nobody but his teammates knew what he was doing.
One day, everybody suddenly received a message from Le Mang, “Everybody, please head towards Void Flower Spirit Province. I worked with many Junior Brothers to set up a Grand Array there. If Yang Kai dares to show up, we can form a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking cage and he will not be able to leave unscathed!”
“Senior Brother Le Mang is amazing!”
“This is great! We can finally teach that Bastard a lesson!”
“Quick! Quick! Let’s gather at Void Flower Spirit Province! Don’t linger outside for too long, lest you give him a chance to attack!”
Before this training began, many Fellow Brothers had tried to pick a fight with Yang Kai. At that time, they also used Heaven Sealing Earth Locking methods to stop his movements, but those Arrays or Secret Technique had been activated in a hurry, so the seal was not strong and the barrier was easily destroyed by Yang Kai as a result.
Having learned from that experience, Le Mang specifically gathered several Junior Brothers who were proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays to jointly arrange a Grand Array. The Spirit Array that was completed recently was enough to turn Yang Kai into a turtle that was hiding in its shell.
He did not know how long the Grand Array could trap Yang Kai once activated, but even so, just three breaths would be enough. A three-breath delay was enough for all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise to surround Yang Kai.
If everybody gathered at Void Flower Spirit Province, then Yang Kai was certain to head there despite knowing that it was a trap. This was the simplest method to carry out an offence by defending!
Needless to say, Le Mang had already considered the possibility that Yang Kai would not appear. The main goal of this training was to capture Yang Kai, so if he did not show up, then there would be no game to play. Unfortunately, the current situation was so dire that Le Mang had no other option but to put his hope in this gamble.
In an instant, the Open Heaven Realm Masters wandering in the sky above the many Spirit Provinces throughout Lang Ya Paradise began rushing towards Void Flower Spirit Province. They summoned their comrades along the way, so it was a very lively scene.
Yang Kai, who was hiding in the dark, could not help frowning at this scene. He could vaguely sense that some sort of conspiracy was waiting for him.
Over the past few days, he had eliminated another 100 Open Heaven Realm Masters from Lang Ya Paradise. A rough count indicated that nearly 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters had been eliminated during this training already. Aside from the several dozen Fifth-Order and Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the beginning, the rest were Sixth-Order!
The strength of Lang Ya Paradise’s heritage was evident from this fact alone.
Void Land could also be considered to have a mighty army with the finest arms, with not many Second-Class great forces capable of comparing to them in the entire 3,000 Worlds.
Nevertheless, the difference was practically night and day when compared to Lang Ya Paradise! Just in terms of the number of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters alone, Lang Ya Paradise had over 10 times more than Void Land!
That was not hard to understand though as Open Heaven Realm Masters were generally long-lived. As long as they could advance directly into the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they could slowly take their time to grow until they reached the Sixth-Order.
Lang Ya Paradise had an extremely long inheritance, so after so many generations of disciples, it was only natural to have countless Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Be that as it may, that was only a narrow glimpse of the overall situation. If this was the case for Lang Ya Paradise, then how could the other Cave Heavens and Paradises be inferior? It was not until this moment that Yang Kai fully understood the horrifying heritage of these behemoths.
After the incident with Gu Ling’er, Yang Kai became more and more ruthless in his attacks against the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters whom he captured. Almost everybody was beaten up so badly that they coughed up blood; hence, the number of complaints grew proportionally.
Yang Kai was secretly glad that nobody said the words ‘Black Ink Eternal’ to him again, aside from Gu Ling’er. Although he could not completely rule out that there were more people corrupted by the Black Ink hidden among those who were eliminated from the training, the possibility was not high.
It was certain that the people in Lang Ya Paradise who were corrupted by the Black Ink were in contact with each other. Seeing as Zong Yu Quan had sent a message to Gu Ling’er, he was bound to have sent the same message to the others corrupted by the Black Ink. That was why there was no doubt that those corrupted by the Black Ink already considered Yang Kai to be one of their companions.
Under the threat of being severely injured, if they were truly corrupted by the Black Ink, they would definitely reveal their identities in hopes of escaping their fate.
At this moment, however, when Yang Kai saw so many people gathering in a certain direction, he couldn’t shake off an ominous feeling. If so many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise gathered together, he might not get the chance to attack.
[I have to find out what they’re doing.] As soon as that thought crossed Yang Kai’s mind, he resolutely made a move to intercept a team of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master nearby.
Upon noticing movement nearby, the team of five turned to look in his direction and were shocked, “Yang Kai!”
Despite their surprise, they did not wait around for their defeat. They reacted almost simultaneously and hurriedly drew out the power of their Small Universe. Countless Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities immediately blasted towards Yang Kai.
This team of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters originally had seven people. It was just that Yang Kai had kidnapped two of them previously, so there were only five of them left. The leader was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master by the name Deng Chi. His cultivation was extraordinary and the heritage of his Small Universe was impressive.
When the five of them blasted out with their various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, they quickly retreated at the same time, in hopes of escaping Yang Kai’s pursuit.
However, Yang Kai’s figure merely shifted from side to side before he swiftly escaped the barrage enveloping him. In the next moment, he charged towards them.
They immediately turned pale with shock.
Deng Chi gritted his teeth and roared, “Junior Brothers, go quickly! I will stop him!”
After saying that, boldly and without hesitation or looking back, he charged at Yang Kai.
He knew that he could not stop Yang Kai with his strength; after all, so many other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who were stronger than him had been defeated by Yang Kai, how could he be an exception? Therefore, he did not hope to actually stop or defeat Yang Kai. He simply wanted to buy some time for the four people in his team. Only then would they have hope of fleeing this situation and preventing a complete annihilation of their team.
Deng Chi’s determination and resolve touched the others. One of them shouted in grief and indignation, “Senior Brother Deng!”
“Go!” Deng Chi yelled, “Don’t let my sacrifice go to waste!”
The person who spoke earlier had originally intended to turn around to help Deng Chi, but, when he heard what his Senior Brother said, he had no choice but to turn around and flee into the distance with the other three.
Meanwhile, Deng Chi stood proudly. He reached out to grab at something, summoning a long spear into his hand. Staring solemnly at Yang Kai who was approaching him quickly, he grinned savagely, “I split this mountain and chopped this tree, if you want to… Wait! I’m not done speaking! Take this!”
*Hong hong hong…*
Deng Chi felt his vitality churning violently every time their World Forces collided, and his Small Universe shuddered unsteadily.
He had been immersed in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm for many years, so the heritage of his Small Universe was by no means weak. There were not many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise who could surpass him in terms of strength.
Prior to this, he had heard the messages from his identity token. Many of his Fellow Brothers had been captured, defeated, and eliminated by Yang Kai. In front of this person named Yang Kai, many of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise resembled nothing more than lambs waiting to be slaughtered. They were completely powerless to resist.
Therefore, he had been wondering whether Yang Kai was actually that strong. They were both Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters after all. No matter how powerful Yang Kai was, there had to be a limit, right?
He also considered what he should do if he ran into Yang Kai. It was impossible for him to flee as the other party was proficient in the Dao of Space. How could he escape when the other party could ignore the barriers of space? This was something that had been proven through the defeat and the blood of his countless Fellow Brothers who were eliminated previously.
Since he could not run, then he could only choose to fight! He might not be Yang Kai’s opponent, but it should be possible for him to cause a little trouble for Yang Kai if he went all out. At least, that was what he previously thought…
It was not until he actually encountered Yang Kai himself that Deng Chi realised one thing, he had been far too naive. The terrifying power of his opponent gave him the illusion that he was facing a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master instead of one in the Sixth-Order! Nevertheless, the energy fluctuations coming from the other party undoubtedly belonged to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
[How can a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master be this strong!?] Even after being struck to the ground by Yang Kai, Deng Chi could not understand what had just happened. He even began to doubt whether something had gone wrong during his cultivation in the past. [No wonder so many other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who were stronger than me were defeated by him! No wonder even Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang is not his opponent! What Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be this monster’s opponent!?]
“Senior Brother…” Yang Kai crouched in front of Deng Chi, “Can I ask you something?”
Deng Chi coughed up blood while looking at Yang Kai, “What is it?”
The two of them had just been fighting fiercely against each other, but they were now talking to each other calmly. Not to mention that Deng Chi was still coughing up blood. No matter how one looked at this situation, there was no denying that it was strange.
It had to be said that the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had straightforward and righteous personalities. Despite being injured and defeated by Yang Kai, none of them held any real resentment against him. Most of them simply admired his strength.
Their strength was inferior to their enemy, so there was no point in being resentful. Although their journey of growth was a little crooked, their temperament was impressive. The defeat they suffered today would only fuel their motivation to get stronger so they could one day get back at him.
“I noticed many Senior Brothers and Sisters heading in a certain direction. What are they doing?” Yang Kai asked while handing a healing pill to Deng Chi.
Deng Chi glanced at the healing pill and stuffed it into his mouth. Chewing with a loud crunch, he swallowed and shook his head, “I can’t say!”
He had been defeated by Yang Kai and eliminated from the training. Nonetheless, he was not willing to reveal Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang’s plans. He, too, wanted to see Yang Kai being surrounded and captured by his Fellow Brothers. Then, they would drive Yang Kai to the depths of despair! Only then could he avenge this defeat!
While speaking, Deng Chi took out some items that were worth a set of Sixth-Order materials and handed them to Yang Kai.
From the start to the end, neither of them mentioned the healing pill or the materials. It was their first meeting, but their actions seemed to indicate a tacit agreement to keep silent about that matter.
Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang had already passed the word around. If they were defeated by Yang Kai, they should exchange money to avoid disaster. There was no need to struggle because their efforts would be pointless.
Yang Kai asked in a friendly manner, “Senior Brother, if you tell me, I will give you a 20% discount. What do you say?”
Deng Chi’s expression twisted, “This Deng is not such a materialistic person. Don’t even think of trying to bribe information out of me.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Senior Brother, your character is noble indeed! This Junior Brother admires you!”
Deng Chi grinned and wanted to laugh, but the movements pulled at his wound. Thus, he just smiled with great difficulty, “I’m a Lang Ya Paradise disciple after all!”
While laughing, he suddenly burst into tears. He looked behind Yang Kai and lost his cool, “Why did you return!? Ahhh! Just why did you have to come back!?”
The four people in his team who escaped earlier had turned back and returned!
All four of them had expressions of helplessness on their faces.
The Junior Brother who wanted to turn back to help Deng Chi earlier answered sadly, “We didn’t want to come back either. It’s just that the Sect Master issued an order saying that we are already ganging up on Yang Kai by forming teams. If all of us were to gather together and even set up a Grand Array in advance, it would be a total disgrace even if we won. After such a shameless action, he would be too embarrassed to show his face again. That was why he issued the order for us to return to our positions and stop using such underhanded methods. He wants us to defeat Junior Brother Yang with our own strength!”
Deng Chi was stunned, “The Sect Master issued such an order?”
He quickly checked his identity token. While he was speaking to Yang Kai earlier, a message had indeed entered his identity token, it was just that he had no time to check it. When he glanced at the contents, what his Junior Brother said turned out to be true!
Thus, he raised his head speechlessly to stare at Yang Kai. [Is Lang Ya Paradise’s Sect Master your Father or something!? Why does he favour you so much!?]
It was not easy for Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang to arrange that Grand Array and even come up with such an infallible solution. Unfortunately, just as the light of victory was about to shine on them, an order from the Sect Master instantly obscured it with a dense fog!
[Defeat Yang Kai with our own strength… If we had the strength to do that, Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang would not have done this in the first place!]
Regardless, Deng Chi had to admit that the Sect Master was not wrong. So many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had been eliminated by Yang Kai, so if the remaining people could not turn this situation around through fair means, then there was no meaning to this training. Relying on the remaining Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to lie in wait to defeat a single person was certainly a meaningless victory.
“Your intentions are sinister indeed!” Yang Kai suddenly spoke up from the side.
He had not known the reason why so many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were gathering in one place. Although he had a vague guess, he had not dared to confirm his speculations. After listening to the conversation between Deng Chi and the others though, how could he remain ignorant?
It was obvious that somebody had set up a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array somewhere and gathered all the remaining Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise there. If Yang Kai wanted to gain any benefits, then he would have to walk into the trap himself. At that time, he would no longer have the support of the Dao of Space. No matter how powerful he was, what could he do against them?
Deng Chi laughed in embarrassment, “We had no choice…”
“Thank goodness Senior Li is righteous!” Yang Kai cupped his fist in the direction of the Main Spirit Province and bowed in a gratifying manner.
Deng Chi took the opportunity to signal his four companions!
In the next moment, World Force surged. The four of them took action and summoned their respective artifacts. Using the light of their Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities as a cover, they charged towards Yang Kai!
Now that they had met their greatest enemy, their only option was to fight to the end!
When the light subsided and the energy fluctuations died down, they looked over only to see that the spot where Yang Kai originally stood was empty. He had vanished at some point in time without their realising.
“Junior Brother Ding has been captured!” Somebody exclaimed in shock.
The other two looked around and saw that Junior Brother Ding was indeed nowhere to be found. They originally had four members left, but only three remained at this moment.
Deng Chi sighed, “Junior Brother Ding has been eliminated!”
Nothing good would come from being captured by Yang Kai. It simply meant that they would be beaten up, forced to buy a healing pill, and disqualified from participating in the training. Everybody suffered the same fate. Even the delicate Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters were no exception.
When Deng Chi and the others heard that even Junior Sister Gu Ling’er had been injured by Yang Kai, they could barely believe their ears. How could Yang Kai call himself a man!? How could he hit somebody like Junior Sister Gu Ling’er!? Did he not have the slightest sense of chivalry towards women!?
On the other hand, the Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters had maintained a fairly enthusiastic mentality before the incident where Gu Ling’er was injured by Yang Kai. They believed that they would have an advantage as women. Even if they fell into Yang Kai’s clutches, they would not suffer too badly. In the worst case, they could simply exchange money to avoid disaster.
It was not until the incident with Gu Ling’er that they began to lose confidence. How could they bear to hold their heads high in society again if their beautiful faces were beaten black and blue by Yang Kai? What consoled them was that Yang Kai never aimed for the face whenever he fought against a woman, even though he regarded both men and women as equals and did not hold back in his attacks. Thanks to that, none of them lost their beauty despite being beaten up. It was a stroke of fortune among all the misfortune.
However, at this moment, there was something that confused and puzzled Deng Chi and the others.
Out of the three people who had yet to be eliminated, the slightly older one asked, “Didn’t they say Yang Kai can easily fight against three or four enemies on his own? If that’s the case, then why did he run?”
The four of them attacked with such determination earlier because Yang Kai had a record of fighting in a one-against-four battle and completely annihilating the other party in the process. Logically speaking, he could have gone all out and disqualified all of them from the training just now. However, he had not done that. All he did was flee after capturing Junior Brother Ding!
One person’s eyes lit up, “Could it be that he is running out of strength!?”
Another person nodded in agreement after hearing those words, “There is such a possibility!”
Many days had gone by since the training began. So much time had passed, and Yang Kai had been constantly fighting alone. Even if he was very powerful and the heritage of his Small Universe heritage was incredibly impressive, it was only natural for his abilities to decline after enduring such a long period of consumption. It might be that he no longer had the ability to fight against four enemies at once!
“We must spread this information to the others!” The first person who spoke earlier looked excited.
All this time, they had felt extremely hopeless during this training. Although the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had an advantage in numbers, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, which allowed him to excel at both ambushing and escaping. Therefore, he would periodically strike out of nowhere and flee immediately as soon as he captured somebody. They were having a hard time guarding against his attacks as a result.
However, there was finally a glimmer of hope in their desperate situation. It turned out that he was not invincible! Even Yang Kai could not maintain his terrifying combat strength forever!
Everything was thanks to the Fellow Brothers who had been eliminated previously. This outcome was obtained in exchange for countless resources and their own blood. Fortunately, their sacrifice would not be in vain. Victory would eventually belong to Lang Ya Paradise!
This information was soon spread to every single surviving Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, all of whom instantly became motivated!
There was nothing wrong with their conjecture per-say.
For an average Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to endure such an extended and high-intensity battle, even if they were facing a group of enemies who were significantly weaker than themselves, they were bound to expend great amounts of energy. As such, they would eventually be defeated after exhausting all their strength. It was true that they could recover some strength by refining Open Heaven Pills during this time, but how much could they truly recover? Besides, how could the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise give Yang Kai any time to recover from his fatigue?
However, Yang Kai was not ordinary and he was now fully realising the benefits of rearing living beings in his Small Universe.
The living beings that he relocated from Pear Flower Cave Heaven numbered in the tens of millions now and constantly provided him with a large amount of World Force that enhanced the heritage of his Small Universe.
Furthermore, there was a large number of the Small Stone Race in his Small Universe. The population of the Small Stone Race had multiplied rapidly. Under the premise of equal numbers, the benefits brought to Yang Kai by the Small Stone Race were ten times that of ordinary Humans!
The flow of time in his Small Universe was also different from the outside world. There was almost twice the difference between them. Although Yang Kai had been unable to find any time to rest during this past month or so, he did not show the slightest sign of fatigue even though he had been fighting tirelessly this whole time. On the contrary, he remained lively and high-spirited.
The rate of his consumption was simply incomparable to the growth of his Small Universe. At this rate, he could continue fighting in such a high-intensity battle until the end of time!
Of course, there was a reason why Yang Kai did not challenge all four opponents to annihilate Deng Chi’s team in one go and instead chose to capture them one by one. The reason was consideration for those corrupted by the Black Ink. Even if there was anybody corrupted by the Black Ink among the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, they would not reveal anything to him with so many eyes watching.
Similar to the case of Gu Ling’er, it was only possible for him to discover some clues or uncover the identities of those who had been corrupted by the Black Ink if he remained alone with them.
In the following stick of incense’s worth of time, Deng Chi, who had been meditating on the spot to heal his wounds, watched helplessly as Yang Kai continuously went back and forth to capture his Junior Brothers one after another!
The Junior Brothers were on the verge of going crazy. If not for Li Yuan Wang’s orders, they could have fled to another Spirit Province to seek refuge. But, for some reason, the Sect Master had issued the order for them to return to their respective positions. No matter how they escaped, they could only escape within the confines of their respective Spirit Provinces.
They couldn’t even ask for reinforcements from the other teams like before. That was because those teams could not defy their orders and leave their Spirit Provinces to provide aid.
The Sect Master was clearly giving Yang Kai the opportunity to take them down one by one! Nobody knew the reason behind his actions. All they could guess was that the Sect Master was unhappy with their failure. Despite so many people being in a team, they could not defeat Yang Kai. It would be an even greater shame if they went so far as to request aid from the other teams.
With just one order from Li Yuan Wang, the situation had turned in favour of Yang Kai.
Meanwhile, as the only person who understood Li Yuan Wang’s intentions, Yang Kai was working hard to cooperate.
The flames of battle spread across the Spirit Provinces in Lang Ya Paradise. Everywhere Yang Kai went, the team of Open Heaven Realm Masters guarding that particular Spirit Province were obliterated. Every single person kidnapped by Yang Kai was beaten up badly, but not a single Open Heaven Realm Master in Lang Ya Paradise conceded defeat.
After Deng Chi’s team spread the message to the others, their resistance became more intense. Every single person, who was eliminated from the training, fought Yang Kai with all their strength to the point of exhaustion. Needless to say, these people suffered a harsher beating compared to those who were eliminated before.
Nevertheless, they were happy. That was because their elimination was not meaningless. Only by shaving off Yang Kai’s strength could they help their remaining Fellow Brothers obtain a greater chance for success.
They were looking forward to the time when somebody could eventually stand up and defeat Yang Kai and victory would then belong to Lang Ya Paradise! Be that as it may, with the passage of time, this anticipation slowly turned into despair once more.
Although the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were eliminated could no longer communicate any information to the Fellow Brothers who were still participating in the training, they were allowed to continue communicating with each other in general.
At this moment, many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters who had been eliminated were chatting endlessly through their identity tokens.
“We received exact information! Senior Sister Zhou’s team was targeted by that Bastard an hour ago!”
“How is the situation?”
“Four people have been eliminated so far! Only Senior Sister Zhou and Junior Brother Jia are left in the team!”
“I hope Senior Sister Zhou and Junior Brother Jia achieve success! Kill that bastard surnamed Yang!”
“Ahem… I’ve also been eliminated… Greetings, Senior Brothers!” Junior Brother Jia informed via message.
Everybody fell silent. A short while later, somebody responded with another message, “Senior Sister Zhou is in trouble!”
Senior Sister Zhou had been defeated by Yang Kai once before. That incident had taken place before the training began, so everybody knew that she was no match for him. Now that he had so many wins under his belt, Yang Kai was at the peak of his momentum, so how could she be his opponent?
As soon as that message came out, another message was delivered from another source, “Senior Sister Zhou has also been eliminated!”
“How fast! What is wrong with that Bastard!? Why does it feel as though his strength is inexhaustible!? Could it be that our Fellow Brothers lied to us!?”
“Senior Sister Zhou? Are you there, Senior Sister Zhou?”
“Get lost! Don’t bother me! I don’t want to talk!”
“Okay, okay. Please focus on your recovery, Senior Sister Zhou. This Junior Brother apologises for disturbing you.”
…..
At the same time, on the Spirit Province that Senior Sister Zhou’s team was overseeing, Yang Kai stood next to the dispirited Senior Sister Zhou and stared into the distance.
There were traces of fresh blood at the corners of Senior Sister Zhou’s mouth. She coughed lightly and studied the man next to her with a complicated gaze.
Compared to the last time she was defeated, there was not much difference in his strength. Nonetheless, she could clearly feel that there was an additional aura lingering around him. It was the aura of invincibility. Even though it could neither be seen nor touched, she could feel it clearly. This aura was something he gradually accumulated after winning against hundreds of Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. It was as brilliant as the Great Sun and as dazzling as the Stars. Moreover, she couldn’t shake off the illusion that he could even win against a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in his current condition.
There were many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, so there was no lack of talent. That was especially true for the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who ranked at the top. Who among them was not a dazzling genius in the outside world? However, they instantly became bleak and dull when compared to the man in front of her.
[I’ve never met such a man before…]
“There aren’t many left, right?” Yang Kai suddenly asked.
Nevertheless, Senior Sister Zhou understood his question. She pondered in silence for a moment before she responded, “Only Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang’s team is left. If you can defeat them, then this training will end.”
He nodded lightly, “Le Mang is pretty good.”
Having exchanged blows with Le Mang before, Yang Kai knew that the strength of this person known as the Eldest Senior Brother among the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise was quite extraordinary.
Senior Sister Zhou couldn’t help rolling her eyes at his reply. Only someone like Yang Kai could comment on Senior Brother Le Mang’s strength so casually, but there was nothing she could refute either.
“Can you fight seriously for once? Stop using such nefarious means!” She snapped in annoyance.
Yang Kai burst out laughing, “Your teams range from five to eight people. With so many people in the same Order gathering together in one place, how am I supposed to fight them all at once? Besides, I am using my abilities to capture those people. How can you claim that I am using nefarious means?”
Senior Sister Zhou flushed slightly in embarrassment because there was nothing she could refute in his statement. To a certain extent, it could be said that he obtained every victory through serious means. There was no trickery or underhanded means to his actions. That was something she herself had experienced before.
Nonetheless, she was reluctant to accept her loss because she had been defeated before she could even bring out her full strength! Failure to bring out her full strength in time was equivalent to having no chance to exert her strength at all. The battle had ended too quickly! In other words, the gap in their strengths was too vast. She had no choice but to admit the truth even if she was not willing to accept her defeat.
“Good! It’s time for this training to end! Senior Sister, please focus on your recovery! I’ll be leaving now!” After saying that, Yang Kai stepped forward and his figure rapidly faded out of sight.
Senior Sister Zhou turned to look in the direction of Void Flower Spirit Province where Senior Brother Le Mang’s team was stationed. Nobody could say for certain whether this battle would allow Lang Ya Paradise to narrowly retain its pride or whether Yang Kai would have the last laugh.
Messages began to fly rapidly between the identity tokens of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
“Quick! Quick! Yang Kai is heading towards Void Flower Spirit Province! This is the last battle! Let’s go and watch! We have to cheer for Eldest Senior Brother!”
“Senior Brother Le Mang will win! Lang Ya Paradise will win!”
…..
Following the fluctuations of the World Force, numerous streams of light took to the skies and sped towards Void Flower Spirit Province in unison. Many had been and still were recuperating from their injuries, but seeing as this was the last battle, they could not bring themselves to miss out on the show and quickly began moving.
By the time Yang Kai arrived at Void Flower Spirit Province, hundreds of Open Heaven Realm Masters had already gathered above it. Most of these Open Heaven Realm Masters were wounded. The bloody bruises on their faces had yet to subside, causing them to look extremely menacing.
Yang Kai travelled through the void and arrived calmly. Hundreds of gazes immediately turned towards him. Everywhere he passed, the crowd automatically split apart and opened a path for him. These bruised Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise might look like a mess, but they still gazed at him with admiration.
Throughout this training, Yang Kai acted alone. He fought all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise by himself. It didn’t matter what methods he used or whether the Sect Master’s orders had favoured him. For him to reach this point was enough to garner the respect of all those gathered here.
Yang Kai nodded lightly at the people around him. Passing through the crowd, he arrived directly at Void Flower Spirit Province.
Le Mang stood at the front with a solemn expression, giving off an air of dignity. Behind him stood four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters lined up.
His team could not be considered large. Including him, there were only five. Nevertheless, each one of them stood at the top of all the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. They had been immersed in this Realm for many years, and for that reason, despite their small numbers, they could be considered the team with the highest combat capabilities in Lang Ya Paradise below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm.
The four Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters watched Yang Kai intently. So much time had passed since the training began, but this was their first time seeing Yang Kai in person; hence, they could not help being extremely curious towards the young man who caused such a ruckus in Lang Ya Paradise.
When their eyes met, Le Mang lowered his head slightly, “My apologies, Junior Brother Yang!”
If possible, he did not wish to join forces with his Junior Brothers to face a lone opponent, but he knew that he was no match for Yang Kai by himself. This battle was related to Lang Ya Paradise’s face, so even if he was unwilling to use such methods, he had no choice.
“It’s fine!” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Start the Array!” Le Mang gestured with his hand.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the four people behind him swiftly used various hand seals at the same time. Numerous bursts of lights scattered in all directions. Following that, the entire Void Flower Spirit Province rumbled and shook as though the World itself was shaking.
In an instant, the space around the entire Spirit Province was sealed off. This place had been transformed into a cage!
From the outside, there were no obvious changes to Void Flower Spirit Province; not even the entry and exit to this place had been affected. Nonetheless, countless invisible barriers had undoubtedly been imposed upon the Void. As long as Yang Kai was within Void Flower Spirit Province, he could not perform his Instantaneous Movement.
There was no doubt that this battle would decide the outcome of this entire event.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise in the surroundings watched with great excitement, and their Divine Senses interweaved madly as they communicated with each other!
“Senior Brothers, what are the prospects for this battle? Do you think Senior Brother Le Mang and the others have any chances to win?”
“That Brat surnamed Yang might be immensely powerful, but his greatest support is his Space Secret Techniques. Now that Void Flower Spirit Province has been sealed off by the Grand Array, his wings have been clipped. Without the ability to move about freely, it will be difficult for him to fight against five opponents!”
“You’re right, Senior Brother! Lang Ya Paradise is sure to win this battle!”
“Haih… That’s nothing to be proud of. Even if we win this battle, we only did so by overwhelming our opponent with superior numbers. It’s not an honourable victory. This training has really taught me that there are always Heavens beyond the Heavens. After this, I will have to go back and cultivate hard in retreat.”
…..
There was no doubt that the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were not optimistic about Yang Kai’s prospects. His biggest reliance had been limited by the Grand Array. In spite of that, he had to face five opponents alone in battle. Not to mention, the five people led by Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang were veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with profound experience and cultivation. If they lost despite such a line-up, then it would be far too unreasonable.
While the others were conversing wildly among themselves, Yang Kai took a shallow breath and focused his gaze on Le Mang and the others, “Are you ready, Senior Brothers? If you’re ready, then I… will begin!”
His figure, which was enveloped in an indescribably terrifying aura slammed directly towards Le Mang and the others even before he finished his sentence. When he pushed his immense World Force, even the people watching from afar could sense the suffocating aura blowing towards them.
On the other hand, the expressions of the ones actually involved in the situation changed greatly. Le Mang and the others simultaneously scattered in all directions without hesitation! Yang Kai’s momentum, which came from winning hundreds of battles without suffering a single loss, was simply too horrifying. Faced with this pressure, even someone as strong as Le Mang couldn’t help feeling intimidated.
There was a thunderous rumble that sounded as though the world was about to collapse, and Void Flower Spirit Province shook violently. When the dust finally settled, the sounds of World Forces colliding with each other could be heard. Everybody scanned the scene anxiously with widened eyes.
In the midst of the thick dust cloud, figures could be seen weaving back and forth like fish swimming in the sea. A short while later, two figures soared into the sky. Everybody looked in that direction and immediately gasped in surprise.
Yang Kai had summoned a spear at some point in time and was raining down strikes like a waterfall, his World Force surging rampantly. Standing opposite Yang Kai was one of their Senior Brothers. This Senior Brother was pale-faced and retreating in a fluster. At the same time, he constantly defended against the thrust of the spear with the artifact in his hand. Every collision between their weapons was a confrontation between the power of their Small Universes.
Yang Kai’s murderous intent had practically materialized. Moreover, his attacks were so frenzied that everyone couldn’t help wondering whether he planned to kill their Senior Brother with his spear!
Under this wanton offensive, the Senior Brother did not dare to waver in the slightest. He was forced to retreat continuously by Yang Kai; thus, the figures of those two sliced through the sky like two streams of light.
Shocked and enraged, Le Mang and the others hurriedly gave chase. Their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques bombarded Yang Kai’s back before they even drew near.
However, Yang Kai turned a blind eye to their attacks.
In the next moment, countless Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques accurately struck Yang Kai, causing Le Mang and the others to break out in cold sweat at the sight. This was not a life-or-death battle after all. They had always held back to a certain extent and prevented themselves from using their full strength as things would not end well if they accidentally killed Yang Kai.
Be that as it may, with the four of them working together, the power of their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques was not to be underestimated. If Yang Kai took those attacks head-on, he would most likely suffer a tragic fate.
[Why didn’t he dodge!? With his skills and abilities, he is perfectly capable of avoiding those attacks!] Nobody could understand his actions.
What happened next shocked all the onlookers to the core. Despite being hit by so many Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, Yang Kai seemed totally unaffected. He ignored all the movements coming from behind him and simply focused on attacking the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was constantly being forced backwards.
The clothes Yang Kai was wearing were his transformed Grand Dragon Scales, and the defensive properties of a Grand Dragon’s Dragon Scales were extraordinary. To a certain extent, his Dragon Scales were capable of blocking the attacks of even Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
During his previous battle against Shi Zheng, Yang Kai had used his Dragon Scale Armour to block some of Shi Zheng’s Divine Abilities. If he could even block the Divine Ability of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, then what need be said about the attacks of a few Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were holding back? Yang Kai might not be able to withstand such a bombardment over a longer period, but it was not a problem for a short time.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in front of Yang Kai was on the verge of tears. He did not know how he had provoked Yang Kai, but the other party had persistently targeted him from the beginning. Yang Kai’s ruthless posture left him reeling in discomfort. In the face of Yang Kai’s frenzied offensive, he only had the strength to parry while being steadily forced backwards!
Le Mang’s expression suddenly changed drastically and he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Junior Brother Feng, you can’t retreat any further!”
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master called Junior Brother Feng stiffened at those words, but before he could understand the situation, he saw Yang Kai grinning at him all of a sudden. Yang Kai’s large hand reached out towards him immediately after that, and under the fluctuations of Space Principles, the entire world spun dizzily!
Le Mang and the three others hurried over, but Yang Kai and Junior Brother Feng were no longer anywhere to be found. Only a slight fluctuation of Space Principles remained in place.
Le Mang was furious! Similarly, the Open Heaven Realm Masters watching in the surroundings were in an uproar!
Yang Kai’s sudden attack just now and his ruthless behaviour, as though he wanted to kill Junior Brother Feng, had left them extremely anxious. They were afraid that an accident might occur in this training; therefore, nobody noticed that the battlefield had been guided to the outside of Void Flower Spirit Province when Junior Brother Feng was forced to retreat by Yang Kai!
The Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array only covered Void Flower Spirit Province, so it was impossible for Yang Kai to perform Instantaneous Movement within its boundaries. However, those restrictions no longer took effect outside the Spirit Province. From the very beginning, Yang Kai’s plan was to control the battlefield on which they fought. That was the only method for him to defeat them one by one!
“What is he doing?” Somebody was puzzled.
Judging by Yang Kai’s fierce momentum and the strength he displayed just now, he stood a fighting chance in a five-against-one battle even if he did not escape. Although nobody could guess the outcome of the battle, it would be an unmistakably exciting and thrilling battle!
Be that as it may, he had fled. Just like he had done with the previous teams, he quickly escaped as soon as he captured Junior Brother Feng.
All the people who had been looking forward to the battle were absolutely devastated by the sight, feeling as though they were left hanging, half-satiated by the meal before them.
“That guy… Could it be that he is planning to coerce Junior Brother Feng into buying a healing pill and acted in that manner because it was inconvenient if other people were to disturb him?” Somebody guessed.
Many people had the same conjecture. That was because recently, Yang Kai had done the same even when only two people were left in a team. In any case, it was just a conjecture and they could not verify the truth, but the scene playing out in front of them made things clear that Yang Kai was planning exactly that.
“Just how greedy is that guy…” The Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were speechless. [This is the last battle! Can’t he fight properly for once so that we feel better even if we lose? Why does he have to be so miserly?]
Having said that, a set of Sixth-Order materials was indeed valuable, so Yang Kai’s actions were understandable. If they had such an opportunity, it was possible that they would have made the same choice.
Le Mang remained frozen in place, his expression extremely ugly. Less than ten breaths later, a series of ripples appeared in the Void. It was not until that moment that he reacted as though waking up from a dream. His expression changed drastically and he yelled, “Fall back! Quickly!”
Having given chase earlier, they had unknowingly followed Yang Kai out of Void Flower Spirit Province. They only realised what a dangerous situation they were in at this moment. Unfortunately, it was too late. Yang Kai’s figure appeared out of nowhere. He glanced around and immediately became delighted, “Senior Brothers, were you waiting for me?”
While speaking, he waved his hand and Space Principles surged as his Near Distant Horizon Secret Technique spread out into the surroundings. All of a sudden, space seemed to stretch out infinitely.
Everybody felt as though they experienced a momentary illusion. Even though they clearly saw their four Senior Brothers led by Le Mang struggling to escape towards Void Flower Spirit Province, they seemed to freeze in place for some strange reason.
Yang Kai took a step forward and came to stand beside one of them. Grabbing that person, he quickly turned around and left!
Le Mang howled miserably, “Junior Brother Yun!”
Junior Brother Yun had also been captured!
It was not until the figures of Yang Kai and Junior Brother Yun vanished out of sight that the Space Principles calmed down again. Accordingly, Le Mang and the others regained their freedom. Those three did not dare to remain outside for a moment longer and quickly fled back into Void Flower Spirit Province with humiliated and disgraced expressions.
In the short span of time taken to boil a cup of tea, two out of the five-man team had been captured. Only three of them remained!
Such a situation was something they never expected. They believed that preparing the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array in advance would prevent Yang Kai from using his Instantaneous Movement Secret Technique, thereby allowing them to attack him together. It was supposed to be the final blow that determined their victory! Who could have known that Yang Kai would retaliate so fiercely!?
Le Mang said solemnly, “Junior Brothers, Yang Kai is bound to return. We only have three people left, but we still stand a fighting chance. If he appears again, don’t leave Void Flower Spirit Province no matter what!”
Both of them nodded heavily, “Rest assured, Eldest Senior Brother!”
They had only just finished responding when they detected the fluctuations of Space Principles. Sure enough, Yang Kai had appeared again!
Yang Kai approached Le Mang and the two others in a few quick steps.
Le Mang quickly asked, “How are Junior Brother Feng and Junior Brother Yun?”
Yang Kai smiled, “They are fine, but shouldn’t you be worrying about yourselves?”
Taking a deep breath, Le Mang summoned a longsword into his hand and pointed at Yang Kai, “No matter what happens, I will never let you succeed again!”
“That… will depend on whether or not you have the ability!”
When Yang Kai narrowed his eyes, his figure launched towards the three of them like an arrow that was released from its string. At the same time, his World Force burst out like a tsunami and caused a pressure wave that was visible to the naked eye to spread out into the surroundings.
Le Mang and his two Junior Brothers roared in defiance. Activating the power of their Small Universes, they struggled desperately to block their enemy’s advance; however, their efforts were in vain!
Three figures were sent flying in three separate directions following the initial clash!
Le Mang finally stabilised his body with some difficulty. Looking over, he immediately felt as though his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
Yang Kai had set his sights on one of his two Junior Brothers and was indiscriminately bombarding him with attacks! Accordingly, this Junior Brother was steadily being forced back. It was the exact situation that Junior Brother Feng had experienced earlier!
Le Mang shouted, “Hold on, Junior Brother Peng!”
His figure shifted as he hurriedly pursued Yang Kai.
At this moment, Junior Brother Peng was filled with a deep sense of bitterness. When he previously saw Yang Kai forcing Junior Brother Feng out of Void Flower Spirit Province with ease, he believed that Junior Brother Feng had been too careless. It was not until he actually faced Yang Kai that he understood. Junior Brother Feng was not being careless. The gap between their strength was simply too large!
Yang Kai bore down on him from the front with crushing momentum, and no matter how he tried to resist, he could not fight back. He felt as though his Small Universe was about to collapse with every single collision of their World Forces.
Under this violent offensive, he had no choice but to retreat even if he was unwilling!
He distinctly saw Senior Brother Le Mang’s figure transforming into a stream of light and chasing after him. Nevertheless, it was obvious that it was too late. Under the tremendous pressure from Yang Kai, he was quickly forced out of Void Flower Spirit Province like a duckweed caught in the rapids.
[It’s over!] His heart thumped hard in his chest. Staring helplessly at Yang Kai’s large hand stretching out to fill his vision, he was unable to resist at all. His previous confrontation with Yang Kai had caused his Small Universe to be greatly shaken, so his power could not flow smoothly!
In the next moment, everybody watched as Yang Kai grabbed Junior Brother Peng by the neck and dragged the latter away like he was picking up a common chicken to be slaughtered.
Le Mang and the other Junior Brother stood at the edge of Void Flower Spirit Province, watching everything unfolding before them but being helpless to do anything. Their expressions were filled with despair.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise who had been communicating unceasingly via their Divine Senses all this while suddenly sank into silence at this moment.
They initially thought that the outcome of this battle would be difficult to predict, but judging by the current circumstances, things were not looking optimistic for Lang Ya Paradise. Be that as it may, this outcome was very difficult for them to accept. Yang Kai had defeated all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise with his strength alone.
“Junior Brother Dai!” Le Mang took a deep breath, “There’s only the two of us left, but we still have a chance! Yang Kai will definitely come again! Don’t let your guard down!”
Junior Brother Dai was sorrowful, “Eldest Senior Brother, that’s what you said earlier.”
[Then, Junior Brother Peng was kidnapped… Even when we had three people, we were not his opponents. What can we do now that there are only the two of us left!?] It was not that his mental strength was lacking, it was just that he could not muster the strength when faced with an opponent like Yang Kai!
Le Mang shouted, “Junior Brother Dai, the honour or disgrace of Lang Ya Paradise lies in our hands. You need to get yourself together!”
Realisation suddenly struck Junior Brother Dai. His eyes instantly filled with fighting spirit, and he nodded repeatedly, “Got it, Eldest Senior Brother!”
Half an incense stick’s time later… Le Mang stared into the Void with a blank gaze.
There was nobody next to him. Junior Brother Feng, Junior Brother Yun, Junior Brother Peng, and even Junior Brother Dai had all been captured…
Such desolate loneliness! But, so what if that was the case? Even if he had to fight alone, he would never be discouraged! With so many Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters watching him, as the Eldest Senior Brother, Le Mang had to set a good example for the others.
Reaching this enlightenment, Le Mang’s aura abruptly began to swell. The wind and the clouds in Void Flower Spirit Province swirled and all the World Energy in the Spirit Province became agitated and flooded towards him.
