Flying his Star Shuttle through the Starry Sky while being accompanied by an incredible beauty like Xue Yue did not bore Yang Kai in the slightest. He actually quite enjoyed this little journey.
Xue Yue also seemed to enjoy experiencing this completely different kind of life.
Until now, she had constantly been maintaining her male Xue Yue Third Young Master persona.
She had lived like this for countless years, and only a few people in the entire Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce knew her true gender; she had never been able to openly show her true face.
This chance coincidence had inadvertently allowed her to put down all her disguises and interact with Yang Kai as a woman. On top of that, because of the effects of the Soul Chains, she didn’t feel alert around Yang Kai and instead found him to be kind and friendly, as if he was a very important part of her life.
All day long she was in a good mood, her country destroying beauty shining even more radiantly, her pretty face displaying a mesmerizing glow that could attract even the most aloof of characters.
Time flew by, and after a month or so traversing the Starry Sky, the pair finally arrived at a gorgeous coloured star, Rainfall Star!
Because of its name, Yang Kai had thought that this star would be surrounded by thick clouds and storms, but when he saw it from the Starry Sky, he realized Rainfall Star was not how he imagined it would be.
This star was not very big, only about a third the size of Water Moon Star, but it exuded a rich vitality and colourful rays of light shrouded the entire star, making for a dazzling and fantastic display.
A brilliant nearby Sun Star illuminated these bright colours, allowing Rainfall Star to look more and more charming, like a fairyland.
Xue Yue’s beautiful eyes clearly revealed a hint of intoxication as she gazed upon Rainfall Star.
Even Yang Kai couldn’t help marvelling at the beauty of this star.
“When my strength grows high enough, I must become the Star Master of Rainfall Star, placing this star under my own control!” Xue Yue declared in a tender voice, setting a grand goal for herself.
“Then you’ll have to work hard, you’ll need to at least be able to defeat the current Star Master!” Yang Kai smiled, thinking little of her declaration, treating it as the whims of a young girl.
Xue Yue’s eyes narrowed into crescent moons as she lightly covered her mouth and laughed, “Rainfall Star does not have a Star Master. I know you come from a lower world, but you should at least understand that much.”
“No Star Master?” Yang Kai heard this and was stunned, “Why is there no Star Master? Doesn’t your Chamber of Commerce have masters worthy of seizing that position?”
Yang Kai knew that characters at the Star Master level were generally masters at the Origin King Realm, and although there weren’t many such masters, each major force would have at least a few.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was one of the greatest forces in the entire Star Field, so it was impossible for them to not have Origin King Realm masters.
“Our Chamber of Commerce naturally has hidden masters who possess enough strength to become the Star Master of Rainfall Star, but how should I put this… Wanting to become a Star Master of a Cultivation Star, it’s not just about having enough strength, you also need to connect your own soul to the Star Source of the specific Cultivation Star. This process is accompanied by great dangers, and even an Origin King Realm powerhouse may suffer a backlash from trying to merge their soul with the Star Source, possibly even costing them their life.”
Yang Kai paled slightly.
Xue Yue continued to patiently explain, “There aren’t many Origin King Realm masters, some of them prefer to live lives of seclusion and are not willing to take the risk of fusing with a Star Source. On top of that, once they become a Star Master of a Cultivation Star, it is equivalent to tying their life together with it. If that Cultivation Star suddenly undergoes great changes or is even destroyed one day, then the Star Master will also suffer or die. Such things have happened before, where the destruction of a Cultivation Star led to the death of its Star Master.”
“So it is like our current relationship? If one suffers, all suffer?” Yang Kai exclaimed.
“Almost, but the relationship is not quite so simple. In any case, that is why there are some Stars in the Star Field that don’t have Star Masters, and Rainfall Star is one of them.”
“So you want to become a Star Master?” Yang Kai looked at her strangely.
Xue Yue smiled and said, “Although there are a lot of inconveniences, there are also great advantages to be had after becoming a Star Master. Why else do you think some masters are willing to become Star Masters of Cultivation Stars? Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, it ultimately depends on one’s perspective.”
She seemed to have thought this through, and Yang Kai also felt her explanation was reasonable, suddenly thinking back to the strange floating continent where he had been stranded for some time.
At the time, under the pressure of Gui Zu, while Yang Kai had been searching for a way to leave, his Divine Sense threads had inadvertently arrived at the deepest part of the floating continent where he came across an extremely powerful energy source.
That mass of energy provided an astonishing nourishing effect, causing Yang Kai’s Divine Sense thread, which was on the verge of collapse, to become even more powerful than when he first sent it out.
That mass of energy was likely the floating continent’s Star Source; unfortunately, when Yang Kai had asked Gui Zu about it, he hadn’t obtained any useful information.
Now after listening to Xue Yue talk about this subject, Yang Kai was almost certain that what he discovered was really a Star Source.
“Do you know how to fuse with a Star Source?” Yang Kai asked.
“Why do you want to know about that?” Xue Yue looked at him strangely.
“Just asking,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, pretending he had simply been speaking carelessly.
Xue Yue’s expression became suspicious, obviously not trusting his explanation, but she did not bother asking any more questions and revealed some information she knew.
She felt that even if she didn’t explain anything, Yang Kai would learn about it someday, so there was no reason for her to conceal it.
Yang Kai secretly remembered every word she spoke while feigning calm, preparing for the day when he had time to return to the floating continent and confirm whether his assumptions were correct or not.
If that mass of energy was really a Star Source, he could attempt to fuse with it; after all, if he succeeded, it would definitely bring him huge benefits.
As the two spoke, they crossed a thick layer of clouds and arrived in Rainfall Star’s atmosphere.
“Fly that way!” Xue Yue pointed towards a nearby spot where the World Energy aura was richest, “My Chamber of Commerce’s branch is located there!”
Yang Kai gently nodded and flew in the direction Xue Yue had pointed out.
A few hours later, a series of rolling hills appeared in the pair’s eyes, and amidst these mountains, countless palaces stood quietly.
At the centre of this mountain range was an enormous open square that multiple Starships carrying loads of supplies flew in and out of.
Most of these Starships were emblazoned with Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s insignia while a small portion belonged to other big forces which were here to either sell or purchase items.
Yang Kai was unalarmed by this now familiar scene and simply flew forward following Xue Yue’s instructions.
Apparently Xue Yue had been here before as she was quite familiar with the geography and layout. Following her guidance, the pair soon arrived at a large hall.
Xue Yue leapt off the Star Shuttle before beckoning to Yang Kai to follow her into the hall.
At the entrance to the hall, several cultivators dressed in guard uniforms held long silver spears and wore solemn expressions.
When they saw Xue Yue, these guards’ eyes light up and they all straightened their backs and puffed out their chests, trying to make themselves look reliable and imposing.
The corners of Xue Yue’s mouth curled upwards slightly, seemingly very satisfied with this scene.
She had never had a chance to drive men to distraction as a woman before, so the reaction of these guards greatly satisfied her vanity.
“Girl, please halt, what business do you have here?” One of the guards came up and blocked Xue Yue’s path, putting on a show of his duties.
“I must see Branch President Ha Li Ka!” Xue Yue said as she flipped her exquisite jade hand and summoned out a token. The guard glanced at this token and his expression immediately became more solemn, quickly calling out, “So Madam is an emissary from the Home Star!”
The moment the guard saw the token, the way he addressed Xue Yue changed dramatically and he no longer dared try to show off his masculinity because this token was only issued to high-level Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce executives from the Home Star.
With this grade of status, it was clear that this beautiful woman was not someone a small guard of his ability could hope to befriend.
“Branch President Ha Li Ka has been waiting for some time, please enter!” The guard hurriedly stepped to the side, opening the way.
Xue Yue nodded with satisfaction before motioning to Yang Kai, indicate that he should follow her.
The looks on all of the guards’ faces were incredibly solemn as they displayed the utmost respect for Xue Yue, but mixed in with this was some confusion as well. They couldn’t understand why Yang Kai could follow behind this distinguished Madam. This little brat’s cultivation wasn’t any better than their own, so it was obvious he could only be a guard, but this Madam seemed to treat him quite amiably!
What kind of dog shit luck did this little brat have? How could he have won the right to follow behind such a perfect woman?
Each of the guards silently cursed in their hearts. They had all seen Yang Kai and Xue Yue arrive together on a single Star Shuttle and deeply wished they could swap places with him.
Inside the hall, Yang Kai and Xue Yue had only just entered when they heard someone delivering an angry reprimand. A moment later, several cultivators ran out from inside, each of them looking rather distressed.
Xue Yue smiled and whispered, “The Branch President here is short-tempered and he will often scold or beat his subordinates, so his popularity is quite low. Once we’re inside, don’t speak any nonsense so as not to draw his attention.”
“I know, I won’t say anything,” Yang Kai nodded. He had come to Rainfall Star entirely became of Xue Yue but he didn’t plan on intervening in her matters any more than necessary.
“Who are you? Don’t you know it’s impolite to speak about someone behind their back?” A cold snort suddenly sounded from inside the hall, its owner clearly somewhat disgruntled.
Xue Yue couldn’t help spitting out her tongue, a moment later her entire temperament changing dramatically, becoming bold and courageous, stepping forward confidently.
Yang Kai followed close behind.
Inside the hall, an old man wearing a purple robe sat on his chair and stared indifferently towards the entrance.
His expression was unreadable and his aura was imposing, just sitting there he appeared like a mountain, an invisible pressure unconsciously leaking from his body.
Yang Kai had only taken a few steps when suddenly his feet felt like they weighed tens of thousands of kilograms, making it difficult for him to even move. Xue Yue’s brisk pace also slowed down significantly, as if she had been caught in some kind of mire, a slight frown appearing on her face as her tender body trembled lightly.
Because of Xue Yue’s remarks, Brand President Ha Li Ka obviously didn’t have a good impression of the pair and was now deliberately embarrassing them.
Inside the hall, Yang Kai struggled to just keep standing as a pressure like a mountain weighed down on him, his forehead oozing sweat and his physique trembling as he tried to resist the suppressive force coming from all around him, bitterness filling his heart.
Xue Yue had always been in a position of absolute authority, meaning no one had ever dared act rudely to her, so she obviously didn’t know the concept of careless words causing trouble, or that she had implicated him because of it.
Feeling Ha Li Ka deliberately releasing his aura, a cold light flashed across the depths of Xue Yue’s beautiful eyes and on her waist, a jade pendant suddenly lit up, a series of powerful roars echoing from it before numerous beast phantoms appeared and formed a defensive barrier around her, isolating her Soul from the impact of Ha Li Ka’s pressure.
As this halo appeared, the sound of something breaking rang out and Xue Yue’s arduous steps became relaxed again as she lifted her head back up and walked forward.
Yang Kai, who had not been able to move, suddenly felt the pressure around him disappear.
It seemed that under the defensive halo of these strange beasts, Brand President Ha Li Ka’s momentum had instantly disintegrated.
Yang Kai suddenly felt relaxed and couldn’t help glancing towards Xue Yue’s thin waist. Worthy of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s President’s heir, she was wearing extremely high-level artifacts!
“An Origin Grade Soul type artifact?” In his chair, Ha Li Ka, who had constantly had a cold expression, finally sat up and retracted his aura, a look of amazement soon filling his face.
Not just anyone could possess this grade of Soul type artifact, allowing Ha Li Ka to realize that Xue Yue’s identity could not be low. Before he was able to figure out Xue Yue’s status and purpose in coming here, he didn’t dare try to make trouble for her like just now.
Glancing over at Yang Kai again though, he still didn’t pay him any mind, instead focusing all his attention on Xue Yue and asking, “What is this young miss’ name?”
Xue Yue smiled and said sweetly, “Xue’er.”
Yang Kai’s mouth couldn’t help twitching as he stood silently behind her, diligently putting on the appearance of a guard.
“Miss Xue’er…” Ha Li Ka gently nodded, “So, what business do you have here?”
Xue Yue didn’t answer him directly and instead took out the token she had previously shown the guards outside and handed it over.
Accepting and examining the token, Ha Li Ka’s expression changed dramatically as he finally got up off his chair and politely cupped his fists, “So you are one of Young Master Xue Yue’s people! This old man had eyes but failed to see, causing him to offend Lady Xue’er a moment ago, I hope you will not take this matter to heart!”
Saying so, he handed the token back respectfully.
“Branch President is too polite,” Xue Yue’s expression became lighter as she looked around for a moment before walking over to a chair and sitting down.
Ha Li Ka remained standing in the same place, his expression showing clear puzzlement, asking after a moment, “Lady Xue’er, when will Young Master Xue Yue be arriving?”
“He won’t be,” Xue Yue smiled and said, “He has something to deal with and temporarily cannot leave.”
“Young Master Xue Yue can’t come?” Ha Li Ka was startled, hesitating for a while before asking, “Then the matter here…”
“He has given me sole responsibility for all the affairs here, Branch President only needs to coordinate with me,” Xue Yue said decisively, putting on a bossy appearance.
“You will take solely responsible for this matter?” Ha Li Ka couldn’t help but frown, seemingly not completely trusting Xue Yue’s words. “This old man must ask, Lady Xue’er, to Young Master Xue Yue… who are you?”
Xue Yue wore a radiant smile and showed an expression overflowing with charm as she replied, “He has given me responsibility for such an important matter, who do you think I am to him?”
Ha Li Ka suddenly wore a look of comprehension, his expression becoming somewhat ambiguous as he stared at Xue Yue, a myriad of emotions coursing through his chest, thinking that Young Master Xue Yue had finally been moved by a woman just like any ordinary young man. He had never heard of this kind of thing happening before. Young Master Xue Yue had never shown interest in any woman, and no matter how devastatingly beautiful they were, he simply wouldn’t spare them anything more than a polite nod.
Many of the older generation in the Chamber of Commerce were worried about Yong Master Xue Yue in this regard, wondering if he perhaps had some physical or psychological problem.
But now it seemed like he had simply not bumped into a woman capable of moving his heart!
Just… Why did this Lady Xue’er and Young Master Xue Yue share somewhat similar appearances?
This little girl couldn’t possibly be the product of one of President Ai Ou’s youthful escapades outside… If that was the case, she and Young Master Xue Yue would be…
All kinds of thoughts passed through his mind, and Ha Li Ka couldn’t help shivering slightly as his expressions became more and more awkward.
“Lady Xue’er, about that Ancient…” Ha Li Ka was about to deliver her a progress report when he was suddenly cut off by Xue Yue.
“Let’s discuss this matter tomorrow, I have just arrived here and am tired from the journey. One night of rest won’t cause any kind of problem.”
Ha Li Ka thought about it for a moment before nodding, “Very well, then I will arrange for someone to lead Lady Xue’er to her accommodations.”
Saying so, he sent out a Divine Sense Message and a moment later, one of the guards outside the hall hurried inside. Ha Li Ka gave the guard a few instructions before having him lead Xue Yue out.
Yang Kai, who had not said a word the entire time, followed after Xue Yue, a pensive look upon his face.
Ha Li Ka had not been able to finish what it was he was trying to say, but the word ‘Ancient’ had aroused Yang Kai’s curiosity, making him wonder what exactly had happened on this Cultivation Star and how this ‘Ancient’ thing had necessitated Xue Yue to personally come over and deal with it.
No matter what this matter was, it was obviously something of great importance.
Xue Yue not letting Ha Li Ka continue to speak was obviously because she didn’t want Yang Kai to hear about this secret. She currently felt quite close to Yang Kai, but the Chamber of Commerce’s secrets weren’t something even she could casually leak.
Yang Kai naturally understood this and didn’t attempt to pry.
Following behind the guard, Yang Kai and Xue Yue flew across the mountain for a moment before arriving at a location with incredibly beautiful scenery, just far enough away to avoid the hustle and bustle in the branch’s centre; it was just the perfect place to rest.
There was a quaint palace built nearby with an exquisite yet temperate atmosphere.
Outside this palace was a small bridge built over a flowing stream of water that led to a natural hot spring used for bathing. When Xue Yue arrived here, her eyes became bright, seemingly suddenly remembering that she had not bathed for quite a long time. These months flying through the Star Field, escaping from one Dead Star to another, both her and Yang Kai, despite their profound cultivations, had accumulated a good deal of filth on their bodies.
Seeing the natural hot spring, Xue Yue’s tender body couldn’t help feeling slightly itchy.
After the guard left, Xue Yue walked around the palace and surveyed the mountain scenery, smiling as she nodded, “That Ha Li Ka did a good job, actually arranging such a good residence for me, seems he’s smarter than he looks.”
Yang Kai curled his lips into a grin, “If you live life with your current appearance, you’d quickly discover many things you previously hadn’t experienced.”
Listening to him, Xue Yue thought about it seriously and agreed, “What you said makes sense. A difference in identity will create a difference in life, it’s truly a marvellous concept. Unfortunately, I can’t remain in this form forever. After things are finished here, I will have to return to Water Moon Star to restore my Xue Yue Third Young Master status.”
As long as she found the Grandmaster who originally refined the artifact which hid her true gender and had them repair it, Xue Yue could return to her previous life.
“Enough about that,” She suddenly said, as if she didn’t want to continue thinking about this subject. Turning back around, her skirt twirling enchantingly, Xue Yue declared, “I’m going to take a bath to wash away all the dirt and dust from this long journey. You can’t peek, if I catch you trying…”
Saying so, she clenched her fists and shook it towards Yang Kai before walking over towards the open-air hot spring.
Arriving beside the water, Xue Yue lightly disrobed while secretly paying attention to Yang Kai’s movements.
According to her observations during this time, she had determined that Yang Kai was not an honest person; secretly trying to peek at her in this kind of situation was something he would definitely do.
As such, she had warned him in advance.
However, to her surprise, even after she slipped her lithe body into the steaming hot water, Yang Kai didn’t show any particular movements. He seemed to still be standing where she left him, not moving a muscle.
Xue Yue was quite surprised by this and felt she may have misread Yang Kai and misunderstood his true nature.
Just as she was thinking this though, Yang Kai suddenly leapt up into the air above the bath and immediately fell down towards it, shedding all his clothes before he hit the water.
*Putong…*
Water splashed up greatly and the mist which lingered atop the hot spring was greatly disturbed.
“Yang Kai!” Xue Yue grit her teeth and sent out a thick menacing intent.
Yang Kai surfaced from the hot spring and leaned relaxedly against its edge while casually stating, “I also want to wash off the fatigues from the road, and I’m not secretly peeking…”
Saying so, he stared directly and openly towards Xue Yue.
Xue Yue was extremely annoyed and she spared no words to curse Yang Kai as a shameless bastard while retracting her naked figure into the water.
Her perfect body was instantly covered in a shroud of seven coloured light which, accompanied by the white mist of the hot spring, only served to enhance her appeal, tempting others to move closer to see the wonders that were hidden beneath these layers.
“You and I were only one step away from the most intimate of relationships, why would you suddenly be shy about taking a simple bath together now?” Yang Kai chuckled, not understanding what this woman was thinking.
“Don’t talk about that!” Xue Yue scolded angrily, sending a water arrow out towards Yang Kai’s head, missing by only the narrowest of margins, “If you dare speak any more nonsense, I’ll rip out your tongue.”
“I haven’t spoken any nonsense, I only spoke the truth!” Yang Kai grinned strangely.
Xue Yue didn’t respond, only sinking her head lower into the water and blowing some bubbles in silent protest.
Yang Kai no longer tried to provoke her and instead focused on enjoying the warmth of the natural hot spring.
Sometime later, Xue Yue suddenly said, “Tomorrow I have to go with Branch President Ha Li Ka to handle some things, so I won’t be bringing you along with me.”
“I know.”
“You’re too weak, and there will possibly be danger where I’m going, so…”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Yang Kai shook his head, “I have self-knowledge and won’t inquire about secrets I shouldn’t know. Sometimes, knowing less is safer.”
“As long as you understand,” Xue Yue smiled lightly.
“I’ll go rest first,” Yang Kai said, standing up and circulating his Saint Qi to dry the water on his skin before putting on a set of clothes and walking towards the small palace.
Staring at the receding back of Yang Kai through the fog, Xue Yue couldn’t help feeling an urge to tell him everything!
This feeling made her beautiful face pale as she realized the impact the Soul Chains were having on her was actually getting worse.
Early morning the next day.
The first rays of sunlight emerged from beyond the horizon, illuminating the mountain range, a single beam soon transforming into a golden blanket.
Bathed in this morning splendour, the mountain range appeared particularly beautiful, for a moment even seeming to radiate a golden hue.
Numerous cultivators looked up at these mountains with solemn and respectful gazes.
A rich aura overflowed from these massive mountains, rolling down their slopes like a slumbering dragon which had just awoken.
On the second floor of the small palace, Yang Kai opened his eyes from his meditation and released his Divine Sense, quickly discovering that Xue Yue was no longer here but there was an unfamiliar life aura waiting outside.
Yang Kai turned his head to looked outside and found a cultivator dressed in a guard uniform waiting patiently, his cultivation slightly higher than Yang Kai’s, most likely a Third-Order Saint.
He stood there with a bored expression, looking a little impatient and displeased. It seemed that someone had arranged for him to take an errand that he didn’t appreciate very much.
After thinking about it, Yang Kai leapt off the second floor briskly, landed in front of the guard, and asked casually, “Friend, is there something wrong?”
