Li Rong’s brow furrowed slightly as she asked, “What kind of Demon characters were they?”
“Something like this…” Great Senior said as he moved his power to his fingertip and portrayed the characters on the table in front of him.
A moment later, a few profound and complicated lines of text were written on the table, shining brightly.
Yang Kai studied these characters for a moment and discovered that they had a kind of unique rhythm and pattern to them but were unlike anything he had ever seen before. Helpless, he could only turn to Li Rong.
Li Rong stared at these words for a moment before speaking in a dignified tone, “These are indeed Demon characters, a very ancient script at that.”
“What do they mean?” Great Senior saw that she recognized this language and couldn’t help asking enthusiastically.
“It’s similar to a sign a Sect would put up in front of one of its restricted areas, it literally means ‘warning, those who enter will die!’”
Great Senior gently nodded, seemingly agreeing with this explanation.
“Since these are ancient Demon characters, shouldn’t they only exist in a place where the Demon Race lives? Why could they appear in the Monster Domain?” Yang Kai frowned, not quite understanding.
Great Senior chuckled, “In the past, the Demon Land was much larger than it is today. Much of the current Monster Domain and your Human Territory used to belong to the Demon Race, but after the Great Demon God left, the Demon Race was gradually forced to surrender a lot of their territory and retreat until all that was left is the current Demon Land.”
“So it’s like that…” Yang Kai nodded.
“Although I don’t know which Demon Race force the ruins inside that Void Corridor belong to, without a doubt it was an extremely powerful one. The one who wrote these words was a top-class master, even Old Ox and I could feel a thick murderous intent from them when we read them. That was a murderous intent that had not faded even after thousands of years!”
Yang Kai paled, “Since it is so dangerous, why do you insist on exploring it?”
“If such a strange phenomenon appeared inside your Nine Heavens Holy Land’s territory, wouldn’t you investigate it?” Great Senior replied.
Yang Kai thought about it for a moment before nodding, “Yes!”
Even if he didn’t explore the mysteries inside it, at the very least, he would have to make sure it wouldn’t bring harm to his Sect or his disciples.
“Exactly, the Monster Domain isn’t that large, and that Void Corridor actually appeared right between Old Ox and my territories. If some kind of accident occurred because of it, we might have to give up the Beast Sea Jungle and retreat to other places, shrinking our already small living space,” Great Senior explained before turning his eyes towards Li Rong, “Therefore, This King wished to ask this Lady to join our next expedition. Would you be willing?”
“You’ll have to ask Master,” Li Rong smiled, “I don’t have the authority to accept your request.”
Great Senior immediately turned his attention to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Even two Monster Race Great Senior’s feel that place is dangerous, obviously it’s not somewhere to be stepped into lightly! This Junior is weak, I’m afraid if I went I would only end up dead.”
Great Senior couldn’t help rolling his eyes, “I never asked you to come along, I only want the lady behind you to come with us. You can stay here in Thunder Tree Palace, I’ll make sure my clan entertains you well. If you don’t want to remain, you can always return to Nine Heavens Holy Land now, no one will stop you.”
“What are you talking about?” Yang Kai grinned, “Li Rong came out with me, naturally we have to go back together.”
“Why you little brat…” Great Senior grumbled, helplessly sighing, “Speak, what are your conditions? You’re really not willing to let off even the slightest bit of opportunity!”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Your Monster Race’s territory is quite barren. Besides some rare spirit grasses and spirit medicines, there’s nothing worth talking about, and right now I don’t even lack spirit herbs.”
Seeing Yang Kai look like he was getting ready to shave off the biggest piece of meat he could, Great Senior felt both frustrated and helpless as he sat on edge, wondering just what kind of excessive demand this greedy human boy would propose. Turning towards Li Rong, he half desperately made an appeal, “Do you not want to go in?”
Li Rong pursed her lips and softly declared, “I’ll follow Master’s decision.”
Yang Kai gave her a deep look before nodding lightly, “Then you can go.”
He could tell that Li Rong was quite concerned about these ancient Demon characters and wanted to explore whatever mysteries were hidden beyond them.
Naturally, he had no intention to stop her.
“What are your conditions?” Great Senior asked anxiously.
“If I said there are no conditions, would you believe me?”
Great Senior shook his head decisively.
“Alright then,” Yang Kai frowned and thought for a moment before suddenly wearing a big smile and glancing towards Cai Die who was standing behind Great Senior and said, “Then I want a smile from her.”
Cai Die was stunned for an instant but soon a bone-chilling light flashed across her beautiful eyes as she directed a piercing glare towards Yang Kai.
“Why you…” Great Senior was speechless, not sure what he should do next.
“Hahaha, just a little joke. Ms Cai Die doesn’t have to take it so seriously,” Yang Kai stood up, “Since we’re going, hurry up and lead the way. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can settle things.”
Seeing that he really didn’t want to ask for more, Great Senior seemed quite surprised and his evaluation of Yang Kai rose a few points.
“Good, then let’s go!” Great Senior also stood up, releasing his Monster Qi to wrap up Yang Kai before flying off with him, Li Rong hurried to keep up while Cai Die stood there for a moment directing her frigid glare towards Yang Kai’s back before also reluctantly following.
“Boy, don’t tease Cai Die so much, or she’ll really snap at you,” As he was speeding along, Great Senior whispered.
Yang Kai grinned helplessly as he nodded, “I get that, the murderous intent behind me is hard to ignore.”
“Serves you right,” Great Senior grinned, taking pleasure in his misfortune for a moment before sighing, “There are sometimes even this King has no way to handle her. In this King’s impression, it’s difficult to recall if she has ever smiled.”
“How can you stand being around such an ice woman?”
“It’s you who are too weird, receiving such loyalty from your subordinates,” Great Senior spoke, intentionally or unconsciously glancing towards Li Rong.
A Second-Order Saint Realm master docilely taking orders from a Third Order Transcendent Realm boy, Great Senior really couldn’t figure out how it was possible.
“Hmph, what do you know? Naturally, I conquered them with my own charisma,” Yang Kai spat disdainfully.
“Shameless boasting!” Great Senior laughed.
As he interacted more with Yang Kai, Great Senior found that this little brat was essentially the exact opposite of the old Holy Master’s in terms of personality, and although he was always somewhat unreasonable and difficult to handle, when he was around Yang Kai, Great Senior couldn’t help feeling a bit younger.
Time passed slowly. Yang Kai allowed Great Senior to carry him along, as if he was too lazy to use his own strength to fly.
However, as they approached their destination, the strange aura flowing through the air became more and more obvious.
It was the aura of The Void!
The Void Energy that was leaking out seemed to be affecting the entire Beast Sea Jungle, causing Yang Kai to wonder just how massive this Void Corridor was to be able to cause such a pervasive change.
There was nothing of note along the way, but after three days, a small, narrow crack on the horizon appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision.
When he saw this dark crack, Yang Kai’s face changed suddenly as he shouted, “Is that the entrance to the Void Corridor?”
“Yes, that’s the entrance!”
“So big?” Yang Kai exclaimed.
Although he couldn’t judge its size precisely from his current position, Yang Kai estimated that the thin crack in the distance was actually at least a thousand metres in length. Rather than an entrance to the Void, it looked more like someone had torn the entire sky apart.
Moreover, this crack was clearly unstable, twisting and distorting as it spewed out random Void Energy fluctuations, folding in on itself repeatedly as if one moment it would collapse only to rapidly expand in the next.
There was a group of Monster Race masters standing by about ten kilometres from the void crack.
Great Senior flew straight over with Yang Kai.
Noticing the aura of Great Senior, a particularly burly man opened his closed eyes and turned to stare at him.
A moment later, the burly man shouted, “Thunder Dragon, why did you take so long? This Old Ox was growing impatient.”
Great Senior smiled lightly, “It took some time to find someone who can help us. On top of that, it’s only been seven or eight days, what’s there to be so anxious about?”
As the two spoke, the group of four landed.
Yang Kai looked at the man who had just been yelling and couldn’t help feeling his heart clench slightly, realizing this man was another Great Senior of the Monster Race, Earth Splitting Divine Ox!
Like most Monster Race masters, even in human form, he still retained some of his Beast Form’s features, the two dark red horns extending from the sides of his head exuding a faint energy fluctuation.
Yang Kai had no doubt that these two horns were no less sturdy or sharp than a top-grade artifact.
Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s dress was much rougher than Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon’s, a few pieces of animal skins covering his body with his thick legs and arms almost completely exposed to the air.
“Are these the helpers you went to look for?” Old Ox squinted his eyes as he stared back and forth between Yang Kai and Li Rong, faintly nodding, “This woman is alright, but what is this kid doing here?”
Pointing one of his thick fingers towards Yang Kai, he couldn’t help saying, “A brat that hasn’t even reached the Saint Realm yet, did you bring him here just to die?”
It was clear he was looking down on Yang Kai, as if he was some fly he could swat with a single slap, causing Li Rong’s expression to become cold as she directed an unfriendly glare towards Earth Splitting Divine Ox.
Anyone who dares say such words to Yang Kai, Li Rong would not give any face to, if not for her having scruples about Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon being here, Li Rong would have already attacked.
Yang Kai just smiled lightly, his expression remaining unchanged.
Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon didn’t show any intention to mediate the situation, simply smiling as he said, “He really hasn’t reached the Saint Realm yet, but if you look carefully, perhaps you’ll discover something interesting.”
“Something interesting?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox frowned, stroking his chin as he swept his eyes over Yang Kai unceremoniously, soon releasing his Divine Sense to probe the Human boy in front of him.
Suddenly, his face changed as he stepped back unconsciously, his eyes overflowing with shock, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Did you notice it?” Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon chuckled.
“Who is he? Why does he possess such pure Monster Qi?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox muttered.
The Monster Qi coming from Yang Kai was faint, almost imperceptible, but it had an incomparable purity, surpassing even his and Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon’s!
The presence of such pure Monster Qi indicated an incredibly noble bloodline from a peak lineage.
But there was no doubt Yang Kai was human, greatly confusing Earth Splitting Divine Ox.
“I don’t understand as well.” Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon shrugged his shoulders, “It might be related to the Beast Soul Skill he cultivated.”
Before, Great Senior really had no clue as to why Yang Kai possessed Monster Qi, but a few days ago, when he saw him display his Beast Soul Skill, he finally found a reasonable explanation.
However, whether this was the actual reason or not, Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon wasn’t sure.
“Beast Soul Skill? What kind of Beast Soul Skill?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox asked, “Let this Old Ox take a look.”
He completely didn’t treat Yang Kai like an outsider; apparently, his character was quite open-minded. Yang Kai smiled lightly and didn’t decline, immediately executing his White Tiger Seal and Divine Ox Seal.
After seeing the mighty White Tiger and Divine Ox phantoms, this Monster Race Great Senior’s eyes bulged as a look of excitement filled his face.
Now that the Divine Ox Seal had appeared, Old Ox could clearly feel the aura of his ancestor from Yang Kai’s Beast Soul Skill. Naturally, he was very excited.
Wrapping his hand around Yang Kai’s shoulder, Earth Splitting Divine Ox patted his back firmly in a friendly manner, “Little friend, when you have time, you must come to visit this Old Ox’s territory so we chat.”
Yang Kai almost spat blood from how hard his back was patted.
Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon grinned deeply as he said, “His Beast Soul Skill truly contains the remnant will of your ancestor, so if you carefully observe and emulate it, you indeed might gain some unexpected harvest; however, this little brat is always concerned about profits so Old Ox, you best be ready to lose a pound of flesh, hahaha!”
Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s face immediately went black as he muttered a few curses under his breath before releasing Yang Kai.
Listening to Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon’s words, Yang Kai finally understood why this other Great Senior’s attitude had suddenly changed so dramatically, even wanting to become friends with a human was a ploy to dig up his ancestral inheritance from Yang Kai’s Beast Soul Skill.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior deliberately speaking out like that was obviously to remind Yang Kai not to be taken advantage of.
“Alright, enough idle chit-chat. Whatever deal you want to strike can be worked out after we finish this matter,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior said, putting on a serious expression as he continued, “Old Ox, let me introduce you, this kid is the one I told you about before, the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai!”
“Oh? So you’re the new Holy Master,” Hearing this, Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s expression also became a little more serious as he took another look at Yang Kai.
“The lady next to him is his subordinate, Demon Race’s Li Rong. This time we’ll have to rely on her strength to resolve the mysteries of this place. Old Ox, when we enter this time don’t act recklessly.”
“I know,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox nodded firmly.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior then turned to look at Yang Kai again and solemnly asked, “Kid, are you sure you want to enter along with us? There’s no way of knowing what is waiting inside and there may very well be life-threatening dangers and crisis. If you find yourself in mortal danger, neither I nor Old Ox may not be able to save you, at that time, you’ll only drag this lady beside you down with you, possibly dooming you both.”
“Please feel relieved, Great Senior. I will take care of myself, there’s no need to concern yourselves with me.”
Thunder Dragon frowned upon seeing Yang Kai still insist on tagging along, but after a moment of thought he simply sighed and no longer tried to persuade him, “So be it.”
Closing his mouth, Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox both turned to stare at the void crack ten kilometres away, their eyes narrowing as they searched for a suitable opportunity to enter it.
This thousand-meter long void crack was like a great beast’s open mouth, twisting and turning while sending out unstable energy fluctuations, if they didn’t choose the right time to enter it, they would only be bringing harm to themselves.
Yang Kai quietly released his Divine Sense towards the void crack, attempting to probe what was inside it.
Unlike the two Monster Race Great Seniors, Yang Kai had a deep understanding of the mysteries of space, was able to tear space himself, and had even spent a long time immersed in the turbulent Void.
Soon, Yang Kai was surprised to discover that just inside the void crack, there were traces of void turbulence; it was because of these turbulences that the Void Corridor’s entrance had become so unstable.
Using his Divine Sense like a giant hand, Yang Kai gently smoothed out these turbulences, gradually allowing the fluctuating void cracks to stabilize.
Seeing this, Thunder Dragon’s eyes lit up and he immediately shouted, “Go!”
As he shouted, his figure flew towards the void crack.
The others hurriedly followed.
A few breaths later, the group of six dove into the void crack.
Of these six, besides Yang Kai who was a Third Order Transcendent, the remaining five were all Saints.
The two Monster Race Great Seniors each brought a Second-Order Saint Realm subordinate and Yang Kai brought Li Rong.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior was followed by Cai Die while Earth Splitting Divine Ox was followed by a Monster Race master named Jin Ni. Yang Kai guessed that Jin Ni’s Beast Form was that of a Nine Nether Golden Beast, a Monster Beast known for its ability to pierce even the toughest of defences with its claws.
This lineup was incredibly strong, so it was obvious at a glance just how much importance the two Great Seniors placed on this matter.
After leaping into the Void Corridor, the group immediately found themselves surrounded by darkness. Sending out their Divine Senses, everyone felt like they had fallen into a muddy swamp, greatly hindering their forward momentum as if they were constantly being sucked down into a mire.
Chaotic energy fluctuations surrounded them, pressing down on them like a mountain.
After entering this place, all the Saints began circulating their strength to withstand the external pressure.
Only Yang Kai appeared carefree as he strolled about, as if he wasn’t affected by this environment in the slightest.
This was because he discovered that this place was exactly the same as the Void he would enter every time he tore space.
Yang Kai had spent a great deal of time in this environment so he was far more familiar with how to handle it than anyone else in this group.
“Old Ox, do you remember which direction we went after we entered last time?” Standing still, Thunder Dragon Great Senior didn’t dare act rashly and asked.
“Even if you ask me, how the hell am I suppose to know? There’s nothing here to use as a reference, even this Old Ox is completely helpless,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox flatly declared.
“Cai Die, Jin Ni, what about you two? Can you remember anything?” Thunder Dragon asked the other two.
Both of them quickly shook their heads, indicating they were also lost.
“Space here is quite chaotic. Even if you remember what direction you went last time, it isn’t necessarily the correct direction now,” As everyone was worried about what to do, Yang Kai suddenly spoke.
Hearing this, Thunder Dragon’s heart sank. The last time they had come here, there was a bright light in the distance which they had been able to move towards, entering a strange space after they arrived at it.
He had thought that this time would be the same, but the reality was completely different from his expectations.
Just after entering this void crack, they had already encountered a problem, causing the faces of Thunder Dragon and Divine Ox to twist, thinking to themselves that this exploration would be fraught with even more crises than they imagined.
“Follow me!” Yang Kai suddenly stepped forward and beckoned to everyone while walking in a certain direction.
Li Rong said nothing and immediately followed, using her Demonic Qi to shield Yang Kai in order to guarantee his safety.
The four Monster Race masters were dumbstruck as the stood in place, not sure whether they could believe and follow Yang Kai or not.
“What should we do?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox turned to Thunder Dragon and asked, “You brought him, so whether we follow or not I’ll leave up to you. If not, we should still be able to leave this place.”
Thunder Dragon Great Senior’s expression hardened as he hesitated to make a decision.
He didn’t know where Yang Kai was getting all his confidence from, picking a direction and walking off like that. Just like Yang Kai had said, space here was very chaotic, so if they couldn’t find an exit, they may find themselves trapped here, unable to escape for the rest of their lives.
“Say something!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox apparently didn’t have much patience, so seeing Thunder Dragon unable to make a decision, he couldn’t help shouting.
“Follow him!” Thunder Dragon Great Senior grit his teeth and said, “That kid seems quite confident about this so he must have discovered something.”
Saying so, he and Cai Die chased after Yang Kai.
Earth Splitting Divine Ox snorted, hesitated for a moment, and then followed after them while shouting, “Damn it, if I die this time, it’s all your fault Thunder Dragon you bastard!”
Yang Kai and Li Rong, who were leading the way, had deliberately slowed their pace so it only took a moment for the two Monster Race Great Seniors and their subordinates to catch up.
“Kid, what kind of confidence do you have here? You’re not leading us into a dead-end are you?” Thunder Dragon asked without hesitation.
“Haha, I’m just trying my luck,” Yang Kai replied with a smile.
Thunder Dragon’s face went black, feeling like he had just been swindled, his guts turning green from regret.
However, now that things had gotten to this point, it was impossible to return the way they came as space here was too twisted and difficult to navigate.
His spirit slumping, he had no choice but to follow after Yang Kai while preparing for the worst.
But soon, he discovered something odd. Space here was very chaotic as if it had been shattered and was now overlapping and folding in on itself as strange turbulence swirled about.
However, wherever Yang Kai passed, all the chaotic energy in the surroundings would become calm, allowing the group of six to advance as if they were walking on flat ground, no longer feeling like they were stepping through a swamp.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior’s eyes couldn’t help glowing, thinking that Yang Kai wasn’t just trying his luck but instead was truly confident about which direction to go.
How did he understand this though? Inside this chaotic space, even the five Saints were completely helpless. What kind of mysterious skill did this Third Order Transcendent kid posses that allowed him to navigate it?
Behind Yang Kai, through the faint light Li Rong was generating, the more Thunder Dragon observed him and more assured in his conclusion he became.
After half an hour, Yang Kai suddenly came to a stop and turned towards a certain spot.
“What happened?” Thunder Dragon’s heart tightened once more as he asked.
“Is he one of your Monster Race’s people?” Yang Kai pointed to the side.
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed and saw a broken corpse with a great deal of flesh and blood, as if it had been chopped into a million pieces, scattered about inside one of the turbulent flows.
A faint bloody smell reached each of their noses.
“It’s one of my subordinates!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox said gloomily, “The last time we came here, both Thunder Dragon and I brought a number of our subordinates with us, but some of them got swept away in the strange turbulence and disappeared.”
“But how come their bodies appeared here?” Thunder Dragon looked puzzled.
“As I said before, space here is very chaotic. Even the entrance is constantly shifting. It may seem like we entered from the same place, but that’s wrong,” Yang Kai faintly explained, “The position you all entered last time is probably somewhere around here.”
Hearing this, Earth Splitting Divine Ox couldn’t help but ask, “Does that mean the exit is also nearby?”
“It should be.” Yang Kai nodded.
Everyone looked around but couldn’t find anything that resembled the bright entrance from last time, yet just as they began to suspect the authenticity of Yang Kai’s claims, the latter called out, “It’s this way!”
Saying so, he changed his direction once more and walked off.
“Thunder Dragon, this kid looks quite relaxed. Has he been here before?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox quietly asked.
“I don’t know,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior slowly shook his head, “In any case, we should follow him for now. Originally I thought bringing him along would be a burden, but now we’re actually having to rely on his strength. It’s really quite interesting…”
“Could it just be a blind cat hitting a dead mouse?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox wondered out loud.
Thunder Dragon glanced over at him but didn’t say anything, instead turning to quickly follow after Yang Kai.
He had noticed that while the places Yang Kai stepped became smooth and free of turbulence, if he waited too long that sense of smoothness would collapse. If they didn’t follow closely after Yang Kai, they would have to use their own strength to resist the strange pressure around them instead.
Feeling the turbulent flow that seemed like it was just waiting for a chance to tear them apart, none of them dared take it lightly.
Half an hour later, a faint ray of light suddenly appeared in front of the group.
“It’s the exit!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox cheered, hurriedly sprinting ahead past Yang Kai and leaping into the light, disappearing in the next instant.
After him, Thunder Dragon Great Senior and Cai Die also rapidly moved towards the exit.
Yang Kai still maintained his original pace together with Li Rong. After arriving at the exit, he quickly confirmed the other side didn’t have any danger before stepping through.
A blinding light stole his vision for a moment but after his eyes adjusted, Yang Kai saw a strange space spread out before him.
There were no sun, moon, or stars up above, just a thick, chaotic swirl of energy with the occasional black clouds drifting back and forth erratically. Every now and then a bolt of black energy would flicker across the sky.
This was actually quite standard for a Mysterious Small World.
However, Yang Kai couldn’t help knitting his brow as he felt that this Mysterious Small World was somehow subtly different from any of the others he had encountered before.
The four Monster Race masters who had entered slightly earlier were waiting for Yang Kai and Li Rong to arrive safely before they took back their gazes from the entrance to The Void.
Standing inside this Mysterious Small World, Yang Kai swept his eyes around, his brow furrowing even deeper as he did so.
He quickly discovered that this place was extremely barren, without the slightest trace of vitality, as if this entire Mysterious Small World was a desolate wasteland.
Looking around, all Yang Kai could see was a grey desert, while his Divine Sense seemed to be restricted by some invisible force, unable to spread out too far.
“Be careful, this place is quite strange. The last time Old Ox and I arrived here we only managed to explore about ten kilometres before we were forced to withdraw,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior warned.
Yang Kai nodded. There was no need to remind him, in such a strange environment there was no way he wouldn’t remain vigilant.
“Over there was where the Demon characters were engraved,” Thunder Dragon pointed to the road ahead, his expression showing a trace of dread, “But I advise you to only glance at it, don’t stare for too long otherwise you might die!”
Yang Kai was shocked, turning his head in the direction that was pointed out only to see a large stone pillar. This stone pillar seemed to have been placed here for many years, its surface worn down by time as it seemed a bit fail and rickety.
This stone pillar was made of ordinary stone that could be found anywhere.
But the few Demon characters engraved on it revealed a thick murderous intent.
When Yang Kai looked at these words, he clearly felt that cold murderous intent, causing a chill to grip his heart.
These Demon characters appeared vigorous and powerful; at first glance it was obvious they were left behind by a powerful master.
However, the faint aura that appeared around was what truly caught Yang Kai’s attention, causing him to stare at it for a while.
After only a few breaths of time, the profound Demon characters, as if coming to live, began to transform into a sharp blade that leapt off the stone pillar and flew towards Yang Kai’s eyes.
“Kid, you court death!” Thunder Dragon Great Senior shouted as he hurriedly pulled Yang Kai away, stepping forward to take his place as he rapidly pushed his Spiritual Energy. At that instant, a huge yet silent explosion took place, forcing Great Senior back several steps, his expression extremely solemn.
“Kid, didn’t I just tell you not to stare for too long?” Thunder Dragon scolded strongly.
Yang Kai knew that just now was his mistake so he didn’t say anything back, simply letting out a hollow laugh before turning to face Li Rong, the two of them both seeing the look of surprise in each other’s eyes.
Although these Demon characters had obviously been written countless years ago, there was still a faint aura remaining around them, and that faint aura belonged to Great Demon God!
Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox obviously would not recognize this, but there was no way Yang Kai and Li Rong didn’t.
Moreover, a mere set of words left behind countless years ago being able to make two Monster Race Great Seniors act so cautiously, in this world, besides Great Demon God, it was likely no one else could accomplish such a feat.
These words were definitely left behind by Great Demon God! Yang Kai was instantly able to affirm this point.
Being able to see the original writings of Great Demon God in this lifetime came as a great surprise to Yang Kai, but what concerned him more was why Great Demon God had left such a warning here?
Yang Kai suddenly thought that his insisting on coming along this time was truly the right choice.
Perhaps he would be able to harvest some unexpected gains.
Li Rong’s expression also filled with anticipation; obviously she too had become interested in the mysteries of this place.
“Don’t stare at it again,” Thunder Dragon said solemnly. Seeing Yang Kai’s somewhat reserved behaviour and thinking he had learned his lesson he quickly added, “The murderous intent contained in those words is something even Old Ox and I don’t dare to disregard. With your Third-Order Transcendent cultivation, if you get hit by it, you’ll definitely die!”
“En, I know,” Yang Kai nodded.
“I really wonder which profound master left these writings here. His methods are simply astonishing,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox spoke fervently.
“Although this King can’t say for certain, he is no doubt a Demon Race master of the highest order, quite possibly the legendary Great Demon God himself,” Thunder Dragon frowned and boldly guessed.
Though a casual remark, he was unaware that his guess was absolutely correct.
“Let’s move on and see what mysteries are hidden up ahead,” Thunder Dragon waved his hand as he volunteered to lead the way.
The last time he and Earth Splitting Divine Ox came to this place, after passing this stone pillar, they only advanced about ten kilometres before they encountered some profound dangers and decided to temporarily withdraw.
Remembering that there were a number of powerful Demon Race masters around Yang Kai, Thunder Dragon Great Senior had sent Cai Die to invite him.
One more Saint Realm master may not completely eliminate the danger in this place, but if they were to encounter any other Demon writings they could at least have Li Rong translate them for them.
Along the way, as Thunder Dragon was explaining what had occurred the last time he and Earth Splitting Divine Ox came here, he suddenly asked, “Kid, what do you think of this place?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
“If you notice anything or have something to say, don’t hesitate to speak up,” It seemed that because of Yang Kai’s strange performance back in the void crack, Thunder Dragon became much more interested in Yang Kai’s thoughts and opinions.
Thunder Dragon even secretly thought this Human kid might have been here before.
About that, Thunder Dragon was obviously wrong; Yang Kai’s ability to navigate and smooth the Void was only because it was something he was already used to doing. He really knew nothing about this Mysterious Small World.
“If I notice anything, I’ll tell you,” Yang Kai nodded.
After walking forward for about ten kilometers, Thunder Dragon suddenly paused and pointed to the front, “This is where Old Ox and I drew back last time.”
“There’s something strange about this place, an unusual energy flowing about that I can’t identify,” Old Ox shook his head and said.
Looking towards the front, Yang Kai’s expression also couldn’t help distorting.
The path their group of six had been following was suddenly cut off by a deep canyon.
Inside this canyon, there was a strange green liquid that was pulsing with a strange energy. This green sea was thick so it was impossible to see to the bottom of the canyon and every now and then a cry or a howl would echo from down below, making this place seem extremely eerie.
Standing at the edge of the cliff and looking down, all that could be seen was a green viscous sea, as well as a few twisted faces that would float up and down, struggling against the flow but seemingly unable to escape.
Every now and then, something would bubble to the surface and burst, sending out a loud yet gloomy cry.
Cai Die and Li Rong’s faces both paled.
The expressions of Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox were not much better, both of them circulating their strength to resist the seething resentment that was seemingly overflowing from this green sea.
The distorted faces were constantly sending out invisible waves of resentment which impacted the minds of the six people.
“Remember, you’d best not use your Divine Sense to probe what’s beneath this place,” Thunder Dragon warned solemnly, “If I am not mistaken, the floating faces here are all Soul Spirit Bodies.”
“Soul-Spirit Bodies?” Yang Kai parroted.
“Indeed!” Thunder Dragon nodded repeatedly, “Each face is the Soul of a deceased master that was somehow exiled here. Last time we arrived here, I carelessly used my Divine Sense to investigate this place and almost had my consciousness pulled under by them.”
As he spoke about this experience, Thunder Dragon’s face flashed with a lingering fear, “When they were alive, the masters of these Soul-Spirit Bodies were not inferior to me. Although their physical forms had been destroyed, their Souls have actually been imprisoned here, so once you are contaminated by them, it is almost impossible to escape and you will eventually become one of them.”
“You said that the masters these Souls belonged to were not inferior to you when they were alive?” Yang Kai was shocked.
“There’s so many of them!”
“Just where did so many masters come from? Across the entire world today, how many Third Order Saint are there? Fifty? Fewer? If the present age is so, it should be like that for previous ages too.”
However, even a quick glance at the green sea revealed over a thousand disembodied faces; even if only a small part of them were masters on par with Thunder Dragon, it would still be an astonishing number.
According to what Yang Kai knew, no previous age had seen such prosperity in the Martial Dao.
Yet he did not doubt the strength of these Soul-Spirit Bodies down below either. Many of them were incredibly powerful.
“I don’t know either, perhaps a very, very long time ago masters of this level were common throughout the world,” Thunder Dragon shook his head, unable to offer a proper explanation.
“If we want to move on, we can only use those stone platforms,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior shifted his gaze and said.
There was no path leading left or right along the canyon, but suspended a short distance above the strange green sea there was a stone platform roughly three metres wide and three metres long.
After the first platform there was a second, then a third, then a fourth, and so on, each one floating slightly higher than the last, almost like a staircase that stretched on without end.
Above the green sea, a strange, fierce wind blew, containing an ominous energy, causing everyone present to not dare try to fly.
“Do we go on?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox asked, somewhat uncertain if they should continue this exploration.
Although there was a way forward consisting of these stone platforms, no one could guarantee that there wouldn’t be more dangers ahead.
“This is already our second time here. Before this King can make clear what this place is, I won’t go back,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior said firmly before stepping onto the first stone platform.
Cai Die followed without hesitation.
“Kid, you follow Thunder Dragon closely, this Old Ox will bring up the rear!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox nodded to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded back and stepped onto the stone platforms with Li Rong.
Each stone platform was not too far apart from the next, easily reachable by simply lifting one’s foot, forming a path that seemed to lead straight up into the endless sky.
Thunder Dragon walked very slowly as he vigilantly observed his surroundings in case any unexpected danger suddenly appeared, acting extremely cautiously.
Initially, as they ascended the stone platforms, nothing happened, so the group couldn’t help relaxing somewhat.
However, after advancing forward a fair distance, the green sea down below suddenly seemed to boil and numerous floating faces rushed to the surface and began letting out terrifying howls
A moment later, the innumerable Soul-Spirit Bodies broke free from the shackles binding them to the green sea, and like predators smelling their prey, they surged towards Yang Kai’s group.
The disembodied howls and piercing cries mixed together with the whipping winds as the transparent Soul-Spirit Bodies flew towards the group of six from all directions.
Everyone instantly went pale, not understanding how this had suddenly happened.
In the blink of an eye, the stone platforms the group of six were standing on were surrounded by the Soul-Spirit Bodies and wave after wave of potent Spiritual Energy attacks rained down on them.
Even Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox couldn’t help feeling like their very will to live had been crushed, almost completely disabling them.
A great roar rang out and a blue arc of lightning flew out from Thunder Dragon Great Senior, quickly forming into a thin light curtain.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
This lightning curtain flashed brilliantly as the torrent of Spiritual Energy blasts continued pelting it from the outside, a few moments later showing signs of cracking.
Earth Splitting Divine Ox quickly followed up, forming a second light barrier around them, cooperating with Thunder Dragon Great Senior to shield the group from this omni-directional attack.
Cai Die’s seven coloured wings fluttered, releasing numerous rays of light that shot through and pushed back the closest Soul Spirit Bodies.