The illusory phantom of a Universe World suddenly appeared behind him, but the Universe World was extremely distorted and ever-changing. Following the rise of his aura, the ethereal Universe World showed signs of becoming solid.
“That is…” Somebody among the crowd suddenly exclaimed, “What is happening to Eldest Senior Brother?”
“Eldest Senior Brother is advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm! Look at his Small Universe! It’s showing signs of materialising!”
“Hahahaha! That Bastard is dead meat now! No matter how powerful he is, how can he be the opponent of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!?”
“Advancing into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm is not that simple. Eldest Senior Brother probably just grasped the opportunity for a breakthrough and is showing signs of advancement. He needs to enter retreat immediately. Only when his Small Universe fully materializes can he be considered to have truly advanced into the next Order!” An Open Heaven Realm Master of Lang Ya Paradise who had some understanding of how to advance from the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm explained.
“Even so, Eldest Senior Brother will now possess some heritage of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. The power he can wield is definitely above that of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even if Yang Kai is powerful, he might not be Eldest Senior Brother’s opponent.”
“That’s right! It will now depend on how much strength Eldest Senior Brother can exert.”
“Sect Master has arrived!” Somebody shouted all of a sudden.
The advancement of a disciple from the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was not a trivial matter, especially for somebody like Le Mang. Furthermore, Li Yuan Wang had always been monitoring this training, so he knew about everything that was taking place here.
Following the emergence of Li Yuan Wang’s figure, the hundreds of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters bowed in unison, “Greetings, Sect Master, Vice Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang did not come alone. He was accompanied by Gao Ting. Nodding lightly in acknowledgement, he gestured for them to be at ease. Only then did he turn to look at Le Mang below.
Upon sensing Li Yuan Wang’s gaze, Le Mang looked up and cupped his fist, “Disciple greets Sect Master, Vice Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang asked in concern, “How confident are you?”
Comprehending the opportunity to advance into the next Order did not mean that one could successfully complete the breakthrough. There was no saying whether an unexpected accident might occur during the process.
The transformation of one’s Small Universe from immaterial to material was no different from stepping over the threshold. Only by overcoming this threshold could a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Unfortunately, many Open Heaven Realm Masters failed to cross this chasm.
Le Mang replied, “Disciple is confident!”
“Good!” Li Yuan Wang nodded, “But, before that, you should end this training.”
Le Mang nodded and quickly said, “I will not disappoint you, Sect Master!” Turning his head to look at somebody among the crowd, he pointed with his longsword, “Junior Brother Yang, this Senior Brother is in a hurry to enter retreat. Let’s get this over with quickly.”
Unbeknownst to the others, Yang Kai had appeared in that direction at some point in time.
Most of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the surroundings had been focused on Le Mang, so they had failed to notice Yang Kai’s presence and it was not until this moment that they saw him.
On the other hand, Le Mang had comprehended the opportunity for advancement. At this moment, his strength could no longer be judged simply by the standards of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. His strength was already beyond the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, though still below the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
His words and attitude conveyed great self-confidence. His confidence infected the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise, causing them to become extremely excited.
Yang Kai abruptly turned to look at Li Yuan Wang, “Sect Master Li, with Senior Brother Le Mang’s current condition, will there be any aftereffects if he were injured?”
Li Yuan Wang pondered in silence for a moment, “Go easy on him!”
Many of the disciples turned pale. [Why do the Sect Master’s words sound so much like he is favouring the outsider instead?]
Before they could understand the situation, Yang Kai broke out into a grin, “Since you are in a hurry, Senior Brother, I will do as you request!”
He shifted his body and charged towards Le Mang.
Immediately after that, all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise witnessed an incredible scene.
Le Mang, who now wielded strength beyond the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, suffered a fate no different from the rest of his comrades. He was overwhelmed and suppressed by the storm of attacks from Yang Kai, which gave him no time to catch his breath. In fact, he didn’t even have the strength to fight back.
Even Le Mang himself looked like he had seen a ghost!
He knew about the gap in strength between him and Yang Kai; after all, he had been defeated once in the past already. It was just that he was different from before. He had already comprehended the opportunity to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so his strength was much greater than before.
[I can’t believe nothing has changed!] It was not until this moment that he realised something. He had always underestimated Yang Kai. Yang Kai’s strength as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was not something that could be judged using common sense. As the saying went, ‘There are always people beyond people out there’!
In front of everybody’s eyes, Yang Kai continuously advanced while Le Mang steadily fell back. The moment the two of them left Void Flower Spirit Province, they disappeared out of sight together.
In the void where many Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise gathered, a blanket of dead silence filled the air! Such an outcome was very difficult to accept.
An energy fluctuation from the collision of World Forces seemed to come from afar before it was quickly extinguished.
A short while later, Le Mang flew over from that direction with a bruised and swollen face. He cupped his fist and said, “Sect Master, Disciple will enter retreat now.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded, “Go on, but don’t be impatient. You only need to allow nature to take its course.”
“Yes!” Le Mang nodded.
Meanwhile, the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Lang Ya Paradise were so stunned that they were in a daze. At this point, the situation was clear. Senior Brother Le Mang had lost, and Void Land’s Lord Yang Kai had single-handedly defeated all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
Hence, their faces burned with shame!
They looked towards Li Yuan Wang only to see that his expression was calm and collected. He didn’t seem to care that his disciples had failed so miserably, which only made them feel even more ashamed.
It was just… This training was over, so why was the Sect Master not announcing the results? Based on his appearance and demeanour, he seemed to be waiting for something.
The same seemed to be true even for Vice Sect Master Gao Ting who was standing by the side.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were confused and puzzled. However, as long as the Sect Master and Vice Sect Master said nothing, they did not dare to say anything either. As such, they could only stand there quietly.
In front of a lake in a certain Spirit Province, Gu Pan rested her cheeks on her hands. There was a fishing rod in front of her, and the fish bait had been thrown into the water. Nevertheless, she didn’t even notice when the fish got caught on the hook. Her eyes were fixed blankly on the surface of the water, and she was clearly absent-minded.
When Yang Kai came to Lang Ya Paradise, he brought news of people corrupted by the Black Ink. She could not deny being extremely shocked at the time. There was no saying how many Fellow Brothers corrupted by the Black Ink were lurking in Lang Ya Paradise. Furthermore, there would likely be people whom she was familiar with among them. Once these people were identified, they were bound to suffer a tragic fate. She did not wish to see such a scene, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Suddenly, a strange aura appeared behind her. Although the aura only appeared briefly before disappearing in a flash, it gave her an extreme feeling of disgust. A sense of vigilance bloomed in her heart. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, she spun around and slammed her palm out. The World Force of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surged violently.
However, she immediately showed a look of astonishment and quickly retracted most of her strength. Nevertheless, her palm still landed lightly upon Yang Kai, who had appeared behind her without warning. As if struck by lightning, his figure was blown backwards. He coughed up fresh blood in mid-air and crashed to the ground weakly.
Gu Pan turned pale in shock, “Senior Brother Yang!”
Having withdrawn most of her strength when she recognised him, the power of that attack should not have been capable of threatening him. That was why she couldn’t quite understand how she managed to injure him. Also… what was that repulsive aura earlier?
Yang Kai climbed to his feet and clutched at his chest with an agonised expression. He quickly said, “Junior Sister, you’re amazing indeed! This Senior Brother admits defeat!”
Gu Pan stiffened in surprise but quickly came back to her senses. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she protested, “Senior Brother, there’s no need for that!”
[Senior Brother Yang is clearly giving me an opportunity!]
In this training, the person who could defeat him would receive the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World. Yang Kai had deliberately made a trip here, allowed her to strike him, and admitted defeat so readily. The motive behind his actions could not be more evident.
Moreover, he looked as though he had been severely injured. It was obvious that he had forced himself to cough up blood. Gu Pan was certain that her palm strike could not have actually harmed him in any way. With his abilities, he could have resolved her attacks with ease.
“Junior Sister, you have great skills! This Senior Brother is impressed!” Yang Kai continued to spout nonsense without batting an eyelid.
Seeing how insistent he was acting, Gu Pan could only play along with him. Thus, she elegantly bowed, “You have my respects, Senior Brother!”
He nodded lightly.
In this training, Lang Ya Paradise had to win! This was something Yang Kai understood clearly. If he won in the end, Lang Ya Paradise would lose all face. He came here for the people corrupted by the Black Ink Clan, not to turn the entire place upside down. What’s more, he had gained quite a lot from this training, so he was quite satisfied.
Seeing as the person who defeated him could enter the Five Lights World for training, it would not be bad to give Gu Pan this opportunity.
“It’s about time for the training to end. Junior Sister, come with me to meet Sect Master Li,” Yang Kai said.
“Good!” Gu Pan nodded and continued seriously, “Senior Brother Yang, thank you!”
A few years after she advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she received the opportunity to enter Lang Ya Paradise’s Small Source World for training. Unfortunately, even if she was a Core Disciple who advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, she could not enter the Small Source World twice in such a short time. There were so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise who were waiting for their turn after all. The Elders of the Sect could not favour her too much.
If she could enter the Small Source World again for training now, it would be greatly beneficial for her growth.
…
In the sky above Void Flower Spirit Province, everybody continued to wait quietly for something.
A short while later, two streams of light sped over from afar. Upon noticing the movement, the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise turned to look in that direction.
“That Bastard is back!”
“The person beside him… It’s Junior Sister Gu!”
“Huh? Why does the Bastard look so pale? Moreover, his aura is so weak. He looks like he has been heavily injured. Was he beaten up by Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang?”
Le Mang had returned covered in bruises earlier, so it was obvious that he had been defeated by Yang Kai. Be that as it may, Yang Kai could not have gotten away unscathed after fighting with their Eldest Senior Brother. It would be understandable if he had suffered injuries against Le Mang.
Somebody’s eyes lit up, “Could it be that the Bastard was heavily injured after a tough battle against Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang, and then Junior Sister Gu took advantage of the circumstances to defeat him?”
Upon hearing those words, all their expressions became very animated. For a time, the image of Junior Sister Gu Pan teaching this heartless thief a painful lesson out of hatred born from love came to the minds of many people. They all felt that she had done a good job! Looking at Yang Kai’s pale complexion made their hearts feel so much better.
“Yang Kai greets Seniors!” Coming to stand in front of Li Yuan Wang and Gao Ting, Yang Kai bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Honoured Master! Greetings, Martial Uncle Gao!” Gu Pan bowed.
Gao Ting looked at Gu Pan warmly.
Li Yuan Wang asked, “Who won and who lost?”
Yang Kai grinned and laughed, “This Junior lost to Junior Sister Gu!”
Li Yuan Wang lifted his hand and stroked his beard, looking at Yang Kai as though he was looking at a promising young man. Although he had already understood everything, Yang Kai’s actions made him very satisfied nevertheless.
Yang Kai had been causing so many troubles in Lang Ya Paradise during this period that many complaints had been flooding in as a result. If not because of his status, Li Yuan Wang would have been tempted to teach Yang Kai a lesson himself. Luckily, Yang Kai had enough tact to leave Lang Ya Paradise with a fig leaf. Their pride had not been ruined completely thanks to that.
After pondering in silence for some time, Li Yuan Wang announced loudly, “Lang Ya Paradise disciple Gu Pan has gone through many hardships and defeated Yang Kai. Therefore, I will reward her with the opportunity to enter the Five Lights World. The rest of the disciples should guard against arrogance and impatience. Work hard in your cultivation. When you enter the 3,000 Worlds in the future, you should remain proud but humble. Don’t disgrace the name Lang Ya Paradise.”
The Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise shouted in unison, “We will obey your orders, Sect Master!”
Gu Pan blushed slightly. [What hardships? I can’t believe Honoured Master! All I did was randomly strike out with my palm and Senior Brother Yang spat up blood all on his own! I’m sure Honoured Master knows this fact. I can’t believe he is lying through his teeth!]
“Good! This training ends here. Gu Pan, come with me!”
“Yes!” Gu Pan responded.
Li Yuan Wang and Gao Ting turned and left, but Li Yuan Wang suddenly gestured with his large hand before departing. Following the swirl of the wind and the clouds, an invisible light barrier covered the entire Void Flower Spirit Province like an upside-down bowl.
The light barrier flashed. It was obvious that it was a Sealing Type Array. Seeing as he was the Lang Ya Paradise Sect Master, it was only natural that Li Yuan Wang had the authority to activate all kinds of Arrays in the Sect.
Yang Kai’s expression immediately darkened as he shouted, “Senior, what is the meaning of this!?”
Li Yuan Wang pretended to have heard nothing. Walking out of Void Flower Spirit Province in a few quick steps, he transformed into a stream of light and left quickly.
In the beginning, the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise didn’t understand why the Sect Master had suddenly activated the Sealing Array on Void Flower Spirit Province; however, they quickly understood and turned to look at Yang Kai in unison.
Standing alone, in the middle of the crowd, Yang Kai felt cold sweat dripping from his forehead in droves.
Numerous figures slowly approached Yang Kai from all directions and soon surrounded him so tightly that not a single drop of water could slip through. All of those gazes contained malice, and there were as many as several hundreds of them! Some even cracked their knuckles eagerly.
His face twitching violently, Yang Kai glanced at his surroundings with bright eyes and forced out a dry laugh, “Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, victory and defeat is a common thing in life. Revenge will only breed revenge, when will there ever be an end!?”
The current Void Flower Spirit Province had truly turned into a cage. Without destroying the Sealing Array, it was impossible for Yang Kai to even think of escaping. His Instantaneous Movement was completely useless under the power of the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array
Faced with the aggressive looks of hundreds of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, Yang Kai panicked!
Senior Sister Zhou glared at him and gritted her teeth, “You Bastard, I bet you never imagined that you’d experience such a day! You were so happy to beat us up earlier! Now you’ll know what it feels like when the tables turn on you!”
Yang Kai protested with an ashen face, “Senior Sister, you must have misunderstood me. It was only because of the training before that this Junior Brother had no choice but to act so ruthlessly. It was not my intention!”
“Was selling your healing pills by force also something you had no control over!?” Somebody questioned.
“Uh… Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, it’s okay if you want to understand it in that way!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly.
“Don’t waste time talking nonsense with him! We can talk after we give him a beating!” Somebody shouted furiously.
During this period of time, the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had been nursing a grudge in their hearts. So many Fellow Brothers and Fellow Sisters had suffered at the hands of Yang Kai after all. However, he was as slippery as an eel and nobody could do anything to him. Thanks to the Sect Master’s help though, he was now trapped like a turtle hiding in his shell. What else was there to hesitate about?
“Senior Brothers, Junior Brothers, Senior Sisters, and Junior Sisters! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!” Somebody roared.
Immediately after that, a large number of people instantly swarmed towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai struggled to retaliate only to realise that his efforts were useless. Thus, he could only cover his head, “Not the face!”
Curling up his body, he silently endured the storm of attacks raining down on him.
“Move aside! Move aside! Let me kick him too!”
“This punch is for Junior Sister Gu Ling’er! How can you be willing to attack a person as gentle as Junior Sister Gu Ling’er!? This is driving me crazy!”
“Which Bastard just touched my butt!? You even dared to touch a man like me!?”
“Ah! Senior Brother, I apologise! I touched the wrong person!”
“Huh? Who were you planning to touch!?”
“…I wasn’t trying to touch anybody!”
“There’s another Senior Brother here who is trying to take advantage of the situation to get handsy! Senior Sisters, Junior Sisters, beat him up too!”
“Don’t hit my face! My face is important!”
…..
It was a sea of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Yang Kai himself didn’t know how many punches and kicks he suffered. It just felt as though his entire being was about to fall apart.
When the people in the inner ring got tired, they would be replaced by people from the outer ring. It was truly a scramble as an endless stream of people fought for their turn. For a time, the scene was extremely tragic!
After a whole incense stick’s worth of time, Senior Sister Zhou finally gave a commanding shout, “Enough! That’s enough! Stop hitting him! He’ll break if we hit him anymore! That will only break Junior Sister Gu Pan’s heart!”
She was quite a prestigious figure in the Sect; therefore, the chaotic scene finally became contained once she spoke up.
Yang Kai’s clothes were in tatters, and his entire body was covered in footprints. There was no describing just how dishevelled he looked. It was fortunate that he had protected his face in time, so he was not too embarrassed to meet others.
At this moment, he lay spread-eagle on the ground with an expression that looked like he was lucky to have survived.
Senior Sister Zhou came to stand in front of him and looked down at him from above. She snorted softly, “Luckily, you have enough conscience in you to hand the opportunity to Junior Sister Gu at the end!”
They were not fools. In the end, Yang Kai defeated Le Mang only to be defeated by Gu Pan. It was easy to figure out the real situation as long as anybody had some brains. It was obvious that he had given the opportunity to train in the Five Lights World to Gu Pan…
They were defeated by Yang Kai during the training because they were weaker. There was no reason to be resentful. Besides, Yang Kai had left a fig leaf for Lang Ya Paradise at the last moment. Although they were very grateful to him for that, that was not enough to stop them from wanting to beat him up.
Somebody abruptly took out a jade bottle and pushed it in front of Yang Kai’s face. He happily said, “Junior Brother Yang, this is Lang Ya Paradise’s special healing pill. Would you like to give it a try?”
*Shua shua shua…*
Countless jade bottles were taken out and shoved at Yang Kai. The entire space became densely packed with jade bottles!
Yang Kai yelled in grief and indignation, “Don’t you dare go too far!”
Senior Sister Zhou sneered coldly, “The tables have turned. We are simply returning to you what you gave us in the first place. Hurry up and stop wasting time. Each healing pill is worth a set of Sixth-Order materials.”
“Don’t even think about it!” He clutched at his Space Ring.
How could he possibly cough up the food he had already swallowed!? His biggest gains from the training were these resources. In total, everything was worth tens of billions of Open Heaven Pills!
Senior Sister Zhou’s pretty face darkened, “It looks like you don’t quite understand the situation that you’re in, Junior Brother!”
Yang Kai gnashed his teeth in frustration before roaring, “You are the ones who forced my hand… Dragon Transformation!”
…
Many weaker Lang Ya Paradise disciples witnessed an extremely bizarre scene today. A 10,000 metres long Grand Dragon that shone brilliantly with a golden light rose into the sky above Void Flower Spirit Province. Shaking its head and flicking its tail, the Dragon headed in some unknown direction.
A Dragon Clan member! Moreover, a Grand Dragon! This was a scene that many people would never witness in their lives. Who could have imagined that such a sight would appear in Lang Ya Paradise? The weaker disciples did not understand the situation or the reason why a Golden Grand Dragon appeared in Lang Ya Paradise out of nowhere. Could it be that the Master Sect had raised a Grand Dragon in secret all this time?
In the end, the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise failed to retrieve the resources they lost. When Yang Kai transformed into a Grand Dragon, they were momentarily stunned by the terrifying Dragon Pressure that spread outward; thus, he had taken the opportunity to break free of the Sealing Array on Void Flower Spirit Province and escaped.
Looking at the departing Golden Grand Dragon, they finally understood the reason why their strength was so insignificant compared to Yang Kai even though they were all in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even Eldest Senior Brother Le Mang, who had already comprehended the opportunity to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, was not his opponent.
That Bastard might seem like a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master on the surface, but he was actually a Grand Dragon! That was an existence that could rival a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master in terms of strength; hence, the Sixth-Order Masters in Lang Ya Paradise suddenly felt that their loss was not undeserved!
Inside the Main Hall, a bruised Yang Kai glared at Li Yuan Wang furiously. On the other hand, the latter acted as though nothing was wrong as he sipped on his tea
After a while, Li Yuan Wang finally spoke, “Know your limits. You gained a lot from this trip. Besides, this King does not expect you to return those resources. You only had to suffer a beating in return. It’s not like it’s a big deal.”
Yang Kai sneered coldly, “Sect Master Li, it’s easy for you to say. Why don’t you go and get beaten up as well?”
Li Yuan Wang’s neck stiffened, “Who would dare?”
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “I don’t care. In any case, Lang Ya Paradise has to pay me compensation for my losses.”
Li Yuan Wang was so angry that he laughed, “You want compensation for your losses? You robbed my people of resources worth several billions of Open Heaven Pills! What losses did you suffer?
Yang Kai tapped his fingers hard against the armrest of the chair and solemnly said, “Sect Master Li, I am contributing blood and tears to Lang Ya Paradise, risking my life in the process! It’s bad enough that you didn’t help me, but how could you stab me in the back at the last moment!? Is that something a person should do?”
Li Yuan Wang pondered seriously for a moment, then he suddenly came to stand in front of Yang Kai.
“What is it?” Yang Kai watched Li Yuan Wang warily.
Li Yuan Wang bowed deeply, “This King failed to consider matters carefully. Forgive me, Martial Nephew. Please accept the apologies of this Li!”
Yang Kai’s mouth fell open in shock. [This guy… sure is shameless! He is a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and the Sect Master of Lang Ya Paradise. How can he just apologise so easily!?]
Nevertheless, how could Yang Kai continue to pursue the matter when a Senior like Li Yuan Wang had already gone so far as to bow and apologise? He had no choice but to swallow this loss!
Li Yuan Wang resumed his seat and asked with a much more solemn expression, “Did you gain anything else from this training, Martial Nephew?”
Needless to say, Yang Kai knew exactly what Li Yuan Wang was asking. He mulled over the question before he answered gravely, “Gu Ling’er, Chang An Yi, Liang Qiu Hong, and Jiang Yan!”
Li Yuan Wang’s eyes narrowed slightly. Although he had hoped that Yang Kai could discover further information from this training, he couldn’t help feeling saddened when he actually heard the results! These four were among the elite of all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise!
“Are you sure?” He asked grimly.
Yang Kai nodded in response, “I’m sure!”
These four had said the words ‘Black Ink Eternal’ to him. Only those corrupted by the Black Ink would do that.
Although Yang Kai did not sense the slightest hint of the Black Ink’s power from them, there was nothing abnormal about Shi Zheng before his identity was exposed either! The Black Ink’s power was extremely hidden and strange after all. Unless they checked the Small Universe of each individual or the people corrupted by the Black Ink proactively exposed themselves, it was very difficult for others to detect any anomalies!
“At present, I can confirm the identities of these four. I don’t know whether there are others who have been corrupted by the Black Ink hiding among the rest.”
Besides, not all the people corrupted by the Black Ink would say that phrase to him in the face of danger. Yang Kai had no means to confirm if there were others who remained in hiding.
Li Yuan Wang raised his head and looked at Gao Ting.
Gao Ting looked pensive, “Gu Ling’er is a gentle and kind-hearted disciple with a beautiful appearance. She is very popular among all the disciples and even the Elders in Lang Ya Paradise. Zong Yu Quan oversees the Star City Void Dock, so it can be said that he holds a high-ranking position. Chang An Yi is one of the Elders in charge of the Outer Disciples’ cultivation. His position is unique and allows him to come into contact with many of the lower disciples. Liang Qiu Hong oversees one of the Restricted Areas in Lang Ya Paradise, which also gives him an outstanding status. Lastly, Jiang Yan is in charge of Lang Ya Paradise’s business affairs and holds great authority!”
Li Yuan Wang’s eyes flashed as he asked, “Do you mean to say…”
He continued, “The hidden Black Ink Clansman is targeting certain demographics of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. The people they choose are those who hold important positions.”
There were many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, and based on their seniority and strength, they were considered to be Outer Elders. However, most of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise did not hold any specific post in the Sect. ‘Outer Elder’ was nothing more than an honorific title, one that did not actually hold any power.
It was not that Lang Ya Paradise treated them differently, it was just that most Open Heaven Realm Masters did not wish to be involved in such mundane matters. They only wanted to focus on pursuing the Martial Dao. This was the case for all the Cave Heavens and Paradises!
Be that as it may, the people named by Yang Kai were those who held important positions in Lang Ya Paradise!
Gao Ting added, “Moreover, they all share something in common!”
Li Yuan Wang nodded, “They are all expected to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm within the next 200 years!”
“That explains everything!” A look of realization appeared on Gao Ting’s face.
All this time, they had been wondering why the Black Ink Clan chose to corrupt the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. According to the ancient books in the Sect, the Black Ink Clan generally chose to corrupt Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters as they were the most valuable targets.
It would now seem that these Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters corrupted by the Black Ink were expected to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm within the next 200 years. Comparing between corrupting a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it was only natural that the former was much easier to accomplish. Not to mention, they were expected to advance into the next Order soon.
If they were the Black Ink Clansman, they would have done the same.
With this information in hand, it would be much easier to proceed with the investigation. They only needed to identify the disciples who were expected to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm in the near future and also held important positions in Lang Ya Paradise. Those who were corrupted by the Black Ink, but remained in hiding would have nowhere else to run.
Gao Ting sighed, “The training was only aimed at Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so we still don’t know who among the Seventh-Order Masters have been corrupted by the Black Ink. The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who have been corrupted are the greatest hidden dangers to Lang Ya Paradise!”
Every single Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was an Inner Elder that held great power. Take Shi Zheng for example; Shi Zheng was the foreign affairs envoy of Lang Ya Paradise, so losing him to the Black Ink was a huge loss to Lang Ya Paradise.
Yang Kai smiled, “There’s a chance that the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters corrupted by the Black Ink will soon expose their whereabouts.”
Li Yuan Wang and Gao Ting turned to look at Yang Kai in unison. The former asked, “Do you have any clues?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t have any clues, but there’s a certain saying that applies here. ‘Rustle the grass to lure out the snakes’! Now that we have rustled the grass, the snakes won’t stay quiet for much longer!”
Li Yuan Wang and Gao Ting first showed puzzled expressions, then they showed understanding.
Gao Ting asked, “Is that why you transformed into your Dragon Form?”
Yang Kai replied, “It was just how things turned out!”
Under those circumstances, it was impossible for him to escape the siege of hundreds of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters without transforming into his Grand Dragon Form.
The Dragon Clan was the leader of all Divine Spirits! Furthermore, the Divine Spirits had a natural resistance towards the Black Ink. If not for that, the Dragon and Phoenix Clan would not have chosen to sacrifice half the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land in ancient times to suppress and seal the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Under the erosion of the Ancestral Strength over countless aeons, even the Giant Spirit God corrupted by the Black Ink had been killed. That only served to showcase the tyrannical power of the Divine Spirits.
Yang Kai’s transformation into his Grand Dragon Form had been witnessed by hundreds of Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even the weaker disciples on the nearby Spirit Provinces had witnessed this scene. This information was bound to reach the ears of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters corrupted by the Black Ink. That being the case, they would surely become suspicious.
If Yang Kai was a Grand Dragon, then was he actually corrupted by the Black Ink? It was possible for Divine Spirits to become corrupted by the Black Ink, but it was much harder to accomplish.
Nevertheless, as long as this suspicion existed, the people hiding behind the scenes would surely do their best to verify the truth!
Li Yuan Wang suddenly spoke up, “Check what Jiang Yan is doing right now.”
Gao Ting understood and quickly sent out a message.
A short while later, he looked up, “Jiang Yan just led some people out of the Sect in the name of conducting business. He also brought many resources with him, claiming that he wanted to deliver them to the Star Boundary for the disciples there!”
Li Yuan Wang’s eyes narrowed slightly, “As expected, they can’t stay quiet any longer!”
The training had only just ended, but not only was Jiang Yan travelling even though he had yet to recover from injuries, but he was also heading towards the Star Boundary. It was obvious that he wanted to ask Shi Zheng for confirmation regarding Yang Kai’s true identity.
Gao Ting asked, “Should we stop him?”
Li Yuan Wang waved his hand, “No need. Travelling to and back from the Star Boundary will take at least several months. If we stop Jiang Yan now, Yang Kai’s identity will be revealed immediately! If we let him go, we will at least have a buffer of several months.”
Gao Ting frowned, “Then, what should we do?”
Li Yuan Wang lightly tapped his fingers against the table, “We wait. If somebody sent Jiang Yan to inquire for more information from Shi Zheng, then they might not be able to wait patiently. There’s a possibility that they might reveal something soon.” Turning to look at Yang Kai, he added, “Nephew Yang, this Li thanks you in advance for everything you’ve done for Lang Ya Paradise.”
Yang Kai waved his hand casually, “Matters regarding the Black Ink Clan involve more than just Lang Ya Paradise.”
Li Yuan Wang sounded emotional, “You are righteous indeed, Nephew Yang. But, you will face some dangers after this. If you think it’s dangerous, you can leave now. We will do something about Lang Ya Paradise ourselves.”
Yang Kai laughed, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
The training among the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had been extremely eventful. The final result might have been somewhat imperfect, but the outcome was acceptable to a certain extent.
Yang Kai had shone brightly during this training. As the target of this training, he had practically beaten up all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise!
It was true that many of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had been resentful towards him during the training, but his immense strength had won the admiration of many as well.
With Lang Ya Paradise’s training, the disciples were not people who would lose their tempers after losing just once. Even if they lost this round, they would simply work harder and strive for victory next time. It was only natural for those walking the path of the Martial Dao to strive for improvement after experiencing setbacks.
That was why Yang Kai received many invitations after the training.
The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise scrambled to invite him to their respective secluded homes in order to exchange cultivation experiences among each other.
Such things were very commonplace. On the Martial Dao, it was easy to go down the wrong path if one only cultivated behind closed doors. On the contrary, they might experience a flash of inspiration or an epiphany while conversing with their peers.
There were at least dozens of these invitations, and they were all sent to Gu Pan’s residence.
Yang Kai had initially worried about how he could come into contact with those who had been corrupted by the Black Ink through natural means; therefore, the existence of these invitations was akin to receiving a pillow just as he was about to doze off.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise who invited him over would also invite their friends. Only when everybody shared knowledge with each other could the meeting truly be considered an exchange.
For the next half month, Yang Kai’s schedule was extremely hectic. He went around to all the Spirit Provinces in Lang Ya Paradise to visit the secluded homes of the Open Heaven Realm Masters who sent him invitations.
It could be said that there was a small feast every single day and a banquet every three days. The smallest gatherings consisted of three to five people, while larger gatherings might consist of eight to ten people. They would either gather together to express their respective opinions or compare their knowledge with each other.
Both parties gained quite a lot from each other, and Yang Kai also witnessed the impressive heritage of Lang Ya Paradise.
During the training, he had attacked viciously in order to sound out the identities of those corrupted by the Black Ink. That was why almost every single Open Heaven Realm Master who encountered him would be defeated within a very short period of time.
However, that was not to say that the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were merely embroidered pillows. As part of the 72 Paradises, Lang Ya Paradise boasted an inheritance of countless years and established a solid position for itself in the 3,000 Worlds. That would have been impossible to achieve if they were nothing more than embroidered pillows.
Despite having the same cultivation, Yang Kai could clearly sense that the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were significantly stronger than the Open Heaven Realm Masters outside.
If somebody like Mao Zhe was thrown into the midst of Lang Ya Paradise, he might not even rank in the top 100 among the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Many of Lang Ya Paradise’s Secret Techniques broadened Yang Kai’s horizons and expanded his knowledge. Some of this new knowledge also benefited him greatly. Hence, he would happily attend these meetings and leave with satisfaction every single day.
One early morning half a month later, Yang Kai held up an elegant-looking invitation. The writing on the invitation was very beautiful, and a faint but pleasant fragrance wafted from it. He could tell that the invitation was written by a woman at first glance. More importantly, the invitation was signed off with the name ‘Gu Ling’er’!
Gu Ling’er’s invitation had been sent several days ago, and the appointment that he was attending today was none other than her invitation!
Would there be any discoveries or gains from this meeting? Yang Kai did not know. However, he had the vague feeling that he was not far from unearthing the core of those who had been corrupted by the Black Ink! As long as he could find the core of the Black Ink, then he would have the chance to uncover the hidden Black Ink Clansman.
He heard the sound of something slicing through the air. It was the sound of somebody flying towards him from the outside. A moment later, a figure landed in front of the building and Gu Ling’er’s gentle voice rang out, “Junior Brother Yang!”
Putting the invitation away, Yang Kai pushed open the door only to see Gu Ling’er standing gracefully outside. She smiled at him when their eyes met, and all the colours in the world seemed to fade for a moment.
Yang Kai asked in surprise, “Senior Sister Gu, why did you come here in person? I was just about to head over.”
Gu Ling’er pursed her lips into a smile, “Aren’t you unfamiliar with Lang Ya Paradise, Junior Brother? I heard that you even took the wrong path on the way to visit Junior Brother Wang several days ago. In the end, they waited a long time for you to arrive.”
“Hahaha…” Yang Kai looked embarrassed, “That was an accident. There are too many Spirit Provinces in Lang Ya Paradise, so I got a little confused.”
She teased in a meaningful manner, “You must be feeling down because Junior Sister Gu entered the Five Lights World for training, Junior Brother.”
After the training, Gu Pan immediately entered the Five Lights World for training under Li Yuan Wang’s orders. For that reason, Yang Kai had been living alone on Gu Pan’s Spirit Province recently.
The reason for Li Yuan Wang’s actions was clearly out of consideration for Gu Pan’s safety. There was a Supreme Elder guarding the Five Lights World. Even if a disturbance broke out in Lang Ya Paradise, the effects would not spread that far. It was a fool-proof plan.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Senior Sister,” Yang Kai replied seriously, “There is nothing going on between Junior Sister Gu and I.”
She covered her mouth, “Say that to the other Fellow Brothers and see if they believe you!”
Those words gave him a toothache. Lang Ya Paradise had concluded that the relationship between Gu Pan and him was ambiguous, and all the explaining in the world could not change their perception.
[Just where did things go wrong?] Even though Yang Kai agonised over the question, he could not figure out how the misunderstanding started in the first place. Nevertheless, he could not be bothered to argue with them. His innocence would be proven with time.
“Senior Sister, shall we go?” Yang Kai asked.
Gu Ling’er nodded, “Please follow me, Junior Brother.”
After saying that, she took the lead and showed the way.
His figure flashed in response. Coming to stand beside Gu Ling’er, he proceeded to walk side-by-side with her. Their flying speed was not very fast, and they chatted casually as they moved. Her voice was as gentle as water, sounding very pleasant and comfortable to the ear.
Yang Kai couldn’t help sighing in his heart, [I can’t believe such a person has been corrupted by the Black Ink. I can only say that fate is truly toying with us.]
In the past, he once asked Li Yuan Wang whether there was hope of returning to normal after being corrupted by the Black Ink, but his answer contained only one word, ‘Impossible’.
In other words, the other party would completely turn into their enemy once corrupted by the Black Ink! Regardless of how normal they looked on the outside or how normal they behaved in public, somebody that had been corrupted by the Black Ink could not be saved.
Thinking about it again, it made sense. The root cause of a cultivator becoming corrupted by the Black Ink was their Small Universe being contaminated by the power of the Black Ink. Yang Kai could not think of a solution to remove the power of the Black Ink from someone’s Small Universe. That power was simply too strange.
When Gu Ling’er drew nearer to the Spirit Province where she lived, she suddenly spoke up, “Junior Brother, there will be an extremely important guest later. Please refrain from being disrespectful!”
Her expression was unnaturally solemn when she said that. It made her seem almost like another person altogether compared to her usual gentle demeanour.
Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged on the surface, but his heart was filled with anticipation.
[Are they finally going to reveal themselves?] He answered, “Rest assured, Senior Sister. I will be mindful!”
In the eyes of the people corrupted by the Black Ink in Lang Ya Paradise, he had already been recognised as a companion; therefore, he did not need to worry about being exposed when talking to people like Gu Ling’er and Zong Yu Quan.
Nonetheless, how should he act after meeting this so-called ‘extremely important guest’? More importantly, was this guest the true Black Ink Clansman or was it just someone corrupted by the Black Ink?
A Spirit Province in the distance entered his field of view. It was neither too big nor too small. There were hundreds of similar Spirit Provinces scattered across the entire Lang Ya Paradise. Furthermore, there was a certain palace on the Spirit Province that stood out conspicuously.
Gu Ling’er guided Yang Kai to land directly on the Spirit Province and spoke with a smile, “This is where I live.”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s a beautiful place with wonderful scenery. No wonder an excellent person like you was produced, Senior Sister.”
She gave him a meaningful look and smiled slightly. With a wave of her hand, she activated the Grand Array around her Spirit Province and isolated the inside from the outside.
Afterwards, she took the lead to walk towards the palace. He quickly followed closely behind.
A short while later, they entered the palace and came to a courtyard after some twists and turns. Four others were already waiting in the courtyard.
Yang Kai had previously given Li Yuan Wang the names of four people. These four were Gu Ling’er, Chang An Yi, Liang Qiu Hong, and Jiang Yan. They were also the ones who said the words ‘Black Ink Eternal’ to him during the training and were subsequently identified as people corrupted by the Black Ink.
Among the people present in this place, aside from Jiang Yan who left on an errand, the other two were here. Zong Yu Quan was also here. On the other hand, the remaining person was not on his name list.
However, this person looked very familiar to him. It could be certain that he had seen the other party during the training, but he did not know the other party’s name. [Looks like I missed a few when trying to sound them out during the training!]
When Gu Ling’er and Yang Kai arrived, all four of those people turned to look in unison.
Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward in greeting, “Yang Kai greets Senior Brothers!”
Zong Yu Quan burst out laughing, “You are too polite, Junior Brother Yang. During the training, your performance was absolutely brilliant. We certainly admired your skill.”
Yang Kai looked slightly embarrassed, “It’s enough as long as you don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
The people present here had been horribly beaten up by him and subsequently forced to buy a healing pill. Even Zong Yu Quan was no exception.
Chang An Yi waved his hand, “Things were out of your control during the training. There’s no reason for us to blame you for anything.”
“That’s great!” Gu Ling’er said, “Junior Brother Yang, I’m sure you already know Senior Brother Zong, Senior Brother Chang, and Senior Brother Liang. This person is Senior Brother Gong Wen Shan. You probably met him during the training.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course! It’s just I never imagined Senior Brother Gong to be one of us too.”
Gong Wen Shan laughed, “I’ve never revealed myself, so it’s only natural that you didn’t know, Junior Brother Yang. On the contrary, we knew about you as soon as you arrived at Lang Ya Paradise.”
Zong Yu Quan exclaimed, “Now that we have somebody like Junior Brother Yang among the Black Ink Disciples, our future is bright!”
[Black Ink Disciple…] Yang Kai memorised those words. Whenever he spoke to Li Yuan Wang and the others, they called these people ‘those corrupted by the Black Ink’. Conversely, the people corrupted by the Black Ink seemed to call themselves ‘Black Ink Disciples’.
“You praise me too highly, Senior Brother.” He responded humbly, “If not for Elder Shi Zheng’s guidance to the right path, this Junior Brother would still be lost and unable to extricate myself. I am extremely grateful to Elder Shi Zheng!” After that, his expression turned serious. He placed one hand over his heart and quickly said, “Black Ink Eternal!”
The rest of them were taken aback for a moment, but they quickly lowered their voices and responded in unison, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai once again confirmed that this phrase seemed to hold some sort of irresistible power over the Black Ink Disciples. As long as this phrase was mentioned in front of them, they would surely respond.
He couldn’t help wondering whether doing so would bring about any effects in the middle of battle.
Unfortunately, the possibility was not very high. The Black Ink Disciples might have been corrupted by the Black Ink, but their reasoning was no different from usual. It was just that their deepest beliefs had been completely changed, almost making them into another person altogether.
What’s more, they would consider the Black Ink to be supreme over everything! That was the most dangerous aspect of the Black Ink. Not only could the Black Ink Clan make one bend to their will with it, but they could also instil unwavering faith and force them to give up everything for their sake. Nothing else in the world could compare with the Black Ink.
“Let’s sit down and talk.” As the owner of this place, Gu Ling’er beckoned to the others.
Everybody sat down around a stone table. There were spirit fruits and wine laid out on the table so that anybody could help themselves to the refreshments.
Yang Kai originally thought that the Black Ink Disciples would surely discuss various shady topics when they gathered together, but the reality could not be further from the truth. Similar to the banquets that he attended recently, these people gathered together to discuss various topics regarding their cultivation and other common anecdotes. It was an extremely harmonious scene.
He couldn’t help feeling strange at the sight. Looking at such a scene, if he had not known that these people were Black Ink Disciples, he would not have suspected them of anything even if he came across this scene. They were no different from ordinary people in any aspect.
Zong Yu Quan and Chang An Yi were arguing over the methods of activating one of the Secret Techniques in Lang Ya Paradise. Both of them were fervently expressing their opinions.
All of a sudden, Gu Ling’er approached Yang Kai and whispered quietly, “Junior Brother Yang, it has not been long since you became a Black Ink Disciple. Have you had any trouble adjusting?”