When the man heard this movement, he turned around and reluctantly cupped his fists, “Are you Lady Xue’er’s guard?”
“Yes,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
“Lady Xue’er has departed to complete a task together with Branch President Ha Li Ka and it may take a few days for her to return. Since you are not familiar with this place, I have been ordered to entertain you!”
“Entertain me?” Yang Kai eyebrow slightly lifted.
“I am well informed about Rainfall Star’s various sights and scenes, I won’t disappoint you!” Saying so, he swept his eyes over Yang Kai, really not understanding how this young man had become Lady Xue’er’s escort. Since he was her guard, why was he not following behind his charge to protect her safety, but instead being left here by Lady Xue’er for him to entertain!
How was this justifiable? If all guards could receive such treatment, it would be blissful indeed. He was also a guard, so why had he never had such good fortune?
This guard was more than a little indignant and desperately wanted to follow Lady Xue’er if this was the kind of duty it was.
After hearing what the guard said, Yang Kai suddenly understood that Xue Yue was worried he would get bored so she had left somewhere here to help him kill time. Shaking his head wryly, Yang Kai wore a light smile and said, “I appreciate this friend’s offer to show me around, but I have no interest in lively scenes or seeking amusement.”
The guard shot Yang Kai a strange look, seemingly not having expected him to have such a serious attitude, nodding lightly a moment later and continuing, “There are some quiet places we could visit. The branch is just about to hold a large-scale auction where many rare treasures will appear. If this friend is interested, we can go take a look. “
“An auction?” Yang Kai eyes brightened slightly.
“En, about half the items being auctioned will be provided by the Chamber of Commerce while the rest are contributed by foreign cultivators who obtained them from various exploits throughout the Star Field. Such events are held every few years, and sometimes an incredibly rare and valuable treasure will appear.”
“That does sound interesting,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded. He had never participated in such a grand event, despite having heard about similar ones in Tong Xuan Realm multiple times and knowing that such auctions were important way for cultivators to purchase exotic treasures.
“Rainfall Star’s grand auction will be held over multiple days, and only Saint Crystals are accepted for transactions; however, after the auction, there will be a private trade fair. The trade fair’s exchanges will depend on personal preferences, once can use Saint Crystal or barter using other types of treasures!” The man saw Yang Kai show some interested in this and couldn’t help saying a few more words, asking again, “Would friend like to take a look? “
He could see that Yang Kai was somewhat ignorant of such affairs, but since he seemed to be valued by Lady Xue’er, the guard still had to treat him with courtesy.
“How many Saint Crystals do I need to get participate?” Yang Kai asked.
The man smiled and said casually, “At least half a million, otherwise, you might not even be eligible bid.”
“Half a million…” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.
On the floating continent, he had seized all the Saint Crystals from the Purple Star and Sword Union cultivators, but the total number was not that large, and after purchasing his new Star Shuttle and a variety of rare ores, he only had a few hundred Saint Crystals left.
There was obviously no way for him to pull out half a million Saint Crystals right now.
Yang Kai did have a lot of Origin Grade and even Origin King Grade spirit grasses and spirit medicines. If he were to bring these out and sell them, each one would likely fetch an immense price, but Yang Kai himself was an Alchemist, so these herbs were more useful to him for studying the Alchemic Way. He wasn’t prepared to sell them.
“How about it, has Friend made a decision?” The man urged a little impatiently. He had been ordered to entertain Yang Kai, but Yang Kai taking so long to think about it was making him quite unhappy.
“Forget it, I can’t go,” Yang Kai waved his hand, going to an auction just to watch the fun was too boring. On top of that, he didn’t have anything he urgently wished to buy.
“If that’s what friend has decided, I will take my leave,” The man didn’t say anything more, simply cupping his fists to Yang Kai curtly before departing.
Basking in the warm sunlight and feeling the warmth in the air, was something those who cultivated Yang Attribute Secret Arts or Martial Skills like Yang Kai particularly enjoyed.
Standing in front of the palace, his tens of millions of pores wide open, thousands of rays of sunlight beaming down onto him, Yang Kai felt the pure Yang Attribute energy pour into his body.
His mood was calm and his mind relaxed.
Although he had refused the offer from the guard, Yang Kai himself did want to go out.
He had no idea when Xue Yue would be back, so it didn’t make much sense for him to simply stay here doing nothing.
On top of that, Yang Kai was anxious to find a safe way to remove the effects of the Soul Chains.
As long as he and Xue Yue were both willing, the Soul Chains could be unlocked at any time, but this method was far from safe.
Yang Kai had never thought that he and Xue Yue could really forget about all their previous grudges. That was all just an illusion created by the Soul Chains. He had to make sure that Xue Yue would not act against him after the effects of the Soul Chains were lifted, otherwise, it was almost certain she would try to kill him the moment she was freed.
Yang Kai had to guard against this and had secretly been contemplating the issue, but as of this moment, he had yet to come up with a viable solution.
Summoning his Star Shuttle, Yang Kai quickly flew off.
Like a bolt of lightning, Yang Kai soared through the clouds, exploring the world around him, without any kind of specific destination in mind.
Back on Water Moon Star, Yang Kai had spent a whole two months touring the star, firstly to familiarize himself with the structure and customs of the Cultivation Stars in the Star Field, and the other in the faint hope he would be able to find Su Yan.
Now that he had arrived on a different Cultivation Star, Yang Kai wanted to try his luck again.
Rainfall Star was not big, much smaller than Water Moon Star at least.
In just twenty days, Yang Kai had traversed almost the entirety of Rainfall Star but had not found any trace of Su Yan’s aura.
Yang Kai wasn’t too disappointed with this result; after all, the Star Field was far too large and the number of Cultivation Stars within it was nearly endless. Even if he knew Su Yan and the others from Ice Sect had arrived in the Star Field, Yang Kai had no idea which Cultivation Star they might be on, so he was not expecting to find them in any kind of short order.
Yang Kai stopped atop a great mountain and swept his eyes over his surroundings.
Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a huge mountain valley in the distance.
This mountain valley covered a massive area and there seemed to be traces of it been artificial expanded. The mountain valley shouldn’t have originally been that big, but someone had used powerful Divine Abilities to naturally expand it until it stretched a full one hundred kilometers in length.
At the center of the mountain valley, there was a small palace, and around the palace were vast fields of exquisite Medicine Gardens, each one filled with various colourful spirit grasses and spirit medicines
Standing where he was, Yang Kai felt that these Medicine Gardens were arranged inside some kind of grand Spirit Array which caused the surrounding World Energy to flow continuously into the mountain valley, making the density of the aura reach an extraordinary height.
Even while separated by hundreds of kilometres, Yang Kai was able to smell a medicinal fragrance that made one’s soul feel refreshed.
[Inside this mountain valley, there must be a profound Alchemy Grandmaster!] Yang Kai decided.
Setting off again, Yang Kai flew over, wanting to pay a visit to this unknown Alchemist to help pass the time, but as soon as he reached the mountain valley, he felt a strange sense of incongruence.
This feeling came to him when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye!
Pausing, Yang Kai took a more serious look at the vast Medicine Gardens again, contrasting them with what he had seen a moment ago.
Immediately, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, and he understood where this sudden incongruent feeling came from.
The distribution of the Medicine Garden inside the mountain valley was obviously different from the one he had just seen from the top of the mountain just now. There seemed to be some subtle changes among the planting and placement of the various herbs.
The more Yang Kai observed, the more he began to realize the peculiarity of these Medicine Gardens.
Soon, Yang Kai was surprised to find that there was a very special power flowing beneath these Medicine Gardens and that this power coincided with some kind of Heavenly Law which in itself was a shocking discovery.
The flow of this strange power changed with the various distances between the rows of the Medicine Gardens, allowing each Medicine Garden act as part of a larger, more complicated formation. This grand formation of Medicine Gardens caused the various energies of Heaven and Earth to concentrate in this place. On top of that, it seemed to allow all the spirit grasses and spirit medicines to more easily accept these energies, improving their vitality noticeably.
Yang Kai was shocked, and attracted by the exquisite layout of these Medicine Gardens he stopped mid-air and began releasing his Divine Sense to perceive the hidden mysteries in one of the Medicine Gardens.
Inside the palace, an old man with short stature and messy hair, appearing somewhat deranged, was busying himself in front of a series of large and small pill furnaces. Each pill furnace was filled with various medicinal liquids from different herbs. The old man had a white beard and sunken eyes, as if he was perennially exhausted, his skin was wrinkled and figure somewhat emaciated.
Only his eyes were filled with shining light and incomparable excitement. He devoted almost all his focus to the dozens of dozen of pill furnaces of various sizes in front of him, constantly extracting rare herbs from his Space Ring and tossing them towards different pill furnaces one after another.
He was simultaneously handling dozens of pill furnaces and refining several dozen different pills at the same time without any errors!
When Yang Kai broke into the mountain valley, the old man who was in the midst of his Alchemy immediately noticed, causing a frown to appear on his face and a terrifying pressure to emerge from his body.
The entire mountain valley where he made his home was one of Rainfall Star’s Restricted Areas; no one was allowed to even approach it, and no one dared to either, yet today, some little brat who didn’t know how high the Heavens were had actually flew straight in.
The old man was infuriated and his first thought was to take Yang Kai’s life directly to warn others what fate awaited those who dared disturb him while he was performing Alchemy.
The lives of minor characters like Yang Kai weren’t even worth worrying about for this old man.
But just as he was about to act, one of the pill furnaces placed around him suddenly made a strange hissing sound, causing the old man’s expression to fill with bitterness. Pouring his Saint Qi into the pill furnace, the old man quickly stabilized the medicinal liquids inside and muttered, “Pills are difficult to refine. Hmph, I’ll let you live for a while, your life isn’t worth wasting a furnace of materials on. Damn it, pills are really difficult to refine!”
Muttering to himself while constantly waving his hands in complicated patterns, sending his Saint Qi into different pill furnaces, his Space Ring flashing on and off as different herbs which had been prepared in advance were thrown into the various furnaces.
As more and more strange sounds emerged from the various pill furnaces, the old man’s expression remained tranquil, without the slightest bit of tension at all, only the movement of his hands accelerated noticeably.
After half an hour, the sunken eyes of the old man shone brilliantly and all the pill furnaces hummed, crisp ringing sounds echoing from them as a thick pill fragrance filled the air!
Reaching out his hand, the several dozen large and small pill furnaces all opened and a multitude of different coloured pills flew out, dropping like raindrops into several jade bottles which had been prepared beforehand.
With a pitter-patter, three jade bottles were soon completely filled.
The old man didn’t feel the slightest bit of fatigue and instead seemed quite excited. Rubbing his somewhat wrinkled hands together, he rushed over to the jade bottles to pick them up and carefully examined the pills which had just come out of the furnace.
“No… no…still no… Every time the old man checked one, he would whisper to himself, the look of anticipation on his face gradually disappearing and being replaced with disappointment.
After checking through all three jade bottles, nearly forty pills in total, he was still unable to find what he wanted.
As if it had received a huge blow, the old man’s face became disheartened and he sighed heavily, “Pills are really hard to refine. Why aren’t there any Pill Veins? Could it be that this old master’s method of mass quantities is actually wrong? No, it can’t be!”
Saying so, he threw these three jade bottles aside as if they were worthless trash, not even sparing them a second glance.
In the corner of his pill room, a large number of jade bottles were piled up, over a hundred of them in total, each one of them filled with pills. None of the pills in these bottles was lower than Saint King Grade and there were even several of them that were Origin Grade.
The old man sat down after and began pondering about the successes and failures he had experienced in this latest Alchemy refinement, attempting to determine why he was unable to refine more Pill Veins, scratching his already thin white hair.
The old man actually sat in this position for three days and three nights without any movement, just like a dead man, only his eyes revealing a light of contemplation.
Suddenly, a subtle wave of energy appeared from the Medicine Garden. This burst of energy interrupted his contemplation, making him look up unhappily towards the outside.
Only then did he remember that three days ago some little brat had actually broken into his property, but at the time he didn’t have any spare attention to deal with him so he had simply forgotten about him.
“He hasn’t left yet?” The old man was surprised and quietly released his Divine Sense, a moment later letting out a light murmur of surprise, as if he had discovered something interesting, focusing more of his attention on Yang Kai’s movements.
In the Medicine Garden, Yang Kai had sat down cross-legged, allowing his Divine Sense to spread out in all directions like a tide.
His Divine Sense probed every single inch of the Medicine Garden, trying to understand the secrets it held.
These Medicine Gardens were not arranged randomly, the way they were planted and distributed was in line with some kind of profound Spirit Array. Each individual garden composed a smaller Spirit Array, which in combination with the others gathered the surrounding World Energy to promote the growth of the various spirit grassed and spirit medicines, making them grow both faster and stronger.
Any herb grown here for fifty years would have the equivalent of a one-hundred-year-old medicinal age, possibly even higher.
Yang Kai didn’t know who it was that arranged this, but he figured it was the handiwork of the Alchemist residing in valley’s central palace!
Yang Kai devoted himself to studying these Medicine Gardens, trying to spy on its hidden mysteries, becoming complete absorbed in this task and even forgetting everything around him!
Yang Kai has studied many different Spirit Arrays from the True Alchemic Way, and back on Tong Xuan Realm, these Spirit Arrays had helped him immensely.
However, the True Alchemic Way was, after all, a product of Tong Xuan Realm.
The Star Field also had its own unique Spirit Arrays.
There were advantages and disadvantages between the two, and while Yang Kai was studying the Spirit Arrays hidden in the Medicine Garden, he was also comparing them to those he had already mastered.
When the old man inside the palace saw this scene, he immediately understood what Yang Kai was doing, and after thinking about it for a moment, he retracted his murderous intent and chuckled, “I suppose it’s not such a bad thing to let you continue!”
Seeing Yang Kai like this reminded of his own hardships in the study of Alchemy.
In order to learn different Spirit Arrays, he had travelled vast distances and visited many famous masters, most of whom would laugh at and despise him, slamming the door shut in his face or expelling him directly.
Those Alchemy Grandmasters regarded their own Spirit Arrays as their most important treasures and would not easily teach them to others. Even if it was their own Disciples, these masters would deny most of them any of their core knowledge, so teaching a stranger was even more out of the question.
When this old man was Yang Kai’s age, he had been obsessed with Alchemy and often vowed to climb high in the Alchemic Way and amaze the world.
However, in his advanced age, he had realized that the idea was wrong. Alchemy was not studied in order to make the world change their views on him, but rather to fulfil his own lifelong pursuit.
Yang Kai’s serious focus reminded him of his past and washed away his desire to kill him. No longer paying attention to this young boy, the old man simply allowed him to continue studying the mysteries of his Medicine Garden.
Sometime later, the old man inside the palace started performing Alchemy again. Just like before, the several dozen pill furnaces all began warming up at the same time as the old man tossed one herb after another into all of them.
Outside the palace, Yang Kai sat in silent contemplation, a thin layer of dust soon accumulating on his body as he eagerly delved into these Spirit Arrays.
One old and one young, neither bothering the other, focused entirely on their own independent tasks.
Every once in a while, after the old man finished a round of Alchemy, he would check to see if Yang Kai was still around, and finding him still sitting in the same place, the old man couldn’t help appreciating the patience and perseverance of this little brat.
Youths were often hot-blooded and impetuous, very few were able to calm their hearts and remain focused like this little brat for so long. It was truly impressive.
Yang Kai also noticed that the owner of the palace would often use his Divine Sense to observe him, but seeing the other party not show any intention to drive him away, he thickened his skin and continued studying as if nothing had happened.
After he finished studying the Spirit Arrays here, Yang Kai planned to properly offer this master his thanks.
He didn’t intent to steal the knowledge arranged here; he had simply become engrossed in it before he knew it.
This peaceful coexistence continued on for a number of days, with Yang Kai constantly examining the Spirit Arrays hidden in the various Medicine Gardens, comparing them to his previous analysis, but suddenly, a wave of unease spread from his heart.
Opening his eyes, Yang Kai immediately expanded his Divine Sense to check his surroundings.
Soon though, his brow furrowed, because he didn’t notice any danger approaching him, and within a few hundred kilometres, besides the owner of the nearby palace, there wasn’t even a single bird flying through the sky, much less any other people.
Yang Kai thought he was just imagining things but when he calmed himself down and was about to continue his studies, the feeling of uneasiness became stronger.
It was as if his life was being threatened and he was on the verge of death.
Standing up, his expression became incomparably gloomy.
With his strength having reached his currently level, Yang Kai’s senses had also become incredibly keen. He would not be feeling this kind of anxiety for no reason at all and there were only two explanations for it.
Either there was a master who far surpassed him in strength stalking him, or something else was threatening his life.
The former was highly unlikely.
Although Yang Kai didn’t know who the master of the palace was, he was certain this person was a powerful master. If someone harbouring ill intent was nearby, the master of the palace would certainly have detected them.
Moreover, Yang Kai felt that no one should be currently targeting him; after all, he hadn’t stirred up trouble or forged any grudges with anyone recently and there was no reason for him to be randomly targeted.
The only one he currently had issues with was Xue Yue, but because of the effects of the Soul Chains which currently linked their lives, she would only be trying to protect him and it was impossible for her to be trying to kill him.
Thinking of Xue Yue and remembering about the Soul Chains, Yang Kai’s face changed and a hypothesis came to mind.
Had something happened to Xue Yue?
Because of the Soul Chains, their lives had become linked together, and if Xue Yue was on the verge of death, it would be the same as him being in danger.
The more he thought about it, the more Yang Kai was convinced this was the case. Not daring to linger, he immediately summoned out his Star Shuttle and flew off towards the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch.
Cursing in his heart the whole time, Yang Kai had to remind himself that Xue Yue’s strength was not low and with Ha Li Ka, an Origin Returning Realm master, accompanying her, there shouldn’t have been any danger to her life. He had simply gone about his own affairs with peace of mind to suddenly have this life-threatening situation to occur. This caused annoyance to fill him to no end.
“He left?” Inside the palace, the old man glanced at the direction in which Yang Kai left and slowly shook his head, not paying it much attention.
To him, Yang Kai’s arrival was nothing more than a small ripple in the vast pond that was his life, not having any real lasting effect on him. Whether Yang Kai stayed or left mattered not to him.
The old man continued to focus on the several dozen pill furnaces in front of him, forming a series of hand seals while pouring his Saint Qi into them to control each individual heating.
Yang Kai pushed his Saint King Grade High-Rank Star Shuttle to its limits, flying back at maximum speed.
The anxiety and sense of crisis in his heart grew stronger with each passing breath.
After half a day, Yang Kai arrived back at the mountain range where the branch was located and directly flew to the palace which Ha Li Ka had arranged for him and Xue Yue.
Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and found that the small palace was just as he left it with no traces of anyone having come or gone. Xue Yue was obviously not here.
Immediately turning around, Yang Kai flew to the branch’s headquarters.
A moment later, Yang Kai arrived at the hall where he had met Ha Li Ka.
Several guards who were standing at the gate of the main hall saw Yang Kai rush over and began to frown, wondering just what had happened to make this young guard so nervous.
The last time they had seen Yang Kai, they had learned that he was a guard of Lady Xue’er who was a representative of the Home Star; however, due to his low strength, all of them looked down on him somewhat.
“Is Branch President Ha Li Ka back?” Yang Kai landed in front of them and asked directly.
“What do you wish to see Sir Ha Li Ka about?” One of the guards asked back.
“Did he come back?” Yang Kai growled, his expression sullen, looking like he was on the verge of snapping.
The guard couldn’t help but feeling a little frightened seeing this look and shook his head subconsciously.
“Do you know where he went?” Yang Kai asked again.
The guard who shook his head seemed to become angry out of shame because of his unconscious cooperation just now and coldly snorted, “You think you’re qualified to question Branch President’s whereabouts? Who do you think you are?”
Even if he came from the Home Star, he was just a Second-Order Saint Realm guard. His tone and attitude were really unpleasant.
Yang Kai shot this man a faint glance but didn’t ask anything more. These people obviously didn’t have a very high status and shouldn’t know much in the first place.
Without saying another word, Yang Kai turned around and left, flying towards a different palace.
Inside that palace, there was the aura of a master at the Origin Returning Realm, they should know something.
“Why that little brat…” A few guards couldn’t help muttering in annoyance as they stared towards Yang Kai’s back in anger. If it weren’t for him coming from the Home Star, they wouldn’t have let Yang Kai just walk away so easily.
A moment later, Yang Kai arrived at a different palace and landed, walking straight up to the guards at the door and shouting, “I must see the master inside!”
“What’s the matter?” One of the guards asked.
“Branch President Ha Li Ka has had an accident!”
The guard’s brow furrowed, glancing over Yang Kai, someone not believing him and asking, “How do you know? Sir Ha Li Ka is a master at the Origin Returning Realm, one of the strongest on all of Rainfall Star, what kind of accident could he…”
“Can you go report it already?” Yang Kai interrupted him impatiently.
“Let him pass!” A loud voice suddenly called out from inside. The commotion here had obviously been noticed the mater of the palace.
As soon as these words were spoken, before the guard could even respond, Yang Kai stormed into the palace.