Li Rong and Jin Ni also acted, both of them displaying their own powerful means.
However, the attacks released by the surrounding Soul Spirit Bodies did not decrease in the slightest, creating a tight encirclement that allowed for no escape.
“Run!” Thunder Dragon shouted, immediately increasing his pace, the other five following right behind him, each of them leaping up the stone platforms as fast as possible.
*Pu…*
Even though the light curtain created by the two Great Seniors was incredibly powerful, facing so many attacks, it still only lasted a few breaths before shattering, barely long enough for the group to advance three hundred meters.
The Soul Spirit Bodies that were flitting about became even more violent seeing this, swarming over like locusts descending upon a field.
These warped Souls, even though they had degenerated into mere beasts, seemed to understand the concept of bullying the weak while fearing the strong. Instinctually understanding that Thunder Dragon and the other Saints possessed tyrannical methods, they all began aiming their attacks towards Yang Kai who seemed the weakest and had yet to even fight back.
The transparent Soul-Spirit Bodies flew about randomly, and although most of them were blocked by the five Saints, a few of them still slipped through and rushed towards Yang Kai.
Not even slowing down, the Soul Spirit bodies plunged into Yang Kai’s body and disappeared.
“Master!” Li Rong’s beautiful face went pale as she desperately rushed towards Yang Kai, even forgetting about the Soul Spirit Bodies that were charging towards her.
A flash of lightning shot over from nearby, resolving Li Rong’s crisis, but failing to change the fate of Yang Kai who had been invaded by multiple Soul Spirit Bodies.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s expression became pained, his eyes turning bloodshot as he trembled uncontrollably.
Everyone present felt a cold chill grip their hearts, understanding he was being influenced by the thick resentment contained inside these Soul-Spirit Bodies. Each of these Soul-Spirit Bodies was formerly a master that had at least reached the Saint Realm. After spending countless years trapped inside the green sea, even though they had not been destroyed, their accumulated hatred and resentment was not something a cultivator of Yang Kai’s strength could resist.
Perhaps his Soul was already being obliterated while his body was being taken over.
Thunder Dragon was temporarily thrown into a state of shock, not knowing how to handle this situation.
A moment later though, Yang Kai’s eyes flashed brilliantly and then became tranquil once more, as if he had received some kind of extrication, his breathing becoming steady as he let out a sigh of relief, “What are you all gawking at, we need to keep moving!”
“You… are you alright?” Thunder Dragon asked in astonishment.
From the time the Soul Spirit Bodies crashed into Yang Kai’s body until he seemingly recovered, only a single breath had passed. Everything had happened so fast that no one was able to react. Most importantly though, Thunder Dragon couldn’t understand how Yang Kai was able to emerge from this crisis unscathed.
There had been multiple Soul Spirit Bodies that drilled into Yang Kai’s body just now, each one containing the full strength of a Saint Realm cultivator’s Soul.
“If we don’t get moving, none of us will be alright!” Yang Kai said solemnly.
Thunder Dragon also understood that now was not the time for questions and immediately focused, pushing his strength to its limits to open up a path ahead. With arcs of lightning swirling around his body, the Soul-Spirit Bodies did not dare approach rashly, allowing the group of six to continue rushing up the stone platforms.
Li Rong came up beside Yang Kai to assist him in resisting the attacks of the Soul-Spirit Bodies while quietly observing him, a moment later her beautiful eyes lit up, understanding why even after he had been invaded by so many resentful Souls he was safe and sound.
Inside his Knowledge Sea, there was Great Demon God’s Demon Eye of Annihilation!
The Demon Eye of Annihilation’s golden light was able to absolutely restrain all forms of Spiritual Energy, the Soul Spirit Bodies that had crashed into Yang Kai’s body might as well have been leaping to their deaths.
After this incident, the remaining Soul-Spirit Bodies seemed instinctually feel some kind of threat and didn’t dare to approach the group of six again, only surrounding them and wailing as if to vent their unwillingness.
Thunder Dragon and the other Monster Race masters were puzzled by this but weren’t about to complain about being able to easily pass through the stone platforms.
After roughly the time it would take a stick of incense to burn, the group of six finally saw the end of the stone platforms.
Stepping off the final stone platform, everyone couldn’t help showing a confused look.
Because the place they had arrived at was not the chaotic sky, but instead another field.
It was almost as if they had returned to where they had entered from, a barren land stretched out before them, but instead of a grey swirling sky above them, a myriad of strangely coloured lights flickered about.
These lights seemed to almost be within reach, yet they were impossible to grasp.
“This place is really strange!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox shook his head.
Thunder Dragon carefully released his Divine Sense, and upon not discovering any danger in their immediate surroundings he proposed, “Let’s take a break for a while.”
In order to pass the stone platforms, all of them had expended a great deal of power. In this crisis-ridden place, they could not afford to miss any chance to restore themselves to their peak.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior didn’t dare to act rashly here.
Of course, no one objected to this suggestion and all of them immediately sat down cross-legged to restore their physical and spiritual strength.
The two Great Seniors sat next to each other and began discussing something in whispered voices, occasionally glancing over towards Yang Kai as they spoke.
Although he was meditating with his eyes closed, their actions did not escape Yang Kai’s perception.
Opening his eyes and smiling wryly, Yang Kai took the initiative to ask, “Do two Great Seniors suspect that I’ve been taken over?”
Thunder Dragon frowned for a moment but decided to not hold back and nodded, “En, both Old Ox and I had such thoughts, but from the tone of your voice, it doesn’t seem like you’ve been supplanted by one of those Soul-Spirit Bodies.”
“Of course I haven’t,” Yang Kai nodded.
“What evidence can you show us to prove that?” Thunder Dragon asked solemnly, “Kid, this King really can’t figure out what method you could possibly possess to withstand the invasion of so many Soul Spirit Bodies, if you can’t prove to us somehow that you are who you say you are, then This King will have no choice but to seal your strength, I hope you can understand.”
“How does Great Senior propose I prove myself?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking that Thunder Dragon and the other’s concerns were reasonable so not taking any offence.
“Just show us something that can prove you are that body’s original owner.”
“There’s no need for that, I can guarantee that he is still who he claims to be! I won’t mistake the person I serve for an impersonator,” Li Rong suddenly declared.
Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox exchanged a glance with one another before turning their eyes to Yang Kai then to Li Rong, a moment later the two of them nodding, “Good, we will believe in the lady’s vision for now. To be honest, we also do not hope your body was seized by another.”
“Two Great Seniors are well-intentioned, I understand,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
With the matter temporarily resolved, everyone continued to restore themselves.
After half a day, the group began exploring again.
After passing over the green sea, it seemed as if they had arrived in a completely different world.
From time to time, high up in the sky, a meteor-like ray of light would fly by quickly, appearing and disappearing before anyone could actually capture its image.
However, what surprised everyone was that even after a long time, forget about dangers, nothing even worth noting occurred.
Everyone slowly began to feel like they were walking on a never ending path, a loop that had no beginning or end.
This strange sensation caused everyone’s heart to sink.
Soon, the group of six lost track of time in this truly desolate wasteland where the scenery seemed to never change.
The one with the shortest temper, Earth Splitting Divine Ox, had long ago become impatient and spent all day grumbling.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior was also feeling some regret. If he had known that it would end up like this, he wouldn’t have insisted on exploring this place. However, even if he wanted to turn back, he couldn’t, so all he could do was move forward and hope they would eventually discovering something of interest.
While the Monster Race masters’ moods had dampened, Yang Kai and Li Rong were actually filled with expectations.
When they first entered this strange Mysterious Small World, they had already confirmed that this place was somehow related to Great Demon God. Just knowing this they were not going to become discouraged halfway.
Even if they hadn’t discovered anything of note yet, perhaps that just meant they hadn’t arrived at their destination yet, so the two of them never stopped looking for clues.
Both Yang Kai and Li Rong were filled with confidence.
One day, as they were continuing to walk through this seemingly boundless world, Yang Kai suddenly noticed an unusual aura behind him.
Astonished, he quickly turned back only to see Li Rong gazing up at the sky with a thoughtful look upon her beautiful face. A kind of strength circulated through her body, fluctuating every now and then.
When one of the strange meteor-like lights soared across the sky and disappeared beyond the horizon, Li Rong tender body shivered, her beautiful eyes shining as the energy fluctuations coming from her body became more and more powerful.
Thunder Dragon, who was leading the way, also noticed this abnormality and turned back to see what was happening, a look of shock soon appearing on his face.
Yang Kai’s expression also greatly changed at that moment. In the beginning, he wasn’t sure what was happening with Li Rong, but after seeing to look of bliss and clarity on her face, he suddenly understood, muttering under his breath, “An epiphany?”
Not daring to disturb her, Yang Kai quickly rushed back, beckoning to Earth Splitting Divine Ox and Jin Ni who were bringing up the rear.
The two Monster Race masters also understood what was happening and carefully kept their distance from Li Rong.
“She’s showing signs of a breakthrough,” Thunder Dragon stared fixedly at Li Rong, quietly confirming Yang Kai’s observations and speculations.
Li Rong had reached the Second Order Saint Realm many years ago.
On top of that, when Yang Kai brought the Ancient Demon Clan out from their Mysterious Small World, the moment they had set foot on Tong Xuan Realm, as if they were liberated from some kind of shackle restraining them, they had all received a great boost in strength.
Han Fei and Hua Mo had even directly broken through to the next Minor Realm.
At the time, Li Rong’s strength also increased but it was not enough for her to break through.
Today though, she had obviously realized something and was now finally going to take another step forward in her cultivation.
Once she broke through, she would be a Third Order Saint! That was the highest level a cultivator could reach in this world.
Realizing this, Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox both couldn’t help having their attention glued to her.
Yang Kai smiled broadly as he waited silently.
The stronger Li Rong was, the more help she could provide him. Now, if they were to meet Xue Li again, Yang Kai estimated that she would only be able to escape from them.
When Li Rong was a Second-Order Saint, after using her Demon God Transformation, she was able to fight evenly with Xue Li. After breaking through to the Third Order, she would no doubt be able to defeat her with ease.
“I’ll have to ask all of you to wait here for a while,” Yang Kai turned and bowed his head slightly to the two Monster Race Great Seniors.
“No problem, in any case, we’re lost and have no idea which way to go, there’s no harm in taking a break here for a while,” Thunder Dragon smiled, thinking for a moment before asking, “Why did she suddenly break through at this time? Could it be she discovered something that helped her strength growth here?”
Earth Splitting Divine Ox thought for a while before mumbling, “Over the past few days, I’ve seen her frequently staring up at the sky. Perhaps there is some mystery contained within those strange lights that occasionally flash by?”
“The sky?” Thunder Dragon mumbled, turning his eyes towards the Heavens just in time to see one of the strange meteor-like lights streak across, nodding a moment later, “It’s possible. At her level of strength, often even an inadvertent discovery can lead to a huge improvement in strength.”
“Then this Old Ox must also take a look, perhaps I’ll discover something to improve my strength too. When that happens, Old Thunder Dragon will have to bow down before me!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox declared happily before immediately sitting down and staring upwards.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior simply smirked, not making any attempt to dissuade him but rather choosing to follow Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s example, sitting down cross-legged and peering towards the sky, hoping to uncover the mysteries of the strange lights.
Since Li Rong was able to discover something from it, and there was nothing else for them to do while they waited, there was no reason for them not to try.
Cai Die and Jin Ni also sat down and began observing.
Yang Kai shook his head and ignored them, closing his eyes and entering a meditative state.
Li Rong’s epiphany lasted quite some time, and although there was no way to calculate the exact passage of time, Yang Kai estimated that at least ten days had passed. During this time, Li Rong did not move a muscle, only her beautiful eyes grew brighter and brighter as they observed the strange lights high up in the sky.
Finally, her tender body shivered and a violent force erupted from her body, forming a great torrent of wind that rapidly spread out around her.
The aura belonging to a Third Order Saint overflowed from Li Rong.
High up in the sky, a massive amount of World Energy began to gather and a moment later crashed down onto Li Rong’s head.
Besides letting out a low grunt, Li Rong showed no other reaction, simply standing there while enduring the World Energy baptism.
The look on Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s faces quickly became serious.
Both of them had experienced this step and knew well just how terrifying the force of Heaven and Earth was and how difficult it was to endure.
When they had broken through in the past, both of them had been forced to return to their Beast Forms in order to resist this devastating power, but even taking advantage of their original physique’s superior toughness, they had suffered great trauma and took a long time to recover afterwards.
However, Li Rong, a woman who should have possessed a weaker physique than either of them, was actually taking an even crazier approach to this baptism than they had, causing the eyes of both Great Seniors to bulge in shock.
The storm of World Energy continued to fall and it was not long before blood began leaking from the side of Li Rong’s mouth, her tender body shuddering, seemingly somewhat unable to bear this pressure but still gritting her teeth and steadfastly enduring in order to allow her flesh and blood to absorb as much of this baptism as possible and convert it into her own strength.
As time passed, the four Monster Race masters were all on the edge, Cai Die biting her thin lip as her jade hands clenched, secretly worried for Li Rong.
“Kid, this isn’t good…” Thunder Dragon suddenly came over and whispered into Yang Kai’s ear, “If she continues to resist head-on like this, there’s a good chance she’ll be destroyed by the World Energy storm.”
“En,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox nodded, “My Monster Race’s physiques are the strongest in the world, but even Thunder Dragon and I wouldn’t dare absorb all of that World Energy like this. What she’s doing right now is nothing short of digging her own grave.”
Li Rong, from the beginning, had made no attempt to shield herself with her Demonic Qi from the World Energy baptism and instead completely opened her mind and body to it. Naturally, this caused both Great Seniors great concern.
“Heh heh, don’t worry, she can withstand it,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, not showing the slightest sign of worry.
Thunder Dragon couldn’t help but look at him strangely, not understanding what gave him such great confidence in Li Rong.
“If such a good subordinate were to fall here, you’ll really have no place to cry,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox reminded him.
“She has a sense of discretion,” Yang Kai shook his head and stopped explaining.
Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox exchanged a glance and no longer said anything, turning their attention back to Li Rong, a look of suspicion and curiosity flashing across their faces, wanting to see just how she was going to endure this baptism.
As time went by, the strength of the World Energy storm only grew, even causing the surrounding space to tremble, seemingly pushing Li Rong to the very edge, as if she could die at any moment.
But still, she insisted, motionless.
The four Monster Race masters all had solemn expressions upon their faces. Regardless of anything else, the courage and will Li Rong displayed enduring all of this with only her flesh was a great shock to them.
The swirling of the World Energy gathered high up in the sky suddenly calmed down but became even more concentrated, as if it was preparing to strike one final blow.
Li Rong’s expression finally became dignified, her beautiful eyes filling with an indomitable will as they stared up at the sky.
*Hong…*
The world roared and a destructive power that made everyone present go pale suddenly crashed down through the air and enveloped Li Rong.
At that moment, everyone else present felt as if their heart had stopped beating as all of their attention focused towards the spot where Li Rong was standing.
Inside the raging blast of World Energy, the only thing they could see was a blurry shadow that, despite trembling greatly, was still standing tall.
Gradually, the violent downpour of World Energy converged, as if it was being absorbed into Li Rong’s tender body. The winds that were whipping about slowly died out and a pair of bright eyes flashed as they shot open inside the fading storm.
A moment later, Li Rong slowly stepped out towards the five spectators, gasping for breath, her chest heaving up and down.
“This…” Earth Splitting Divine Ox couldn’t speak properly as he stared dumbfounded at the woman in front of them.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior also narrowed his eyes as he fixed his gaze on Li Rong’s face.
At this moment, numerous strange dark tattoos had appeared all over her pretty face, painting a fierce yet profound picture. As Li Rong approached though, these lines seemingly receded, the dreadful momentum pulsing from her body disappearing along with them.
Seemingly thinking of something, Thunder Dragon Great Senior’s expression changed slightly as he directed an extremely dignified look towards Li Rong.
Arriving in front of everyone, Li Rong stood firmly and smiled towards Yang Kai.
Her aura was now as vast as the sea and her eyes were filled with a kind of divine light. Her skin looked like the finest white jade as it gave off a radiant lustre yet simultaneously appeared as soft and tender as newborns. Her strength had obviously undergone earth-shaking changes.
“Master, I’ve become a Third-Order Saint,” Li Rong looked calm and she reported to Yang Kai.
“Good,” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “It seems we didn’t come here in vain!”
“Many thanks for patiently waiting for me,” Li Rong turned to the Monster Race masters and nodded lightly.
“A minor matter, nothing worth mentioning,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior waved his hand, “Rather, it is we who should congratulate Madame for arriving at this plane.”
Li Rong smiled and modestly said, “In the future, I must trouble two Great Seniors to provide me with some guidance.”
“No need to be so polite, if Madame has free time in the future, you are always welcome to visit my Thunder Tree Palace so we may exchange pointers,” Thunder Dragon nodded lightly. Li Rong had just broken through to the Third Order Saint Realm, the same realm as him. Naturally, she was qualified to communicate with him so they could share their cultivation experiences.
“Haa, unfortunately even after sitting here for so long, this Old Ox hasn’t been able to discover anything special, let alone reach an epiphany,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox shook his head, looking a little dissatisfied before suddenly asking, “However, though you’re a woman your physique is quite tyrannical, you even fully accepted that World Energy baptism with only your flesh. It is the first time I’ve seen anything like that. What were those black patterns that appeared on your face just now? Why did feel like your momentum and vitality soared when those things appear?”
Hearing him ask these questions, Li Rong turned her gaze towards Yang Kai first, not certain whether she should answer or not.
Yang Kai was also somewhat unsure what to do and hesitated for a moment, but before he could answer, Thunder Dragon cut in, “What are you doing trying to pry into other’s secrets? That’s going too far Old Ox.”
Earth Splitting Divine Ox laughed awkwardly, “I was just curious and asked thoughtlessly. If you don’t want to answer then that’s fine.”
“I think we’re lost,” Thunder Dragon suddenly came to a stop and said bitterly.
Amidst this endless grey world, where the range of both their sight and Divine Sense was limited, the group of six couldn’t help coming to a stop and slumping over.
It had already been a long time since Li Rong broke through to the Third-Order Saint Realm. How long exactly, none of them knew, but it had been at least long enough for Li Rong to completely consolidate her cultivation.
Without any clear direction or goal, the group could only move about randomly, which obviously led them nowhere at all.
Listening to Thunder Dragon, Earth Splitting Divine Ox asked suspiciously, “The scenery here is all the same, how can you be sure we’re lost?”
“Look over there,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior pointed towards a spot not far away. When everyone looked in the direction he pointed, they all noticed a set of bleached bones lying in the wasteland.
“We passed through here some time ago, but somehow, we’ve actually returned to this place, those broken bones are the best proof.”
Yang Kai’s brow rose slightly as he thought back.
The last time they had passed by, he hadn’t paid much attention to this pile of bones, but if Thunder Dragon’s observation wasn’t wrong then their group might have actually walked in a giant circle and returned to their original position.
“Seriously? What should we do then?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox was dumbstruck, “How could we have gotten lost in the first place?”
“I don’t know. Do any of you have any bright ideas about how we should find the exit to this place? Rather than trying to uncover this place’s mysteries, we should first concern ourselves about being able to leave. The time we’ve spent here already isn’t short.”
“You’re the one who has been leading us, if you don’t know where we are or how to get out, how are we supposed to know?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox all but shouted.
“It wasn’t until just now that this King noticed that something was wrong! What? Are you trying to push all the blame for this onto me?” Thunder Dragon Great Senior snapped back.
It had truly been quite a long time since they entered this place and besides Li Rong who managed to grasp some kind of opportunity and break through to the Third Order Saint Realm, no one else had gained anything; obviously even the two Great Seniors weren’t in a good mood.
Seeing that they were on the verge of quarrelling, Yang Kai quickly interjected, “We need to remain calm, before we entered this place, we had already anticipated it would be this strange, but now that we’re stuck in this, rather than blaming one another, we should focus on finding a way out.”
“How do you propose we do that? Have you noticed something about this place kid?” Thunder Dragon asked Yang Kai.
Yang Kai could only shake his head.
“If my guess is correct, someone has set up a very profound Bewildering Array here…” Li Rong thoughtfully said, “Those bones we’ve encountered so far are probably from cultivators who inadvertently entered this place and became trapped, eventually perishing as a result.”
“Agreed,” Thunder Dragon nodded.
During this time, every now and then their group would encounter a skeleton or two which were obviously left behind by cultivators who accidentally entered this place.
“A Bewildering Array?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s eyes widened, “Who could possibly set up a Bewildering Array that could completely mislead three Third-Order Saints?”
Even if they hadn’t purposefully studied Spirit Arrays, with their Third Order Saint Realm cultivations there shouldn’t be any kind of Spirit Array they couldn’t at least detect, but the three top-level powerhouses among their group of six had actually not discovered anything out of the ordinary from beginning to end. From this alone, it was obvious whoever arranged this Spirit Array possessed incredible methods.
“This King is becoming more and more convinced that this place is somehow related to the legendary Great Demon God,” Thunder Dragon snorted and said, “No one else but him could have created such an arrangement.”
Yang Kai and Li Rong exchanged a glance but chose to remain silent.
“Should we split up and try to find a way out?” Cai Die suggested hesitantly.
Both Thunder Dragon and Yang Kai shook their heads, the former declaring, “This place is too strange, if we split up, we may never find each other again.”
“There’s been nothing but bad luck since the start of this little trip. This Old Ox will never haphazardly enter any Mysterious Small World again,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox grumbled.
Yang Kai smiled wryly and shook his head, but while he was contemplating what to do next, he suddenly realized that the Divine Tree was sending him a Divine Sense Message.
His brow furrowing slightly, Yang Kai quietly informed Li Rong before sending his consciousness into the Black Book space.
“What is it?” Yang Kai asked, wondering why the Divine Tree would suddenly call out to him at this time.
“Something strange happened,” Divine Tree replied.
“Did something happen with those two black stones?” Yang Kai asked, quickly taking a look towards the two pitch-black round stones only to discover that they were the same as always, steadily absorbing the essence of the rare ores he had placed nearby, glowing slightly brighter but nothing worth noting.
“Not them, something else. Wait a moment, you’ll understand when you see it!” The Divine Tree replied.
Yang Kai no longer asked anything and quietly waited.
After a while, somewhere in the Black Book space, a glimmer of light flashed.
“Hm?” Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling confused, quickly sending his Soul Avatar towards the source of the flash. The moment he identified what was flashing though, he found himself somewhat dumbstruck.
Of the things Yang Kai had stored in the Black Book space, the most precious were the Myriad Drug Liquid series, the Divine Tree, and the Shimmering Moon Grass.
There were also a lot of artifacts and scrolls he had picked up from here and there along his travels but none of them was particularly valuable so Yang Kai never concerned himself with them much.
In addition to those, there was really only the two strange pitch-black round stones left, as well as the various ores he had obtained from the Starry Sky.
But at this moment, the thing intermittently flickering was something Yang Kai had all but forgotten about.
The Heavenly Palace!
This was the mysterious artifact which belonged to Meng Wu Ya.
Many years ago, during the final moments of the Yang Family’s Inheritance War, the Ash Grey Cloud Evil Land led by the Devil Lord Yang Bai and the Six Great Evil Kings had invaded War City en mass on their way to the Central Capital.
In an instant, War City had been razed to the ground and transformed into a wasteland.
However, among the ruins, only Yang Kai’s Mansion survived, and completely unscathed at that.
This was all thanks to the artifact that Meng Wu Ya had summoned.
The Heavenly Palace transformed into a great barrier that enveloped the entire periphery of Yang Kai’s Mansion, rendering all attacks by Yang Bai and the Evil Kings useless.
After the decisive battle in the Central Capital, at the end of his rope, Yang Bai had chosen to self-destruct, causing the Earth Vein below the city to explode. At that critical moment, Meng Wu Ya had sheltered Xia Ning Chang and Su Yan while bringing them through the Void Corridor to Tong Xuan Realm.
The Heavenly Palace had been left behind at Yang Kai’s mansion and was eventually collected by him and placed inside the Black Book space.
Because this was Meng Wu Ya’s artifact, Yang Kai had never planned to refine it or even erase the Soul brand and aura imprint from it. He was simply holding on to it until he met Meng Wu Ya again.
It had been collecting dust in the Black Book space since then and if not for the Divine Tree’s reminder just now, Yang Kai would never have given it a second thought.
But now, why was the Heavenly Palace shining? Although it was flickering at a very slow pace, it was indeed flashing, as if it had detected something a great distance away.
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai thought of a possibility and couldn’t help feeling shocked.
There was a chance that Meng Wu Ya was also in this Mysterious Small world. Even if he wasn’t, he might have at least come here before!
The Heavenly Palace was his artifact and it still had his Soul brand on it. If it detected Meng Wu Ya’s aura, it would certainly explain its current reaction.
According to Yang Kai’s investigations, he could infer that Meng Wu Ya had gone to Ice Sect with Xia Ning Chang and Su Yan, entrusted Su Yan to Ice Sect’s Sect Master Qing Ya, and then left.
Afterwards, the master and apprentice pair had stopped in Nine Heavens Holy Land for a time.
Nine Heavens Holy Land was not far from here. If Meng Wu Ya’s destination had actually been this place and had simply stopped by Nine Heavens Holy Land along the way rather than intentionally going there to meet with the old Holy Master, everything would line up.
The more Yang Kai thought about it, the more he thought his guess was correct, causing him to feel very excited.
If Meng Wu Ya was here, that means Little Senior Sister was too…
Li Rong’s softly called out to him at that moment, so Yang Kai quickly returned his consciousness to his body, his eyes now filled with a bright light.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior did not miss this sudden change and asked, “Kid, did you discover something?”
“I’m not sure,” Yang Kai grinned and quickly took the Heavenly Palace out of the Black Book space and placed it in the palm of his hand, “It’s just that this thing suddenly started acting up.”
“An Artifact?” Thunder Dragon frowned as he observed the Heavenly Palace. “The shape of this artifact is rather unusual, it actually resembles a palace. In fact, it’s quite similar to another artifact I’ve seen before.”
This time it was Yang Kai’s turn to be curious as he asked, “Which artifact?”
“One that was owned by one of your Human Race’s masters, but unfortunately that man was killed a few hundred years ago. Forget about it,” Thunder Dragon waved his hand, seemingly dismissing the thought, but as he continued to inspect the artifact on Yang Kai’s palm, he couldn’t help narrowing his eyes, eventually mumbling under his breath, “This artifact, could it be…”
The artifact was of a very high grade, most likely Saint Grade Top-Rank, and the remaining aura on it did not belong to Yang Kai, but rather to another person.
The aura, while a little faint, was quite profound, so Thunder Dragon was easily able to conclude that its owner was a top master.
“Is this the Heavenly Palace?” Thunder Dragon wore a solemn expression as he asked hesitantly.
Artifacts shaped like palaces were extremely uncommon, accompanied by its grade, it was difficult for Thunder Dragon to not think of such a possibility.
Was it really possible? The expression of Thunder Dragon Great Senior became dignified as it seemed to silently say as such.
Yang Kai raised his brow, “Is Great Senior familiar with it?”
“This really is the Heavenly Palace?” Thunder Dragon’s body shook as he stared at Yang Kai in amazement, “Kid, where did you obtain it?”
“Thunder Dragon, is this artifact so shocking?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox stared at it curiously.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior took a breath before explaining, “This artifact is impressive, but what is more impressive is who its original owner was.”
“And who would that be?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox was apparently less informed about worldly matters than Thunder Dragon so he had never heard anything about the Heavenly Palace.
“Its original owner was the Human Race’s former first expert, Meng Wu Ya!” Thunder Dragon smirked, turning an inquisitive gaze towards Yang Kai, wondering if he was somehow related to Meng Wu Ya.
Earth Splitting Divine Ox scratched his head, “This Old Ox seems to recall hearing that name somewhere before.”
“Of course you’ve heard it before,” Thunder Dragon snorted, “Do you remember Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior?”
“Of course I remember,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox nodded repeatedly, “Before this Old Ox had even achieved human form, Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior was a renowned master of our Monster Race, but at some point, he died. Right, Thunder Dragon, you were once Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior’s subordinate weren’t you?”
“Yes,” Thunder Dragon nodded, “I was one of Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior’s subordinates. Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior’s death is actually related to the original owner of this artifact.”
“Was he killed by that guy named Meng Wu Ya?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox exclaimed.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior slowly shook his head, “Not exactly. When the two of them fought, Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior was defeated after only a stick of incense worth of time and suffered serious wounds, wounds he eventually succumbed to. It was only after Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior died that This King was able to rise to the position of Great Senior and become a leader of the Monster Domain.”
Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s eyes bulged, as he shouted out in disbelief, “Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior’s strength should be comparable if not greater than yours or mine, yet someone was actually able to beat him half to death in the time it would take to burn a stick of incense?”
“En, it was really just a stick of incense worth of time. When the two of them fought, this King was present! The means of that Meng Wu Ya… they were truly earth-shattering. It was only later, when this King investigated about him that I learned he was actually the Human Race’s strongest master, an opponent no one dared offend.”
As Yang Kai listened to this glorious tale, all that came to mind was Treasurer Meng’s lazy old demeanour and perverted grin, causing his face to twitch unceasingly. His back shivered at the thought…
Did Treasurer Meng really have such a brilliant past?
Although Yang Kai had long guessed that Meng Wu Ya’s strength was not low, it appeared he was still underestimating his ability.
It wasn’t until today that Yang Kai finally had a clearer understanding of Treasurer Meng’s background.
“And this Heavenly Palace was one of Meng Wu Ya’s signature artifacts…” Thunder Dragon Great Senior stared at the artifacts in Yang Kai’s hand, a complex expression appearing on his face as he sighed slightly, “Because of the death of Blood Flood Dragon Great Senior, This King had been paying attention to that guy’s movements and whereabouts, but unfortunately I heard that he later ran to the Demon Land to challenge the current Demon Commander and ultimately died as a result…”
After a pause, he furrowed his brow and said, “That guy was also quite eccentric. He didn’t belong to any Sect and seemed to have been self-taught, there were no rumours at all about where he originated from or how he obtained his phenomenal strength. On top of that, he didn’t seem to have a legacy disciple, leaving This King no one to seek revenge from. Kid, where exactly did you get this artifact?”
“Heh heh, if I said that he left it with me, would you believe it or not?” Yang Kai let out a hollow laugh.
Thunder Dragon frowned and asked, “What do you mean? Are you trying to say he’s actually still?”
“En.”
“Impossible, there hasn’t been any news about him for at least a hundred years! If he was still alive, how could he have not made a single sound after so long?” Thunder Dragon seemed unable to believe his ears, staring somewhat suspiciously towards Yang Kai, “Why is this Heavenly Palace continuously flickering now?”
“Probably because it senses its owner’s aura!” Yang Kai also stared at Heavenly Palace. After taking it out of the Black Book space, the Heavenly Palace began flashing more frequently, which only increased Yang Kai’s suspicion that Meng Wu Ya was here.
“He’s really still alive?” Thunder Dragon Great Senior exclaimed.
“Do I look like someone who would lie about this?” Yang Kai looked at him with seriousness.
“No.”
“Exactly.”
Thunder Dragon’s expression fluctuated before suddenly realizing something, his eyes lighting up as he shouted, “So, as long as we follow the guidance of this Heavenly Palace, we’ll be able to find Meng Wu Ya and subsequently leave this Bewildering Array?”
“I think so,” Yang Kai nodded heavily, pouring his True Qi into the Heavenly Palace.
Back when Meng Wu Ya wrapped Yang Kai’s mansion with the Heavenly Palace, it had saved him and his allies from being destroyed by the Devil Lord and his minions. Later on, in order to facilitate Yang Kai entering and exiting the barrier, Meng Wu Ya had set it up so that the Heavenly Palace could be driven to a certain extent by Yang Kai.
This artifact ultimately did not belong to Yang Kai so it was impossible for him to display all of its power.
However, it was enough!
As he poured his True Qi into it, the Heavenly Palace began to tremble and Yang Kai immediately noticed some signs of it wanting to escape from his grasp and fly off.
Immediately, Yang Kai’s spirits rose as he shouted, “Follow me!”