She was sitting next to Yang Kai, and now that she took the initiative to lean over, the air was suddenly filled with the scent of orchids. Her attitude was incredibly intimate.
Gong Wen Shan and Liang Qiu Hong looked in this direction, and then they both smiled slightly. They realised that Yang Kai’s performance during the training must have caught Gu Ling’er’s attention. It was obvious that she was planning to snatch Yang Kai from Gu Pan.
Even after so many years, Gu Ling’er had yet to choose her Dao Partner. The first reason was that she had extremely high standards. Very few Open Heaven Realm Masters in the same Order could catch her attention. The other reason was her identity as a Black Ink Disciple. If she were to enter a long-term relationship with somebody else, there was a high possibility that her identity would be exposed.
Yang Kai was different, however. His strength could practically be said to be the best among all Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Moreover, he was a Black Ink Disciple himself, so there was nothing for her to worry about.
The path of cultivation could be extremely dull and dreary. In addition, Open Heaven Realm Masters generally had exceptionally long lifespans. It was a good thing to have the company of an excellent person.
Yang Kai naturally inhaled Gu Ling’er’s fragrance, but his attitude remained calm. He nodded in response to the question, “There is something I wanted to ask.”
Even Chang An Yi and Zong Yu Quan, who had been arguing fiercely, stopped speaking and turned to look at him.
Gu Ling’er smiled sweetly, “Please feel free to speak, Junior Brother Yang. We are all Black Ink Disciples. You can consider us family now, so there’s no need to hide anything.”
Yang Kai asked, “As Black Ink Disciples, our Small Universe has been enlightened by the Black Ink. But, will there be any effects on our cultivation in the future?”
They exchanged a glance with each other, and Zong Yu Quan laughed, “So that’s what you’re worried about, Junior Brother Yang! Hmm… If you’re talking about effects, then there are definitely some. But… they are good effects!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Zong!”
Zong Yu Quan replied solemnly, “The Black Ink Strength is mysterious and unparalleled in this world. The biggest advantage we experience is in terms of our advancement. Senior Brother Le Mang received insight recently and will soon advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. You probably saw that too, Junior Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai nodded.
Zong Yu Quan continued, “However, even if Senior Brother Le Mang comprehends the opportunity to advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, it will not be easy for him to succeed in his breakthrough. Advancing from the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm will require overcoming a steep threshold. If you succeed in overcoming this challenge, then your horizons will be widened infinitely. On the other hand, if you fail, the best outcome is that you will be stuck in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm forever. If your luck is poor, then there’s a possibility that your Small Universe will become unstable and your cultivation will regress. In the worst case, you might even lose your life. Conversely, Black Ink Disciples like us have no need to worry about such matters. Our Small Universe is protected by the Black Ink Strength, so there won’t be any problems for us when we advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai was absolutely amazed, “The Black Ink Strength is so amazing!”
If that was the case, then the Black Ink Strength truly had astonishing properties.
Gu Ling’er smiled and followed up, “That’s just one aspect. The biggest benefit that we enjoy as Black Ink Disciples is that we have broken free from the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm!”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai asked humbly.
Zong Yu Quan explained, “I heard that you only broke through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm when you initially advanced. Is that true, Junior Brother Yang?”
Yang Kai nodded.
Zong Yu Quan gestured around him with his finger, “I’ll be straight with you, Junior Brother. The same was true for us. Logically speaking, the limit of those who advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm is the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, no matter how abundant one’s cultivation resources are. However, that is only true for other Open Heaven Realm Masters. For Black Ink Disciples like us… heh…”
Yang Kai suddenly revealed a look of excitement. Even his breathing became a little disordered, “Senior Brother Zong, are you implying that Black Ink Disciples like us are not bound by such limitations?”
Zong Yu Quan nodded lightly, “That’s right. As long as we work hard in our cultivation and as long as we do not lose our lives during the journey, we can even reach the Supreme Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
“Is that true!?” Yang Kai hastily asked. His animated expression was mixed with disbelief and a degree of worry.
Zong Yu Quan nodded sincerely, “It’s true!”
“Have you ever met such a Master, Senior Brother Zong?”
Zong Yu Quan laughed in embarrassment, “Of course not. Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are not people we minor characters can meet whenever we want. Nevertheless, this is the truth.”
He could not produce any evidence, but he was absolutely convinced of this matter.
Yang Kai understood that this information was probably told to them by a Black Ink Disciple in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm like Shi Zheng. Be that as it may, he could not determine the truth of the matter. If this was the truth though, then the Black Ink Strength was far too tempting. For an Open Heaven Realm Master, one of their greatest concerns was their innate limitations.
The World Fruit was capable of breaking this limitation to an extent, but it could only be used once. What’s more, how precious were World Fruits? How could ordinary people ever get their hands on one?
On the other hand, if the Black Ink Strength surpassed or even ignored this limitation, then Yang Kai could not imagine what would happen in the future. Would people proactively seek out the Black Ink Strength simply for the sake of making further progress in their cultivation? There was no doubt they would! Who would not wish to become stronger? Who would not wish to stand at the top in the future so that they would never have to be at the mercy of others again?
Yang Kai suddenly recalled something. All the Elders in the Cave Heavens and Paradises were aware of the Black Ink Clan, and the Core Disciples would also be informed by their Honoured Masters after they advanced into the Open Heaven Realm. Aside from them, most others, even the ordinary disciples in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, had never even heard of such matters before.
Since ancient times, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had censored all information regarding the Black Ink Clan. This information was only limited to circulation among the Elders. Consequently, even the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Shattered Heaven were unaware of the reason why they were being targeted by the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
In the past, Yang Kai had not understood the reason for this behaviour either. If the Black Ink Strength was really as corrosive and invasive as he imagined, then logically it would be better for everybody to know about the dangers so that they could take the appropriate precautions.
However, if the Black Ink Strength could also break the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm, then Yang Kai could understand why the Cave Heavens and Paradises had concealed all information regarding the Black Ink Clan! They were afraid that people might not be able to resist the allure of the Black Ink Strength… These were the preventive measures taken by the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
With such considerations in mind, Yang Kai was slightly more convinced that the Black Ink Strength could actually break the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm.
“But… how could this be?” Yang Kai remained puzzled.
“How could people like us possibly understand the Black Ink Strength?” Zong Yu Quan sounded inscrutable. It was most likely that he himself didn’t understand it either.
Yang Kai lowered his head, his black hair casting a dark shadow over his forehead. At the same time, soft laughter suddenly came out of his mouth.
Gu Ling’er exclaimed in astonishment, “What’s wrong, Junior Brother Yang?”
“Hahahahaha!” He suddenly threw his head back and laughed maniacally with a wild expression on his face, “The Heavens have taken pity on me!”
The others exchanged puzzled glances with each other, not understanding why Yang Kai was going crazy.
Fortunately, Gu Ling’er was as intelligent as she was beautiful. After pondering for a while, she explained, “In the past, Junior Brother Yang used to have the ability to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Unfortunately, several Cave Heavens and Paradises spearheaded by Myriad Demons Cave Heaven were afraid of his potential and greatly suppressed him as a result. I heard that Junior Brother Yang was forced to advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the Shattered Heaven under helpless circumstances.”
Roughly 100 years ago, there was a huge uproar over Yang Kai; therefore, many disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises had heard about what happened.
Gu Ling’er had inquired about Yang Kai’s, so it was only natural that she had some understanding on the matter. Besides, the fact that Yang Kai had advanced into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm outside Shadowless Cave Heaven in the Shattered Heaven was not a secret. Many people had witnessed the incident at the time.
Upon hearing her explanation, everybody immediately understood the situation.
Yang Kai originally had the ability to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he was ultimately forced to advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was a difference of two whole Orders, which was undoubtedly an unbridgeable gap! What’s more, the limitation of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm while the limitation of the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm was only the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
It was no surprise for Yang Kai to be filled with frustration and rage for all these years. His bright future had been destroyed just like that. Anybody would have a difficult time accepting such a situation.
After learning that the Black Ink Strength could break the shackles of this limitation, it was only natural for him to feel as though he could finally see light in the vast darkness.
Therefore, they more or less understood the reason for his strange reaction.
Zong Yu Quan patted Yang Kai on the shoulder and said earnestly, “You have a long journey ahead of you, Junior Brother Yang. Let us take things slowly. The Black Ink Disciples will surely stand at the top of the 3,000 Worlds one day, and all the others will be dogs beneath our feet!”
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and nodded, “When that time comes, I will definitely raze those Cave Heavens and Paradises to the ground, starting with Myriad Demons Heaven! Only then will I be able to quell the hatred burning in my heart!”
Zong Yu Quan’s mouth fell open in surprise, “You really are ambitious, Junior Brother!”
Yang Kai asked, “Will it be alright for me to do so though? Will it ruin the plans of the higher-ups?”
He pointed to the sky while speaking.
Zong Yu Quan was not in the position to answer that question; after all, he had no clue what the higher-ups were planning.
At that moment, a voice sounded without warning, “If that time comes, this King will accompany you!”
Everybody hurriedly stood up. Likewise, Yang Kai also stood up and looked in the direction where the voice was coming from.
“Greetings, Martial Uncle Yuan!” The others called out in greeting.
“Greetings, Senior Yuan!” Yang Kai cupped his fist with a calm expression.
Yuan Du! One of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise! When Yang Kai first arrived at Lang Ya Paradise, Gu Pan had brought him to meet Li Yuan Wang. It was during that particular time that he encountered this person along the way.
Gu Pan mentioned that Vice Sect Master Yuan Du was extremely fond of receiving flattery from others. At the time, Yang Kai thought that this senior expert in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm had been very friendly. He never imagined that Yuan Du would also be a Black Ink Disciple!
At this moment, Yuan Du had a gentle smile on his face as usual. He was looking at Yang Kai with an approving look, almost like how an Elder would look at the Juniors in the Sect.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai felt a chill running down his back! Even though he had speculated that there were other Black Ink Disciples among the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, this person was actually one of the three Vice Sect Masters!
[Just what has Lang Ya Paradise been doing!? I can’t believe that one of their pillars has been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength!]
Upon further consideration though, he recalled the name list that Li Yuan Wang had previously given him. The list had the names of all the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were on friendly terms with Shi Zheng and Zong Yu Quan, and Yuan Du had been listed among them!
Yuan Du and Gu Ling’er had a Master-and-Disciple relationship between them. Having stood out from among the lower disciples, Gu Ling’er had been taken under Yuan Du’s wing and became his only Legacy Disciple. That would explain how Gu Ling’er had been corrupted by the Black Ink. The Honoured Master himself was in this state, what more was there to say about the Disciple?
On this occasion, Yuan Du had used his status as her Honoured Master to travel to the Spirit Province where Gu Ling’er lived. Even if his movements were noticed by Li Yuan Wang and the others, they would not suspect him of anything.
At this moment, he looked at Yang Kai warmly and smiled, “You shone very brightly in the recent training, Martial Nephew. This King was amazed by your performance.”
Yang Kai bowed, “You praise me too highly, Senior. I was simply lucky. Unfortunately, I was forced to harm my Senior Brothers and Sisters. I feel very bad about that.”
Yuan Du chuckled, “The circumstances were unavoidable, and you had no other choice. Don’t take it to heart. Besides, it’s not as if you didn’t know how to hold back.” Turning to the side, he looked at Gu Ling’er and asked, “How are the preparations?”
Gu Ling’er nodded, “Please don’t worry, Honoured Master. Everything is in order!”
He nodded, “In that case, let us begin.”
Zong Yu Quan suddenly winked at Yang Kai, “Thanks to you, Junior Brother Yang, we will also receive some enlightenment.”
The other Black Ink Disciples also looked very excited. Their faces were filled with anticipation, as though something good was about to happen.
Yang Kai was puzzled, “What do you mean, Senior Brother?”
Zong Yu Quan smiled mysteriously but did not explain himself.
At this moment, a ferocious World Force surged violently. Yang Kai was startled and quickly glanced at Yuan Du. Yuan Du’s robes flapped noisily even though there was no wind in the air. The illusory phantom of a vast Small Universe emerged behind him before expanding outward all of a sudden.
Yang Kai was slightly startled. Yuan Du was clearly trying to manifest his Small Universe around them! However, Zong Yu Quan and the others showed no response. They seemed to have expected this scenario, so he did not dare to make any rash actions. Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Yang Kai simply waited quietly.
In the next moment, Yuan Du’s Small Universe came crashing down and swept everyone up into it.
This was not Yang Kai’s first time encountering such a situation. Back when he was pursuing Zuo Quan Hui in the New Great Territory, Zuo Quan Hui had manifested his Small Universe in a last-ditch effort to fight to the death.
In the end, Yang Kai had done the same and manifested his Small Universe to confront Zuo Quan Hui. Although Void Land ultimately won that day, the battle caused Yang Kai’s Small Universe to become mixed with a lot of impurities derived from Zuo Quan Hui’s Small Universe, which the latter intentionally collapsed as a final act of defiance.
Afterwards, Yang Kai spent great effort to remove the hidden dangers in his Small Universe, causing his heritage to weaken significantly in the process.
Having experienced such a battle once, it could be said that Yang Kai was traversing a familiar path when faced with the current situation.
Under normal circumstances, the power of the Black Ink would leak out if Yuan Du spread out his Small Universe in this manner and that would have alerted the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise.
However, this place was Gu Ling’er’s private Spirit Province and there were many barriers and restrictions set up over this land to isolate the inside from the outside.
When Yuan Du asked Gu Ling’er whether the preparations were in order, he was probably asking about this matter.
In an instant, Yuan Du’s Small Universe spread outward with everybody being pulled inside. Yang Kai looked around only to see that Yuan Du’s Small Universe was identical to the Universe Paradise that Shi Zheng left behind after his death. Everything was dyed pitch-black, as though the entire world had been smeared with a thick layer of ink. The scenery in Yuan Du’s Small Universe gave off an extremely uncomfortable feeling.
Nevertheless, it was undeniable that Yuan Du’s heritage as a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was very impressive. The Dao Essence was extremely abundant in his Small Universe, though Yang Kai could not determine what type of Dao Essence it was.
Everybody looked around after they appeared on the black-coloured land. Zong Yu Quan and the others looked confused, but Yang Kai did not know what was puzzling them.
As the owner of this Small Universe, Yuan Du simply looked at Yang Kai with a smile and asked in a pleasant voice, “Martial Nephew, I suddenly thought of something. May I ask you a question?”
Yang Kai was looking around his surroundings when he heard the question, and he nodded in response, “Please ask, Senior Yuan. This Junior will surely answer to the best of my abilities!”
Yuan Du asked, “You were enlightened by Elder Shi Zheng, right, Martial Nephew?”
“That’s right!” Yang Kai nodded.
“How did Elder Shi Zheng enlighten you?” Yuan Du inquired further.
[Is he suspecting me… He would not have asked me this question otherwise.]
Yang Kai’s heart was as bright and clear as a mirror. Besides, he had already prepared himself for such questions. It was just as he had mentioned to Li Yuan Wang and Gao Ting earlier. The grass had already been rustled, so there was no way the snakes would remain quiet after that.
It was precisely because of these considerations that Li Yuan Wang warned Yang Kai that staying here would be dangerous and asked him to consider his next course of action carefully.
In any case, Yang Kai came here for the Black Ink Disciples and the true Black Ink Clansman. If he wanted to remain safe, he would not have taken the initiative to propose going out to the front lines to gather information in the first place.
As such, he answered calmly and respectfully, “Elder Shi Zheng used a Black Ink Insect. When this Junior felt the wonders of the Black Ink Strength, I suddenly experienced an epiphany. Therefore, I boldly embraced the Black Ink. It is all thanks to Elder Shi Zheng that Junior is here today!”
Yuan Du gently nodded and asked meaningfully, “Did Elder Shi Zheng tell you anything else?”
Yang Kai mulled over the question, “He told me some things, but not everything. What may you be referring to, Senior Yuan?”
Yuan Du laughed, “To be honest, this King has known about your identity as a Black Ink Disciple since the day you stepped into Lang Ya Paradise and met Zong Yu Quan. This King has also been waiting for you to visit me on your own recently. It’s a pity that you never came. If not, this King would not have taken the risk to come and meet you here.”
Yang Kai bowed, “Please forgive me, Senior!”
Yuan Du continued, “Furthermore, your various actions during this time have led this King to believe that you didn’t know the identity of any other Black Ink Disciples aside from Zong Yu Quan. What’s wrong? Didn’t Elder Shi Zheng tell you these things after enlightening you?”
At first, Gu Ling’er and the others were confused as to why Yuan Du was mentioning these topics to Yang Kai. It was not until this moment that the realisation struck them. Yuan Du was clearly suspicious of Yang Kai’s identity.
If Yang Kai had been enlightened by Elder Shi Zheng, then Elder Shi Zheng should have informed him about the situation in Lang Ya Paradise to a certain extent. Yet, he had seemed ignorant of their identities during the training. Rather, they were the ones who took the initiative to reveal their identities to him.
Naturally, that did not prove anything. It might be that Yang Kai was simply being cautious, so he was reluctant to reveal his identity first; however, since Yuan Du was suspicious, it was only proper for them to show the corresponding attitude.
With a shift of their bodies, Gu Ling’er and the others quickly surrounded Yang Kai in unison. At the same time, they silently mobilised their World Force.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai remained calm, not the slightest hint of nervousness in his countenance as he replied, “Please forgive me, Senior. After Elder Shi Zheng enlightened this Junior, he only told this Junior to head to Lang Ya Paradise. As for what this Junior was supposed to do or who to meet, Elder Shi Zheng did not explain anything. It was only after repeated enquiries that Elder Shi Zheng finally told this Junior about Senior Brother Zong’s identity. He told me that I only needed to reveal my identity to Senior Brother Zong who oversaw the Void Dock when I arrived at Lang Ya Paradise. He also mentioned that there was no need to worry about anything else because someone would approach me when I arrived!”
Yuan Du frowned slightly upon hearing those words.
If it had to be said, Yang Kai’s words were reasonable and worth considering. There was nothing wrong with his explanation, and thinking about Elder Shi Zheng’s personality, it was not impossible for him to come up with this arrangement.
Even so, Yuan Du could not shake off his feelings of suspicion towards Yang Kai, one that seemed almost instinctive.
Despite calmly observing Yang Kai for a while, he did not detect anything unusual from the latter’s expression. Only after some time did Yuan Du speak again, “The Black Ink Strength is mysterious, but not omnipotent. Divine Spirits have a certain degree of resistance towards the Black Ink Strength. I believe you are a Grand Dragon, Martial Nephew. Have you truly been enlightened by the Black Ink Strength?”
Yang Kai glanced at Yuan Du, “So, you’re suspecting my identity, Senior?”
Yuan Du replied grimly, “This is an important matter. This King has no choice but to proceed with caution!”
Yang Kai nodded with an expression of understanding, “This Junior understands. I am a new Black Ink Disciple after all. It is only natural for you to doubt my words, Senior. In that case, please take a look at this!”
While saying so, he stretched out his hand. A ball of black energy immediately appeared in the palm of his hand. The energy wriggled on the palm of his hand like a living creature.
“Black Ink Strength!” Gu Ling’er exclaimed softly.
They had similar energy within their bodies; moreover, this energy came from the same source as the Black Ink Strength that flooded the entirety of Yuan Du’s Small Universe. It was only natural that they were familiar with the energy.
As soon as the Black Ink Strength appeared, the vigilance of Gu Ling’er and the others immediately vanished. Even Yuan Du’s expression became much kinder again.
The ability to mobilise the Black Ink Strength undoubtedly proved that Yang Kai had been corrupted by the Black Ink. That was not something just anybody could touch.
“In this way, have your worries been assuaged, Senior?” Yang Kai asked.
Yuan Du nodded lightly, “Since you can mobilise the Black Ink Strength, this King is willing to recognise you as our comrade.”
Before Yang Kai could breathe a sigh of relief though, he heard Yuan Du’s voice again, “However, just to be on the safe side, I ask that you open your Small Universe for this King to inspect, Martial Nephew. That’s the only way to truly confirm your identity.”
Yang Kai was speechless, he would be exposed if his Small Universe was investigated!
It was true that there was some Black Ink Strength suppressed and sealed in his Small Universe, but that was all thanks to the World Spring. The World Spring had strengthened his Small Universe to the point of impregnability, so the Black Ink Strength could not corrupt his foundation. That was why he was not taken over by the Black Ink.
Unfortunately, his identity would be exposed immediately if he were investigated by Yuan Du.
Without any hesitation, Yang Kai revealed a troubled expression, “What’s wrong? Are you still unwilling to believe me, Senior?”
Yuan Du answered calmly, “Martial Nephew, it is not that this King is unwilling to trust you. Nevertheless, investigating your Small Universe is the safest and easiest way to confirm your identity. Open your Small Universe and let this King take a look. Whether you are an enemy or an ally, everything will become clear at a glance. You have nothing to lose in doing so.”
Yang Kai quickly asked, “What if I refuse?”
Yuan Du’s gaze immediately sharpened once more. He glared intently at Yang Kai, “Why would you refuse?”
His initial doubts had been assuaged for the most part. Yang Kai had activated the Black Ink Strength after all, which was enough to prove his identity as a Black Ink Disciple.
However, Yang Kai’s reaction made Yuan Du suspicious again. [If he has nothing to hide, then why would he refuse? It’s just an investigation of his Small Universe. It’s not as if I was planning to do anything to him. Could it be that the power of a Grand Dragon is enough to resist the erosion of the Black Ink Strength even if one is affected by it?]
Yuan Du’s heart moved with his will. All of a sudden, the wind swirled about in his Small Universe World and his murderous intent surged.
Yuan Du’s attitude made Gu Ling’er and the others, who calmed down earlier, become nervous again. Crowding around Yang Kai, they mobilised their World Force and prepared to attack at any moment.
There was bound to be some trouble if they killed Yang Kai here, but compared to their identities as Black Ink Disciples being exposed, they had no other choice.
Besides, they only needed to come up with a random excuse. They could claim that Yang Kai became lustful and made unwanted advances towards Gu Ling’er. In this situation, those claims would be enough to conceal the truth; after all, his image as a heartless thief had been deeply engraved into the hearts of the people. Having abandoned Gu Pan after thoughtless sleeping with her, it would not be strange for him to set his eyes on Gu Ling’er’s beauty.
Yang Kai looked around him flatly. His ice-cold gaze frightened Gu Ling’er and the others. They couldn’t help remembering the scene of their battle against him during the training.
With the strength he previously displayed, it was extremely easy for him to defeat them. That was why they hoped from the bottom of their hearts that this battle would never break out, regardless of Yuan Du’s intentions.
“Senior…” Yang Kai’s head drooped low, and his voice was low, “One’s Small Universe is one’s greatest privacy. It is not something that can be investigated so casually. This Junior understands that you have doubts about my identity; however, this Junior has already provided proof earlier. Why are you being so insistent, Senior?”
Yuan Du quickly said, “I have to be absolutely sure!”
Yang Kai raised his head, looked Yuan Du straight in the eyes, and grinned fiercely, “Senior, since you know that I am a Grand Dragon, you should also know that it won’t be easy for you to kill me even if we are inside your Small Universe. If it comes down to a fight, I will definitely suffer, but it won’t end well for you either, Senior.”
Yuan Du’s expression changed slightly, “Are you threatening me?”
“I wouldn’t dare. I’m just telling you about the current situation, Senior,” Yang Kai smiled in a carefree manner.
Gu Ling’er and the others were stunned. Yang Kai had always been polite and courteous. He was also unusually humble in front of an Elder like Yuan Du. For him to become so intimidating all of a sudden made him seem like a different person altogether, so it was rather difficult for them to adjust to the change.
Thinking about it again though, it was true that he had the qualifications to speak to Yuan Du as equals on account of his identity as a Grand Dragon.
It was just that his identity as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master caused everybody to subconsciously forget about his terrifying combat prowess when he transformed into a Grand Dragon. Showing Yuan Du due respect as a Junior was nothing more than a courtesy. If any of them thought of him as nothing more than an ordinary Junior because of his behaviour, then they were greatly mistaken.
“It’s bad enough if that’s all that will happen. But, if the aftermath of our battle leaks to the outside, our identities as Black Ink Disciples will also be revealed to Lang Ya Paradise. The consequences of that will be disastrous!” Yang Kai took a light breath.
Yuan Du’s expression was unfriendly and his voice was frigid, “This King is well aware of that, but if you are not a Black Ink Disciple… Our identities will also be exposed to the world; therefore, no matter what happens, I must check your Small Universe today!”
Yang Kai furrowed his eyebrows tightly, “Why must you do this, Senior!?”
“What are you hiding!?” Yuan Du shouted.
The more Yang Kai refused, the more uneasy he felt. [I just want to check his Small Universe. Is there a need for him to react so strongly? Unless he is not a real Black Ink Disciple! But, I clearly saw him mobilising the Black Ink Strength just now! I just don’t understand!]
Yang Kai fell into silent contemplation for some time. A long while passed before he gave a long sigh, “You’re right, Senior. I am hiding some secrets, but they have nothing to do with my identity as a Black Ink Disciple. Forget it; even if it comes down to a fight, it won’t end well for anybody. Since you are so persistent, Senior, this Junior will do as you wish!”
While saying so, he activated his World Force. The illusory phantom of his Small Universe appeared behind him. However, he did not show them his entire Small Universe. He only showed them the part where he had suppressed and Sealed the Black Ink Strength.
At this moment, he was secretly glad that he collected all the Black Ink Strength left behind after Shi Zheng’s death into his Small Universe to suppress and seal; otherwise, he would have had no means to overcome the situation he faced today. In that situation, the end result would undoubtedly have triggered an intense battle. Inside Yuan Du’s Small Universe, things would not end well for him even if he transformed into his Grand Dragon Form.
In the eyes of Yuan Du and the others, the illusory phantom of the Small Universe behind Yang Kai churned chaotically with an energy that resembled Black Ink. They immediately felt relieved at the sight, but in the next moment, they were flooded with astonishment, puzzlement, and shock!
Retracting the illusory phantom of his Small Universe, Yang Kai looked at Yuan Du, “Senior, does that prove my identity?”
Yuan Du’s expression clouded slightly at those words. He nodded after some thought, “This King was overly suspicious. Please forgive me, Martial Nephew!”
Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, “You were simply being cautious, Senior. I can understand that.”
Both of them spoke warmly, almost as if their aggressive argument earlier had been nothing more than an illusion.
Gu Ling’er parted her red lips, “Junior Brother Yang… Your Small Universe has already fully materialized?”
Similarly, Zong Yu Quan and the others also had extremely shocked expressions on their faces. They immediately realised the moment they saw Yang Kai’s Small Universe. His Small Universe was extremely solid, unlike their own.
But… Yang Kai was clearly only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm! How could his Small Universe transform from immaterial to material!? Wasn’t that a privilege that belonged only to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!? No wonder he was against letting anybody investigate his Small Universe! This was the secret he was trying to hide!
That was truly an unbelievable secret. Since ancient times, the Small Universe of Open Heaven Realm Masters would only materialize when they advanced into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. That was the path forged by countless predecessors over innumerable years. There had been no exceptions recorded in history.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had crushed the common sense that everybody knew.
“No wonder Junior Brother Yang’s heritage is so much more magnificent even though we are all in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!” Zong Yu Quan revealed a look of understanding.
Before this, they assumed that Yang Kai was invincible among those in the same Order because of his Dragon Clan bloodline; even so, he had not used the power of the Dragon Clan during the training. It was only at the last moment when he was being besieged by hundreds of Open Heaven Realm Masters that he transformed into his Grand Dragon Form to escape.
What he relied on the whole time was the heritage of his Small Universe! With a Small Universe that had transformed from immaterial to material, it was only natural that his heritage was beyond what ordinary Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could compare to.
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment before he casually explained, “To be honest, I don’t know the reason why my Small Universe is so different from others either. It was already like this when I first advanced into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Over the years, I’ve speculated that this difference is related to my proficiency in the Dao of Space.”
Zong Yu Quan and the others gasped in surprise. For one’s Small Universe to transform into a substantial existence after advancing into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm was beyond their comprehension. In any case, they had no reason to suspect Yang Kai’s explanation. They were not knowledgeable in the Dao of Space after all. Who could know whether one’s proficiency in the Dao of Space could cause such changes in the Small Universe?
“This is my biggest secret. Please do not leak this information to the others,” Yang Kai urged.
Yuan Du nodded, “Don’t worry, Martial Nephew. This secret will only be limited to the few of us. Nobody else will learn of it.”
Yang Kai turned to look at Yuan Du. After hesitating for a while, he finally said, “Senior, although Divine Spirits can resist the Black Ink Strength to a certain extent, it doesn’t mean that Divine Spirits cannot be corrupted by the Black Ink.”
Yuan Du smiled, “You are a Black Ink Disciple. That’s something I fully understand now.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m not talking about myself. Rather… there are others!”
Yuan Du looked stunned, “Martial Nephew, have you seen other Divine Spirits who were corrupted by the Black Ink?”
Gu Ling’er and the others also looked over in curiosity. The Black Ink Disciples had always known everything about each other, and there were no Divine Spirits among the Black Ink Disciples.
Yang Kai shook his head again, “It’s not a Divine Spirit, but an existence far greater than the Divine Spirits.”
Yuan Du was slightly shocked, “What existence could be far greater than the Divine Spirits?”
Yang Kai stared straight into Yuan Du’s eyes, “A Giant Spirit God!”
The sound of people gasping rang out across the room. Even Yuan Du had a look of disbelief on his face. He shook his head and said, “That’s impossible. How powerful is a Giant Spirit God? A Black Ink Insect would have absolutely no effect against one.”
Yang Kai pointed at his eyes, “Everything is possible. I witnessed it with my own eyes!”
Yuan Du felt his heart pounding in his chest and his lips going dry, “Where!?”
For Black Ink Disciples like himself, it would be like adding wings to a tiger if they had a Giant Spirit God corrupted by the Black Ink on their side; after all, a Giant Spirit God was such a powerful existence that even the Cave Heavens and Paradises could only look up to them.
If there truly was a Giant Spirit God corrupted by the Black Ink, the strength of the Black Ink Disciple would soar in an instant. Even if they accidentally revealed their true identities, they could rely on the strength of the Giant Spirit God to deal with the Cave Heavens and Paradises. They would no longer need to act so carefully and secretively.
Contrary to expectations, Yang Kai abruptly changed his tune and shook his head regretfully, “It’s a pity that the Giant Spirit God is dead.”
“D-Dead!?” The enormous wave of disappointment after hearing those words was so at odds with his initial feelings of excitement and anticipation that Yuan Du nearly coughed up blood as a result.
“Even a Giant Spirit God can die?” Zong Yu Quan asked incredulously. The Giant Spirit God Clan stood at the top of all the other Races in the vast universe. Who could kill one?
Yuan Du was depressed for some time, then he suddenly collected his emotions and opened his mouth, “Even if the Giant Spirit God is dead, his corpse will not rot or decay. The Black Ink Strength inside his body will not disappear either. Martial Nephew, where did you see this Giant Spirit God?”
Yang Kai asked, “Senior, have you ever heard of the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land?”
Yuan Du pondered for a moment and exclaimed in realisation, “This King has heard rumours about the so-called Ancestral Land of all the Divine Spirits said to be located in the depths of the Shattered Heaven, but I’ve never seen that place for myself. Nobody has ever confirmed the rumours before either. Could it be that the rumours are real?”
Yang Kai nodded, “It’s true. I saw the Giant Spirit God in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land.”
Yang Kai had his own reasons to reveal the information about the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. The first reason was to remove Yuan Du’s doubts. The other reason was that the Giant Spirit God corrupted by the Black Ink would be an extremely important existence to the Black Ink Disciples. Even the Black Ink Clansman hidden in the shadows could not ignore this matter.
As long as this information was delivered to the Black Ink Clan, Yang Kai could use the chance to approach the real ringleaders and learn the hiding place of the true Black Ink Clansman.
“Several decades ago, I entered the Shattered Heaven for training. During that time, I ran into some trouble and offended some people. More importantly, I was relentlessly pursued by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master called Bright Sun Divine Monarch. With no other choice, I could only flee deeper and deeper into the Shattered Heaven.”
“Bright Sun Divine Monarch!” Yuan Du raised his eyebrows at the name, “I’ve heard of this person before. He is indeed an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!”
Meanwhile, Gu Ling’er had a mixture of shock and admiration on her face. While they were cultivating peacefully in Lang Ya Paradise, Yang Kai had gone to the Shattered Heaven and even been hunted by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. That must have been a thrilling and terrifying experience.
The higher one’s Order in the Open Heaven Realm, the stronger one became, and there was a huge disparity in strength between each Order. Take Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like themselves for example. With their strength alone, they were completely powerless against a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, let alone an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. In the eyes of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was probably no different from an ant.
Be that as it may, Yang Kai had been pursued by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. With him standing here unscathed, there was no need to further elaborate on what happened at the end. It was obvious that he had successfully escaped the pursuit of that Eighth-Order Master.
Such a feat was even more shocking and admirable compared to how he challenged and defeated all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise by himself.
“It was during that incident that I had the opportunity to enter the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land. As you know, Senior, I have a Dragon Clan bloodline. Entering the Ancestral Land is like a fish diving into water for me,” Yang Kai continued, “This Junior saw a Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was suppressed and sealed in the Ancestral Land since ancient times.”
“A Black Ink Giant Spirit God!” Yuan Du’s expression became excited.
“That’s right.” Yang Kai nodded, “Speaking of which, I didn’t understand why the Giant Spirit God had that appearance at the time, much less why a Giant Spirit God was suppressed and sealed in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land in the first place. After all, the Giant Spirit God Clan has a gentle, almost child-like temperament. As long as one does not provoke them, they will not provoke others. For a long time, this Junior had wondered why the Giant Spirit God was suppressed and sealed in ancient times. Just what kind of conflict took place between that Giant Spirit God and the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land?
“It was not until later when this Junior was enlightened by Elder Shi Zheng that I understood. The Giant Spirit God had embraced the Black Ink. That was probably the reason why the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land were in conflict with him back then.”
Yuan Du’s eyes were shining so brightly that he looked terrifying, “That must be the reason. Looks like the Giant Spirit God had indeed been enlightened.” Pacing back and forth with an excited and agitated expression, he suddenly stopped moving and asked, “Martial Nephew, are you sure the Giant Spirit God is dead?”
Yang Kai revealed a look of remembrance, “Although countless years have passed, the Giant Spirit God’s corpse remains perfectly intact. The Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land claimed that he was dead, but I’m not sure about the specific circumstances. I’ve never observed the Giant Spirit God from up close after all. In any case, the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land have designated that area as a Restricted Area, so nobody dares to approach carelessly.”
Those words were peppered with half-truths. He could be certain that the Giant Spirit God was dead; after all, many Divine Spirits headed by the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan had risked danger and ventured deep into the Giant Spirit God’s body to investigate. Their investigation did not reveal the slightest hint of vitality.
“If that’s the case, then there’s a possibility that he’s not dead!” Yuan Du’s expression became even more excited, “How powerful is a Giant Spirit God!? How could he possibly be killed so easily!? Even the Divine Spirits can’t achieve something like that! He’s simply suppressed and sealed in that place. I’m sure he is accumulating strength and waiting for the chance to rise again!”
Having said that, Yuan Du laughed heartily and reached out to pat Yang Kai on the shoulder, “Martial Nephew, you are the lucky charm of the Black Ink Disciples! You brought such great news as soon as you arrived!”
“Honoured Master,” Gu Ling’er called out from the side, “Are we going to figure out a method to rescue the Giant Spirit God?”
Yuan Du quickly said, “Of course! We definitely need to rescue such a powerful helping hand. Nevertheless, we need to confirm whether he is still alive first. If he is still alive, then we must rescue him. But, if he is dead, then there’s no point. Besides… that place is the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land. With our strength alone, I’m afraid our hope of success is slim to none.”
Judging from his words, he could not confirm whether the Giant Spirit God was alive or dead even though he seemed pretty confident that the Giant Spirit God was still alive earlier.
He turned to look at Yang Kai, “I’m afraid we will have to rely on you for this matter, Martial Nephew. It is the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land, after all, so only you can freely access that place.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “I will do whatever it takes!”
Yuan Du nodded in satisfaction, “But, before that, we should ask the Divine Lord for advice. Come with me.”
After saying that, he beckoned to them and led them in a certain direction.
Zong Yu Quan and the others immediately followed with excited expressions, as though something good was going to happen.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s heart raced slightly. The ‘Divine Lord’ that Yuan Du mentioned just now forcefully reminded him of the Black Ink Clansman! If he was not mistaken, then the ‘Divine Lord’ that Yuan Du mentioned was most likely the Black Ink Clansman hiding in the shadows!
[Will I face my greatest trial so quickly?] There was no denying that Yang Kai came to Lang Ya Paradise for this purpose. What’s more, he had been working hard in this direction. It was just that the opportunity to approach his target came so quickly that he was mentally unprepared.
In front of Yuan Du and the others, he could simply use the Black Ink Strength suppressed and sealed in his Small Universe to conceal the truth and deceive them.
However, could he keep his identity hidden in front of a true Black Ink Clan member? Would the Black Ink Clan have some sort of special method to distinguish between friend and foe? He did not know. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to proceed forward at this point. His only option was to take things one step at a time. In the worst case, he could transform into a Grand Dragon and fight to the death.
At this moment, there was something else that puzzled him even more. [Could it be that the Black Ink Clansman is hidden in Yuan Du’s Small Universe World? Otherwise, there is no explanation for his current behaviour.]
A short while later, they arrived at an empty space where an altar in the shape of a Nine-Layer Pagoda stood on the ground ahead. It was several tens of metres tall and made from an unknown substance. More importantly, there was an eerie and sinister aura pervading it.
Yang Kai had been guarding against the Black Ink Clan and contemplating how he should react when faced with the true Black Ink Clan member. Therefore, he couldn’t help feeling confused when he suddenly caught sight of the altar. [What the Hell is that for!?]
On the contrary, the Black Ink Clan that he had been guarding against was nowhere to be seen.
Zong Yu Quan, Gu Ling’er, and the others clearly knew what was going to happen in advance. It might not even be their first time here, so their expressions were calm. Nonetheless, their gazes were extremely feverish when they looked in the direction of the altar, almost as though filled with reverence.
Yuan Du stepped forward with a solemn expression. Standing below the altar, he reached his hand out and grabbed at something. A short sword appeared in the palm of his hand. Then, he slashed the sword down his wrist. The short sword was extremely sharp. Not to mention, he had dispelled his defensive powers, so as soon as the sword came slashing down, his flesh churned and fresh blood spurted out violently.
He raised his hand and scattered his blood across the altar while chanting something. Nobody knew what he was muttering, but following his actions, his entire Small Universe began to vibrate. The Black Ink Strength churned and wriggled as though it had a life of its own.
Meanwhile, Zong Yu Quan and the others watched and waited with fiery gazes.
Yang Kai turned his head to the side, leaned close to Gu Ling’er’s ear, and whispered, “Senior Sister Gu, what is Senior Yuan Du doing?”
Gu Ling’er blushed slightly but patiently explained nevertheless, “Honoured Master is trying to communicate with the Divine Lord.”
[Communicate…] He suddenly understood. The Black Ink Clansman was not in this Small Universe. Why else would they need to go through such tedious procedures? Although Yang Kai did not know where the Black Ink Clan member was hiding, was it really possible for Yuan Du to communicate with them just by doing this? He couldn’t help being extremely sceptical!
After waiting for a long while, the altar remained unresponsive. On the contrary, Yuan Du’s complexion became pale due to excessive blood loss. Even if he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it was impossible for him to last long when his blood was spilling freely from his wrist like a fountain.
Yang Kai leaned towards Gu Ling’er again and whispered, “Senior Sister, there’s no response!”
Gu Ling’er continued to blush, “It’s like that sometimes. Not every attempt to communicate will succeed!”
“Why?” Yang Kai was puzzled. Logically speaking, the Black Ink Clansman should be very responsive to the Black Ink Disciples. Be that as it may, her words indicated that the success rate of this communication method was rather inconsistent.
Despite not understanding the reason for everything that was happening at the moment, Yang Kai carefully recorded this scene in his heart. He would need to report his findings to Li Yuan Wang and the others later. As Elders from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, they might know something.
“I don’t know either,” She slowly shook her head.
After a whole hour had passed, Yuan Du’s complexion became as white as paper. Just as his figure was about to collapse, the altar suddenly trembled violently.