Similar to Ha Li Ka’s palace, inside the main hall there was a large desk with a chair behind it. A middle-aged man was working on something behind the desk and when Yang Kai rushed in, he looked up and asked, “You’re the guard who came from the Home Star with Lady Xue’er?”
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded.
“I am Lin Mu Feng, Vice President of this branch,” The middle-aged man coldly snorted, “I don’t care if you come from the Home Star or which master you follow, here, I have the final say!”
Yang Kai said nothing.
“Why do you claim Ha Li Ka has had an accident?” Lin Mu Feng was satisfied with Yang Kai’s cooperative attitude and asked, “As far as I know, you aren’t eligible to participate in this confidential operation, so how could you know something went wrong?”
Yang Kai frowned before a thought flashed across his mind and he took out a communication type artifact, “Lady Xue’er sent a message saying they encountered great danger.”
“What kind of danger?” Lin Mu Feng paled slightly, somewhat believing Yang Kai’s words now.
Yang Kai just shook his head, “I can’t reach Lady Xue’er anymore so I came to request you try to contact Branch President Ha Li Ka and ask him.”
Lin Mu Feng hesitated a moment before taking out a similar communication type artifact and pouring his Divine Sense into it in an attempt to get in touch with Ha Li Ka.
After a moment, his expression became dignified and he muttered, “It seems something truly has happened.”
Being unable to get any response let him know that Yang Kai was not lying.
“Come with me!” Lin Mu Feng beckoned to Yang Kai and hurried out.
Outside the palace, Lin Mu Feng summoned his Star Shuttle directly and flew off in a certain one direction with Yang Kai following close behind.
As they flew, Lin Mu Feng took out his communication type artifact again and began contacting a number of others, issuing various orders.
After a moment, from all directions, streaks of light flew out and quickly converged around the pair. All of these streaks were Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce cultivators who Lin Mu Feng had summoned.
These cultivators rendezvoused with Lin Mu Feng and matched his speed without asking any questions.
Yang Kai observed secretly and felt a little surprised.
Many of these cultivators were Saint King Realm masters. Few were Saint Realm masters but even fewer were at the Origin Returning Realm masters.
“Mu Feng, what happened, calling all of us out in such a flurry,” A middle-aged woman approached Lin Mu Feng and asked.
“Ha Li Ka’s group seems to have had an accident, I can’t get any response no matter who I try to contact!” Lin Mu Feng explained hurriedly.
The middle-aged woman’s expression changed dramatically as she exclaimed, “Is there really some kind of danger inside those Ancient Ruins?”
“I don’t know. When we first uncovered those ruins we simply reported them to the Home Star. We didn’t dare to investigate it privately. This time, Lady Xue’er came here to lead an expedition into those ruins, so there being unknown dangers is only natural.”
“What about Lady Xue’er?” The middle-aged woman asked.
“She was with Ha Li Ka,” Lin Mu Feng’s expression became extremely ugly, glancing over at the middle-aged woman and whispering, “She seems to be Xue Yue Third Young Master’s woman!”
The middle-aged woman’s face suddenly turned pale, and she quickly realized that the situation was more serious than she thought.
If it had been someone else who had unexpectedly fallen into danger, it wouldn’t have been too big a deal; after all, Branch President Ha Li Ka was also involved, so it was clear this was not the branch’s negligence.
However, if Lady Xue’er was the woman of Xue Yue Young Master, things would be different.
No one dared to withstand the anger of Young Master Xue Yue! If things went badly, the entire branch might be cleansed. When that happened, rivers of blood and mountains of corpses would be made. No one could take such a responsibility.
Everyone knew of Xue Yue Third Young Master’s cruelty and ruthlessness.
As these two were talking, Yang Kai kept silent, and since they hadn’t made any attempt to cover their voices, Yang Kai naturally heard about the Ancient Ruins and also why Xue Yue had come to Rainfall Star this time.
Normally, Yang Kai would definitely be interested in these Ancient Ruins, but right now he didn’t have time to care about such things.
The more he flew forward, the more uneasy Yang Kai’s heart became.
He didn’t know what happened to Xue Yue, but one thing was certain, she wasn’t dead yet!
Because their lives were linked together, if Xue Yue died, Yang Kai would surely die as well.
He secretly decided that after this incident was settled, the Soul Chains needed to be immediately unlocked. Regardless of whether Xue Yue came to find trouble with him afterwards, the feeling of not being in control of his own life was simply unacceptable.
After speeding forward for a long time, Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman suddenly flew downward.
Down below, there was a mine shaft that produced some unknown ore. The ground was filled with cave entrances, many of which seemed dark and bottomless.
The several dozen people all landed next to the largest entrance.
A chamber of commerce cultivator who was apparently standing guard next to the entrance cupped his fists and greeted, “Senior Lin, Senior Qi!”
Lin Mu Feng nodded lightly and asked him, “What happened here?”
The cultivator was confused for a moment and replied, “Nothing has happened …”
He didn’t seem to know about the situation yet.
Lin Mu Feng shook his head, no longer asking this guard anything, instead taking out his communication type artifact and trying once more but still failing to get any response from Ha Li Ka.
“Did something happen to the Branch President?” The cultivator finally noticed that something wrong from the look on Lin Mu Feng’s face and asked in amazement.
Lin Mu Feng nodded, “Probably, I’ll take some people down to see, you wait here for me to contact you.”
Saying so, he prepared to enter the mineshaft when the middle-aged woman surnamed Qi suddenly exclaimed, “Someone came up …”
Lin Mu Feng’s face brightened as he quickly released his Divine Sense. At the same time, Yang Kai also began investigating the situation.
From the mouth of the mine, several life auras were rapidly approaching, and judging from the fluctuations in their auras, they seemed to have suffered some injuries. One of them was exceptionally faint, as if they were on the verge of death.
“It’s Ha Li Ka!” The middle-aged woman shouted upon noticing Ha Li Ka’s aura.
Lin Mu Feng smiled happily and waited patiently.
A moment later, a few blue lights emerged from the mouth of the mine, dashing out as if there was some kind of great danger behind them.
Those few blue lights were all flickering. Apparently, these Star Shuttles were all damaged and their performance had become unstable.
Several of the Chamber of Commerce’s cultivators who had followed Lin Mu Feng rushed up to assist their companions.
One of the cultivators who had emerged from the mine was surrounded by a profound chill. A cultivator from the Chamber of Commerce ran up and caught him but immediately began trembling violently, the chill spreading to his body at a speed visible to the naked eye, and before long, he too had turned stiff, unable to move.
These two seemed to be frozen together and soon after fell from the sky.
*Hong…*
With a muffled thud, these two cultivators hit the ground and shattered like ice sculptures, both of them dying instantly.
“Stay back!” A roar resounded as Ha Li Ka fell down from the sky and landed, looking pale.
Hearing this roar, the cultivators from the Chamber of Commerce who were preparing to rescue their companions stopped and no longer dared to dare to approach them.
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman stared at Ha Li Ka intently, and after seeing his current state, they both narrowed their eyes and couldn’t help feeling a chill grip their hearts.
Yang Kai also observed Ha Li Ka’s condition and couldn’t help wearing an expression of dread.
Being able to become a Branch President of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Ha Li Ka cultivation had reached the Third Order Origin Returning Realm, the strongest realm under the Origin King Realm.
Even so, Ha Li Ka was in an extremely difficult situation at the moment, his left arm completely frozen in ice, and no matter how he urged his own strength, he could not dispel the chill. On the contrary, the profound cold was still expanding and would soon reach his shoulder.
Ha Li Ka grit his teeth and in a flash of determination suddenly let out a great roar burst his power to its maximum.
Along with this roar, his frozen arm was suddenly sliced off and blood poured out from the wound like a fountain. Ha Li Ka’s face suddenly paled as he slumped to the ground.
He had cut off his own arm!
Yang Kai’s pupils shrank, shocked not only by Ha Li Ka’s decisiveness but also by the terrifying cold energy!
Whatever this cold energy was, it was so overwhelming that it had forced the Third Order Origin Returning Realm Ha Li Ka into a life or death crisis which necessitated self-mutilation in order to survive!
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman rushed up and stopped Ha Li Ka’s bleeding shoving several high-quality pills into his mouth.
Several other cultivators who come back with Branch President Ha Li Ka witnessed this act and clenched their own teeth, pulling out sharp weapons and cutting off the frozen sections of their bodies. Instantly, severed limbs and blood covered the ground, and the few people who had survived groaned in misery.
Ha Li Ka sat cross-legged on the ground while urging his healing art, stabilizing his injuries while gasping for breath, a look of fear still lingering on his face.
“What was that?” Lin Mu Feng asked nervously.
“Profound Yin Sunflower Water!” Ha Li Ka answered with gritted teeth.
“Profound Yin Sunflower Water?” The middle-aged woman screamed aloud, “It was really Profound Yin Sunflower Water? Was such a treasure actually buried in that Ancient Ruin?”
Even Lin Mu Feng couldn’t help feeling a bit agitated as a look of fascination filled his face.
Profound Yin Sunflower Water was an Origin King Grade material and any cultivator who could successfully refine a drop of it would experience a leap in strength! If their strength was low enough, this precious treasure could even result in a direct increase in realm.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce focused on business and its understanding of various treasures was unmatched by any force. Lin Mu Feng and middle-aged woman naturally knew just how valuable Profound Yin Sunflower Water was.
If they could safely collect this Profound Yin Sunflower Water from the Ancient Ruins, it would definitely be a great achievement and they may even be able to transfer to the Home Star, Water Moon Star, to enjoy a better cultivation environment as well as higher status!
It was just that this kind of treasure was extremely rare and the environmental conditions required to produce it were extremely demanding. On top of that, the formation process could stretch across tens of thousands of years.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce controlled several Cultivation Stars, dozens of Medicine Stars and Ore Stars , and countless cultivators, yet after so many years, they had never once been able to gather Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
So when they heard Ha Li Ka mention Profound Yin Sunflower Water, whether it was Lin Mu Feng or the middle-aged woman, both couldn’t stop their eyes for lightning up and an exhilarated look from appearing on their faces.
“How could there be Profound Yin Sunflower Water under this mine?” Lin Mu Feng still couldn’t believe it.
“It was probably left here by some expert from ancient times. We discovered it inside as damaged Space Ring. When we tried to retrieve it, the Space Ring exploded, releasing the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, catching everyone off guard,” Ha Li Ka explained quickly, his face turning blue. Just thinking back to the events caused him to feel both the fear of death and the relief of survival.
If he hadn’t acted decisively enough just now, he wouldn’t have just lost an arm but instead died without burial.
“Where is Lady Xue’er?” Yang Kai stepped forward and asked.
Ha Li Ka looked up at him and sighed sadly.
Yang Kai’s face became uglier.
“The Space Ring was in her hands when the Profound Yin Sunflower Water burst out, she bore the brunt of the explosion…” Ha Li Ka sighed heavily and didn’t say any more.
He was certain Lady Xue’er was doomed!
After all, she was only a Third Order Saint King, and even he, a Third Order Origin Returning Realm master had been unable to resist the Profound Yin Sunflower Water’s erosion, how could Lady Xue’er, whose entire body had been exposed, have possibly survived?
In all likelihood, she was already dead!
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “Is there a map of down below?”
“What do you want that for?” Lin Mu Feng looked at him in surprise.
“She’s not dead!” Yang Kai shot him a cold look.
“Do you want to try to save her?” The middle-aged woman immediately understood Yang Kai’s intentions and slowly shook her head, attempting to persuade him, “Young man, don’t be impulsive, after being exposed to a large amount of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, she has no chance of surviving; searching for her will just result in you losing your life in vain.”
Ha Li Ka also added, “There are many barriers down below, with such low strength, you won’t be able to reach her.”
“If she’s alive, I must see her in person, if she’s dead, I must see her corpse!” Yang Kai said flatly.
The several branch executives directed a stunned look at him when these words came out, many of them showing some appreciation.
Yang Kai’s external identity was Xue Yue’s guard, so when they saw Yang Kai so eager to save her, not giving a single thought to his own safety, their opinion of him rose significantly. Even if this young man didn’t have great strength, he was still valuable because he possessed the most important quality a guard must have, loyalty!
Everyone present suddenly felt a sense of respect.
The ring on Ha Li Ka’s hand flashed and he pulled out a set of papers he promptly tossed over to Yang Kai, “These are the maps we drew up this time to avoid getting lost, they may be of some use to you.”
Yang Kai caught these maps, gave them a quick glance, then without saying another word dove straight into the mine tunnel.
“What an honourable little guard!” The middle-aged woman gently nodded, looking in the direction where Yang Kai disappeared, muttering somewhat regretfully, “I’m afraid he has no chance at coming back alive.”
“He has to go!” Lin Mu Feng said indifferently, “Lady Xue’er is the woman of Third Young Master, if she dies, as her guard, that young man will definitely die as well.”
Having been reminded by him, the middle-aged woman’s beautiful face couldn’t help paling slightly, the excitement brought on by the discovery of Profound Yin Sunflower Water fading away. Just thinking about how they would now have to withstand the anger of the Third Young Master caused her to feel uneasy.
“I hope the merits from this event can compensate for the losses,” Ha Li Ka sighed heavily, all thoughts of promotion and transfer to the Home Star disappearing from his thoughts. Although they had found Profound Yin Sunflower Water, which was no doubt great merit, the Third Young Master’s woman had died as a result. Who knew how Third Young Master would react?
The best result they could hope for was that the merits and demerits would balance out and that Third Young Master wouldn’t investigate the matter here and the branch maintaining the status quo.
“Old Ha, you rest first,” Lin Mu Feng comforted, “We can discuss what to do next after you restore yourself.”
“Looks like we can only act so,” Ha Li Ka nodded and closed his eyes to refine the medicinal efficacies of the pills he just swallowed.
Inside the mine shaft, Yang Kai rapidly descended.
He didn’t know how deep this mine shaft was, but it took Yang Kai the time it would take to make a cup of tea to reach a crossroad. Looking up, only a faint ray of light from the surface reached this place while the mining area all around him was pitch black.
Tunnels extended in all directions.
This mining area formerly produced some less precious ore so the cultivators of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce had not been very systematic about excavating it.
The Ancient Ruins were discovered during the mining process and the people from the branch didn’t dare to investigate it at will, sealing off the area and reporting the matter to the Home Star instead.
Xue Yue had come here this time specifically to deal with these ruins.
She had been extremely cautious along the way, exploring the ruins under the leadership of Ha Li Ka, gaining some harvests in the process, but how could she have known that a simple Space Ring would contain such danger? Having been placed in the ruins for so long, the Space Ring had already become unstable, and when Xue Yue used her Divine Sense to probe what was inside of it, the Space Ring suddenly burst apart, bombarding her with the Profound Yin Sunflower Water stored inside.
She immediately lost consciousness and the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce cultivators in her immediate vicinity instantly died, only the strongest Ha Li Ka and a few others who were further away managed to flee in time.
Yang Kai recalled the map in his mind and quickly spread out his Divine Sense and began diving through the various mine tunnels.
After half an hour, he finally arrived at the location where the Ancient Ruins were found.
He felt a lot of subtle energy fluctuations from in front of himself and immediately knew that what Ha Li Ka said was right.
The numerous barriers and traps inside these ruins were extremely dangerous.
When Xue Yue’s team had been exploring it, they had tried their best to avoid these barriers and only cracked or destroyed those they had to.
Yang Kai was currently in a rush to save Xue Yue, so how could he possibly patiently break these barriers one by one?
Making his Divine Sense leap across space, Yang Kai penetrated deep into the ruins, inspected the situation inside, found a safe location, then tore space to arrive at it.
When Yang Kai appeared again, he was already standing somewhere inside the ruins, then consulting the map given to him by Ha Li Ka, he tore space again.
After repeating this process several times, he suddenly discovered a faint life aura somewhere nearby. This life aura was like a candle in the wind, in danger of being extinguished at any time.
Xue Yue!
She was just about a thousand meters away from where he currently was, but Yang Kai was unable to see her situation because of some obstacles between them. The only thing that was certain was that she hadn’t died yet!
Yang Kai took a deep breath to calm his anxiety and sat down cross-legged, tossing a pill into his mouth to replenish his Spiritual Energy.
Half an hour later, he stood up and tore space once last time.
A thousand meters away, Yang Kai appeared leisurely.
Immediately, he saw Xue Yue lying on the ground, covered with frost. Even in this frozen sleep, her charms were only magnified, making her seem even more bewitching than before.
From her body, a seven coloured hue pulsed, making her look like a glowing goddess. This glow as constantly fighting against the frost covering her body, preventing it from sapping the last bit of Xue Yue’s vitality, maintaining a strange state of equilibrium.
However, with the passage of time, the seven coloured light was growing fainter.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of artifact she was wearing or what kind of unique technique she had cultivated which allowed her to preserve her life even under these extreme circumstances, but if the situation continued as is, it wouldn’t even take half a day for this seven coloured light to disappear, at which point Xue Yue would die.
When that happened, Yang Kai’s life would also expire.
Inside the Ancient Ruins, Yang Kai stood not far from Xue Yue, staring at her silently with a complex mood.
He and this woman were supposed to be life or death enemies, but now that they were linked together by the Soul Chains, with Xue Yue’s life on the line, regardless of whether Yang Kai wanted to or not, he had to find a way to save her.
Only if Xue Yue survived could he live.
Yang Kai didn’t rush forward though, because suspended around Xue Yue were a number of jewel-like drops of liquid, each of them exuding a horrific power that caused his heart to clench. Even his Divine Sense would freeze as soon as he tried to probe these droplets.
Profound Yin Sunflower Water!
Yang Kai immediately understood that these drops of liquid were the so-called Profound Yin Sunflower Water Ha Li Ka mentioned; however, he never expected this treasure to be so strange.
Yang Kai counted quietly and discovered that there were about fifty drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water floating in the air. There were some gaps between these individual drops, but Xue Yue was pretty much surrounded by an airtight barrier of them.
It would be very difficult to extract Xue Yue from the Profound Yin Sunflower Water around her.
Yang Kai waved his hand to create a strong wind in an attempt to push these Profound Yin Sunflower Water droplets away, but to his surprise, they remained motionless.
Each of these tiny drops seemed to weigh thousands of kilograms!
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he increased his strength, eventually managing to move the Profound Yin Sunflower Water droplets around Xue Yue, opening up a safe path to her.
Standing in front of Xue Yue, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed deeply.
He didn’t know how to move this woman out from here. The scene where one of the cultivators from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce tried to rescue his companion; yet wound up turning into an ice sculpture and dying the instant he touched them was still fresh in Yang Kai’s mind. What’s more, both those cultivators were Saint Kings yet neither had any ability to resist.
Understanding this, Yang Kai didn’t dare to touch Xue Yue’s body casually.
Circulating his strength, Yang Kai covered his hand in dark Demonic Flames and slowly brought them towards Xue Yue, hoping his strange flames could isolate him from the frigid power.
As the strange and contradictory energy fluctuations of his Demonic Flames approached Xue Yue’s body, they suddenly seemed to encounter their natural nemesis and immediately began to wane.
Yang Kai’s expression became even more dignified and he hurriedly increased the output of his Saint Qi, rousing the weakened Demonic Flames once more as he finally pressed his hand against Xue Yue’s jade white arm.
Suddenly, a fierce clash of energy broke out and the frigid cold wrapping Xue Yue’s body quickly spread towards Yang Kai, nearly freezing his Demonic Flame in an instant.
The icy strength passed through the Demonic Flame and flowed directly into Yang Kai’s arm, causing him to pale and madly push his Saint Qi to resist.
The frozen Demonic Flame roared back to life and began desperately struggling against the invading cold force.
Yang Kai shivered, for the first time ever experiencing what it was like to fully exert himself yet still being unable to resist a cold force.
As time passed, the icy strength of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water was sometimes suppressed by his Demonic Flame while at others invading into Yang Kai’s arm, a kind of stalemate temporarily being established.
Although Yang Kai’s cultivation was quite low, his Demonic Flame was the combination of two contradictory attribute energies, it’s prestige was unimaginable and as long as Yang Kai’s realm rose high enough, these Demonic Flames would be capable of incinerating anything and everything in this world.
It had immense potential!
However, at the moment, it seemed that Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame still wasn’t worthy of contending with the Profound Yin Sunflower Water. He only managed to persist for a moment before the ice-cold strength once again began overtaking him, causing his body and mind to stiffen.
Yang Kai quickly sent his consciousness into the Demon Mystic Tome and shouted, “Help me!”
He had to ask the Divine Tree for help!
The Divine Tree possessed an enormous amount of Yang Attribute Energy, Cold Attribute energy’s nemesis.
“Yes!” Divine Tree responded quickly.
The next moment, an incredible amount of Yang Attribute energy suddenly burst out from the Demon Mystic Tome, flowing along the same path as Yang Kai’s Demonic Flame to help dispel the invading chill.
The cold energy of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water was thus quickly suppressed.
Yang Kai next urged his Demonic Flame and the Yang Attribute Energy emitted by the Divine Tree to wrap up Xue Yue’s tender body.
With the two of them working together, the frost covering Xue Yue was rapidly melted and her pale complexion gradually became rosy, her cold body gradually became warm and a faint heartbeat sounded in her chest.