Holding onto the Heavenly Palace and feeling the direction it wanted to fly, Yang Kai began rushing forward.
The crowd followed close behind.
As he was walking, Yang Kai’s mood fluctuated wildly.
He wasn’t sure if Meng Wu Ya was here or if he had simply left a trace of himself behind before leaving, if it turned out like that, then this time to he would be unable to find Treasurer Meng and Little Senior Sister.
However, this was without a doubt a clue in his search, so there was still hope.
Yang Kai had already found Su Yan, and he wasn’t worried about Old Demon, so as long as he could find Xia Ning Chang, he would have finally accomplished what he came to Tong Xuan Realm to do.
Since leaving the Central Capital and coming to this world, it had already been more than a decade. Over the past ten years, his strength had undergone earth-shaking changes, but this worry of his had never left heart, often causing him to sigh helplessly.
[When I finally find Meng Wu Ya, I swear I’ll pluck out every last hair from that old fart’s beard!] Yang Kai secretly grumbled to himself as he flew forward as quickly as he could.
After an unknown amount of time, the barren grey landscape actually began to change.
In front of Yang Kai, there seemed to be some kind of landmark sticking up from the ground.
After arriving here, the light from the Heavenly Palace also became much stronger.
Yang Kai couldn’t help getting his hopes up as he rushed towards this landmark but upon seeing what it was, his brow furrowed deeply.
The other five people also came to a stop, each of them staring forward with a solemn expression.
Twenty meters or so in front of their group of six stood a gigantic stone pillar at least five meters thick and was so tall that they were unable to see its top.
On the stone pillar, there were a few large Demon characters written by the same hand as the ones which they first saw upon entering this Mysterious Small World.
“Li Rong, what’s written on it?” Yang Kai hurriedly asked.
Li Rong quickly observed the characters before taking her gaze back, not daring to stare at it for too long, quickly replying, “Tong Xuan Pillar!”
“Tong Xuan Pillar?” Yang Kai frowned, not knowing what these words meant.
However, there was indeed an extraordinary force surrounding this stone pillar, one that caused everyone present to feel fearful and apprehensive.
Following the guidance of the Heavenly Palace, they had not found Meng Wu Ya but instead discovered this strange stone pillar, disappointing each of them somewhat.
But Yang Kai could still feel the Heavenly Palace pulling him in a certain direction so obviously this was not their last stop.
“Let’s keep moving, in any case, we’ve at least managed to leave the Bewildering Array,” Yang Kai said.
The other five nodded gently and continued to keep up.
The group began advancing more carefully now, each of them on high alert in case they encountered any unforeseen danger.
After half an hour, Yang Kai suddenly slowed down and sniffed the air before asking, “Have you all noticed as well?”
“En, it smells like blood!” Thunder Dragon replied immediately, his eyes glancing around vigilantly, “There’s a bloody scent coming from nearby.”
“En, it seems to be growing stronger too,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Wait, there’s movement up ahead,” Thunder Dragon declared.
Everyone came to a stop and perked up their ears.
Some subtle sounds came from afar, almost like the rolling sound of waves on the ocean.
The sound rapidly grew louder as whatever was causing it seemed to be closing in on them at great speed. A moment later, at the edge of their sight, a dark red light appeared in the originally grey world.
Gradually, the dark red light grew larger and the rhythmic sound of the tide resounded even clearer than before.
Before any of them could react, the entire world in front of them was dyed blood red.
“Not good!” Thunder Dragon Great Senior roared, instantly pushing his strength and throwing up a blue light curtain around their group.
At the same time, from right in front of them, a thick and boundless blood red sea crashed down on them, as if a dam somewhere up ahead had broken, turning this barren wasteland into a floodplain and in an instant. Completely enveloping the six of them.
A rich bloody smell filled all of their noses and all they could see now around them was a thick bloody red liquid. It was as if they had suddenly fallen into the middle of blood sea and lost all sense of direction, unable to find the way out.
The blood sea vaporized on contact with the light barrier and quickly began seeping inside. The Heavenly Palace in Yang Kai’s hand had only been slightly contaminated by this blood fog yet the glow it had been giving off had greatly diminished, as if it had almost lost all spirituality.
Without hesitation, Yang Kai threw the Heavenly Palace back into the Black Book space.
*Ci la la…*
A sizzling sound burst out from all around. It seemed like the blood fog that managed to infiltrate the light barrier was extremely corrosive, causing a painful burning sensation upon contact with everyone’s skin.
Yang Kai grit his teeth and began circulating his strength to resist the effects of this blood fog, rapidly consuming his True Qi in the process.
“What the hell is this stuff?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox cursed as he enveloped his body in a brown light. Unfortunately, under the erosion of the blood fog, even his light defence quickly became dim, forcing him to exert even more strength to compensate, draining his reserves at a rapid pace.
The blood sea and blood fog seemed to be able to even dissolve various kinds of energy.
“It should be some kind of trap we accidentally triggered, we need to find our way out of this blood sea first before figuring out what to do about it,” Thunder Dragon roared as he resisted the pressure from the surrounding blood sea, pushing his defenses to the limit.
“Great Senior, watch out!” Cai Die suddenly exclaimed, waving her seven coloured wings and shooting out a beam of light.
Looking towards the direction of her attack, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed.
He found that amidst the vast blood sea, there were innumerable figures wandering about that seemed to be condensed entirely from blood. These blood people seemed to have no facial features or even solid figures; Cai Die’s attack passed right through a few of them and scattered them into blood fog.
In the blink of an eye though, several more of these blood people rushed threateningly towards Thunder Dragon Great Senior.
Thunder Dragon’s pupils shrank as he unleashed a bolt of purple lightning towards these figures, smashing a number of them into the bloody fog.
However, one of them managed to avoid getting hit, closed in, reached out, and grabbed the wrist of Thunder Dragon Great Senior.
As if he had molten metal poured onto his flesh, a scalding sound burst out and Thunder Dragon revealed a look of pain, quickly waving his arm to shake off the bloody hand.
On his wrist, a bright red handprint remained along with a deep bruising.
Seeing this, everyone’s face paled.
Thunder Dragon was a supreme master and a Monster Beast on top of that, his flesh was extremely strong yet after only being gripped by this blood man he had actually suffered a serious wound. It was clear from this just how terrifying the corrosive strength of the surrounding blood was.
However, what made everyone truly feel desperate was that the blood people that were smashed apart by Thunder Dragon Great Senior a moment ago actually gathered together and stood up again, completely unharmed.
It was like they were immortal and indestructible.
Enveloped by the blood sea, the group of six fully displayed their skills to fight back against the blood people as they pushed their way forward, trying their best to escape from this dangerous place.
However, no matter how they fled, the blood sea remained as thick as ever.
It was as if this blood sea was endless, or perhaps was following them, denying them any chance of escape.
Gradually, Thunder Dragon Great Senior had to stop and exert his full strength to resist the attacks of the blood people.
In the surrounding thousand meters, streams of lightning flew about in an attempt to destroy the blockade of the blood sea and find a way out.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior’s true form was a Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon. He was proficient in both Fire Attribute and Thunder Attribute attacks and possessed phenomenal strength, but even he was beginning to feel helpless in this situation.
Brown light halos emerged one after another from Earth Splitting Divine Ox, but each of them only managed to expand for a short time before growing dull under the erosion of the blood sea and flickering out.
The piercing yellow Qi from Jin Ni’s body also gradually began to dim.
Cai Die’s seven coloured light and Li Rong’s pitch black Demonic Qi all surged into the blood sea, but as if it was a bottomless pit, the blood sea simply devoured all of their power, making them unable to see any hope of escape.
The blood people who were formed from the blood sea were not individually strong and their bodies were actually quite frail, each of the Saint Realm masters present only needed to use the most basic of attacks to reduce a number of them to puddles of blood.
However, even if they smashed these blood people apart, a few breaths later they would reconstitute, stand up, and continue to attack.
At the same time, the blood fog which had seeped past their defence barriers was constantly sapping their strength.
This barrier that was arranged here by Great Demon God possessed a terrifying resilience and destructive power.
Yang Kai’s strength was the lowest among this group of people and it was precisely because of this that he was currently being surrounded by the five Saints, temporarily allowing him to not have to worry about his safety.
As the five Saints were struggling to resist this onslaught, Yang Kai was carefully observing the energy fluctuations of the blood people and blood sea.
While using his Divine Sense to probe the surrounding, he suddenly pushed his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy towards a blood person who was approaching Li Rong.
A scalding hot burning energy erupted, creating a kind of domain that could incinerate everything it touched.
Everyone was currently feeling a cold chill gripping them, but after sensing this domain they all suddenly felt as if their skin had been lit on fire, causing the four Monster Race masters to freeze up for a moment and stare at Yang Kai with amazement.
At the same time the saw the blood person who had rushed Li Rong boil up.
The blood person was composed entirely of blood, it had no bones or flesh to speak of so as it boiled, bubbles of gas appeared all over its body and quickly evaporated, leaving nothing behind.
Seeing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.
“Nice one kid!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox shouted.
This was the first time any of them had managed to completely destroy one of the blood people since they became trapped in this blood sea.
“Great Senior, use fire!” Yang Kai quickly turned to Thunder Dragon.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior didn’t need Yang Kai’s reminder and had already begun to act, taking back all of his Thunder Attribute attacks and in their place unleashing a stream of hot flames from his body.
The blood men’s offensive instantly came to a halt, it seemed they were quite wary of the burning flames. Their figures continued to boil even at a distance and their fuzzy facial features seemed to almost reveal a look of pain.
Thunder Dragon let out a great roar and summoned forth a giant Fire Dragon-like attack that he smashed into the blood sea. Yang Kai immediately cooperated, pushing his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy to its limits, engulfing the nearby blood people, eliminating many while pushing the rest back, opening up some breathing room for their group of six.
“This isn’t a long-term strategy, we need to take this opportunity to think of a way out of this!” Thunder Dragon Great Senior shouted.
Even after sending out their Divine Senses, no one in their group could determine the extent of the blood sea; meanwhile, the blood fog that continued to linger around them was still draining their strength and it was obvious they were rapidly growing weaker. At this rate, they would all definitely die before they could evaporate the entire blood sea.
“Can you and the kid charge forward and burn a path out?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox suggested.
“Impossible, this blood sea is very strange, it seems to be following us as we move, we won’t be able to escape, or rather, it won’t let us escape,” Thunder Dragon slowly shook his head, pushing his Fire Attribute Qi to the extreme, evaporating a large amount of the blood sea together with Yang Kai.
Hearing him say this, everyone was also at a loss and began to feel desperate.
“That’s right!” Yang Kai suddenly thought of something and shouted excitedly.
Seeing his expression, Thunder Dragon immediately shouted, “Kid, did you find a way to escape? If you thought of something, don’t hesitate, doing anything right now is better than waiting here to die!”
“I do have an idea,” Yang Kai nodded, quickly turning to Li Rong and asking, “Do you still have that Blood Essence Stone?”
Li Rong was stunned but soon her beautiful eyes lit up, quickly understanding what Yang Kai was thinking.
Taking the Blood Essence Stone out, she quickly handed it over to him.
This piece of Blood Essence Stone was a product from the Starry Sky and had the power to extract fresh blood and transform it into Blood Qi that anyone was capable of using.
It had originally belonged to Shattering Mystical Palace’s Zhang Ao, but after the incident in the Snow Mountain Range, where Zhang Ao was killed, the Blood Essence Stone had ended up in Yang Kai’s hands.
Last time, Yang Kai had used the Blood Essence Stone to absorb a great deal of blood which he then used to treat the heavily injured Ancient Demon clansmen. Afterwards, he had left it with Li Rong.
It wasn’t until this moment that Yang Kai suddenly remember about it.
“Blood Essence Stone?” Thunder Dragon shouted, “You mean the Blood Essence Stone from the Starry Sky?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Great Senior is quite knowledgeable.”
“You even have one of those?” Thunder Dragon’s mood quickly lifted as he let out a great laugh, “It seems we can be saved then.”
“It’s worth a try at least,” Yang Kai didn’t delay and began pouring his True Qi into the Blood Essence Stone. The strange object from the Starry Sky immediately let out a brilliant light and began emitting a powerful suction force. The blood people who were caught up in this invisible force let out a terrified roar as they desperately tried to flee into the blood sea.
However, it was too late, the Blood Essence Stone’s ability to attract blood was not something these blood people could resist.
One blood man that was relatively close to the group melted into a stream of blood and shot towards the Blood Essence Stone.
The Blood Essence Stone drew in this stream of blood, not letting off a single drop.
Within a single breath, a ten meter radius around the group of six had been drained of all blood, all of it having been completely absorbed by the Blood Essence Stone.
But this was only the beginning as the huge attractive force was still drawing in both the blood people and surrounding blood sea.
Seeing this scene, all of them who had been on edge couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief.
They knew that they had survived this crisis.
As time passed, the bloody glow coming from the Blood Essence Stone grew stronger and stronger as the stone only the size of a fist continued to suck up the surrounding blood, eventually turning a deep crimson colour that garner both awe and fear from the surrounding audience.
The amount of Blood Qi contained inside the Blood Essence Stone now was simply unimaginable.
Yang Kai, who was holding it in his hand, could even feel a rhythmic pulse coming from the Blood Essence Stone, like he was holding an actual beating heart!
After an hour, everyone’s field of vision gradually began to clear up as the blood sea that had engulfed them became noticeably thinner.
Another hour later the blood sea had completely disappeared.
At that moment, the Blood Qi emanating from the Blood Essence Stone was strong enough to shock even the two Monster Race Great Seniors.
Even if they were to burn through their blood essence, it was unlikely they would be able to display such strong Blood Qi.
“This is an amazing treasure, where did it get it from?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox inquired, seeming quite interested in the Blood Essence Stone.
Thunder Dragon laughed and shook his head, “Don’t even bother, this thing is a product of the Starry Sky, it can only be obtained through chance. This King had only heard of it before, today was my first time actually seeing it.”
Saying so, he directed a thoughtfully look towards Yang Kai, “Kid, your luck is really astonishing, you even managed to obtain this Blood Essence Stone.”
“It’s nothing much,” Yang Kai chuckled, playing with the Blood Essence Stone in his hand, thinking more and more that it resembled a real heart, even possessing its own powerful heartbeat.
“How about selling it to me? This King can offer you a satisfactory price,” Thunder Dragon asked.
Yang Kai quickly stored the Blood Essence Stone into the Black Book space as he shook his head decisively.
Thunder Dragon rolled his eyes at Yang Kai’s behaviour, “If you don’t want to sell it, just say so, what are you acting so wary for? You think This King will try to snatch it from you?”
“Thunder Dragon, why would you want to buy that thing?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox asked, not understanding the purpose of the Blood Essence Stone.
“What do you know?!” Thunder Dragon spat disdainfully, “This thing absorbs fresh blood and transforms it into the purest kind of Blood Qi. That Blood Qi can then be used to heal almost any kind of wound, cultivate any kind of Blood Qi technique, or eve to supplement your vitality in the middle of a fight to boost your strength. On top of that, it has absolutely no side effects or drawbacks.”
“Is it so amazing?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox couldn’t help but widen his eyes as he turned to stare at Yang Kai with some enthusiasm.
“Don’t look at me like that, no matter what kind of price you put up, this Blood Essence Stone isn’t for sale,” Yang Kai swung his head like a rattle, “The thing this Holy Master does not lack the most is money.”
Saying so, he promptly ignored the two Great Seniors and once again took out the Heavenly Palace from the Black Book space, feeling the direction it tried to fly before beckoning to the group, “This way.”
“This little brat…” Thunder Dragon was speechless, shaking his head wryly before taking out some Qi restoring pills and swallowing them down.
As time passed, the light pulsing from the Heavenly Palace grew even stronger.
Yang Kai was also growing more and more excited as he became convinced that Meng Wu Ya was here in person.
If Treasurer Meng had simply left behind some kind of aura mark here, the Heavenly Palace would not continue showing changes as it approached.
The Heavenly Palace’s current reaction was the best proof that Meng Wu Ya was really here!
Yang Kai’s heart filled with expectation and he couldn’t help increasing his pace as a result.
A few hours later, the glow from the Heavenly Palace became nearly blindingly bright and suddenly escaped from Yang Kai’s grasp, transforming into a stream of light and shooting off, disappearing into the distance a moment later.
When the Heavenly Palace flew out and turned into a stream of light, disappearing before everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling startled.
“It flew away… what does that mean?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox asked as he stared in the direction the Heavenly Palace disappeared.
“Meng Wu Ya is over there!” Thunder Dragon’s eyes narrowed and he declared decisively.
Yang Kai immediately picked up his pace and followed after the Heavenly Palace, feeling both excited and nervous.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior also waved his hand and shouted, “Follow it, the previous strongest master of the Human Race might be nearby.”
“The Human Race’s strongest master, a sight worth seeing,” Earth Splitting Divine Ox’s eyes also lit up.
Anyone who could obtain the title of the first master of an entire race was decidedly not ordinary. This guy named Meng Wu Ya must have some impressive abilities, or else he would not have been recognized as such.
Atop a spacious field, a number of rocky outcroppings and stone pillars were scattered about, many of them broken or lying in ruins.
In the middle of this field, there was a set of intact stone pillars, eight in total, arranged in an octagonal formation, each of them giving off powerful energy fluctuations.
Moreover, these energy fluctuations each had different attributes, one of them burning hot, one frigid cold, another violently poisonous while another rippling with lightning…
All of these different energies melded together to form a strange and imposing domain.
At this moment, on one of the eight pillars, a white-haired old man was bound by some kind of invisible force. He was completely immobilized, not even able to open his mouth to speak, his head hanging limply as his clothes were nothing but tatters and his life aura unstable; clearly he was on the verge of death.
A crackling sound would emerge from time to time as the eight pillars sent out a shocking pulse of energy towards the old man.
Each time this overbearing pulse of energy whipped the old man, although it seemed like he was on his dying breath, he always somehow managed to cling to life, stubbornly refusing to die.
Flames burned the old man’s body, singing his flesh while thunder and lightning coursed through his veins, charring his insides. At the same time, the poisonous toxins invaded every inch of his physique, causing his skin to switch back and forth between black and green.
Just outside the eight stone pillars, a young veiled woman, with beautiful eyes that seemed devoid of the slightest impurity, sat limply on the ground, a strange power constantly pouring out from her tender body towards the energy being released from the stone pillars, her hands constantly swaying, desperately trying to resolve at least some of the terrifying damage directed towards the old man.
The woman’s figure was petite, and her veil completely concealed her visage. Her forehead was dotted with a small blue sapphire, complimenting her beautiful crystal clear eyes.
There were clear tear stains running down her face, and her eyes were puffy and swollen, but it seemed like all her tears had dried up, so she was not currently crying.
Her tender body shivered as she constantly pushed what little strength she had left, trying to save the old man from the octagonal stone pillar formation, but nothing she did seemed to make any difference.
Stuffing a pill into her mouth, the young woman did whatever she could to keep her strength up.
*Hong…*
Another lightning bolt came from one of the stone pillars. It was as thick as a thigh and it instantly landed on the old man, ripping open his skin and causing blood to splash out. Seemingly jolted awake by the pain of this impact, the old man’s pair of old muddy eyes opened as he creakily lifted his gaze towards the young woman, opening his lips as if trying to say something but unable to make any sound.
The young woman clearly understood what the old man was trying to convey, but she resolutely kept shaking her head.
The old man’s eyes filled with a thick sense of regret, as well as a strong unwillingness and obstinacy.
Suddenly, the old man noticed a familiar aura rapidly approaching and somehow managed to turn his exhausted eyes to the side to see what it was.
There, in the direction he stared, was a stream of light that in the next instant, crashed into his body.
The old man’s body shook, and his face revealed a look of astonishment, his originally dim eyes suddenly flickering with light.
The next moment, a palace shaped barrier appeared, enveloping the old man’s body and blocking the destructive energy surges that were bombarding him from all directions.
It seemed like because of the stream of light’s return, the old man’s face became a bit rosier and his vitality was slightly restored.
The young woman sitting outside the eight stone pillars let out a shout as he beautiful eyes opened wide, turning her head in the direction the stream of light had come from in the next instant, just in time to see a familiar figure quickly rushing towards her.
Four eyes suddenly met and the tears the young woman had thought had completely run dry once again began pouring down her cheeks.
Yang Kai also stared back at her, feeling as though all the blood in his body was boiling up, trembling lightly as he somehow put on a smile and in the gentlest voice he could manage called out to her, “Little Senior Sister, I finally found you.”
The young woman in front of him was none other than the one he had arrived in Tong Xuan Realm ten years ago to find: Xia Ning Chang!
Just like when he last saw her back in the Central Capital, Xia Ning Chang had seemingly not changed in the slightest. Her demeanour and actions were all kept unchanged. With age, this naive girl had grown even more, now displaying more womanly charms than before.
“Junior Brother?” Xia Ning Chang somewhat couldn’t believe what she was seeing, muttering hesitantly, “Is this… is this a dream?”
Yang Kai shook his head as he walked towards her.
Xia Ning Chang’s tender body trembled terribly until Yang Kai wrapped his arms around her and she felt the warmth of his chest, finally confirming that everything in front of her right now was not a dream, nor an illusion.
The Junior Brother who she had longed for every day had really come to this place and found her!
In an instant, Xia Ning Chang’s state of mind stabilized, feeling as though in her time of greatest need, she had finally found someone to rely on.
As tears containing his Little Senior Sister’s warmth drenched Yang Kai’s clothes, he couldn’t help inhaling a soft breath before turning his eyes towards the old man who seemed to be nailed to the nearby stone pillar.
What entered his sight almost caused Yang Kai to cry out in shock.
Treasurer Meng!
The Meng Wu Ya who, when Yang Kai was incredibly frail and weak had lent him so much help, now appeared like a dry oil lamp, his body injured and emaciated to the point where it was nothing short of a miracle he was even still alive.
Yang Kai couldn’t imagine just how much suffering and pain Meng Wu Ya had endured to end up like this.
“How did this happen?” Yang Kai asked in a solemn manner.
In his impression, Meng Wu Ya was always calm and steady, exuding a kind of innate confidence that seemed to say that nothing under the Heavens could impede him.
He had always worn an air of invincibility, often giving those who dared to challenge him a terrifying surprise, causing them endless regret.
But now, that same Meng Wu Ya, who was always wearing a calm smile while easily accomplishing what seemed to be impossible, was now a breath away from death, making Yang Kai feel a deep sense of incongruity.
“Master and I entered this strange Demon Race Mysterious Small World, and then we unknowingly triggered some kind of trap which sent us here. By the time I woke up, Master had already been shackled to that stone pillar. I don’t know what purpose these eight stone pillars serve, but they are constantly releasing power to torture Master. I kept trying to save him, but nothing I did had any affect… Junior Brother, please, you have to save Master. If we don’t get him out of here soon, he really will die,” Xia Ning Chang pleaded through her tearful sobs.
When she was very young, she had been picked up by Meng Wu Ya. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Meng Wu Ya was the one who raised her. On top of that, the one who granted her strength and taught her how to survive was Meng Wu Ya. Rather than a Master, she regarded him as her most important relative.
Seeing Meng Wu Ya suffering in agony every day, Xia Ning Chang felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded as he lifted his hand and gently stroked Xia Ning Chang’s head, injecting a subtle power into her body as he softly declared, “Rest assured, since I’ve come, I will definitely save him. Just rest now.”
Xia Ning Chang’s eyelids grew heavy, as if Yang Kai’s words contained some kind of hypnotic power causing her to feel extremely drowsy.
Xia Ning Chang was also a lamp without oil, something Yang Kai could not bare to see any further.
Neither of them knew how long they had been trapped in this place, but during this time, it was certain that Little Senior Sister had never once rested as she constantly continued to push her strength, likely causing all kinds of damage to her body in the process.
Before anything else, he had to make her rest!
Meng Wu Ya, who was still trapped on the stone pillar, sent a look of gratitude towards Yang Kai with his gloomy eyes, sending him a faint Divine Sense message in the next instant telling him to take Xia Ning Chang and quickly leave.
As long as Yang Kai safely led Xia Ning Chang away, Meng Wu Ya could die without regret.
He had endured this inhuman torture for so long while desperately clinging to life only because he could not bear the thought of leaving his treasured apprentice trapped here all alone.
After staring into each other eyes for only a moment, Yang Kai did not say anything and simply picked up the unconscious Xia Ning Chang, turned around, and walked back the way he had come.
At that moment, the four Monster Race masters and Li Rong had also arrived nearby and were all silently observing the situation, unsure exactly what had transpired here.
“Master, this girl…” Li Rong saw Yang Kai’s expression was somewhat off and quickly asked.
“She’s my Senior Sister,” Yang Kai answered, setting Xia Ning Chang down nearby in a safe place.
“Master’s Senior Sister?” Li Rong couldn’t help taking a closer look at Xia Ning Chang, quickly noticing that this veiled young woman’s strength was somewhat unstable due to excessive use, but that her cultivation realm was actually the same as Yang Kai’s, Third Order Transcendent!
This point was also noticed by the four Monster Race masters, causing the two Great Seniors to exchange a shocked glance.
They had thought that this world producing a freak like Yang Kai who had reached the Third Order Transcendent Realm at such a young age was already shocking enough, but now it seemed like this mysterious Senior Sister of his was no worse than him!
Yang Kai was from Soaring Heaven Sect, could this young woman also be from Soaring Heaven Sect then?
Was that Sect really capable of producing one monstrous talent after another like this?
After setting down Xia Ning Chang, Yang Kai turned around and continued to stare at Meng Wu Ya a short distance away, a moment later quickly saying, “Thunder Dragon Great Senior, I know Treasurer Meng and your Monster Race have some grievances between you, but I hope you won’t try to find trouble with him right now.”
“Is that guy really Meng Wu Ya?” Thunder Dragon frowned as he stared forward.
If it wasn’t for Yang Kai’s reminder just now, he wouldn’t have been sure, but after observing him carefully for a while, Thunder Dragon did notice a slight resemblance between the old man trapped on the stone pillar and the one he had seen all those years ago.
“Is this the Human Race’s strongest? How did he end up like that?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox also frowned, Meng Wu Ya’s current state was really something that was difficult to look at.
“Yes, he is Meng Wu Ya!” Yang Kai nodded, “I have to free him. I won’t ask you Monster Race masters to help; I only request that you not try to disturb me!”
Hearing this, Thunder Dragon snorted, “Little brat, who do you think this King is? Do you believe this King is the kind of villain who would hit an opponent when he is down? Blood Dragon Great Senior really died because of Meng Wu Ya, and this King would like nothing more than to challenge him, but that will only have meaning if he is in his peak state, naturally, that all depends on if you can rescue him from this place in the first place.”
If a character like Meng Wu Ya could be trapped here, the mysterious force contained within these eight pillars was no doubt extraordinary, Thunder Dragon Great Senior was honestly not optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances.
This kid was full of surprises and had shocked them a number of times since coming to this place, but in the end, he was still just a Third Order Transcendent.
“Whether or not I can save him, I’ll know once I try,” Yang Kai took a deep breath before fully releasing his Divine Sense towards the eight pillars.
This was Yang Kai’s first time here so he did not know what Treasurer Meng had encountered that led to him being tethered to the stone pillar, so he had to first investigate.
Yang Kai moved extremely carefully so as not to accidentally trigger any traps.
Seemingly noticing Yang Kai spreading out his Divine Sense, although still bound to the stone pillar, Meng Wu Ya tried to shake his head and shout something, anxious to stop him, but unfortunately, he was only capable of the making the slightest of movements and sound.
He had also inexplicably become trapped here because he tried to probe these eight pillars.
The speed at which Yang Kai’s Divine Sense expanded though was nearly instantaneous, so there was no time to stop it.
The instant his Divine Sense touched the eight stone pillars, Yang Kai’s expression changed dramatically.
The power contained within these pillars was far beyond what he had imagined, on a true world-shaking level.
In the next breath, the world trembled and pressure that terrified everyone present fell from the sky.
The five Saint Realm masters all felt as if their hearts were about to stop as they painfully gasped for breath.
None of them had ever thought such a terrible pressure could exist in this world, one that they couldn’t even summon the will to resist.
Golden light blossomed and from the void, a giant incorporeal hand stretched forth like lightning and seized Yang Kai.
Immediately after, the five golden fingers transformed into coils of rope, bound Yang Kai, and dragged him forward.
Yang Kai was completely incapable of resisting. After being captured by the golden ropes, Yang Kai felt as if all of his strength had been sealed and he was unable to even twitch.
His eyes darting around, Yang Kai found that all the masters who had come here had also been captured, none of them able to escape, each of them calling out in alarm as they were dragged forward; obviously they had all used their Divine Senses to investigate the stone pillars.
Only Xia Ning Chang, who was currently unconscious, was lucky enough to escape.
Seeing this scene, Meng Wu Ya’s eyes dimmed and knew that it was late.
*Peng peng peng…*
The four Monster Race masters, along with Li Rong and Yang Kai for a total of six, became chained to the stone pillars, unable to move.
The next moment, blood-curdling screams rang out one after another.
Even the two Monster Race Great Seniors were unable to bear the horrifying torture they were suddenly subjected to, their faces warping in pain, Cai Die and Li Rong also crying out in agony.
A wild strength suddenly erupted from everyone as the Monster Race masters attempted to transform into their Beast Forms, hoping to break free from the pillars.
Scarlet Flame Thunder Dragon, Earth Splitting Divine Ox, Nine Nether Golden Beast, Seven Coloured Illusory Butterfly, each of them had a noble and powerful lineage amongst Monster Beasts. Seeing any one of them was a rare phenomenon but now all of them had actually gathered together in one place.
Li Rong also used her Demon God Transformation, the profound black Demon Crests quickly covering her face, adding a wild flare to her beauty.
However, no matter how they struggled, in front of these eight pillars, they were still as weak as ants.
Yang Kai’s face has also drained of all colour.
The moment he became bound to the stone pillar, he finally realized just how much pain Meng Wu Ya was enduring.
Each of the eight stone pillars contained a different energy attribute, these eight different energies then gathered together to form a terrible killing array that continuously lashed each of their bodies and minds.
What truly frightened Yang Kai though was that the stone pillars also seemed to be rapidly leeching their strength and vitality.
Each of their individual vitalities and auras was gradually weakening.
“Master, use your Demon God Transformation!” Li Rong suddenly shouted.
Yang Kai was clenching his teeth in order to bear the terrifying pain but upon hearing her words he did not hesitate to display the Divine Skill he obtained from the Great Demon God inheritance.
The world trembled as billowing evil energy surged out from Yang Kai’s Unyielding Golden Skeleton, replacing the Yang Yuan Qi which was flowing through his meridians and physique. Demon Crests flickered and then disappeared into his physique, forming a profound pattern which could not be seen by the naked eye.
In the next moment, Yang Kai suddenly felt relaxed.
After using his Demon God Transformation, the devastating destructive energies which were ravaging his body all disappeared, and although he was still shackled to the pillar, it was no longer extracting his strength.
At the same time, he also felt an unusual aura flowing through the octagonal stone pillar array.
His eyes widening, Yang Kai muttered under his breath, “Is this one of Great Demon God’s method?”
Li Rong nods.
Like Yang Kai, she had become safe after displaying her Demon God Transformation; because she had noticed this abnormality, she had anxiously reminded Yang Kai.
These eight stone pillars stemmed from Great Demon God’s hand while the Demon God Transformation and Ancient Demon Clan shared deep roots with Great Demon God, so it made sense that by using the Demon God Transformation, they could gain some leeway.
Although all of this was only Yang Kai’s guess, it should be close to the truth.
Looking around, the four Monster Race masters were still gritting their teeth to endure; soon they became unable to maintain their Beast Forms and were once again returned to human form.
Each of them was now wearing a soulless look as they stared in a daze towards Yang Kai, knowing that it was now just a matter of time before they were reduced to the same state as Meng Wu Ya.
Yang Kai struggled as he tried to escape from the shackles of the stone pillar, but his efforts were ultimately in vain.
Just as he was becoming anxious, Li Rong shouted again, “Master, there’s movement.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he stared in front of himself.