In the next moment, Yang Kai’s expression changed slightly. That was because he sensed a mighty Will resembling the Heavens descending from the sky without any warning. Compared to that Will, all the living beings in the World seemed like nothing more than ants.
[Is the Black Ink Clansman really this powerful!?] His heart thumped wildly in his chest.
Following the advent of that Will, a look of excitement appeared on Yuan Du’s pale face. His voice also became louder at the same time.
Yang Kai could not understand what Yuan Du was saying at all, but he vaguely guessed that it was some kind of mantra to summon the advent of the Black Ink Clansman’s Will.
All of a sudden, pitch-black Black Ink Strength spread out from the pagoda-like altar and flowed outward in all directions like water. It was extremely pure Black Ink Strength.
Zong Yu Quan and the others immediately knelt on the ground with their hands stretched out in front of them and their bodies lowered to the ground. They constantly prayed in the direction of the altar.
Yang Kai was stuck in a daze when he felt Gu Ling’er tugging sharply on the corner of his clothes. Hesitating slightly for a moment, he imitated their actions and prostrated himself on the ground.
The Black Ink Strength that resembled real black ink flowed out of the altar and slowly came close. Zong Yu Quan and the others then absorbed and collected the Black Ink Strength into their Small Universes.
Upon receiving the nourishment of the Black Ink Strength, their expressions became even more enlivened. Even Yuan Du, who suffered from excessive blood loss, seemed to become as mighty as a dragon and fierce as a tiger at this moment.
Under these circumstances, Yang Kai did not dare to do anything suspicious. He simply allowed the Black Ink Strength to pour into his Small Universe, then activated his strength to suppress and seal it.
The Will that descended without warning earlier had left him feeling extremely on edge, for fear that his identity would be revealed; however, he soon discovered that the majestic Will was not paying any attention to him. In fact, the Will seemed a little strange. It was strong one moment and weak the next, erratically fluctuating in an endless cycle.
After boldly perceiving the energy for a moment, Yang Kai vaguely discovered that the Will was rather simple. There was not the slightest hint of subjectivity. In other words, the Will gave off the feeling of a person with a blank mind.
If there were no thoughts, then how could it communicate? How could it respond to Yuan Du’s summons and descend here? Everything was extremely odd!
The entire ritual did not last for long. From the beginning to the end, only an hour or so pass. Once the ritual ended, the Will that descended slowly vanished into nothingness. Only then did Yuan Du get to his feet and stand there with his brow wrinkled tightly.
Everybody else also followed suit and stood up. All of them were flushed and glowing as though they had just received great nourishment.
Yang Kai looked around. [Oh, no! I can’t be the exception!]
Thus, he secretly activated his strength and forced his complexion to become as red as fire, turning his skin a radiant shade!
The Will that descended from the altar just now had subsided, but Yuan Du continued to stand there with a deep frown on his face. The others did not dare to disturb him carelessly, so they could only wait quietly.
After a while, he finally blew out a breath softly and raised his hand, “Let’s go out first before we talk.”
When the words left his mouth, his Small Universe that was spread outward closed swiftly.
Yang Kai felt his vision blurring for a moment, and by the time it returned to normal, he was already standing in the room from before. He anxiously asked, “Senior, what were the instructions of the Divine Lord?”
Yuan Du shook his head and said nothing.
Yang Kai was extremely anxious, but did not dare to ask questions rashly lest he roused Yuan Du’s suspicion again. It had taken a lot of effort for him to infiltrate the Black Ink Disciples’ organisation and obtain Yuan Du’s recognition; therefore, things would not end well if he roused Yuan Du’s suspicions again.
A long time passed before Yuan Du finally looked up at Yang Kai, “Martial Nephew, can I trouble you to make another trip to the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land? Please figure out a way to determine the life or death of the Giant Spirit God.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, that’s not a problem. I’ve already received the recognition of the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land during my last trip there. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter that place at will, but as a Grand Dragon, I can freely enter and leave that place without obstruction.”
“That’s good. This matter is not urgent though, so you can go when you are free, Martial Nephew.”
Yang Kai then asked, “Senior, it’s one thing if the Giant Spirit God is dead. But, what if he is still alive? Do I need to think of a way to rescue him?”
Yuan Du asked, “Can you do that?”
Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment, “It will be difficult! Senior, you might not know this, but the Divine Spirits all gather in the Ancestral Land. There are many Divine Spirits with strength comparable to Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. My strength is very insignificant there. But, if the Giant Spirit God is still alive and I can figure out a way to rescue him, then no matter how many Divine Spirits are in the Ancestral Land, they will not be his opponents!”
Yuan Du nodded, “A Giant Spirit God is powerful indeed, but he has been suppressed and sealed for so many years. Even if he is alive and receives help from you, it will be difficult for him to wield his full strength for some time.”
The gears in Yang Kai’s head spun, “Maybe I can figure out a method to bring all of you into the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land! That way, we can cooperate from both the inside and the outside! Senior, how many Black Ink Disciples do we have? How powerful are they?”
Yuan Du replied, “All of them are already gathered here. By the way, there’s also Jiang Yan. He left on a mission and has yet to return. The last one would be Elder Shi Zheng, who oversees the Star Boundary!”
Yang Kai’s mouth fell open, “Are there only so few Black Ink Disciples?”
Yuan Du laughed, “Did you think enlightening a Black Ink Disciple is easy?”
Yang Kai answered, “I only know that you need the Black Ink Insect.”
“That’s right. The enlightenment of each Black Ink Disciple requires the use of a Black Ink Insect. The Black Ink Insects are bestowed by the Divine Lord and are extremely rare. It took me several thousand years to get just a few, and I gave the last one to Elder Shi Zheng to use on you.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai showed an expression of realisation, his heart calming down considerably.
[This is great! I’m glad there are only so few Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise!] Although he could not rule out the possibility that Yuan Du was lying to him, Yuan Du had already accepted his identity, so there should be no need for him to conceal anything anymore. What’s more, this matter was related to the Giant Spirit God.
If there were many Black Ink Disciples, Yuan Du would definitely have shown some greater ambitions. Unfortunately, with so few Black Ink Disciples, it was practically impossible for them to rescue the Giant Spirit God, who was suppressed and sealed in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land.
More importantly, Yuan Du no longer had any Black Ink Insect in his possession! For most of the Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Black Ink Insect was the most troublesome aspect. Without this threat hanging over their heads, they would have much less scruples when taking action in the future.
“Looks like we have to work hard to gather more companions!” Yang Kai rubbed his chin, looking as though he was thinking hard about the future.
“This King would like that too, but the instances when the Divine Lord bestows the Black Ink Insects are simply too unpredictable.”
Yang Kai gave a leisurely sigh, “If that was the case, you should have enlightened more Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Senior!” After saying that, he seemed to realise something and turned to give Gu Ling’er and the others an apologetic look, “Please don’t take offence. This Junior Brother is not looking down on you. It’s just that the gap in power between a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is extremely large. Of course, you will also advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm soon.”
Gu Ling’er and the others looked indifferent and turned a deaf ear to him.
Yuan Du smiled slightly and said, “It’s not that simple. The Black Ink Insect might be able to convert others into Black Ink Disciples, but the Black Ink Insect itself is actually extremely fragile. Even a First-Order Open Heaven Realm Master can effortlessly kill a Black Ink Insect if they are prepared. That is why I have to catch others off guard in order to enlighten them. Elder Shi Zheng and I are very close friends, so he was always unguarded around me and became enlightened as a result. That would not work for the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise. Moreover, if I failed in my attempt to convert them, this King’s identity would not be secret anymore.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “Senior, have you ever thought of enlightening Sect Master Li? We can bring him back to the right path.”
Everybody was shocked by his words. In their opinions, Yang Kai was far too daring. They could not believe that he had set his sights on the Sect Master. However, upon further consideration, they realised that although the risk was very high, if they succeeded, the benefits that they would enjoy were also correspondingly terrifying.
If the Sect Master were to convert others in turn, the strength of the Black Ink Disciples would surely expand like a snowball rolling down a hill. The entire Lang Ya Paradise would become the Black Ink Disciples’ base of operations if that were to happen.
“It can’t be done!” Yuan Du waved his hand forcefully in a dismissive action, “The Sect Master’s cultivation is at the point where he can break through his shackles and advance into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm at any time. There is no chance of success at all unless we can get very close to him. Even if we manage to approach him, it would be hopeless as long as he does not lower his defences.”
Yang Kai smiled, “It will naturally be impossible if we take action ourselves, but what if Gu Pan were to do it instead?”
Yuan Du stiffened slightly in surprise, but he immediately came back to his senses, “Martial Nephew, are you saying…”
“The reason you didn’t convert Gu Pan earlier was that she had yet to advance into the Open Heaven Realm, isn’t that right? Now that she has advanced directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there is hope for her to advance into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future. She has more than enough qualifications for you to use a Black Ink Insect on her now. Once she becomes a Black Ink Disciple, she can then enlighten the Sect Master! Our chances are very high!” Yang Kai earnestly enticed Yuan Du.
Yuan Du rubbed his chin in contemplation, looking rather interested in the idea.
Just as Yang Kai mentioned, the reason he had not converted Gu Pan earlier was that her cultivation had been too low and there was no guarantee whether she could successfully advance into the Open Heaven Realm.
By the time he made plans to enlighten Gu Pan, the news about the Star Boundary’s World Tree came out. Comparatively speaking, he had greater interest in Yang Kai. That was why he used the last Black Ink Insect on Yang Kai in hopes of using his strength to control the Star Boundary.
In that way, all the rising stars produced in the Star Boundary would become the reserve force of the Black Ink Disciples. When they had gathered enough power, the Black Ink Disciples could set off a storm in the 3,000 Worlds!
“What you’ve said holds true, Martial Nephew. Unfortunately, we lack the Black Ink Insect right now,” Yuan Du nodded lightly, “Leave this matter to me. I will do my best to ask the Divine Lord to bestow more Black Ink Insects. On the other hand, I will have to trouble you over the matter regarding the Giant Spirit God in the Ancestral Land.”
Yang Kai agreed readily, “No problem!”
“Let’s stop here for today,” Yuan Du started to climb to his feet as he spoke.
Yang Kai quickly said, “Senior, this Junior has a question to ask you.”
Yuan Du looked at Yang Kai, “Go ahead!”
Yang Kai asked, “Where is the Divine Lord? Is the ritual we performed just now the only method to communicate with him? Wouldn’t it be better to meet him in person?”
Yuan Du smiled bitterly, “How could I not have thought of meeting the Divine Lord in person? I’ll be honest with you, Martial Nephew. In all these years, although the Divine Lord has occasionally responded to my requests, he has never communicated directly with me before. Moreover… I have the feeling that the Divine Lord is trapped somewhere. I don’t know where that place is located, but the Divine Lord is probably on the verge of breaking out soon.”
Yang Kai was shocked, but his expression remained unchanged on the surface, “How do you know, Senior?”
Yuan Du laughed, “That’s because the Divine Lord very rarely responded to the sacrificial offering ritual at the beginning. Nine out of ten times, the ritual would be unsuccessful; otherwise, I would not have had so few Black Ink Insects through so many years. But, the situation began to change about 100 years ago. The frequency of the Divine Lord’s response became higher and higher, especially in the past decade. There have been almost no failures at all.”
Yang Kai immediately ‘cheered up’, “In that case, it must be as you say, Senior.”
The Black Ink Clan’s response towards Yuan Du’s sacrificial offering ritual was becoming more and more frequent. There could only be one explanation for that. Just as Yuan Du mentioned earlier, the Black Ink Clansman was about to break free of whatever prison they were trapped in. That was why the communication between both parties had been greatly enhanced.
[Who was the Black Ink Clansman trapped by? Where are they trapped?] Yang Kai did not know, but Yuan Du was no more informed either.
Yang Kai had countless other questions that he wanted to ask; for example, how did Yuan Du come into contact with the Black Ink Clansman in the first place or how did Yuan Du become corrupted? Unfortunately, he could not ask any more questions at this time. In any case, the information he learned so far was enough. The situation at hand was clear, and it was time to take action. Besides, he was simply grateful that his efforts in Lang Ya Paradise were not in vain.
“Black Ink Eternal!” Yuan Du whispered solemnly before he took his leave.
The rest responded in unison, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Afterwards, Zong Yu Quan and the others left quickly. It was not appropriate for them to remain gathered here after all. If not for the pretext of inviting Yang Kai over for an exchange, it would have been difficult for them to gather together under normal circumstances.
“Junior Brother Yang.” Gu Ling’er called out in a gentle voice, “Junior Sister Gu Pan has already entered the Five Lights World, right?”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s right. Sect Master Li sent her there as soon as the training ended.”
She then smiled, “To be able to receive kindness from you, Junior Brother Yang, Junior Sister sure is blessed.”
If Yang Kai had not conceded defeat at the last moment, how could Gu Pan have obtained victory? All the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise were well-aware of that fact.
“I couldn’t just defeat everybody after all. Sect Master Li might have beaten me up himself otherwise.”
Gu Ling’er complained resentfully, “You didn’t hold back against me at all, Junior Brother.”
During the training, Yang Kai not only injured her but also forced her to buy his healing pill by compulsion without discrimination. Every time she recalled that incident, she couldn’t help feeling resentful.
“Hahaha…” Yang Kai gave a dry laugh, not knowing what to say in this situation.
“Junior Sister Gu Pan is currently inside the Five Lights World. You’ve been involved in the training all this while, Junior Brother, I’m sure you have not taken a good look at the scenery in Lang Ya Paradise. Why don’t I show you around? There are many fun places in Lang Ya Paradise.”
Faced with the request of such a gentle woman like Gu Ling’er, especially under the ardent gaze of her watery eyes, there was probably no man in the world who would refuse her; however, Yang Kai shook his head and said, “Maybe next time. I wish to go to the Ancestral Land as soon as possible to confirm the life or death of the Giant Spirit God. This matter is related to the rise of the Black Ink Clan, so it cannot be delayed.”
Since he brought up the Black Ink as an excuse, she could not refute anything he said; thus, she could only nod in response, “I hope you have a smooth journey, Junior Brother.”
“Senior Sister, take care! I’ll be taking my leave now!” He cupped his fist, then soared into the air and departed in the blink of an eye.
An hour later, many people witnessed the Sect Master’s Legacy Disciple Dong Peng giving Yang Kai a send-off from Lang Ya Paradise.
Inside a secret room, many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were gathered together. There were at least fifty or sixty of them altogether. It was conceivable how fifty or sixty Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered together would be an extremely terrifying force.
Aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there were no other great forces that could bring out such a line-up. Nevertheless, the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered here were not from the same Cave Heaven or Paradise. They each represented one of the great forces that stood at the top of the 3,000 Worlds.
More than a month had passed since they arrived at Lang Ya Territory, but they had remained hidden inside this secret room throughout this period. With the exception of Sect Master Li Yuan Wang, Vice Sect Master Gao Ting, several Supreme Elders, Gu Pan, and Dong Peng, no one else in Lang Ya Paradise was aware of their arrival.
At this moment, they were all waiting for something. Although there were so many of them, the secret room was totally silent. For Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, such patience was nothing. Only Li Yuan Wang, who sat in the highest seat, seemed very uneasy and subconsciously rubbed his fingers together lightly.
All of a sudden, a weak energy fluctuation appeared, followed by the sound of footsteps. Everybody became alert and turned to look in the direction of the sound.
A short while later, Yang Kai stepped into the secret room under Dong Peng’s guidance. Although he had departed Lang Ya Paradise earlier, his actions were only to fool the Black Ink Disciples. He later secretly returned to Lang Ya Paradise with the help of Dong Peng. It was thanks to his proficiency in the Dao of Space that his quick trip was unknown to all the other people in Lang Ya Paradise, apart from Dong Peng whom he had made arrangements with in advance.
“Greetings, Seniors!” Yang Kai bowed in greeting.
“Sit!” Li Yuan Wang gestured with his hand.
Yang Kai murmured his thanks and took a seat.
Several dozen pairs of eyes stared fixedly at him as Li Yuan Wang asked, “What did you learn?”
Gu Ling’er previously gathered Zong Yu Quan and the others under the pretext of inviting Yang Kai over for an exchange of pointers. As the Sect Master, he was naturally aware of the circumstances. In particular, those people had already been identified as Black Ink Disciples by Yang Kai. That alone was a great cause of concern for him.
Yang Kai had immediately taken his leave after departing from Gu Ling’er’s place, so Li Yuan Wang had not had the time to ask anything.
“There’s good news and bad news. Sect Master Li, which would you like to hear first?” Yang Kai asked while looking at Li Yuan Wang.
Li Yuan Wang reluctantly replied, “Let’s hear the good news first.”
Yang Kai said, “The good news is that, apart from the few people who I’ve already identified as Black Ink Disciples, there are only two other fish who slipped through the net. One of them is a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master named Gong Wen Shan!”
“Gong Wen Shan…” When Li Yuan Wang heard the name, he turned to look at Gao Ting.
Gao Ting looked sad, “Wen Shan has also been corrupted by the Black Ink?”
Judging by his tone and expression, he probably had high hopes for Gong Wen Shan. Unfortunately, it was meaningless no matter how much he favoured him now that he had been corrupted by the Black Ink. Although the appearance of a person corrupted by the Black Ink would not look any different from usual, they were no longer the same person as before inside.
Li Yuan Wang murmured, “When that child Wen Shan first advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, it had only been to the Fourth Order. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm was his limit. It was only thanks to many years of intense cultivation that he was able to obtain his current achievements. Therefore, it was inevitable for him to succumb to the temptations of the Black Ink Strength. I’m afraid that’s probably one of the reasons the mastermind chose him.”
Yang Kai exclaimed, “As expected, you know about some of the mysteries of the Black Ink Strength.”
Judging from the meaning behind Li Yuan Wang’s words, it could be seen that he knew about the ability of the Black Ink Disciples corrupted by the Black Ink to break the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm and advance without limitations.
“It looks like you’ve heard of it too!” Li Yuan Wang glanced at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “As long as those who have been corrupted by the Black Ink have enough resources, they can continue to advance in their cultivation without limitations. That is indeed a huge temptation. It’s no wonder that the Cave Heavens and Paradises have always kept the information regarding the Black Ink a secret since ancient times.”
“That’s right. People’s hearts are unpredictable. If this information were spread to the public, who can guarantee that those with ulterior motives or misanthropy will not take the initiative to seek out the Black Ink Strength? Although it is basically impossible for the Black Ink Clan to exist in the 3,000 Worlds, there is always an exception to everything. Lang Ya Paradise’s current situation is that exception.” Li Yuan Wang sighed deeply.
Gao Ting looked at Yang Kai and asked, “You mentioned that there are two fish who slipped through the net. If one of them is Gong Wen Shan, then who is the other one?”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn, “That’s related to the bad news I have for you. The last person is Yuan Du!”
“What!?” Li Yuan Wang was shocked and even Gao Ting had a look of disbelief on his face.
That was Yuan Du! One of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise!
It was obvious that the other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present in the room were also aware of Yuan Du’s identity, so their expressions at this moment were extremely serious.
One of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise turned out to be corrupted by the Black Ink. If this news were spread to the public, they would be subjected to endless ridicule.
Li Yuan Wang could barely believe what he heard, “Martial Nephew, are you certain that person is Yuan Du?”
Yang Kai replied, “I saw him myself. How can it be anything but the truth?”
“Are you acquainted with Yuan Du?” Li Yuan Wang asked persistently. It was not that he did not believe in Yang Kai’s words, it was just that the truth was simply too difficult for him to accept.
“When I first came to Lang Ya Paradise and went to visit you with Junior Sister Gu, I met Yuan Du along the way. Junior Sister Gu explained his identity to me at the time,” Yang Kai explained.
Li Yuan Wang thought back for a moment before he nodded in response, “That’s right. Before you arrived, I was discussing some matters with Yuan Du. You arrived right after he departed.”
In that case, it could be confirmed that Yang Kai was speaking the truth. The identity of the final person corrupted by the Black Ink could also be confirmed. It turned out to be one of the three Vice Sect Masters in Lang Ya Paradise! Even if Li Yuan Wang had strong mental fortitude, he was shocked by the news and lost his composure.
The news that Yang Kai brought certainly consisted of good news and bad news.
The good news was that Lang Ya Paradise’s situation was not as dire as they initially predicted.
When Shi Zheng’s identity as a Black Ink Disciple was first exposed, many foreign affairs envoys from the various Cave Heavens and Paradises had been extremely worried about the situation in Lang Ya Paradise. Nobody knew how many Black Ink Disciples were hidden after all. That was also why they immediately dispatched several dozen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters with the intention of helping Lang Ya Paradise and containing the situation.
It was only at this moment that they discovered that the situation was not too terrible or unbearable. There were only a few people who had been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength. In this way, the situation could be controlled to a certain extent. There was no need to worry about the information being leaked to the outside and causing a panic.
On the other hand, one of the three Vice Sect Masters of Lang Ya Paradise turned out to be a person corrupted by the Black Ink. There could not be any worse news for Lang Ya Paradise.
Yu Xiang Die of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven said, “Tell us about all the events and people that you encountered in detail. Let’s take a look at the situation together!”
“En!” Yang Kai responded before he continued, “During the training, I confirmed the identities of several Black Ink Disciples. By the way, the people who are corrupted by the Black Ink and eroded by the power of the Black Ink Clan call themselves Black Ink Disciples!”
Everybody nodded lightly. That was something none of them had known beforehand. It couldn’t be helped since nobody had ever infiltrated the Black Ink Disciples to gather more information.
Yang Kai continued, “Gu Ling’er is one of them. After the training, I received an invitation from her. She invited me to her Spirit Province for an exchange meeting. When I arrived, I saw that the other Black Ink Disciples in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were already there. In the beginning, the conversation was very ordinary. It was no different from the gatherings with the other Fellow Brothers. Then, Yuan Du came…”
Yang Kai described everything he encountered and heard in Gu Ling’er’s Spirit Province to them in great detail. The main reason was that he was worried about missing out on any useful information. There was no denying that the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters present in this place knew more about the Black Ink Clan than he did. There was no denying that if Shi Zheng had not tried to drag him into the matter, he would not have known about the existence of something as evil as the Black Ink Clan even now.
When he told them about how Yuan Du had repeatedly tried to sound him out, everybody couldn’t help feeling very nervous even though they knew he must have resolved the issues without any danger; after all, he would not be sitting here safe and sound otherwise.
Upon hearing about the altar and Yuan Du’s sacrificial offering ritual, they furrowed their brows slightly in response. Then, when they heard about the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land, they finally turned pale in fear.
Yu Xiang Die asked in shock, “Did you make up that story to deceive Yuan Du, or is that story the truth?”
Yang Kai responded sternly, “The Black Ink Giant Spirit God does exist. He still sits within the Ancestral Land. However, I did not tell Yuan Du the whole truth. At the time, several Divine Spirits headed by the Phoenix Clan and the Kun Clan went deep into the Giant Spirit God’s body to investigate the situation. They confirmed that he had been dead for many aeons. Besides, when I first obtained the Dragon Clan’s Crystal Palace, I also witnessed various scenes from the ancient war with its help. During that ancient war, the Dragon Clan’s Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Empress burned all their Blood Essence and used the Sacred Treasures of all the Divine Spirit Clans as a foundation to split the Ancestral Land into two. Using that as a basis, they managed to suppress and seal the Giant Spirit God.”
Although he witnessed various scenes from the ancient war back then, he had not known about the actual situation at the time, much less understood why a Giant Spirit God was in conflict with the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land. It was not until later when he came across the Black Ink Disciples that he suddenly understood the entire situation. The Demon Sealing Land passed down by word of mouth between the Divine Spirits should actually be known as the Black Ink Sealing Land!
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s response, everybody breathed out a sigh of relief. It was fortunate that the Giant Spirit God was dead! The Giant Spirit God Clan was an extremely terrifying Race after all. If he was not dead, even the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land would not be able to stop him if he were released from captivity. At that time, rivers of blood would surely flow in the 3,000 Worlds.
Gao Ting said, “In other words, Yuan Du’s current goal is to free the Giant Spirit God!”
“That’s right!” Yang Kai nodded, “But, his efforts are bound to be in vain.”
He nodded lightly, “The situation is still within control.”
Yuan Du had no reason to deceive Yang Kai at the time, so his words back then were probably the truth.
The Black Ink Insects were extremely rare. For that reason, he only managed to corrupt a few people in Lang Ya Paradise over the years. Among them, with the exception of the dead Shi Zheng, the rest were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
At this moment, they could only be certain about one thing: Yuan Du was the cause of everything. As long as they cut off the source and clip the wings that he developed, then the worrying situation in Lang Ya Paradise would be resolved.
Unfortunately, they could not be certain as to where the true Black Ink Clansman for whom Yuan Du had performed the sacrificial offering ritual was currently hiding! Just solving the issue of Yuan Du and the Black Ink Disciples would not eradicate the problem completely. If they could not remove the fundamental cause of this issue, then a second or even a third Yuan Du might appear again in the world several thousand years later.
Li Yuan Wang observed worriedly, “Judging by the meaning behind Yuan Du’s words, the Black Ink Clansman is probably being suppressed and sealed somewhere in the 3,000 Worlds. If his contact with the Black Ink Clan had become more and more frequent over the past 100 years, then it can be speculated that the suppressed and sealed Black Ink Clan member is showing signs of regaining their freedom!”
Yang Kai nodded, “That’s also what Yuan Du claimed.”
“Regarding the place where the Black Ink Clan is being held, do the rest of you have any ideas?” Li Yuan Wang raised his head and looked at the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters below him.
Everybody shook their heads in response.
Yu Chang Dao spoke, “There has not been any unusual news from any of the Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds over the years. Besides, there are no related records written in the ancient books of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. It can be surmised that the suppressed and sealed Black Ink Clansman has existed since a very long time ago. This incident might even have occurred before the birth of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.”
Yang Kai suddenly had an idea, “Could it be in the same era as when the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan suppressed and sealed the Black Ink Giant Spirit God?”
Li Yuan Wang reached up and stroked his beard, “That’s not impossible, but nobody can confirm the truth.”
There was no other explanation as to why there were no records in the ancient books of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. If such an evil existence had truly been suppressed and sealed, then the ancient books passed down through the inheritance of the Cave Heavens and Paradises would surely have mentioned the incident.
Even the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were clueless about this matter. In that case, the suppressed and sealed Black Ink Clan member could only have existed a very long time ago.
“Could it be located in the Shattered Heaven?” Somebody asked with a frown, “The situation of the Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds is basically known to us. Only the Shattered Heaven is chaotic and filled with all sorts of dangers. Even High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like us might not escape unscathed if we ventured deep into the Shattered Heaven and encountered danger. It would make sense to say that the Black Ink Clansman was being suppressed and sealed in the Shattered Heaven!”
Yu Xiang Die acknowledged the idea, “Looks like we need to investigate the Shattered Heaven thoroughly. This matter is of grave importance, so there can be no room for negligence.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded in agreement, “Let’s discuss this matter later. At present, it is more important to deal with the Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise.”
“Senior Brother Li, please make the arrangements. We will support Lang Ya Paradise unconditionally!”
They originally thought that there were many Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise, which was why several dozen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had rushed here so quickly. They wanted to take precautions to prevent future disasters. Now that it had been confirmed that there were not many Black Ink Disciples, their tense nerves relaxed considerably. With so many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters present, it would not be a problem for them to deal with a few Black Ink Disciples. They only needed to be careful not to be contaminated by the Black Ink Strength.
As for the affairs of Lang Ya Paradise, they had to be settled by Lang Ya Paradise.
In the following days, everything was calm and quiet. The training that was triggered by Yang Kai was the talk of the town. That training had also inspired the determination of many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise to cultivate harder. It was said that as many as several hundred Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had entered retreat all at once after the training. Some even vowed not to come out of retreat until they advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Consequently, the once lively Lang Ya Paradise suddenly became much quieter and more desolate than usual.
In the Spirit Province where Li Yuan Wang lived, many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters concealed their figures as though they were waiting for somebody to come. Similarly, Yang Kai concealed himself in the Void. With the help of the Grand Array around the Spirit Province, he disguised himself to prevent his aura from being discovered.
On the porch of a thatched hut below, Li Yuan Wang sat in a rattan chair like an elderly farmer in the countryside. There was a teacup in his hand, and he would take a sip from time to time.
A stream of light sped over from a distance and landed in front of Li Yuan Wang. That person cupped his fist and said, “Greetings, Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang smiled and gestured with his hand, “Sit!”
Yuan Du nodded and sat beside Li Yuan Wang before he asked curiously, “Did you summon me here because you needed something from me, Sect Master?”
Li Yuan Wang shook his head, “Can’t I have a chat with you for no particular reason, Senior Brother?”
Yuan Du was slightly taken aback. [‘Senior Brother’… It has been so long since I heard those two words. When was the last time I heard this title? Was it 3,000 years ago? Or, 5,000 years ago?]
It was so long ago that he could no longer recall.
“Of course, you can.” Yuan Du smiled, “Come to think of it, it has been a long time since we Fellow Brothers sat together so quietly like this.”
“That’s right.” Li Yuan Wang sighed, “Ever since you became the Vice Sect Master and I became the Sect Master, we’ve only been worrying about Lang Ya Paradise every single day.”
Yuan Du glanced sideways at Li Yuan Wang, “I’ve never seen you paying much attention to these affairs, Junior Brother. On the contrary, the grey hairs of the three Vice Sect Masters have been increasing year after year.”
“Bullshit!” Li Yuan Wang responded with a straight face, “I’ve devoted all my blood, sweat, and tears to Lang Ya Paradise! How could Lang Ya Paradise become so glorious otherwise!?”
Yuan Du jokingly scolded, “Don’t flatter yourself! This is the foundation that many Seniors have worked hard to lay down over immeasurable years! You are simply managing what they succeeded to build!”
Li Yuan Wang replied seriously, “Managing what they succeeded to build is not a simple feat. Everybody else thinks that being the Lang Ya Paradise Sect Master is marvellous, but they do not know how much my heart breaks over the Lang Ya Paradise disciples.”
Yuan Du curled his lips, “Your shameless behaviour has never changed, no matter how many years passed, Junior Brother.”
Li Yuan Wang suddenly exclaimed, “On the other hand, you’ve changed a lot, Senior Brother!”
Yuan Du’s eyes narrowed slightly, “How did I change?”
Their gazes met. Then, Li Yuan Wang’s expression became extremely solemn, “You’ve gotten older, Senior Brother. You’ve long lost the suaveness of youth!”
After saying that, he burst into laughter with a smug look on his face, as though he himself was very young.
Yuan Du also laughed along.
The two Fellow Brothers seemed to have returned to the time when they were young and carefree. Although they constantly used to bicker, they had a very close relationship with each other.
Yuan Du had joined the Sect earlier, and by the time he advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, Li Yuan Wang had only just started cultivating. It was just that Yuan Du’s Order when he first advanced into the Open Heaven Realm was not as high as Li Yuan Wang’s. That was why they were both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm today.
“Do you think the old man is dead?” Li Yuan Wang suddenly asked.
Yuan Du chuckled, “The old man is such a lively person. How can he be dead? He was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm when he left!”
“En!” Li Yuan Wang nodded, “You’re right. With his personality, even if everybody else was dead, he would still be alive and kicking!”
At the mention of the old man, Yuan Du seemed to deflate and lose interest. Therefore, the two Fellow Brothers fell back into silence.
Li Yuan Wang took a sip of tea, and his voice became a little grimmer, “Senior Brother, don’t blame the old man too much for what happened back then. He made you advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm for your sake. I didn’t understand at the time, but now that I am the Sect Master… Every time a disciple preparing to advance into the Open Heaven Realm comes and asks me which Order would be safer for them to advance into based on their heritage, I feel like I am holding their future and destiny in my hands. My choices… My answer to their question will affect their entire life.”
Yuan Du remained silent.
“I was too young back then. Besides, too much time has passed. There is no way to determine what your heritage was at the time, but since the old man asked you to advance into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it must mean that advancing into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm would have been very risky for you. The old man at the time was just like me now. He held your future in his hands, but his choice was made for your sake. It may only be a one-Order difference between the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but the slightest misstep would have extinguished your Soul. How could the old man bear to watch you fall short at such a critical moment?”
Yuan Du lowered his head, causing a dark shadow to cover his eyes.
“To this day, do you still think that the old man was wrong, Senior Brother?” Li Yuan Wang asked.
Yuan Du finally opened his mouth, “As you’ve said, Junior Brother, how can I not know that the old man was only acting in my best interests?”
“If that’s the case, then why can’t you understand?” Li Yuan Wang looked at Yuan Du sorrowfully.
Yuan Du shook his head, “Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, it’s still a possibility. A person who gives up before even trying is already sick in the head!”
Li Yuan Wang stared at Yuan Du calmly. A long while passed before he sighed, “Senior Brother, it’s never too late to turn around and repent!”
Yuan Du’s gaze went slack, and he stared into the distance quietly, “I’ve already passed the point of no return, Junior Brother!”
His eyes seemed to have a peculiar power that allowed him to see through the void. Staring directly in the direction of Yang Kai, he frowned, “To be honest, I’m more curious about how that boy is able to resist the Black Ink Strength.”
He had not known anything when he first arrived, but he soon understood after his conversation with Li Yuan Wang. He was not a fool after all. Besides, Li Yuan Wang’s behaviour today was simply too abnormal.
Yang Kai’s hiding spot was located not far from Yuan Du, and due to the gap in their strengths, it was impossible for Yang Kai to keep his presence hidden under Yuan Du’s intentional search of the surroundings.
Seeing as his cover had been seen through, Yang Kai revealed himself without further ado and cupped his fist, “Greetings, Senior!”
Yuan Du looked at Yang Kai with a puzzled look on his face, “Your Small Universe has already been corrupted by the Black Ink, so why aren’t you affected?”
“Senior, what you saw was this…” Yang Kai partially manifested his Small Universe, causing its projection to appear behind him.
Just as Yuan Du had previously seen, the Black Ink Strength writhed about in Yang Kai’s Small Universe; however, as Yang Kai’s Small Universe spread outward, more scenery entered Yuan Du’s vision.
Yuan Du immediately understood, “Four Universe Pillars!”
If there was anything in the world that could truly restrain the Black Ink Strength, then it could only be the Four Universe Pillars. The powers of a Divine Spirit could not fully resist the erosion of the Black Ink Strength. After all, even a Divine Spirit could become corrupted by the Black Ink. It was just that the possibility of a Divine Spirit being corrupted by the Black Ink was much lower than an Open Heaven Realm Master of the same strength.
Needless to say, Yuan Du knew about the effects of the Four Universe Pillars. It was just that the Four Universe Pillars were extremely rare treasures that could only be dreamt about by most; hence, he never even imagined that Yang Kai would have one of them, much less that Yang Kai would be so bold and reckless as to suppress and seal the Black Ink Strength in his Small Universe to deceive his eyes.
“So, does that mean Shi Zheng is dead?”
He was the one who ordered Shi Zheng to use the Black Ink Insect to corrupt Yang Kai, but Yang Kai was safe and sound. Not to mention, Yang Kai had the Black Ink Strength suppressed and sealed in his Small Universe. The source of the Black Ink Strength could only have been Shi Zheng.
Yang Kai nodded.
During their conversation, numerous figures appeared out of nowhere. There were at least a dozen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered in this place. Meanwhile, Li Yuan Wang gave a wave of his hand, activating the Sealing Grand Array of the Spirit Province to isolate the inside from the outside.
Yuan Du swept his glance over the crowd and chuckled, “What an impressive line-up! You really think highly of this Yuan!”
With so many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might not stand a chance, much less Yuan Du, who was only in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. He had no chance of winning this fight. It was certain death for him!
Yuan Du was dead. His death was not caused by anybody else but himself. He died by suicide.
It was just like what Shi Zheng had done in High Heaven Territory when faced with a situation of certain death. In the face of insurmountable odds, he did not show any resistance and simply chose to cut off his vitality. His actions were extremely decisive.
This was a completely unexpected situation. The dozen or so High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t even get the chance to take action. On the contrary, they were quite shaken to personally witness a Master, who was their equal in terms of status and identity, resolutely taking his own life in front of them.
Yang Kai frowned slightly at the sight. Staring at the spot where Yuan Du had died, he couldn’t help feeling extremely unsettled in his heart.
These Black Ink Disciples seemed to think nothing of their lives after being corrupted. This incident only made him more and more aware of the horrors of the Black Ink. The Black Ink Strength was a force capable of controlling one’s body and mind, which even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could not resist.
After watching the Senior Brother whom he had known for thousands of years dying in front of him, Li Yuan Wang’s gaze became very complicated. He stood frozen in place without saying anything for a long time.
Gao Ting stood by his side. Looking up into the horizon, he gave a soft whisper, “Sect Master!”
It was not until he heard his voice that he returned to his senses. He waved his hand and removed the Sealing Array around the Spirit Province.
Immediately after that, a figure sped through the sky towards them. It was Dong Peng. Landing in front of Li Yuan Wang, he bowed and cupped his fist, “Honoured Master, everything has been dealt with. There are no survivors.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly.
When he invited Yuan Du over, he had also arranged for the others to deal with Gu Ling’er and the rest of the Black Ink Disciples at the same time. Even Jiang Yan, who left Lang Ya Paradise some time ago, had Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters tailing him. As soon as he approached High Heaven Territory, they would automatically get rid of them.
“Were there any casualties?” Li Yuan Wang asked.
Dong Peng shook his head, “There was some resistance, but no casualties.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded.
On the contrary, Yang Kai breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard those words. It was normal to have some resistance in the face of death. If all of the Black Ink Disciples had the same courage as Shi Zheng and Yuan Du to sacrifice themselves, then it would be too terrifying. Still, it seemed not everyone could disregard their lives so easily.
Although Lang Ya Paradise did not lose many people in this incident, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and the other Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters they lost were people who either held important positions in the Sect or had very high popularity. The disappearance of one or two of them could have been ignored, but all of them disappearing abruptly was bound to arouse the suspicions of the disciples.
Naturally, Lang Ya Paradise had already prepared the means to deal with the aftermath. It just so happened that many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who suffered defeat at Yang Kai’s hands had declared that they were going to enter retreat after the training ended. The disappearance of Gu Ling’er and the others could be explained away by claiming that they had gone into retreat. As for Yuan Du, the same would apply to him.
Over time, the waves would naturally subside.
“Many thanks to all of you for coming to help with this matter. Lang Ya Paradise is very eternally grateful,” Li Yuan Wang composed himself and turned to thank the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered around him.
Even though they did not get the chance to make a move because Yuan Du had ultimately chosen to end his own life, Yuan Du might have resisted if they had not been watching the situation from nearby. There was no saying whether he would have fought Li Yuan Wang under the compulsion of the Black Ink Strength.
Yu Xiang Die nodded lightly, “Since ancient times, the Cave Heavens and Paradises have always been one family. You’re being too polite, Senior Brother Li.”
The affairs of Lang Ya Paradise could be considered to have been resolved; however, while they were hiding here, they remained unaware of the situation of their own respective Sects. Before rushing over to Lang Ya Paradise, they had already sent messages back to their respective Cave Heavens and Paradises to inform them about the reappearance of the Black Ink Strength.
If everything went as planned, then the Cave Heavens and Paradises had probably been checking themselves in the recent period. Judging from the current situation in Lang Ya Paradise, it was unlikely that the Black Ink Disciples existed in the other Cave Heavens and Paradises. Even so, there was always a possibility. If Lang Ya Paradise had a person like Yuan Du, then the other Cave Heavens and Paradises might have one too.
Li Yuan Wang said, “Now that Yuan Du is dead, the source has been cut off. It will not be easy for us to track down the Black Ink Clansman after this. Do you have any other ideas?”
Yuan Du was nothing more than a Black Ink Disciple. While he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and one of the Vice Sect Masters of Lang Ya Paradise, he was insignificant compared to the actual Black Ink Clan member. Now that he had chosen to take his own life, the search for the true Black Ink Clansman became the top priority of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. As long as the Black Ink Clansman was not found, all of them would have trouble sleeping soundly at night.
Nobody spoke up. During the previous discussion, they had concluded that the Black Ink Clan was most likely hiding in the Shattered Heaven. That place was not only vast, but extremely dangerous and chaotic, so it was much easier to hide and cover one’s tracks there compared to any of the other Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds. As such, it was not going to be easy to find the whereabouts of the Black Ink Clansman in the expansive Shattered Heaven.