A smile finally appeared on Yang Kai’s face and he redoubled his efforts along with the Divine Tree.
After half an hour, the frost on Xue Yue’s body had completely disappeared and the seven coloured halo surrounding her petered out, seeming to have exhausted all its strength.
Probing her with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai found that Xue Yue’s condition was still quite strange.
Although the danger of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water had been lifted, she was still wandering the border between life and death while remaining unconscious.
Yang Kai intruded into her Knowledge Sea unceremoniously but found that it was frozen solid, like a glacial world. Xue Yue’s Soul Avatar was not present and only a faint trace of her aura lingered about. No matter how Yang Kai called, he didn’t receive any response.
Yang Kai frowned, but unable to determine what was wrong with her, he could only leave her Knowledge Sea for now.
“I have to rest for a while, I won’t be able to help you again for some time,” The Divine Tree called out before falling silent. It seemed like it had overexerted itself this time.
It was not just the Divine Tree that had consumed a massive amount of its strength, Yang Kai too had exhausted an immense amount of Saint Qi. If it weren’t for his physique being so special and him possessing nearly inexhaustible Saint Qi, he would not have been able to dispel the Profound Yin Sunflower Water’s effects from Xue Yue.
Squatting down, Yang Kai gently picked the unconscious Xue Yue up before tearing space and departing.
He didn’t pay any attention to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water floating nearby. Although each of these drops was an extremely rare and valuable treasure, Yang Kai was in no mood to collect them, nor did he know how to collect them.
Above the mine, after half a day of restoration, Ha Li Ka looked much better.
The cultivators from the Chambers of Commerce who had followed him and survived also appeared somewhat better, but all of them had lost arms or legs.
The most miserable person had actually lost both his arms!
He was a Saint King Realm cultivator, but without arms, there was no hope for him to continue pursuing the Martial Dao. As soon as he thought about this, his eyes became filled with gloomy darkness.
Everyone from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce wore sad expressions with deeply furrowed brows.
A simple exploration of an Ancient Ruin had caused such massive losses to the branch and even the woman of the Third Young Master had died. The responsibility for this matter would not be small, and as the Branch President, Ha Li Ka would inevitably be punished.
“Old Ha, let’s go back first. After we go back, we can figure out how to inform the Home Star about this,” Lin Mu Feng stepped up and helped Ha Li Ka off the ground.
Ha Li Ka responded with a dejected and weak-spirited nod.
“What about the Profound Yin Sunflower Water?” The middle-aged woman asked.
Lin Mu Feng thought for a moment before saying, “Temporarily seal off this area. After we consult with the ancient records, we can bring a team back to collect it.”
Lin Mu Feng didn’t know how they were supposed to collect the Profound Yin Sunflower Water either.
“Seems we can only do so…” The middle-aged woman sighed.
Lin Mu Feng calmly arranged things, leaving two Origin Returning Realm masters and a dozen Saint King Realm to seal off this region, finishing the post-processing in short order.
Just as the group was about to depart though, the middle-aged woman suddenly turned to stare in the direction of the mine shaft.
The next moment, everyone else turned around stared with suspicion.
A figure quickly emerged from the mine shaft. It was actually the young Second-Order Saint Realm guard from before!
He was currently carrying Lady Xue’er in his arms, his expression hazy but his body not seemingly having suffered any kind of injuries or distress.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and all the others were dumbfounded by this scene.
When Yang Kai insisted on entering the mine shaft just now, all of them had firmly believed he would never return; after all, his strength was far too low. Just the barriers inside the ruins would be enough to take his life, they weren’t something a mere Saint Realm cultivator could handle.
However, reality was far different from what they had expected; not only had Yang Kai not died, he returned unharmed and even brought Lady Xue’er with him.
How did he do it? Everyone simultaneously wondered to themselves in shock.
“How is Lady Xue’er?” Ha Li Ka immediately calmed down and asked eagerly.
“She’s not dead!” Yang Kai shook his head.
Hearing these words, no matter who it was, they felt a great sense of relief in their heart.
All of them had been filled with anxiety, wondering just how Xue Yue Third Young Master would react when he learned of this matter, whether he would hold them responsible and have them punished or even executed. Now that this woman wasn’t dead though, their biggest worry had been relieved.
For a moment, eyes filled with gratitude gathered on Yang Kai.
This little guard had not only saved Xue Yue Third Young Master’s woman, but also all of them as well!
“However, she remains unconscious and I don’t know why,” Yang Kai added.
The expressions of gratitude on the three executives’ faces grew hazy again and Ha Li Ka quickly came over and swept Xue Yue’s body with his Divine Sense, his face gradually becoming solemn.
He also realized something was wrong with Xue Yue, but didn’t have any idea at the moment how to treat her.
“Let’s head back first!” Lin Mu Feng shouted, “No one is allowed to reveal anything here today, anyone who tries will be immediately executed!”
After declaring so, he turned to look at Yang Kai again, considered his words for a moment then in a rare display of politeness said, “Little brother, can you temporarily not report to the Home Star about Lady Xue’er being injured? We will try to find a method to awaken her.”
He was truly worried Yang Kai would report things here to the Home Star, and once Xue Yue learned of the situation, he would still blame them, making it impossible for them to escape punishment.
What none of them knew though was that this Lady Xue’er was Xue Yue himself.
If they did, they would likely already have been thinking of a way to flee.
Yang Kai didn’t say much and nodded slightly, “As long as she can be saved, I can conceal this matter for now!”
He also knew what the other party was worried about.
Lin Mu Feng smiled happily and cupped his fists, “Little brother is quite reasonable, many thanks, little brother.”
Ha Li Ka and the middle-aged woman also gave Yang Kai a silent but grateful look.
“Let’s go, I will call up Rainfall Star’s best Alchemists to diagnose Lady Xue’er’s condition,” Lin Mu Feng shouted to everyone before flying off in the direction of the branch.
Back at the palace in the mountain range, with some blood still leaking from his arm, Ha Li Kai together with Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman stood around quietly outside a certain room, their faces filled with anxiety.
Yang Kai stood not far from them, indifferent and motionless.
No one was able to tell what he was thinking.
A moment later, a dozen people suddenly emerged from the room. There were men and women, old and young, but without exception, all their chests were emblazoned with a symbol signifying their identity as Alchemists.
This symbol was a pill furnace mark and was a common identifier throughout the entire Star Field.
Alchemist grades were differentiated by how many legs their furnace symbol possessed.
Each of these Alchemists had eight-legged pill furnace badges on their chests! This signified that they were all at least Saint King Grade Alchemists.
There were even two of the oldest present who had nine-legged pill furnaces, indicating that they were Origin Grade Alchemists!
Origin Grade Alchemists had an extremely high status in Heng Luo Star Field. Even taking into consideration the entire Star Field, there weren’t many Origin Grade Alchemists. As for Origin King Grade Alchemists, there was only a handful, each one belonging to one of the most powerful forces.
Even a giant force like Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce only had one Origin King Grade Alchemist who resided in the Home Star!
These dozen or so people who just left the palace room were the most senior and most skilled Alchemist on Rainfall Star.
Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng had hastily invited these people to diagnose Xue Yue’s condition to see if they could find a way to save her.
Ordinarily, these Alchemists were scattered across Rainfall Star, each of them possessing their own territory where they cultivated herbs and refined pills to be sold outside by the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce in return provided them with protection and certain resources. Their relationship with the Chamber of Commerce was closer to a partnership rather than employment, so even Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng had to treat them with courtesy and respect.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t dare to disturb these Alchemists, but for the safety of Xue Yue Third Young Master’s woman, Ha Li Ka and Mu Feng had no choice but to invite them to come.
When these dozen or so people came out, Ha Li Ka and the other executives rushed up to greet them with Lin Mu Feng cupping his fists and asking, “Respected Masters, what kind of injury is Lady Xue’er afflicted with? Do you have a way to treat her condition?”
The dozen Alchemists all looked around at each other, seemingly a bit hesitant to speak.
Seeing their expressions, Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng’s couldn’t help but sink, in their hearts realizing things weren’t good.
“What is the situation?” Ha Li Ka hurriedly asked.
Everyone turned their eyes to one of the nine footed furnace Alchemists, an old man with a snow-white beard, who eventually sighed and replied, “Two Sirs, this Old Master will be blunt. We have performed an extensive examination of Lady Xue’er but cannot explain why she suddenly slipped into a coma. All we can tell is that she was invaded by potent cold energy and all her bodily functions have been frozen. She has no consciousness and cannot respond to any outside stimulus.”
Ha Li Ka listened quietly.
The old man continued, “Can you not at least tell us what happened to this Lady Xue’er? Without knowing the circumstances of her condition, we cannot prescribe a pill to treat her.”
“En, you need to at least tell us how she was injured,” The other Origin Grade Alchemist echoed, “That way, we can determine what kind of pill she requires to recover.”
Ha Li Ka suddenly felt embarrassed.
The mere existence of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water was a big deal and anyone who learned of it would surely covet it. Once news of it leaked out, it was likely that some great master would come to try to seize it, so before they figure out a method to collect it, Ha Li Ka didn’t dare expose the truth.
However, keeping it secret also greatly hamper the ability of these Alchemists to treat Lady Xue’er. Unable to decide immediately, Ha Li Ka glanced over towards Lin Mu Feng to solicit his opinion.
Lin Mu Feng shook his head helplessly.
Ha Li Ka wore a grim expression and said, “Respected Masters, it is not that we wish to hide the situation from you, but this matter is beyond our ability to manage so we do not dare discuss it at will.”
Hearing him say this, the dozen or so Alchemists realized that this was something they could not ask about and did not insist. The old man who spoke first frowning for a moment before saying, “If so, please forgive us for being unable to help.”
“Respected Masters, can’t you try again?” Ha Li Ka asked anxiously, “You are the best Alchemists on Rainfall Star, if none of you can help Lady Xue’er…”
Lady Xue’er’s wellbeing had nothing to do with him; what Ha Li Ka was worried about was if something were to happen to her whether it would provoke Young Master Xue Yue’s rage. That was something he could not bear.
The dozen or so Alchemists shook their heads, indicating they were truly helpless.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the other executives also wore grim expressions as they glanced around at each other.
After a short silence, one of the Saint King Grade Alchemists said, “Sir Ha Li Ka, saying we are the best Alchemists on Rainfall Star is granting us an undeserved honour; everyone here knows there is another person whose Alchemy proficiency eclipses our own. If you are able to invite him to examine Lady Xue’er, he may be able to find a solution.”
After hearing what he said, the old man who spoke before couldn’t help raising his eyebrows, seemingly knowing who this Saint King Grade Alchemist was referring to and nodding, “Yes, if it is him, he may be able to help.”
The other Alchemists all nodded in agreement, freely admitting that this mysterious master was the top Alchemist on Rainfall Star.
Alchemists were a proud group, and none of them would freely admit that another Alchemist of the same grade was better than themselves. They would always feel like they were the best Alchemist among their peers and that the others were fools, the pills they refined no better than garbage!
So to allow these dozen Alchemists to all agree unhesitantly that this Grandmaster was superior, there was only one explanation, that Alchemist ranked higher than them, an Origin King-level Alchemist!
Ha Li Ka’s expression brightened for a moment, but soon, a bitter look covered his face as he muttered wryly, “Wanting to invite him… is difficult, far too difficult, even when I went to meet with him in the past, I was often swept out unceremoniously!”
Lin Mu Feng cringed as well and added, “The last time I went to visit that Grandmaster was five years ago, but because I had disturbed his concentration, he chased after me for half a month. In the end, his anger calmed down and he returned home. Haa, I don’t want to experience that ever again.”
When he brought up this dark past, most of the people nearby couldn’t help revealing a look of remembrance.
“Who do you speak of?” Yang Kai asked.
When these people were speaking just now, he had kept silent, even when Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng had concealed the truth of the matter and these dozen or so Alchemists were speaking with reverence about this mysterious Grandmaster. It wasn’t until now that Yang Kai took the initiative to speak.
The dozen or so Alchemists cast a faint glance toward shim but didn’t answer.
In their opinion, Yang Kai was just a Saint Realm brat who didn’t have the qualifications to speak here, so they didn’t bother responding to his question.
On the other hand, Ha Li Ka hesitated a moment before saying, “A highly skilled Alchemist who lives on Rainfall Star, but doesn’t belong to any force.”
“He doesn’t belong to the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?” Yang Kai was surprised.
Ha Li Ka shook his head.
Since he was living on Rainfall Star, but not under the jurisdiction of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, there is only one explanation, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce didn’t dare to easily offend him.
“However, the Chamber of Commerce has an agreement with him, we provide him with herbs for Alchemy as well as a three thousand kilometre territory, and in exchange, the pills he refines all belong to our Chamber of Commerce.”
“He provides them for free?” Yang Kai frowned, wondering what this Alchemy Grandmaster was thinking. Since his Alchemy skills were so profound, there was definitely no need for him to provide Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce with pills for free.
He could simply open up his own school and gather disciples broadly to gain wealth and supply his needs.
“In a sense. Although we don’t know what that Grandmaster’s objective is, we still do everything we can to meet his requirements… However, the number of pills he refines is truly shocking. Every three months, we will send someone to him to deliver various spirit grasses and spirit medicines while at the same time retrieving the pills he had refined. Each time this happens we receive at least two hundred bottles, and one time there were as many as five hundred bottles!”
Five hundred bottles!
With ten pills per standard jade bottle, that was five thousand pills, all refined within a three-month span. Such a number made every Alchemist present shiver with shocked and embarrassment.
They were all Alchemist contract to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce for a large price, but even if they performed Alchemy for three months without rest, none of them would possible refine such a staggering number of pills, even reaching a third that number was impossible unless they were refining low-grade pills.
“Where does he live?” Yang Kai asked again.
“Does little brother want to look for him?” Ha Li Ka immediately understood Yang Kai’s intentions.
“Is there another choice?” Yang Kai glanced over at him.
Ha Li Ka let out a sigh and nodded, “Good, I’ll take you there!”
Despite being extremely unwilling to in his heart, Ha Li Ka could only brace himself and lead the way.
Yang Kai nodded back, rushed into the nearby room, gently carried out the unconscious Xue Yue, then followed after Ha Li Ka as he flew off.
Staring at their disappearing back, Lin Mu Feng let out a sigh, “I hope Old Ha won’t be chased down by that old man for half a month …”
The middle-aged woman also wore a look of worry, feeling the situation was becoming trickier.
Along the way, Ha Li Ka briefly explained the Alchemy Grandmaster’s story and temperament. Yang Kai learned that the man was called Zong Ao and he seemed to have arrived on Rainfall Star nearly a hundred years ago, not leaving even once since then.
He had reached various agreements with Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce and held a much higher status than the previous Alchemists Yang Kai had just met.
“He asked us for three thousand kilometres of territory and he built his home inside that mountain valley. In that mountain valley, he divided the land up into various Medicine Gardens and planted many rare herbs. What he hates the most is being disturbed while he is performing Alchemy, so ordinarily, no one will approach his territory. Even when the people of our Chamber of Commerce deliver herbs to him, they all must strictly follow his instructions and only arrive at the designated time…”
Ha Li Ka was afraid that Yang Kai was too young and impulsive, not knowing the immensity of Heaven and Earth, and would accidentally offend Zong Ao, so he took great care to explain about Zong Ao on the road, focusing on this old man’s illustrious status and bad temper.
The more Yang Kai listened though, the stranger his expression became.
He felt like he had already been to Zong Ao’s home!
Half a day later, Ha Li Ka suddenly pointed towards the front and said, “Do you see that great mountain valley? That is where Grandmaster Zong Ao lives.”
Yang Kai looked forward and couldn’t help letting out a wry laugh. The mountain valley in his view was clearly the place where he had spent several days studying the strange Medicine Garden Spirit Arrays.
When they had approached to within thirty kilometres of the mountain valley, Ha Li Ka stopped and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Little brother, I’ll wait for you here. If it looks like this matter may not be, leave immediately. Don’t try to insist, Grandmaster Zong Ao most despises those who pester him and the consequences of annoying him are not something you can withstand.”
Yang Kai glanced over suspiciously and with an embarrassed look, Ha Li Ka explained, “Little brother, you are young, and your cultivation is low. Even if Grandmaster Zong Ao becomes angry, he won’t discard his face to kill you, but if I go with you…”
“I understand,” Yang Kai guessed his concerns and didn’t force the issue, holding on tightly to Xue Yue before flying forward.
Ha Li Ka stood still, stretching his neck as he stared forward anxiously, wondering whether Yang Kai’s trip would be smooth or whether he would be beaten by Zong Ao.
Yang Kai crossed the thirty-kilometre gap in the blink of an eye.
Landing right outside the small palace, Yang Kai shouted, “Senior, my family’s Young Lady has suffered disaster and has fallen into a coma, I have heard that Senior is the greatest Alchemist on Rainfall Star so I have come here to beg Senior to diagnose and treat her.”
From inside the palace, no response could be heard, but Yang Kai could feel that there was a life aura present so the Alchemist called Zong Ao was indeed here, he just refused to reply.
Yang Kai repeated his request three times.
In the distance, Ha Li Ka almost touched felt his heart leap up into his throat, secretly deciding that if Zong Ao rushed out in rage, he would immediately flee and not look back.
Outside the palace, Yang Kai also anxiously waited.
Powerful master always had unpredictable temperaments, this was something Yang Kai understood clearly, so he didn’t dare act recklessly. Even Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng were wary of Zong Ao, so as a mere Second-Order Saint, Yang Kai knew well enough not to irritate this Grandmaster otherwise he would absolutely have a miserable end. As such, Yang Kai just held Xue Yue and stood outside respectfully, waiting for Zong Ao to reply.
Yang Kai also thought about what to do if Zong Ao refused to act.
Xue Yue remaining unconscious was not an issue Yang Kai could ignore, their lives were connected, once something happened to her, he wouldn’t be able to survive.
So Yang Kai was anxious to wake Xue Yue up and then release the Soul Chains’ binding, restoring his freedom.
Just as Yang Kai was debating what to do next, an aged voice suddenly came from inside the palace, “Come in!”
Yang Kai froze up, surprised that things were actually proceeding so smoothly. He had carefully listened to Zong Ao’s tone and found that this Grandmaster wasn’t dissatisfied or angry, so Yang Kai quickly collected himself and stepped into the palace.
The doors to the palace were wide open and there were no guards or servants around. It seemed that only Zong Ao lived here.
After walking through the palace’s corridors for a moment, Yang Kai arrived at a massive room from which a strong medicinal scent wafted. Walking inside this room cautiously, Yang Kai scanned his surroundings, his eyes narrowing slightly as he did.
This large room should be Zong Ao’s Pill Room.
Inside, there were several dozen large and small pill furnaces, each one still retaining some residual heat, apparently having just been used for Alchemy.
In one corner of this room, a large number of jade bottles were piled up, each one filled with different types of colourful and spectacular pills.
Yang Kai roughly estimated that there were two hundred jade bottles, piled up on the floor in a disorderly manner like they were trash waiting to be disposed of.
Yang Kai was secretly shocked, realizing that Ha Li Ka was not exaggerating before when he said the number of pills Zong Ao produced was phenomenal.
At this moment, Zong Ao was sitting on an animal skin chair, holding a jade bottle in his hand, seemingly examining something.
After a quick glance, apparently not finding what he was looking for, Zong Ao tossed the bottle he was holding onto the pile of jade bottles in the corner.
There were several jade bottles on the table in front of him.
After checking through them one by one, Zong Ao suddenly grinned and said to himself, “Another one, heh heh, not bad, it seems this old master did not exhaust himself in vain, en, pills are truly difficult to refine…”
Saying so, he took one of the pills out of the jade bottle he was holding and placed it into another one he had prepared.
Yang Kai observed carefully and noticed that all the pills in the latter jade bottle had formed Pill Veins.
This Zong Ao seemed to be only interested in keeping pills that formed Pill Veins, all others were discarded regardless of their grade or value.
While Zong Ao checked his pills, Yang Kai didn’t bother him, simply standing there silently.
After a while, Zong Ao finished, placing his bottle of Pill Vein pills into his sleeve, raised his eyes, and looked towards Yang Kai, chuckling meaningfully, “So it’s you, the boy who tried to steal the secrets of this old master’s Medicine Garden, right?”
Yang Kai blushed and replied embarrassedly, “Junior came to this place a few days ago and was attracted by the mystery of these Medicine Garden; unable to contain my curiosity, I stop to study them for a few days, if I have offended Grandmaster in any way, I humbly ask for forgiveness.”
No matter what the circumstances or intentions were, stealing a master’s secrets was a taboo, Yang Kai also understood that he was in the wrong here.
At the time, he had simply been too absorbed in studying the unique aspects of these Medicine Gardens and hadn’t thought much about it, but now that their owner was investigating the matter, Yang Kai had no way to defend himself.
“En,” Zong Ao was satisfied with Yang Kai’s frank admission, got up from his chair, and laughed, “Forget it, it’s not a big deal. Seems your luck is quite good, today this old master just finished performing Alchemy and had some positive harvests. Since you are a fellow Alchemist, this old master won’t hold you accountable.”
Zong Ao understood well that the secrets of his Medicine Gardens would only attract the attention of other Alchemists.
“What happened to your family’s Young Lady?” Zong Ao took the initiative to ask.