In the center of the eight stone pillars, and illusory figure was slowly condensing, gradually taking the form of a man.
This man had a sturdy and majestic physique, with a heroic bearing and a pair of sharp eyes. He was currently staring slightly curiously towards Yang Kai and Li Rong.
Seeing this person’s appearance, Yang Kai suddenly grinned and remained silent.
Li Rong’s beautiful eyes went wide as the figure in front of her slowly overlapped with the one in her memories, calling out in shock a moment later, “Great Demon God?”
The figure in front of her that seemed to fade in and out of reality was clearly the same as the statue in front of Demon God Citadel.
The statue in front of Demon God Citadel was carved by the ancestors of the Ancient Demon Clan, the ones who had directly served under Great Demon God and knew his true appearance.
When they heard this name leak out from Li Rong’s lips, the faces of the four Monster Race masters went even paler.
Even if he had fallen thousands of years ago, Great Demon God’s prestige was world-shaking, a legendary existence without equal from his generation until today.
“Sure enough, it’s you!” Yang Kai shouted lowly.
“But… Didn’t Sir Demon God fall long ago?” Li Rong couldn’t believe that the strange figure in front of her was really Great Demon God, but the overbearing aura that pulsed from him was not something that could be faked.
“He’s not the true Great Demon God, he’s only a Soul Clone. Can’t you see that he doesn’t have a physical form?” Yang Kai stared at the figure in front of him fixedly.
“A Soul Clone? What’s that?” Li Rong exclaimed.
Yang Kai shook his head and did not explain.
He had earlier obtained a drop of pure Demon God Golden Blood and learned this Soul Fission Divine Ability.
Yang Kai had also cultivated this Soul Fission and his own Soul Clone was currently still being nourished inside his Knowledge Sea, unfortunately this was a long process so it would not be useful to him for quite some time.
But obviously Great Demon God was different; since this Divine Ability originally belonged to him, naturally he had a fully formed Soul Clone, one that was nearly as powerful as his main body.
When Yang Kai saw the figure in front of him, he instantly understood its origins.
“Oh? You seem to know a great many things little boy, worthy of this Senior’s true body’s inheritor!” Great Demon God’s Soul Clone stared at Yang Kai and smiled faintly, his voice seemingly sounding direction into Yang Kai’s mind.
Yang Kai smiled and shot back, “It seems that you also know many things about me.”
The Soul Clone of Great Demon God snorted, “How could I have so easily shown myself if I did not sense the bones of my true body? Is this woman a descendant of the clan which served me many years ago? The Demon God Transformation is not something just anyone can learn.”
“You really are Great Demon God?” Li Rong was so shocked she was barely able to speak, her beautiful eyes filling with a kind of fanatical worship and excitement. As a descendant of the Ancient Demon Clan, she had fantasized countless times about what kind of existence Great Demon God was, but it was only today that she learned just how pale her imagination was.
She was now a top master, a genuine Third Order Saint, but she had still been instantly captured and imprisoned without any ability to resist by a method Great Demon God had laid down millennia ago.
If the other party had not shown himself, it was quite likely she and Yang Kai would be facing the same miserable fate as the four Monster Race masters.
She could hardly even dream about what the kinds of strength and means Great Demon God possessed when he was still alive.
“Since we share such a relationship, is it possible for us to sit down and have a discussion?” Yang Kai looked at him.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Is it possible to release my friends? They were all just implicated because of me. The old man who came in before also has close ties to me.”
Great Demon God stared at him for a moment before suddenly sneering, “Little boy, are you perhaps under a mistaken impression? Do you think that just because you are this Senior’s inheritor, you have the qualifications to bargain back and forth with me? If you really think so, then I’m afraid you will be quite disappointed.”
“Why did you capture them? Why did you set up this formation here?” Yang Kai frowned, faintly thinking that things weren’t as simple as he originally thought.
“It is not that I wished to capture them, it is that they trespassed upon a place they never should have!” Great Demon God slowly shook his head, “Anyone who enters this place must give up any idea of leaving alive, this place… is the keystone of the entire world.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.
“It is still too early to tell you this. Since you possess the skeleton of this Senior’s main body, you will one day reach the same height as he once did and will naturally understand the significance of this place,” Great Demon God said, a somewhat impatient look appearing on his face, “In deference to the fact that you are this Senior’s true body’s inheritor, I can allow you and this woman to leave here but you must never come here again, or next time I will show you no such mercy.”
Saying so, the Soul Clone of Great Demon God reached out and waved his hand, opening up a Void Corridor entrance a short distance away, one large enough to accommodate several people.
“Use your Demonic Qi to free yourself from the bonds of the Tong Xuan Pillars and then leave this place,” Great Demon God decreed as if giving an order.
Li Rong turned her eyes to Yang Kai, seemingly waiting for him to make a decision.
Yang Kai just stared at Great Demon God’s Soul Clone silently, his eyes filled with profound light.
“You haven’t left yet?” Seeing Yang Kai now moving, Great Demon God’s Soul Clone snorted, his voice thundering in Yang Kai’s mind like a sledgehammer, causing his blood to boil and his face to turn red.
However, Yang Kai quickly regained his composure and shook his head, “I have to take them with me.”
Great Demon God coldly snorted, “Don’t act so presumptuous, I have given you a chance, if refuse to grasp it, then you can just remain here forever! Even though you are the successor of my main body’s skeleton, you must pay the price for intruding upon this place!”
Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged though, sweeping his eyes across his surroundings once before asking, “You just called these eight stone pillars the Tong Xuan Pillars. We also encountered another stone pillar on our way here, it was much larger than these eight though and was even engraved with the words Tong Xuan Pillar, what does that one have to do with these eight?”
Even trapped as he was, Yang Kai not only did not display any signs of anxiety but instead was leisurely chatting with Great Demon God’s Soul Clone, causing Great Demon God to feel quite surprised; even Li Rong was looking at Yang Kai curiously, not comprehending what he was trying to do.
“There are many Tong Xuan Pillars in this place, but these eight are the cornerstones… Why do you ask this?” Great Demon God replied faintly.
“No reason,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders and grinned, “I just thought that since this array was set up by Great Demon God, it should have nothing to do with you. You’re nothing but a guard who was left behind by your main body to watch over this place.”
The eyes of Great Demon God’s Soul Clone flashed as he stared deeply at Yang Kai, nodding lightly a moment later, “Your mind is quite sharp.”
“Just a casual guess, heh heh,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “Along our way here, we came across a green sea filled with countless Soul-Spirit Bodies as well as a strange, deadly blood sea. If I’m right, those were all barriers arranged by Great Demon God to prevent anyone from getting too close to these eight pillars, right?”
“What of it?” Great Demon God nodded in acknowledgement, Yang Kai speaking with such confidence had suddenly made him feel a bit interested.
“Nothing!” Yang Kai’s smile suddenly became treacherous, “I just found it a bit strange that with a powerhouse like you here, who can instantly incapacitate and capture any master, regardless of their cultivation, who arrives at this place, why would Great Demon God go through all the trouble of setting up so many barriers to stop people from approaching? Doesn’t that seem a bit unnecessary?”
“What are you trying to say?” Great Demon God’s Soul Clone narrowed his eyes, and a sense of unease slowly creeping into his heart.
“I just want to say… although you appear incomparably formidable; in truth, you don’t have much power at all! The eight pillars that are binding us here are simply another method arranged by Great Demon God; they have no relationship to you at all!” Yang Kai declared in a low, forceful tone.
Listening to him, Li Rong was quite startled as she turned a look of suspicion towards Great Demon God’s Soul Clone, trying to use her Divine Sense to examine him but quickly discovering that the stone pillar she was bound to was sealing her Spiritual Energy.
“What makes you so sure?” Great Demon God’s Soul Clone stared at Yang Kai coldly. His biggest secret had just been revealed, so he could not help his expression from flickering slightly, but his eyes still remained a piercing as ever.
“You trying so hard to get Li Rong and me to leave here as quickly as possible is because you don’t want to leave two uncontrollable variables here. I think, when Great Demon God set up the barriers of this place, he had left a kind of back door to them, allowing anyone who can use the Demon God Transformation to remain unharmed. Unfortunately for you, Li Rong and I both fulfil this condition, correct?”
Great Demon God suddenly burst into laughter, “An interesting thought, but in the end, all of that is just your own speculations.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “After death, one’s Soul cannot remain in the world for a long time and will soon dissipate. Even if you are Great Demon God’s Soul Clone, this is a fate you can’t avoid. You have no physical vessel to sustain yourself and are probably dependant on these eight pillars to maintain your existence, but after so many thousands of years trapped here, how much strength do you have left?”
“How much strength I possess, you can verify for yourself,” the Soul Clone of Great Demon God snorted.
“Of course I have to verify it for myself, because you simply don’t have the ability to drive these eight pillars. Therefore, you have no way to free them either!” Yang Kai shouted, “Since that’s the case, then I can only destroy the eight pillars by myself!”
“Boy, you dare?!” Great Demon God’s Soul Clone’s expression finally changed, filling with a mix of anger and anxiety.
“Just stand there and see for yourself if I dare!” Yang Kai laughed, pushing his strength to its maximum, his Demonic Qi and Blood Qi skyrocketing in intensity.
The whole world suddenly seemed to tremble as the vision before everyone’s eyes began to distort. This wild and violent surge of power astonished the Monster Race Great Seniors.
Neither of them could figure out how a mere Transcendent Realm cultivator like Yang Kai could suddenly unleash such power.
*Ka…*
As if something kind of chain had been broken, Yang Kai fell down from the pillar that he was bound to, shaking his hands and feet as he cracked his joints.
“Li Rong, come down and help!” Yang Kai called out.
Li Rong looked at Yang Kai, then looked at Great Demon God’s Soul Clone, uncertain of what to do.
Great Demon God held an irreplaceable position in the heart of every member of the Demon Race, a sense of worship which had been engrained into her very bones made it impossible for Li Rong to oppose Great Demon God.
However, Yang Kai was her Ancient Demon Clan’s master, any order Yang Kai issued she had to obey.
Suddenly she found herself in a difficult position.
“He is not Great Demon God, the true Great Demon God fell many years ago, you don’t need to feel any psychological burden.”
“B… but…” Li Rong hesitated.
“Nevermind, it’s alright, just stay there,” Yang Kai no longer forced her, instead turning his attention to Great Demon God’s Soul Clone, “I’m going to start destroying these pillars now. If you have some way to stop me, I suggest you use it now.”
Great Demon God’s Soul Clone just stared at him solemnly, not showing any intention of stopping him, only speaking after a long silence, “Do you really want to destroy this place?”
“Does it look like I’m cracking a joke?”
“Do you know what consequences there will be if you destroy this place?”
“I only know that if I don’t destroy these pillars, my friends and Elder will die. However, you should understand the mysteries of this place. Can you explain those things to me now? I heard you say a moment ago that this place is the keystone to the entire world.”
“What would the point in that be?” Great Demon God’s Soul Clone smiled faintly, “When you destroy this place, you will naturally learn what its true purpose is; I just hope you can afford the price.”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled, muttering under his breath, “Trying to be mysterious.”
No matter why Great Demon God set up so many barriers here or how important this place was to Tong Xuan Realm, since Meng Wu Ya was being trapped here by these stone pillars, Yang Kai had to free him, regardless of the consequences.
Having finished talking, Yang Kai condensed his Demonic Qi onto his right fist, transforming it into a deep black abyss that gave off a frightening energy fluctuation.
*Hong…*
Yang Kai’s fist hit the stone pillar that had trapped him before, causing it to tremble.
Immediately after, a cracking sound rang out and the entire stone pillar began to fill with hundreds of spider-web like lines, as if it was on the verge of shattering.
Yang Kai was somewhat startled, not having expected this stone pillar to be so easily destroyed. Originally he had been preparing for a long and difficult fight.
Seeing Yang Kai really take action, Great Demon God’s Soul Clone not only didn’t seem anxious but instead let out a hearty laugh, nodding firmly, “An unyielding will not inferior to this Senior’s main body, no wonder you were able to inherit his bones.”
“You’re not going to try to stop me?” Yang Kai didn’t look back at him and simply waved his fist, “The next strike will certainly break this stone pillar.”
Great Demon God’s Soul Clone shrugged his shoulders, “You yourself said that I have no power to stop you, so why should I even try? En, this world has indeed been sealed for too long, it should be time for it to step into the light again. Little boy, if you have time, you should take a trip to the Demon Capital. If you go there, you will naturally be able to understand the mysteries of this place.”
“Why can’t you just explain clearly?” Yang Kai frowned.
Great Demon God’s Soul Clone simply laughed and said nothing more; wearing an inscrutable expression as his body gradually faded and eventually disappeared.
Regardless of how Yang Kai called out to him, he didn’t appear again.
“Kid, hurry up and get us out of here, we shouldn’t remain here any longer…” Thunder Dragon Great Senior turned a gloomy look towards Yang Kai, his gaze revealing deep powerlessness.
Nodding, Yang Kai no longer delayed and sent another punch onto the stone pillar.
The stone pillar shattered into a million fragments that all flew out with great force while the huge energy which had been sealed inside of it also burst out in a violent explosion.
Yang Kai didn’t panic, quickly summoning his Silver Leaf artifact and transforming it into a light halo that surrounded him.
At the same time, he condensed several Grand Heavenly Shields around himself, somehow blocking the damage from this energy explosion.
After the first pillar was destroyed, the remaining seven began to crack open like a chain reaction and the force that was binding the others instantly disappeared.
Everyone else fell to the ground.
*Kacha…*
The seven remaining stone pillars all made cracking sounds, appearing as if they were all about to explode, the energy sealed within each of them showing signs of destabilizing.
“Hurry!” Yang Kai shouted. He had barely been able to resist the energy explosion from the collapse of a single stone pillar. If the remaining seven were to all explode at the same time, it was likely no one here would be able to survive.
Li Rong wrapped Meng Wu Ya and the four Monster Race masters in her Demonic Qi and without any hesitation flew towards the nearby Void Corridor entrance which had been opened by Great Demon God’s Soul Clone.
Yang Kai’s figure flashed, appearing next to Xia Ning Chang in an instant, picked her up and hastily followed after Li Rong and the others.
Just after entering the black corridor, a tremendous explosion resounded behind Yang Kai, causing him to glance backwards for a moment, his face draining of all colour at what he saw.
The Mysterious Small World behind him seemed to be completely disintegrating, its fracturing space rapidly spreading towards the Void Corridor.
In the original position of the eight stone pillars, Great Demon God’s Soul Clone once again revealed himself and quietly stared in the direction Yang Kai and the others left for a moment before he too, was swallowed by the shattering space.
High up in the air, a dark hole suddenly materialized and a moment later, Li Rong flew out together with the four Monster Race masters and Meng Wu Ya and quickly descended to the ground.
Yang Kai, who was holding Xia Ning Chang, appeared right after them.
Just as the two of them left the Void Corridor, a glimmer of light flashed behind them and the black corridor rapidly distorted, shrank down to a point, and then disappeared without a trace.
Yang Kai felt a cold sweat drip down his back as he realized that if he had been even a single breath slower, he and his Little Senior Sister would have been buried inside that Mysterious Small World forever.
Looking down, there was a jungle below filled with a beautiful and refreshing spring-like warmth, lush green mountains in the distance providing pleasant scenery.
Li Rong stood in an open space below and was waving towards Yang Kai, “Master, over here!”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded and flew down.
At the same time, he spread out his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings.
He thought that this was somewhere in the Beast Sea Jungle; after all, he had entered that strange world from there, but after a thorough investigation, he found that there weren’t any Monster Beasts within a few dozen kilometres.
Although this was somewhat confusing to him, after determining that there was no danger in the vicinity, Yang Kai took back his Divine Sense.
Gently setting Xia Ning Chang down, Yang Kai hurriedly asked, “How is their situation?”
“Not too serious, after all, they weren’t bound to the pillars for too long. They should be able to restore themselves shortly, but the old gentleman…” Li Rong directed a look of pity towards the extremely emaciated Meng Wu Ya and released a sigh.
According to Thunder Dragon, this was the Human Race’s current strongest master, but now he had actually been reduced to such a miserable state. If he didn’t receive treatment soon, it would not be long before his last vestiges of vitality went out.
“It’s fine, with me here, he won’t die,” Yang Kai said so, walking over to Meng Wu Ya and helping him up.
Treasurer Meng was in such terrible shape that Yang Kai could not help feeling his heart clench as though it froze and his head turned light, almost ready to faint. Over the many years he had known him, Yang Kai has never seen Treasurer Meng in such a pitiful condition.
Meng Wu Ya stretched out his nearly completely withered hand haltingly, using all his remaining strength to lightly cling to Yang Kai’s clothes, his pair of dull eyes to stare at him as he attempted to move his lips and say something.
“Don’t say anything, I know what you mean, I’ll take care of Little Senior Sister,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Meng Wu Ya’s eyes flickered brightly for just an instant, pleased that Yang Kai understood his worries, seemingly wearing an extremely thin smile on his lips to express his gratitude.
Yang Kai quickly took out a jade bottle which was filled with Myriad Drug Milk and made Meng Wu Ya take it.
The Myriad Drug Milk had an incredible effect when it came to treating serious injuries, so even though Meng Wu Ya was having trouble even breathing right now, with this there would be no risk of him immediately dying.
Immediately after, Yang Kai took out the Blood Essence Stone again.
A powerful beating sound resounded from inside the Blood Essence Stone.
Seemingly feeling the huge amount of Blood Qi inside the Blood Essence Stone, Meng Wu Ya’s dimmed eyes became brighter as he felt there might still be hope.
The stone pillars had the power to sap the vitality of anyone bound to them, so after so long, Meng Wu Ya’s life essence had almost been entirely drained; what he needed most right now was to supplement his vitality.
As long as he had access to enough pure Blood Qi, restoring his vitality wouldn’t be a problem.
Undoubtedly, the Blood Essence Stone was the ideal solution to Treasurer Meng’s current need.
By using both the Myriad Drug Milk and Blood Essence Stone, Yang Kai didn’t believe he couldn’t save Treasurer Meng.
Pouring his True Qi into the Blood Essence Stone, Yang Kai extracted a stream of Blood Qi from it and sent it into Meng Wu Ya’s body.
With the infusion of Blood Qi, Treasurer Meng also felt his vitality rapidly being restored, closing his eyes comfortably and allowing Yang Kai to heal him.
Time passed by slowly.
Meng Wu Ya’s body underwent earth-shaking changes at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As if he was an empty sack that was being blown up, his emaciated physique gradually inflated.
The innumerable wounds all over his body also quickly healed and his skin became firm and radiant, no longer looking dry and wrinkled like before.
After an hour, Meng Wu Ya suddenly opened his eyes, a profound light flashing across their depths as he turned to Yang Kai and said in a hoarse voice, “I can handle the rest; you take care of Ning Chang.”
Yang Kai nodded and handed over the Blood Essence Stone to Meng Wu Ya before turning his eyes to the others.
The four Monster Race masters were all still sitting in meditation, but after an hour restoring themselves, their complexion had become much better.
Yang Kai thought about it for a moment before hiding a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid into a few pills he was carrying on him and handing one to each of them.
The four Monster Race masters didn’t hesitate at all and immediately swallowed the pill they received.
Yang Kai then walked over to Xia Ning Chang’s side.
Li Rong had been standing guard here without moving a single step away the whole time, seemingly understanding that this veiled young woman was very important to Yang Kai.
Xia Ning Chang’s situation was much better than Meng Wu Ya’s as she had only fainted because she had been overusing her strength for so long.
Yang Kai fed her a drop of Myriad Drug Liquid before sitting down and waiting.
“Master…” Li Rong suddenly called out, “Just now, Li Rong failed to obey Master’s order and violated the pledge my clan swore to you, bringing shame upon myself and my family, I hope Master will punish me for this offence.”
“Hm?” Yang Kai had been staring at Xia Ning Chang fixedly but upon hearing Li Rong say such words, he couldn’t help turning his eyes towards her in confusion. It was only after thinking for a while that he understood why she was saying such things.
“About that matter… you don’t need to concern yourself; rather, it was because I hadn’t considered clearly what it meant to order you to oppose the Soul Clone of Great Demon God that such a situation occurred, it’s not your fault.”
“But Master, since my clan swore to serve you, we must not have any hesitation about any order you issue.”
“There’s no need to be so inflexible, that was Great Demon God’s Soul Clone, you hesitating was unavoidable. En, if one day Great Demon God suddenly appeared before you and ordered you to kill me, would you hesitate?”
Li Rong was startled by this question and didn’t know how to respond.
Yang Kai smiled and said, “That’s right, you will hesitate because I am your Master, but Great Demon God is Great Demon God, after all. His status in your heart is unparalleled. Everything is in the past, there’s no need to mention it again.”
Li Rong bit her lip lightly and only after a long time nodded, “Yes!”
Suddenly, she smiled again, “Master, is this girl your beloved woman?”
“En,” Yang Kai admitted without hesitation.
“No wonder Master looks at her with such tender eyes,” Li Rong smiled warmly, “I have never seen Master show this kind of expression towards any female before and was wondering just what kind of woman could attract your attention. Although this girl is wearing a veil so I cannot see her appearance, it’s obvious she is a great beauty.”
“A great beauty?” Yang Kai brow furrowed slightly before a wry smile appeared on his face, “Whether she is beautiful or not I can’t say for certain, because I’ve never seen Little Senior Sister’s true face.”
“Ah?” Li Rong shouted, somewhat unable to believe what she just heard, “You’ve never seen her real face?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Xia Ning Chang’s veil was obviously some kind of magical artifact. Before, Yang Kai was unable to judge the quality of this piece of cloth or understand its mysteries, but now he could.
As long as she was wearing this veil, even if someone wanted to use their Divine Sense to spy on her face, they would be unable to see anything.
“Master’s sentiment towards her must be very deep,” Li Rong said decisively. If that was so, how could Yang Kai never forget about a woman he had never seen the face of?
Also, when he saw her, he wouldn’t have lost his self-control.
Li Rong’s impression of Yang Kai was that he was always calm and composed, with very little that could excite him.
“Kid, if she actually turns out to be ugly, what are you going to do?” Thunder Dragon Great Senior suddenly spoke.
Yang Kai turned to look and found that the two Great Seniors had almost completely recovered while Cai Die and Jin Ni were still meditating.
The two Great Seniors apparently heard the previous conversation and couldn’t help cracking a joke.
“It doesn’t matter, Little Senior Sister’s heart is incomparably pure. In my eyes, she will always be a beautiful woman,” Yang Kai smiled calmly.
Thunder Dragon Great Senior frowned a moment before suddenly nodding, “Fair enough, relationships can also be beautiful with sentiment.”
“But aren’t you at least curious to see what she looks like?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox interjected, egging him on, “She’s currently in a deep stupor, and it’s a golden opportunity.”
“No, I will wait for the day Little Senior Sister lifts her veil of her own free will. At that time I’ll be able to look all I want!” Yang Kai shook his head firmly, “If I were to sneak a peek at her now, the only ones who will benefit are you two.”
Thunder Dragon laughed out loud, “I didn’t expect you to be so overprotective, kid. You can’t even allow others to see your beloved woman’s face?”
“Mind your own business!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully. Of course he wanted to see Xia Ning Chang’s true face, but wasn’t it better to see it for the first time in private?
“But this King is curious, what Sect do you two come from? Actually having such profound cultivation at such a young age, don’t tell me it’s Soaring Heaven Sect. Soaring Heaven Sect doesn’t have that kind of ability.”
“I still have another Senior Sister, she’s no worse than us,” Yang Kai smiled proudly.
Thunder Dragon’s face twitched, “If there is a chance, I have to see just what kind of place was able to raise so many monsters like you.”
“If there’s a chance…” Yang Kai’s look suddenly became somewhat low-spirited; he still didn’t know how to return to the Central Capital.
“Forget it, let’s put that aside for now,” Thunder Dragon changed the subject forcefully, his look becoming serious, “What were you discussing with that man back at those eight pillars? Who was he?”
Yang Kai and Great Demon God’s Soul Clone’s conversation was carried out completely via Divine Sense Messages so the Monster Race masters were only able to see the changes in their expression and didn’t know what was said between them.
“Who he was, doesn’t Thunder Dragon Great Senior already know?” Yang Kai smiled at him.
Thunder Dragon’s eyes narrowed, a look of amazement filling his face, “So… he really was Great Demon God?”
“Great Demon God?” Earth Splitting Divine Ox exclaimed, “No, didn’t that guy already fall thousands of years ago? How could he suddenly appear in such a place?”
“He was probably a remnant Soul of some kind!” Thunder Dragon guessed in a deep voice, “Even though he had no physical form, his remnant Soul was actually that powerful. Just what kind of level did Great Demon God’s true body posses when he was alive?”
Rumour had it that Great Demon God had reached to the pinnacle of this world.
However, from everything they had seen and experienced in that place, it was clear Great Demon God possessed methods and means beyond what a Third Order Saint was capable of.
Three Third-Order Saint Realm powerhouses and two Second-Order Saints were powerless to resist against a method he had arranged thousands of years prior.
If Great Demon God was truly only a Third Order Saint, he wouldn’t be able to achieve such a feat.
Recalling everything that they experienced in that weird space, the two Monster Race Great Seniors felt a cold chill.
Whether it was the green sea, the blood sea, or the last eight pillars, each one contained unimaginable power. Third-Order Saints like them were barely able to withstand the first two barriers and were instantly rendered powerless by the last stone pillars.
The mere methods laid out so many years ago were already so powerful, so how strong was the real Great Demon God?
Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox could hardly imagine it!
In front of that legendary figure, they suddenly felt as weak as children and deeply recognized their own insufficiencies.
“Who knows how strong he was,” Yang Kai smiled brightly, “Perhaps he was a Third-Order Saint, perhaps he reached a realm above the Saint Realm.”
“A higher realm?” Thunder Dragon’s eyes narrowed, “Why has This King never heard of such a thing?”
“A decade ago, I didn’t know that there was a Transcendent Realm above the Immortal Ascension Boundary. In the place I came from, the top powerhouses didn’t even know the Transcendent Realm’s name, let alone about the existence of the Saint Realm.”
Thunder Dragon Great Senior stared at Yang Kai in amazement, after a long time his mouth twitching as he asked, “Just what kind of backwater countryside did you grow up in? How could there still be such an ill-informed place?”
“Let’s not talk about that, have the two of you finished restoring yourselves?” Yang Kai asked.
“Pretty much. Although the pill you gave us didn’t seem to be very high grade, its restorative effects were surprisingly good. Send some more of those to this King. In any case, your Nine Heavens Holy Land is constantly producing pills right?” Thunder Dragon demanded without the slightest bit of politeness.
During their exploration of the Mysterious Small World, the four Monster Race masters trekked across mountains, oceans, and desserts, but none of them obtained a single benefit and instead almost lost their lives. On the other hand, Yang Kai had gained a lot.
Li Rong obtained an epiphany and broke through to the Third-Order Saint Realm while Yang Kai found and rescued his Senior and his Senior Sister who he had not seen for ten years.
Thunder Dragon felt that if he couldn’t extract at least something now it would be too much of a waste of his time and effort.
“Let’s head back for now. When I return, I’ll send you some pills,” Yang Kai said generously, knowing that they would not be satisfied if they couldn’t obtain some benefits.
“En, then This King will wait for the good news,” Thunder Dragon nodded and let out a satisfied laugh.
“Don’t forget this Old Ox’s share!” Earth Splitting Divine Ox called out.
“Of course, of course,” Yang Kai nodded, “In the future, everyone will still be neighbours, I’m sure I’ll have times I need to rely on two Great Seniors.”
“Your too polite, hahaha!”
Finished saying what they wanted to say, Thunder Dragon and Earth Splitting Divine Ox sat in meditation while waiting for Cai Die and Jin Ni to finish restoring themselves.
Yang Kai sat down next to Xia Ning Chang while, once in a while, glancing towards Meng Wu Ya with an expression of relief.
Even after ten years, Little Senior Sister’s aura hadn’t changed at all, but her figure had become more mature, the curves of her body now filled with adult charm that was only emphasized by her tight black robes. Each time she took a light breath, her rich peaks gently rise and fall.
Yang Kai’s eyes couldn’t help being drawn to her.
The sweet fragrance which wafted from his Little Senior Sister was refreshing to both his mind and body.
“Master… this little girl seems to be awake,” Li Rong quietly sent him a Divine Sense Message.
Yang Kai glanced at her face and noticed that his Little Senior Sister’s long lashes were fluttering somewhat while her aura had become somewhat uneven. Even the sound of her heartbeat had become more powerful and slightly faster than just now.
“When did you notice?” Yang Kai asked back.
“When you were talking to Thunder Dragon.”
“At that time…” Yang Kai was somewhat astonished but simply smiled in the end, “Just pretend you didn’t notice.”
“En,” Li Rong gently nodded, not knowing what kind of strange dynamic was playing out between Yang Kai and his Senior Sister. After not seeing each other for ten years, if she had already woken up, why did she keep pretending to be asleep instead of opening her eyes and greeting him?
Yang Kai just stared at Xia Ning Chang with a tender smile.
Little Senior Sister really hadn’t changed at all, after a whole decade; she still had the same marvellous ‘pretending to be asleep’ ability as before.
After half a day, Cai Die and Jin Ni finished restoring themselves; however, recalling the bitter torture and powerlessness they had just experienced, it was clear they still felt some lingering fear.
They had never even dreamed that with their current cultivation and ability, a place that could pose such danger to them still existed in this world.
Jin Ni went out to inquire about the situation and soon confirmed that they really weren’t in the Beast Sea Jungle. After returning to inform the group, everyone was stunned.
“Then where is this place?” Yang Kai asked.
“There was a small town about a hundred kilometres from here. I went there to ask about our location and learned that we’re about a two months journey from your Nine Heavens Holy Land… well, calculated by the speed of a Transcendent Realm cultivator that is.”
“That far out?” Yang Kai exclaimed.
Thunder Dragon and the others were also equally shocked about this. They had obviously entered that place from the Beast Sea Jungle, yet when they came out, they had actually appeared tens of thousands of kilometres away. In the end, they could only blame the discrepancy on the Void Corridor they left through.
It was likely the stretch of The Void they crossed was different from the one they entered through.
“How strange, this old master entered that realm from the Demon Land,” At that moment, Meng Wu Ya’s voice sounded somewhat hoarsely, probably because he was still in the midst of recovering.
“Treasurer Meng,” Yang Kai was shocked and quickly looked over at him.
Meng Wu Ya smiled and nodded, “I didn’t expect that the one to save this old master this time would actually be you, you little brat. It seems that I’ll have to find an opportunity to repay you later!”
Yang Kai grinned and waved his hand, “We’re all one family, there’s no need for such words between us.”
Meng Wu Ya’s face instantly went black as he coughed a few times, “You can eat whatever you want, but you cannot speak words so freely. Since when did we become family?”
Obviously, he was not willing to admit that Xia Ning Chang only had eyes for Yang Kai.
“These are…” Meng Wu Ya quickly fixed his expression before sweeping his gaze over Thunder Dragon and the others.
The four Monster Race masters returned a serious stare to Meng Wu Ya, none of them daring to take him lightly.
In front of them was a man hailed as the Human Race’s strongest master, someone who had defeated Blood Dragon Great Senior in less than an incense stick worth of time. On top of that, not all Humans were like Yang Kai who had no racial biases, if this old man harboured hatred towards the Monster Race…
In any case, they had to keep their guard up.
“These four are my friends from the Monster Race!” Yang Kai immediately introduced them to Meng Wu Ya.
“It turns out they’re from the Monster Race, no wonder the Monster Qi around them is so thick,” Meng Wu Ya nodded slightly before turning a look of suspicion towards Thunder Dragon, “Have we met before? You seem somewhat familiar.”
Thunder Dragon Great Senior solemnly nodded, “Five hundred years ago, in the Beast Sea Jungle!”
Meng Wu Ya frowned as he saw Thunder Dragon directing a somewhat unfriendly look towards him, wondering where he had offended him. Thinking for a while though, his eyes lit up, “Were you one of Blood Dragon’s subordinates from that time?”
“Your Excellency’s memory is impeccable,” Thunder Dragon smiled, “One day, this King will exact revenge for Blood Dragon Great Senior!”