Yang Kai stepped forward and said, “If you will allow me, Seniors, I would like to investigate Yuan Du’s Small Universe. I might be able to learn something there.”
Yu Chang Dao’s eyes lit up at those words, “The altar!”
The only means for Yuan Du to communicate with the hidden Black Ink Clansman and receive Black Ink Insects was through the power of the altar and the sacrificial offering ritual. Although he was dead, the altar that was connected with the Black Ink Clan might not necessarily have been destroyed. They might actually discover something by studying that altar.
None of them had considered this idea. It was not that they were dull-witted. Rather, the Black Ink Strength was so evil and invasive that they subconsciously assumed that the Small Universe left behind by Yuan Du was a forbidden zone.
On the other hand, Yang Kai not only had the World Spring, but also in-depth experience from entering Shi Zheng’s Small Universe once. It was only natural for him to view the situation from a different point of view.
“Are you confident?” Yu Xiang Die asked with concern.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I can only give it a try.”
How could he be certain about anything? Despite witnessing Yuan Du’s actions during the sacrificial offering ritual, he could not figure out how Yuan Du had gotten in touch with the Black Ink Clansman earlier. Even if he did manage to get in contact with the Black Ink Clansman, he was even more uncertain about whether they would discover that he was not part of the Black Ink Disciples.
Nevertheless, giving a dead horse medicine could not harm the horse any further. He could only do whatever he could in this situation. It would not make a difference if he learned nothing, but if he did learn something, then it would certainly be a pleasant surprise. It would be even better if he could determine the location of the Black Ink Clan member’s hiding place through this opportunity.
Li Yuan Wang did not give an immediate answer; instead, he activated his Divine Sense and communicated with the other High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters for a long time. Only then did he turn to look at Yang Kai, “Be careful!”
Those words indicated his agreement.
Yang Kai nodded. Stepping forward, he walked towards the spot where Yuan Du had died.
Yuan Du was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so the Small Universe in his body had been fully materialized. The situation of his death was similar to Shi Zheng where his Small Universe hadn’t shattered but had instead been exiled to the Void, leaving only an external portal behind. Even his body had been devoured by his vanished Small Universe.
At this moment, there was an extremely uncomfortable aura coming from the portal. It was the aura of the Black Ink Strength.
Thanks to his prior experience, Yang Kai could be considered traversing a familiar path. His figure flickered and he plunged into Yuan Du’s Small Universe.
Just like the scene he saw a few days ago, Yuan Du’s Small Universe was pitch-black. The dense Black Ink Strength writhed and surged tumultuously like ink that had been spilled on the ground.
Unfortunately, as Yuan Du had died by suicide, the Universe Paradise he left behind was now a chaotic mess. With the World Barriers cracked and the landscape turned upside down, it was now essentially a mass of shattered Spirit Provinces that were being loosely held together.
Yang Kai could only secretly pray that the altar had been preserved; otherwise, he would not have the opportunity to come across another one again.
Wandering around in Yuan Du’s Small Universe, he tried his best to compare his surroundings with the scenes in his memories to search for a sense of familiarity. It took several hours before he found the altar in the shape of a Nine Layer Pagoda on a Spirit Province that only had a radius of several dozen metres.
Using a Secret Technique, Yang Kai removed the altar completely and relocated it to a larger, stabler Spirit Province. He silently recalled Yuan Du’s various actions from before, then he reached out to retrieve a sharp longsword from his Space Ring and slashed at his arm. Having withdrawn his defensive abilities, the sword slash immediately caused his Golden Dragon Blood to spurt out and splatter across the altar.
Yang Kai allowed his blood to flow freely, but even so, his brow furrowed with worry. Yuan Du had used his own blood as the sacrificial offering and simultaneously muttered something under his breath back then. Unfortunately, Yang Kai did not know what Yuan Du had said at the time. He could imitate actions such as offering his own blood as a sacrificial offering, but how could he know what Yuan Du had been chanting at the time? It might have been some kind of irrelevant mantra or a crucial part of the ritual. He was not sure whether Yuan Du’s muttering would have any effect on the sacrificial offering, so all he could do right now was give his best attempt and leave the rest to fate.
Golden Blood continuously dripped onto the altar as Yang Kai suppressed his emotions and waited quietly. Yuan Du had also performed the sacrificial offering ritual for quite a long time. It seemed that the Black Ink Clansman only responded after a long wait, so Yang Kai was not in a hurry. Be that as it may, he never expected the altar to remain unresponsive even after three whole days had passed. The Dragon Blood he spilled was enough to fill a pond by then.
The situation gave him an inevitable sense of discouragement, and he wondered whether his method was wrong. If his method was wrong, then it didn’t matter how much blood he spilled or how long he waited. He would never get in touch with the hidden Black Ink Clansman. Therefore, Yang Kai decided to wait one more day, and if there was still no effect, he would immediately leave.
To his pleasant surprise, the altar reacted half a day later. Pure Black Ink Strength suddenly poured out like poisonous snakes sliding out from the shadows and quickly wrapped around him.
The Black Ink Strength pouring out of the altar was slightly different from the Black Ink Strength that Yuan Du owned. Although the Black Ink Strength could not be called dense, it was much purer in comparison.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shocked! He had only done this on a whim, so it was surprising that his method actually worked!
In spite of his excitement, he remained extremely vigilant. He did not forget that a mighty Will had descended all of a sudden when he watched Yuan Du performing the sacrificial offering ritual. The horror of the Will demonstrated the strength of its owner. That power was not something he could resist.
Pure Black Ink Strength surged around Yang Kai as if trying to flood into his body. He pondered in silence for a moment but ultimately did not resist. The Black Ink Strength then quickly infiltrated his body and rushed into his Small Universe.
In the next moment, the majestic Will that he experienced previously descended again without warning! All of a sudden, his entire body was struck with an exceptionally peculiar feeling. It was cold, dark, and deathly silent. At the same time, an unstoppable restraining force came from all directions to envelope him in countless layers. He was unable to move a single muscle as a result.
This feeling made him panic, but he soon came to realise that this horrendous feeling did not belong to him. When the majestic Will descended and the Black Ink Strength poured into his body, he resonated with the Will to some extent. It would seem that this resonance allowed both parties to spy upon a fraction of each other’s inner feelings.
[These feelings of gloomy darkness, silence, and restraint are not my own but that of the Black Ink Clansman!] As soon as Yang Kai realised that fact, he cursed in his heart. [Shit! If we resonate with each other during the sacrificial offering ritual, then the Black Ink Clansman will surely realise that I am not part of the Black Ink Disciples!]
He immediately tried to cut off the connection, but his efforts were completely useless.
The magnificent Will plunged straight in and invaded his consciousness, causing him to feel an involuntary sense of adoration. It felt as though the Will reigned supreme in the world. Any kind of resistance was a form of blasphemy and disrespect. Only surrender was the correct path!
A dense layer of cold sweat immediately broke out across his forehead. There was an immense battle taking place in his heart, and the look in his eyes became uncertain.
At that critical moment, a cool feeling spread out across his mind and abruptly brought him back to his senses. It was the Soul Warming Lotus! When things reached a critical point, the Soul Warming Lotus reacted automatically.
In the next moment, he raised his hand to summon his spear and thrust it out. His World Force burst out at the same time. The altar in front of him shattered in response, and the dense Black Ink Strength scattered into the surroundings. Holding his spear in one hand, he gasped for breath with an expression of lingering fear on his face.
The situation just now had undoubtedly been very dangerous. If the Soul Warming Lotus had not stepped in at the last moment, he was uncertain as to whether he could resist the influence that the Will exerted on him. Moreover, if he had failed to withstand the pressure, he would have suffered tragically even if he did not become corrupted by the Black Ink.
The Black Ink Strength was extremely strange indeed!
A short while later, Yang Kai walked out from the Yuan Du’s Small Universe. Many of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had been waiting for several days, so they quickly questioned him as soon as he appeared.
Yang Kai told them all about the situation he encountered in detail, but he concealed the existence of the Soul Warming Lotus. He only told them that he struggled with all his strength just to deal the critical blow, which cut off his connection between him and the Black Ink Clansman.
Li Yuan Wang’s expression was extremely solemn, “Is the Black Ink Clan capable of affecting one’s consciousness out of thin air?”
That was extremely important information. Although the Cave Heavens and Paradises had some understanding of the Black Ink Clan, they only knew that the Black Ink Strength was extremely aggressive and corrosive. That was why they had always been on guard against the Black Ink Strength; however, if the situation was as Yang Kai had described, then there would be far more precautions to be taken in the future.
Yang Kai pondered in silence, “The Black Ink Clan’s Will is certainly powerful, but it might not necessarily be that terrifying.”
“What do you mean?” Yu Chang Dao asked.
Yang Kai explained, “This situation did not happen when I experienced the sacrificial offering ritual with Yuan Du. The only difference is that Yuan Du was the one presiding over the sacrificial offering ritual back then and I was the one presiding over it this time. There’s a high possibility that only the person performing the sacrificial offering ritual will be directly affected by the Will. The others are unable to form a direct connection with the Black Ink Clan member, so they naturally will not be affected.”
Everybody nodded lightly. It was not impossible. If that was the extent of the Black Ink Clan’s Will power, then the threat of the Black Ink Clan was not that terrifying after all.
Yang Kai sighed again, “It’s such a pity. While the sacrificial offering ritual barely succeeded this time, there was no way to figure out where the Black Ink Clansman was hiding.”
Li Yuan Wang replied, “It doesn’t matter. The universe might be large, but now that we have a goal, as long as we patiently keep searching, we will definitely locate them one day.”
That was something the Cave Heavens and Paradises had to handle. It was no longer something that Yang Kai could handle alone.
“I heard you have the Profound Yin Bamboo in your possession.” Li Yuan Wang suddenly turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai blinked, “There might be a need for everybody to sit down and discuss this matter!”
He previously opened up his Small Universe and allowed the others to investigate him to clear the suspicion of being corrupted by the Black Ink. Therefore, some of the secrets in his Small Universe had been exposed. The existence of the Profound Yin Bamboo was witnessed by many of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Besides, this was one of the bargaining chips that he had prepared to negotiate with the Cave Heavens and Paradises, so there was no need to deny its existence.
The Profound Yin Bamboo was one of the Twelve Minor Universe Pillars. Its effects were not as powerful as the Four Universe Pillars, and its cultivation required a massive cost. Nevertheless, it was extremely useful for every Open Heaven Realm Master with a Small Universe that had materialized. It was certainly a treasure. Unfortunately, in order for it to show its strengths, one would have to spend massive amounts of their own strength to cultivate it.
Yang Kai had personally verified this fact. The Profound Yin Bamboo mainly devoured the World Force in order to grow and spread into a forest. In that way, it would take at least hundreds to thousands of years of hard work to turn the Profound Yin Bamboo into a bamboo forest that was not very large in terms of scale.
That was equivalent to turning the World Force stemming from hundreds to thousands of years of intense cultivation into the nutrients required for the growth of the Profound Yin Bamboo. As a result, the heritage of the Open Heaven Realm Master would weaken and their strength would decline.
If it was before, they might not have been so desperate to obtain the Profound Yin Bamboo; however, with the reappearance of the Black Ink Clan, their desire to obtain the Profound Yin Bamboo had changed.
Even if this treasure could not make their Small Universe as robust and flawless as the World Spring, or prevent the invasion of external forces completely, it could at least increase their resistance against the Black Ink Strength.
In other words, the existence of the Profound Yin Bamboo might save their lives at a critical moment. Comparatively speaking, the risk of losing the heritage of their Small Universe or declining in strength was not worth worrying about. No matter how much their strength decreased, their Order would not decline.
After hearing what Yang Kai said, the many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters subconsciously clutched at their respective Space Rings. They couldn’t help recalling what happened during the training at Lang Ya Paradise.
During the training, Yang Kai had treated all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise as fat sheep and sheared off their thick layer of wool for his own use. His actions left many Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters resentful and miserable due to the heavy losses they suffered.
With those people as an example, how could anything good happen to them? They could practically foresee a greasy, smiling face as he tried to take the lion’s share from them.
Negotiations over the Profound Yin Bamboo took place in a secret room, along with the discussion for the Good Fortune Divine Furnace.
The matters regarding the Good Fortune Divine Furnace remained up in the air. The main reason for the situation was that both parties were unsatisfied with the terms offered by the other side. Before Yang Kai was attacked by Shi Zheng, the foreign affairs envoys at the Star Boundary were supposed to discuss this matter with him after two days. Unfortunately, the reappearance of the Black Ink Clan had immediately disrupted all their plans. It was not until now that this issue was brought up again.
Yang Kai was fixated on the Small Source Worlds of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Even though he named his conditions in the past, none of the Cave Heavens and Paradises had shown any intention of giving in to his demands.
The opportunity to enter the Small Source Worlds was extremely precious to any Cave Heaven or Paradise. More so, since it was not enough for the use of their own disciples. The disciples often had to wait in line for hundreds of years, sometimes even thousands of years, before they could enter. How could they possibly give such an advantage to outsiders?
If not for the reward from the training previously, Gu Pan would not have the qualifications to enter the Five Lights World for training either. That was the case even for a Core Disciple like her, so what more need be said about the Common Disciples?
Since Void Land did not have a Small Source World of their own, they could only set their sights on others instead.
Although it was said to be a negotiation, the truth was that Yang Kai one-sidedly refused everybody else. The rights of use for the Profound Yin Bamboo and the Good Fortune Divine Furnace were very attractive to all the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Be that as it may, Yang Kai refused to accept any other conditions aside from the qualifications to enter the Small Source World for training.
On this point, neither Yu Chang Dao nor Yu Xiang Die spoke up for Yang Kai. Although they were inextricably linked to him, they were foreign affairs envoys as well. In other words, they represented the interests of the Sects behind them.
The discussion went on for a day and a night. Throughout this entire period, Yang Kai continued to insist on his demands; thus, the others could only give in upon seeing his persistence.
In the end, the final results of the negotiation were decided. Each Cave Heaven and Paradise would provide the qualification to enter a Small Source World once for training. In return, Yang Kai had to provide each Cave Heaven and Paradise with five stalks of the Profound Yin Bamboo and the right to use to the Good Fortune Divine Furnace for two months.
That was the best result that could be achieved.
Nonetheless, over a hundred Cave Heavens and Paradises meant that Yang Kai would need over five hundred stalks of the Profound Yin Bamboo. That was an enormous number. Even he could not come up with such an amount in a short time. As for the order in which the Good Fortune Divine Furnace would be used, the issue of precedence was something the Cave Heavens and Paradises had to discuss among themselves. He could not care less about such matters.
After the negotiations were settled, everybody took their leave and departed.
Even though not all the foreign affairs envoys of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were present during this negotiation, the people present today were enough to represent the rest. Those Cave Heavens and Paradises whose foreign affairs envoys did not participate in this negotiation would also acknowledge the results. That was the tacit understanding and trust accumulated between the Cave Heavens and Paradises over countless years.
All the foreign affairs envoys were in a rush to return to their respective Sects in order to report the results of the negotiation and prepare the materials that would be sent to Great Evolution Paradise. These materials would be used in the Good Fortune Divine Furnace to create higher Order materials.
Before Yang Kai left, he asked Li Yuan Wang a question. This question had been troubling him for a very long time now.
“How are Small Source Worlds created?” Li Yuan Wang reached up to stroke his beard and nodded in understanding, “Do you wish to obtain your own Small Source World?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Indeed.”
Many Open Heaven Realm Masters had been added to the ranks of Void Land, so if they had their own Small Source Worlds, then they could help the disciples improve their cultivation quickly.
It was a pity that only the Cave Heavens and Paradises had something like the Small Source Worlds. He had never seen nor heard of any other great forces with their own Small Source World. Therefore, he had never understood where Small Source Worlds came from or how they had such mystifying effects.
“If this is some kind of taboo secret, then please act as though I never asked, Sect Master Li.” Yang Kai hurriedly said when he saw the pensive look on Li Yuan Wang’s face.
Li Yuan Wang waved his hand dismissively, “It’s a secret, but it’s not really a secret either. You’ve entered a Small Source World before. What did you think about it?”
Yang Kai thought back to his previous experience in the Divine Armament World and said, “It felt very real. There was no sense of being an illusion.”
The decades that he spent while training in the Divine Armament World felt like a cycle of reincarnation and rebirth. His impression of that experience was very profound.
Li Yuan Wang laughed, “Of course, it feels real. That’s because the true nature of the Small Source Worlds comes from the Universe Paradises and the Universe Cave Heavens!”
Yang Kai was stunned by those words, “The Universe Paradises and the Universe Cave Heavens? Sect Master, you don’t mean…”
Only the Small Universe left behind after the death of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could be called such. The Small Universe left behind by a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was known as a Universe Paradise, and the Small Universe left behind by an Open Heaven Realm Master above the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was known as a Universe Cave Heaven.
Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly, “It’s exactly what you’re thinking. All the Small Source Worlds stem from the Small Universes left behind by High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.”
“How can that be!?” Yang Kai was shocked to the core.
“There’s nothing impossible about it.” Li Yuan Wang chuckled softly, “But, not every Small Universe left behind by a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master will transform into a Small Source World.”
If that was the case, then there would have been many more Small Source Worlds in existence and they would not have been valued to this extent.
“Is there some kind of special Secret Technique required for the transformation?” Yang Kai boldly speculated.
Li Yuan Wang shook his head in response, “The transformation is not caused by the use of a Secret Technique. On the contrary, you have to cultivate a specific Secret Art from the beginning. This Secret Art does not have powerful properties, so there are no advantages in a battle against others. However, it allows the cultivator to transform their Small Universe into a Small Source World at the time of their death. Of course, it is not that simple. The birth of a Small Source World is a very complicated process. It can be said that the cultivator has to pay a lifetime’s worth of hard work for their efforts to succeed.”
Yang Kai understood, “Sect Master, do you mean that from the very beginning, these people cultivated for the sole purpose of transforming their Small Universe into a Small Source World after their deaths?”
Li Yuan Wang nodded solemnly, “Nobody forced them. They were aware of their future destiny when they first cultivated this Secret Art.”
Yang Kai was slightly stunned by those words.
After cultivating hard for a lifetime, their Small Universe would eventually be transformed into a Small Source World after their deaths to become a training place for others. That would require a great amount of dedication and a strong sense of belonging to one’s Sect.
While achieving such a feat might be as difficult as ascending to the Heavens for any other great force, it would not be difficult to find such disciples among the Cave Heavens and Paradises that boasted an inheritance of countless years. What’s more, cultivating this special Secret Art would not cause any harm to the disciples. It was just that they might suffer some disadvantages in battle. That was because the Secret Art was unsuited for combat; it was only suitable for cultivation.
“The formation of a Small Source World is not an easy feat, and not every attempt will succeed.” Li Yuan Wang explained, “Most of the time, among all the people who cultivate this Secret Art, only one out of ten can successfully produce a Small Source World. I’m sure you understand why the Small Source Worlds are so precious even to the Cave Heavens and Paradises now.”
Yang Kai nodded.
On a fundamental level, a Small Source World was the Universe Paradise or Universe Cave Heaven left behind after the death of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
How many years would it take for a cultivator to grow from an ignorant child to a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master before finally reaching the end of their life? Despite such a long wait, there was only a 10% chance of producing a Small Source World in the end. How could a Small Source World not be precious?
Yang Kai suddenly thought of something, “If that’s the case, does that mean all the living beings in the Small Source World are real?”
Li Yuan Wang nodded, “Of course! The disciples who cultivate this Secret Art will never participate in battle; hence, they will start raising living beings in their bodies to form the World Principles in their Small Universe as soon as they advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm and their Small Universe transforms from immaterial to material. The prosperity of those living inside would be enough to guarantee that the World Force of the Small Source World would continue to increase even after their deaths. Moreover, the various rules decided by the Master before his death will become the goal of the disciples who enter the Small Source World in the future. By achieving this goal, their training will be completed successfully. The disciples will then obtain the recognition of the Small Source World’s World Principles and receive great benefits!”
Yang Kai revealed a look of understanding.
The rule of the Divine Armament World, which he entered for training previously, was to obtain one of the Ten Divine Armaments. In the end, he went overboard and took three in one go which resulted in a huge loss to the heritage of the Divine Armament World.
When he came out of the Divine Armament World, the Yin-Yang Cave Heaven Ancestor overseeing it had seemed quite upset with him. That was because the results of his training were equivalent to depleting the training opportunities of several disciples!
He finally understood why he was not rejected by the people when he first entered the Divine Armament World. On the contrary, they had accepted his presence as a matter of course. It was all thanks to the effects of the Small Source World’s World Principles, and these rules were formulated by the Master of the Small Source World before his death.
“Generally speaking, most of the Small Source Worlds that belong to the Cave Heavens and Paradises are founded upon Universe Paradises. There are very few Small Source Worlds produced from Universe Cave Heavens,” Li Yuan Wang continued, “A Universe Paradise is the legacy left behind after the death of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it is open to any Open Heaven Realm below the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm for training and benefits. On the other hand, a Universe Cave Heaven is the legacy left behind after the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. That is why only Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are eligible to enter.”
Yang Kai understood.
For a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, as long as one advanced directly into the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm when they advanced into the Open Heaven Realm, then they would eventually reach the limits of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm after countless years of cultivation. Such disciples could be found in abundance in the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
On the other hand, it was different when it came to those who could cultivate to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. They would be the Core Disciples of the Sect, like Gu Pan. Disciples with such aptitude would eventually become the pillars of their respective Sects if they developed fully, so how could their Sects be willing to let them cultivate this special Secret Art?
Nevertheless, there would always be exceptions to everything. Some of the chosen disciples might not have shown outstanding aptitude when they were young, but as they cultivated, their talents shone brighter and brighter. Therefore, it became possible for them to advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. In due course, these disciples would reach the end of their lifespans after advancing into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, leaving behind Small Source Worlds on the rank of Universe Cave Heavens.
In this vast universe where 108 Cave Heavens and Paradises existed, there were hundreds of Small Source Worlds. Be that as it may, there were apparently less than ten Cave Heavens and Paradises with Small Source Worlds on the level of a Universe Cave Heaven.
The cultivation of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in these ten or so Cave Heavens and Paradises that owned the Small Source Worlds on the rank of a Universe Cave Heaven would progress much faster than the other Cave Heavens and Paradises. Over time, the birth of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would slowly increase in number and frequency. Heritage was something that was accumulated over countless years after all.
“That can’t be all…” Yang Kai suddenly remembered something, “If that was really the case, then what is with the flow of time in the Small Source Worlds?”
Only two months had passed during his training in the Divine Armament World, but the time he actually spent in the Divine Armament World was more than several dozen years! The flow of time in the Small Source World was far too different compared to the outside world.
It had to be said that Yang Kai had already reached the sixth level of the Dao of Time, Exceeding the Ordinary to Reach the Extraordinary; even so, he only managed to double the flow of time in his Small Universe compared to the outside world. It was impossible for those who cultivate this special Secret Art to be better than him in the Dao of Time, let alone be better than him by several times! Seeing as the Universe Paradise or Universe Cave Heaven was the essence of the Small Source World, there was no explanation for this accelerated flow of time.
“Every Cave Heaven and Paradise has pondered this question before, but there has been no clear answer so far.”
Yang Kai frowned and asked, “Who created this Secret Art?”
Li Yuan Wang replied, “It was handed down since ancient times. This Secret Art is something that has existed even before the Cave Heavens and Paradises were formed. Even now, the Cave Heavens and Paradises are simply learning from the wisdom of the past.”
It turned out that the Secret Art had been handed down since ancient times, during an era where too much time had passed for anything to be verified. Yang Kai suddenly felt extremely troubled. He recently encountered many things that came from an era far in the distant past. That was true for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the Black Ink Sealing Land, the Black Ink Clan, and even this special Secret Art.
“Although nobody has a definite answer, judging from the results, it would seem that cultivating the Secret Art would indeed cause the flow of time in their Small Universe to increase greatly after they advance into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. That was an improvement of ten or even tens of times!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up when he heard those words, “Is there really such a good thing!?”
If that was truly the case, then that would truly be a huge help to the Open Heaven Realm Masters; after all, Yang Kai could already feel the benefits even though the flow of time in his Small Universe was only twice the speed of the outside world. Those raised in his Small Universe would produce World Force, and under the same circumstances, Yang Kai was experiencing double the benefits compared to others in similar situations. It was only natural that his growth would also be much faster.
Speaking of which, there were not many people like him in this vast universe who could raise living beings in their Small Universe without any worries. There was no need to even speak of the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had no such qualifications, and the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters barely had any either. Only the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would try to raise living beings in their Small Universe and even then very few did.
“Do you think it’s a good thing?” Li Yuan Wang glanced at Yang Kai with a strange half-smile.
“Could it be that there’s a disadvantage?” Yang Kai frowned.
Li Yuan Wang sighed, “Those who cultivate this Secret Art are generally short-lived. Compared to their Fellow Brothers in the same Realm, their lifespans tend to become very short after they advance into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Thanks to the influence of the Secret Art, the flow of time in their Small Universe also affects them.”
Yang Kai was stunned by those words.
“If an ordinary person lives for a year, then that same span of time is equivalent to tens or several tens of years to them. How could they live a long life under such circumstances?”
The time they experienced themselves was equivalent to the flow of time in their Small Universe. That was very different from what Yang Kai experienced where the flow of time in his Small Universe might be double the ordinary speed, but that was due to his comprehension of the Dao of Time so there was no harm done to him.
“In this world, it is very rare for only benefits to exist. Nothing in this world is perfect!” Li Yuan Wang sighed once more.
Just like the Black Ink Strength, that was something that could break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm that had been in place since ancient times and allowed the cultivator to advance infinitely without regard for their own limitations. Unfortunately, those corrupted by the Black Ink Strength would turn into another person altogether. That was the same for this special Secret Art. Even though the Secret Art could increase the flow of time in their Small Universe by several times, the Secret Art would consume the cultivator’s lifespan in exchange.
Yang Kai fell silent for a moment before he spoke, “Sect Master, can I have a look at this Secret Art?”
Li Yuan Wang turned to look at Yang Kai, “Do you plan to cultivate the Secret Art? That’s not a good idea.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I only want to have a look. Allow me to speak truthfully, Sect Master, I know a little bit about the Dao of Time and may be able to gain something from the Secret Art.”
Li Yuan Wang was extremely shocked, “Do you also dabble in the Dao of Time?”
Yang Kai’s proficiency in the Dao of Space was something Li Yuan Wang knew well. In the training that riled up hundreds of the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise, Yang Kai would not have been much of an opponent if he had not been proficient in the Dao of Space, regardless of his strength. It was precisely because of his proficiency in the Dao of Space that all the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Lang Ya Paradise had been twisted around his finger.
If the Dao of Space was difficult to cultivate though, then the Dao of Time was even more so!
[It’s bad enough that this brat is proficient in the Dao of Space, but he also dabbles in the Dao of Time!? Just what kind of freak is he!?] Despite living for so long and having seen so many things during that time, Li Yuan Wang could not help feeling shocked at this moment. Looking Yang Kai up and down for a moment, he suddenly blurted out, “There’s nothing great about Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. Why don’t you become the Young Master of Lang Ya Paradise instead!?”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes immediately, “You must be joking, Sect Master.”
Li Yuan Wang replied seriously, “I’m not joking. The entire Lang Ya Paradise knows that you abandoned Xiao Pan’er after thoughtless sleeping with her. I’m afraid it will be difficult for her to find a Dao Partner in the future. You need to take responsibility for your actions.”
Yang Kai turned to leave, “Forget it. I’m sure Yin-Yang Cave Heaven has this Secret Art too. I’ll go and ask them instead.”
Li Yuan Wang immediately grabbed Yang Kai by the arm, “Calm down! We can always talk things out peacefully.”
Yang Kai turned around, “Who is the one acting unreasonably?”
“Fine, fine!” Li Yuan Wang waved his hand dismissively, “Let’s leave the matter regarding Xiao Pan’er aside for now. You can take a look at the Secret Art, but I have a condition.”
The special Secret Art was known as the Great Nothingness Scripture. Every Cave Heaven and Paradise had a copy, so it was not a huge secret. It was said that the Great Nothingness Scripture was engraved on a huge stone monument in ancient times and was obtained by the Ancestors of the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
If it was an ordinary person, it would have been impossible for them to study the Great Nothingness Scripture.
However, Yang Kai was different from ordinary cultivators. He was Yin-Yang Heaven’s Son-in-Law in name and the Star Boundary’s Great Emperor in status. Thanks to the Star Boundary’s World Tree, he was inextricably linked to the Cave Heavens and Paradises. What’s more, he recently went to great lengths to solve the issue of the Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise.
Although Yang Kai was a mere Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had already encountered and taken part in many secrets in the 3,000 Worlds. That was why Li Yuan Wang believed that it would not matter if he showed Yang Kai the Great Nothingness Scripture. Nevertheless, he named a condition. The condition was that Yang Kai had to share his findings with Lang Ya Paradise, regardless of what he comprehended from the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Naturally, Yang Kai had no reason to refuse. He simply wanted to learn why cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture would cause the flow of time in the Small Universe to increase rapidly after advancing into the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. There was nothing to hide even if he actually learned something from this opportunity.
The place where the Great Nothingness Scripture was stored had been designated as a Restricted Area, so there were numerous barriers covering the surroundings. Aside from the Ancestors and certain Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Elders in Lang Ya Paradise, nobody else was allowed to step foot in this place.
When Li Yuan Wang led him to this place, Yang Kai immediately noticed the stone monument standing tall on the ground. The stone monument was quaint and simple. It was easy to see that the stone monument was very old at first glance; moreover, there were dense lines of small letters carved into it.
“It is no longer known where the original Great Nothingness Scripture was found. This is not the original, but the Ancestors completely replicated it in its entirety. Even the size of the stone monument is identical to the original. Their efforts were all so that their future disciples could better comprehend this Secret Art. It is a pity that even though the Cave Heavens and Paradises are highly capable, we only understand the utility and not the rationale behind this Secret Art.”
The various advantages and disadvantages of cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture were known to all the Cave Heavens and Paradises, but the reason for these happenings remained unknown. That was why Li Yuan Wang mentioned that they were simply learning from the wisdom of the past.
Yang Kai nodded and shifted his gaze downward.
Not far from the Great Nothingness Scripture’s stone monument was a row of thatched cottages that stood out conspicuously. That was not all, there were also several figures sitting quietly below the stone monument. All of them had their heads raised to look up at the small letters carved on the stone monument in fascination. Among these people, there were young adults, teenagers, and even a child that looked no more than ten years old.
Upon hearing the commotion, they turned to look in this direction. Then, they immediately stood up and bowed in unison, “Greetings, Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang nodded lightly and waved his hand lightly for them to return to their activities. Only then did he explain the situation to Yang Kai, “These are the Lang Ya Paradise disciples cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture.”
Yang Kai understood. There were no more than five people in this place. Whether or not they could successfully advance into the Open Heaven Realm, achieve the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and transformed their Small Universe into a Small Source World after their deaths… These were huge obstacles in their path. If they failed to overcome any of these obstacles, then their thousands of years of effort would all be wasted.
“I’ll give you half a year. You may comprehend at your leisure. I’ll come and pick you up then!” Li Yuan Wang said.
“Many thanks, Sect Master Li!” Yang Kai cupped his fist.
This place was Lang Ya Paradise’s Restricted Area after all. The fact that Li Yuan Wang allowed him to stay here for half a year to comprehend the Great Nothingness Scripture was already pushing the limits; therefore, it was impossible for him to stay here indefinitely.
After explaining everything to Yang Kai, Li Yuan Wang took his leave.
Yang Kai walked over to the stone monument and raised his head to commit all the words on it to memory. It had to be said that the Great Nothingness Scripture was certainly an extraordinary Secret Art. Even though he did not try to cultivate it, his current vision was extremely high, so he understood the advantages and the disadvantages of the Secret Art at a glance.
Li Yuan Wang was right. This Secret Art was only suitable for cultivating. It was extremely stable, so the cultivators cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture would hardly ever encounter any bottlenecks. As long as they followed the proper procedure, they would not face the risk of cultivation dissonance either. Unfortunately, that was also the greatest disadvantage of this Secret Art. It was far too peaceful. As a result of cultivating this Secret Art, even if their cultivation improved, they would not have much combat power to speak of.
Even if they fought somebody in the same Realm, they were bound to be at a disadvantage. That was absolutely unacceptable for a cultivator who was trying to reach the peak of the Martial Dao. If they couldn’t even protect themselves, then how could they strive for a higher Realm?
Be that as it may, the cultivators born in the Cave Heavens and Paradises had no need to worry about such matters. They only needed to cultivate here over many years. There was no reason for them to participate in external battles, so it didn’t matter if their combat powers were lower than usual.
However, even though Yang Kai studied the Secret Art diligently, he could neither identify the connection between the Great Nothingness Scripture and the Dao of Time nor figure out why a cultivator who cultivated this Secret Art would experience a sudden multi-fold increase in the flow of time within their Small Universe after advancing into the Open Heaven Realm.
Although the five Lang Ya Paradise disciples cultivating in this place did not understand Yang Kai’s origins, they saw Sect Master Li Yuan Wang bringing this person here with their own eyes. Nobody else had ever had such an honour before. Combined with his Open Heaven Realm heritage, they realised that he was different from them and did not take the initiative to speak to him.
Yang Kai ignored them and found a place to sit directly beneath the stone monument to comprehend the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. At this point, Yang Kai could already recite the entire Great Nothingness Scripture backwards. While he fully understood the mysteries of the Secret Art, he could not find any connection between the Secret Art and the Dao of Time.
The lack of findings puzzled him greatly. Logically speaking, the Great Nothingness Scripture should have some connection to the Dao of Time since it could greatly enhance the flow of time in the Small Universe of a cultivator who had advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Nonetheless, he simply could not figure out the connection.
In that case, there were only two possibilities. One was that his attainments in the Dao of Time were insufficient, so he did not have the ability to detect the connection. The second possibility was that the effects could not be seen just from studying the words of the Secret Art in the first place. If he wanted to verify the effects, then he could only cultivate the Secret Art himself!
Seeing as he was already in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, the foundation of his cultivation had already been set, so there was no further opportunity to start over again. Even if he had the opportunity, he would not actually cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture either; after all, this Secret Art was completely done for the sake of becoming somebody else’s stepping stone.
An idea soon came to him. Maybe… there was no need for him to cultivate this Secret Art himself…
…..
Inside the Small Universe, there was a lively scene in front of the Seven Stars Sect’s Main Gates. It was the Seven Stars Sect’s Disciple Recruitment period that was held once every three years. Countless young people from all over the world had travelled here in hopes of joining Seven Stars Sect.
At present, Seven Stars Sect was no longer the small force that it once was in the past. Across the entire Void Continent, the overall strength of the Seven Stars Sect could be ranked among the top three.
Sect Master Shang Guan Ji had advanced into the Emperor Realm many years ago. Based on his strength alone, Seven Stars Sect could not be considered powerful; however, according to legend, there was an Ancestor in the Third-Order Emperor Realm in the Seven Stars Sect. That was an extremely terrifying existence; after all, how many Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters were there in the entire Void Continent?
The Supreme Elder, known as Yang Kai, was not born in Seven Stars Sect. It was said that he wandered here a long time ago and stayed in the Seven Stars Sect because he felt some kind of fate with the Sect. That was how he eventually became the Seven Stars Sect Ancestor.
In the past, a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master had acted presumptuously in Seven Stars Sect. As soon as the Ancestor stepped forward, the Master known as Shen Xing of Southern Star Palace had immediately been silenced.
Many of the smaller Sects had lamented over the fact that this Master had not been fated with them. If their Sects had caught his eye back then, the current Seven Stars Sect would not exist today.
Compared to the lively scene in front of the mountain gates, the atmosphere inside the Main Conference Hall seemed a little gloomy.
The current fame and reputation of the Seven Stars Sect was all thanks to the Ancestor alone. Shang Guan Ji might have advanced into the Emperor Realm, but he was only in the First-Order Emperor Realm. He was not responsible for Seven Stars Sect’s current fame. Unfortunately, the Ancestor had been missing for many years!
Nobody knew when the Ancestor had gone missing. When Shang Guan Ji went to visit one day, he discovered that the Spirit Peak where the Ancestor lived was completely devoid of people. Even the two Disciples whom the Ancestor had taken in were nowhere to be seen.
Shang Guan Ji had been shocked by the discovery. At first, he assumed that the Ancestor had simply taken his Disciples out for training and would return soon. Contrary to his expectations though, the Ancestor remained nowhere to be seen after so many years. What’s more, there was not the slightest clue of the Ancestor’s whereabouts in the Void Continent.
Instinctively, Shang Guan Ji felt that the Ancestor had abandoned Seven Stars Sect. The Ancestor was not somebody who originated from Seven Stars Sect after all. He simply happened to be passing by this place and waiting for the right person to come along. Since he found the person he had been waiting for, why would he remain in Seven Stars Sect?
Nevertheless, Shang Guan Ji was not resentful. The only reason Seven Stars Sect could enjoy its current reputation and status was all thanks to the Ancestor. He could only resent himself for being too weak to protect the foundation that the Ancestor had established back then.
Although this information had been kept under wraps for a long time, there was no such thing as a wall without holes. Many among the top ten Sects in the Void Continent were currently watching Seven Stars Sect vigilantly. Why else would so many Emperor Realm Masters come to observe the Disciple Recruitment this year?
It was a friendly visit in name, but it was actually a test. While Seven Stars Sect might not be obliterated if they failed to overcome this disaster, their reputation would definitely suffer a heavy blow. They would become a laughing stock if the news spread to the public. If that happened, finding good disciples would become difficult in the future.
The people in the Main Conference Hall were brainstorming various suggestions. Although there were many differing opinions, none of them could come up with a good solution to their current problem. In any case, the Disciple Recruitment was about to begin. If they were capable of doing the job, then it was time for them to start showing their abilities. At this point, it was impossible for them to conceal the news of the Ancestor’s disappearance.
Just as Shang Guan Ji was at a loss for what to do, a figure frantically rushed into the Grand Hall as though he was being pursued by a ghost. Everybody turned to look in that direction only to see Elder Guan Qian Xing stumbling into the Grand Hall with an extremely strange expression on his face.
“What happened?” Shang Guan Ji asked.
Guan Qian Xing might be in the Third-Order Dao Source Realm, but he was clearly very agitated by something at this moment. Seeming to be out of breath, he exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and joy, “The Ancestor…”
There was a series of rustling noises as everybody stood up abruptly. Shang Guan Ji asked in a trembling voice, “Do you have news of the Ancestor!?”
Despite inquiring for so many years, there had been no news of the Ancestor. There was no saying whether it was a blessing or a curse for such information to appear today.
Guan Qian Xing pointed behind him, “The Ancestor is on the viewing platform!”
“What!?” Shang Guan Ji could barely believe his ears.
After a few stunned moments, he hastily rushed outside with Guan Qian Xing following closely behind. Following a quick conversation along the way, Shang Guan Ji finally learned that the Ancestor, who had been missing for so many years, had abruptly appeared on the viewing platform today.
Nobody knew how the Ancestor appeared. Even the Emperor Realm Masters from the other great forces who were sitting on the viewing platform had not noticed his presence until Guan Qian Xing, who was in charge of the Disciple Recruitment, suddenly turned around and saw him.
Guan Qian Xing almost thought that there was something wrong with his eyesight at that moment. After hastily greeting the Ancestor, he immediately rushed over to give his report.
When Shang Guan Ji arrived at the viewing platform, he saw that the Ancestor was indeed sitting in the highest seat right at the centre with an indifferent expression on his face. The rock that had been weighing down on his heart for so many years suddenly lifted at that moment. [The Ancestor did not abandon Seven Stars Sect! He came back!]
While he did not see the two Disciples under the Ancestor, the Ancestor had always been similar to a hidden dragon that showed its tail but never its face. In any case, he was not qualified to ask any questions.
What delighted him even more was the reactions of the Emperor Realm Masters on the viewing platform.
In the past, news of the Ancestor’s disappearance had been leaked to the public for some unknown reason. Many Sects in the Void Continent had repeatedly tried to probe for the truth, and various businesses under Seven Stars Sect had faced pressure from multiple directions.
Even the Disciple Recruitment had attracted Emperor Realm Masters from more than ten Sects to come and watch. What was there to see at a trivial Disciple Recruitment? Everybody knew that this was a test!