Yang Kai expression became solemn as he replied, “She has fallen unconscious, her vitality frozen, her consciousness scattered, and her Soul Avatar is nowhere to be seen!”
“You dove into her Knowledge Sea?” Zong Ao looked at Yang Kai in surprise.
Yang Kai nodded slightly.
Zong Ao suddenly let out a strange laugh, “Seems your relationship with this little girl isn’t simple.”
Saying so, he gave Yang Kai an ambiguous grin, seemingly a little more interested now.
Only those who were incredibly intimate with one another would dive into the other’s Knowledge Sea. If Yang Kai was really just Xue Yue’s guard, it would be impossible for him to have committed such an act.
Zong Ao was an old soul and could see the hidden meaning behind these words.
Yang Kai didn’t deny anything and instead simply said, “I hope Senior can lend his assistance!”
Zong Ao grinned and asked, “Ha Li Ka came with you as well, so this little girl’s status can’t be low. Were the other Alchemist on Rainfall Star helpless?”
“A dozen or so were invited to diagnose her condition, but they could not determine anything.”
“A bunch of wastes who know nothing other than Alchemy!” Zong Ao spurned without mercy, casually strolling over to Yang Kai while checking Xue Yue’s condition with his Divine Sense, a moment later his expression becoming dire.
Yang Kai clearly felt that Zong Ao’s Divine Sense strengthened, as if he had discovered something.
Seeing this, Yang Kai also held his breath and waited anxiously.
Zong Ao’s expression fluctuated, seemingly hesitant, seemingly excited, his eyes widening more and more, only after a long time asking, “Boy, was this little girl injured by Profound Yin Sunflower Water?”
His tone was somewhat uncertain, apparently even he didn’t dare to draw this conclusion.
Even so, Yang Kai couldn’t help but admire this old man. The dozen or so other Alchemists who had performed an extensive examination of Xue Yue before were unable to discover anything, but after only a quick glance Zong Ao was able to determine the root of the problem. It was obvious that Zong Ao’s skill and experience were far more profound. Yang Kai thus nodded sincerely, “Yes!”
“It really was Profound Yin Sunflower Water?” Zong Ao yelled, somewhat losing his self-control.
“En, Profound Yin Sunflower Water!”
“Ha!” Zong Ao old face shivered as he found it difficult to hide the excitement in his heart, letting out a riotous laugh, “Profound Yin Sunflower Water! It’s really appeared here?”
Dancing around excitedly, Zong Ao shouted continuously for a while before stretching out his hands and grabbing Yang Kai’s shoulders like an iron vice, his eyes flashing a startling light, eagerly saying, “Boy, where is that Profound Yin Sunflower Water? Quickly bring this old master to it!”
“Senior, please rescue my family’s Young Lady first!” Yang Kai remained unmoved.
“You dare discuss conditions with this old master?” Zong Ao’s expression became cold and a little displeased, focusing his gaze on Yang Kai and threatening, “If this old master wants to kill you, you cannot resist, yet you dare try to discuss terms with me?”
“Please forgive my insistence, Senior!” Yang Kai stood his ground.
Zong Ao was slightly taken aback, directing a strange look towards Yang Kai in the next moment and smirking, “Your courage isn’t small! No one has dared speak to this old master like this for many years. It seems that this little girl is truly important to you, is her life worth your own?”
Yang Kai frowned and declared, “If she dies, I die too!”
This was not a lie, so Yang Kai’s words betrayed no falsehood.
Whether it was his words or his expression, something about Yang Kai moved Zong Ao, causing him to withdraw his pressure, frowning thoughtfully for a moment before nodding, “Good, you follow me!”
Saying so, he led Yang Kai to another room inside the palace.
After a short while, the pair arrived in front of a certain room and Zong Ao instructed Yang Kai to place Xue Yue on the bed before he took out a brown pill and handed it to Yang Kai, “Feed it to her!”
Yang Kai reached out and pinched Xue Yue’s cheeks, intending to throw the pill into her mouth.
Seeing this, Zong Ao rolled his eyes, “Chew and feed it to her! She can’t circulate any of her strength right now, if you don’t help her refine the medicinal effects, how is she supposed to absorb them?”
Yang Kai stared at Zong Ao in amazement.
Zong Ao laughed wickedly, “Too embarrassed? If that’s the case, this old master can step outside for a moment.”
“No need.” Yang Kai shook his head, popped the pill into his mouth, chewed it, then fed it to Xue Yue calmly.
He had already touched and traced every part of Xue Yue’s body, seen everything there was to be seen, what shame was there in kissing her now?
Xue Yue’s red lips were cold but still quite soft, and after Yang Kai fed her the pill and straightened up, the experience provided him much food for thought.
“Step aside!” Zong Ao said without the slightest politeness, shoving Yang Kai away while holding a small kettle-like container filled with a bubbling turquoise liquid.
Yang Kai couldn’t identify what this liquid was.
However, upon seeing Zong Ao’s confident look, Yang Kai didn’t bother asking anything and just stood by and watched.
Zong Ao tipped his hand and the turquoise liquid began pouring out, quickly dispersing into individual droplets that seemed to have their own spirituality. Each of these drops then fell onto Xue Yue’s body and seeped into her pores.
Xue Yue’s pale complexion gradually became rosy as she absorbed these droplets and the sound of her heartbeat grew stronger than before.
Yang Kai stared at this scene intently, his own heartbeat steadying as he watched.
Zong Ao really had profound skills. Yang Kai could clearly feel that Xue Yue’s condition was now much better than a moment ago.
After the turquoise liquid was all absorbed by Xue Yue, Zong Ao took two steps back and a grimace appeared on his face. It seemed this pill and liquid combination was something quite valuable to him.
“Senior, has she been cured?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Cured?” Zong Ao gave him a sideways glance and sneered, “If you believe the effects of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water can be so easily cured, you’re far too naive! Profound Yin Sunflower Water is an incredibly precious cultivation treasure, but it is also extremely destructive in nature, any ordinary person who comes into contact with it will surely die! Even Origin Returning Realm cultivators cannot resist the power of Profound Yin Sunflower Water. This little girl’s physique seems to be a little special and the grade of artifacts she has on her are also very high, if not for these factors, she would already be dead.”
“Then just now…”
“I only stabilized her vitality, extending her life for a year and a half!”
“What about a year and a half later?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.
“That’s uncertain,” Zong Ao slowly shook his head, “If the appropriate pill can be refined, she will be able to recover, if not… En, you best prepare to collect her corpse.”
Yang Kai paled and immediately cupped his fists respectfully, “Senior’s righteousness is praiseworthy, please provide this Junior with your guidance!”
“Righteousness?” Zong Ao frowned before letting out a big laugh, “This old master isn’t some righteous fellow! I helped stabilize her condition, so now it is time for you to pay up. En, if you can tell me where the Profound Yin Sunflower Water is, this Old master doesn’t mind providing you some more guidance!”
Yang Kai didn’t even think about it before nodding, “I can tell you!”
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the other executives wanted to conceal the existence of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, but naturally, Yang Kai wasn’t concerned with their intentions, his only priority right now was saving Xue Yue!
Zong Ao nodded in satisfaction, “Good! If you take me to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, I will tell you how to save her!”
“Deal!” Yang Kai nodded repeatedly, adding after thinking, “But the place is now guarded by the cultivators of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng probably won’t let you approach it.”
“They dare! If this old master wishes to go, would they dare to stop me?” Zong Ao snorted, “It’s not a problem, I just need to give them some benefits!”
It seemed Zong Ao didn’t want to strain his relationship with Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce too much; after all, the Profound Yin Sunflower Water’s value was too great, and if he tried to take sole possession of it, he would definitely receive retaliation from the Chamber of Commerce.
Sometimes, taking a step back was necessary!
“However, this old master has to make a quick trip first, to collect the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, it’s necessary to create a special container,” Zong Ao said lightly before addressing Yang Kai, “Boy, you stay here, this old master will be back in half a month, we’ll pick up where we left off when I return.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Zong Ao acted swiftly, immediately flying off without saying another word, disappearing to some unknown place.
However, since he had said he needed to create a special container, Yang Kai figured Zong Ao was off to see an Artifact Refiner.
Artifact Refiners held the same level of prestige as Alchemists and were also extremely scarce. High-grade Alchemists and Artifact Refiners were always coveted by major forces.
It wasn’t surprising thought that someone like Zong Ao knew one or two highly skilled Artifact Refiners.
When Zong Ao departed, Ha Li Ka’s voice suddenly called out from outside the palace, “Little Brother, Little Brother!”
He hadn’t left yet! Perhaps he had simply been observing from outside and seeing Zong Ao suddenly leave worked up the courage to approach the palace and inquire about the situation.
Yang Kai walked out and briefly explained what had transpired, and upon learning that Zong Ao was now eyeing the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Ha Li Ka’s complexion darkened as some panic filled his head, wondering how he was going to deal with Zong Ao.
He did not dare to report this incident to the Home Star. The woman of Xue Yue Third Young Master was still unconscious, her life or death uncertain, this had to be concealed at all costs, so how could he make a report?
Grumbling for a while, Ha Li Ka eventually didn’t blame Yang Kai for exposing this secret and simply sighed, “Since Grandmaster Zong Ao has a method to save her, Little Brother should remain here and wait for him to return. I must return to the branch and discuss with Lin Mu Feng about how to handle what comes next.”
Saying so, he too departed quickly.
Yang Kai returned to the room again, sat by the bed, and stared at the sleeping Xue Yue.
This incredibly enchanting woman now appeared especially tranquil, her breathing even, as if she was simply resting peacefully.
Seeing this, Yang Kai frowned, reached out, and groped her chest maliciously.
He felt that he had suffered a great loss this time! If it weren’t for the Soul Chains effects, he wouldn’t have to go through so much hardship or worry about whether Xue Yue lived or died.
What frustrated him the most though was that even if he managed to save Xue Yue this time, once the Soul Chains were unlocked, he didn’t know what this woman’s attitude towards him would be or whether she would become angry out of shame and hunt him down for the next ten thousand years.
This kind of unpredictable future angered Yang Kai greatly.
However, back on that Dead Star, the situation had forced him into this predicament where his life was linked to Xue Yue. First and foremost he had to preserve his life.
The bitterness in Yang Kai’s heart was unbearable to him and he simply couldn’t find a mental balance unless he profited a bit here and there.
Zong Ao disappeared for half a month, during which, Yang Kai lived in his palace. Xue Yue remained unconscious and didn’t need him to care for her, so he instead explored Zong Ao’s Pill Room wholeheartedly.
Inside the several dozen large and small pill furnaces, there were many Spirit Arrays used for Alchemy. These Spirit Arrays weren’t the same ones hidden in the Medicine Gardens outside, but they were all exquisitely portrayed and perfectly fused together without the slightest signs of conflict.
Yang Kai studied these Spirit Arrays freely, absorbing their structure and formation into his mind, adding them to his own knowledge.
There was also a type of study in the palace that contained many ancient books, and once day when Yang Kai was idling, he decided to go in and browse through them.
To his surprise though, he immediately found a lot of good things which aroused his excitement.
There were many books with pill recipes he had never seen before, so Yang Kai immersed himself in studying them, soon forgetting about the outside world entirely!
The pill recipes Yang Kai had mastered all originated from Tong Xuan Realm, but after coming to the Star Field, the grade of spirit grasses and spirit medicines had become higher and he came to know of many species of herbs he had never heard of before.
These collected pill recipes perfectly complemented his current shortcomings, allowing him to integrate the Star Field’s unique knowledge and skills into his own knowledge of Alchemy.
Half a month passed by without Yang Kai even noticing.
Zong Ao’s life aura suddenly appeared in the palace one day and went straight to the study. Seeing Yang Kai flipping through the various pill recipes and Alchemy’s notes, he actually didn’t mind and instead just called out, “Let’s go, take this old master to the place where you found the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, after this old master successfully collects those treasures, you can read the contents of this place for as long as you want.”
“Alright!” Yang Kai put down an ancient book in his hand, got up and walked out with Zong Ao.
“Will there be any issues leaving my family’s Young Lady here?” Yang Kai asked anxiously.
“How could there be problems?” Zong Ao smirked, “No one dares to break into the palace of this old master; no one has the skill either unless several Origin Returning Realm masters storm this place together! On this Rainfall Star, no one dares to offend this old master. You can rest assured that this is the safest place on Rainfall Star!”
His tone was arrogant, but Yang Kai didn’t think Zong Ao was exaggerating, his words were spoken simply because he was confident in them.
The pair summoned their Star Shuttles and flew off towards the mine.
After half a day, Yang Kai brought Zong Ao to the previous mine shaft.
There were a lot of cultivators waiting down below including Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, the middle-aged woman, and several other Origin Returning Realm master from the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch.
They seemed to have been waiting for a while.
“A bunch of little brats,” Zong Ao scolded without reserve, a look of dissatisfaction appearing on his face.
Seeing Zong Ao’s figure, Ha Li Ka and others also wore solemn expressions, seemingly a little nervous and helpless, glancing at each other for a moment before stepping forward together.
“Greetings, Grandmaster!”
Zong Ao and Yang Kai swiftly landed and Ha Li Ka and the others saluted the old man respectfully and humbly.
“En!” Zong Ao nodded indifferently.
“I heard that Grandmaster recently used his profound methods to save Lady Xue’er’s life. For that this Ha is extremely grateful. Lady Xue is an honoured guest from the Home Star, if any accident were to befall her, we would not be able to withstand the repercussions. Grandmaster’s generosity and righteousness in saving Lady Xue’er are without equal, and…” Ha Li Ka immediately began a colourful and elaborate flattery campaign, rapidly heaping praise onto Zong Ao.
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman couldn’t stop their mouths from twitching somewhat as they observed this uncomfortable display.
Even Yang Kai got goosebumps just watching Ha Li Ka, a look of disappointment creeping onto his face, not having thought this gruff Branch President was actually this kind of person.
“Enough nonsense!” Zong Ao waved and cut off Ha Li Ka, squinting towards him and snorting, “Cease trying to flatter this old master, this old master has no interest in such drivel!”
Ha Li Ka suddenly looked embarrassed and didn’t dare open his mouth again.
“This old master’s purpose in coming here today, I assume you all know,” Zong Ao said on his own initiative, “Don’t blame this old master for not giving any face to anyone who tries to stop me!”
Ha Li Ka’s expression grew bitter as he quickly said, “Grandmaster, why you’ve come here today, naturally we understand. Grandmaster came to Rainfall Star a hundred years ago and has refined countless pills for our Chamber of Commerce, yet never asked for any kind of remuneration. Grandmaster’s service has not gone unnoticed and President Ai Ou himself has repeatedly instructed that we regard Grandmaster as the most distinguished of guests, to meet any request you have while never offending you!”
Zong Ao snorted and said, “As long as you understand!”
Ha Li Ka continued though, “If it were something else, why would we not freely deliver it to Grandmaster? But this Profound Yin Sunflower Water…”
“Hm?” Zong Ao’s face grew cold as a bad light flashed across his eyes.
“It’s just that this Profound Yin Sunflower Water… is not something we can take responsibility for!” Ha Li Ka insisted.
“Yes, Grandmaster, if this matter were to become known to the Home Star, we will definitely not escape punishment, please understand!” Lin Mu Feng also stepped forward and begged.
Zong Ao’s cultivation had also reached the Origin Returning Realm, but he was not necessarily stronger than Ha Li Ka or Lin Mu Feng. In fact, thanks to him constantly immersing himself in Alchemy, it was quite likely he was much weaker than them, but after one hundred years of providing Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce with an unimaginably massive number of pills without taking any form of compensation had caused his status as an honoured guest to reach the highest level possible. President Ai Ou himself also paid close attention to Zong Ao and had explicitly ordered Ha Li Ka and the other branch leaders to treat Zong Ao as if he were a high-level executive of the Chamber of Commerce.
It was not an exaggeration to say that on Rainfall Star, the one with the highest status was Zong Ao!
As such, these Origin Returning Realm masters had to tread very carefully when facing Zong Ao, none of them daring to act the slightest bit careless or disrespectful.
Even knowing that Zong Ao was going to rob the Profound Yin Sunflower Water right in front of them, they didn’t dare try to stop him forcefully, their only option to beg him to show mercy.
The three branch leaders took turns wearing out their tongues in a desperate attempt to persuade Zong Ao, but all they managed to achieve was to annoy him, with Zong Ao unleashing an anger-filled scolding on them. Facing this tirade of insults and curses, Ha Li Ka and the others had no choice but to stand there and accept it with bitter faces.
After growing tired of scolding the trio, Zong Ao paused and cast a sneer onto them, “Don’t think this old master doesn’t know you don’t dare to report this matter to the Home Star. At the very least, until you can ensure that little girl is no longer in any danger, you will make every effort to conceal what’s happened here. So, even if this old master pockets the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, what do you plan to do? Bite me?”
After hearing these words, Ha Li Ka and the other executives exchanged helpless glances, the bitterness on their faces growing ever stronger, none of them daring to respond.
“Treasures of the world belong to those who have the ability to obtain them,” Zong Ao stated bluntly, “Even if this old master decides to give way here and not seize this Profound Yin Sunflower Water, can any of you collect it? Do you even know how to go about collecting it? If you don’t understand even have such a method, at most you’ll all just be able to sit there drooling over the meat near your mouth, unable to ever eat it!”
“What Grandmaster says is reasonable…” Ha Li Ka no longer argued his case and simply responded despondently.
“Does Grandmaster know how to collect the Profound Yin Sunflower Water?” The middle-aged woman on the other hand read the meaning behind Zong Ao’s words and asked expectantly.
“If this old master didn’t know how to collect it, why would I be standing here now?” Zong Ao snorted and waved, “Make way, after this old masters collects these things we can speak further.”
No longer caring about Ha Li Ka or the others in his way, Zong Ao grabbed Yang Kai and flew into the mine shaft, acting no different from a bandit.
Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng glanced at each other briefly before gritting their teeth and following after him.
Inside the mine, Yang Kai followed behind Zong Ao and showed him the way.
The last time Yang Kai came in alone, he had relied on his ability to tear space to advance deep into the Ancient Ruins with ease, but this time he obviously couldn’t do so.
The hidden arrays and traps inside the ruins were both difficult to avoid and deadly; when Ha Li Ka and Xue Yue first investigated these ruins, they had lost a number of cultivators along the way.
However, Zong Ao was obviously not an ordinary man and as he led the way, he held up a five cornered prism that projected a glittering light in front of the pair, illuminating every inch of the mine tunnel.
Every now and then, the light would illuminate some nearly imperceptible energy fluctuations and Zong Ao would carefully lead Yang Kai to avoid their origins.
This five cornered prism seemed to have some sort of detection function and using it, Zong Ao was able to avoid hidden dangers. Although their pace was slow, it was without any danger so the trip was actually quite relaxed.
The temperature in the air gradually became lower and a thin layer of ice soon appeared on the stone walls of the mine.
Zong Ao’s expression grew excited as he knew that they were drawing closer to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Ha Li Ka’s group was following not far behind Zong Ao and Yang Kai, communicating with one another using their Divine Senses as they walked, discussing how to handle this situation, anxiously trying to come up with some kind of feasible plan.
“Boy, where to now?” Zong Ao stopped at a fork and asked Yang Kai.
“This way!” Yang Kai pointed in a certain direction, his Divine Sense threads having long ago broken through the constraints of space to map the route to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Zong Ao didn’t doubt him and walked straight into the fork.
Continuing forward for a long time, Zong Ao, who was leading the way, suddenly came to a halt, squinting his eyes as he looked up ahead, his body trembling uncontrollably as a frenzied look appeared on his face.
Where he was staring were several dozen drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, each one strangely suspended in mid-air, still in the exact same state as when Yang Kai had left, just waiting to be collected.
“It really is Profound Yin Sunflower Water!” Zong Ao’s Divine Sense swept over the drops and immediately realized their extraordinariness. Although they were currently floating lightly, each drop was actually as heavy as a mountain and contained a terrifying amount of power.
Besides Profound Yin Sunflower Water, there was no other treasure that possessed such properties in this world.
Sprinting forward, Zong Ao quickly arrived in front of several dozen drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, his eyes sparkling as he swept his eyes around, a big grin appearing on his face.
Being able to make someone as aloof as Zong Ao react so crassly, made it apparent just how valuable this Profound Yin Sunflower Water was.
Yang Kai remained calm and indifferent, standing to the side without moving, not having any ideas about snatching this Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
He understood the limits of his abilities; let alone Zong Ao, Ha Li Ka and others who were following them.
Footsteps sounded and Ha Li Ka’s group also emerged one after another, standing next to Yang Kai, staring forward bitterly.
The several dozen drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water before them made their eyes all go red.
This was one of the most precious cultivation treasures in existence, and as long as one could safely refine even a drop of it, it would greatly increase their strength. Even if it was an Origin Returning Realm masters such as Ha Li Ka, the improvement in strength would be noticeable.
Having reached their current cultivation, it had become increasingly difficult to make further progress, and even breaking through a Minor Realm could take hundreds, if not thousands of years, and that was only if they encountered enough opportunities.
Refining Profound Yin Sunflower Water, although risky, would return even greater benefits if successful, how could they not be tempted?