Meng Wu Ya laughed and said, “It’s not like this old master killed him, it was just his capacity was too small. After suffering just one loss he was unable to pick himself back up again, how is that my fault?”
“How dare you insult Blood Dragon Great Senior!” Thunder Dragon stood up and roared.
Seeing the two of them starting to get riled up, Yang Kai quickly interjected.
At this time, if they really were to fight, he would no doubt wind up in the middle; plus, Meng Wu Ya was still in the process of recovering, he was clearly not in a suitable condition to fight.
“It seems we’re unable to agree about even a word,” Thunder Dragon Great Senior coldly snorted before turning to Yang Kai, “Kid, we’ll take our leave first, don’t forget about your promise to deliver this King those pills.”
“En, I’ll remember,” Yang Kai nodded.
The four Monster Race masters nodded once more before flying off.
Meng Wu Ya shrugged indifferently before turning a smile to Yang Kai, “Smelly brat, it seems after not seeing you for ten years you’ve picked up a trick or two. How did you get to know such powerful people?”
“It’s all thanks to Treasurer Meng’s teachings,” Yang Kai quickly said.
“Quit trying to flatter this old master, it’s disgusting!” Meng Wu Ya rolled his eyes, “Don’t think that I don’t know what you’ve been up to. You’re nothing short of a walking disaster, always wandering about getting into trouble, I can’t possibly feel relieved leaving Ning Chang by your side.”
“Like she’ll be safe following you around, old man,” Yang Kai snickered and shot back.
Meng Wu Ya felt like he was choking on his own words, quickly coughing and switching the subject, turning to Li Rong and asking, “How should I call this lady?”
Yang Kai quickly introduced him.
Meng Wu Ya stared at Li Rong, the look of suspicion in his eyes growing stronger as time passed, “Why do I feel that this lady’s cultivation technique is somewhat unusual.”
Hearing his thinly veiled words, how could Li Rong not understand the deeper meaning to his question? Smiling lightly she openly admitted, “Senior is quite observant, I am actually from the Demon Race.”
Meng Wu Ya’s face went a bit stiff before he quickly sent Yang Kai a Divine Sense Message and asked, “Little brat, what have you been up to? How come you’re making friends with such powerful Monster Race and Demon Race masters? Haven’t you learned that those from different races can’t be easily trusted?”
Before Yang Kai even had a chance to answer, Li Rong said, “Senior, if you are worried that I’m harbouring ill intentions towards Master, you need not concern yourself. My clan has sworn a vow to only obey Master’s commands so long as he may live, for the rest of our lives.”
“Master?” Meng Wu Ya eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he glanced back and forth between Li Rong and Yang Kai, asking hesitantly after a while, “You willingly address him as ‘Master’?”
“Yes!” Li Rong nodded sincerely.
Meng Wu Ya’s expression fluctuated back and forth, after a long time before solemnly saying to Yang Kai, “Another day, when there’s an opportunity, we need to have a long chat.”
After not seeing him for ten years, he suddenly discovered that Yang Kai was associating with Demons, causing Meng Wu Ya a great deal of worry. In particular, the strength of this Demon lady was much higher than Yang Kai’s, it would be a simple task for her to force him into a dead end.
“We can talk later, for now, let’s head back,” Yang Kai grinned, knowing what Meng Wu Ya was worried about.
“I’ll return this thing to you now, the Blood Qi inside has almost been consumed clean by me,” Meng Wu Ya said as he handed Yang Kai the Blood Essence Stone.
Yang Kai took it and felt it, his expression changing greatly in the next moment, “What cultivation level do you have right now Treasurer Meng? How did you drain such a massive amount of Blood Qi from this thing?”
Meng Wu Ya smiled, “Before entering that place, this old master was only a First Order Saint, but now… my cultivation has been fully restored. Thanks to the torture I received while bound to that stone pillar, the seals in my body were greatly damaged, giving me the opportunity to completely destroy them.”
Yang Kai’s spirit shook as he asked enthusiastically, “So the seal has been completely removed?”
“En,” Meng Wu Ya nodded.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he smiled, feeling sincerely happy for Treasurer Meng.
Back at High Heaven Pavilion, Meng Wu Ya had been a mystery, and this mysterious background had not been uncovered even in the Central Capital.
Yang Kai had never understood Treasurer Meng’s true depths until he came to Tong Xuan Realm and talked with Ancestral Founder Chu Ling Xiao. It was only then that he gained a faint idea of Meng Wu Ya’s true cultivation: Third-Order Saint!
Chu Ling Xiao had said that Meng Wu Ya had fought a great battle with the current Demon Commander after which he disappeared. Whether he was alive or dead was uncertain.
After learning about Meng Wu Ya from Yang Kai, Chu Ling Xiao speculated that he had been struck by the Demon Commander’s Profound Heavenly Seal, causing his strength to be restricted to the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary.
The Profound Heavenly Seal consisted of three seals in total, each one stronger than the next; Meng Wu Ya had been looking for a way to break these seals all this time.
Back in the Central Capital, he had successfully lifted the first seal and restored his cultivation to the Third-Order Transcendent Realm.
Then, after returning to Tong Xuan Realm, at some point over the last ten years it seems he was able to lift the second seal and regain the strength of a First-Order Saint.
Now, after enduring the torture of the stone pillar, the third seal had been forcefully broken, allowing him to return to his peak.
It was a small blessing in disguise.
“This old master just restored his original strength, you don’t have to act so shocked; rather, it’s you, you little brat, who is the real surprise. After not seeing you for ten years, how did you manage to keep up with Ning Chang’s growth? Just how many rare opportunities did you encounter?” Meng Wu Ya swept Yang Kai with his Divine Sense and couldn’t help feeling some shock upon discovering his current cultivation.
He was well aware of how terrifying Xia Ning Chang’s aptitude was and he had also spared no effort in raising her these past few years, allowing her to have her current accomplishments.
However, Yang Kai’s own progress had not lagged behind at all, and even showed some signs of surpassing his treasured apprentices.
On top of that, when he left the Central Capital a decade ago, his apprentice’s cultivation was higher than this little brat’s.
This thoroughly shocked Meng Wu Ya.
“Heh heh, I just had a little luck,” Yang Kai scratched his head.
Meng Wu Ya laughed and no longer pursued the matter. Yang Kai encountering a variety of opportunities really could be considered a form of luck, but being able to improve one’s strength to such a degree in just ten years no doubt also required incredible aptitude and hard work.
[This little brat… he definitely went all out!] Meng Wu Ya thought to himself.
“If Brother Ling knew about your current situation, he would be very pleased,” Meng Wu Ya sighed, reminiscing about his old friend Ling Tai Xu who was back in the Central Capital.
“Treasurer Meng, do you know how to get back to the Central Capital from here?” Hearing him mention his Grand Master, Yang Kai hurriedly asked.
“Do you want to bring over Brother Ling too?” Meng Wu Ya guessed what Yang Kai was thinking.
“En. The cultivation environment here is many times better than the one over there. If Grand Master had been born here instead, he would likely already be a Saint!”
“You’re right about that, but unfortunately, this old master doesn’t know how to return to the Central Capital!” Meng Wu Ya sighed once more, “This old master only managed to arrive on that side by coincidence, and when I did so I was heavily wounded and in something of a daze. It would be impossible to find the Void Corridor I passed through at that time.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai was slightly disappointed.
“You wanting to bring them over to this side is a good idea, but do you have the resources and ability to accommodate all of them?” Meng Wu Ya looked at Yang Kai and smiled, “There are so many people back in the Central Capital. If you really brought them all to Tong Xuan Realm, forget about anything else, would you even be able to protect their safety? In addition, you would need a place to house that many people and a way to provide them with cultivation resources. You alone won’t be able to take care of so many people. If you can’t handle these issues, then it would be better to leave them in the Central Capital for now, at the very least, they won’t have to worry about a place to live or encountering dangers.”
“About all that, old sir doesn’t have to worry,” Li Rong pursed her lips and laughed, “Master is not alone in this world and is fully capable of protecting the safety of any number of people.”
“Hm? Why do you say that?” Meng Wu Ya looked at Li Rong suspiciously.
“Because Master is now the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land.”
Meng Wu Ya’s look changed greatly as he shifted his eyes back to Yang Kai. Upon seeing Yang Kai nod in acknowledgement, Treasurer Meng’s face couldn’t help twitching, “You actually became the Holy Master of that place? Were all those Saintesses blind or something? What the hell did they see in you?”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes, falling speechless while Li Rong covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.
Meng Wu Ya’s expression became serious in the next instant, “So that means, the old Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land is dead?”
“En, it happened not long after you left the Holy Land with Little Senior Sister.”
Meng Wu Ya sighed, “Sure enough, when I met him last time, I saw that he didn’t have long to live, I just didn’t expect him to pass on so soon. Little Brat, your rapid growth in strength isn’t because you cultivated the Holy Land’s core inheritance Secret Art, right?”
“No.”
“Good, you must absolutely not cultivate that Secret Art! As far as I know, that technique consumes one’s vitality in exchange for a massive increase in cultivation speed. The faster one’s strength improves, the shorter their life becomes. This old master does not want to see Ning Chang’s tearful face one day when you die young. In any case, with your aptitude, as long as you work hard, you’ll reach the level of this old master sooner or later, so living a thousand years will be easy, there’s no need to use that kind of Secret Art that only chases shadows while sacrificing substance.”
“What Treasurer Meng said is also what I thought,” Yang Kai nodded.
“That’s good,” Meng Wu Ya seemed to have rested enough as his face had regained a rosy complexion and his aura had become deep and calm like the sea, “Since you have a place to live, this old master and Ning Chang will stay with you for a while! These years have been bitter, running east and west all the time. That girl has not been able to live a stable life for quite some time.”
As he spoke, Treasurer Meng glanced over at Xia Ning Chang, who was still pretending to be asleep, several times, shaking his head helplessly.
[I know my treasured apprentice is outstanding in every way… but when it comes to her fondness for this little bastard, Ha…
She is so shy that just after ten years of not being able to see him has left her hesitant to even look at him.
If she were to follow this little brat in the future, wouldn’t she be bullied to death by him?]
Thinking of this, Meng Wu Ya couldn’t help breathing somewhat heavily as he felt like a fishbone had gotten stuck in his throat, wishing he could reach out and choke Yang Kai half to death right now!
Yang Kai had already picked up Xia Ning Chang, gently holding her in his arms.
The tender body of Little Senior Sister also gradually began to give off an amazing heat.
“Lead the way,” Meng Wu Ya faintly said, thinking the less he saw the better.
Treasurer Meng had heard the conversation a moment ago between Yang Kai and the Monster Race masters so he knew this place was quite far from Nine Heavens Holy Land.
However, Yang Kai didn’t have any intention of flying, instead summoning out a small glowing object. The blue glow soon expanded and revealed a long shuttle-like object which suspended itself in front of everyone, stopping its expansion upon reaching about ten meters in length.
“Hm, this artifact’s grade is quite high,” Meng Wu Ya had an experienced eye so when the saw the long shuttle, he couldn’t help praising it, “It seems the Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Master receives quite generous treatment.”
He naturally believed that this artifact was some kind of treasure left behind by one of the previous Holy Masters of Nine Heavens Holy Land.
However, Li Rong recognized the true origins of this long shuttle and exclaimed, “Isn’t this that thing?”
“En, after refining it, I discovered it’s actually a flight type artifact.”
“A flight type artifact?” Meng Wu Ya’s brow rose slightly, “A rare sight.”
“Its speed is very high.”
“Oh, how high?” Meng Wu Ya stared blankly at Yang Kai.
“You’ll know once you try it,” Yang Kai grinned, not stating things clearly; the speed of the Flying Heavens Shuttle was something one had to experience for themselves, no words could describe it. “Please hop on.”
Meng Wu Ya and Li Rong didn’t say much and just jumped up onto the Flying Heavens Shuttle.
Yang Kai brought Xia Ning Chang up as well and sat down at the back of the shuttle, settling Little Senior Sister into a comfortable position in his arms before calling out, “Hold on to your hats.”
Issuing a command with his Divine Sense, the Flying Heavens Shuttle transformed into a stream of light and seemingly broke free of the fetters of space, crossing a hundred kilometres in the blink of an eye.
Meng Wu Ya, who was sitting at the bow of the Flying Heavens Shuttle, felt his eyes bulge. Spreading out his Divine Sense, he quickly discovered how sensational the speed of this artifact was and couldn’t help feeling incredibly shocked.
Li Rong also covered her mouth and exclaimed.
“Little brat, how does this artifact possess such astonishing speed? Who refined it?” After a long time, Meng Wu Ya asked Yang Kai via Divine Sense Message, still somewhat unable to contain his emotions.
This Flying Heavens Shuttle’s speed was several times faster than any top master’s all out sprint.
“I don’t know who refined it, it’s something Li Rong and I inadvertently found in the Starry Sky about a year ago,” Yang Kai briefly explained how he had obtained the Flying Heavens Shuttle, not feeling any need to conceal anything from Meng Wu Ya.
“The Starry Sky? You’ve been to the Starry Sky?” Meng Wu Ya was shocked once more.
“En, if you want to see it, I can show it to you another day,” Yang Kai thought he might be curious about the legendary Starry Sky.
“No need…” Unexpectedly though, Meng Wu Ya just slowly shook his head, a solemn expression appearing on his face as he hesitantly said, “This old master has probably seen the Starry Sky.”
“Old sir isn’t certain?” Li Rong felt somewhat puzzled by his words and asked with a chuckle.
“Because this old master’s consciousness was somewhat blurry at the time. It was actually while I was bound to that stone pillar,” Meng Wu Ya recalled and explained, “I always felt that place was extremely important and profound. While I was being tortured, it felt as if my Soul left my body and travelled to many different places, the Starry Sky being one of them. Those places were located in the north, east, west, and south of Tong Xuan Realm, each one separated by tens of thousands of kilometres. However, because of the pain from the torture, I cannot remember much detail about them.”
Pausing for a moment, he continued in a solemn tone, “Little Yang Kai, my instincts are telling me that you should not have destroyed that place.”
“You’re saying that too, Treasurer Meng?” Yang Kai heard this and was startled.
“Who else told you that?”
“Great Demon God’s Soul Clone! He said that it was the keystone of the entire world, and that if I destroyed it, I would have to bear unimaginable consequences.”
“Keystone?” Meng Wu Ya frowned and asked, “What else did he say?”
Yang Kai thought for a moment and replied, “He also said that this world had been sealed for too long and that it was time for it to step into the light again.”
Meng Wu Ya suddenly went silent as a pensive look appeared on his face, seemingly in deep thought over something…
Seeing his dignified expression, Yang Kai quickly asked, “Treasurer Meng, what is the meaning behind those words? What did he mean when he called this place a sealed world?”
“This old master doesn’t know,” Meng Wu Ya slowly shook his head, “But don’t tell others about this for now, give me some time to think about it.”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, recalling the words of Great Demon God’s Soul Clone and remembering he had also said that by visiting the Demon Capital, he would naturally understand all of these hidden mysteries.
However, the Demon Capital wasn’t exactly a place he could freely enter.
Soaring forward, the Flying Heavens Shuttle maintained a lightning fast pace.
Meng Wu Ya was continuously amazed at the speed of this artifact.
Yang Kai sat with Little Senior Sister at the back of the Flying Heavens Shuttle, gently breathing in her delicate fragrance while feeling the softness and warmth of her body, relaxing his mind and body.
As time passed, his embrace grew tighter.
The tender body of Little Senior Sister trembled as her long eyelashes fluttered constantly, the heat from her body ever increase as a red blush spread across her jade white skin.
Being held by Yang Kai, their two bodies pressing against one another, feeling each other’s heat and pounding heart, for the incredibly pure and innocent Little Senior Sister, it was undoubtedly incredibly stimulating.
Yang Kai didn’t wake her, simply enjoying this rare moment of peace as he stared at her face, softly whispering, “Little Senior Sister, you’re really beautiful!”
Meng Wu Ya, who was sitting in front of him, clenched his fists as he called out indignantly, “Such shamelessness!”
The explicit words of love that seeped into his ears made him feel an unbearable rage.
Li Rong’s eyes remained clear and bright as she licked her red lips gently and moved a little further forward, giving Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang some more space while speaking to Meng Wu Ya, “Old sir, since we have time, could you tell me about Master’s past? Unfortunately my knowledge of Master is still quite shallow.”
“You want to know about his past?” Meng Wu Ya brow rose up, an evil grin appearing on his face, “This old master knows a great many things about that, come, come, this old master will carefully let you know just how brazen, impudent, and shameless this Master of yours truly is! This little bastard is nothing more than a reckless delinquent and an incorrigible womanizer, stirring up trouble wherever he goes.”
Li Rong pursed her lips and giggled, not interrupting, only listening attentively.
Meng Wu Ya immediately launched into a tirade, but as if fearing Yang Kai would overhear all the malicious remarks he was making, he quickly waved his hand a wrapped himself and Li Rong in a sound proof barrier.
Yang Kai turned a blind eye to this and began acting even bolder.
Holding Little Senior Sister’s soft, seemingly boneless little hand while lovingly caressing her face and gently blowing in her ear, “These past ten years, there hasn’t been a single day I didn’t wish to see you, and when I finally achieved this cherished wish, it was actually under such a situation. Little Senior Sister, do you think this is fate? Could it be the Heavens secretly arranged for me to appear in that place so I could rescue the most important woman in my life?”
Little Senior Sister’s eyelashes were fluttering even more rapidly now, seemingly moved by Yang Kai’s words, the blush on her slender neck deepening even more, filling her white skin with a seductive luster.
“Thinking back now, Junior Brother feels very fortunate, if I hadn’t insisted on traveling together with Li Rong at that time, I’m afraid I would never have been able to see you again,” Yang Kai said with a hint of fear apparent in his tone.
The two Monster Race Great Seniors had mainly been interested in inviting Li Rong to go to that place, Yang Kai had simply been tagging along, yet that actually allowed him to meet Meng Wu Ya and Xia Ning Chang there.
It was all a bit too coincidental.
“En, after the past ten years, I have met a variety of women here, many of them quite beautiful in their own right, but none of them had anywhere near the impact you and Su Yan had on me, making me never able to forget them while engraving themselves on my heart, leaving a mark that could never be erased. You being here, being well, nothing makes Junior Brother more satisfied…”
These sweet nothings flowed out from Yang Kai’s mouth like a gentle stream, conveying his tender affections straight to Xia Ning Chang’s heart, causing her to take the initiative to tightly embrace him, pouring all her strength into her two arms, as if she wished she the two of them could merge together and never separate.
Yang Kai raised his head slightly and looked at Little Senior Sister, seeing her beautiful limpid eyes and faintly blushing cheeks, her delicate neck that seemed aglow with shyness as she let out fragrant breath.
As they stared into each other’s eyes, Little Senior Sister put aside her vision timidly as she ever so softly whispered, “Your words are really pleasant to the ear… can you say a few more…”
After putting forward her request, she quickly closed his eyes and buried her head in Yang Kai’s chest, not daring to meet his eyes again.
“Of course,” Yang Kai naturally could not disappoint her, racking his brain to find as many words of sentiment as possible, gently whispering them like a spell that infiltrated Xia Ning Chang’s heart, making it tremble as her tender body shivered in delight.
Feeling the warmth of Yang Kai’s body and listening to his voice, Xia Ning Chang felt incredibly satisfied, thinking that even if she were to die right now, she would die happy.
“That… little… bastards….” Meng Wu Ya ground his teeth as his eyes filled with an ominous light.
Li Rong laughed lightly, “Old sir does not need to worry so much, with Master’s aptitude and temperament, he can definitely make that girl happy.”
“Haa…” Treasurer Meng sighed heavily, “The little girl has become a woman, I can’t shelter her forever, and this old master might as well settle down in Nine Heavens Holy Land and enjoy the treatment of an elder.”
“How can old sir say such words? You are still hale and hearty; Master even said he will need to depend on your help in the future.”
Meng Wu Ya let out a wry laugh before turning his eyes back to Li Rong, “You are very loyal to that boy, with you by his side, this old master can feel relieved. But you have to be careful not to be deceived by his wiles and end up like this old master’s treasured apprentice, losing your very soul to him. He may look like a young man but in truth he’s no more than a beast.”
Li Rong’s face blushed red, “Old sir must be joking, my Ancient Demon Clan is the sharp blade of Master, the shield which guards his life, none of us dare hope to become anything more.”
“There’s no need for you to call me old sir, you and I are both Third Order Saints, we should interact as peers,” Meng Wu Ya smiled lightly.
“That will not do, you are the Senior of Master, naturally that makes you my Senior too,” Li Rong quickly waved her hands.
Seeing her appearance, Meng Wu Ya suddenly felt exasperated and immediately closed his eyes to mediate.
Behind him, the whispers of Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang continued, the two of them seemingly very happy.
Just two days later, the nine peaks came into sight.
The Flying Heavens Shuttle’s flight speed was simply astonishing.
A blue light streaked across the sky and rushed straight into the nine peaks.
Realizing the appearance of this streak and the powerhouses that accompanied it, the various Saints around the Holy Land emerged one after another and flew over.
Meng Wu Ya’s brow furrowed slightly as he spread out his Divine Sense, asking suspiciously, “Little Yang Kai, why are there so many people outside your Nine Heavens Holy Land? What are they doing here?”
“They’ve come to request Alchemy services,” Yang Kai grinned.
“Ask for Alchemy?” Meng Wu Ya brow rose slightly, snorting disdainfully, “Your Nine Heavens Holy Land has some kind of Alchemy Grandmaster?”
“Master is actually a Saint Grade Alchemist!” Li Rong quickly explained, “The people who came here were attracted by his reputation but outsiders do not know the true identity of the Alchemy Grandmaster.”
“Oh? You also studied Alchemy?” Meng Wu Ya stared at Yang Kai in surprise.
“I learned a little, nothing compared to Little Senior Sister,” Yang Kai glanced over at Xia Ning Chang, who was standing next to him.
“Hmph, seems you still have a little self-awareness!” Meng Wu Ya nodded.
Li Rong delicate brow rose as she directed a stunned look towards Xia Ning Chang, a trace of doubt surfacing on her face.
She, more than anyone else perhaps, understood how great Yang Kai’s Alchemy aptitude and proficiency was, yet if she had not misunderstood his words, he actually considered himself inferior to his Little Senior Sister in the Alchemic Way.
Was that even possible?
As the few of them chatted, many Saint Realm masters, the Elders of Nine Heavens Holy Land and the leaders of the Ancient Demon Clan, all flew over.
After seeing that Yang Kai had returned, all of them were overjoyed. Xu Hui and the others quickly stepped forward and hastily saluted, the heavy expressions on their faces faded somewhat, as if they had just been freed from a great burden, “Holy Master, it is good that you have returned, if you had remained out for much longer, this old master’s heart might have given out.”
“What happened? Has there been an accident in the Holy Land?” Yang Kai asked hurriedly.
“Although it is nothing so dire, it is still a serious matter. The Grandmasters have been inquiring about your whereabouts all day, hoping you can soon come back. Moreover, you have been gone for three months, during that time, the Grandmasters have quickly become exhausted from constantly performing Alchemy. Whenever they wanted to complain, even if I wanted to hide, I could not.”
“Ah…” Yang Kai went silent.
He had almost forgotten about Du Wan and the others.
Xu Hui saying this reminded him that after he had left, the Holy Land’s Alchemy services had been handed over to the five Grandmasters. Over the past three months, they had no doubt become exhausted.
The Grandmasters were all respected Seniors but now they had actually been reduced to free labour for the Holy Land.
Yang Kai’s heart immediately filled with guilt.
“Quickly announce that the Holy Land will not be providing Alchemy services for the next ten days, let the Grandmasters take a break!” Yang Kai declared.
“But there are more and more people coming to request Alchemy services every day. If we suddenly stop, won’t that provoke a wave of public anger?” Xu Hui showed a worried look; it was precisely because of this concern that after Yang Kai left they had never dared stop.
“Just say that my Holy Land’s Grandmaster has taken ill and needs some time to recover. Since they are here to request pills, they need to have enough patience. If they can’t wait, they’re welcome to leave. We’re not saying they won’t be able to request Alchemy services, they just need to wait ten more days. I doubt any of them would dare raise a fuss.”
Moreover, if anyone did leave here and tried to request Alchemy services somewhere else, they would definitely have to wait many times longer.
“Yes,” Receiving this command, Xu Hui quickly arranged for some nearby disciples to pass the message along to the Elders who were currently on duty outside.
After he finished arranging everything, Xu Hui finally turned to look at Meng Wu Ya and couldn’t help calling out in shock, “Isn’t this the friend of the old Holy Master?”
When Meng Wu Ya came here last with Xia Ning Chang, he only spoke openly with the old Holy Master. Although he had been a guest in the Holy Land for a few days, Xu Hui and the others never learned of his identity or origins, so naturally they didn’t know his name and only had a faint impression of his appearance.
“Allow me to introduce you all, this is a Senior from my Sect, Meng Wu Ya.” Yang Kai said.
“Welcome, welcome!” Xu Hui cupped his fists and greeted politely. Feeling the great strength of the man in front of him, Xu Hui didn’t dare act disrespectful, he could also tell that this person was much stronger than the last time he had visited the Holy Land.
However, the name of this person… Xu Hui felt as if he had heard this name somewhere before, but he could not recall where. After spending moments thinking about it yet not coming up with anything, he just slowly shook his head.
In the main square of the Holy Land, a crowd of Saint Realm masters gathered around.
Yang Kai introduced Treasurer Meng and Xia Ning Chang to them, the several Elders of the Holy Land, and Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan returning the greetings.
When they heard that Xia Ning Chang and Yang Kai had come from the same Sect and were Junior Brother and Senior Sister, all of them wore serious expression, not daring to act the least bit impolite.
Seeing the intimacy between Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang, many of them immediately guessed the true nature of the pair’s relationship.
”I had thought our Holy Master was uninterested in women, but it turns out he simply had someone in his heart already,” Yu Ying stood on the periphery and laughed lightly.
“Poor Ling’er…” Cheng Yue Tong couldn’t help feeling somewhat sorry for An Ling’er as all of the Elders thought she and Yang Kai had already begun cultivating the core Secret Art of Nine Heavens Holy Land. What they didn’t know was that An Ling’er was just colluding with Yang Kai to fool them.
“Ling’er should know about this already,” Yu Ying smiled, “The Holy Master is such a character, having a few women is very normal. Ling’er is not someone petty, so what need is there to worry about her being accepting of others? Also, this little girl clearly has a gentle personality; she won’t try to compete with Ling’er.”
“I hope so.” Cheng Yue Tong nodded lightly.
“Meng Wu Ya!?” At that moment, Xu Hui suddenly exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as he stared towards Treasurer Meng, a look of excitement filling his face.
“Why are you calling out his name, Great Elder? Didn’t I just introduce you a moment ago?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“I suddenly recalled where I had heard that name before! A few hundred years ago, the strongest master of the Human Race also had that name! You couldn’t possibly be…”
“Strongest master?” Treasurer Meng frowned before putting on a forced smile, “The world’s common people love attaching titles to others like that, who is the strongest or who is the second strongest, such things are of little significance.”
“It really is you?” Xu Hui said with astonishment.
The other Elders were also dumbfounded as they gawked at Meng Wu Ya, as if someone had suddenly struck them over the head with a hammer, stunning them.
With Xu Hui’s reminder, all of them finally recalled the name Meng Wu Ya.
“Good good, this Xu had not expected that in this life he would have the honour of meeting Elder Brother Meng, this is truly a fortune encounter,” Xu Hui cupped his fists and bowed deeply. When Yang Kai had introduced him to Meng Wu Ya, Xu Hui had only offered a casual greeting.
After all, Nine Heavens Holy Land was now world-famous. As the Holy Land’s Great Elder, his status was quite lofty so the average masters were really nothing in his eyes.
It was only because he was Yang Kai’s Senior that Xu Hui took the initiative to greet Treasurer Meng.
However, now that he knew the identity of the person in front of him, Xu Hui’s attitude became completely different, even containing a faint trace of worship.
“En, Treasurer Meng and Little Senior Sister will be living in our Nine Heavens Holy Land from now on, so there will be plenty of opportunities to communicate with each other,” Yang Kai waved, cutting off Xu Hui’s endless chatter.
“Oh? Elder Brother Meng intends to stay in the Holy Land? You are certainly most welcome!” Xu Hui’s eyes shone brightly.
“Treasurer Meng and Little Senior Sister can take up residence in the Holy Master Court, which is where I currently live. What do you think?” Yang Kai turned to ask Meng Wu Ya for his opinion.
“Good, as long as it’s clean anywhere is fine,” Meng Wu Ya nodded.
“Then come with me,” Yang Kai beckoned.
“Holy Master, please allow Elder Yu Ying to process this matter, there are still some things I must inform you of,” Xu Hui saw that Yang Kai was preparing to leave and quickly called out to stop him.
“Can’t whatever it is wait a moment?”
“Unfortunately it cannot!” Xu Hui replied seriously.
Yang Kai was surprised by this forceful declaration and could only helplessly agree, “Very well, Elder Yu Ying, please take them to the Holy Master Court and let An Ling’er arrange a place for them to stay.”
“Yes, please come with me,” Yu Ying immediately complied.
Xia Ning Chang shot a reluctant look towards Yang Kai but quickly collected herself and followed after Yu Ying.
“Master, if there is nothing else, I’ll also take my leave here,” Li Rong asked to be excused before leading the other leaders of the Ancient Demon Clan back to the peak where they lived.
Soon, only a few of the Holy Land’s Elders and Yang Kai remained in the square.
“So, what is this important matter?” Yang Kai asked, somewhat dissatisfied with Xu Hui interrupting his and Little Senior Sister’s reunion.
“It’s the Holy Tomb!” Xu Hui quickly replied, “There’s been an accident with the Holy Tomb. Holy Master will understand once you see it.”
“What can possibly happen in the Holy Tomb?” Yang Kai asked uninterestedly.
The Holy Tomb was a restricted area of Nine Heavens Holy Land, the place where all previous Holy Masters were laid to rest, but after Yang Kai first entered it, the Holy Tomb had been transformed into an empty space. Afterwards, the Holy Land’s several thousand disciples had taken refuge inside of it for three or so years.
This incredibly small and barren Mysterious Small World, aside from being a good place to enter secluded retreat, essentially had no other worth.
Yang Kai couldn’t even think of what kind of problems it could have.
Arriving in front of the Holy Tomb a short time later though, Yang Kai directed a dignified stare towards its large stone entrance.
Originally, there was a profound array set up on this large stone slab and only the Holy Master Spirit Ring in Yang Kai’s possession was capable of opening it and revealing the entrance to the Mysterious Small World.
But now, in the centre of the stone slab, a pitch-black Void Corridor appeared, like the open mouth of a great beast.
The Holy Land’s Elders had collaborated to set up a barrier a thousand meters out from Holy Tomb’s and forbidden any disciples from approaching it.
“What happened?” Yang Kai asked, “How did the Holy Tomb open?”
“Subordinate does not know what transpired, the Holy Tomb just suddenly opened on its own. In order to prevent the disciples from entering it, the Elders set up numerous restrictions around here.”
“Have you gone in to investigate yet?” Yang Kai turned to ask Xu Hui.
“Subordinate and Elder Shi Kun have entered once.”
“What did you find?”
“Nothing, the Holy Tomb itself doesn’t seem to have experienced any changes.”
“I’ll go in and have a look, you wait here,” Yang Kai issued a command before diving into the Void Corridor.
After about the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai returned from the Holy Tomb with a look of confusion on his face.
Just as Xu Hui had said, besides the entrance opening on its own, there was no change to the inside of the Holy Tomb, the World Energy aura was still as potent as always and there were no signs of any kind of danger.
After sinking into contemplation for a long time, Yang Kai couldn’t come up with any reasonable explanation and asked, “When did this happen?”
“About two or three days ago.”
“Two or three days ago?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, suddenly feeling slightly uneasy.
“En, did Holy Master think of something?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Two or three days ago was around the time he had rescued Treasurer Meng and Xia Ning Chang.