When Shang Guan Ji welcomed these Masters, all of them wanted to visit the Ancestor; however, he politely declined all their requests. His actions might have confirmed their suspicions about Yang Kai’s disappearance.
For that reason, the Emperor Realm Masters who came to watch the Disciple Recruitment became less polite towards Seven Stars Sect over the past few days. Their attitudes towards him also became much more condescending than before.
At this moment, the same Emperor Realm Masters who had been acting high and mighty were sitting upright and shivering in fear like quails during winter. Some of them also had pale complexions and feeble auras, almost as though they had been injured.
They had been sitting here and waiting for the Disciple Recruitment to begin, and during this period, they leisurely chatted among themselves to pass time. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
It was not until Guan Qian Xing hastily bowed at a certain person in greeting that they realised something in horror. An additional person had appeared on the viewing platforms at some point in time without their realisation. Moreover, that person was sitting in the main seat belonging to Seven Stars Sect.
This incident startled them greatly! There were First-Order, Second-Order, and even Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters among them. Nonetheless, none of them had noticed his presence. Did they meet a ghost in broad daylight!?
One of those present was a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master from the Spirit Sea Temple and he originally wanted to investigate this person with his Divine Sense. Who could have known that he would experience a severe backlash just from this probing action? It was fortunate that the mysterious young man held no killing intent; otherwise, he would have died on the spot.
A Third-Order Emperor Realm Master already stood at the highest peak on the Void Continent. Even so, a simple probe had ended with such an outcome. Just how high was the cultivation of the mysterious young man!? It was rumoured that there were higher Martial Dao Realms beyond the Emperor Realm. Could it be that this person was beyond the Emperor Realm!?
Judging from Guan Qian Xing’s respectful attitude towards the young man, there was a high possibility that this person was none other than the Ancestor who was rumoured to have gone missing.
When Shang Guan Ji rushed over with the Elders of Seven Stars Sect in tow and bowed to Yang Kai in greeting, the Emperor Realm Masters finally confirmed Yang Kai’s identity. That person was indeed the mysterious and powerful Ancestor!
They were puzzled and confused by the situation. Wasn’t it said that the Ancestor had been missing for many years!? The Spirit Peak where he currently lived was devoid of people, and there were no clues about his whereabouts across the entire Void Continent. Why would he suddenly appear here today!?
Nevertheless, nobody questioned the situation. They all just quickly stood up and bowed in greeting.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Please sit. All who come here are guests.”
Now that all his worries from before had been swept away, Shang Guan Ji had a healthy flush on his face and he asked for instructions, “Ancestor, do you have any orders regarding the Disciple Recruitment?”
“Just proceed as usual. This King is only here to have a look.”
“Yes!”
The Disciple Recruitment was held as usual, but the news of Seven Stars Sect Ancestor’s appearance quickly spread to the public. Although Yang Kai claimed that he was only here to watch, this piece of news was extremely important to the people who came to participate in the Disciple Recruitment.
The Ancestor was not just anybody. How could he possibly come to watch the ceremony for no reason? It had to be said that the last time he came to watch the ceremony, he took in two Disciples at once! Who could guarantee that he was not here for more Disciples!?
Therefore, as soon as the news came out, all the people who came to participate in the Disciple Recruitment became highly motivated and desperately showed off their skills.
The Disciple Recruitment lasted for a whole day. Regardless of how outstanding the aptitude of a disciple though, none of them caught the interest of the Ancestor. Many people who came to watch the excitement were extremely disappointed as a result.
Hence, they were shocked and confused when Shang Guan Ji personally led a dirty and dishevelled thirteen- or fourteen-year-old young man over to Yang Kai.
The many Emperor Realm Masters on the viewing platform hurriedly recalled the information on this young man and quickly came to a conclusion.
Xu Yi; overall assessment C-; aptitude below average.
Nowadays, Seven Stars Sect had a higher standard when selecting new disciples. Only those with an overall assessment of C+ and above had the qualifications to join the Sect. It was obvious that Xu Yi’s assessment did not meet the requirements, so he was bound to be eliminated from the selection. However, Yang Kai had summoned him! Nobody could understand what Seven Stars Sect’s Ancestor was planning to do.
On the other hand, Xu Yi himself looked so frightened that he resembled a terrified little beast. Shang Guan Ji had probably said something to him when leading him here; hence, he immediately dropped to his knees with a thud in front of Yang Kai and pressed his head against the floor, “This little boy from the mountains, Xu Yi, greets Senior!”
Yang Kai quietly watched Xu Yi. He originally entered his Small Universe with the intention to find some suitable candidates to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture. He could not cultivate the Secret Art himself, but if he could allow the people in his Small Universe to cultivate it in his stead, then he could monitor their condition at all times. That would be very helpful for his research into the Great Nothingness Scripture.
It was fortunate that he happened to be just in time for Seven Stars Sect’s Disciple Recruitment, but he did not expect to obtain such a harvest.
There was no denying that Xu Yi’s aptitude was not very high. He was only on par with Zhao Ye Bai in terms of overall talent. Be that as it may, Yang Kai could keenly sense that this child was compatible with Time Principles.
Yang Kai’s Small Universe had an abundance of Dao Essence, namely Space, Spear, and Time Dao Essence. These three Daos were also the Daos that he was most proficient in.
Before Zhao Ye Bai was born, Yang Kai had sensed that Zhao Ye Bai had extraordinary talent in the Dao of Space. Although Xu Yi was not as innately talented as Zhao Ye Bai, he was not bad either. If he was guided properly, he might reach great heights in the Dao of Time in the future. That made him the best candidate to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture.
In this way, Yang Kai had found heirs to all three Daos that he was proficient in. Zhao Ye Bai for the Dao of Space, Zhao Ya for the Spear Dao, and Xu Yi for the Dao of Time.
“Where are your parents?” Yang Kai asked.
Xu Yi lowered his head and respectfully answered the question, “This little boy is an orphan. My parents have long passed away.”
Everybody in the surroundings revealed a look of understanding. From the tattered clothes and dirty appearance of Xu Yi, it could be seen that he had nobody taking care of him at a glance.
“Are you willing to worship me as your Master?” Yang Kai asked again.
A commotion spread through the crowd. Many of the Emperor Realm Masters and the Elders of Seven Stars Sect on the viewing platform turned to look at Yang Kai in complete disbelief. In their opinion, Xu Yi’s aptitude and assessment had no cultivation value. Even if he were allowed to cultivate, his future achievements would be extremely limited.
Why would the Ancestor take an interest in someone like Xu Yi!? What’s more, he planned to take Xu Yi as his Disciple!?
Although Shang Guan Ji was puzzled, he did not question the decision. The Ancestor would surely have his own reasons for his decision. In any case, the thoughts of the Ancestor were not something Shang Guan Ji could figure out. Maybe there was something special about Xu Yi that the Ancestor could see but they could not.
That was why he couldn’t help giving Xu Yi a gentle prod when he saw the boy staring blankly at Yang Kai, “Silly brat, why are you still daydreaming!? Receiving the favour of the Ancestor is a great honour!”
Xu Yi quickly bowed, “Disciple Xu Yi greets Honoured Master!”
He might not understand what the Ancestor represented, but he knew of Shang Guan Ji’s status. The fact that Seven Stars Sect’s Sect Master was being so respectful to this person clearly meant that the Ancestor’s status was much higher. He had been eliminated from Seven Stars Sect’s selection because did not have the qualifications to join the Sect; therefore, he had been quite disheartened. Now that there was a ray of hope in the darkness, it was only natural for him to grasp this opportunity with all his might.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and vanished out of sight with a flicker of his body. Xu Yi, who had been kneeling on the ground, also vanished at the same time!
All the Emperor Realm Masters on the viewing platform secretly gasped at the sight.
Just like how Yang Kai had appeared out of nowhere, nobody managed to catch a clear glimpse of how he disappeared either. With such elusive movements, how could anybody stop him if he wanted to harm them?
There was no need to mention how after these events, the many Emperor Realm Masters politely said their goodbyes and departed with haste.
On a certain Spirit Peak, Yang Kai studied Xu Yi, who was standing in front of him, “You wish to gain a Master, and I wish to gain a Disciple. However, this matter should not be rushed. There is something I must first explain to you. You may answer after you’ve given this matter some thought.”
Xu Yi clenched his fists tightly and nodded. The young man was not very knowledgeable, but he instinctively sensed that his answer would affect his future destiny.
“I have a Secret Art that I need someone to cultivate for me. You are a good candidate. Unfortunately, cultivating this Secret Art comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. The good thing is that you are very compatible with this Secret Art and there is a high possibility that this Secret Art can make up for your lack of aptitude. If you cultivate this Secret Art, you might achieve great things in the future.”
Xu Yi flushed beet red. It was clear that he was very excited, but he still asked cautiously, “What are the disadvantages?”
Yang Kai nodded slightly. Xu Yi’s attitude satisfied him. If Xu Yi had been too eager to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture, Yang Kai might not have taught him the Secret Art lest he regret his choice in the future and feel resentment towards Yang Kai instead.
“Cultivating this Secret Art will not benefit you in combat. In other words, under the premise that your opponent is in the same cultivation realm as you, you might not be able to win against them. Moreover, when your cultivation reaches a certain realm, your lifespan will be greatly shortened.”
“I don’t like fighting!” Xu Yi said softly.
Yang Kai smiled, “In the path of cultivation, battles are inevitable. You can’t avoid battles just because you don’t like them.”
Xu Yi nodded and spoke like an old man, “One has to compromise; it is not always possible to act as they please.” After saying that, he blushed furiously, “That’s what I often hear from others…” Following some careful consideration he asked another question, “How high do I have to raise my cultivation before my lifespan will start to shorten?”
Yang Kai looked at Xu Yi and said, “Very, very high. What’s more, you may not be able to reach that point at all.”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was not something just anybody could achieve at will.
“Is that so…” Xu Yi lowered his head. A long while passed before he raised his head and said, “I am willing to cultivate that Secret Art.”
He might be very young, but he had given much thought to this matter. If he did not cultivate this Secret Art, with his aptitude that had eliminated him from Seven Stars Sect’s selection, he would not have many other future options once he left this place. Even if he managed to join other smaller Sects, his cultivation would not amount to much no matter how much effort he put into it.
Although the Ancestor in front of him had mentioned that cultivating the Secret Art would bring various disadvantages, that was something that would only happen in the distant future. Why bother to worry about that now?
“You can take your time to consider. There’s no rush to answer!” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively.
Xu Yi nodded silently and did not rush to express his intentions again. Nevertheless, he continued to stay on the Spirit Peak.
From that next day onward, Yang Kai started to prepare various means to nurture Xu Yi’s foundation. He would occasionally toss Xu Yi into a giant bathtub to soak in a medicinal bath for several days or bring out some medicinal liquid for Xu Yi to apply on his body. Once in a while, he would also hand out some elixirs for Xu Yi to consume.
The young man did not refuse any of these items.
Yang Kai did not teach Xu Yi any cultivation techniques. Be that as it may, Xu Yi discovered that his body was undergoing a subtle change as time passed. He seemed to shed his former self and was reborn as a result. His body felt much lighter compared to before. Even his vision and hearing became significantly sharper.
Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai had also gone through this process in the past. Before they started cultivating in earnest, Yang Kai had spent enormous amounts of time and energy laying their foundation for them. As the saying went, ‘All tall buildings began from the ground’. He himself had not enjoyed such favourable conditions when he started cultivating, but he spared no effort when it came to his Disciples.
Nobody had ever been so kind to Xu Yi before. Ever since the death of his parents when he was five years old, he had lived the life of a wanderer. There were also several occasions where he nearly starved to death. If not for his good luck, he would have died a tragic death a long time ago.
As Yang Kai did not restrict his freedom, he would often leave the Spirit Peak and wander around Seven Stars Sect. He was only a teenager after all; it was only natural that his curiosity was at its peak.
All the people he met would treat him courteously, regardless of whether they were Common Disciples or Elders in the Sect. At the same time, he slowly grasped Yang Kai’s identity and influence from the snippets of conversations that he heard from the people around him. Everybody in Seven Stars Sect believed that the Ancestor had already taken him in as a Disciple, so nobody dared to show him any disrespect.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to express his willingness to cultivate the Secret Art when Yang Kai questioned him again two months later.
“I hope you’ve thought about this carefully. I’ve already explained the disadvantages of the Secret Art to you. Once you begin cultivating, it will be too late for regrets,” Yang Kai warned solemnly.
Xu Yi nodded seriously, “This Disciple has decided! If I don’t cultivate this Secret Art, this Disciple might already be part of the soil in 100 years. There may be disadvantages in cultivating this Secret Art, but it’s still better than living a mediocre life!”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, “In that case, I will teach you the Great Nothingness Scripture!”
Xu Yi hurriedly bowed down, “Disciple greets Honoured Master!”
Yang Kai received the worship, but he did not ask Xu Yi to stand up immediately. Instead, he opened his mouth to explain something, “I have to let you know one thing. You are not the only Disciple under me. I’ve already taken in two other Disciples before you. Your Eldest Senior Brother is Zhao Ye Bai and your Second Senior Sister is Zhao Ya. They are elsewhere at the moment. I’m sure you will have a chance to meet them in the future.”
Xu Yi nodded. He had heard about this previously. The Seven Stars Sect disciples had mentioned his Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister while leisurely chatting with him, but he did not know much about the other two Disciples under his Honoured Master.
“Honoured Master, I’ve heard that Eldest Senior Brother does not have good aptitude. Is that true?” He asked.
Yang Kai nodded and swept a glance over Xu Yi, “He is on par with you.”
Xu Yi blushed when he heard those words. His aptitude was his greatest shortcoming. He secretly thought to himself that he had to work harder in the future; otherwise, he would only embarrass the Honoured Master when he was travelling outside.
At the same time, he couldn’t help feeling curious. Other people generally only accepted Disciples with good aptitude and rarely even bothered to give those with poor aptitude a glance. On the contrary, the Honoured Master seemed to accept these Disciples without such qualms.
At any rate, he was secretly grateful for the Honoured Master’s peculiarity. How else would he have the opportunity to worship the Honoured Master?
“Calm yourself and focus your mind!” Yang Kai instructed and simultaneously stretched out his finger towards Xu Yi’s forehead.
Xu Yi felt a finger stabbing at him before he could react. In the next moment, a warm and gentle force flowed into his mind. It was immediately followed by a considerable amount of inexplicable information. His body swayed unsteadily as a result, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Before he could understand what had happened, he heard his Honoured Master’s voice, “This is the Great Nothingness Scripture. Don’t rush to cultivate the Secret Art. You only need to comprehend it for now.”
“Yes!” He nodded respectfully.
In the following months, Xu Yi lived in the house where Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai had lived previously. He soaked in medicinal baths, applied medicinal liquid, consumed Spirit Pills, and constantly comprehended the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Unfortunately, he had never cultivated before, so he could not really comprehend anything when he suddenly came into contact with the mysterious Secret Art. It was fortunate that Yang Kai would take some time out of his schedule to explain the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture to him.
One day, Xu Yi was soaking in the bathtub and listening to Yang Kai’s explanation when he suddenly noticed that his Honoured Master had gone silent. Moreover, his Honoured Master was completely motionless as though somebody had used a Binding Secret Technique on him. Startled, he jumped in fright and anxiously shouted, “Honoured Master?”
Yang Kai waved his hand at Xu Yi dismissively and stared blankly in a certain direction.
What was inside his Small Universe was just a projection of his Spiritual Energy, while his true body remained beneath the huge stone monument from before. The reason for his sudden absent-mindedness was that one of the five Lang Ya Paradise disciples cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture had suddenly broken through his bottleneck and advanced to the next Realm.
Although it was only an advancement from the Origin Returning Realm to the Origin King Realm, Yang Kai clearly detected a trace of Time Principles permeating the disciple’s body for a brief moment when the advancement succeeded. It was only present for a moment before vanishing without a trace. If he had not been proficient in the Dao of Time, he might not have detected them at all.
The other disciples, even the one who just advanced into the next Realm, seemed completely oblivious to the energy fluctuations. When Yang Kai tried to investigate further, the energy fluctuation from the Time Principles had already vanished. Furthermore, the disciple who just advanced into the next Realm showed no other signs of the Time Principles around him.
This situation puzzled him greatly. Nevertheless, he confirmed that the Great Nothingness Scripture was indeed related to the Dao of Time.
Li Yuan Wang had only given him half a year’s time, so it was predestined that his endeavour would not produce many results; hence, it was truly fortunate that he had asked Xu Yi to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture. As long as Xu Yi was in his Small Universe, all the changes that occurred to Xu Yi while cultivating this Secret Art would not escape his perception.
It would seem that the only way for him to find the answers to the connection between the Great Nothingness Scripture and the Dao of Time was from Xu Yi. As a result, he started to nurture Xu Yi even more diligently than before, using only the very best herbs to help his Third Disciple solidify his foundation.
Xu Yi’s innate talent was poor, but his aptitude improved slightly thanks to Yang Kai’s efforts. At this rate, it would become easier for him to cultivate in the future.
When there was only half a month before the end of the six-month period, Xu Yi woke up one morning only to see his Honoured Master standing by his bedside and staring intently at him as soon as he opened his eyes. Startled, he hurriedly greeted the other party, “Honoured Master!”
Yang Kai’s gaze was profound, and he studied Xu Yi keenly as though he was trying to figure out something. There was a look of absolute confusion on his face. That was because he discovered that Xu Yi’s body already contained the Yuan Qi that came from cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture. Although it was as weak as a fluttering candle flame, the nature of the Yuan Qi was identical to the five Lang Ya Paradise disciples beneath the stone monument.
In other words, Xu Yi had officially begun to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture! It was just that Yang Kai clearly recalled that there was nothing different about Xu Yi last night. More importantly, he had yet to allow Xu Yi to officially begin cultivating.
During the past few months of contact, Yang Kai had watched Xu Yi’s actions carefully. The young man was simple and honest without any kind of scheming or cunning in his heart. He was very similar to his Eldest Senior Brother Zhao Ye Bai in this aspect. He also treated Yang Kai’s words reverently. If Yang Kai did not allow him to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture, then Xu Yi would never cultivate the Secret Art on his own initiative.
Besides, Yang Kai did not see Xu Yi cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture either, so where did the Great Nothingness Scripture’s Yuan Qi come from?
“Is something wrong, Honoured Master?” Xu Yi asked in confusion. The way the Honoured Master stared at him was making him feel very uneasy. Thus, he vaguely wondered whether he had made a mistake somewhere and displeased his Honoured Master.
“Did you cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture?” Yang Kai inquired bluntly.
“No!” Xu Yi quickly shook his head, “I would not dare to cultivate the Secret Art without Honoured Master’s permission.”
He did not seem to be lying.
“What did you do last night?” Yang Kai continued to question.
Nothing inside his Small Universe could be concealed from his perception, and he had indeed watched Xu Yi sleeping the entire night. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but the Great Nothingness Scripture’s Yuan Qi definitely only started appearing last night.
“Disciple did not do anything. I was simply sleeping.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Check your own body. Do you feel anything different from before?”
Xu Yi hurriedly perceived himself when he heard those words. A short while later, he exclaimed in surprise, “Honoured Master, it feels like there’s something cool swimming around in my body!”
“That’s the Yuan Qi of the Great Nothingness Scripture.”
Xu Yi was stunned. Although he had never cultivated before, he understood what it meant for the Great Nothingness Scripture’s Yuan Qi to appear in his body. Be that as it may, he clearly had never officially cultivated the Great Nothingness Scripture.
[Where did the Yuan Qi come from? Could it be that I gained such benefits just from listening to the Honoured Master explain the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture to me?]
After a moment of bewilderment, he suddenly scratched his head and looked at Yang Kai apologetically, “Honoured Master, does dreaming count as cultivation?”
“What dream?” Yang Kai furrowed his eyebrows together.
Xu Yi explained, “Disciple had a dream last night. I began to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture, but… it was just a dream!”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “You dreamt that you were cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture?”
Xu Yi replied, “Yes. I’m certain I cultivated in my dream. Disciple has always had many dreams since I was young. It happens almost every night. Moreover, it always feels as though many days have passed in my dreams. I often wake up feeling dizzy and exhausted as a result.”
A sudden realization struck Yang Kai, and he suddenly had a bold conjecture, “Do you always feel as though many days have passed every time you enter a dream?”
Xu Yi mulled over the question for a moment, “Most of the time. There was once when I felt as though I stayed in my dreams for two whole months. Moreover, everything in my dreams felt very real, almost like I was really living in that dream.”
Yang Kai asked, “Even after you came here?”
Xu Yi nodded, “Yes. But, after coming here, I don’t feel so exhausted anymore whenever I experience such dreams. It’s probably because my body has grown stronger.” Pausing for a moment, he added, “Honoured Master, I really did not cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture.”
“I know.” Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment and casually said, “It might be that you’re extremely compatible with the Great Nothingness Scripture. That may be why you can gain something just from listening to my teachings.”
Xu Yi had just started his path for the Martial Dao, so he was unable to stay alive without sleep or food like Yang Kai. After exhausting himself in the daytime, he soon slumbered off when darkness descended.
Yang Kai abruptly appeared beside his bed and looked silently at him.
The teenage boy was sound asleep with his expression calm and his breathing stable. He was unaware that there was someone else beside him in his room.
Just one hour later, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the faint Yuan Qi in the teenager’s body was running in the cultivation route of the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Although he already had such a speculation, he was still shocked upon sensing it.
The teenage boy was really cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture in his dreams, and it actually worked! This was something that was unheard of. It had to be noted that a person’s consciousness was in chaos in their dreams, just like a shattered space; there was no order to speak of. However, Xu Yi seemed to have a special instinct that could allow him to do things in his dreams that no one else could.
After a night of observation, Yang Kai realised that it took Xu Yi about six hours to finish running a full circulation.
Hence, the Yuan Qi in Xu Yi’s body only managed to run fewer than two orbits after one night. Despite that, his weak Yuan Qi had still been slightly strengthened.
When Xu Yi awakened the next day, he was pretty energetic.
Since he had already started cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture in his dreams, there was no longer any reason to be restricted in any way. Therefore, when he heard from his Honoured Master that he was allowed to start cultivating, he was ecstatic.
Yang Kai sat down beside him and gave him some instructions.
However, he soon found a problem. The teenage boy could smoothly cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture in his dreams, but when he was allowed to cultivate freely, his progress was basically stagnant.
Half a day had passed, but he had only run half a circulation. There were also times when he almost made mistakes in the cultivation route.
The boy was embarrassed by his performance as his face flushed. Despite that, he persisted.
Half a year had passed, so Li Yuan Wang personally came over and brought Yang Kai out. When Yang Kai was asked what he had discovered, he only said that he had felt the traces of Dao of Time coming from the disciple who had achieved a breakthrough, but there was nothing else.
Li Yuan Wang didn’t probe him further. It had been years since those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises started studying the Great Nothingness Scripture, but they still hadn’t found any clues. It was expected that Yang Kai hadn’t discovered anything new after studying it for just half a year.
After the matter in Lang Ya Paradise was solved, Yang Kai was supposed to go back to High Heaven Territory and get some rest. At the same time, he had to send his own Open Heaven Realm Masters to the different Small Source Worlds of those Cave Heavens and Paradises to get some training. The matter regarding the Profound Yin Bamboo had to be settled as well. Moreover, Qu Hua Shang would soon be set free following her 100 years of imprisonment.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t in a rush to set off on his journey because of Xu Yi. Instead, he stayed in Lang Ya Paradise and lived on Gu Pan’s Spirit Province for a time.
One month later, Xu Yi was finally on the right track in his cultivation journey.
However, he seemed to be two different people during the daytime and nighttime.
His performance was terrible while he was awake. Although he had been working hard, his improvement was negligible due to his weak aptitude.
On the other hand, his improvement was rapid during the nighttime. After every dream, the Yuan Qi in his body would be increased significantly. Moreover, Yang Kai realised that as time passed, the teenage boy could cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture increasingly faster in his dreams.
He had never expected his Third Disciple to be such an eccentric person.
It was as though the boy had two different aptitudes. One of them was his daytime aptitude. Despite Yang Kai’s nurturing, Xu Yi’s aptitude was still below average. Nevertheless, the aptitude that he showcased in his dreams was excellent. Although it wasn’t as extraordinary as Zhao Ya’s, he could be considered a gifted person.
Therefore, in just a month, Xu Yi made it to the Initial Element Stage.
Since his aptitude wouldn’t change so easily, the only explanation was that the flow of time in his dreams was different.
Xu Yi had said that he felt like he had spent days in his dream every time he slumbered off. In other words, he had more time to cultivate in his dream than during the daytime, which was why his progress was rapid in his dreams.
Was this due to his talent in the Dao of Time? He actually had more time to spend in his dreams.
Yang Kai had a feeling that he had taken on an incredible Disciple.
All of a sudden, he was looking forward to what Xu Yi would grow up to be.
More than ten days later, Gu Pan returned to her Spirit Province.
Although she was still in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai could clearly feel that her heritage had been significantly strengthened. He couldn’t help but think that Small Source Worlds were truly extraordinary. The reason the Cave Heavens and Paradises could stay powerful and rule over the entire 3,000 Worlds for such a long time was no doubt thanks in part to the Small Source Worlds.
Since Gu Pan had returned, and his business was completed, Yang Kai decided to bid her farewell.
He couldn’t figure out more things regarding Xu Yi for the time being, but Xu Yi was cultivating in his Small Universe, so as the boy grew up, Yang Kai would eventually find out the things he wanted to know.
Yang Kai had come to this place with a group of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, but he was all alone when he left. Since he was already used to this kind of situation, he didn’t feel lonely at all.
During this period of time, he had been nurturing the Profound Yin Bamboo in his Small Universe. Since the Black Ink Strength had reappeared, the Profound Yin Bamboo would definitely be in hot demand in the future. At the very least, all of Void Land’s Open Heaven Realm Masters would need it.
On the other hand, those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises would buy the bamboo from High Heaven Territory in bulk.
Nevertheless, the downside of Profound Yin Bamboo was that it was only one of the Twelve Minor Pillars. Regardless of how it was nurtured, it would never be comparable to the Four Universe Pillars. Moreover, only High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters could use it.
The Small Universes of the cultivators below the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm hadn’t materialised, so they were unable to nurture Profound Yin Bamboo in them.
Therefore, Void Land’s Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t use the Profound Yin Bamboo for the time being.
A person had to consume the heritage of his or her Small Universe in order to nurture more Profound Yin Bamboo. Others might not be willing to do this, but Yang Kai didn’t mind it. The Small Stone Race members living in his Small Universe were continuously increasing his heritage ten times faster than usual. All he had to do was send a lot of materials into the Small Universe so that the Stone Kings of the Small Stone Race could produce more pebble eggs.
As long as the benefits brought to the Small Universe by the Small Stone Race members could replenish the consumption of nurturing the Profound Yin Bamboo, Yang Kai’s power wouldn’t be affected.
Certainly, in that case, it would take him a longer time to make it to the Seventh Order, but it was a price that had to be paid.
Presently, Yang Kai was moving across the void on his own.
He passed through several Great Territories, but there came a moment when he suddenly looked in a particular direction and appeared amazed.
In that direction, there was a gigantic creature moving across the void, heading to some unknown place.
The void in the 3,000 Worlds was not safe. When he and Zhang Ruo Xi left for the Outer Universe for the first time and arrived at the 3,000 Worlds, they came across a Myriad Facets Insect. The unsuspecting duo was swallowed by the insect, which resulted in their separation. While Yang Kai fell into Seven Wonders Land, Zhang Ruo Xi was pretty lucky and after going through some hardship, she found her way to Lang Ya Paradise and became a disciple. She had been cultivating there ever since.
Other than the Myriad Facets Insect, there were also a lot of strange Space Beasts. Some Space Beasts kept to themselves while some of them would attack the cultivators that passed by. There were also some that loved going to places where many people had gathered together.
The reason there was a Void Dock in front of every major Star City wasn’t solely to inspect the cultivators that moved in and out of the place; it was also set up to ward off any Space Beasts that might attack them.
When Yang Kai was navigating through the void in the past, he had come across Space Beasts from time to time. When he was still weak, he would naturally avoid them, but now that he was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, most Space Beasts were not a match for him.
However, the creature in front of him now wasn’t a Space Beast. Instead, it was a being that was far more powerful than Space Beasts and even Divine Spirits.
A Giant Spirit God!
So far, Yang Kai had only met two Giant Spirit Gods. One of them was Ah Da, who had been loitering outside the Star Boundary. The other was the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, who had passed away in the Ancestral Land.
The Azure Dragon Spear was given to him by Ah Da back then, and over the years, Yang Kai had brought the spear with him to venture into different parts of the universe, making some achievements with its help.
Nevertheless, after the Star Boundary was rejuvenated, Ah Da decided to leave. There had not been any news about him since then. During this period of time, Yang Kai had not even met anyone who had seen another Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai had never expected that while he was returning to High Heaven Territory, he would bump into a Giant Spirit God.
[Could it be Ah Da?] He wasn’t certain about it. Supposedly, there were only a small number in the Giant Spirit God Clan, so this Giant Spirit God was possibly the one Yang Kai knew.
He thus dashed forward and soon saw the colossal figure. For every step the Giant Spirit God took though, he could move across a vast distance in the void. His speed was actually slightly faster than when Yang Kai used Instantaneous Movement.
“Ah Da!” Yang Kai spoke to him using a Secret Technique to magnify his voice, but the Giant Spirit God ignored him and kept moving forward.
Yang Kai gritted his teeth and manipulated Space Principles. After his figure flickered several times, he finally reached the colossal creature and stood on his shoulder.
The Giant Spirit God was truly massive. While standing on his shoulder, Yang Kai looked just like a grain of dust.
Although it wasn’t the first time Yang Kai came across a Giant Spirit God, the emotions in his heart still undulated when he laid eyes on one. He supposed the Heavens were truly incredible as such a gigantic creature could exist in this world.
“Ah Da!” Yang Kai shouted right beside his ear using the same Secret Technique.
However, the other party still ignored him and rushed forward in silence.
Yang Kai examined him for a moment and confirmed that this Giant Spirit God wasn’t Ah Da. That was because Ah Da had a bald head while this Giant Spirit God had a few strands of black hair, which made him look a bit comical.
“Do you know Ah Da?” Yang Kai asked.
This time, the Giant Spirit God turned to look at him and put on a silly smile.
[I suppose he knows Ah Da after all.] Yang Kai thought. Giant Spirit Gods weren’t the best conversationalists. In the past, Ah Da would only tell him that he was hungry. On the other hand, the Giant Spirit God in front of him was completely silent.
This Giant Spirit God appeared to be calm and collected, so Yang Kai wasn’t worried that the gigantic creature would harm him. Instead, he was curious about his behaviour.
“Where are you going?”
“Where’s Ah Da? Are you and him Brothers?”
“What’s your name?”
…..
Yang Kai went on to ask him a lot of questions, but he didn’t get any replies at all, so in the end, he made a decision and said, “I’ll call you Ah Er, then.”
He wondered if there were Ah San, Ah Si, and so on in the Giant Spirit God Clan.
Soon, Giant Spirit God Ah Er arrived at a Territory Gate.
Yang Kai looked curiously at the situation. Supposedly, given Ah Er’s size, it would be impossible for him to pass through the Territory Gate. Although the Territory Gate was huge, it was much smaller than the Giant Spirit God. If he really squeezed through it, the barrier of the Territory Gate would be shattered.
It had been a long time since Yang Kai arrived in the 3,000 Worlds, so he was no longer a naive and ignorant boy.
There were thousands of Great Territories in the expansive universe, and every Great Territory could be seen as a sealed space. There were very thick barriers between the Great Territories to separate them.
With that said, there were loopholes in the barriers. Only by passing through the loopholes could a person go from a Great Territory to another.
The loopholes were the Territory Gates.
Yang Kai had no idea whether Territory Gates were made by ancient Great Experts or were naturally formed.
Countless years had passed, and all the known Great Territories were recorded in the Universe Charts, which offered great convenience to cultivators.
However, there were some unknown Great Territories where there were no loopholes in the barriers, or their loopholes were inconspicuous. An example was the New Great Territory that was near High Heaven Territory. If it weren’t for the battle between the top cultivators from Void Land and Zuo Quan Hui, the New Great Territory wouldn’t have been exposed and come into everyone’s sight.
In fact, the New Great Territory wasn’t a unique case. According to the records in the ancient books, a new Great Territory would be discovered in this expansive universe every few thousand or tens of thousands of years.
The discovery of a New Great Territory meant that there would be ample resources which had yet to be exploited; therefore, whenever the news was spread, it would attract a lot of great forces over.
If it weren’t for the World Tree in the Star Boundary, High Heaven Palace wouldn’t have been able to monopolise the New Great Territory that was just beside High Heaven Territory. The Cave Heavens and Paradises wouldn’t have easily given up on it.
At this moment, the gigantic Giant Spirit God was standing in front of the Territory Gate. In comparison, the Territory Gate looked as small as a mouse hole.
Yang Kai was curious about how this Giant Spirit God would pass through this Territory Gate. Given the Giant Spirit God’s power, he could probably just force his way through it; however, if he did that, the Void Barrier would likely be shattered. When that happened, the two Great Territories would be adversely affected.
It wasn’t just about a portal breaking into pieces. It might cause an upheaval in both Great Territories.
Although the Giant Spirit Gods were reticent, they were obviously aware of this truth; therefore, under Yang Kai’s watch, the colossal creature’s power suddenly surged as his figure rapidly shrank.
The Giant Spirit God Ah Er eventually stopped when he was small enough to pass through the Territory Gate.
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai realised the Giant Spirit Gods were capable of doing this. At such a size, it wasn’t hard for them to pass through a Territory Gate.
He suddenly recalled Bi Xi, who was also a colossal giant. The entire Void Land resided on his back. Bi Xi had previously said that if he wanted to move to another place, he had to shrink his true body in order to move past the Territory Gates.
This was also the method used by Giant Spirit God, Ah Er.
However, the entire Void Land was on Bi Xi’s back, so if he really shrank his true body, Void Land would cease to exist. That was the kind of loss Yang Kai would never be able to accept.
Void Land was the first foundation he had built since he arrived at the 3,000 Worlds. Void Star City, which was thriving, had a symbolic meaning, and it was also a great source of income.
After Ah Er became smaller, he directly plunged into the Territory Gate while Yang Kai was firmly standing on his shoulder.
They then moved past the Territory Gate and arrived at a different Great Territory. Following that, the Giant Spirit God’s figure expanded and returned to its original size.
It seemed that he felt most comfortable in this state.
Yang Kai had no idea where Ah Er was heading or what the latter was doing. After hesitating between following him and returning to High Heaven Territory for a while, he chose the former.
It wasn’t necessary for him to return to High Heaven Territory as Hua Qing Si generally handled everything for him. In comparison, he was more interested in this Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai was wary of the Black Ink Clansman that was hiding in some unknown place. He had personally experienced how powerful the resurrected Will was, so he knew that the forces under his command could never resist it if it appeared before them.
Although the Cave Heavens and Paradises were now looking for the Black Ink Clan member and many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had streamed into the Shattered Heaven, no one could be certain whether they could find the enemy.
Yang Kai reckoned that they would eventually find them though. The fact that the Black Ink Clan member had exposed themselves meant that they could no longer bear to remain hidden in isolation and would certainly make a move again.
If Yang Kai could gain this Giant Spirit God as an ally, he wouldn’t have to worry if he came across the Black Ink Clansman again.
After tagging along with Ah Er for about a month, Yang Kai finally understood why people never caught sight of any Giant Spirit Gods even after such a long time.
That was because a Giant Spirit God was extremely fast!
Ah Er’s colossal figure could move at the speed of lightning across the void, so the average person might not notice him even if they brushed past him.
If it weren’t because Yang Kai was an expert in the Dao of Space, he wouldn’t have been able to chase after him even if he discovered him.
After passing through more than ten Great Territories, Yang Kai suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon.
Usually, it was unlikely for him to come across other cultivators in the void. After all, space was vast, and everyone had their own business to attend to. Unless it was a coincidence or an agreed meet-up, he usually wouldn’t bump into anyone.
However, when Yang Kai arrived at this latest Great Territory, he realised that many cultivators had come together in groups as they flew forward in his direction. There were also many flight-type artifacts of different styles, all of them glowing brightly as they sailed forth filled with people.
The speed at which they were moving was rapid and many of the people aboard appeared flustered, as though they were trying to flee from a calamity.
People who could travel across the void were cultivators who had the right to shake off the restrictions of their Universe Worlds at the very least. Even the weakest ones had condensed their own Dao Seals.
Yang Kai saw a lot of such cultivators here.
There was something off about this situation though. Usually, even if a cultivator had condensed his or her own Dao Seal, they wouldn’t travel across the void as he pleased. After all, Space Beasts were everywhere, so it was dangerous for a cultivator to move around recklessly. No one could be certain whether they would fall into danger or get killed at any moment.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai could see that these people seemed to be forced to leave their homelands and head to a different place.
He grew curious about this. If it weren’t because he was worried that he would lose the Giant Spirit God, he would’ve caught someone and asked him what was going on.
Half a day later, Giant Spirit God Ah Er brought him to the Territory Gate of this Great Territory.
In front of the Territory Gate stood more than ten people who stared fixedly at the portal. All of them seemed to be awaiting a formidable enemy. Furthermore, every one of them exuded an aura that was as deep as the ocean. The grey-haired old man among them was the most powerful.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched when he saw that.
All of these people were obviously High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. In other words, they were top cultivators from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
The grey-haired old man in the middle of them was even an Ancestor who was in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai wondered which Cave Heaven or Paradise the old man was from.
More than ten Seventh-Order and an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had gathered together in this place. It was apparent that something major had happened.
The first thought that came into Yang Kai’s mind was that they had found the Black Ink Clansman. Otherwise, these top cultivators wouldn’t have gathered together here. Only the Black Ink Clan could cause these Cave Heavens and Paradises to put their guards up.
At that moment, the emotions in Yang Kai’s heart undulated.
It was no wonder that all the cultivators in this Great Territory were fleeing, for the Black Ink Clansman had an eerie power. The Cave Heavens and Paradises apparently didn’t want the innocent people to be affected, nor would they want to give the Black Ink Clan members a chance to corrupt others and spread their influence. That was why they told all the cultivators in this Great Territory to move to another place.
Meanwhile, Ah Er’s arrival caught the attention of many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. One of them even turned his head and yelled, “Giant Spirit God!”
It wasn’t until this moment that the others saw the gigantic creature that was coming at them.
Ah Er directly arrived at the Territory Gate as his figure shrank and charged forward.
“Dodge!”
The Eighth-Order Ancestor’s expression changed as he shouted. At the same time, he waved his hand and swept a gentle force across the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were forced to separate to the sides in front of the Territory Gate. The next instant, Ah Er dashed into the Territory Gate.
The Eighth-Order Ancestor frowned and looked at the Territory Gate. Just now, he thought that he had seen something.
“Was someone standing on the Giant Spirit God’s shoulder?” A woman in an imperial dress looked doubtfully at the others.
Earlier, she caught a glimpse of a figure standing on the Giant Spirit God’s shoulder, but before she could make out what the person looked like, the Giant Spirit God had disappeared.
Someone nodded to show that he had seen the figure as well, “Just who was that? He is too reckless!”
“Regardless of who he is, he won’t stand a chance to survive after entering that place.”
“What a shame!”
They soon stopped talking. Under the Eighth-Order Ancestor’s leadership, they stared vigilantly at the Territory Gate, carefully observing any changes that occurred.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had the urge to curse.
When he saw those High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters just now, he had the intention to jump off the Giant Spirit God and ask them what was going on; however, Ah Er had already passed through the Territory Gate without giving him a chance to react.
As soon as Yang Kai entered this Great Territory, he knew that he was in a perilous situation.
That was because this place was filled with a rampaging murderous intent and the air of danger! Although Yang Kai was standing on the Giant Spirit God’s shoulder, he still felt terrified.
Looking up, he saw that the void around him was filled with only two colours.
One of them was yellow, and the other was blue.
The entire void seemed to be painted by these two colours as they entangled and crashed with one another. The violent forces churned and swirled, smashing space to pieces whenever they clashed.
Without even needing to examine them, Yang Kai could clearly tell that these masses of coloured light contained horrifying powers that could easily destroy worlds.
Upon closer inspection, he could see that the colours had actually taken on various forms. Some had dragon heads, while others had phoenix tails. Some had Qilin horns, Kun fins, Turtle feet, and so on and so forth.