Each of the masters present had experienced countless life or death battles and had explored the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao whilst on the edge of death, growing to the current level step by step, so they were clearer than anyone that the greater the danger, the greater the reward.
But now, they were only able to watch from a distance, not daring to step forward.
“When you found the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, was it sealed inside a Space Ring?” Zong Ao asked suddenly.
Yang Kai had given him a brief description of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, but what Yang Kai knew was limited so he hadn’t explained in detail.
“Yes, Grandmaster,” Ha Li Ka shivered slightly and responded.
“Wasting the Heaven’s precious gifts, wasting the Heaven’s precious gifts…” Zong Ao cursed, “Actually trying to place these things into a Space Ring, that ancient person seems to have been quite ignorant, but thanks to his inane act, this Profound Yin Sunflower Water was preserved. If he hadn’t stored them like this, who knows where they might have sunk to by now.”
The several people listened nearby didn’t have any clue what Zong Ao was talking about.
Lin Mu Feng cupped his fists and asked, “Please enlighten us, Grandmaster.”
Zong Ao grinned, “Each drop of Profound Yin Sunflower Water is as heavy as a mountain, not something that can be held within a Space Ring. After that ancient times person loaded the Profound Yin Sunflower Water into that Space Ring, he must have died without a chance to carry it off, otherwise, it would have exploded long ago.”
Ha Li Ka quickly said, “We were also caught by surprise because the Space Ring exploded at the time, resulting in heavy casualties.”
“That is only natural,” Zong Ao nodded, “On top of that, once these droplets touch any kind of soil, they will continue to sink deeper into the ground. Do you know why Profound Yin Sunflower Water is so rare?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“It is because every drop that is formed sinks to the core of the star and is absorbed by the Star Source, making it extremely difficult to discover. En, the Star Source will absorb not just the Profound Yin Sunflower Water but many other rare treasures as well.”
Everyone was shocked by this remark.
They knew that the Star Source was the root of every Cultivation Star, literally the heart of the star, but none of them knew that Star Sources and Profound Yin Sunflower Water had such a relationship.
“Fortunately, these dozens of drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water haven’t touched the ground yet, otherwise they may have disappeared long ago,” Zong Ao took a deep breath before summoning out a strange looking container from his Space Ring.
This contained was shaped like a small vase, with a wide opening, thin neck, and large body. It was formed by a strange and colourful material that gave of faint flashes of light.
“Five Coloured Meteor Essence!” Ha Li Ka gasped, at a glance realizing what material this contained was made from.
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman also couldn’t help revealing some shock as well.
Yang Kai did not miss their reactions and immediately understood that this Five Coloured Meteor Essence should be a highly valuable ore, otherwise the three Origin Returning Realm masters wouldn’t have revealed such gaffs.
“Yes, this is made of Five Coloured Meteor Essence,” Zong Ao laughed, “Few people know that Five Coloured Meteor Essence is the nemesis of Profound Yin Sunflower Water. To receive Profound Yin Sunflower Water, you only need to use Five Coloured Meteor Essence to build an appropriate storage container!”
As he laughed, Zong Ao pointed the vessel towards a drop of Profound Yin Sunflower Water then motivated his strength to collect it.
Ha Li Ka and others watched this with ugly expressions, their faces twitching, their moods ugly.
Although Five Coloured Meteor Essence was precious, their Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce still had a supply of it, and despite the small amount, building a vessel to store a few drops of liquid would not be an issue. If they had only known this, they would have already collected the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, then how could Zong Ao have robbed it from them?
Ha Li Ka had even lost an arm just to find this precious cultivation treasure.
Recalling all this, the expressions of the three fluctuated greatly.
Zong Ao on the other hand didn’t pay Ha Li Ka and others any mind, gleefully collecting the drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water by himself and only stopping when ten drops remained, solemnly holding his special container while glancing over at Ha Li Ka, “Don’t say this old master eats meat and chews bones without leaving any soup behind. Young ones, I’ll leave these here. Find a way to collect these last drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water. Don’t tell me you can’t find Five Coloured Meteor Essence.”
Zong Ao never planned to monopolize such huge benefits all to himself.
These droplets were discovered by Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, and Rainfall Star was a Cultivation Star under Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s control. Zong Ao had relied on his aloof status to take eighty percent of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, but this was the limit, if he were to try to take it all, he couldn’t guarantee that Ha Li Ka and the others present wouldn’t disregard his face and act against him.
Zong Ao didn’t have confidence he could deal with so many masters at or above his own cultivation realm.
As such, he took the initiative to step back, leaving ten drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water for them!
Ha Li Ka and the others heard Zong Ao’s words and couldn’t contain their shock, soon feeling their blood boil with excitement as they cupped their fists, “Many thanks Grandmaster, although Five Coloured Meteor Essence is rare, we can still procure some.”
“Good, then you best move quickly, only Heaven knows when these Profound Yin Sunflower Water will suddenly fall down and sink to the star’s core,” Zong Ao waved his hand and walked out while holding his own container.
Ha Li Ka did not dare to delay, leaving only the middle-aged woman to stand guard here while he and Lin Mu Feng rushed back to the branch to search for Five Coloured Meteor Essence inside their warehouse.
Yang Kai followed silently behind Zong Ao all the way out of the Ancient Ruins.
Afterwards, the pair summoned their Star Shuttles and returned to the mountain valley palace.
Back inside the room, Xue Yue was still sleeping peacefully, just as Yang Kai had left her, and after confirming that nothing was wrong with her, Yang Kai immediately went to find Zong Ao.
It seemed that because he had acquired a precious treasure like Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Zong Ao was extremely jubilant, and when Yang Kai came over, he was crazily performing Alchemy inside his Pill Room to vent his excess energy.
Zong Ao poured his Saint Qi into the several dozen pill furnaces, causing all of them to hum. Magical and mysterious Spirit Arrays were constructed inside the pill furnaces by Zong Ao simultaneously as he scattered herbs from his Space Ring like snowflakes, rapidly condensing various different medicinal liquids all at once.
Yang Kai couldn’t help his eyes from widening as he stared at this incredible scene.
He had never thought such a frenzied type of Alchemy existed in this world where one person actually used more than two dozen pill furnaces, refining several dozen types of pills, all at the same time!
At this moment, he finally understood why Zong Ao could produce so many pills for Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
Judging from his fluid movements and obvious proficiency, Zong Ao had done this more than once or twice and had created a shocking yet systematic method of mass pill refining.
Yang Kai possessed a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and had mastered various ancient Spirit Arrays which gave him many unique advantages in Alchemy, but he still had no way to replicate the astonishing scene in front of him.
At most, Yang Kai figure he could handle four or five pill furnaces by himself.
There are always higher Heavens and one must always strive to improve! Yang Kai felt a deep sense of inspiration and respect for Zong Ao and simply stood in the door, carefully observing this Grandmaster’s movements.
Zong Ao showed no intention of driving him away, allowing him to watch all he wanted, the excitement on his face never once fading, instead becoming more and more flushed. The delicate Spirit Arrays which he portrayed with his Saint Qi appeared in different pill furnaces, melding together with the ones already present to create even more profound designs, providing great catalytic effects to his Alchemy.
Everything was smooth and methodical, without the slightest flaw apparent.
After half a day, inside the Pill Room, various pill aromas wafted through the air, a single whiff of which could refresh a person’s spirits and warm their body.
Yang Kai’s eyes became even more focused.
“Come!” Zong Ao shouted suddenly, and the several dozen pill furnaces all trembled as their lids flew off and coloured pills shot out, each one falling like a single raindrop into pre-prepared jade bottles.
Zong Ao tossed a restorative pill into his mouth, recovering his own Saint Qi while he strode over impatiently to the jade bottles, picked them up, and began checking through them one by one.
After a long time, he finished his inspection, and a somewhat dissatisfied look appeared on his face as he grumbled, “En, only two, pills are really hard to refine!”
Saying so, he put away two pills which had formed Pill Veins into another bottle before tossing the rest away.
This scene was somewhat familiar, as Yang Kai had once seen Zong Ao perform it when he first brought Xue Yue here, causing his brow to furrow as he asked, “Is Senior’s Alchemy method attempting to increase the chance of Pill Veins appearing?”
Zong Ao turned and sat in his chair, grinning as he nodded, “You have some good eyes boy. En, this old master created such a troublesome Alchemy method just to increase the chance of forming Pill Veins!”
After a pause, he continued, “The appearance of Pill Veins is something decided by luck, even the best Alchemists cannot guarantee that the pill they refine will surely form Pill Veins, but when a skilled Alchemist refines low-grade pills, the chances of Pill Veins forming will be much greater. This old master has been studying the production of Pill Veins for hundreds of years, and it was not until a hundred years ago that he struck upon the idea of producing them by increasing the total volume of pills. If not for this, why would this old master not charge Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce anything, essentially performing Alchemy for them for free? En, if not for this old master wanting them to provide me with an abundance of herbs, how could I have let them take advantage of me for so long?”
Refining pills like Zong Ao consumed far too many spirit grasses and spirit medicines, without the vast capital of a great force behind him, it would be impossible to continue this practice for long.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce was the richest force in the entire Star Field so it was naturally the best choice. Zong Ao and Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s cooperation greatly benefited each other.
“How is Senior’s progress?” Yang Kai asked with interest.
Zong Ao sighed softly, “Difficult, far too difficult! The longer you pursue this path, the more you find how difficult refining pills really are. This old master isn’t afraid of making a little boy like you laugh, but after so long, my success rate is only one or two out of every hundred pills with Pill Veins. En, this old master means pills above Saint King Grade of course.”
One or two out of every hundred, in short, he needed to refine a hundred pills to get one or two with Pill Veins.
This percentage may seem small, but considering the entire Alchemy profession, it was already a sensational number.
Many Alchemists would spend their entire lives and only refine one or two pills with Pill Veins out of sheer luck.
But every time Zong Ao performed this mass Alchemy, he would almost always produce at least one such pill.
“This old master has even managed to refine a few Saint King Grade pills that formed Pill Clouds. Would you like to take a look, little boy?” Zong Ao spoke with a very proud and playful expression.
Pill Veins were hard to come by, but Pill Clouds were even rarer!
Zong Ao had collected tens of thousands of pills with Pill Veins so far, but he only had a handful that had formed Pill Clouds, each of which he regarded as a treasure. When he was feeling down, he would often take out these Pill Cloud pills to review, immediately lifting his spirits.
He had lived here in this dull environment for nearly a hundred years, and if it weren’t for the great obsession in his heart, delving into the profound mysteries of the Alchemic Way, even with his great strength he would have gone stir crazy.
Now that he suddenly had the young Alchemist Yang Kai here to accompany him, he naturally wanted to show off a bit.
“Junior does not dare to covet Senior’s treasures!” Yang Kai didn’t give him a chance to show off though, which caused Zong Ao to grumble in disappointment, “Ignorant child, such a great opportunity is not something easy to grasp, it looks like your accomplishments in Alchemy are bound to be limited!”
Pills which formed Pill Veins were a rarity in the world. In the Alchemy world, this kind of thing, regardless of the grade, even if it was Earth Grade or Mysterious Grade, would be considered a treasure. Excellent Alchemists, by observing and emulating, may be able to gain some insights from just observing them.
Not to mention Zong Ao’s pills which had formed Pill Cloud were all Saint King Grade pills! These few pills were the ultimate culmination of his past hundred years of work.
Today, he had taken the initiative to display them, yet was actually rejected by Yang Kai. Zong Ao immediately felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on his hot face, his mood immediately dampening.
How could he have known that back on Tong Xuan Realm, Yang Kai had already seen and even eaten a pill that formed Pill Clouds, and whether it was Yang Kai himself or Xia Ning Chang, when performing Alchemy, their odds of producing Pill Veins were higher than his own by several times.
“Senior, Junior has led you to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, and Senior has reaped great gains as a result, isn’t it time you inform this Junior how to rescue my Young Lady?” Yang Kai ignored Zong Ao’s ugly expression and took the initiative to bring up the previous transaction.
“Hmph! Blinded by a beauty!” Zong Ao muttered in dissatisfaction again, he obviously thought Yang Kai and Xue Yue had a deep sentiment between them, causing this boy to act so anxiously.
Although he was a little displeased with Yang Kai right now, a deal was a deal, and Zong Ao kept his promise, flatly saying, “To save her, you just need to feed her a Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill!”
After saying this, he shot Yang Kai a mocking grin, clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune.
“Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking quickly.
While Zong Ao had gone looking for someone to build a container to receive the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Yang Kai had flipped through the pile of ancient books inside Zong Ao’s study and learned many pill recipes, the Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill was one of them.
Pondering for a moment, he soon remembered what grade of herbs was required to refine the Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill.
“An Origin King Pill?” Yang Kai paled, calling out in alarm.
“Naturally it is an Origin King- Grade pill!” Zong Ao grinned, “Profound Yin Sunflower Water is among the rarest and most powerful cultivation treasures. Do you think the damage caused by it would be easy to restore? Only the Origin King-Grade Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill can accomplish this. You should be more aware of the danger this little girl is facing than anyone else. Not only is her vitality frozen, even her Soul Avatar cannot form. Treating such a condition will be incredibly difficult, of course.”
Yang Kai’s face turned dark.
Zong Ao also said, “Boy, I advise you to give up. Let’s not even discuss how few Alchemists in the entire Star Field can refine Origin King Pills, simply finding the materials is not something you can accomplish. Finding a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Returning Flower alone is impossible.”
The Soul Returning Flower wasn’t an incredibly rare or precious herbs, and could be found on any Cultivation Star, but in order to refine the Purple Heart Soul Restoring Pill, one with a medicinal age of ten thousand years was essential.
Which herb could possibly grow that old? During thousands of years, natural disasters, shifts in environment, not to mention cultivators or Monster Beasts could cause any herb to die out or disappear from this world. Finding such an herb was simply impossible.
The other precious herb required, despite being quite rare and valuable, wouldn’t be too difficult to find. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s primary focus was business, so as long he left it to Ha Li Ka, Yang Kai believed these adjuvant herbs could be soon collected.
But a ten thousand year old Soul Restoring Flower instantly made Yang Kai feel helpless!
“There is any number of women in this world. I see you’re still very young, boy, in the future there will always be other outstanding women. Sometimes you should learn to just let things go, that itself is a kind of happiness,” Zong Ao sighed as he gave some heartfelt advice.
“I must rescue her!” Yang Kai shook his head, his expression incomparably firm, “Senior, is there no other way to resolve her crisis?”
Zong Ao looked at him deeply, and his complexion gradually became dignified. After a while nodding, “There is one other kind of pill that could treat her condition, and the materials required for this pill aren’t difficult to find, its grade is also not too high.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, cupping his fists and bowing deeply, “Please enlighten me, Senior!”
“Good, out of consideration for your deep infatuation, this old master will offer you his knowledge once more,” Zong Ao sighed, but followed up calmly, “However, I still advise you to not get your hopes up.”
“Senior, please.”
“The Burning Flame Pill!” Zong Ao spat out a few words.
“Burning Flame Pill?” Yang Kai frowned, thinking quickly, and after a moment, his eyes widened with surprise, “Saint King Grade Low-Rank Burning Flame Pill?”
“En, the Burning Flame Pill is indeed a Saint King Grade Low-Rank pill!” Zong Ao gently nodded.
Yang Kai looked puzzled, “Senior, Junior is a bit confused. The grade of the Burning Flame Pill is not high, so how can it cure my Young Lady’s condition?”
He really couldn’t understand how the first method Zong Ao gave him was to refine an Origin King pill, while the second method was actually to refine a Saint King Grade pill, the difference between them was like clouds and mud.
Zong Ao grinned, “Do you think an ordinary Burning Flame Pill will do? What this old master refers to is a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds!”
Yang Kai trembled as he comprehended.
“Since you are also an Alchemist, you should know that a pill that forms Pill Veins or Pill Clouds has its medicinal effects increased geometrically, which is why the existence of Pill Veins and Pill Clouds dramatically increases a pill’s value. If a Saint King Grade Low-Rank Burning Flame Pill were to form Pill Veins, its medicinal effects would almost be equivalent to a Saint King Grade High-Rank pill, if it were to form Pill Clouds, even if it wasn’t as good as an Origin King Grade pill, it wouldn’t miss by far.”
“I see,” Yang Kai’s eyes shone brightly, and his spirit was instantly restored.
Zong Ao observed his expression however and sneered, “How could it be so easy to refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds? It may be more difficult than trying to find a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Restoring Flower. This old master will repeat his words once more, boy, it’s best you give up now, don’t attempt to do the impossible.”
Him saying these words were not because he wanted to dampen Yang Kai’s enthusiasm, it was just his objective evaluation of the situation.
Even if the top Alchemists in Heng Luo Star Field were to constantly refine Burning Flame Pills, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to refine one with Pill Clouds.
Yang Kai however just grinned, “How do I know it’s impossible if I don’t even try?”
Zong Ao quickly stated, “Boy, don’t think this old master will help you refine such a Burning Flame Pill. This old master has no friendship with you, nor does he have such skill to guarantee he can refine a Saint King Grade pill with Pill Clouds.”
“I did not plan on asking Senior to refine it,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Oh? You already have someone else in mind?” Zong Ao was slightly surprised, “Do tell, who do you want to make refine it for you? Since this old master has given you his advice, he would like to see what person has such ability!”
Zong Ao didn’t think there was anyone whose Alchemy skills were better than his own on Rainfall Star. When it came to Alchemy, here, he was the highest authority.
“Junior will do it himself!”
“You plan to refine it yourself?” Zong Ao’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Yang Kai gently nodded.
As if he wanted to re-examine him, Zong Ao swept his eyes over Yang Kai, asking with a strange expression a moment later, “Don’t try to play games with this old master, this is your own matter, not mine. En, if you really can refine a Burning Flame Pill which forms Pill Clouds here, this old master will call you Grandfather!”
He clearly didn’t believe that Yang Kai possessed this kind of ability.
Yang Kai was just a weak Second-Order Saint. Even if he was an Alchemist, and had some talent and aptitude in the Alchemic Way, the longest he could possibly have been immersed in this path was twenty years.
Saint Grade High-Rank pills were his limit! Zong Ao concluded.
If he couldn’t even refine Saint King Grade pills, how was he supposed to refine one with Pill Clouds?
Zong Ao only took Yang Kai’s words as the foolish boastings of youth.
However, Yang Kai’s eyes only brightened further as he too wore a strange smile, “Senior, since you don’t believe this Junior’s words… how about we make a bet?”
“A bet?” Zong Ao’s eyes narrowed briefly before he snorted, “What bet, since you dare, this old master will play along!”
“If this Junior can refine a Burning Flame Pill that forms Pill Clouds, Junior won’t ask for much, just half of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water Senior managed to collect!” Yang Kai stared at Zong Ao daringly.
Zong Ao’s face twitched severely as he snorted once again, “Boy, this old master thought you were the honest and well-behaved type, but it seems you’ve been harbour ideas about this old master treasure all along! Aren’t you afraid your appetite will cause you to lose your teeth?”
“If Junior loses his teeth, that will be his own responsibility,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Are you afraid you will lose?”
Zong Ao grinned fearlessly, “Don’t try to taunt this old masters, such petty tricks aren’t worth my consideration.”
Even after saying so, a second later, Zong Ao still nodded, “Fine. If you can really refine a Burning Flame Pill that forms Pill Clouds, why wouldn’t this old master grant you half his Profound Yin Sunflower Water? This old master has dedicated hundreds of years to studying the formation of Pill Veins, never once finding the correct path forward, if you have the ability to surpass this old master, this old master will be sincerely convinced! However, if you can’t refine it, what are you willing to wager, boy?”
Zong Ao directed an extremely cold and gloomy look towards Yang Kai as he asked.
The entire gambling proposal Yang Kai made had annoyed Zong Ao, making him feel that this Junior was taking Alchemy lightly while simultaneously looking down on his many years of research, causing a tinge of murderous intent to rise in his heart.
“I’ll leave that up to Senior!” Yang Kai said without any fear or hesitation. In any case, if he couldn’t refine this pill, Xue Yue would die, and when she died, he would follow.
“Good, this old master has been lacking an errand boy, if you fail, you’ll serve this old master for the rest of your life!” Zong Ao chuckled, “But this bet must have a deadline to it, or do you expect this old master to simply wait forever?”
“Naturally not,” Yang Kai seemed to have expected him to say that, “The deadline will be when my Young Lady dies, how about it?”
“That will be in just a year or so. Boy you’re certainly crazy enough, this old master is looking forward to seeing how you refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds!” Zong Ao laughed.
“Senior should sit back and watch,” Yang Kai grinned, not showing any signs of fluster, only immense self-confidence.
This expression was not missed by Zong Ao, who suddenly couldn’t help feeling a bit hesitant, secretly wondering whether this little brat’s boldness was supported by some hidden secret.
Not feeling relieved, he decided to ask, “What grade of pill can refine with your current methods?”
“Saint King Grade Low-Rank pills!” Yang Kai said casually.
“How is that possible?” Zong Ao was stunned, “You can really refine Saint King Grade pills?”
His face showed clear disbelief as he thought Yang Kai was simply exaggerating.
Yang Kai just shrugged however and said, “I’ve truly refined some.”