However, could these two matters have any relationship with one another? After all, these two places were tens of thousands of kilometres apart, a two-month journey for a Transcendent Realm cultivator.
“Was it just a coincidence?
“For the time being, don’t let any of the disciples get close to here, perhaps there is some hidden danger yet to reveal itself. Let’s just observe the situation for a while,” Yang Kai was helpless and could only issue such instructions, he was unable to figure out why this Mysterious Small World’s entrance had suddenly opened.
Receiving his orders, the Elder quickly made the appropriate arrangements.
As soon as he arrived back at the Holy Master Court, Yang Kai felt a bunch of stares land on him.
The five Grandmasters were standing there. It seems they had heard about his return and had rushed out to meet him.
“Little brat, you deceived us. Your three-month trip nearly exhausted these old masters to death!” Chang Bao shouted loudly as soon as their eyes met.
As the manager of Lightning Flash City’s Alchemist Guild branch and a Saint Grade Alchemist, he possessed incredibly high status. Usually when someone came to ask him for Alchemy services, whether he agreed or not was simply up to his mood, if he was feeling generous, perhaps he would refine one or two Saint Pills a month.
There had never once in his life been a time like these past three months where every day he actually had to fulfil a pill refining quota.
It was almost as if he had come to Nine Heavens Holy Land to work for free for Yang Kai.
After three months of strenuous effort, Chang Bao had lost a few dozen kilograms of fat and his body was noticeably slimmer than before.
“That’s right, the several of us discussed a few days ago that if you didn’t come back soon, we would drop this troublesome burden and leave without caring about your Nine Heavens Holy Land’s reputation,” Hong Fang also called out.
“Enough already, you don’t need to keep acting like pitiful victims here!” Kong Ruo Yu gave them a harsh stare, “Thanks to these past three months of constant Alchemy, which one of you has not obtained great benefits? Even putting aside how Du Wan has become a Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist, haven’t all of you now seen hope of reaching such a height? True it was tiring, but the harvests you gained weren’t small either.”
Receiving Kong Ruo Yu’s reprimand, the two of them quieted down, neither of them able to refute her, instead just turning a dissatisfied glare towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai quickly stepped forward and apologetically cupped his fists, “I really must apologize. I didn’t expect to be gone for such a long time. Originally I had expected to be out for just a few days but a great many accidents happened along the way, dragging things out until this point. Junior offers his sincere thanks to several Grandmasters for preserving my Holy Land’s hard-earned prestige and reputation these past three months.”
“Hmph, as long as you understand,” He Feng nodded with satisfaction, “And, for treating us old guys here as free labour, how do you intend to compensate?”
Yang Kai glanced around and soon caught sight of his Little Senior Sister who was chatting happily with An Ling’er nearby, a grin soon appearing on his face, “I’ve ordered that for the next ten days, the Holy Land will not be accepting Alchemy requests, which will give several Grandmasters an opportunity to rest.”
“A simple break is not enough to satisfy our appetite,” Chang Bao shook his head.
“Ten days from now, Junior will surely provide several Grandmasters with a satisfactory compensation.”
“Good!” Chang Bao’s fat face filled with smiles, “We don’t have any other requests, as long as you continue demonstrating your Alchemy in front of us, we’ll be satisfied.”
“Several Grandmasters should look forward to ten days from now, there will surely be a surprise for you,” Yang Kai chuckled.
The five Grandmasters exchanged a suspicious glance, all of them wondering what kind of snake oil Yang Kai was peddling.
Du Wan eventually smiled and said, “You don’t need to concern yourself too much since we now have a ten-day break. You should also have a good rest. En, I see you are quite anxious to go to that young miss over there, us old folks won’t bother you anymore. Since we came here, we’ve actually yet to experience the scenery of this place. Several old friends, how about we go out for a leisurely stroll?
“Agreed, sitting around inside all day long will only make us stiff, we should get out and stretch our legs a bit.”
And so, the several Grandmasters left the Holy Master Court in a good mood, seemingly planning on touring around the nine peaks.
“You two chat; I’ll take my leave first. If Sister Ning Chang has anything she wants to ask about, feel free to come see me, I also live in the Holy Master Court anyways,” An Ling’er saw the five Grandmasters leave and also tactfully withdrew.
“En, I’ll have to trouble Elder Sister in the future,” Xia Ning Chang nodded gently as she watched An Ling’er depart.
The next moment, she felt Yang Kai lift her into his embrace and couldn’t help letting out a small yelp, her two small hands reaching up and lightly wrapping around his neck as she hurriedly asked, “Junior Brother, what are you trying to do?”
“I have many things to discuss with you,” Yang Kai smiled and carried her into his room.
“So do I…” Xia Ning Chang rested her head against Yang Kai’s shoulder.
Inside the room, atop his bed, Yang Kai gently sat down, placing Little Senior Sister atop his lap, maintaining an intimate posture.
As Xia Ning Chang sat on his lap, their chests pressed up against one another and Yang Kai’s eyes filled with burning flames, a bad smile formed at the corner of his lips as his hands began to wander around dissolutely.
Little Senior Sister was wearing a long, form-fitting black robe, perfectly outlining her beautiful bodyline and showcasing her full, milk-white peaks. Feeling Yang Kai’s hands caressing her waist and thighs, his fingers seeming to send shocks of electricity into her body, causing her to shiver unconsciously. She couldn’t help averting her limpid eyes, too shy to look at him.
Her breathing gradually became heavier as a strange yet pleasant heat began to rise from her tender body.
Yang Kai feigned ignorance, continuing to tease his Little Senior Sister, slowly becoming more and more unscrupulous.
“Junior Brother… I feel strange…” Xia Ning Chang bit her lip and whispered as softly as a mosquito.
“Oh, how so?” Yang Kai asked wickedly. He didn’t know why, but when he saw Little Senior Sister acting so coyly, he felt particularly excited and couldn’t help wanting to see just where the limit of her bashfulness was.
“I… I’m quite uncomfortable,” Xia Ning Chang worked up her courage and said as she reached out and held Yang Kai’s hand, stopping it from wandering around her waist.
As she did so though, the feeling from her thigh became sharper, and she couldn’t help tightly clamping her legs.
At this moment, Little Senior Sister suddenly felt that she had become a hundred times more sensitive, able to clearly sense every change in Yang Kai’s body.
Inside her chest, her heart pounded fiercely, sounding out like a great war drum.
Experiencing this kind of overwhelming mental and physical stimulus, Xia Ning Chang froze up, her thoughts becoming chaotic and having no idea how she should react.
“Didn’t you bring me here because you wanted to talk?” Xia Ning Chang whimpered, trying to maintain the last fragments of rationality, but the surging tide of emotions she was feeling continued to wear down her defences.
“Aren’t we talking?” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.
“En…” Xia Ning Chang couldn’t argue back or endure any more, only feeling like her body had lost all strength and had gone limp, the heat coming from her core making her think she had been tossed into a volcano as her most precious place unknowingly became slightly damp.
“What does Little Senior Sister want to talk about?” Yang Kai asked again.
“I… I don’t know. Is it okay to go on like this?” Xia Ning Chang closed her eyes and completely entrusted herself to Yang Kai, never having felt so satisfied in her entire life.
Looking at her appearance, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a boiling heat rising up within him and almost failed to hold it in, quickly circulating his Secret Art to dispel the evil thoughts gripping his heart.
The movement of his hands also stopped as he calmly watched Xia Ning Chang, waiting for his mood to calm down.
A short time later, Xia Ning Chang opened her eyes shyly and revealed a faintly unsatisfied look.
Yang Kai sat up straight and seriously said, “A few days later, after you’ve settled in here, we’ll carry on.”
Xia Ning Chang gently nodded as she whispered lightly, “En, whenever Junior Brother wants.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened as he tightened his embrace. His shy Little Senior Sister had obviously worked up a great deal of courage to say such words.
“We should have a good talk for now; I really do have many things to ask you.” Yang Kai said with great satisfaction.
“What does Junior Brother want to ask?” Xia Ning Chang asked softly.
“How have you been for the past ten years?”
“I just followed Master around everywhere…” Xia Ning Chang as sat up comfortably, leaning on Yang Kai’s chest as she began telling him about her various experiences these past ten years. Yang Kai listened quietly, digesting all of his Little Senior Sister’s words, doing his best to try to understand her hardships and triumphs.
After a long time, Little Senior Sister finished speaking and asked about what Yang Kai had experienced these past ten years.
Yang Kai naturally did not conceal anything from her.
As time passed, the two seemed to never run out of words to exchange, whispering tenderly to one another as they enjoyed this peaceful time together.
“Right, Su Yan Senior Sister is in a place called Ice Sect…” Xia Ning Chang suddenly remembered and raised her head up.
“I know, I went to find her,” Yang Kai grinned, “The environment there is very suitable for her cultivation. When I went to see her, she was in retreat so I could only exchange a few Divine Sense Messages with her before leaving. I don’t know how she is now.”
“Does Junior Brother want to bring her back?”
“After I finish tidying up matters here, we’ll go pick her up together.”
“En,” Xia Ning Chang nodded repeatedly before leaning onto Yang Kai’s chest again.
“What about Old Demon? Do you know anything about what he’s currently up to?” Yang Kai asked.
Xia Ning Chang shook her head, “When we came here from the depths of the Central Capital, Old Demon Senior separated from us. He said he was going to go to the Demon Land, but I also went to the Demon Land with Master, yet we didn’t hear any news about him, so I don’t know where Senior is now.”
“That old devil… well, we don’t need to worry about him, he’s not the kind to end up dead by another’s hands,” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Old Demon’s cultivation may not be too high right now, but his physical body once belonged to a true Demon General! That was the body of the Third Order Saint.
Only masters in the same realm as him could even hurt him.
It was for this reason that Yang Kai had never worried about Old Demon, after all, Third Order Saints were incredibly rare.
“All of this makes me fondly remember our days back in High Heaven Pavilion. At that time, although I was very small and weak, not even knowing about the secrets of the Transcendent and Saint Realm, I felt free and peaceful,” Xia Ning Chang whispered softly, a look of nostalgia flashing across her eyes.
“En,” Yang Kai also sighed, “As our strength increases, we keep encountering more and more matters we cannot ignore.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai suddenly remembered something and said happily, “Right, Little Senior Sister, I have a gift for you.”
“What kind of gift?” Xia Ning Chang sat up straight and looked at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took out a jade bottle that contained two drops of crystal clear liquid.
When she saw the two drops of liquid, Xia Ning Chang’s expression became dignified as she immediately recognized their extraordinariness.
“What is this?”
“The Thousand Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid!” Yang Kai replied.
Xia Ning Chang couldn’t help covering her mouth in shock; obviously she had also heard about this famous treasure, hurriedly exclaiming, “Is it the medicinal liquid of the Thousand-Year Demon Flower that bloomed near Floating Clouds City a few years ago?”
“Yes, Little Senior Sister also knows about that event?”
“En, at the time, Master brought me there to experience the blossoming and to see if there was an opportunity for me to acquire the Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid, but because there were too many people around making it too dangerous and Master didn’t have confidence he could completely guarantee my safety, we left halfway through,” Xia Ning Chang explained, a somewhat complicated light soon colouring her beautiful eyes, “Does that mean Junior Brother was also there?”
With an extremely bitter look upon his face, Yang Kai sighed, “You as well, apparently.”
Xia Ning Chang sadly nodded.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, a look of regret filling their faces. Back in Floating Clouds City, neither of them had known the other was nearby, so they had ended up passing each other by without realizing, delaying their reunion for many years.
“It turns out that this treasure was obtained by Junior Brother.”
“Although I was the one who obtained it in the end, there is one other person who deserves an equal share of the credit, someone you should know too,” Yang Kai smiled, not keeping her guessing as he continued, “A young man named Di Yao, do you remember him?”
“Old Man Li’s disciple?” Little Senior Sister really had an impression of him, “I remember him, I also competed in Alchemy with him.”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “Di Yao seems to not have been convinced about his loss and was saying that he must compete with you again the next time you meet. Of course, I don’t believe he is worthy to be Senior Sister’s opponent.”
“That’s not true, at the time I also only barely won. He has Old Man Li as his Master, so his skill in Alchemy is quite refined,” Xia Ning Chang said modestly.
“You possess the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body, no one is worthy to be your opponent in the field of Alchemy,” Yang Kai shook his head before taking out another empty jade bottle and pouring a drop of the Thousand-Year Demon Flower’s medicinal liquid into it and handing it to Little Senior Sister, “When the time is right, refining this medicinal liquid should help you break through to the Saint Realm. Your Sacred Spirit Medicine Body can refine all spirit medicines in the world without any side effects so you are the most suited to use this.”
“En, thank you, Junior Brother, but I still need some time to enhance and consolidate my current cultivation,” Xia Ning Chang had no need to be polite with Yang Kai and accepted his gift, placing it carefully into her Universe Bag.
“Come, I still have another gift for you,” Yang Kai said, picking her up and placing her on the bed.
Sitting across from Little Senior Sister, Yang Kai solemnly said, “Release your Knowledge Sea’s defences!”
Xia Ning Chang didn’t hesitate and immediately complied.
The next moment, she felt Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy flow in.
The Knowledge Sea reflected the inner heart of a person, so Xia Ning Chang’s Knowledge Sea was a beautiful and pristine environment, as pure and innocent as she was.
The pair’s Soul Avatars manifested and stood opposite each other, Yang Kai then asking, “Do you remember the True Alchemic Way I once taught you before?”
“Of course, it was all thanks to it that my Alchemy proficiency increased so rapidly.”
“Back in War City, I had yet to thoroughly comprehend everything in the True Alchemic Way, so I only taught you a portion of it, now I can pass the rest of it to you.”
Hearing this, Xia Ning Chang smiled happily.
“Little Senior Sister, what is your current Alchemy level?” Yang Kai asked before beginning.
“I haven’t been certified by the Alchemist Guild yet, but I can refine Saint Grade Mid-Rank pills,” Xia Ning Chang replied with a somewhat annoyed look, “But after reaching this step, I had no way to further advance as Saint Grade materials are too difficult to find, limiting the chances I’ve had to practice.”
Although he had faintly guessed as much, Yang Kai was still astonished at Xia Ning Chang’s Alchemy aptitude, her words just now only serving to confirm his speculations.
Why am I even doing this?
Both Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang were Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemists, but the time and resources they had spent achieving that rank were completely different.
Xia Ning Chang had been constantly running around with Meng Wu Ya for the past ten years and had very few stable days to spend improving her Alchemy technique. On top of that, Treasurer Meng wouldn’t have been able to easily gather large quantities of Alchemy materials like Yang Kai had in order to allow Xia Ning Chang to continually practice and build up her experience.
It could be said that Yang Kai being able to achieve his current level of Alchemy proficiency was completely thanks to piling up an incredible amount of time and resources.
On the other hand, Little Senior Sister has used her innate talent and special constitution to reach such a height while the time and resources she consumed was only a fraction of what Yang Kai had spent.
Yet now, they had both reached the rank of Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist.
The difference in talent between the two was easy to judge.
Although he was surprised, Yang Kai was not discouraged but rather felt a great sense of joy, the more amazing his Little Senior Sister was, the happier he was.
Unlike the common men who would feel annoyed or even jealous that their woman had surpassed them in a certain field, Yang Kai only felt a sense of pride.
“Don’t worry, from now on, you will never lack for herbs to practice your skills with. I believe that soon, your Alchemy technique will experience rapid growth and it won’t be long before you reach the same standard as Old Man Li!” Yang Kai grinned, stretching out his hand and condensing a white ball of light on top of his palm before passing it over to Xia Ning Chang’s Soul Avatar, “Inside this is all the knowledge of the True Alchemic Way, take your time to comprehend it.
“En,” Xia Ning Chang opened her mind and body and absorbed the Spiritual Energy light containing the complete True Alchemic Way into her Soul Avatar before immediately beginning to study it.
Yang Kai did not bother her and quietly left.
Leaving his room, Yang Kai came out and strolled over to the main hall of the Holy Master Court.
An Ling’er was there going over recent reports, seemingly taking inventory of the Holy Land’s current accounts, her pretty face filled with a joyful smile.
Yang Kai’s arrival did not alarm her as she continued to immerse herself in her work, compiling the various documents into a single summary.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai sat down opposite her and poured himself a glass of water that An Ling’er looked up at him and grinned, “What’s wrong? After you finally managed to reunite with each other, shouldn’t you be spending a long time alone together? How come you came out after just two days?”
Yang Kai’s expression became somewhat awkward as he muttered, “We talked about everything we needed to, what else were we supposed to do?”
“Oh? You just talked?” An Ling’er’s grin grew even wider.
“What did you think we were doing?” Yang Kai quickly discovered the strangeness in her expression and understood she had gotten some wrong ideas in her head.
“Who knows, a single man and single woman spending several days all alone together, certain things are bound to happen, no?” An Ling’er seems to be in a good mood as she teased.
“You’re not jealous, are you?” Yang Kai stared at her blankly.
An Ling’er snorted, “Stop flattering yourself, the Elders might think we have that kind of relationship but you and I know better.”
“A Saintess daring to say such words to the Holy Master, you must definitely be the first,” Yang Kai laughed.
“Who made you turn out so differently from all the previous Holy Masters? It’s you who gave up this opportunity on your own. Good, enough about that, the Holy Land’s income for these past few months is all recorded here, do you want to take a look?”
“Why not,” Yang Kai took the account book from her and began glancing over it. Just from scanning the document briefly, Yang Kai saw various entries about which pill the Holy Land’s Grandmaster had refined and what kind of compensation they were given. No matter how small the exchange was, all its details were clearly recorded.
Most of the remuneration paid was in the form of Crystal Stones but there were also things like rare materials and even some Secret Arts, Martial Skill, artifacts, and other strange items.
Browsing through this long list, Yang Kai soon became disinterested and tossed the account book back to An Ling’er, “Forget it, you keep track of things.”
Spreading his Divine Sense out across the Holy Master Court, Yang Kai suddenly wrinkled his brow and asked, “Where’s Treasurer Meng? Why can’t I sense him?”
Hearing him ask this question, An Ling’er replied, “If you didn’t ask, I would have also forgotten. Senior Meng said he was going out for a while and asked me to tell you to take care of his apprentice. He also said that if you dared to bully her, he would make you unable to walk or eat.”
“He went out? When did he go out? Did he say when he might be back?”
“He left yesterday and didn’t say anything about when he would be back,” An Ling’er shook her head.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow; although he didn’t know exactly why Meng Wu Ya had left so soon after coming to the Holy Land, he could faintly guess it had something to do with the strange Mysterious Small World they had entered before and was possibly even related to the words Great Demon God’s Soul Clone had spoken.
However, Treasurer Meng’s strength had been completely restored now so as long as he didn’t do something like flying over to the Demon Capital to challenge the Demon Commander, he shouldn’t be in any danger.
Just as Yang Kai was pondering this issue, Xu Hui hurriedly walked in from the outside and shouted, “Holy Master, Wu Jie wishes to meet you!”
Yang Kai brow rose, “Wu Jie?”
“It seems that something worrying has happened as his expression is a bit disturbed,” Xu Hui followed up.
“Let him come in,” Yang Kai commanded.
Yang Kai had not met with Wu Jie in several months but from listening to Xu Hui and the others’ reports, it seemed that after taking in a lot of elite disciples from Shattering Mystical Palace and War Spirit Temple, Wu Jie’s Netherworld Sect had grown considerably and was developing at a good pace.
A moment later, a black-robed Wu Jie appeared like a ghost and cupped his fists said, “Sir Holy Master!”
“Sect Master Wu,” Yang Kai greeted, “Has something happened?”
Wu Jie nodded slightly and said in a solemn tone, “Indeed, it’s related to the stone forest inside Shattering Mystical Palace.”
Yang Kai expression instantly became serious, “What happened to that stone forest?”
“If it is convenient for Sir Holy Master, I believe it would be best if you come and see for yourself,” Wu Jie did not immediately explain.
However, from his behaviour and tone, Yang Kai could basically guess what this was about. No longer saying anything, Yang Kai simply agreed and stepped out of the Holy Master Court.
At the same time, Yang Kai sent a Divine Sense Message to Li Rong, asking her to come along, and a moment later the trio set out for Shattering Mystical Palace.
“Master, is something wrong?” Li Rong asked curiously.
“Wu Jie said that something happened in the stone forest and requested I see it personally.”
“The stone forest?” Li Rong half-shouted, “You mean the stone forest that leads to the Starry Sky?”
“En.”
“What happened there?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shook his head.
After an incense stick worth of time, the group of three arrived in the sky above the stone forest. Looking down at it, Yang Kai’s eyes instantly shrank.
At the centre of the stone forest, a pitch-black entrance had silently opened, exactly like what had happened to the Holy Tomb.
Li Rong hurriedly asked, “Who opened the entrance to the Starry Sky?”
Wu Jie shook his head and explained, “This situation was inadvertently discovered by my Sect’s disciples. Because this Wu knew that this place was important to Sir Holy Master, since the last time we met, I ordered my disciples to stop coming in and out of the Shattering Mystical Palace, but yesterday, when a group of disciples from my Netherworld Sect flew nearby this place, they suddenly saw the situation down below and out of curiosity, several of them went in to explore, but none of them ever came back. The ones who remained behind hurried back to the Sect and told the story to one of the Elders who relayed it to me. After receiving this news, I rushed over to Nine Heavens Holy Land.”
Listening to his story, Yang Kai nodded faintly, “You should be glad that you did not go in to investigate it yourself.”
Wu Jie smiled and said, “This Wu is well aware of his limits. So, is this really an entrance to the Starry Sky?”
“Yes. Last time, Li Rong and I went in to examine this Void Corridor once and discovered that it really does lead to the legendary Starry Sky. Anyone below the Third Order Saint Realm who enters it will definitely die; your disciples won’t be coming back.”
Wu Jie’s face paled, “Only Third Order Saints can enter?”
“There is a horrible pressure filling the entire Starry Sky and only those who possess physiques on par with Third Order Saints can withstand it,” Li Rong explained.
Wu Jie couldn’t help feeling a bit of cold sweat drip down his brow as a lingering fear gripped his heart.
Fortunately, when he first received word of this situation, he had chosen to first inform Yang Kai rather than rush in to investigate the matter himself, otherwise with his current cultivation, he would likely have shared the same fate as his lost disciples.
“But the question is… who opened this entrance?” Li Rong muttered in confusion.
“It may be that it opened on its own,” Yang Kai said pointedly.
“Opened on its own?” Li Rong and Wu Jie looked at him with some surprise.
“En, there is also a Mysterious Small World in the Holy Land called the Holy Tomb. Originally it was the place where all previous Holy Masters were laid to rest, but several days ago, the entrance to that Mysterious Small World opened by itself, causing the Great Elder no small amount of panic. Even now, it remains open and we have yet to find a way to close it,” Yang Kai explained in a casual tone while on the inside he was feeling more and more uneasy.
The entrance to the Holy Tomb opened on its own, as did the entrance to the Starry Sky, and both of these strange events occurred a few days ago. Strictly speaking, all of this took place on the day he brought Meng Wu Ya and Xia Ning Chang out of that strange place.
Did all of this really have something to do with that strange Mysterious Small World?
The distance between each of these places was really quite far though, how was it possible they were all related?
“Sir Holy Master, what should we do here? Do you need me to place some people here as guards?”
“No, you go back and warn your Netherworld Sect’s disciples that none of them should enter this Void Corridor. I’m not exaggerating; no one under the Third Order Saint Realm will be able to survive.”
“Yes, this Wu firmly believes the words of Sir Holy Master,” Wu Jie nodded sincerely.
“I will also let the Holy Land’s disciple stay away from this place, as for outsiders… if they want to go in, just let them; their lives have nothing to do with me!” Yang Kai snorted, “Let’s head back first.”
“This Wu will also take his leave; this time’s trip to the Holy Land was mainly to inform Sir Holy Master about this matter.”
“Good, do as you please. Oh right, if you have any Saint Pill that needs refining, just come to the Holy Land and find me,” Yang Kai urged, “I can give you priority in refining it.”
Wu Jie was overjoyed hearing this and repeatedly offered his thanks, claiming that he would patronize the Holy Land as soon as he went back to retrieve the required materials.
In fact, he had long wanted to go to Nine Heavens Holy Land to request Alchemy services, but because of his friendly relationship with Yang Kai, if he were to suddenly make a request, it would be quite embarrassing and might even damage Nine Heavens Holy Land’s reputation.
However, since Yang Kai had taken the initiative to offer, how could Wu Jie refuse? After saying goodbye he immediately left in an excited mood.
After Wu Jie departed, Yang Kai and Li Rong rushed back to the Holy Land, both of them remaining silent the whole way as Yang Kai was deep in thought, going over the words Great Demon God’s Soul Clone had said to him back in that strange world, trying to find some clues or information that might explain these strange happenings.
Yang Kai and Li Rong returned together, but seeing his state of concentration, Li Rong said nothing for fear of disturbing him and only followed behind him silently.
A short time later, the pair returned to the nine peaks.
Upon arriving though, Li Rong suddenly whispered, “Master, there seems to be something going on down below with the people who have come to request Alchemy services.”
“Hm?” Yang Kai woke up from his contemplation and looked down, quickly noticing the commotion that was taking place. Many of the cultivators who came to request Alchemy were gathering together in groups, whispering to each other while some others even left the line entirely and flew away from the nine peaks.
Seeing them leave in such a hurry, it seemed like they had just discovered something important.
Because the Holy Land had announced that they would not be accepting any Alchemy requests for ten days, many of the masters waiting outside the nine peaks had become a bit bored; however, none of them had ever left, yet now, for some reason, many people were giving up their spots in the queue and flying off.
What’s more, the number of cultivators leaving was actually quite high.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, unable to understand why this was taking place, quickly changing direction and flying over to the stone pavilion just outside the nine peaks.
Inside the stone pavilion, Meng Tian Fei and Luo Sheng, two Holy Land Elders who were currently responsible for maintaining the order of this place, were also directing curious looks towards the crowd, also seemingly at a loss to explain why this was happening.
A moment later, Yang Kai appeared in front of them along with Li Rong.
The two Elders quickly stood up and saluted.
“What happened here?” Yang Kai gestured to them to relax and asked quietly.
“This subordinate does not know. A short time ago, a lone cultivator came to join the lineup but after he quietly whispered something to some of the others nearby, many people began leaving,” Luo Sheng answered.
“Where is that person now?” Yang Kai asked.
“At the end of the queue,” Luo Sheng pointed the person out. Yang Kai looked around and soon found that standing at the end of the line was a Transcendent Realm middle-aged man with a shrewd look on his face, his eyes flashing with a crafty light as he saw more and more cultivators leave the lineup, slowly stepping forward each time with a smug smile on his lips.
“Do you want us to go investigate the situation?” Luo Sheng asked.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
Luo Sheng immediately set out.
A short time later, Luo Sheng returned with a strange look on his face and reported, “Holy Master, that man said he coincidentally discovered the entrance to a Mysterious Small World on his way here; the ones who are leaving are apparently going to explore that Mysterious Small World.”
“The entrance to a Mysterious Small World?” Yang Kai muttered.
“En, the words he said are reliable, it’s unlike he is lying.”
“Since he found the entrance to a Mysterious Small World, why not go in and explore it himself instead of coming here and spreading the news. If others go in, would they take away all the benefits inside?” Meng Tian Fei put on a suspicious look, “Is that fellow plotting something?”
“He said that his strength is low and that he is alone so he dared not enter rashly,” Luo Sheng shrugged his shoulders.
Yang Kai wore a dignified expression as he sank into contemplation for a moment, occasionally glancing over at the man in question, a moment later asking, “Did he state clearly where the entrance to that Mysterious Small World was?”
“Two thousand kilometres east of here!” Luo Sheng pointed east.
“Li Rong, let’s go have a look,” Yang Kai stood up immediately.
“Holy Master, do you want me to inform Great Elder and let him go with you too?” Luo Sheng asked.
“No need, we’re just going to have a look, and if my guess is right, there should be nothing valuable inside that Mysterious Small World,” Yang Kai said confidently before leaving together with Li Rong again.
Arriving in an isolated spot, Yang Kai summoned the Flying Heavens Shuttle, hopped on board, and then took off like a streak of blue lightning, disappearing across the horizon in an instant.
Onboard the Flying Heavens Shuttle, Li Rong asked, “Master, do you believe what that man was saying? The entrances to Mysterious Small Worlds have always been hidden and are generally quite difficult to discover, there are many issues with his story.”
In this world, there were many hidden, isolated spaces, some of which were large while others were small, collectively they were known as Mysterious Small Worlds. Some Mysterious Small Worlds were barren; containing nothing at all inside, others though were home living creatures, some Mysterious Small Worlds even contained ancient ruins and relics. In short, there was always a chance that one of these isolate spaces would contain shocking wealth, allowing the one who found it to instantly become rich, never having to worry about food or resources for the rest of their life.
So, in Tong Xuan Realm, there were some cultivators who dedicated their lives to seeking out Mysterious Small World, braving the various dangers they discovered inside and obtaining treasures from them.
However, over time, the undiscovered Mysterious Small Worlds were becoming few and fewer, with all of the easy-to-find entrances having already been sought out by various cultivators while the rest were extremely well hidden or difficult to enter.
The cultivator who came to seek Alchemy services said that he just happened to find an entrance to a Mysterious Small World. Naturally, it was suspicious.
But in this world where people constantly risked their lives for even meager benefits, it was inevitable that some would be captivated by this man’s story and rush to the position he indicated to investigate.
If an undiscovered Mysterious Small World really existed, as long as they could enter and search it, they might be able to find something of value. Even if there was nothing inside though, they’d only have lost a little time.
“I know, but this time I’m pretty sure he was being at least somewhat earnest. That man’s strength wasn’t very high, yet he still dared to spread such a rumour, if those people go there and discover nothing, they’ll all come back looking for compensation. How could he possibly dig his own grave like that when he’s constantly wearing that shrewd look?”
Listening to Yang Kai, Li Rong felt his analysis was reasonable and nodded, “So, he really found a hidden entrance? His luck is quite good.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It has nothing to do with him at all, the entrance to that Mysterious Small World probably showed up all on its own, he just happened to pass by and discover it.”
“Opened on its own?” Li Rong covered her mouth and called out in alarm, “Does Master mean it’s the same as the entrance to the Holy Tomb and the door to the Starry Sky?”
“It’s just my guess, therefore I need to see it for myself,” Yang Kai nodded.
“I wonder if there is anything good inside,” Li Rong couldn’t help feeling a bit more enthusiastic.
“There should be nothing inside,” Yang Kai laughed, “That man surely took a look inside or there were others who had taken the lead to investigate it already rather than the excuse he gave about his strength being too low that he didn’t dare to explore it. It was because he somehow determined that there was nothing valuable inside that he decided to spread the word of it so that the cultivators who were ahead of him in the line would leave, reducing the time he would need to wait to request Alchemy services from the Holy Land.”
“Master is quite observant,” Li Rong looked at Yang Kai with a tinge of admiration.
“It was mainly because whenever that guy saw someone leave the queue in front of him his eyes would light up and a smirk would form on his lips,” Yang Kai smiled faintly, “His thoughts were all but written on his face, it would be difficult not to see what he was up to; the cultivators who left were just blinded by greed and failed to notice this point.”
Soon after, the Flying Heavens Shuttle arrived two thousand kilometres to the east of the nine peaks.
The azure bolt of light came to an abrupt stop midair and Yang Kai and Li Rong spread out their Divine Senses to explore their surroundings.
After a moment, Yang Kai smiled and flew the Flying Heavens Shuttle off in a certain direction.
Ten breaths later or so, the two of them appeared in front of the entrance to a Void Corridor.
Just as Yang Kai had expected, this place had already been occupied by others and there was a number of cultivators gathered around the entrance, watching the surroundings with vigilance, silently circulating their Qi in preparation to respond to anyone who approached.
Yang Kai secretly observed this group and quickly discovered that their strength wasn’t very high, all of them only at the Immortal Ascension Boundary without even a single Transcendent among them. Sensing this, he no longer bothered hiding and simply walked over together with Li Rong.
“Stop! Who goes there?” As soon as the pair revealed themselves, the cultivators guarding the entrance immediately went on high alert as one of them shouted out, “This is my Chen Family’s restricted area, no outsiders are permitted to enter, if Your Excellency does not turn back, we will have to act impolitely.”