All the characteristics of the Divine Spirits could be found in these creatures, making them look mightier than any ordinary Divine Spirit.
Both parties looked the same, but their colours were different.
The void was filled with these weird creatures of different shapes and sizes as they crashed into and attempted to hack each other to death. Every time they exchanged moves, space would tremble and warp. The fallout from the attacks were unbearable even for High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Fortunately, a layer of milky white glow was formed around the Giant Spirit God to serve as a protective barrier to ward off these shockwaves.
Ripples could be seen as the fallout came into contact with the white glow.
At that moment, Yang Kai found himself in a dilemma.
Right now, he could not stray away from Ah Er, for without the Giant Spirit God’s protection, he reckoned that he would lose his life in under three breaths in this place.
The shockwaves produced from the clashes between the two different coloured lights were too horrifying. There was no way he could fend them off. He had never seen such purely devastating powers before.
[Just what are they?]
Yang Kai’s pupils contracted to needle points as he watched the countless unique beings hacking each other to death.
All of a sudden, he came to realise what the two colours, yellow and blue, represented.
They were the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer!
Rumour had it that when the world was born in ancient times, the first ray of light appeared, and that light split into two which gave rise to Yin and Yang. As time passed, this pure Yang became the Sun’s Burning Light while the Yin became the Moon’s Serene Glimmer.
They were the ancestors of all Divine Spirits, as well as the source of all living creatures.
The Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer were closely related to the Divine Spirits and the Ancestral Land. In fact, they had supposedly lived in Ancestral Land for a long time in the ancient past.
One day, these two powerful beings suddenly left. No one knew what had happened, but the battle between the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer started then.
The battle had spanned across countless years, and it still hadn’t stopped up until now. Due to the fight between the two, innumerable Great Territories had been destroyed.
The Proprietress had said that wherever the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer went, all lives would be destroyed. They lived in a true Chaotic Dead Territory. Even the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t dare to go anywhere near this place.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that the more than ten High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were guarding the Territory Gate because they had found the hiding place of the Black Ink Clansman, but it didn’t seem to be the case now.
No traces of the Black Ink Clan were found here. Instead, this place was filled with the pure yet violent Yin and Yang forces that were represented by yellow and blue lights. They tangled together and tried to rip each other to pieces.
Yang Kai couldn’t think of any other explanation. These were the forces of the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer.
Upon that realization, he couldn’t help but gulp.
He had never thought about visiting Chaotic Dead Territory before. The Proprietress was right to say that no Humans should ever step into this place. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be swiftly killed after barging in here.
It was only thanks to the Giant Spirit God that Yang Kai was still alive. Ah Er fended off all of the devastating forces around them, which was why he hadn’t been harmed.
It was only then he understood why all the cultivators in the neighbouring Great Territory had fled.
The battlefield between the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer was expanding. Once the Territory Gate was affected, even the neighbouring Great Territory would be dragged into this eternal conflict. When that happened, the entire Great Territory would become a part of the Chaotic Dead Territory.
No one was willing to stay there and wait for death.
The Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer were a grave threat, so the Cave Heavens and Paradises must be paying close attention to the two. That was why more than ten High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were asked to watch over the place.
When Yang Kai snapped back from his dazed state, he realised that the battle between the two colours he had been observing had come to an end. The two colours represented the forces of Yin and Yang. Although their appearances were similar, their powers were not equally matched.
During the entanglement, the yellow creature that represented the Yang Element was defeated and shattered by the other party. Although it tried to condense into a new figure, it couldn’t achieve its goal.
All that was left behind was a crystal the size of a palm.
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened when he saw that.
Countless materials of different Elements and Orders had passed through his hands, so he was now an expert in identifying such resources. Without even the need to take a closer look, he was sure that this palm-sized Yellow Crystal was a very pure Yang Element material, and it was of a high Order.
He then looked around and realised that innumerable Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals of different sizes were floating about in the void.
He even saw a Yellow Crystal vein that spanned across several kilometres. It looked like a dead Flood Dragon that was drifting through space.
When he arrived at this place just now, he was overwhelmed by the violent forces and attracted to the battle between the two colours, so he hadn’t been paying attention to anything else. It wasn’t until this moment that he noticed these crystals.
At that moment, his breathing started becoming rapid.
All of a sudden, he recalled that when he desperately needed Yin and Yang Element materials back then, the Proprietress jokingly told him to come to the Chaotic Dead Territory, for it was the battlefield of the Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer. As the two forces clashed, countless Yin and Yang Element materials would be born.
These Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals of different sizes that were floating about randomly were all Yin and Yang Element materials. Regardless of their Orders, they must be very pure, for they were the condensation of the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer’s power.
[H-How many are there?]
It was the first time Yang Kai realised what innumerable truly meant. Despite the fact that he was wealthy, as he owned two Star Cities and a whole New Great Territory, his blood was still boiling when he saw these ownerless materials.
It had to be noted that these were all Yin or Yang Element materials, which were the rarest materials in the entire 3,000 Worlds.
The reason the Cave Heavens and Paradises were willing to offer the opportunities to enter their Small Source Worlds in order to gain the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace was that they wanted to create Yin and Yang Element materials of higher Orders. They had to get prepared for the disciples who were growing up in the Star Boundary who would soon need such resources.
Yang Kai shared the same sentiment when he told Bian Yu Qing to send a large amount of materials to Great Evolution Paradise.
However, if he could gather the materials in the Chaotic Dead Territory, he wouldn’t need the Good Fortune Divine Furnace anymore.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises must be aware of this as well, but they were unable to get their hands on these materials. Perhaps an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could hug the edge of the Chaotic Dead Territory to gather a few materials, but once they ventured further in, they would be unable to guarantee their safety. The mere fallout from the battle between the Burning Light and the Serene Glimmer could easily kill an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai extended his hand toward the newly formed Yellow Crystal that was close to him.
Yang Kai had to ensure that his hand remained within the protection range of the Giant Spirit God, or he would likely lose it, but this layer of protection also seemed to dampen his abilities severely.
Fortunately, the Yellow Crystal was only a few dozen metres away from him, so he could easily snatch it.
Upon obtaining the crystal, Yang Kai realised that it was a Sixth-Order Yang Element material.
He became startled as he initially thought that the Yellow Crystal would be of a higher Order, but it turned out to only be in the Sixth Order.
Both the Burning Light and the Serene Glimmer were at least in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm; or more likely, there was no Order that could really define them.
Naturally, their powers wouldn’t be so weak.
Nevertheless, after giving it a thought, Yang Kai realised that the living creatures of different colours must have experienced a prolonged battle which slowly wore down their strength, so it was only natural for this crystal’s Order to be degraded.
A Sixth-Order material was by no means worthless though, and could even be considered a strategic resource to the Cave Heavens and Paradises. They wouldn’t easily use it unless it was necessary.
It was just that Yang Kai’s expectations had been heightened as he was surrounded by the abundance of materials.
He then extended his hand one more time in an attempt to grab a Blue Crystal that was further away. This Blue Crystal was larger than the Yellow Crystal he had just obtained, and it looked more refined. He reckoned that it might be a Seventh-Order Blue Crystal.
While his Space Principles undulated though, the Blue Crystal remained unmoving.
Yang Kai became startled for a moment before he made another attempt, but he still couldn’t snatch it.
However, he wasn’t given another chance as Ah Er suddenly began charging forward in a particular direction at the speed of lightning.
Yang Kai quickly shifted his attention and looked in the direction Ah Er was heading. He stared intently at the front and targeted the Yellow and Blue Crystals he would soon come across.
He extended his hand from time to time to capture the Yellow and Blue Crystals of different sizes.
Within an hour, Yang Kai had obtained more than 100 materials. He didn’t even have time to look into the Orders of these materials, for any lack of concentration would result in missing another opportunity.
Giant Spirit God Ah Er naturally wouldn’t cooperate with him as he seemed to have his own goal for coming to this place. Regardless of how loudly Yang Kai shouted beside his ear, he never slowed down.
Yellow and Blue Crystals seemed to be everywhere in the Chaotic Dead Territory and all one had to do was reach out to catch them.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai was fully aware that it was all thanks to his Giant Spirit God companion. Without Ah Er’s protection, he wouldn’t have been in the mood to capture these materials as he would have already been vaporized by the never-ending explosions around him.
With that said, Yang Kai soon figured out some basic rules of this place. He would be able to easily capture the Yellow and Blue Crystals within a radius of 50 metres around him, but he would be powerless to do so for anything beyond that distance.
The entire Chaotic Dead Territory was filled with those destructive forces. Moreover, the protective layer around Ah Er would significantly weaken his abilities.
Yang Kai felt that it was such a shame, because he had seen some crystal veins on several occasions. The short ones were about several tens of metres while the long ones were more than a dozen kilometres in length. Nevertheless, he couldn’t get them as they were too far away from him. If he managed to obtain any of those crystal veins, it would mean that he would have immense wealth in his possession.
It was indeed a shame, but there was nothing he could do.
He reckoned that this was already a huge windfall for him, and since he had obtained so many rewards already, he should learn to feel content. It would do him no good to be greedy. Moreover, he only had one chance to tag along with Ah Er to pick up these treasures.
Soon, Yang Kai found out Ah Er’s purpose for visiting this place.
The Giant Spirit God had come all the way here for the dead Universe Worlds!
The Giant Spirit God Clan members were known to be powerful yet peaceful. Dead Universe Worlds were their only food. Moreover, they had a special skill that allowed them to catch a whiff of the auras of dying Universe Worlds.
It was because of this reason that Ah Da remained outside the Star Boundary in the past. He waited for a long time as he anticipated the Star Boundary to die, but in the end, Yang Kai managed to save the Universe World with a World Tree’s root.
Without any complaints, Ah Da left the place while still feeling hungry.
Yang Kai felt a bit guilty whenever he thought about this incident; after all, while he was venturing into the 3,000 Worlds, it was Ah Da who kept the Star Boundary safe, and it was even Ah Da who taught him how to save the Star Boundary.
Since the battlefield between the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer was expanding, this region had descended into chaos, and the Universe Worlds had begun collapsing. Ah Er caught a whiff of this dying aura, which was why he travelled across dozens of Great Territories to have his fill.
No one could figure out the original state of the shattered Universe World as half of it was already gone. Only shattered Spirit Provinces of different sizes were left while all the beings who once lived here were already dead.
Ah Er arrived at a shattered Spirit Province that was about a hundred kilometres wide. After grabbing the Spirit Province, he brought it to his mouth and began chomping on it.
There was an elated expression on his face as though he was wolfing down a piece of delicious meat, which was in contrast to his usually expressionless face.
Yang Kai didn’t even hear any sound of chewing as the large shattered Spirit Province was gulped down into the colossal figure’s stomach. The Giant Spirit God then extended his hand towards another shattered Spirit Province.
Yang Kai looked around and realised that there were no nearby materials that he could capture. Since he had time now, he decided to go through the rewards he had obtained so far.
After some quick counting, Yang Kai realised that he had amassed more than 100 materials, which was why he was ecstatic.
Moreover, they were all in the Fifth Order and above.
There were not a lot of Fifth-Order materials, just about 10% in total. 30 to 40% were Sixth-Order, while the same percentage were Seventh-Order. The rest were Eighth-Order materials.
Just like the Fifth-Order materials, the Eighth-Order ones came in a small quantity.
From this sample, Yang Kai reckoned that most of the materials floating in the void were in the Sixth and Seventh-Orders. After pondering on the process of their formation, he found a sensible explanation.
The disorderly energies of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer filled the entire Chaotic Dead Territory as they hacked each other to death. Every time they clashed, their forces would weaken a little.
They were originally in the Ninth Order at the very least, but after a prolonged fight, it was expected that their Order would degrade.
When they were reduced to the Sixth Order or the Seventh Order, the outcome of the battle would be clear. As a result, Yellow and Blue Crystals in the Sixth-Order and the Seventh-Order would be left.
If the battle ended sooner, Eighth-Order materials would be left.
However, if the battle dragged on longer, their powers would be weakened further, and only Fifth-Order materials would be left.
Hence, there were not a lot of Eighth-Order and Fifth-Order materials. On the other hand, Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order materials were the most abundant in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Yang Kai’s eyes glowed brightly as he looked at the Eighth-Order Blue Crystal in his hand.
It was an Eighth-Order Yin Element material! He had never expected that he would acquire such a valuable treasure one day. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradises wouldn’t have many Eighth-Order materials.
If this Eighth-Order Yin Element material was traded for Open Heaven Pills, it would be worth at least 2 billion. Of course, no one would actually sell such a precious treasure.
This thing was greatly beneficial to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. By collecting a full set of Yin, Yang, and Five Element materials, and refining them, one could significantly increase the heritage of their Small Universe.
To the Cave Heavens and Paradises, Sixth-Order Yin and Yang Element materials were strategic resources. That was because some gifted disciples might be able to directly ascend to the Sixth Order, and such materials would be required; hence, they had to prepare enough of such materials.
However, Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order materials were not in that category.
Even if there was a supremely talented disciple who could directly ascend to the Seventh Order, such a person would only appear once in a few thousand years; therefore, only two to three sets of such materials would ever be needed in reserve.
On the other hand, no one had ever directly ascended to the Eighth Order before. It was a feat no one had achieved in history. Even someone as strong as Yang Kai only attempted to make it to the Seventh Order in the past. The Dao Seal of an Emperor Realm cultivator was simply unable to bear the impact of Eighth-Order materials, no matter how gifted they were.
Therefore, Eighth-Order materials were not considered strategic resources. To High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order materials could all be used for cultivation. It would be too slow to refine Open Heaven Pills, so refining a complete set of materials was a better option.
It was for this reason that once a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master collected a complete set of materials, they would immediately refine it. The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters among the Cave Heavens and Paradises would also only exchange items like this for other like items they needed.
Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were able to refine Sixth-Order Materials, Seventh-Order Masters could refine Seventh-Order Materials, and so on and so forth.
Most people would follow such practices. However, even the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to get a lot of valuable materials, so they could only opt for the second best option, which would be to refine Open Heaven Pills or materials of a lower Order. As time passed, the heritage of their Small Universe would still increase, just slower.
Yang Kai was only one step away from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he now possessed these Blue and Yellow Crystals in the Sixth-Order. As long as he was willing to pay the price, he could significantly shorten the time to make it to the Seventh Order.
Compared to the Yin and Yang Element materials, it wasn’t hard for him to get his hands on materials of the Five Elements. The Cave Heavens and Paradises would even welcome him if he was willing to exchange some Yellow and Blue Crystals for other materials.
Therefore, he would never miss the opportunity right in front of his eyes.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to enter the Chaotic Dead Territory alongside a Giant Spirit God, so it was expected that he wanted to acquire more benefits.
After storing his current haul, Yang Kai looked up and saw that Ah Er had almost finished eating the Universe World.
During this period of time, he had collected some of the nearby Yellow and Blue Crystals while Ah Er was moving around.
Just when he was looking forward to the Giant Spirit God’s next move, Ah Er suddenly patted his belly and appeared satisfied.
At that instant, Yang Kai had a very bad feeling.
The next moment, Ah Er lay down in the void and closed his eyes. Following that, snoring that was as loud as thunder reverberated out.
Yang Kai had the urge to curse. [This guy is asleep after having enough food! Just a shattered Universe World could make you full? I thought you had a bottomless appetite!]
Yang Kai furrowed his brow deeply, for he wouldn’t be able to collect more Yellow and Blue Crystals if Ah Er stopped moving altogether.
Moreover, he wasn’t certain how long Ah Er would remain asleep; after all, a Giant Spirit God was both enormous and powerful, so it wouldn’t be surprising for him to nap for 800 to 1,000 years.
Naturally, Yang Kai couldn’t be held up for such a long time. If he didn’t appear for 1,000 years, Void Land and High Heaven Territory would certainly fall into chaos.
[I cannot allow him to fall into a deep sleep! I have to do something!]
Like climbing a mountain, Yang Kai moved up and soon reached Ah Er’s ear. Standing beside the huge and dark ear canal, Yang Kai took a deep breath as his chest bulged. Using a Secret Technique, he roared, “Wake up!”
An impatient Ah Er rolled over and almost flung Yang Kai away.
After stabilising himself, Yang Kai continued shouting beside his ear.
“Your Big Brother Ah Da is here, Ah Er! Wake up!”
“Look, there’s a female Giant Spirit God. She looks so slim!”
“Are you waking up or not? I’ll poke you. I will really do it!”
…
A while later, Ah Er suddenly folded his ear as he was annoyed by Yang Kai’s harassment.
When the ear folded, it was like a gigantic hand coming right at Yang Kai, who immediately rolled away with a livid expression.
When he turned his head, he realised that Ah Er had blocked his ear canal.
Certainly, he wouldn’t give up just like that. As he darted his gaze around, he snorted and walked up to Ah Er’s massive nostrils. After entering one of them, he wrapped his arms around a strand of nasal hair that was as big as a column and pulled it.
This caused a massive reaction. While it was effective, the outcome was horrifying.
When Ah Er sneezed, Yang Kai felt like he was riding a small canoe in the ocean amidst a fierce storm. Regardless of how hard he clung on to the strand of nasal hair, he was still spurted out of Ah Er’s nostril. Following that, he kept rolling away.
Seeing that he was about to leave Ah Er’s protection range, he hurriedly assumed his Dragon Form.
Following a desperate Dragon Roar, Yang Kai’s 10,000 metres long Dragon Form wrapped around Ah Er’s calf like a snake, which finally saved him from the calamity.
After the storm, Yang Kai returned to his Human Form with a pale face.
Ah Er had absolutely no ill intentions, but his reaction almost sent Yang Kai to the Yellow Springs.
Yang Kai decided not to provoke him again as he had no idea what would befall him next time. It would be unfortunate if he was killed by Ah Er.
However, he didn’t want to just wait around and do nothing. After looking around, he decided to try to capture more Yellow and Blue Crystals.
While Ah Er was essentially motionless in his sleep, the Yellow and Blue Crystals floating in the Chaotic Dead Territory were moving around.
Following the impact of those violent forces, the innumerable Yellow and Blue Crystals were thrown about in random directions, and some of them would brush past Ah Er from time to time.
These were the crystals Yang Kai could capture.
He then dashed towards Ah Er’s head, which was a better position as he could get a better view of his surroundings.
After that, he sat down with his legs crossed as he decided to wait for the gains to come to him.
He was only able to acquire crystals that were within a radius of 50 or so metres around him, which was a shame as he missed a lot of potential treasures.
It would be wonderful if he could capture targets that were further away from him.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai slapped his own forehead and chastised himself for being so foolish. He had something he could make use of, but the idea never came to mind previously.
He then summoned his Azure Dragon Spear, and as he infused the power of his Dragon Vein into the spear, the weapon soon grew longer.
When Yang Kai’s Dragon Form was about 1,000 metres previously, the Azure Dragon Spear could also expand to the same length. However, since he became a Grand Dragon, he had not used Azure Dragon Spear while in his Dragon Form. He wondered if the spear could also become 10,000 metres long now.
Yang Kai reckoned that his spear could do that, but when he turned into a Grand Dragon, his claws and teeth were the sharpest weapons in the world, so there wasn’t a need for him to use the Azure Dragon Spear.
He had never heard of a Grand Dragon who used an artifact to deal with his enemies before. To a Grand Dragon, his body was the most powerful weapon.
The only thing that made Yang Kai feel worried was whether the Azure Dragon Spear could bear the impact of the forces coming from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
After all, even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were unable to withstand such impacts.
Yang Kai carefully stuck the Azure Dragon Spear out of Ah Er’s protection range, revealing only its tip.
The devastating forces in the void caused the tip of the spear to tremble, and Yang Kai could even hear a muffled Dragon Roar coming from the spear.
However, he was surprised to learn that Azure Dragon Spear was able to withstand the remnant forces brushing past it.
After giving it a thought, he realised the reason behind it.
The Azure Dragon Spear was made from the Dragon Bones of a Grand Dragon. While the Dragon Clan was the leader of all Divine Spirits, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were the Ancestors of all Divine Spirits. There must be a mysterious connection between them.
Moreover, the Azure Dragon Spear wasn’t required to go up against the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer themselves, it just had to withstand the fallout of their scattered forces.
The Azure Dragon Spear had never disappointed Yang Kai, and this time was no exception.
The rest would be easy now. He just had to lock onto his target and accurately pull it closer to himself with his spear in order to capture it.
Of course, things were never as simple as they seemed.
The first target that came into his sight was a Blue Crystal the size of a head with a refined appearance that was just 1,000 metres away from him.
Yang Kai quickly intercepted it with his spear and slowly pulled it closer to himself. During this period of time though, he had to go against the disorderly forces in the void, which required precise control over the angle and amount of force he exerted.
There were several times when he almost lost the crystal.
After a good three days of hard effort, he finally pulled the head-sized Blue Crystal to a spot that was within the 50 metres radius he could exert his powers over.
Yang Kai extended his hand and manipulated Space Principles to capture the Blue Crystal.
It was an Eighth-Order material!
The Blue Crystal the size of a head was an Eighth-Order material, which was much larger than any of the Yellow and Blue Crystals he had obtained previously.
A Blue Crystal of such a size was definitely worth a lot more than 2 billion Open Heaven Pills. It was at least several times more than that amount.
An elated Yang Kai marvelled at it for a moment before putting it inside his Small Universe.
His Small Universe was now divided into three territories. One of them was for the cultivators who came from Pear Flower Cave Heaven to live. This territory was slightly less than half of the entire Small Universe.
The second territory was for the Small Stone Race to live. Yang Kai had high hopes for these Small Stone Race members, so he had to give them the best environment to live in. This territory was also the largest as it was bigger than the living space of the human cultivators.
The last territory was the medicine garden, which was also the core region.
When Yang Kai built a medicine garden in the Small Sealed World in the past, he transplanted a lot of spirit plants there. During his ascension to the Open Heaven Realm, he refined and absorbed the Small Sealed World, which allowed it to merge with his Small Universe. The medicine garden was also transferred to this place.
Although this territory wasn’t big, it was the place where Yang Kai stored his most valuable treasures. The rewards he had obtained from selling healing pills in Lang Ya Paradise were all placed here as well.
The medicine garden was a Restricted Area for the cultivators and the Small Stone Race living in his Small Universe. Without his permission, no one could go anywhere near it.
Yang Kai’s confidence was boosted following his first fishing success. While standing on Ah Er’s head, he swept a glance over the surroundings with a pair of eagle-like eyes as he would never miss an opportunity.
Soon, he saw another Blue Crystal that was hovering in a spot that was several hundred metres away from him.
He decided to capture it using the same method.
There were times when he missed his targets; after all, it would be difficult to control the Azure Dragon Spear if it was extended too far away from him. In this kind of place, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation was completely useless. A special kind of finesse was required. Only by leveraging skill and strength could he slowly move materials closer to himself.
This required a lot of patience as well. The slightest impatience could make days of effort go down the drain.
Faced with a sky full of Yellow and Blue Crystals, no one would run out of patience though, and it was the same case for Yang Kai.
Gradually, he became more adept at his task and the number of targets he missed dropped significantly. Now, it only took him at most two days to move a target that was within a radius of 1,500 metres closer to himself.
If the target was more than 1,500 metres away, luck would play a big role in whether he succeeded or not.
However, since Ah Er was sound asleep and unmoving, there was nothing else Yang Kai could do other than wait patiently. Hence, it was up to the Heavens how many materials he could get his hands on. Sometimes, there wouldn’t be a single Blue or Yellow Crystal that passed by after he waited for half a month. Sometimes, several crystals would come over together. There was no regular pattern to speak of.
In this situation, Yang Kai would usually target the largest and most brilliant ones first, giving up on the others.
As time passed, Yang Kai reckoned that he had obtained more than 100 Yellow and Blue Crystals again. Just then, Ah Er suddenly stretched his back.
[This guy is finally awake!]
Since Yang Kai had been busy capturing Yellow and Blue Crystals, he didn’t bother keeping track of time; however, he estimated that Ah Er had been asleep for about two years.
Upon that realisation, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
He was most worried that this Giant Spirit God would remain asleep for 800 to 1,000 years. By comparison, two years was much more tolerable.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was looking forward to the Giant Spirit God’s next move.
In the Chaotic Dead Territory, the shattered Universe World consumed by Ah Er should not be the only one. There should be more such Universe Worlds. As long as Ah Er kept moving forward, Yang Kai would have a chance to obtain more Yellow and Blue Crystals.
Although he could get his hands on those crystals by waiting in place, it wasn’t nearly as efficient as capturing them while Ah Er was on the move.
However, unlike Yang Kai’s expectation, Ah Er didn’t immediately set off on his journey upon waking up. Instead, he sat down with his legs crossed in the void and seemed to space out. He remained unmoving, as though he had been bound to the spot.
Moreover, Yang Kai could clearly feel that Ah Er seemed to be sulky as his entire figure exuded a dangerous aura.
Seeing that, Yang Kai decided not to make any noise at all.
He wouldn’t even dare to move a muscle as he wasn’t certain why the usually gentle Giant Spirit God was in such a state. He even noticed several refined Yellow and Blue Crystal drifting past him, but he could only pretend that he hadn’t seen them.
More than ten days later, the dangerous aura surrounding Ah Er finally dissipated. The Giant Spirit God got to his feet and turned to look in a different direction before shuffling forward.
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief while sporting an awkward expression.
He thought that this guy might feel cranky after waking up; otherwise, he couldn’t explain the transformation Ah Er had gone through.
Could a Giant Spirit God feel ill-tempered after waking from a nap? Yang Kai wasn’t certain about it.
With that said, he quickly pulled himself together since the Giant Spirit God had finally started moving. While standing on Ah Er’s head, he swept a glance over his surroundings.
It was just like the situation when he barged into the Chaotic Dead Territory alongside Ah Er for the first time. As innumerable Yellow and Blue Crystals brushed past him, he targeted the best-looking ones and extended his hand from time to time.
By the time Ah Er arrived at the next dead Universe World, Yang Kai had already obtained another 100 or so Yellow and Blue Crystals.
A tacit agreement seemed to be formed between the odd pair. While Ah Er sat down with his legs crossed and at his meal, Yang Kai summoned the Azure Dragon Spear and looked for targets. The two of them minded their own business, not bothering one another.
In fact, Yang Kai doubted Ah Er even remembered that he was standing on his head.
Soon, the shattered Universe World was wolfed down by Ah Er, who fell asleep once more. Other than sleeping and eating, there was nothing else this guy would do.
Hence, a bored Yang Kai started waiting for the crystals to pass by again.
After the previous experience, he knew that Ah Er would awaken in a few years, so there was nothing he had to worry about. He just hoped that he would get more rewards during this period.
Just like he thought, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get into the Chaotic Dead Territory alongside a Giant Spirit God. If he didn’t seize this chance, he would regret it after he left the place.
Although the process of waiting and capturing the crystals was dull, Yang Kai was still fervent.
Half a year later, he finally obtained his biggest reward yet.
A Yellow Crystal vein that was several dozen metres long was coming right at him. He didn’t even need to spend much effort to catch the vein and stuff it into his Small Universe.
There was no doubt that it was a huge pleasant surprise.
After examining it, Yang Kai realised that the entire Yellow Crystal Vein was in the Seventh Order and had a huge, pure, reserve of energy.
This one Crystal Vein was worth more than all the crystals he had previously acquired combined.
After years of observation, Yang Kai finally realised the reason the Yellow and Blue Crystals came in different sizes in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
It was all related to the strange yellow and blue creatures that tried to kill one another as they too came in different sizes. Although their powers were equally matched, one of the parties would always be defeated following a prolonged fight.
The defeated ones would turn into Yellow or Blue Crystals. After the larger living creatures were killed, bigger Yellow or Blue Crystals would naturally be left behind, and vice versa.
Luck was an elusive thing. Although Yang Kai hoped to easily get another crystal vein, his wish was never granted.
In the Chaotic Dead Territory, a several-dozen-metre-long crystal vein was by no means the largest. Yang Kai had even seen a crystal vein that was over a dozen kilometres long. He thought that if he could keep such a crystal vein inside his Small Universe, it would surely be a magnificent sight.
Even if it was just a Fifth-Order or Sixth-Order material, the value of a crystal vein that was over a dozen kilometres long was simply incalculable.
Over a year later, Ah Er awakened again.
It was then Yang Kai confirmed that the Giant Spirit God would become sulky after waking up. Just like the previous time, Ah Er remained morose on the same spot for a few days. His dangerous aura seemed able to destroy everything in the world.
Nevertheless, he never actually destroyed anything. After his crankiness subsided, Ah Er moved on to the next dead Universe World.
Over the following years, Ah Er travelled across the Chaotic Dead Territory. As a Giant Spirit God Clan member, he was born with the innate ability to sniff out dead or dying Universe Worlds. Therefore, he could accurately find those shattered Universe Worlds and consume them.
After a Universe World became shattered, what was left behind came in different sizes; therefore, Ah Er wouldn’t always fall asleep after he was done with his meal. If the portion was too small, he would look for the next target before dozing off.
Yang Kai was determined to harvest more wealth while tagging along with Ah Er and had soon lost track of time altogether. He could only make a judgement by observing the changes in his Small Universe.
Over ten years had passed in his Small Universe, and during this period, his Third Disciple Xu Yi had gone through a massive transformation.
His aptitude was weak as he was found to be C- during the Disciple Recruitment of Seven Stars Sect a decade ago. Given his aptitude, he supposedly didn’t have a right to become a disciple of Seven Stars Sect.
In the eyes of the top cultivators in the Void Continent, a cultivator with such an aptitude would never achieve anything great in life even if he had a good teacher and ample resources.
However, Xu Yi’s growth far surpassed his aptitude.
It only took Xu Yi ten years to become a Transcendent Realm cultivator from an ordinary mortal. This kind of progress was actually on par with that of Zhao Ya.
Nevertheless, the reason Zhao Ya progressed at such a slow rate in the past was that Yang Kai had deliberately suppressed her cultivation. If she was allowed to cultivate freely, her speed would’ve been much greater.
Xu Yi’s aptitude was clearly weaker than Zhao Ya’s. In fact, in this expansive universe, Yang Kai had never seen a cultivator who was on par with Zhao Ya when it came to cultivation speed. Even though there were many disciples in Void Land and High Heaven Palace, Zhao Ya was still the brightest.
However, compared to his C- aptitude, Xu Yi’s growth was simply unbelievable.
Just like Yang Kai had observed previously, Xu Yi was indeed a cultivator with C- aptitude as his progress was painfully slow during the daytime. However, once he fell asleep at night, he seemed to become an entirely different person.
Given his Transcendent Realm cultivation, he supposedly didn’t need to sleep. Nonetheless, just like an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated, when darkness descended, Xu Yi would lie down on the bed and easily slumber off.
This was a special talent as well as his cultivation method.
All the Elders in Seven Stars Sect admired their Ancestor even more after taking notice of this.
A disciple with such a weak aptitude could still achieve excellent results following Yang Kai’s guidance. He had practically achieved the impossible, so Shang Guan Ji and the others reckoned that they were no match for the Ancestor when it came to vision.
Ten years after Yang Kai entered the Chaotic Dead Territory alongside Giant Spirit God Ah Er, he finally had a chance to witness the clash between the real Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer.
At that time, Ah Er was heading to his next destination while Yang Kai was looking for fishing targets. It was at that moment that Yang Kai caught a glimpse of a dazzling explosion of light.
When he turned his head, he saw that in the far depths of the void, there was a colossal yellow light that was as splendid as a rising Sun.
Across from the yellow light, there was an equally mighty blue light that was charging right at it.
In the next instant, the Universe itself seemed to tremble as chaos descended all around. The protective layer around Ah Er expanded by several dozen metres all at once.
The clash was practically silent, but the expansive yellow and blue lights that exploded out from it spanned across billions of kilometres like a torrential rain. The entire Chaotic Dead Territory seemed to be filled with these colours all of a sudden.
The dots of light soon turned into the unique living creatures that Yang Kai had seen before which then proceeded to tear into each other.
Witnessing this sight, Yang Kai realised that these strange creatures could be considered Soul Clones of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
The impact of this clash only subsided after ten or so days, and the encounter left Yang Kai’s heart in turmoil.
If he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that such horrifying beings really existed.
He couldn’t even make out the true appearances of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, all he could see was the two devastating powers crashing into one another.
The fallout from such a clash could instantly annihilate an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Only a being as powerful as a Giant Spirit God could possibly withstand such an impact.
Since more Soul Clones were now fighting in the Chaotic Dead Territory, it was actually good news for Yang Kai. Perhaps he could gain more benefits now.
After one of the parties was defeated, Yellow or Blue Crystals would be left behind, and these were the treasures he could obtain.
When Giant Spirit God Ah Er was done with his meal, he fell into a deep sleep again.
While standing on his head, Yang Kai held the Azure Dragon Spear in his hands and looked for new targets.
After a day of hard work, he finally managed to move a Blue Crystal half the size of a human from 600 metres away to somewhere close to him.
However, before he could capture it, he felt a strange energy fluctuation coming from a nearby spot. The next moment, the Blue Crystal the size of half a Human brushed past him.
Drenched in cold sweat, Yang Kai hurriedly turned his head.
What came into his sight sent a chill down his spine as he instantly clenched his Azure Dragon Spear tightly.
That was because he saw two young children, about ten years old, glaring at him from a nearby spot.
They were a young boy and a young girl. The young boy was clad in yellow clothes while the young girl was wearing a blue dress. What was odd was that their hair colours matched their clothes. Even their eyes were respectively yellow and blue.
Yang Kai was now a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with strong perceptive powers. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near him without alerting him, let alone cultivators in the same Order.
Nevertheless, he had no idea when these two kids appeared. If not for the anomaly just now, he wouldn’t have noticed them at all.
What puzzled him was that he couldn’t feel any energy fluctuations coming from these two. They were like ordinary children who had never cultivated before, but they were also like indiscernible phantoms.
The Chaotic Dead Territory was an extremely dangerous place where even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wouldn’t be able to ensure their own safety, so how was it possible for ordinary people to be in this place?
Moreover, the colours of the young kids’ clothes, hair, and eyes made Yang Kai feel alarmed.
These were no ordinary colours. All his pores uncontrollably tightened as he almost descended into panic; however, he slightly set his mind at ease since Ah Er was still sound asleep.
Although Giant Spirit Gods were gentle creatures, that didn’t mean they weren’t formidable beings. Since Ah Er hadn’t awakened, it meant that he hadn’t felt any hostility directed towards him, which was good news for Yang Kai.
Nevertheless, he soon became uncertain when he saw the young kids’ expressions.
The Blue Crystal from earlier that was retrieved by the yellow-clothed young boy was now lying beside him. While staring at Yang Kai, he snapped, “You’re a thief!”
The young girl clad in a blue dress also pointed and shouted, “You’re a thief!”
The young boy turned his head and frowned at the young girl, “Stop mimicking what I say.”
Displeased, the young girl refuted, “No one mimics what you say. That was what I wanted to say.”
The young boy stopped frowning as though he wasn’t in the mood to bicker with her and said, “Go somewhere else and say whatever you want. Don’t repeat after me.”
The young girl snorted. While glowering at Yang Kai, she vented all her anger on him by demanding, “Kill him!”
The young boy instantly refuted, “You can’t kill him!”
Furious, the young girl stared at the young boy and said through clenched teeth, “I said kill him!”
Not willing to back down, the young boy shook his head, “I said you can’t kill him!”
“You have to listen to me. I’m the Big Sister!” The young girl placed her hands akimbo and declared.
Still calm and collected, the young boy shook his head, “You’re wrong. You’re supposed to listen to me because I’m the Big Brother.”
“I’m the Big Sister, and you’re the Little Brother!”
“I’m the Big Brother, and you’re the Little Sister!”
…..
The two children started arguing with one another as they were unable to make each other admit defeat. The young girl seemed to be ill-tempered while the young boy was much calmer. Regardless of how loud the young girl was, he would always flatly refute her.
Moreover, they never took a breather when bickering with one another as though this kind of argument had persisted for years. Both of them were obstinate and insistent.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was now dripping wet with cold sweat. Although he couldn’t feel any murderous intent coming from these two, he reckoned that it didn’t require any murderous intent for such beings to kill him.
To them, ending his life was the same as stepping on an ant, so what was the point of having murderous intent? No one would release murderous intent when they casually stepped on an ant.
This was an extremely awkward situation for Yang Kai.
Since he was in the depths of the Chaotic Dead Territory, he was unable to leave the Giant Spirit God’s protection. Once he did, he would be instantly killed. However, faced with such formidable beings that wanted to kill him, he was powerless to save himself.
He couldn’t possibly rely on Ah Er either. The Giant Spirit God was still sound asleep, so he apparently didn’t care about what was going on around him. Moreover, Yang Kai doubted whether even the Ah Er was a match for these two.
Presently, Yang Kai could only hope for the young boy to convince the young girl. Nevertheless, judging from their argument, he reckoned that it wasn’t easy for the young boy to do so.
Just when Yang Kai was at his wits’ end, the two children suddenly fell silent and turned to look at him at the same time.
The young boy said, “Why don’t you tell us who the Big Brother or the Little Sister would be?”
The young girl said, “Why don’t you tell us who the Big Sister or the Little Brother would be?”
Although they spoke at the same time, Yang Kai could clearly hear what they had said.
This was a question without an answer, or at least without an answer that would allow him to survive. Yang Kai furrowed his brow deeply, not knowing what would happen to him if he said anything wrong. Regardless of what his answer was, he would certainly offend one of these kids. It was impossible to come up with a reply that would please both parties.
After pondering on it for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “Who was the first one that was born? The person would be the Big Brother or Big Sister.”
The young kids exchanged glances and replied simultaneously, “We were born at the same time.”
“One of you must have been born first!” Yang Kai frowned.
“Nope.” The young kids shook their heads.
This was giving Yang Kai a headache. He suddenly recalled the legend that when the world was born in ancient times, the first light appeared. A long time later, the light split into two and became Yin and Yang.
Just when Yang Kai was pondering on how he could come up with an answer that would please both parties, the young girl said to the young boy in a small voice, “We’re so silly. We should’ve looked for someone and asked about it long ago.”
The young boy replied, “No one ever came here before over the years. He’s the first one.”
After giving it a thought, the young girl realised that he was right, “That’s true. He’s the first one.”
She then urged Yang Kai by saying, “Have you thought it through? Say it now!”
Yang Kai asked, “Will you spare my life after I tell you my answer?”
The young girl replied, “I won’t kill you if I’m pleased with your answer.”
Yang Kai turned to look at the young boy, who said dispassionately, “I’ll kill you if I’m displeased with your answer.”
[What the heck! They’re totally unreasonable!] It was the first time Yang Kai felt that children could be so deplorable and had the urge to kill them with his spear.
Moreover, he didn’t understand why it was worth arguing over this issue. Nevertheless, the two kids never stopped bickering over it.
An inconceivable idea suddenly sprang into Yang Kai’s mind, [Have they been fighting with each other all this time because of this exact argument!?] It would be laughable if that was the truth. The Chaotic Dead Territory encompassed many Great Territories that were originally vibrant and full of life, but were now all dead and desolate.
“Since you were born at the same time, neither of you would be the Big Brother or Big Sister then…”
The young boy shot him an impassive look, “I think you’re tired of living.”
Yang Kai quickly tried to save himself by saying, “However, if you insist on becoming the Big Brother or Big Sister, it’s not so difficult.”
The eyes of the young kids brightened, then the little girl asked, “How easy is it? Tell us about it.”
Yang Kai replied, “Why don’t you take turns? One day you’ll be the Big Brother, and the next day she’ll be the Big Sister. Isn’t it the best outcome for both of you?”
Upon hearing that, the young kids fell into their thoughts.
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief. From the looks of it, even though they were irritable, they were pretty simple-minded. In that case, he might be able to keep fooling them.
Just when Yang Kai was lost in his thoughts, the young boy suddenly looked up, “Your solution is good. I’ll be the Big Brother today, then. Why didn’t we think of such a simple way?”
The young girl pursed her lips, “What makes you have the right to be the Big Brother first? I’ll be the Big Sister today.”
There was no expression on the young boy’s face as he turned his head, “Why must you insist on competing with me?”
The young girl snorted, “It’s you who insists on competing with me.”
A dumbfounded Yang Kai initially thought that the problem was solved, but a new problem popped up the next moment. [Are they deliberately making things difficult for me?]
Yang Kai had the urge to beat them up as he clenched his Azure Dragon Spear tighter, but he soon relaxed his grip while feeling dejected.