“How old are you this year?” Zong Ao asked suspiciously.
“Less than thirty, twenty-seven or eight, I think?” Yang Kai wasn’t quite sure of his current age, he spent all of his time wandering outside or in secluded retreat so he had long ago lost track of the passage of time.
A twenty seven or twenty eight year old boy able to refine Saint King Grade pills was enough to shock Zong Ao speechless.
A bad premonition suddenly came over him, as if half of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water had suddenly changed surname.
Shaking his head, Zong Ao again said, “After a year, things will become clear. This old master won’t ask anything for now, but I still have to tell you boy, even if you can refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds, it will only be able to drive away the chilling effects of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water on this little girl, you’ll still need to recomposing her Soul Avatar by yourself.”
Yang Kai frowned, and cupped his fists said, “I understand.”
“En, see yourself out,” Zong Ao waved.
Yang Kai exited and went to the sleeping Yue Xue in the next room before leaving for the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s branch.
Half a day later, Yang Kai met with Ha Li Ka and the others inside the main hall.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the middle-aged woman were all gathered around a table and a container refined from Five Coloured Meteor Essence, which held a few drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water, sat before them.
Three pairs of eyes stared fixedly towards this Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Five Coloured Meteor Essence wasn’t difficult to find in Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s vaults, so after Zong Ao left, the three executives had quickly gone to collect this treasure and were now discussing how to distribute them, and what they should report to the Home Star.
The three were a little bit overwhelmed by everything.
Noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, the three did try to cover up their discussion or hide the Profound Yin Sunflower Water; Ha Li Ka simply stood up and asked, “How is the situation with Lady Xue’er?”
“Unchanged, her life is safe for now but she still remains unconscious,” Yang Kai replied casually.
The three faces turned dark.
“However, Senior Zong Ao was able to diagnose her condition and prescribe a cure,” Yang Kai quickly added.
“Really?” Ha Li Ka’s expression brightened as Lin Mu Feng let out a sigh of relief, the middle-aged woman also patting her plump chest as the bitterness on her face noticeably decreased.
“Little brother, if you require anything from our Chamber of Commerce, please speak freely, Lady Xue’er’s accident occurred on our Rainfall Star, so we will not spare any effort to assist you,” Ha Li Ka stated upfront.
“That is why I have come here, I must ask for your help,” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
“I need you to help collect some herbs!” Yang Kai got straight to the point.
“What herbs do you need?” Ha Li Ka smiled, “Other places may not be able to procure special herbs, but my Chamber of Commerce is definitely not lacking such things.”
Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman also spoke similar words, pledging to meet whatever requirements Yang Kai had.
Yang Kai immediately produced a list of herbs required to refine the Burning Flame Pill, and after Ha Li Ka gave it a quick glance, he lightly said, “The herbs on this list are not difficult to find, we have most of them on hand in this branch already. Only the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruit is relatively rare while everything else won’t be a problem. However, Little Brother will have to wait three to five months before we can transfer some Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits from a nearby Medicine Star, such a delay…”
“There won’t be a problem if it’s just three to five months, even a little longer won’t matter as long as you don’t drag it out for over a year,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Good, within four months we will definitely have the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits transferred here,” Ha Li Ka thumped his chest and promised.
Some herbs required specific environments to grow in, and although Rainfall Star was also a large Cultivation Star, it did not have the proper environment to cultivate Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits. However, there was a Medicine Star under Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s jurisdiction nearby which produced a large number of them.
“How many of these herbs does little brother need?” Lin Mu Feng asked.
“However many you can acquire!” Yang Kai quickly said.
“As much as we can acquire?” The three were startled by this answer and stared at Yang Kai in confusion.
They had thought that Yang Kai would only require a few sets of ingredients to refine this pill, so when Yang Kai asked them to deliver him as many ingredients as possible, they were naturally somewhat suspicious.
Yang Kai quickly explained, “The method Senior Zong Ao prescribed requires a pill which has formed Pill Clouds. You should also be aware of how difficult it is to produce a pill with Pill Clouds, it’s not something that can be done in a few attempts, success will require much trial and error.”
After hearing these words, Ha Li Ka and the others suddenly understood why Yang Kai required so many herbs and no longer suspected anything, Ha Li Ka even shouting, “I see I see, Grandmaster Zong Ao is indeed worthy of his illustrious reputation in Alchemy. He actually intends to refine a pill with Pill Clouds, such a treasure is something we would greatly wish to experience.”
“Unfortunately, this will likely result in a non-negligible loss for the branch’s business, with so many of the same type of pill being refined all at once, even if they were to be turned over to you for free, selling them may be an issue,” Yang Kai reminded.
“As long as Lady Xue’er can be awakened, such losses are not a problem,” Ha Li Ka immediately stated. He was speaking earnestly, for if Lady Xue’er were really to die, Xue Yue Third Young Master would definitely not let him off. Even if he had to use his personal fortune, he would do everything in his power to procure the required herbs.
“That would be for the best!” Yang Kai was very satisfied with their willingness to cooperate, saving him the trouble of trying to convince them to help him. These people were reasonable and easy to speak to, they were capable of seeing the bigger picture without it needing to be spelt out for them.
“Little brother…” Ha Li Ka stuttered, a hesitant look appearing on his face, like he wanted to say something but didn’t dare to, turning to glance at Lin Mu Feng in an attempt to find some support.
Yang Kai observed all of this carefully and immediately understood what they wanted to say, wearing a serious look as he said, “For me, treating Lady Xue’er’s condition is the foremost priority, I will not inquire about any other issues.”
Having received such a statement, all three of the branch executives were overjoyed and direct even kinder looks towards Yang Kai.
Although the three of them had managed to obtain some Profound Yin Sunflower Water, a harvest worth celebrating, the events that had transpired here on Rainfall Star this time left them in a difficult position, not knowing how they should report to the Home Star. In normal times, they would be fully capable of suppressing news of Xue Yue’s injuries but now was different. As Xue Yue’s guard, even if Yang Kai’s cultivation was low, unless he was also brain dead, how could he not make a report to the Home Star should something happen?
When that happened, the three of them would only face even more severe punishment!
With Yang Kai’s words as a guarantee though, the three of them felt far more relieved.
Yang Kai laughed and said, “I also don’t want to be punished by the Home Star, so the matter of Lady Xue’er being injured won’t be leaked for the time being. When Lady Xue’er recovers, she will decide how to proceed.”
“Many thanks, little brother!” Ha Li Ka cupped his fists gratefully.
“As for this Profound Yin Sunflower Water… For now, don’t make any arrangements for it. Lady Xue’er will take responsibility for it,” Yang Kai said again.
“Naturally, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn’t dare try to use this cultivation treasures at will, we will wait for Lady Xue’er to awake to deal with it,” Ha Li Ka and others nodded repeatedly, thanking Yang Kai for showing them the correct path to take.
Moreover, from the very beginning, none of them had any intention to use this Profound Yin Sunflower Water. Although refining this precious treasure would allow them to greatly improve their strength, none of them even knew how to go about it. Ha Li Ka had personally experienced the overbearing power of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, the price for this knowledge being his arm, if they were to carelessly try to refine this treasure, rather than increasing their strength, they may end up in a similar condition to Lady Xue’er.
None of them daring to use it, however, didn’t mean obtaining it wasn’t a great merit, hence why the three of them had been gathered around the container, discussing it before Yang Kai arrived.
“Good, my requests up until now have been about our shared business, but I also have a private matter I wish to ask for your assistance with!” Yang Kai felt that the time was right and the atmosphere had been set appropriate, so he prepared to fish for some advantages of his own.
“Please speak, Little Brother!”
“Do you have any methods to quickly improve one’s strength?” Yang Kai looked at the three with anticipation.
“Enhance one’s strength?” Ha Li Ka was surprised, sweeping his eyes over Yang Kai, but soon understood and laughed, “Does little brother wants to improve his strength?”
“Yes, this time, because my strength was too low, Lady Xue’er did not allow me to accompany her to explore the Ancient Ruins. If my strength had been higher, perhaps I could have protected Lady Xue during the Profound Yin Sunflower Water crisis. If I could exchange my life for Lady Xue’er’s safety, what would it matter if I were to die?” Yang Kai said while wearing a pained a bitter look, seemingly blaming himself deeply.
Ha Li Ka and the others in the hall were all experienced masters though, so how could they not know he was just putting on a show?
However, there did seem that Lady Xue’er thought highly of this little guard, otherwise, she would not have brought him alone to Rainfall Star with her or out of concern for his safety prevent him from entering the Ancient Ruins.
After Lady Xue’er woke up, perhaps they would need to rely on him to say a few words of praise to disperse her anger.
What’s more, he was willing to not report this matter to the Home Star and even cooperate with them to conceal the truth for now.
Regardless of whether it was to curry favour or to repay him, the three executives felt that as long as Yang Kai’s requests weren’t excessive they should try to meet them, and helping a small Second-Order Saint Realm cultivator improve his strength was something they could easily accomplish.
After exchanging a few silence glances, the three executives immediately made a decision, with Ha Li Ka saying, “If you wish to quickly improve your strength, the only proper method is to cultivate diligently, this kind of thing cannot be rushed, everyone develops their strength one drop at a time, however…”
Arriving at this point, he grinned and said, “I have a method that will allow you to increase the efficiency of your cultivation.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened, “What method?”
The Space Ring on Ha Li Ka’s hand flashed, and a colourful, orchid-like objected appeared in his hands. This orchid was quite strange though, its blossoming petals appearing somewhat like a baby’s face, with rather clear, yet gloomy features.
“Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid?” Nearby, Lin Mu Feng and the middle-aged woman both simultaneously exclaimed in shock, as if they hadn’t expected Ha Li Ka to bring out such a treasure, directing a somewhat thought-provoking expression towards Yang Kai, seemingly feeling like he had struck it lucky.
“What is the use of this thing?” Yang Kai asked.
Ha Li Ka proudly explained, “It is an auxiliary cultivation treasure, if you take it directly, you will realize its use.”
Lin Mu Feng also added, “This kind of thing is very rare, many years ago, in order to obtain it, Old Ha had a bloody fight with many others, I never expected that he had stored it away for nearly a hundred years, I had thought he had already made use of it.”
Ha Li Ka grinned, “There was no suitable candidate, so how was I suppose to use it? This old master is already a Third Order Origin Returning Realm master, this thing can’t help improve my own strength, so I was thinking of saving it for someone from the younger generation, but on this vast Rainfall Star, no one has been able to enter this old master’s eye so far!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and before Ha Li Ka had even finished speaking, he had accepted the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid and shoved it into his Space Ring.
From the conversation between the two, Yang Kai could already understand the preciousness of this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
He then turned to stare at Lin Mu Feng eagerly.
Lin Mu Feng was just extolling Ha Li Ka’s generosity, but when his eyes met with Yang Kai’s, he couldn’t help his face from twitching slightly, scratching his head in a slightly frustrated manner as he said, “This Lin has something here that may be of help to little brother Yang.”
Yang Kai’s meaning was incredibly obvious, he clearly wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to rob all of them, so how could Lin Mu Feng feign ignorance?
Suppressing the grief he felt in his heart while wearing a calm and aloof expression, Lin Mu Feng took out a jade bottle from his Space Ring, and before he could even explain what it was, Yang Kai had snatched it from him.
Lin Mu Feng smiled bitterly and said helplessly, “This is Snow Pond Crystal Essence, a unique treasure from Ice Snow Star’s Snow Pond Forbidden Zone. Only a cut worth of it is condensed every millennium, this is all I have.”
“What is its use?” Yang Kai asked concisely while observing the jade bottle in his hand, feeling a slight coolness coming from it. Through the bottle’s walls, he could see about a fingernail-sized drop of white liquid.
“Snow Pond Crystal Essence is most useful for stabilizing your state of mind. Taking one drop will grant great benefits. Little Brother Yang, since you want to quickly improve your strength, this thing will be essential,” Lin Mu Feng explained.
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened as he grinned.
This treasure was given to him by Lin Mu Feng and Ha Li Ka’s Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid perfectly complemented one another, one could improve the efficiency of one’s cultivation while the other could help stabilize their state of mind, thus avoiding the side effects caused by rapid increases in strength. It could be said that this Snow Pond Crystal Essence was equal in value to the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
Yang Kai was very satisfied as he stuffed it into his Space Ring.
Watching Yang Kai put away that small bottle of Snow Pond Crystal Essence, a clear look of pain appeared on Lin Mu Feng’s face.
Of course, Yang Kai pretended not to see it.
Before waiting for Yang Kai to speak again, the middle-aged woman smiled and took the initiative, “I don’t have as many treasures as these two, but I do have something that can help promote your cultivation speed.”
Saying so, she summoned a number of small flag-like objects into her hand; each of these seven flags was a different colour of the rainbow and exuded a strong aura.
[An artifact?] Yang Kai was slightly surprised, not knowing what function this artifact possessed that could actually improve one’s cultivation efficiency.
“These Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags together form one Origin Grade Low-Rank artifact, and when arranged in a certain configuration can gather the surrounding World Energy. I used to use this whenever I entered secluded cultivation, but after reaching my current level of strength, its effects have become negligible and I have not taken it out for nearly a hundred years now; however, it should be quite suitable for little brother Yang.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened once more, secretly thinking to himself that these three were worthy of their status as executives of a Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch, each of them was easily able to take out treasures that would ordinarily be impossible to find.
This time Yang Kai didn’t act as hurriedly as with the previous two, carefully accepting the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag from the middle-aged beauty before thanking her politely.
In response, the middle-aged woman laughed lightly and said, “Lower your Knowledge Sea’s defences, I’ll teach you the method to arrange it!”
Yang Kai nodded, allowed the middle-aged woman to place her jade finger on his forehead, and accepted her instructions on how to set up the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags.
After carefully digesting this information, Yang Kai was very satisfied with the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags.
Although it was only an Origin Grade Low-Rank artifact, it was still a good treasure that perfectly suited the current Yang Kai, he could use it for some time to come, and when he no longer needed it, it could be given to others close to him.
It wasn’t as rare or valuable as the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid or Snow Pond Crystal Essence, but it was actually far more practical than them.
No matter which of these three it was, they had bled quite substantially here in taking these things out, so Yang Kai cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks for your assistance, Junior is very grateful.”
“Little Brother is too polite!” Ha Li Ka laughed, “As long as Lady Xue’er can be awoken, what does this little loss count for?”
Whether his loyal and righteous appearance was real or forced, Yang Kai couldn’t tell.
“En… does little brother wish to take a couple of Moon Slaves as well?” Lin Mu Feng suddenly remembered something and proposed.
“Moon Slaves?” Yang Kai’s brow rose and stared at them suspiciously.
The middle-aged woman immediately blushed and shouted, “You bastard! Little brother is so young yet you wish to lead him down such an unsavoury path? How do you plan to explain things when Lady Xue’er wakes up?”
Lin Mu Feng squirmed awkwardly, “Two Moon Slave shouldn’t be an issue right? Little brother Yang seems like an upright and firm willed young man. He shouldn’t be led astray simply because of two trivial Moon Slaves.”
“En, if it’s just two there really shouldn’t be a problem,” Ha Li Ka also echoed.
“What are Moon Slaves?” Yang Kai saw the three executives suddenly engage in a slightly heated debate and couldn’t help feeling curious.
Ha Li Ka lightly coughed and explained, “Moon Slaves are women specially cultivated by our Chamber of Commerce. They cultivate a very special Secret Art and take tailored pills so that their Primordial Yin contains a large amount of very pure energy. Any man who is then able to obtain their Primordial yin can obtain great benefits from it! If little brother wishes to rapidly improve his strength, Moon Slaves are truly the best choice. “
“Gathering Yin to supplement Yang?” Yang Kai’s complexion changed slightly.
“No no no!” Lin Mu Feng smiled and waved, “The method developed by my Chamber of Commerce is not some barbaric gathering Yin to supplement Yang. Little Brother should know that many cultivators who cultivate Demonic Secret Arts that use gathering Yin to supplement Yang are able to raise their strength quickly but always result in unstable foundations, making their combat efficiency far lower than others in the same realm. My Chamber of Commerce would never engage in such flawed practices. Moon Slaves are chosen from only those women with appropriate aptitudes and physiques then cultivated in a specific method which increased the concentration of energy in their Primordial Yin. This way, the men who obtain such Primordial Yin suffer very little ill effect. With little brother’s current cultivation, obtaining two Moon Slaves won’t cause any side effects.”
“Indeed, if there was really a problem with my Chamber of Commerce’s Moon slaves, there would not be so many people who purchase them,” Ha Li Ka also nodded.
“Do you also engage in human trafficking?” Yang Kai was incredibly shocked, never having expected a giant like Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce would actually have a hand in such a shady industry.
“This business is only conducted by mutual consent. Moon Slaves generally come from commoner or impoverished backgrounds who, without my Chamber of Commerce’s support, would only be able to live a few dozen years before dying of disease or old age. My Chamber of Commerce provides them with the opportunity to cultivate as well as a secure environment, allowing them to obtain superior ability and skill… Also, after Moon Slaves give their innocence to their masters, they will always obtain some benefit in return. Not only can they continue to cultivate and enhance their strength, but many Moon Slaves also live quite comfortable lives after leaving the Chamber of Commerce,” Lin Mu Feng explained in detail, seeing that Yang Kai was a bit repulsed by such things.
The middle-aged woman sat to the side, blushing, but not raising any objections. Obviously, she too was well informed about these Moon Slaves.
“Moon Slaves…” Yang Kai hesitated for a moment before waving his hand and saying bitterly, “After she wakes up, once she learns of this, I’m afraid Lady Xue’er would kill!”
Yang Kai had to admit that after listening to them talk about the benefits of Moon Slaves, especially the ability to quickly improve his strength, Yang Kai was a bit tempted. Right now his strongest desire was to quickly enhance his cultivation.
However, after mulling over this decision, Yang Kai still refused.
Part of it had to do with his principles, but a larger part had to do with his concerns. No matter how Ha Li Ka and the others boasted about the benefits of Moon Slaves, Yang Kai always felt that gathering Yin to supplement Yang would leave hidden problems which would hinder his future cultivation.
“Since that’s the case, we won’t press the matter,” Ha Li Ka said while shooting Yang Kai an approving nod. He hadn’t thought a young man like him could refuse such a great temptation.
Moon Slaves were capable of more than simply improving one’s strength, each of them was also a rare beauty who had been taught many ways to serve and please men while being proficient in countless forms of art and entertainment, they were akin to a status symbol for the young men in the Star Field to brag about.
Being accompanied by one or two Moon Slaves was enough to raise the level of one’s face significantly.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce cultivated a large number of Moon Slaves every year, but the backlog for their purchase was several years long. Moon Slaves alone brought in a huge amount of profit even considering the entire scope of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. The price of Moon Slaves only ever increased, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who wished to buy them.
Yang Kai’s refusal had surprised all three of these executives and increased their opinion of him further, making them believe that Lady Xue’er had many reasons to select him as her guard.
Ha Li Ka and others discussed some technical matters for a moment before agreeing to send the collected materials to Zong Ao’s palace once they were prepared, after which Yang Kai took his leave.
After returning to Zong Ao’s palace, Yang Kai was filled with energy and was in exceptionally high spirits.
“Oh, a Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Snow Pond Crystal Essence…” Zong Ao looked at these two things Yang Kai had taken out and commented, “Ha Li Ka and Lin Mu Feng really held nothing back. It seems this little girl has even higher status in Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce than I initially believed.”
Aged ginger being spicier than young ginger, Zong Ao naturally recognized these treasures and their uses at a glance.
Taking a look next at the seven coloured flags next, Zong Ao couldn’t help chuckling, “Boy, with these things, this old master estimates you can break through to the Third Order Saint Realm in short order. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is worthy of its title as a great force, allowing someone to rise up quickly is a simple task for them.”
“Old Zong, in a few days, Ha Li Ka will be sending some materials over required to refine the Burning Flame Pill, I hope Old Zong can receive them for me,” Yang Kai said while taking the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags back from Zong Ao.
“As long as they don’t disturb this old master’s Alchemy it matters not,” Zong Ao snorted, squatting in front of Yang Kai and directing a suspicious look towards him, “But there’s something here this old master doesn’t understand, care you explain?”
“Old Zong, please ask!”
“Aren’t you going to refine a pill to treat your woman? Why did you suddenly bring these things back with you for?”
“What else can you do with these things? Naturally I’m going to cultivate,” Yang Kai grinned.
Zong Ao was stunned, “Aren’t you getting your priorities backwards? You only have a year and a half at most. Wanting to refine a Burning Flame Pill that forms Pill Clouds within one and a half years doesn’t leave you any time to spare, yet you’re actually in the mood to cultivate?”
“Ordinary people will sharpen their knife before butchering pigs, what’s wrong with me cultivating now to sharpen myself?” Yang Kai grinned, “On top of that, according to Ha Li Ka, one of the materials required for the Burning Flame Pill will take four months to transfer here from a nearby Medicine Star, besides cultivating what else am I supposed to do while I wait?”
“I suppose that makes sense… but will it even make a difference if you break through to the Third-Order Saint Realm?” Zong Ao wondered why Yang Kai wasn’t feeling more flustered.