“Master, how do you…” Li Rong asked.
“Be gentle,” Yang Kai waved his hand lightly.
An invisible pulse of Spiritual Energy burst from Li Rong’s Knowledge Sea and in the next instant the eyes of all the cultivators gathered around the entrance became dim, all of them standing in place as if they were in a daze, not even trying to hinder Yang Kai and Li Rong anymore, allowing them to pass by them and enter the Void Corridor behind them.
With Li Rong’s means, dealing with these Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators was a trifling matter, causing them to blank out for a moment was as simple as breathing for her, it was only because Yang Kai did not order her to kill them directly that Li Rong showed mercy.
Only after the two of them had disappeared into the Void Corridor’s entrance that the surrounding cultivators suddenly woke up looked around and found that young man and a woman who had been walking towards them a moment ago had suddenly disappeared. These guards immediately realized the incredible strength of the other party and felt a cold sweat trickled down their foreheads.
Yang Kai and Li Rong leisurely appeared inside the Mysterious Small World.
Spreading out their Divine Senses, the pair quickly found a number of cultivators spread out across the isolated world, apparently searching for something.
Yang Kai once again summoned the Flying Heavens Shuttle and together with Li Rong shot off in a blue flash of light.
After half an hour, the pair returned to the entrance.
There were indeed some ruins inside this Mysterious Small World, but there were no signs of anyone having lived here for many, many years. The cultivators currently inside should have just recently entered and were combing the ruins for treasure.
This Mysterious Small World was also not large, about one-third the size of Demon God Citadel.
However, the Chen Family should have gained quite a harvest this time. This family did not have any true masters with a few weaker Transcendents being the strongest among them, a force quite similar to the Central Capital’s Eight Great Families in strength. As such, the scattered artifacts they found among the ruins would become a big boost to such a small force.
“Let’s go, there’s nothing to look at here,” Yang Kai took a soft breath before stepping through the entrance with Li Rong.
When the cultivators outside saw this man and woman reappear, all of them stared with wide eyes but none of them dared act in an imposing manner again, all of them too scared to even speak.
The other party’s means were absolutely overwhelming, something they had already experienced once.
The only thing that made these guards feel relieved was that this man and woman did not seem interested in embarrassing them; after walking out of Mysterious Small World, the pair just kept walking off casually.
“Right, there are a lot of Transcendent and Saint Realm masters coming here, they’ll arrive in at most half a day, you should inform your family’s leaders and quickly withdraw from this Mysterious Small World, otherwise you won’t be able to afford the consequences,” Yang Kai suddenly turned back and kindly remind them before leaving together with Li Rong.
Only after the backs of this mysterious pair had vanished from their sights did the cultivator who first called out to them breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the cold sweat from his brow. After collecting himself, he hurriedly entered the Mysterious Small World; obviously, he was going to inform his family’s Elders about Yang Kai’s warning and allow his Patriarch and the others to decide what to do.
After returning to Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai immediately summoned Xu Hui and let him send out people to inquire about all kind of recent news.
Yang Kai didn’t tell him what kind of news he wanted the Holy Land’s disciples to seek out, only ordering him to deploy them in all directions with instructions to pay attention to any big events that occurred and then report back a month later.
Xu Hui didn’t ask anything and swiftly executed the command.
From the solemn look on Yang Kai’s face, Xu Hui detected that this was a significant matter and that the Holy Master had surly discovered something, otherwise he would not have given such an order.
A few days later.
Early in the morning, Yang Kai came to his room and walked over to the bed with light steps.
On the bed, Xia Ning Chang was still sitting in meditation, her tender body motionless, obviously still immersing herself in the True Alchemic Way.
Yang Kai waited quietly for a while, but seeing her not respond at all, he quietly sent his consciousness into her Knowledge Sea.
Seemingly noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, Little Senior Sister’s Soul Avatar slowly opened her eyes and wore a beautiful crescent-shaped smile, forming a mesmerising picture.
“How was your harvest?” Yang Kai asked.
“I’ve basically absorbed everything, but I’ll need to practice a little to become familiar with it,” Xia Ning Chang nodded lightly.
Yang Kai nodded back. He had delivered the complete contents of the True Alchemic Way to Little Senior Sister’s Soul Avatar in the form of a Spiritual Energy package which would allow her to directly absorb it, coupled with her own understanding of Alchemy and her exceptional aptitude in the Alchemic Way, completely comprehending the True Alchemic Way within a few days wouldn’t be difficult.
“Come with me, we’ll start performing Alchemy now. I’ll also introduce you to several Grandmasters while we’re at it,” Yang Kai grinned and took the initiative to withdraw his Soul Avatar.
The next moment, both of them opened their eyes.
Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang, hand in hand, entered the pill room that had been set up in the Holy Master Court.
The five Grandmasters had long been waiting here, each of them with their own pill furnace set out in front of them. Each of these Alchemy furnaces was small yet exquisite, flowing fluorescent lines circling them, obviously not ordinary items, each of them Saint Grade quality. A pill furnace was the most important artifact of any Alchemy Grandmaster.
After ten days of rest, these five were now full of energy and anticipation.
Seeing Yang Kai show up, the five Grandmasters all smiled and nodded.
Chang Bao leaned against the wall and joked, “After not performing Alchemy these past ten days, this old master actually felt his hands becoming itchy, kid, let’s get started.”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “I was thinking so too.”
“But this is a place for Alchemy, what do you want to do by bringing along your beloved woman? Could it be you can’t bear to separate from her?” He Feng chuckled and slowly shook his head, “Young man, your vitality is quite impressive.”
“You two mustn’t do anything too stimulating in the presence of us old guys, we’re not young anymore, too much excitement won’t be good for our hearts,” Hong Fang also laughed.
Xia Ning Chang immediately became flustered, turning a helpless, pleading look towards Yang Kai, as if doing so would allow her to have some self-confidence.
“Come here little girl, come and sit by this old lady, don’t pay any attention to these bad old man!” Kong Ruo Yu kindly beckoned to Xia Ning Chang.
Xia Ning Chang looked to Yang Kai once more and upon seeing him nod, she lightly stepped over to Kong Ruo Yu and sat down cross-legged.
“Such an innocent young lady, with pure, untainted eyes, as if she is untainted by this world, Yang Kai, you cannot mistreat her in the future,” Kong Ruo Yu commented seriously.
“Senior can rest assured, this Junior has only love in his heart for Senior Sister, I will never treat her poorly.”
The five Grandmasters all stared, seemingly not having anticipated that Yang Kai would speak such frank words in front of all of them; however, since he had, it was clear these were his true feelings, or it would have been impossible for him to say as much.
Realizing the depths of Yang Kai’s feelings for this veiled young lady, they all couldn’t help nodding in approval.
Xia Ning Chang’s eyes also became more spirited as a look of happiness filled her face.
“Good, enough idle chit-chat, let’s get started,” Du Wan smiled, finally speaking up to move the situation along.
Yang Kai nodded and called out, “Great Elder!”
Xu Hui opened the door in the next instant, wearing a serious look upon his face, “Subordinate has prepared everything.”
Saying so, Xu Hui pulled out several batches of herbs and said, “These are the twenty sets of materials for today’s pills. Many thanks in advance for Holy Master and several Grandmasters’ hard work; when evening arrives, I will return to collect the finished pills.”
“Great Elder, go out and accept ten more sets of materials,” Yang Kai gave a command.
Xu Hui was stunned, “Accept ten more?”
The five Grandmasters also direct looks of astonishment towards Yang Kai with Chang Bao calling out in shock, “Kid, Alchemy is also a matter that requires a balance of work and rest, if one’s condition deteriorates, they will likely produce an inferior quality pill or possibly even fail altogether. You can refine ten pills a day, we have already seen this, but we old fogies can only refine ten as well, how do you intend to handle another ten on top of that?”
“En, if you can’t refine good pills, it would be better to not refine them at all,” Du Wan also earnestly persuaded. Excellent Alchemists also had strict requirements for the pills they refined, if the quality of their work was poor, it would destroy their hard-earned reputation.
Therefore, excellent Alchemists generally would not allow inferior quality pills to circulate outside. If they refined such a low-quality pill, they would almost always end up destroying it themselves rather than selling it out.
Yang Kai glanced around at them and smiled, “What several Grandmasters say is reasonable, but you need not worry, these additional ten pills won’t require me to refine them, nor will several Grandmasters need to act.”
“Then who will refine them?” He Feng widened his eyes and suddenly looked towards Xu Hui, his expression filled with suspicion.
Great Elder hurriedly waved his hand and smiled wryly, “Grandmaster does not need to consider me, I only know how to take pills, I am a complete novice in terms of studying the Alchemic Way.”
He Feng slightly nodded, “True, you don’t look like someone who knows anything about Alchemy.”
Xu Hui’s face went black, secretly thinking that these Alchemy Grandmasters were really a bit too blunt.
“Yang Kai…” Kong Ruo Yu turned a thoughtful look towards Xia Ning Chang, “Are you planning to tell us that these ten extra pills will be refined by your Senior Sister, right?”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone turned their eyes towards Xia Ning Chang.
Yang Kai however just smiled and nodded, “That’s exactly what I mean.”
“She can also refine Saint Pills?” Chang Bao’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, hoarsely calling out, “Impossible, her age isn’t much higher than yours. Even if she began studying Alchemy in her mother’s womb, it would still be impossible for her to have the ability to refine Saint Pills.”
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he smiled bitterly, “I didn’t start studying Alchemy in my mother’s womb…”
The five Grandmasters turned somewhat indignant glares towards him and muttered, “You’re different, you can’t be judged using common sense.”
“Is she really able to refine Saint Pills?”
“This old master does not believe it.”
“Little brat, don’t try to play tricks on us, be careful that we old guys get upset with you.”
This was their field of expertise, the skill which defined their existence. Being surpassed already by the young Yang Kai could be written off by them as him being one of this world’s rare geniuses, but if they were to be overtaken by his Senior Sister as well, the several Grandmasters didn’t know what they would think.
At the very least, they would definitely feel depressed, possibly even defeated, and unable to ever recover their confidence again…
“I can…” Xia Ning Chang suddenly declared.
Du Wan brow suddenly rose as he remembered something, turning his eyes to Yang Kai as he asked, “Is she the one you mentioned before, the Senior Sister whose Alchemy talent surpassed your own?”
Back in Grand Boulder City, Yang Kai had once casually mentioned that he had a Senior Sister who was even better at Alchemy than he was. Du Wan hadn’t believed him at the time, but now he suddenly recalled it.
Yang Kai nodded.
Du Wan sucked in a deep breath and solemnly stated, “Words are unreliable while seeing is believing. Great Elder, please bring in ten more sets of materials.”
Xu Hui no longer said anymore and quickly left.
A short time later, he returned with ten more sets of materials.
The pill room’s doors were shut, leaving only the seven people scattered about, sitting cross-legged.
The five Grandmasters were not in a hurry to start refining pills and instead focused all their attention on Xia Ning Chang, all of them quite anxious to see if this little girl was really able to refine Saint Pills as she had said.
Being stared at by these five, Xia Ning Chang couldn’t help turning a timid look towards Yang Kai.
However, she discovered that Yang Kai had already begun to refine a pill and couldn’t help pouting slightly.
“Little girl, what pill furnace do you use, can you take it out and let this old lady have a look?” Kong Ruo Yu asked kindly, she saw that Xia Ning Chang was somewhat nervous and deliberately tried to ease her mood.
“I don’t have a pill furnace,” Xia Ning Chang replied softly.
“You don’t have a pill furnace?” The five grandmasters were shocked, Chang Bao muttering in the next moment, “How can you perform Alchemy without a pill furnace? This smelly brat is really taking us old masters for fools, teasing us like that. Does he think we are naïve five-year-old children? This brat.”
“You keep quiet!” Kong Ruo Yu shot a glare at him before turning back to Xia Ning Chang with a smile, “You don’t use a pill furnace for Alchemy?”
Xia Ning Chang gently nodded.
This time, even Kong Ruo Yu couldn’t help wearing a strange expression; although the words she was speaking were somewhat unbelievable, from the pure and limpid light she saw in her eyes, Kong Ruo Yu could tell that this little girl possessed an innocent heart and it was highly unlikely she was lying.
Patiently, she continued to ask, “How do you usually perform Alchemy? Could you demonstrate for us? We old fogies don’t have any other interests other than Alchemy, so we are all very interested in seeing how you refine a Saint Pill without a pill furnace.”
Xia Ning Chang still just nodded, slowly closing her beautiful eyes, seemingly calming her mood.
A short time later, when she opened her eyes again, the several Grandmasters discovered that the temperament of this little girl had undergone a drastic change.
The original Xia Ning Chang was shy and innocent, but now she exuded a sense of self-confidence, without the slightest hint of panic in her eyes, her every movement measured and stable.
Placing a set of Alchemy’s materials in front of herself, she began meticulously inspecting each spirit grass and herb.
“Saint grade materials…” Kong Ruo Yu whispered softly, “The first thing she took up were the ingredients for a Saint Pill. Can she really refine Saint Pills?”
The five Grandmasters stared fixedly at Xia Ning Chang.
However, Little Senior Sister no longer showed any nervousness or tension; at this moment, it was as if she had entered her own world, and the only thing she could see was the Saint Pill’s materials in front of her.
Suddenly, Xia Ning Chang’s body began emitting a gentle strength.
The moment they felt this energy, the five Grandmasters were all stunned.
What was shocking to the five Grandmasters was not Xia Ning Chang’s great strength.
Although she was already a Third Order Transcendent at such a young age, that was irrelevant to the Grandmasters. They simply assumed she was like Yang Kai, a genius in the Martial Dao.
The key point was that the nature of her body’s strength, it wasn’t of the Flame Attribute or the Yang Attribute.
Whether it was Alchemy or Artifact Refining, one needed to use burning power in order to melt, purify, and then blend the various essences of herbs or minerals in order to refine pills or artifacts. Only by applying such heat could one bring out the true potential of their raw materials.
As such, Alchemist and Artifact Refiners had to cultivate either Fire Attribute or the Yang Attribute Secret Arts, causing the True Qi in their bodies to always be scalding hot.
However, the True Qi sent out by Xia Ning Chang was extremely gentle, with an aura that exuded one close to that of the natural world.
How was this Alchemy? The five Grandmasters were all stumped.
But the next moment, all of them were simultaneously dumbfounded.
The Saint Grade herbs that were wrapped in invisible power gently floated in front of Xia Ning Chang and under her gentle, natural force, began to break down, their medicinal essences congealing together into droplets of incomparable pure medicinal liquid while the remaining dregs were discarded.
Xia Ning Chang’s body remained motionless, only a constant stream of power flowed out from her as her two jade hands formed a number of profound seals that she sent towards the purified herbs.
The Grandmaster’s expression all became solemn, each of them wearing a look of shock as they stared fixedly towards Xia Ning Chang, none of them even blinking for fear they might miss one of her actions.
With the eyesight of the five Grandmasters, they could instantly tell that this little girl in front of them had a deep understanding and possessed profound skills in Alchemy. The way she condensed and processed these drops of medicinal liquids was exquisite, to the point that even they would not have been able to do any better than her.
The efficacy of each herb was perfectly extracted without the slightest waste, and through her incredible methods, all of them were condensed and gradually gathered together.
Drops of medicinal liquid floated like pearls in front of Xia Ning Chang.
Pointing a single jade finger out, Xia Ning Chang pushed the gentle force from her body out once more, taking her finger as a pen and her True Qi as ink to draw a delicate Spirit Array mid-air.
The speed at which she portrayed this Spirit Array was astonishing.
The observing Grandmasters keenly realized that the Spirit Array she was using was nearly identical to the one used by Yang Kai. Clearly, they had been taught by the same Master.
Gradually, the five Grandmasters became enthralled by her performance, none of them even daring to breathe loudly lest they accidentally disturb Xia Ning Chang.
None of them doubted whether Xia Ning Chang could perform Alchemy anymore. The fantastical scene playing out before them was the clearest proof of all.
If it was not someone with profound achievements in Alchemy, it would be impossible for them to understand these Alchemic Spirit Arrays or to so perfectly condense medicinal liquids.
On top of that, Xia Ning Chang’s Alchemy technique contained a kind of fascinating beauty that drew them in, allowing them to forget everything around them, including their own existences as they followed each one of her movements. All five Grandmasters suddenly felt like they had entered into a magical world, one filled with the purest essence of Alchemy.
The path beneath their feet was firm and the view of the horizon was clear.
At this moment, each of them felt as if their souls had been baptized, allowing their hundred years of study in the Alchemic Way to receive a kind of sublimation.
Gradually, the complex Spirit Array took form, its overlapping lines shimmering with light as they gradually drew in the surrounding drops of medicinal liquid, gathering them in its centre.
Right before their eyes, the medicinal liquids began merging with one another, undergoing a special metamorphosis which led the appearance of the embryonic form of a pill.
The five Grandmasters stared at this process with excited faces.
They had immersed themselves in Alchemy for so many years but never once before had they so clearly seen the formation of a pill.
Every pill they had ever refined or seen refined was formed inside a pill furnace, so the process could not be seen by the naked eye. Only after the pill was refined successfully would they be able to see its true appearance…
It wasn’t until this very moment that they all realized that the formation of a pill was so mesmerizing and soul-stirring; it was like watching the birth of a new life as the pill sent out a vigorous energy aura.
The Grandmasters’ hearts pounded as they found themselves unable to speak, all of them stretching their necks out, seemingly wanting to get even the slightest bit closer to more carefully observe.
As the pill slowly began to take shape, the Grandmasters’ poured in their Divine Senses, their tension shooting up as if it was their own child being born.
After a long time, a pill fragrance suddenly began wafting out, filling the nostrils of the Grandmasters, finally allowing all of them to breathe a sigh of relief and relax as they felt a giant weight lift from their hearts.
Xia Ning Chang reached out grabbed the pill in front of her, pinching it between her jade white fingers as she stared at it for a while, a slight frown forming on her brow, seemingly somewhat unsatisfied with this result, placing the pill into a prepared jade bottle a moment later.
At the same time, Yang Kai also finished refining the Saint Pill he was working on, tapping his pill furnace and causing it to fly out and accurately land inside a jade bottle he was holding, sealing it in the next instant.
Two pill fragrances with some subtle differences filled the room, making people feel refreshed.
The room fell so silent one could hear a pin drop, only the heavily pounding hearts of the five Grandmasters resounding.
Xia Ning Chang slowly extricated herself from the world of Alchemy and when she looked up; she saw five pairs of eyes staring at her like starving wolves who had just encountered the finest of prey.
“Several Seniors…” Xia Ning Chang was frightened and quickly turned her eyes towards Yang Kai, silently praying for rescue.
Yang Kai grinned, understanding well the Grandmasters’ shock but still refusing to give them enough time to pull themselves out of their delirium as she called out, “Several Grandmasters, do you now believe this Junior’s words?”
Du Wan glanced over at him and nodded with a forced smile, “Seeing is really believing.”
The five Grandmasters all came back to their senses upon hearing these words, with Chang Bao frowning deeply as he asked in confusion, “But I still can’t figure out how she managed to refine this pill without Flame or Yang Attribute True Qi… Even without mentioning her not using a pill furnace, her True Qi shouldn’t even be suited to Alchemy.”
“I’m also can’t understand. Could it be that one actually doesn’t need burning hot True Qi to perform Alchemy?” He Feng also kept shaking his head. Although watching Xia Ning Chang perform Alchemy even once had brought him a huge harvest, it had simultaneously subverted almost everything he knew about Alchemy, leading him to doubt even his most fundamental knowledge.
Kong Ruo Yu wore a pensive look upon her face and only after a long time did she venture a guess, “Have you ever heard about a special constitution that was born specifically for Alchemy?”
“A special constitution?” Du Wan gasped as he suddenly recalled something, “Do you mean…”
“The Sacred Spirit Medicine Body?” Hong Fang called out in alarm.
“En, the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body!” Kong Ruo Yu eyes lit up as she gazed towards Xia Ning Chang, “This little girl might just possess the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body.”
“If that’s the case, then it can explain why she can perform Alchemy without a pill furnace or burning True Qi,” Du Wan nodded.
As top-level Alchemist, the five Grandmasters had naturally heard about the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body and upon comparing what they knew about this special constitution with Xia Ning Chang’s performance, they grew even more certain about their speculation.
“Little brat, does this Senior Sister of yours have a special constitution?” Chang Bao called out to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“No wonder! It turns out she possesses the legendary constitution.”
The eyes of the Grandmasters shone even brighter as they now stared at Xia Ning Chang as if they were staring at the greatest treasure of Alchemy, fascination and worship filling their faces.
“You Senior Sister and Junior Brother pair really know how to attack people;” Du Wan smiled bitterly, “This old master now constantly doubts his own competency in Alchemy.”
“En, I also suspect that I’ve been living in vain all these years,” He Feng also wore a depressed look and sighed.
“But if you compare them, this kid really isn’t as fierce as this little girl,” Hong Fang laughed, “Simply judging them based on time spent to refine Saint Pills, it’s clearly this little girl’s win.”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, “What can I say, Senior Sister’s accomplishments in Alchemy have always been better than mine.”
“No, Junior Brother seems to only have been studying Alchemy for a short time, the last time we met he wasn’t even able to refine pills,” Xia Ning Chang quickly waved.
“Alright, you don’t need to go praising each other, let’s continue with the refinements; after all, we need to finish thirty pills today,” Chang Bao couldn’t wait to witness the previous magical scene again and quickly urged.
“En, but let’s say this first, after suffering a blow from you two, we old fogies won’t be refining any pills together so we don’t waste herbs,” He Feng added.
“Good, today’s thirty pills will be handed over to me and Little Senior Sister,” Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang glanced at each other and smiled before no longer saying anything and immersing themselves in Alchemy.
Time flew by.
The five Grandmasters had all gathered around Xia Ning Chang, focusing their eyes on every detail of her movements, completely throwing Yang Kai to the wayside.
They had already observed Yang Kai Alchemy for quite some time so now that there was Xia Ning Chang here, naturally, they weren’t willing to miss witnessing her methods.
Yang Kai was happy to see this, while Xia Ning Chang was even more excited than him.
Before now, she didn’t have access to many Saint Grade materials to practice with, but now that she was in Nine Heavens Holy Land, she didn’t have to worry about this issue anymore and could instead focus all her attention on her Alchemy.
On top of that, with her Sacred Spirit Medicine Body’s special constitution, performing Alchemy was the fastest method Little Senior Sister possessed to improve her strength.
Xia Ning Chang herself had once said that to her, Alchemy was cultivation, so while to others, refining pills was an exhausting task, it actually had the opposite effect on her.
After bustling about all day, when evening rolled around, and the thirty pills had finally all been refined, Yang Kai felt quite tired, but Xia Ning Chang was still bursting with energy, even looking somewhat regretful that they were already finished.
Xu Hui came soon after, accepted the thirty pills, and delivered them to the Holy Land’s customers who were waiting outside the nine peaks.
These cultivators instantly began praising the Holy Land’s Grandmaster. After ten days of rest, this mysterious Grandmaster had greatly increased the number of pills he refined in a single day.
This made those who were waiting in line for pills extremely happy.
The more pills the Holy Land’s Grandmaster refined per day, the shorter the time they would need to wait for their turn.
At this moment, Yang Kai, Xia Ning Chang, and the five Grandmasters had all returned to their individual rooms and were engaged in meditation and introspection.
On the second day, they repeated the process.
It was not until three days later that the five Grandmasters started performing Alchemy again, putting into practice their recent insights.
Inside the pill room, pill fragrance filled the air as Spirit Grade and Saint Grade pills emerged one after another.
Time flew by and soon a month had passed. The Holy Land disciples sent out by Xu Hui to inquire about recent events had returned and after listening to their reports, the Great Elder also vaguely realized that the world seemed to have undergone a subtle change and immediately rushed to the Holy Master Court to see Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had been long anticipating this report so he did not even go to the pill room today.
Inside the main hall, Xu Hui wore a solemn expression and said, “Holy Master, the disciple sent out travelled around for a month, taking note of various events they encountered along the road and found a very strange phenomenon.”
“What?”
“Throughout the entire world, many entrances to different Mysterious Small Worlds had appeared!”
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as his expression tightened.
After seeing the Holy Tomb, the door to the Starry Sky, and the entrance to the Mysterious Small World which appeared two thousand kilometers away from the nine peaks all open on their own, Yang Kai had a bad premonition so ordered Xu Hui to send out disciples to explore the situation.
The results of this investigation were basically the in line with his assumptions, only deepening his unease.
Xu Hui continued, “The disciples’ investigations found that the entrances to these Mysterious Small Worlds seemed to all opened on their own, and at the exact same time. Currently, all the world’s cultivators are caught up in a fever of Mysterious Small World treasure hunting, with countless people rushing in and out of different Mysterious Small Worlds. The disciples reported that most of these Mysterious Small Worlds were empty, without any signs of even the most basic life, only occasionally did one of them contain some Ancient Ruins and treasures.”
“Were they able to determine exactly when these entrances opened?”
Xu Hui nodded, “It seems to have occurred a month and a half ago.”
One and a half months ago… Hearing this, Yang Kai’s suspicions were all but confirmed as that was exactly around the time when he rescued Meng Wu Ya and Xia Ning Chang.
[Was that strange space and Great Demon God’s Soul Clone really related somehow to these Mysterious Small Worlds suddenly opening up?]
Great Demon God had said that those eight stone pillars were the keystone to the entire world and if it was destroyed, there would be unimaginable consequences.
Was the current situation related to these words?
Was it because the keystone of Tong Xuan Realm was destroyed that all the hidden Mysterious Small Worlds around the world reappeared? However, if that was the case, it wasn’t exactly a bad thing, so why did Great Demon God’s Soul Clone issue such a dire warning?
From the tone of his speech at the time, it was like a catastrophe would occur once the stone pillars were destroyed, causing Yang Kai a great deal of concern.
Seeing Yang Kai’s fluctuating expression, Xu Hui did not dare to speak and simply stood by and waited for further instructions.
After a long silence, Great Elder tentatively asked, “Holy Master, do you want to send out teams from the Holy Land to explore these Mysterious Small Worlds? Perhaps there will be some unexpected gains. Recently, all the disciples have been spending their time in secluded cultivation so going out and moving about will do them some good.”
Yang Kai raised his head and hesitated for only a moment before suddenly nodding, “Good, allow the Holy Land’s disciples to go out and explore these Mysterious Small Worlds, but let them pay attention to one thing in particular.”
“Holy Master, please advise us!”
“If they come across or hear about a Mysterious Small World that contains places called ‘Central Capital’, ‘Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land’, or ‘Tian Lang Dynasty’, they must report back to the Holy Land immediately!”
“Yes!” Xu Hui didn’t ask what these names meant but from the look on Yang Kai’s face along he could tell that they were definitely important to him.
“In addition, send a message to Wu Jie. Tell him I have something to ask of him!” Yang Kai also said.
Great Elder nodded and respectfully retired.
Sitting on a chair in the main hall, Yang Kai heart raced.
Although this incident was quite unexpected, it may also provide him with an opportunity to return to the Central Capital.
Yang Kai had always been concerned about his friends and relatives back in the Central Capital, but he had so far not been able to find his way back there. When he first came to Tong Xuan Realm, he had been a wanderer with low strength, but now he had settled down and was the master of a giant force; naturally, he wanted to bring his loved ones here so that they could enjoy a better cultivation environment.
The entrances to all the Mysterious Small World which had been hidden throughout the world had opened by themselves, so one of them definitely lead to the world he was seeking.
Because, strictly speaking, the world Yang Kai originated from was a Mysterious Small World.
But unlike other Mysterious Small Worlds, the world containing the Central Capital was much bigger.
If a Saint Realm powerhouse with malicious intentions found their way to the Central Capital, the Eight Great Families would be unable to put up any resistance.
As such, he had to find his way home as soon as possible lest someone beat him there and cause harm to his friends or family.
An hour later, Wu Jie arrived.
Yang Kai asked him to let the disciples of Netherworld Sect seek out any news about the Central Capital. Wu Jie immediately agreed and left to make arrangements.
Since aligning himself with Yang Kai, Wu Jie’s Netherworld Sect had experienced great growth, so he would not refuse Yang Kai’s request.
After doing this, Yang Kai said a few words to Xia Ning Chang before summoning the Flying Heavens Shuttle and flying off alone in a blue streak of light.
One day later, Yang Kai appeared in Soaring Heaven Sect.
Atop Serene Resplendent Peak, he found Fei Yu and asked her to use the power of Soaring Heaven Sect to help him pay attention to any new as well.
Without delay, Yang Kai left again.
Two days later, inside Dragon Phoenix Palace.
Inside the Dragon Pavilion, Sun Yu, the Dragon Emperor, sat cross-legged and cultivated the most precious Martial Skills and Secret Arts available in Dragon Phoenix Palace.
Since Sun Yu successfully entered the Dragon Valley a few years ago and obtained the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance, he became the most eye-catching existence in the entire Dragon Phoenix Palace.
Palace Master Chen Zhou and all the Elders also regarded him as the greatest hope for revitalizing their Sect, providing him with the best possible environment and cultivation resources.
It had been a year and a half since he safely emerged from Dragon Valley and during this time, Sun Yu had made some progress in his cultivation, but not enough to satisfy himself.
When Sun Yu entered Dragon Valley in the past, he spent just two years to grow from the True Element Boundary Seventh Stage to the Immortal Ascension Boundary Seventh Stage, crossing an entire Great Realm.
But now, after a year and a half in the outside world, he had only managed to cultivate to the Peak Immortal Ascension Boundary. A somewhat slow and disappointing rate of progress.
However, because of his identity as Dragon Emperor, the Palace Master and Elders did not say anything and simply waited patiently for the day he would one day soar.
Only Sun Yu knew the truth though, he was not the real Dragon Emperor.
The reason his strength increased so rapidly those two years inside Dragon Valley was all thanks to that Senior’s guidance. After that Senior left though, during this past year and a half, Sun Yu’s diligent cultivation was only able to guarantee that his strength grew faster than ordinary people.
However, even this rate of growth certainly left Palace Master Chen and the other Elders somewhat disappointed.
On top of that, Palace Master Chen had been constantly trying to help him choose a Phoenix Empress, forcing Sun Yu to constantly declare he needed to enter secluded retreat in order to avoid the issue.
Thanks to Sun Yu entering seclusion, the search for a Phoenix Empress finally came to an impasse.
While sitting in meditation, Sun Yu’s heart suddenly clenched as he felt as if someone was staring at him and the aura surrounding his room change subtly.
His eyes shooting open, Sun Yu shouted, “Who goes there?”
Standing right in front of Sun Yu was a young man who was staring at him with a friendly smile as he applauded, “Your senses have become quite sharp. It seems your growth has not been small.”
Hearing the voice of this person and then looking at his appearance, Sun Yu was overjoyed, quickly got up, and shouted, “Senior Yang?”
Yang Kai gently nodded.
“How did you come here? When did you arrive?” Sun Yu asked excitedly as he rushed over to Yang Kai.
“I just got here,” Yang Kai replied casually, “Speak softly; there are two Transcendents outside guarding this place.”
“En,” Sun Yu glanced outside and couldn’t help but shrink his neck, lowering his voice before retrieving a nearby chair, “Senior Yang, please have a seat.”
After waiting for Yang Kai to sit down, Sun Yu respectfully poured him a glass of water and then stood straight nearby, a big smile upon his face, as if he was welcoming his closest family member.
Sweeping Sun Yu with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai gently nodded, “Your cultivation has progressed well; you’ve been practising hard.”
Sun Yu wore a bitter expression and shook his head, “Senior Yang, please don’t make fun of me; although this kind of progress may be better than an average person, compared to the expectations of Palace Master Chen and Master, it’s actually quite disappointing. Even I’m not satisfied with myself.”
“There’s no need to rush, growing steadily is always for the best.”
“Senior Yang, when can you explain everything to Palace Master? the pressure I’ve been under all this time has been quite difficult to bear,” Sun Yu asked helplessly.
“I understand how you feel,” Yang Kai replied, “But now is not the time.”