As expected, not long after, the kids then turned to look at him and asked, “Why don’t you tell us who the Big Brother or Big Sister would be today?”
Yang Kai had the urge to kill himself as he roared, “Why can’t both of you be the Big Brother and the Big Sister at the same time? What’s the point of arguing over this issue?”
The young girl gazed dazedly at Yang Kai as she was dumbstruck by his abrupt fury.
On the other hand, the young boy stroked his chin and fell into his thoughts for a moment before he looked up at Yang Kai, “You be the Little Brother, then.”
At that, Yang Kai was speechless.
“Little Brother!” The young girl called out with ecstasy as her dream of becoming the Big Sister was finally realised. Although the target wasn’t quite up to her expectations, it was acceptable.
Hence, Yang Kai became their Little Brother.
That was an outcome he had never expected, but he had no choice but to accept it. Judging from the way the young kids looked fervently at him, it was as though he would be directly killed and sent to the Yellow Springs if he dared to say no.
He felt like a mountain had been pressed against him.
It felt awkward to be the Little Brother to these young kids who looked like they were ten years old; however, when thinking about these ‘kids’ real age and status, Yang Kai reasoned he was actually the one taking advantage of them, not the other way round.
“Little Brother!” The young girl called out to him again with pleasure as she stared at him with a pair of blue eyes.
Yang Kai could read her intention through her eyes, but he pretended to see nothing as his head jerked to the side.
The young girl took a step forward and called out again, “Little Brother!”
Just like the wind in winter, her voice became significantly colder.
Yang Kai instantly felt all his bodily hair standing on end as his brow twitched. While scratching his face, he called out bashfully, “Big Sister…”
He felt his face burning as he kept telling himself that a man had to be flexible in every situation. He could always make a comeback as long as he was alive. Compared to his own life, calling her ‘Big Sister’ was no big deal. Moreover, he was at an advantage here.
Instantly, the young girl put on a bright smile. Yang Kai didn’t see her move at all, but she appeared in front of him the next moment and extended her hand to pat his head, “You’re my good Little Brother!”
The veins on Yang Kai’s forehead bobbed as he almost failed to contain his murderous intent.
Right then, the young boy coughed on the side.
Yang Kai was a worldly person who knew how to adapt to the situation. Since he already did it for the first time, it wasn’t so hard to do it for the second time. He cupped his fist at the young boy and called out solemnly, “Big Brother.”
Acting like he was more mature, the young boy nodded as he was pleased with Yang Kai’s action.
In fact, Yang Kai was curious about their names. Since they were considered ‘one family’ now, he decided to ask them about it.
Nevertheless, the young kids exchanged glances and shook their heads. They never had a name since their birth. The Sun’s Burning Light and the Moon’s Serene Glimmer were what others called them, not their real names.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai said, “Why don’t I give you names? It’ll be easier for us to call each other this way.”
The young kids exchanged glances as if they were fine with it.
After pondering on it for a while, Yang Kai came up with a few names, but they were displeased with all of them. Nevertheless, they were fond of the words yellow and blue.
Hence, one of the young kids became Big Brother Huang to Yang Kai while the other was his Big Sister Lan.
Since time immemorial, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had always had the dream to become the Big Brother and Big Sister. They kept arguing over it and got into intense battles because of it. It wasn’t until Yang Kai barged into their territory alongside Giant Spirit God Ah Er that their wish was granted.
Despite that, they had no idea what they should do after becoming the Big Brother and Big Sister.
Yang Kai promptly gave them a hint by saying, “As Big Brother and Big Sister, you’re supposed to take good care of your Little Brother.”
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan nodded at the same time. Acting like an adult, Big Sister Lan said, “I’ll definitely take good care of you. Come to me if anyone bullies you in the future. I’ll stand up for you.”
Yang Kai felt like crying tears of joy at that moment. While bearing the humiliation, he accidentally found two incredibly formidable backers.
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to make use of such backers. Everything would be destroyed wherever they went, so who would have the guts to make them stand up for him? Moreover, no one would believe him even if he told everyone that he had these two kids as his backers.
After a cough, Yang Kai said, “I’ve always been the one who bullies others, not the other way round. Big Brother Huang, the thing beside you… It was hard for me to get it. Could you please return it to me? No Big Brother would snatch stuff from his Little Brother. Big Brother and Big Sister are supposed to take care of their Little Brother.”
Yang Kai hadn’t managed to catch the Blue Crystal the size of half a Human as it was retrieved by Big Brother Huang.
Upon hearing that, Big Brother Huang took a glance at the Blue Crystal, “You want this?”
“Yes.” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly.
“You can have it, then,” Big Brother Huang directly tossed the Blue Crystal at Yang Kai.
A pleased Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Many thanks, Big Brother Huang!”
Following that, he quickly put the Blue Crystal inside his Small Universe.
A smug Big Brother Huang looked provocatively at Big Sister Lan, who naturally became furious. She crooked her finger as a Yellow Crystal of a similar size came over from some unknown place. After throwing it at Yang Kai, she said, “This is for you.”
Yang Kai’s eyes were as bright as the Sun while he hurriedly put the crystal into his Small Universe. Gazing at the young girl, he sincerely expressed his gratitude, “Many thanks, Big Sister Lan.”
It was indeed a big pleasant surprise.
Big Brother Huang snorted and raised his hand as a new Blue Crystal appeared. He then pushed it towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai widened his mouth as he was overwhelmed by the sudden happiness which descended upon him. With that said, his movements were not sluggish as he promptly stored the Blue Crystal, “Many thanks, Big Brother Huang.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the young girl pushed another piece of Yellow Crystal towards him.
“Many thanks, Big Sister Lan!”
“Many thanks, Big Brother Huang!”
…
Yang Kai was exhausted from all the talking, but he was never tired of doing it. Just a few words of gratitude could be traded for a refined Yellow or Blue Crystal, so he didn’t mind doing it at all. If possible, he could thank them for eternity.
It was the first time he found these two kids so adorable.
He was initially embarrassed when he was forced to be the Little Brother, but as more and more Yellow and Blue Crystals came into his hands, the shame he felt had vanished into thin air. He could now shamelessly call them Big Brother and Big Sister, and he became increasingly sincere while doing it.
He wouldn’t even mind calling them Grandpa and Grandma as he was given such immense rewards, to say nothing of the fact that he was only required to call them Big Brother and Big Sister. In fact, given their age and seniority, he was actually taking advantage of them.
Yang Kai had no idea how many good things he had obtained, but they surpassed the total amount of what he acquired over the past 10 years in just half a day.
In the core area of his Small Universe, Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals were stacked like two mountains, ranging from the Fifth-Order to the Eighth-Order.
This kind of wealth could be considered colossal. No Cave Heaven or Paradise could put forward such a large amount of treasure.
Just when Yang Kai was engrossed in thanking them, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan suddenly stopped as they glared at each other.
Yang Kai scratched his face and asked cautiously, “Why did you stop all of a sudden?”
As he spoke, he quickly fished out a spirit fruit from his Space Ring to quench his thirst. His throat was all dried up after he kept thanking them for so long. He had to get prepared for the next round.
“Time’s up,” Big Brother Huang said.
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai gazed at him in puzzlement.
Big Brother Huang went on to say, “You said that we’d be Big Brother and Big Sister for one day. Time’s up.”
[One day has passed…] Yang Kai felt that time went by too quickly.
Big Sister Lan turned to look at Yang Kai, “What do you say today?”
Yang Kai pursed his lips and asked probingly, “Why don’t we keep doing it? I’m fine with being the Little Brother. You can still be the Big Brother and Big Sister.”
Big Brother Huang shook his head, “That won’t be interesting.”
[Why wouldn’t it be interesting? It’s very interesting!]
Despite the fury in Yang Kai’s heart, he wouldn’t dare to object out loud. These children were just like irritable cats, so they had to be placated.
As he darted his gaze around, he said cautiously, “Since you find it boring to be Big Brother and Big Sister, why don’t you be Little Brother and Little Sister? I’ll be the Big Brother today.”
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan gazed at him at the same time.
A diffident Yang Kai said, “Well, if you’re not happy with it, just pretend that I’ve never said it.”
All of a sudden, Big Brother Huang nodded, “We can give it a try.”
Big Sister Lan agreed with it as well.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded as he had never expected that his random idea would be feasible. After giving it a thought, he realised that these young kids had never been Big Brother and Big Sister since time immemorial. In the same way, they had never been Little Brother and Little Sister as well. Perhaps they just found the idea novel.
“Big Brother!” Little Brother Huang called out. He found it unfamiliar to call someone in such a way, so he knitted his brows.
On the other hand, Little Sister Lan was more straightforward, “Big Brother!”
Yang Kai suddenly felt that he had taken up a huge responsibility as he sat down with a serious expression and acted like a mature Big Brother. As he gazed at the young kids, he said solemnly, “As Little Brother and Little Sister, you have to treat your Big Brother well.”
Little Brother Huang said doubtfully, “That was not what you said yesterday.”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “What happened yesterday is different from what’s going on today. You were Big Brother and Big Sister yesterday, but you’re Little Brother and Little Sister today. Don’t you agree?”
Little Brother Huang fell into his thoughts as he felt that there was something off about it, but he couldn’t quite figure it out.
Meanwhile, Little Sister Lan got his hint as she drew a Yellow Crystal and pushed it towards Yang Kai before looking smilingly at him.
“That’s very kind of you, Little Sister Lan. You’re the best Little Sister in the world,” Yang Kai stored the Yellow Crystal and gently patted her head.
It took Yang Kai only one day to grasp how to fan the flames and sow discord between the two.
As expected, Little Brother Huang wouldn’t want to appear inferior as he pushed a Blue Crystal towards Yang Kai.
There was an amiable smile on Yang Kai’s face as he said, “You’re the best Little Brother in the world, Little Brother Huang!”
He also patted the young boy’s head. Little Brother Huang found it awkward, but he suppressed his urge to dodge the touch.
Although the situation was different from the day before, the outcome was the same.
More and more Yellow and Blue Crystals were presented to Yang Kai, who was more than happy to keep all of them.
The two mountains of materials in his Small Universe became increasingly higher.
He had to be bossed around since he was the Little Brother the day before. Now that he was the Big Brother, he decided to come up with a demand.
As he stored the Blue Crystal sent to him by Little Brother Huang, he looked fervently at a mineral lode that was hundreds of kilometres away. In a hopeful tone, he said, “That thing is very beautiful. I’ll be satisfied if I can get that.”
Little Brother Huang and Little Sister Lan turned their heads and extended their hands at the same time. The next moment, the mineral lode split into two and landed in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai could barely contain his excitement, “You’re my good Little Brother and Little Sister!”
It had been a few years since Yang Kai entered the Chaotic Dead Territory alongside Giant Spirit God Ah Er, and he had obtained a crystal vein before, but that one was only several dozen metres long.
However, the one captured by Little Brother Huang and Little Sister Lan was several kilometres long, and it exuded energy fluctuations in the Seventh Order.
Yang Kai felt his heart pounding against his chest. While complimenting the Little Brother and Little Sister, he quickly put the crystal vein, which had been split into two, inside his Small Universe.
It was comprised of Seventh-Order Yin Element materials. Among all the materials of different Orders, the Seventh-Order ones had the most use for him.
Following such an experience, Yang Kai would give them a hint whenever a crystal vein came into his sight. The next moment, the crystal vein would appear right in front of him.
w
The massive rewards far exceeded his imagination.
The Proprietress had said in the past that the Chaotic Dead Territory was filled with Yin and Yang Element materials, but who could have thought that they were really so ample?
As time passed, Yang Kai would gain a lot of materials. He didn’t need to do anything else other than exhausting himself from all the talking.
With that said, it wasn’t a big deal for him as he could always wet his throat by consuming some spirit fruits. There were a lot of spirit fruits in the medicine garden in his Small Universe. These spirit fruits were no longer useful for him in terms of cultivation, but he could consume them to moisturise his throat.
He initially thought that these kind of shameless days could go on forever, and he was ready for a prolonged coaxing session with these two.
However, there came a day when Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan suddenly started arguing over a trivial matter. The cause of the argument was negligible, but they were used to bickering with each other and the slightest conflict could turn into a big fight.
With his forehead beaded with cold sweat, Yang Kai persuaded them to stop arguing as he was worried that they would really get into a fight. Nevertheless, neither of them bothered to respond to him.
Half a day later, they suddenly stopped talking at the same time.
Big Brother Huang said, “It’s boring.”
Big Sister Lan nodded, “It’s indeed boring.”
A weary Big Brother Huang said, “We should stop playing this game.”
Yang Kai put on a smile on the side, “Let’s stop fighting. We’re one family, so what’s the point of bickering with each other? Come on, it’s my turn to be the Big Brother today.”
Big Sister Lan shot him a glance, “Do you still want to be the Big Brother?”
Yang Kai became startled for a moment, “Yes, it’s my turn.”
Big Brother Huang snorted, “Aren’t you satisfied with having gained so many benefits after such a long time?”
There was an embarrassed smile on Yang Kai’s face as he thought that these young kids were not so dumb after all. They played along previously because they found the whole experience novel. Since the sense of novelty was gone now, it was expected that they found the game boring.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had amassed a lot of materials over the past few days as Yin and Yang Element materials of different Orders had been stacked like two huge mountains in his Small Universe. They were sufficient for the cultivators in Void Land to use for tens of thousands of years, or perhaps even longer.
“What should we do now, then?” Yang Kai asked. Since they couldn’t keep playing the ‘game’, it wasn’t like they would just sit there and do nothing.
“We’re supposed to ask you this question instead.” Big Brother Huang looked dispassionately at him, “Tell us which one of us would be the Big Brother or Big Sister. If I’m pleased with your answer, you can leave this place with all the things you’ve obtained. However, if I’m not happy with your answer, I won’t kill you, but you have to leave all those things here and get out of my territory!”
There was no way Yang Kai would cough out the food he had already eaten, especially when what he had eaten was worth so much. His figure shook as he almost spurted out that the young boy was the Big Brother.
Fortunately, he caught himself in time as he finally recalled that Big Sister Lan was standing right in front of him too.
As expected, Big Sister Lan said, “I share the same sentiment.”
And so, it all went back to square one. Although they had previously become the Big Brother and Big Sister in the game, their Little Brother was Yang Kai. It was never determined who the Big Brother or Big Sister would be among the two of them. This was the point they had been arguing over since time immemorial, and it couldn’t be resolved with a silly little game.
Yang Kai furrowed his brows with a solemn expression.
This was a question that had no answer. Regardless of what he said, he would offend one of these two beings who he could not possibly afford to offend. Although his life wasn’t at stake now, the immense wealth he had obtained might be confiscated, which was why he had to give it a serious thought.
It wouldn’t have mattered if he had never acquired those treasures, but it would be heart-wrenching for him if he lost them now.
Half a day later, Yang Kai measured his words and asked, “Why are you asking me this question? Weren’t you in a fight before this? The winner will be the elder one, then.”
Big Brother Huang shook his head, “Neither of us will be the winner. Our powers are equally matched, so we can’t defeat each other.”
Yang Kai had the urge to ask them why they still started this massive fight that spanned across countless eons and destroyed innumerable Great Territories since they knew no one would be the winner.
Certainly, he wouldn’t dare to actually ask this question though as he was worried that they would get mad at him and slap him to death.
Presently, Yang Kai was in a deep dilemma. In this situation, if he couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer, all his gains would be snatched from him. This was an intolerable outcome for him.
[Is there a way that can satisfy both of them?]
Faced with the immense pressure, Yang Kai suddenly had an idea flash across his mind. Nevertheless, he wasn’t certain if this idea would work.
He looked up at the two of them and said, “Will you be happy if I have a way to make sure that one of you will eventually become the winner? By then, the winner will take all, and the loser can’t blame their loss on me.”
Big Sister Lan’s eyes brightened as she asked, “You have a way to make sure that one of us will eventually be the winner in our competition?”
On the other hand, there was a look of disdain on Big Brother Huang’s face, “That’s impossible. You’re not powerful enough to affect the outcome of our fight.”
Yang Kai put on a meaningful and inscrutable smile as he replied, “Since your powers are equally matched, there certainly wouldn’t be a winner between the two of you, but what if the two of you fought in a different way?”
Big Sister Lan tilted her head and asked, “What do you mean by a different way?”
Big Brother Huang gazed vigilantly at him, “What are you up to?”
Yang Kai snapped, “Are you saying that I’m up to no good? I’ve exhausted myself just to come up with a way to resolve the conflict between you two. If you have any doubts, just pretend that I’ve said nothing! Keep on fighting and let’s see whether one of you will be the winner in the end.”
Seeing that Yang Kai appeared righteous, Big Brother Huang felt apologetic as he thought that he had gotten him wrong.
He then raised his hand and summoned a 300-metre-long Blue Crystal vein before tossing it at Yang Kai. After that, he looked away and fell silent.
Yang Kai was startled for a moment before he quickly stored the Blue Crystal vein inside his Small Universe. He then nodded at Big Brother Huang, “Please don’t blame me for being rude just now, Big Brother!”
Big Brother Huang grunted in a muffled voice.
Meanwhile, Big Sister Lan’s interest had been piqued, “What’s your solution? Tell us about it.”
“Alright, it’s like this,” Yang Kai explained, “Since your powers came from the same source, and there’s no way for either of you to defeat the other in battle, why don’t you have others fight on your behalf? In that case, it could prevent you two from having to fight directly, and the issue would be solved peacefully. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.”
Worried that he hadn’t made himself clear, he decided to give them an example, “Similar situations have happened in the past. Sometimes, two top cultivators become arch-enemies, but despite countless battles between them, neither side manages to defeat the other. Realizing that the matter won’t be settled before their predestined time of death, they both understood that they would pass on with deep regrets as there still would be no winner. In the end, they decide to respectively take on a Disciple and nurture them with all their ability. When the Disciples grow up, they can have a final battle to settle the issue. One of the Masters will be the winner if their Disciple can defeat the other party’s.”
Big Sister Lan didn’t seem to get the key point as she asked, “You want to be our Disciple?”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “I don’t mind becoming your Disciple, but what can you teach me? The ways we cultivate are different; moreover, I’m the only Human here. Whose Disciple should I become? If I become your Disciple, Big Brother Huang will be displeased. If I become Big Brother Huang’s Disciple, you’ll be upset. By then, you two will get into an argument again.”
Big Sister Lan nodded her head, “Good, I’m glad you realised it.”
Big Brother Huang waved his hand, “Stop beating around the bush. Cut to the chase already.”
Yang Kai nodded and continued, “It was just an example. I didn’t mean to ask you to take on any Disciples. Please come into my Small Unive… Forget it. You can see it for yourselves.”
Yang Kai initially wanted to let them enter his Small Universe, but after giving it a thought, he realised that his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Small Universe certainly wouldn’t be capable of accommodating these two. Perhaps his Small Universe would explode as soon as they stepped into it.
Yang Kai wouldn’t dare to take such a risk, so he decided to manifest his Small Universe instead.
As the Small Universe spread out, it looked no different from a real Universe World. Regardless of how powerful Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were, Yang Kai wouldn’t be affected one bit this way.
A glint flashed through the eyes of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan as though it only took them an instant to understand everything about his Small Universe.
The next moment, their expressions changed as they stared fixedly at a particular spot. Their murderous intent seemed to have materialised as it streamed out of their bodies.
Yang Kai felt like he had fallen right into an ice cave as he had no idea how he offended the two of them. Faced with such murderous intent, he had lost the strength to even lift a finger.
It had to be noted that this place was his Small Universe, and he could rule over everything here; outsiders shouldn’t be able to exert their full strength in this place, but Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s murderous intent alone was enough to render him immoble.
“Where did you get this from?” Big Brother Huang suddenly turned to look at Yang Kai and asked as his yellow eyes radiated a strange glow. There was something as dark as ink that was squirming like a living creature in his hand.
It was the Black Ink Strength!
Quite a bit of Black Ink Strengths had been suppressed and sealed inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe; it had allowed him to successfully deceive Yuan Du from Lang Ya Paradise and gain the latter’s trust in the past.
Big Brother Huang’s reaction surprised Yang Kai as he replied, “I inadvertently obtained this thing a while back. Do you recognise it?”
He supposed it wasn’t surprising that Big Brother Huang could recognise this thing. The Black Ink Clan had existed for a very long time, their history possibly tracing back to before the birth of the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Both Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had similarly existed since the dawn of time.
Perhaps they had even come into contact with the Black Ink Clan in the past.
“It’s not a good thing. Don’t keep it here,” Big Brother Huang said solemnly without directly answering Yang Kai’s question. The next instant, he clenched his fist as the squirming Black Ink Strength dissolved into nothingness.
Following that, he waved his hand as Yang Kai could feel an invisible force sweeping across his Small Universe. The place where the Black Ink Strength had been suppressed and sealed was instantly purified.
All the Black Ink Strength vanished like a puff of smoke.
Seeing this, Yang Kai was absolutely flabbergasted.
There was a World Spring in his Small Universe, so he wasn’t afraid of the Black Ink Strength at all. Since it had been suppressed and sealed, it couldn’t do him any harm. In fact, when he came across a Black Ink Clan member or Black Ink Disciples, he could use it to cover up his identity.
Now that the Black Ink Clan had reappeared, no one could be certain if they would come across them in the future. At the most critical moment, the suppressed Black Ink Strength might save Yang Kai’s life.
However, he had never expected that the Black Ink Strength would be destroyed by Big Brother Huang.
Certainly, Yang Kai knew how difficult it was to deal with the Black Ink Strength. Even High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like Yu Xiang Die didn’t want to come close to the Black Ink Strength as they were worried that their Small Universes would be contaminated by it.
If a person was contaminated by the Black Ink Strength, they would not necessarily be turned into a Black Ink Disciple immediately. However, once that happened, a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master would have to cut off a small part of their Small Universe to resolve the crisis. Doing this would damage their heritage, so no one was willing to have to deal with such a situation.
Black Ink Insects were apparently the main reason cultivators were turned into Black Ink Disciples.
Yang Kai was speechless, thinking that Big Brother Huang should have discussed it with him before destroying the Black Ink Strength. However, faced with the young boy’s grim-looking face, he wouldn’t dare to say anything.
He had a feeling that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were somehow at odds with the Black Ink Strength; otherwise, the young boy wouldn’t have done such a thing.
Fortunately, he still had a Black Ink Insect. Although the Black Ink Strength in his Small Universe was all gone, the Black Ink Insect remained.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were not willing to explain anything to him. After the Black Ink Strength were gone, Big Sister Lan turned to look in a particular direction where the Humans lived, “There are so many people over there. Do you want us to take on Disciples from there?”
After pulling himself together, Yang Kai waved his hand, “Forget about taking on Disciples. It’s not that I want to underestimate you two, but although you’re powerful, I’m afraid that you know nothing about teaching Disciples. Any talented people would have their futures ruined by becoming your Disciples.”
Although Yang Kai’s words were blunt, the two of them didn’t refute him.
He then pointed in a different direction, “Look over there.”
As they turned their heads, the Small Stone Race that had gathered together in different groups came into their sight. The populations of these groups varied greatly. The large ones had more than 100,000 members while the small ones had only several hundred. They were scattered everywhere in the Small Universe and were all busy with their own work.
“What are those? They look strange,” Big Sister Lan asked curiously.
“They’re the Small Stone Race. They behave just like ants.”
“What are ants?” Big Sister Lan gazed at him.
Yang Kai realised that it would be hard to explain things to these two using examples from his life. After giving it a thought, he decided to briefly walk them through the behaviour of the Small Stone Race.
Big Brother Huang nodded, “What do you want us to do, then?”
A high-spirited Yang Kai replied, “It’s easy. You can select two equally matched Stone Kings and choose your own territories. Then, you’ll start nurturing them until the Small Stone Race members are strong enough to battle. After having a fight, it will determine who the winner will be.”
Upon hearing this, Big Brother Huang arched his brow as he fell into his thoughts.
On the other hand, Big Sister Lan said, “I see. This is what you mean by taking on Disciples.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Well, more or less. However, the Small Stone Race have low sentience, so you don’t have to take them as Disciples, nor do you need to teach them anything. You just have to nurture them.”
Big Sister Lan became startled for a moment before clapping her hands, “It’s a great idea. You’re so smart!”
A smiling Yang Kai replied, “Many thanks for the compliment.”
Seeing that her interest had been piqued, he breathed a sigh of relief.
It was wonderful that they were interested in it as he was most worried that they would dismiss the idea. In that case, he would have to consider encouraging them to take on some real Disciples from his Small Universe.
After giving it a thought, he realised these kids were even engrossed in a simple game of calling him Big or Little Brother previously, so nurturing Small Stone Race members to attack each other must be attractive to them as well.
The Small Stone Race innately behaved in this manner. Although their overall population had increased over the years in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, these different groups never stopped attacking one another. Otherwise, there would’ve been more Small Stone Race members in the Small Universe by now.
Yang Kai then turned to look at the young boy, “What do you say?”
Big Brother Huang nodded gently, “Good.”
An elated Yang Kai said, “It’s decided, then. You can choose your territories and Stone Kings now.”
Following that, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan set to work. There were a lot of Small Stone Race members in the Small Universe, along with many Stone Kings. Hence, it wasn’t difficult to choose two equally matched Stone Kings.
With Yang Kai’s assistance, it was also easy for them to select their territories. However, both Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were meticulous in every detail as they were worried that any slight imbalance might affect the outcome of their future battle.
Certainly, Yang Kai would offer them all the help that was needed.
Since the kids were bored with treating Yang Kai like a family member, it was hard for him to get his hands on the Yellow and Blue Crystals in the Chaotic Dead Territory; however, if he could let Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan nurture more Small Stone Race members, it would be a different kind of benefit for him.
After all, it took a massive amount of materials to nurture the Small Stone Race. In the past, Yang Kai had to personally scatter the materials for them, but now he didn’t have to worry about anything.
When Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were done selecting their territories, they picked a spot for their base and started drawing Yin and Yang Element materials to feed the Stone Kings.
Although Yang Kai was heartbroken to see so many precious materials disappear, he decided to put up with it as he thought of the potential benefits these Stone Kings would bring him.
In any case, the used Blue and Yellow Crystals would eventually turn into the capital for Yang Kai’s own growth.
During this period of time, he took a glance at the place where he suppressed and sealed the Black Ink Strength previously. Nevertheless, he was now certain that all of it was cleaned up, with not even a trace left behind.
It was as though Big Brother Huang’s power was the nemesis of the Black Ink Strength.
This made Yang Kai feel melancholic. Back then, there were some Black Ink Disciples in Lang Ya Paradise, but they were all killed after being exposed. That was because those from Lang Ya Paradise believed that once a cultivator was corrupted with the Black Ink, there was no saving them. Black Ink Disciples were and forever would be enemies.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that if they were brought to this place, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan might be able to get rid of the Black Ink Strength in their bodies and help them return to their normal state.
Unfortunately, he could never carry out this kind of experiment.
Not just anyone could enter the Chaotic Dead Territory. If it weren’t because of Ah Er, Yang Kai wouldn’t have had the chance to enter this place either.
Although Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan seemed able to destroy the Black Ink Strength, Yang Kai could never have brought the Black Ink Disciples from Lang Ya Paradise to this place.
It took a long time for the Small Stone Race members to grow to be strong enough to battle, so Yang Kai reckoned that there wouldn’t be any conflicts between Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan for the time being.
With that said, the clashes between the yellow and blue Soul Clones never stopped as they continued hacking each other to death.
Yang Kai even witnessed the colossal yellow and blue lights crashing into one another again, which made him feel doubtful.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were standing inside his Small Universe right now, so what were those giant lights in the distance he had seen? Which ones of them were their true bodies?
Giant Spirit God Ah Er remained sound asleep, as it would take him one to two years to awaken.
Since his Small Universe’s time was accelerated and had its own World Barrier, Yang Kai was practically staying inside a sealed space right now. It was impossible for him to get his hands on the Yellow and Blue Crystals like he had previously done.
Even though he had already obtained a massive amount of materials from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, he wouldn’t mind getting more. While cultivators in the outside world scrambled to get their hands on a single piece of Sixth-Order Yin or Yang Element material, such materials were literally everywhere in the Chaotic Dead Territory. There were even Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order ones just floating about. If possible, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t want to miss such a chance. Unfortunately, he was no longer able to collect those crystals.
As such, he had practically nothing to do.
Left with no other choice, he decided to spend some time comprehending the Great Nothingness Scripture while observing his Third Disciple’s cultivation process.
It was a good idea to let Xu Yi cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture as the boy was now in the Third-Order Transcendent Realm, above which would be the Saint Realm.
Yang Kai would be there to observe Xu Yi every time he achieved a breakthrough, but he had yet to discover anything special.
When he was in front of the stone monument in Lang Ya Paradise previously, Yang Kai felt a hint of Time Principles fluctuating from one of the disciples there when they achieved an ascension.
However, this had never happened to Xu Yi. Yang Kai reckoned that it might have something to do with his weak cultivation. Perhaps he would only find something special when Xu Yi became more powerful.
After the Third-Order Transcendent Realm, Xu Yi would reach the Saint Realm.
This Realm was neither high or low. In some low-end Universe Worlds, the Saint Realm was already the peak of the Martial Dao. Yang Kai’s instincts were telling him though that when his Third Disciple made it to the next Great Realm, there would be some significant change.
With that said, he didn’t intend to help him grow in any way. He just let him cultivate at his own pace.
The Great Nothingness Scripture was a Secret Art that was passed down from ancient times, so there must be some secrets that had been lost to time and had yet to be uncovered. Although the Cave Heavens and Paradises had comprehended part of it, they were only able to make use of the Great Nothingness Scripture to create Small Source Worlds.
One year later, Yang Kai suddenly felt his Small Universe shaking. Upon sensing this, he realised that the Giant Spirit God Ah Er had awakened. The gigantic creature sat down with his legs crossed and spaced out for a few days. When he no longer felt cranky from his nap, he headed to the next destination.
The Small Universe was placed right above Ah Er’s head, and with the Giant Spirit God’s protection, it wouldn’t be harmed at all.
Although only a year had gone by in the outside world, two years had passed in Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
The Small Stone Race members that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had been nurturing were now looking strong.
In fact, they had already exchanged some probing moves, but those were just small fights. As soon as they lost some Small Stone Race members, they would stop the fight.
It wasn’t certain what special skill the two kids had, but the Small Stone Race members, whose sentience was low, would always obediently listen to their commands. However, after taking their background and identity into consideration, Yang Kai soon realised the reason behind it.
These two kids were the Ancestors of all Divine Spirits and could even be considered the origin of all living creatures. It wasn’t surprising that they had a special skill to control these Small Stone Race members.
And so the day came when the Small Stone Race members nurtured by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, respectively, would begin their epic battle.
Both of them were not stingy when it came to nurturing their Small Stone Race members. In any case, there were innumerable materials in the Chaotic Dead Territory, and they could easily draw as many of them over as they wanted in order to feed their army.
They each had one Stone King, initially, but after just two years, they each had 1 million soldiers under their command.
At this moment, the two armies had lined up at the border of their territories, both sides in different formations, but all of them looking fierce and imposing.
The habits and behaviour of the Small Stone Race members were similar to those of ants. Under the Stone Kings, there were guards that were responsible for keeping the territory safe. There were also soldiers that had to invade other territories. Nevertheless, most were just like worker ants.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan each had 1 million soldiers under their command. No Stone King could ever control so many soldiers.
Therefore, they didn’t only have one Stone King, respectively, now. When a group grew to a certain scale, more Stone Kings would be born as they brought parts of the clansmen to other places to build their own nests and reproduce.
Now, they each had more than ten Stone Kings as these 1 million soldiers were divided into more than ten formations, looking truly intimidating.
When Yang Kai arrived at the battlefield, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were shooting each other dismissive glances and exchanging taunts.
This had been their daily life since long ago as they would never stop fighting to become the elder sibling.
Upon Yang Kai’s arrival, they shifted their attention to him and stopped the war of words. A high-spirited Big Brother Huang said, “Take a look at my Small Stone Race. What do you think?”
Yang Kai looked in that direction and nodded gently, “Your army is truly intimidating, and I’m sure they will win almost any battle.”
Upon hearing that, Big Brother Huang appeared smug and looked provocatively at Big Sister Lan.
It was the first time they tried raising Small Stone Race members. Two years had passed, and they found it to be quite interesting, especially when the groups of Small Stone Race members became stronger and more populous by the day. They felt a sense of accomplishment from doing that.
Big Sister Lan came over and asked, “What about mine?”
Yang Kai turned to gaze at the other army and remarked, “Just like tigers, they look mighty and invincible.”
Big Sister Lan said smilingly, “I’ve spent a lot of effort on them. I’ll definitely be the winner this time.”
Big Brother Huang shot her a look of disdain, “I’ve spent more effort on my army than you. There’s no way you’ll win the battle.”
Big Sister Lan snorted, “Enough nonsense, bring it on! Let’s see who will win. If you lose, you have to call me Big Sister.”
A defiant Big Brother Huang refuted, “If you lose, you have to call me Big Brother.”
As their eyes met, there seemed to be a spark lighting up between them. Yang Kai quickly stepped away so that he wouldn’t be harmed.
They turned their heads at the same time and demanded, “You’ll be the judge of this battle!”
“Alright,” Yang Kai solemnly cupped his fist. He had already expected it when he suggested using Small Stone Race members to decide who the winner would be, so he wasn’t surprised when he was asked to be the judge.
“Are you ready?” Yang Kai asked.
Big Brother Huang sneered at his Sister, “Of course I’m ready.”
Big Sister Lan scoffed, “Bring it on!”
“Begin!” Yang Kai announced.
Instantly, like beasts that were released from their cages, the millions of soldiers marched forward from both sides across the plains. Although they had gathered together in formations before the war, there were not really any tactics to speak of when they started fighting.
This was a tangled melee between 2 million Small Stone Race members. The battlefield had descended into chaos as stony limbs were sent flying around in a merciless way.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan didn’t interfere in the war between the Small Stone Race members as they only watched it from the sides. To them, they had already put in their efforts over the past two years, so all they had to do now was wait for the outcome.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel heartbroken as he watched the Small Stone Race members getting slaughtered.
These Small Stone Race members were the capital for him to grow stronger, so he suffered an immense loss when so many of them were killed.
After giving it a thought though, he realised that these 2 million Small Stone Race members had brought a lot of benefits to his Small Universe when they were growing up already and he was unable to stop them from getting killed since it was a fight between Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
However, as more Small Stone Race members were killed, Yang Kai’s expression turned more and more pensive.
That was because he discovered that as a lot of Small Stone Race members were slaughtered, the heritage in his Small Universe actually increased a little. Initially, he thought that it was a misconception, but when 20% of the 2 million Small Stone Race had died, he could finally confirm that it wasn’t just his imagination. The heritage in his Small Universe really was increasing at an increased pace.
It was not a significant increase, only equivalent to a few months of cultivation, but the outcome surprised him greatly.
[What’s going on?]
The reproduction of the living beings in his Small Universe would continuously help increase his heritage. This kind of increase was slow and almost imperceptible. Nevertheless, over time, the increase would be significant.
If two people started out with the same heritages, the difference between them would be conspicuous 1,000 years later when one had living beings in their Small Universe and the other did not.
Yang Kai had always believed that it was an irrefutable fact that the more living beings there were in his Small Universe, the better it would be.
However, it now seemed that he had discovered a truth that he wasn’t aware of in the past.
Soon, a realization dawned upon him.
To be born, to grow old, to get sick, and to die were all parts of the cycle of life.
While the living could continuously bring benefits to his Small Universe, death could do the same the moment they passed away.
In the past, there had never been a time when so many living beings had died at the same time in his Small Universe; therefore, Yang Kai had never realised this point even though he had been raising Small Stone Race members in his body for years.
The fight between Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had accidentally revealed this truth.
This realization was like a bright Moon that cast away the fog that had been bothering him for days. All of a sudden, he thought of the Great Nothingness Scripture.
There were many descriptions of life and death in the Great Nothingness Scripture. Even though Yang Kai had studied these sections, he didn’t really pay any attention to it as it only seemed like common sense. Now, he had a feeling that there was something deeper that was within his grasp.
Perhaps the complete cycle of life and death was the biggest secret that was hidden in the Great Nothingness Scripture.
Although he couldn’t wait to find a quiet place to comprehend the Great Nothingness Scripture again, he couldn’t leave now as the war hadn’t ended.
The tangled warfare between 2 million soldiers persisted for half a month, with 80% of them dying in the process.
As the war unfolded, Big Brother Huang’s expression became increasingly gloomy. That was because his army was now clearly on the losing side. The subtle difference was not conspicuous in the beginning, but as the war dragged on, his disadvantage snowballed into something obvious.
When the war ended, his army was completely wiped out, leaving only the Stone Kings in their nest and a group of Elite Guards. On the other hand, Big Sister Lan still had about 100,000 soldiers under her command.
Big Brother Huang was in a state of utter grief as disbelief was written all over his face and he kept muttering under his breath, “How could this be? How could this be?”
Meanwhile, Big Sister Lan leaped into the air as though she was a child who had just obtained the greatest treasure. She clapped her hands and said with a smile, “I won!”
She then turned to look at Yang Kai with a hopeful gaze.
As the judge of the battle, Yang Kai naturally had to fulfil his responsibility. He pointed at the young girl and announced, “Big Sister Lan is the winner of this battle!”
Although the outcome was right in front of their eyes, it wasn’t until Yang Kai announced it that the war really ended.
A smug Big Sister Lan placed her hands behind her back and sauntered towards her Brother.
Presently, a devastated Big Brother Huang knelt on the ground and looked at the shattered stones on the battlefield with a pair of listless eyes. Unresignment, fury, and humiliation were written all over his face.
Yang Kai was extremely nervous as he was worried that this guy would do something crazy out of shame. It had to be noted that they were now in his Small Universe, so once Big Brother Huang’s power burst forth, his Small Universe wouldn’t be able to bear it and would be destroyed in the blink of an eye.
A speechless Yang Kai thought that Big Brother Huang’s reaction was over the top as it was just a game, but after pondering on it for a moment, he realised that it wasn’t just a battle between two armies. This was about the argument between them that had been going on since the dawn of time itself.
That was the crux of the problem that shattered Big Brother Huang’s psychological defence.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young boy as he silently looked away.
Big Sister Lan looked condescendingly at her Brother with a smug expression as ecstasy was written all over her face. When she realised that there was no reaction from her Brother though, who still appeared dejected, she couldn’t help but land a gentle kick on him and urge him by saying, “Hurry up. My patience is limited.”
In an instant, Big Brother Huang’s face became as red as blood. He repeatedly parted his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
“Are you unwilling to admit defeat?” Big Sister Lan gave him a look of disdain.
“What are you talking about?” Big Brother Huang stood straight up with fury as he clenched his fists to summon his courage. Only after a long silence did he call out with great difficulty, “Big Sister…”
His voice was almost indiscernible.
Big Sister Lan deliberately moved her head closer to him, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
A flushing Big Brother Huang roared, “Big Sister!”
A stunned Big Sister Lan took a few steps away and patted her chest, “Why did you shout at me?”
Hot steam seemed to be billowing from Big Brother Huang’s nostrils as he glared at his Sister. It was as though there was irreconcilable enmity between them as he snarled, “Are you happy now?”
There was a bright smile on Big Sister Lan’s face as she nodded repeatedly, “Of course I’m happy. You’ve finally acknowledged that I’m the Big Sister after so long!”
It was the first time in her life to hear her Brother calling her ‘Big Sister’. Although Yang Kai had called her that many times, she still felt that something was lacking. It was different from the present situation.
She had never been as satisfied as when she heard her Brother say ‘Big Sister’ for the first time. This was a kind of satisfaction that Yang Kai could never give her.
“I will not concede defeat!” Big Brother Huang balled up his fists and said grimly.
Big Sister Lan stopped smiling and gazed at him with a frown, “What do you mean? Are you going back on your word?”
“I want to have another battle with you!” Big Brother Huang said through clenched teeth.
Big Sister Lan batted her eyes, “You have no more Small Stone Race members. How are you going to fight with me again?”
“I still have the Stone Kings. I will rise again!”
“Ha ha ha!” Big Sister Lan scoffed mercilessly, “You only have your Stone Kings, but I still have 100,000 soldiers. As soon as I give the order, your Stone Kings will be killed as well!”
Big Brother Huang’s face turned a shade redder, but there was nothing he could do.
Just then, Big Sister Lan said, “As your Big Sister, I will be generous and give you a chance. Go back and nurture a new army. When you’re ready, I’ll teach you another lesson.”