In the beginning, after transforming from an ordinary disciple to the hope of the entire Sect, Sun Yu quite enjoyed the attention and praise, but after truly coming to understand the burden that had been placed on his shoulder, he began to realize just how difficult being in such a position was.
Enormous pressure and expectations were now part of everyday life for him.
“Wait a little longer,” Yang Kai comforted. He was planning on waiting to first reunite with Su Yan and bring her here to accept the Phoenix Empress’ inheritance from the Phoenix Nest before revealing the truth to Dragon Phoenix Palace. With the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress appearing before them, presumably, they would happily accept.
“Then did Senior Yang come here this time because he needs something from me?”
“En, I do have something I’d like your help with,” Yang Kai’s expression became serious as he made the same request to Sun Yu as he did to Wu Jie and Fei Yu.
Sun Yu naturally did not decline.
Half a day later, many elites from Dragon Phoenix Palace were dispatched in all directions under the command of Palace Master Chen Zhou.
Yang Kai said goodbye to Sun Yu and left Dragon Phoenix Palace, standing atop the Flying Heavens Shuttle as he released his Divine Sense into his surroundings, observing the area all around him as he flew forward.
He had used all of his personal relationships in order to seek out news about Central Capital as soon as possible.
Originally, he also planned on paying a visit to Water Spirit Temple as well, but after thinking about it, Shui Ling knew about his origins so if Water Spirit Temple really found a Void Corridor leading to his previous world, Shui Ling would definitely send word to Nine Heavens Holy Land about it.
As he rapidly flew through the sky, Yang Kai constantly scanned the ground below and as soon as he noticed any trace of Void Energy fluctuations nearby, he would immediately investigate. If it turned out to be the entrance to a Mysterious Small World, he would directly enter it in order to check if it led home.
Unfortunately, each time Yang Kai was met with disappointment, causing him to feel a sense of anxiety and impatience.
The Central Capital’s Eight Great Families were second to none in his old world, but compared to the forces of Tong Xuan Realm, they weren’t even worth mentioning. If they were discovered by some powerful force from this world, things would turn bad very quickly.
One day, two months later, Yang Kai returned back.
After returning to the Holy Master Court, he immediately summoned Xu Hui to ask if any of the disciples had found anything during this time, but the answer he received was no.
Yang Kai was inevitably disappointed.
Two months ago, he had used all his interpersonal relationships to move several forces to search for news about the Central Capital while also deploying a large amount of manpower from Nine Heavens Holy Land as well, but they still hadn’t found leads yet.
For the past two months, Yang Kai had been flying about searching for entrances to Mysterious Small Worlds.
In total, he had investigated thirty-two Mysterious Small Worlds but none of them had led to the Central Capital.
The speed of the Flying Heavens Shuttle was a big help at this time, allowing Yang Kai to cover almost half of the Human Territory.
Every three days he would return to the Holy Land to avoid missing any useful information.
But so far there had been nothing at all.
Xu Hui drew back and a moment later, a fragrant wind brushed past Yang Kai’s face. Looking up, he saw Xia Ning Chang’s veiled face and graceful figure standing in front of him. Seemingly sensing the anxiety in Yang Kai’s heart, her beautiful eyes flashed a deep sense of concern.
Yang Kai reached out and pulled his Little Senior Sister into his arms, sitting her down on his lap as he asked, “Did you finish Alchemy for today?”
“En,” Xia Ning Chang nodded lightly, “Thanks to all the Mysterious Small Worlds appearing recently, fewer and fewer people have been coming to request Alchemy services, so each day there aren’t many pills to be refined.”
Because of the sudden emergence of so many Mysterious Small Worlds, most cultivators were currently busy treasure hunting, leaving the nine peaks to seek for opportunities, leading to a sharp decline in the number of people standing around waiting in line outside the Holy Land.
This development inadvertently freed up Xia Ning Chang and the five Grandmasters.
The Senior Sister and Junior Brother pair held each other close, gently inhaling each other’s scent, calming their hearts.
“Junior Brother, are you looking for a way back to the Central Capital?” Xia Ning Chang suddenly asked.
“Did you ask Great Elder?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Xia Ning Chang shook her head, “I can see it myself. Strictly speaking, our previous world was a Mysterious Small World, before we couldn’t find a Void Corridor leading back, but now that entrances have opened up all by themselves, it shouldn’t be long before one that leads home is discovered. Because there hasn’t been any news yet though, Junior Brother is certainly feeling quite anxious and have been spending most of your time outside.”
“En, I keep searching but unfortunately nothing has been found yet.”
“There will always be clues, Junior Brother doesn’t need to worry so much,” Xia Ning Chang softly comforted as she took the initiative to tightly hold Yang Kai’s hand and say, “At such a critical time, I wonder where Master has gone. If he was here, there would be someone else who we can discuss this matter with.”
“Treasurer Meng… he probably has something important to take care of,” Yang Kai was also not clear where Treasure Meng had disappeared.
But since he decided to leave Nine Heavens Holy Land almost immediately after arriving, even entrusting Xia Ning Chang to Yang Kai’s care, he definitely had something critical to deal with.
Yang Kai even wondered if he had really gone to the Demon Land.
After all, he had suffered a huge loss at the hands of the current Demon Commander, now that he had restored his strength, going to find trouble with the Demon Commander wouldn’t be impossible.
If that really was the case though, Treasurer Meng’s situation really might be worrying.
*Deng deng deng deng…* A flurry of footsteps suddenly sounded from outside.
Like a frightened rabbit, Xia Ning Chang leapt out of Yang Kai’s arms, her face blushing bright red as she stood awkwardly nearby.
When no one was around, she could behave intimately towards Yang Kai, but in front of outsiders, she couldn’t bring herself to act so improperly.
The person who came in was Xu Hui, a somewhat flurried expression on his face.
Yang Kai turned a curious gaze towards him and asked, “What’s the matter, Great Elder?”
Xu Hui had just reported to Yang Kai about the information the disciples had collected over the past few days, yet now, after having only left for a short time, he had actually rushed back here. Obviously, he had something important to say.
“Holy Master, there are two women outside who asked to see you directly,” Xu Hui glanced over at Xia Ning Chang cautiously and lightly coughed as he reported.
“Women?” Yang Kai frowned, “What kind of women?”
“Em… they’re quite young and beautiful,” Xu Hui didn’t beat around the bush and spoke frankly, clearly thinking that these two women had some kind of emotional debt with Yang Kai and had now come looking for him to collect.
Xia Ning Chang also thought so and couldn’t help giggling lightly, shooting a light glance towards Yang Kai as she softly whispered, “Junior Brother, I’ll return to my room first.”
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he hurriedly declared, “I don’t know any beautiful young women from the outside… Wait, is it Yun Xuan and Ruan Xin Yu from Bold Independent Union, the two who came to the Holy Land a while ago? Great Elder also met them at that time.”
“It’s not them,” Xu Hui shook his head, his eyes flashing for a moment, seemingly remembering something, “Right, the two girls who have come this time should be twins, their appearances are basically identical but their temperaments are slightly different, one of them charming while the other is lively
… En, they’re a rare pair.”
His look clearly showed he was thinking that Yang Kai was lucky in love, basically having determined that the two who had come had some kind of intimate relationship with Yang Kai.
However, hearing Xu Hui’s words, Yang Kai’s expression changed greatly as his eyes lit up, jumping to his feet as he shouted, “Twins? Did you say twins?”
“Ah… en,” Xu Hui didn’t know why Yang Kai reacted so strongly, giving him a strange look as he continued, “And according to this old master’s observations, those two girls should be cultivating a very Secret Art, one that connects their two life auras together, even their individual energy fluctuations are exactly the same. Both of their cultivations seem to be only at the First Order Transcendent Realm, but when they stand together their innate auras are difficult to ignore. It’s really quite strange, even if they are twins, there should be differences in their life auras and True Qi fluctuations.”
Yang Kai’s expression gradually brightened and became radiant while Xia Ning Chang had also covered her small mouth with her delicate hands, a look of shock and joy flashing across her beautiful eyes.
The Senior Sister and Junior Brother pair exchanged a glance, both of them having thought of a certain possibility.
“Where are those two now?” Yang Kai asked quickly, at the same time spreading out his Divine Sense.
“They are waiting just outside the nine peaks.”
“Take me to see them!”
“I’m also coming!” Xia Ning Chang hurriedly declared.
“Eh…” Xu Hui was struck speechless again, freezing in place, secretly feeling anxious for Yang Kai, wondering if this Senior Sister of the Holy Master was tagging along to make things difficult for the two young women outside.
However, from what Xu hui had seen of her, Xia Ning Chang didn’t seem like such a person.
“What are gawking at?” Yang Kai shouted before flying out together with Xia Ning Chang.
Xu Hui quickly collected himself while silently deciding to flee at the first signs of trouble between these three women, leaving the Holy Master to deal with the resulting headache.
Being loved by beautiful women is not exactly all good.
As a seasoned person, Xu Hui naturally knew how terrifying women could become once sparks began to fly.
Outside the nine peaks, the two young women with graceful figures stood quietly, both of them great beauties with full peaks and slim waists, but despite their similar looks, their temperaments were very different, the one on the left exuded charm while the one on the right seemed more playful. The two of them standing there together was quite an eye-catching sight.
Many of the Holy Land’s disciples who were stationed here as guards were frequently sneaking glances towards these two.
None of them dared stare too long though, only taking a quick peek every now and then when it seemed like they wouldn’t be noticed, satisfying their hearts desires before turning away again.
“Elder Sister, these people are really annoying, they won’t stop peeking at us,” The young woman on the right bit her lip and whispered to her sister to the left.
“Just ignore them,” The young woman on the left shook her head and smiled softly, “How many people have already taken a look at us? In any case, we don’t lose anything from their stares. Men are all like this, and there are plenty who are even more annoying than this lot.”
“But that person is different…”
“That person…” The Elder Sister’s facial expression suddenly became serious as she revealed a reminiscent look, “That person left more than ten years ago and we haven’t heard a single word from him since, we don’t even know if the one we came to find here is really him.”
“I think he is!”
The Elder Sister glanced over at her little sister and smiled mirthlessly, “Although I also hope that’s the case, I’m afraid that it’s unlikely. According to others, the Holy Master of the Nine Heavens Holy Land is a Third Order Transcendent. We sister obtained a profound inheritance allowing us to posses our current cultivation but even if he is fiercer than us, it still seems impossible that his strength could so greatly exceed our own; after all, our cultivation rate is nearly twice as fast as that of ordinary people.”
“Elder Sister, have you forgotten all the miracles that he created in the Central Capital and War City that year? There shouldn’t be anything impossible for him.”
“I hope so, but if it really is him, how was he able to become the master of this place after just ten years? This force is in a completely different league compared to the Eight Great Families,” The Elder Sister sighed, though she was desperately clinging to hope, her rational mind was telling her it was hopeless.
“I wonder what the Sect’s situation is over there…” The younger sister said worriedly.
“No matter what is happening over on that side, there’s no way we can return right now. Our only hope is to find him quickly and let him find a solution… En, some people are coming,” As she was speaking, the Elder Sister looked up towards the distance and saw three figures quickly flying over.
The speed of these three was extremely fast and even with her cultivation, she was only able to see a blurry afterimage.
When the three arrived in front of them, the two sisters’ eyes lit up as they stared forward in a state of disbelief while feeling like a great burden had finally been lifted from their shoulders.
“Disciple greets Holy Master, greets Great Elder!” The Holy Land disciples guarding the place bowed respectfully. Great Elder waved his hand and didn’t speak, simply standing behind Yang Kai and watching.
He found that when Yang Kai saw these two girls, he wore a big smile, and although he remained silent, his happiness was obvious as if he had just reunited with long-separated friends.
“It really is you!” Xia Ning Chang exclaimed.
“Yang Kai!” The two sisters seemed to be extremely excited, both of them shouting in unison and then, under the dumbstruck gaze of Great Elder, leapt forward and hugged Yang Kai.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if their thoughts were linked!
Surrounded by beautiful women, his arms and chest experiencing an amazingly soft yet elastic sensation, Yang Kai could only stand there, obviously overcome with shock.
Too warm!
After ten years of separation, this pair of sisters had become so warm that they had taken the initiative to embrace him, causing Yang Kai to feel somewhat overwhelmed.
Xia Ning Chang meanwhile just stood nearby and giggled, not showing the slightest bit of unpleasantness.
Great Elder turned his eyes towards the sky as if he was admiring the vastness and mystery of the Heavens.
Outside the nine peaks, Yang Kai was being hugged by two identical twin beauties while the veiled Little Senior Sister stood nearby and smiled.
The Holy Land disciples who were responsible for guarding this place all starred with looks of pure admiration on their faces, all of them thinking that their Holy Master was a real man with deep and profound methods, even capable of conquering these two beautiful sisters.
“Alright, haven’t you two had enough yet?” Yang Kai was on the verge of suffocating while the amazing softness he felt on his chest was making him feel awkward so he quickly pinched the two young women’s waists playfully to get them to release him.
The two sisters swiftly released Yang Kai and directed bitter stares towards him.
“What?” Yang Kai asked vigilantly, “You delivered yourselves on your own, it’s not like I was trying to take advantage of you.”
“After not seeing you for so many years, I see you’re still as good at annoying others as always,” The charming woman snorted, “All this time we’ve been thinking and worrying about your safety but it turns out you’ve become a big shot Holy Master here, it seems all our worries were in vain.”
“You were worried about me?” Yang Kai stared at her with a stunned look upon his face, “I’m honored.”
“That’s wrong… I didn’t… it was Mei’er who was always thinking of you,” The woman’s face turned bright red as she let fly a flurry of denials.
“Elder Sister was too.”
“Was not!”
“Good, you don’t want to start quarrelling as soon as you meet each time, let’s go inside to talk,” Xia Ning Chang also regained her composure and softly interjected.
Yang Kai grinned and beckoned to the two sisters, “Come with me, there’s no need for you to feel like an outsider here.”
“No thanks,” The Elder Sister snorted, pulling her little sister and Xia Ning Chang’s hands as she lead them into the nine peaks.
Yang Kai shook his head wryly as he stared at their backs, his face gradually becoming serious.
The two sisters were none other than the Blood Battle Gang’s famous Hu Sisters, Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er.
Because Yang Kai had constantly been seeking for information about the Central Capital during this time, when he heard Great Elder report that a pair of twins had come to see him, he couldn’t help thinking about the Hu Sisters.
Then, as the Great Elder described them, Yang Kai all but confirmed his guess.
Back in the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave, Yang Kai and Su Yan obtained the ultimate inheritance, the one which belonged to Dragon Phoenix Palace.
The Hu Sisters also obtained a profound inheritance called the Twin Qi Shared Spirit Divine Art. After cultivating this Secret Art, the two sister’s auras and True Qi fluctuations had become exactly the same.
The Hu Sisters being here meant that the Central Capital and Tong Xuan Realm really had been connected, and perhaps something had happened to them.
“Holy Master… these two girls…” Xu Hui, who had been on the sidelines the whole time, hesitantly spoke, wanting to probe what the relationship between the twins and Yang Kai was but also feeling like he was acting too nosy.
“It’s not what you think!” Yang Kai shot him a glance.
“I understand,” Xu Hui nodded quickly.
Inside the nine peaks, the two sisters walked around and explored their surroundings, constantly exclaiming. Even in Tong Xuan Realm, Nine Heavens Holy Land was considered a top force, so the scenery and aura within the nine peaks were obviously incomparable to anything the Central Capital had.
Arriving here immediately broadened the two sister’s horizons, making them appear like two country girls who had never seen the big city before.
Back in the Holy Master Court, Xia Ning Chang helped the two sisters settle in while Yang Kai personally poured tea for them. An Ling’er also soon came bringing with her a tray of rare spirit fruits.
The Hu Sisters seemed to have not had a good rest for a very long time, the look of exhaustion on their pretty faces apparent to all and their True Qi auras showing signs of overdraft. Upon smelling the spirit fruits, the two of them gulped unconsciously.
Hu Jiao Er reached out and unceremoniously took two pieces of fruit, handing one to Hu Mei Er before biting into the one she kept.
Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang sat down next to each other and waited for the Hu Sisters to restore themselves.
After eating several spirit fruits in succession, the two seemed to recover some of their vigour and Yang Kai asked, “Judging from your travel worn looks, it seems you’ve been on the road for quite some time, yes?”
The Hu Sisters nodded together, “It’s been almost three months.”
Yang Kai took a soft breath, “It’s been hard for you.”
Both of them were First Order Transcendents, so three months of constant travel had no doubt been extremely draining, it was inevitable that they were exhausted.
“Yang Kai, you have to hurry back, there may be something happening on that side,” Hu Jiao Er suddenly frowned as she spoke anxiously.
“I know,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
“You know?” The Hu Sisters stared blankly at him.
“To be honest, some things have happened here in the recent period and I have been searching for a way back, it’s just that until now I haven’t been able to discover any clues so your arrival is really fortuitous. Tell me carefully about how you got here.”
The Hu Sisters exchanged a look before Hu Jiao Er began explaining, “Do you still not remember where the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave opened? That mine that belonged to my Hu Family.”
“Of course I remember,” Yang Kai nodded.
“It was three or four months ago when a strange phenomenon occurred in that place.”
After listening to Hu Jiao Er’s remarks, Yang Kai realized how the two sisters had come to Tong Xuan Realm and also why they trekked tens of thousands of kilometres to find Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Three or four months ago, in the place where the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave once opened, a dark hole suddenly appeared. After receiving notification about this event, the Hu Sisters went in to investigate.
Currently, in the Blood Battle Gang, and even throughout their entire world, the Hu Sisters’ strength ranked among the highest.
Because they had confidence in their own strength, the Hu Sisters weren’t afraid of any dangers and boldly entered the dark hole, planning on carefully exploring what lay on the other side.
After all, they had already experienced the Inheritance Heaven’s Cave and mistakenly thought that this dark hole was quite similar to the entrance which had appeared that time. Little did they know that the Void Corridor that appeared this time was actually a pathway leading to Tong Xuan Realm.
And so, the two of them accidentally arrived in Tong Xuan Realm.
The two sisters searched around for two days and soon discovered that they had come to a completely different place than they had expected. They also discovered many traces of cultivator activities and even noticed several masters they could not see through.
At that moment, they realized they had arrived in an entirely different world.
While preparing to return to Blood Battle Gang though, the sisters discovered to their horror that the entrance they had passed through was already surrounded by cultivators from a certain force.
Among the cultivators guarding the entrance, there were many powerful masters. All alone, the two sisters understood they could not approach this place easily and whenever they tried they were forced to retreat.
Under the circumstances, the two of them could only wait nearby hoping to find a chance to sneak through.
However, such an opportunity never arrived.
At that time, they remembered Yang Kai who had left the Central Capital ten years ago and with the mentality of using medicine to treat a dead horse, went around inquiring about him, hoping that perhaps he too was in this world and that if he was, he could help them return home.
Neither of them held out much hope but they still went around asking.
Throughout Tong Xuan Realm, Nine Heavens Holy Land’s reputation had reached an unparalleled height and Yang Kai as the master of the Holy Land was equally well known.
After inquiring for a while, the sisters found that the age and appearance of Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Holy Master were quite similar to the young man they knew so they immediately rushed over to Nine Heavens Holy Land.
The reason why the two sisters were so excited when they saw Yang Kai was that because he was the Yang Kai they knew. With all the tension and burden weighing down on them for the past few months finally lifted, they even momentarily lost their self-control and clung on to him.
“I didn’t expect that you really were the Holy Master of this place, but seeing how you are, things should be simple to resolve. Since you command the Holy Land, you must be able to communicate with that force to ensure they don’t harm Blood Battle Gang and the other people on that side, right?” Hu Jiao Er looked at Yang Kai eagerly, pinning all her hopes on him.
“Do you still remember the way back? Also, what was the name of the force that drove you away?”
“I don’t remember the way back…” Hu Jiao Er slowly shook her head, “This place is far too vast, but I heard from some cultivators back there that the force occupying the way back was called Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple.”
“Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple?” Yang Kai frowned, vaguely feeling like he had heard that name somewhere before.
“That place is not close,” An Ling’er, who had been sitting and listening the whole time, spoke up, “These two must have taken a roundabout path, otherwise they should have been able to reach the Holy Land within two months from that location.”
“Do you know about that force?” Yang Kai turned to look at her.
An Ling’er smiled, “Saintesses learn many things, naturally that includes the strength and location of the world’s important forces. Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple is a relatively powerful force with several Saint Realm masters, the most powerful one probably having reached the Second Order.”
“Basically on par with the Holy Land!”
“You could say that,” An Ling’er smiled and nodded, “However, in terms of reputation and prestige they are absolutely incomparable with the current Holy Land. Still, they shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Listening to her, the Hu Sisters’ faces became dignified.
In their eyes, this Nine Heavens Holy Land was quite tyrannical, but if it was only equal in strength with Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple, it was uncertain if they could rely on this place’s influence to resolve the other side’s crisis.
“Then we’ll have to see if they know their limits, if they’re willing to back down, naturally we won’t embarrass them, but if they aren’t…
“What then?”
“Just wait and see!” Yang Kai grinned, his eyes flashing a cold light, like a sharp blade.
The Hu Sisters’ beautiful eyes light up as they filled with expectation.
This man was just as domineering as he was in the past!
Anyone who dared look down on or act hostile towards him would pay a heavy price.
The hearts of the two sisters relaxed once again, feeling that as long as Yang Kai acted, they wouldn’t need to worry about their Sect at all.
Yang Kai immediately sent out a Divine Sense Message and a moment later, the sound of rushing wind filled the hall.
The Holy Land’s six Elders and the four Ancient Demon Clan leaders simultaneously appeared.
“Holy Master.”
“Master!”
All of them bowed as they stared towards Yang Kai seriously. They didn’t know why he had suddenly summoned all the high-level members of the Holy Land together, but they faintly smelled an unusual aura.
Feeling the tyranny strength of these ten people, the Hu Sisters suddenly found themselves having difficulty breathing.
Back in their old world, their strength was top-notch, and if they collaborated together, they were nearly invincible, but at this moment they were shocked to discover that even together they were not the match of any single person here.
At the same time as they felt shocked, they also felt excited seeing the strength Yang Kai commanded.
“Master, what matter have you convened all of us here for?” Inside the hall, Li Rong asked while taking a glance towards the Hu Sisters, her beautiful eyes flashing a curious light.
With her strength, she could see that although this pair of sisters weren’t very strong, but the Secret Art they cultivated was rather odd. Even if they were twins, they should still have differences in their life auras and True Qi fluctuations.
The Saint Realm masters all noticed this peculiar phenomenon and couldn’t help taking a second look at the Hu Sisters.
“I need to go out,” Yang Kai swept his eyes over the crowd and said casually, “Li Rong and Han Fei will accompany me.”
The two Great Commanders from the Ancient Demon Clan both immediately nodded.
“In addition, I need another Elder who is familiar with the road to act as a guide,” Yang Kai declared as he turned to face the Holy Land’s six Elders, “Who among you knows the way to Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple?”
“Subordinate knows the way,” Shi Kun stepped forward.
“Then Elder Shi Kun will also come with me, everyone else will remain in the Holy Land.”
“Holy Master, do you have some kind of dispute with Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple?” Xu Hui frowned and asked. Yang Kai’s expression was unusually solemn and his tone was cold, causing Xu Hui to realize something was wrong.
“There is no dispute between us as of yet, but there may be in the future, so I need to bring a few masters with me.”
“Then this subordinate will also…”
“Great Elder cannot,” Yang Kai interrupted him before he could finish, “There must always be someone to assume command in the Holy Land. Great Elder must remain here to handle the Sect’s matters.”
Xu Hui thought about it for a moment and agreed that what Yang Kai said made sense, so he no longer insisted.
“Little Senior Sister, you also remain here,” Yang Kai turned to Xia Ning Chang and said, “Treasurer Meng may come back soon.”
“En, I’ll stay here and continue with the Alchemy services while waiting for Master to return,” Xia Ning Chang nodded cleverly.
“We must go with you!” The Hu Sisters declared simultaneously.
Yang Kai looked at them and upon noticing the determined look on their faces nodded.
Hu Jiao Er and Hu Mei Er smiled in response.
“This matter must not be delayed. We leave immediately,” Yang Kai waved his hand and walked out.
Outside the Holy Master Court, Yang Kai gave some simple instructions to the Elders and Great Commanders before summoning the Flying Heavens Shuttle. After the group of six people boarded it, the shuttle transformed into a streak of blue light and shot off into the distance.
The Flying Heavens Shuttle was about ten meters in length and did not have a problem accommodating seven or eight people. On top of that, because of the protective barrier of the Flying Heavens Shuttle, even at extreme velocities those aboard wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of wind.
However, Yang Kai clearly felt that carrying so many people caused the amount of strength he needed to consume to operate the shuttle to increase dramatically.
Shi Kun stood at the forefront of the shuttle and gave directions while the other five sat behind him.
Along the way, Yang Kai gave a simple explanation to Li Rong and Han Fei about the Hu Sisters’ origins as well as the purpose of this trip to Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple, allowing them to understand why he was acting so urgently and prudently.
The land where Yang Kai grew up was naturally of great importance to him. Since the door to this Mysterious Small World was now open, Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple was free to enter that world and take advantage of the disparity in strength, wantonly oppressing and enslaving the cultivators on the other side.
These people were Yang Kai’s friends and relatives; how could he allow such a thing to happen?
As they flew forward, Shi Kun looked back every now and then, his brow furrowing slightly each time.
“Shi Kun, do you have something to say?” Yang Kai saw his hesitant appearance and couldn’t help asking.
Shi Kun smiled and replied, “It’s nothing important, I just thought the aura of these two girls is quite consistent.”
“Naturally, it’s because they have cultivated a very special Secret Art.”
“So it’s like that,” Shi Kun scratched his head, “If it weren’t for what Holy Master had said about their origins, I would have thought they were disciples of Twin Spirit Pavilion.”
“Twin Spirit Pavilion?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed, vaguely recalling this force.
Back in Dragon Phoenix Palace, when Sun Yu had left Dragon Valley, his Master, Ling Jian, once said that they would take refuge in Twin Spirit Pavilion for a while, saying that Dragon Phoenix Palace and Twin Spirit Pavilion had always been on good terms.
“Senior, why would you think we came from Twin Spirit Pavilion?” Hu Jiao Er asked.
“Because in Twin Spirit Pavilion there are many twins like you,” Shi Kun smiled and explained, “That force is very special. The disciples they recruit are exclusively twins, so their Sect is not very large, but because of their special cultivation technique, each pair of twins, when fighting together, can fight opponents above their individual cultivation realms. When they cultivate their Secret Art to the extreme, even their life auras and Qi fluctuations gradually become similar to one another; however, it’s not to the extent of you two young ladies where there is essentially no difference at all. When I was young, I went out for life experience and met a pair of brothers from Twin Spirit Pavilion so I know a little something about their Sect. It was because of this that I thought you two were from there.”
“We’ve never heard of that Sect before,” Hu Jiao Er smiled and shook her head. The two sisters had only arrived in Tong Xuan Realm a few months ago and had been constantly travelling since then. Naturally, they didn’t know much about this world and its various forces.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he thought about something, asking a moment later, “Elder Shi Kun, did Twin Spirit Pavilion used to be very powerful?”
“They’re not too formidable. Although they have a Saint Realm master assuming command, their overall strength is not very high… Oh, yes, those two brothers I once met said that many, many years ago, Twin Spirit Pavilion was a top force, but for some reason, their core inheritance was lost and they slowly declined as a result. As for whether those words are true or not, I do not know.”
“Their inheritance was lost?” Hu Jiao Er exclaimed, her beautiful eyes shining a profound light, apparently also thinking of something.
Yang Kai also had basically determined that the Twin Qi Shared Spirit Divine Art the Hu Sisters were cultivating originated from Twin Spirit Pavilion.
Their situation was quite similar to that of Su Yan and his own, having obtained an ancient inheritance.
This would also explain why Dragon Phoenix Palace and Twin Spirit Pavilion had always had a close relationship. The two Sects were once top forces in Tong Xuan Realm that had close ties, but at a certain point, they both lost their core inheritances. Naturally, they felt a sense of camaraderie.
“If there’s a chance, we’ll have to visit this Twin Spirit Pavilion,” Hu Jiao Er whispered, obviously curious about this force.
“When we’ve finished dealing with that side’s matters, I’ll bring you there,” Yang Kai said.
“En,” Hu Jiao Er nodded before suddenly leaning over and whispering into Yang Kai’s ear, “Right, Yang Kai, these people you’ve brought with you, what is their cultivation realms? Why can I not see their depths at all.”
“The Saint Realm.”
“Saint Realm?” The Hu Sisters stared at him blankly.
“Above the Transcendent Realm, is the Saint Realm,” Li Rong explained with a smile, “You two are now First Order Transcendents, en, it also seems you’re not far away from the Second Order. From there the next step is the Third Order, and upwards from there is the Saint Realm. It looks like the world in which Master was born there are no Saint Realm masters.”
“Forget about Saints, until recently we didn’t even know the proper name of the Transcendent Realm. Ten years ago it was only known as the Above Immortal Ascension Boundary,” Yang Kai said with some slight embarrassment.
“What is above the Saint Realm?” Hu Mei Er asked, her bright, beautiful eyes filled with curiosity.
“Above the Saint Realm?” Li Rong and Yang Kai glanced at each other and shook their heads slowly, Li Rong smiling as she said, “We don’t know, no one has ever exceeded the Saint Realm.”
The Hu Sisters both fell silent.
It seemed that learning about the existence of Saint Realm had given them quite a shock, so they needed some time to slowly digest this information while trying to adjust their world view.
Back in their previous world, when the two of them joined forces, they were nearly invincible, but after coming here, they were shocked to discover that there were many masters they could not match.
This change in perspective, going from strong to weak, had a huge impact on their perception.
They had to carefully re-examine themselves from the perspective of the Tong Xuan Realm.
For most of the journey, everyone remained silent with the exception for Yang Kai asking Shi Kun about Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple’s details.
Two days later, the Flying Heavens Shuttle came to a stop and Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to carefully examining their surroundings.
Hu Jiao Er called out a moment later, “I remember that town down below. Mei’er and I arrived here two days after we first set out.”
“What direction did you walk from?” Yang Kai asked.
Hu Jiao Er looked around carefully before pointing a certain direction, “That way!”
The blue light flashed again.
After an incense stick worth of time, Yang Kai saw a Void Corridor entrance floating a few meters off the ground up ahead. Around the Void Corridor, there were many cultivators waiting and watching the entrance while guarding their surroundings. Once anyone got close, these guards would immediately expel them.
“It’s here,” Hu Mei Er bit her red lips and shouted, “Elder Sister and I came from here.”
Yang Kai gently nodded and landed the Flying Heavens Shuttle, allowing the group of six to disembark before they walked the rest of the ways.
“Master, there are five Saint Realm masters guarding this place, but all of them are only at the First Order, so there is nothing to worry about,” Li Rong spread out her Divine Sense and instantly determined the number and realm of the masters present.
“It looks like it’s not just Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple here,” Shi Kun said thoughtfully, “They should have brought in some helpers. I see at least three different forces here.”
Yang Kai nodded, “That side is a big piece of meat, no single force would be able to eat it all.”
“What do we do?” Li Rong inquired quietly.
“First use courtesy then use force!” Yang Kai quickly said.
The group of six’s arrival obviously attracted the attention of the cultivators guarding the entrance, all of them turning their gazes towards these newcomers.
Among the cultivators scattered around, five people narrowed their eyes and secretly began condensing their strength, preparing to strike at a moment’s notice.
One of them hesitated a moment before slowly walking out and blocking the way, raising his hand and shouting, “Stop, this Mysterious Small World was discovered by my Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple. Please look elsewhere.”
Because the entrances to all the world’s Mysterious Small Worlds had opened, basically every force and every cultivator had been out searching for them, hoping they got lucky.
Quite often, the Sects that first discovered such a Void Corridor would send disciples to guard the entrance and prevent outsiders from approaching.
Powerful forces naturally wanted to obtain all the benefits inside the Mysterious Small World’s they discovered and Free And Unfettered Spirit Temple had such ability.