“Perhaps advancing a Minor Realm will allow me to successfully refine Pill Clouds,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Zong Ao just stared at Yang Kai as if he was looking at an idiot, stood up tall again and waved his hand, “If you say so. This old master will just wait to see the results, as long as you don’t bother this old master, you can do as you like, this old master will go see to his own Alchemy.”
Saying so, he walked out, constantly muttering about how refining pills was difficult.
Yang Kai didn’t pay him any mind and instead began arranging his newly acquired treasures.
Back on the floating continent, he had worked hard to refine Saint King Grade pills in order to lift the seal Lu Gui Chen had planted on him. At that time, Yang Kai discovered that he was unable to further promote his Alchemy techniques because of the constraints of his own cultivation.
His cultivation was too low, and if he wanted to refine higher grades of pills, he first needed to improve in that aspect.
The four months Ha Li Ka needed to acquire the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits gave Yang Kai a very good buffer period. With the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Snow Pond Crystal Essence, and Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, Yang Kai planed to promote his cultivation during this time.
With four months, Yang Kai had great confidence he would be able to break through to the Third Order Saint Realm, allowing him to more easily refine the required Burning Flame Pill.
Inside one of the rooms in Zong Ao’s palace, Yang Kai sat cross-legged.
Taking out the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Yang Kai swallowed it without hesitation.
A cool sensation ran straight from the throat to his abdomen, and as he began to refine the medicinal effects, which cool sensation rapidly spread out to every part of his body, dilating his pores and rapidly affecting his physique.
In order to refine a Burning Flame Pill that formed Pill Clouds, and in order to rapidly improve his cultivation realm, Yang Kai spared no effort.
Moreover, he no longer regarded this time’s incident as a disaster but instead an opportunity.
Currently, he was all alone in the Star Field, without any friends or family, no one to rely on, only by increasing his own strength would he be able to survive. Xue Yue falling unconscious and not awakening gave him the opportunity to concentrate on cultivation.
When viewed from another angle, misdemeanours could often become advantages.
Yang Kai could safely use these next few months to break through then afterwards improve his Alchemy skills to complement his cultivation realm and achieve greater growth.
The cool sensation made him tremble but also more clear headed than ever before.
He suddenly felt as if he had a good plan for the foreseeable future, causing his heart to pound harder.
Xue Yue’s uniform breathing came from the next room over. Zong Ao’s methods could only maintain her vitality for at most a year and a half, once that time was up, she would die if there was no appropriate pill to treat her.
However, Yang Kai wasn’t as worried at all about this right now, his mind in a state of pure tranquility.
The Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s medicinal effects continued to permeate through Yang Kai’s body. Ha Li Ka hadn’t clearly explained how this precious treasure would improve the efficiency of his cultivation, but Yang Kai could clearly feel some changes occurring in his physique.
Suddenly, the coolness which had flooded his whole body began to gather towards Yang Kai’s chest, and the medicinal efficacies of the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid were rapidly consumed.
Suspicious, Yang Kai removed his shirt, exposing his sturdy body, and looked down towards his chest.
The Golden Dragon Tattoo, the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance, quickly swam across his skin.
The Golden Dragon Tattoo moved deftly, just like a living creature, sometimes swimming in front of him, sometimes swimming behind him, while the Ice Phoenix Tattoo remained on his back, never moving. The Phoenix Empress inheritance which belonged to Su Yan was simply using Yang Kai’s body as a temporary residence, waiting for him to hand it over to her.
At this moment, there was a faint trace of Black Qi gathering on his chest, like some kind of ghost or demon. Yang Kai inspected this Black Qi carefully, but not discovering anything out of the ordinary, he decided to quietly wait and observe.
After a while, the Black Qi on his chest condensed and began to take on a vague pattern.
Yang Kai stared closely, but did not understand what was happening.
Only after waiting half a day did the chilly feeling in his chest suddenly disappeared, and at the same time, the blurry pattern quickly became clear.
It was actually a baby’s face with clear features, as if Yang Kai now had an extra head in his chest, a disturbing and terrifying sight to behold.
Yang Kai was stunned, never having imagined that such a situation would happen after he took the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
To his further amazement though, the mouth of this baby face suddenly opened and then like a great vortex began madly drawing in the surrounding World Energy.
*Hu Chi Chi…*
A great gust of wind blew through the room at that moment and an unimaginable amount of World Energy poured into Yang Kai’s body as the baby’s mouth continued sucking it in.
Suddenly, Yang Kai felt his mind and body relax as a sense of replenishment filled him. His meridians pulsed, accepting this vast stream of World Energy and transforming it into his own capital under the circulation of his Secret Art.
[So mysterious!]
Yang Kai was overjoyed, closing his eyes tightly while feeling the benefits of the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid.
Although the design of this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid on his chest looked eerie, its effects were truly spectacular.
In this way, even if Yang Kai didn’t actively circulate his Secret Art, under the suction of the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, he could continuously draw in the surrounding World Energy, improving the speed and efficiency of his cultivation greatly.
The baby face’s breathing cycle lasted about thirty breaths of time, actively inhaling for that period before resting for an equal amount of time, each cycle bringing in an astonishing amount of World Energy for Yang Kai.
Ha Li Ka’s gift was truly a Heaven sent for Yang Kai.
Yang Kai often spent most of his time traveling, and while moving from one place to another, he rarely had the opportunity to cultivate. If this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s effects could continue on indefinitely, it would be difficult for Yang Kai’s strength to not improve.
In the future, he could maintain a state of cultivation when traveling or even during battle.
Unfortunately, according to Ha Li Ka, this Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s effects would gradually diminish as time passes, disappearing entirely after two or three years.
Additionally, this treasure was extremely difficult to find. Occasionally one or two plants were discovered, but as soon as they were, they would be snatched up. In order to obtain this treasure, Ha Li Ka had fought a long bloody battle with many other masters.
However, two or three years was enough for Yang Kai!
After taking the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Yang Kai next brought out the Snow Pond Crystal Essence and placed a drop into his mouth.
A new and different cool sensation filled his body. The Snow Pond Crystal Essence was a product from the Snow Pond Forbidden Zone, naturally its primary attribute was cold.
Yang Kai’s spirit shook and he couldn’t help feeing a cleansing sensation wash over him, as if his very soul was being purified.
A peculiar power rippled from Yang Kai mouth, flowing into his abdomen then vaporising and rising like a cloud of smoke towards his Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, which was originally somewhat turbulent because of his excitement and joy, immediately settled down, all ripples disappearing in an instant.
Yang Kai’s Soul seemed to undergo an instantaneous sublimation, his mood becoming as tranquil like an ancient well.
As the Snow Pond Crystal Essence’s medicinal properties took effect, Yang Kai suddenly developed a wondrous feeling, as if he had become detached from his own body and become an outside observer.
All the memories contained inside his Knowledge Sea became scenes flashed before his eyes.
In this way, Yang Kai was able to review all the roads he had traveled throughout his life, as well as the people he met and the events he had experienced. His setbacks and achievements, happiness and frustration all put on display.
It was as if he traversed his thirty year life all over again.
Yang Kai saw many details he had previously ignored, as well as the many regrets he had accumulated, allowing his mood to change subtly.
He became more mature and more experienced.
As his state of mind changed, Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea also underwent some unusual changes. The level of seawater gradually rose, which was a sign of his Spiritual Energy increasing and the colour of the seawater become deeper and thicker. The intensity of his Soul was becoming stronger at a visible rate.
Atop the six-coloured island which sat at the centre of his Knowledge Sea, the six coloured light became even more lustrous and dazzling. Even the Soul Devouring Insects, who had been living on this island, began to buzz with joy, rapidly swallowing the six coloured light which the Soul Warming Lotus emitted.
Soon, the number of Soul Devouring Insects reached a critical limit and they began to attack their nearby companions, eliminating the weaker existences, allowing the swarm as a whole to become more powerful.
Yang Kai was aware of all these changes, but instead of trying to stop it, he simply observed it with indifference.
The Soul Devouring Insects used to be one of his sharpest weapons, able to cause trouble for Saint Realm cultivators and easily kill those below the Transcendent Realm.
However, after arriving in the Star Field, the Soul Devouring Insects were no longer of much use. In the Star Field, there were an endless number of cultivators, and Saint King Realm cultivators were common, the current Soul Devouring Insects posed no threat to these masters.
Yang Kai was looking forward to how these tiny Exotic Ancient Insects, which only fed upon Spiritual Energy, would evolve after this time and whether they would become useful again.
He desperately needed more strength.
The battle between the Soul Devouring Insects was incredibly fierce as each tiny insect battled to devour its neighbours, allowing on the most elite to survive. These few survivors though were far stronger than before.
Finally, the battle atop the six coloured island came to an end, and the number of Soul Devouring Insects had dropped by several thousand times!
The few remaining insects then fell into a type of deep sleep. Sweeping them with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai discovered that each individual had wrapped itself in a cocoon-like shell, with only faint traces of life pulsing inside.
Yang Kai stopped paying attention to them after determining there was no issue.
Taking back his consciousness, Yang Kai left the palace and took out the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, followed the method given to him by the middle-aged beauty, poured his strength into the flags, and threw them out.
The seven small flags suddenly became much larger and arranged themselves into a peculiar pattern around Yang Kai, each one waving in the wind.
There was some kind of imperceptible connected between these seven flags, transforming the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags into a Spirit Array.
The wind blew and the trees in the distance began to sway as a large amount of World Energy began being pulled towards the location of the seven flags. Even the sky up above underwent some changes.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, took out a few cultivation pills, stuffed them into his mouth, held a good piece of Saint Crystal in his hand.
Inside the palace, Zong Ao, who is performing his frenzied Alchemy as usual, noticed something going on outside, stopped his hands for a moment, and released his Divine Sense, soon understanding what was happening.
“There’s no justice in this world…” He couldn’t help muttering, “Why when this old master was young and weak did no one provide me with such good cultivation environment, how unreasonable.”
He felt a little jealous.
Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid, Snow Pond Crystal Essence, Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag…
What’s more, his three thousand kilometre territory had many Spirit Arrays already set up to gather the surrounding World Energy?
All kinds of effects concentrated in one spot would help the cultivation speed of the little brat outside to increase by several folds.
The speed at which Yang Kai would be able to gathering World Energy through all these means would be comparable to that of an Origin Returning Realm master in secluded cultivation.
Zong Ao estimated that in just a few months, Yang Kai would be able to break through and rise another Minor Realm.
Of course, only if this little brat’s body was able to eat up this extravagant feast.
Such a rich World Energy aura was not something a little Saint Realm cultivator could absorb, and if the gathering rate of this aura was too fast for him to digest and accept, it would only cause a huge burden on Yang Kai’s body, bursting his meridians and damaging his foundation. If that were to happen, instead of helping him, all of these blessings would instead harm his progress.
Zong Ao’s concerns weren’t unwarranted. Even if a great force wanted to train their young disciples, they would carefully control the maximum amount of load placed on them, otherwise, it would only hinder their development rather than help it.
And currently, Yang Kai was clearly trying to take on far more than what an ordinary cultivator in his realm would be capable of.
Even if he was a First or Second Order Saint King, absorbing such thick World Energy was not possible.
Yang Kai dying was no concern of Zong Ao’s, the old man only cared about the boastful bet this young boy had made with him about refining a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds!
Even if Zong Ao was absolutely certain this was impossible, for some reason he couldn’t help holding out a faint hope that Yang Kai really could make him suffer a convincing loss!
The production of Pill Veins had been his lifelong pursuit, for this he had given up lofty status and immense wealth, secluding himself in Alchemy here in this place for a hundred years just to find hope of a more reliable method to produce the illusive Pill Veins and Pill Clouds.
So despite how small this hope was, and even if this boy was just ranting wildly, Zong Ao wanted to see it through to the end, thus he didn’t want Yang Kai to have any accidents.
If Yang Kai were to die, all his worries would have been wasted.
For one month after Yang Kai set up the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags and started cultivating, Zong Ao did not perform any Alchemy, instead just observing him silently from inside his palace. But to Zong Ao’s astonishment, this little brat’s physique and vitality were incomprehensibly stronger than he had anticipated, and the massive amount of World Energy that could easily cause a Saint King Realm cultivator’s body to explode was actually easily accepted by Yang Kai. All of this occurred without any signs of discomfort or distress. Day by day, Zong Ao simply saw how the energy fluctuations coming from Yang Kai grew noticeably stronger.
Not only did this little boy’s face not show the slightest bit of tension, it was instead filled with comfort and joy, making Zong Ao unable to believe his eyes.
As time passed, a pale light halo appeared around Yang Kai’s body. At first this halo wasn’t very obvious, but as more and more aura was injected into it, it became brighter and more vibrant.
The thick World Energy in the surrounding area began to condense into a kind of fog that lingered around him.
Zong Ao’s extensive Medicine Garden was soon submerged in a faint layer of mist and the herbs that were planted began to grow even faster than before.
With such rich World Energy for them to absorb, it would actually be stranger if these herbs didn’t gain some benefits.
For a time, this mountain valley became the place with the densest World Energy aura on all of Rainfall Star; even the great palaces in the mountain range where the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch was located couldn’t compare.
Changing the flow of the world’s World Energy to create a rare cultivation paradise with one’s own strength; despite his long life, Zong Ao had never encountered such a strange phenomenon.
“Just who is this boy?” Zong Ao was puzzled and slowly shook his head, knowing his previous worries were completely unnecessary. After one month of observation, he didn’t bother himself with Yang Kai anymore, returning his attention to his Pill Room where he fired up his several dozen pill furnaces again and began his own Alchemy!
He finally understood that Yang Kai’s was nothing short of a monster, and it was impossible for this level of cultivation to cause him any trouble.
Zong Ao clearly saw that Yang Kai was constantly throwing auxiliary cultivation pills into his mouth while exchanging High-Rank Saint Crystals in his hands…
No matter how low his current strength was, Zong Ao concluded that, in the future, this boy would surely become a bright star in the Star Field!
…..
At the same time they were scheduled to deliver herbs to Zong Ao, Lin Mu Feng personally brought along a few special Space Rings.
Inside these Space Rings were all the herbs that Yang Kai had requested in order to save Xue Yue who remained in a coma. Lin Mu Feng and the other executives had used their private fortunes in order to collect these herbs as the situation could not be reported to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters.
After purchasing these various herbs, the personal property of the three executives had almost been halved.
Zong Ao accepted the Space Ring and closed the doors of the palace without even inviting Lin Mu Feng inside to sit for a while.
Lin Mu Feng didn’t dare make any complaints, simply standing outside with an awkward look upon his face, his attention soon attracted to the incredibly thick World Energy aura that pervaded the surrounding Medicine Gardens, his eyes brightening when they landed on a certain spot.
Through the World Energy fog, he surprising discovered Yang Kai’s figure.
Which Saint Realm cultivator could engage in such crazy cultivation? Looking at Yang Kai’s posture, it was clear he had been cultivating like this for quite some time, yet he showed no signs of distress. Regardless of anything else, it was apparent that this boy’s physique was extraordinary.
After watching for a while, Lin Mu Feng quietly left without disturbing Yang Kai.
The days passed by as Yang Kai sat in the Medicine Garden, the baby’s face on his chest which had appeared after he consumed the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid greedily devouring World Energy as the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag drew more of it in.
The role of the Snow Pond Crystal Essence had also continued until this day, not weakening in the slightest and always allowing Yang Kai to maintain a tranquil mental state without any fluctuations.
Yang Kai was still taking supplementary pills one after another and the remains of a few hundred pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal were piled up beside him!
There had never been a time when Yang Kai and entered such an intense period of cultivation.
His Second-Order Saint Realm cultivation rapidly rose as the amount of power inside his body grew larger and larger, gradually touching the threshold of the Third Order Saint Realm.
One day, a dark Demonic Flame suddenly emerged from his body, swelling up rapidly, as if it wished to burn down the entire world.
Inside the palace, Zong Ao’s expression was solemn as he observed the changes in Yang Kai from far away.
The Demonic Flames grew in size and intensity, gradually bursting out from Yang Kai’s body as if they had a life of their own, condensing into the form of a dragon. At the same time, the Golden Dragon Tattoo swam faster and faster across the surface of Yang Kai’s body.
A loud dragon roar rang out as the Golden Dragon leapt out from Yang Kai’s body and merged with the mass of Demonic Flame.
The jet black dragon, which from time to time emitted a golden halo, soared into the sky and swam through the clouds.
The dragon opened its mouth wide and swallowed massive amounts of World Energy. With each mouthful, the dense mist shrouding the mountain valley became thinner, and after a dozen breaths the scenery had been restored to its original state, all the excess World Energy having been absorbed and assimilated by the black dragon.
Another great dragon roar echoed and the flaming dragon dived down, rushing straight into Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Kai shuddered and an invisible wave of energy centred on him suddenly spread out, kicking up a storm that flung rocks and even trees nearby him into the distance.
Slowly, Yang Kai opened his eyes, a profound light flashing within their depths as the light halo which had been surrounding his body quickly converging and soon disappearing altogether.
Third-Order Saint Realm!
After this intense round of cultivation, Yang Kai had finally stepped into the Third-Order Saint Realm.
Back on Tong Xuan Realm, this level of cultivation would already make him a peak existence, whether it was Demon Commander Zhang Yuan, his four Demon General subordinates, Meng Wu Ya, Chu Ling Xiao, Thunder Dragon, or Old Ox, all of them were Third Order Saints.
Having reached such a realm, there were only slight gaps between each of them.
Today, Yang Kai had finally reached the same height as these masters.
However, in the Star Field, such cultivation was nothing worth speaking of, not even enough to hire oneself to a great force.
The number of cultivators with such cultivations in the Star Field was the same as the number of hairs on an ox, and although they weren’t the lowest and weakest existences, they also didn’t possess any special status.
“Boy, congratulations,” Zong Ao strode over, “Being able to break through to the Third Order Saint Realm in only three months, although you heavily relied on powerful treasures to do so, it is still an accomplishment that greatly surprised this old master. I had originally thought it would take you at least five or six months to reach this point, seems your natural aptitude is quite outstanding.”
“Many thanks, Old Zong,” Yang Kai didn’t get up, simply nodding lightly, not showing much excitement or emotion of any kind, as if everything was as it should be.
Zong Ao was surprised as he realized that Yang Kai’s state of mind did not develop any flaws as a result of his rapid increase in strength. The Snow Pond Crystal Essence had performed its function perfectly.
“Old Zong, is there any word from Ha Li Ka,” Yang Kai asked.
“Lin Mu Feng sent a few rings of herbs over a while ago, but the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits are still missing. He said that Ha Li Ka had already had them transferred from the nearby Medicine Star and it would only be a month or two before they arrived,” Zong Ao said indifferently.
Yang Kai nodded gently, although he did not have a deep relationship with Ha Li Ka and the other executives, he also knew that they did not dare act perfunctorily with regards to this matter. The arrival of the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits was only a matter of time.
“I’ll go and check up on my Young Lady,” Yang Kai said, standing up without even putting away the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flag.
Inside the room, Xue Yue was still sleeping peacefully, but perhaps because no one had come to attend to her for a long time, a layer of fine dust had covered her enchanting face. Yang Kai found some clean water and washed it off for her.
Perhaps because of the influence of the Snow Pond Crystal Essence, Yang Kai was able to remain indifferent as he performed this action, as if he was treating a stranger.
He had already decided that if he could rescue Xue Yue this time, he would immediately sever their relationship. Regardless of whether she would seek to exact revenge upon him, Yang Kai didn’t want to have anything to do with her.
His intimacy towards Xue Yue was forced, unlike with Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang.
He believed that Xue Yue was the same. With this woman’s demeanour and temperament, once she was freed from the restraints of the Soul Chains, she would likely try to immediately kill him in order to safeguard her many secrets.
Regardless of what reason it was for, she could not allow Yang Kai to continue living in this world, the two of them were destined to be enemies after this brief ceasefire.
After he finished tidying up, Yang Kai went back outside the palace again, sat back down in his previous position, and continued to circulate his Secret Art.
He had just broken through to the Third Order Saint Realm, and even if the Snow Pond Crystal Essence was able to maintain his mental state, allowing him to not worry about flaws in his state of mind, Yang Kai still had to consolidate his foundation as quickly as possible and stride towards the next Great Realm.
He didn’t have high expectations, knowing that within a few years he would have no chance of breaking through to the Saint King Realm. Yang Kai only hoped to advance his cultivation as far as possible so as not to waste the limited time the Heavenly Spirit Ghost Orchid’s effects would last.
Half a month later, the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruits were delivered by Ha Li Ka as scheduled. After handing them over to Zong Ao, Ha Li Ka only took a glance over at Yang Kai in the distance before quickly departing.
They had done everything they promised, now whether Lady Xue’er could be awoken safely had nothing to do with them.
They could only wait and pray that Zong Ao really had the ability to refine Pill Clouds!
They didn’t know that it was Yang Kai who would be performing this Alchemy and Zong Ao didn’t bother to explain it to them.
Time passed by and another month later, Yang Kai slowly got up, put away the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, and reluctantly walked back to Zong Ao’s palace.
The cultivation environment he had enjoyed these past few months was no worse than the one on the floating continent and his current Third Order Saint Realm cultivation had been completely consolidated. Now all he needed was a steady accumulation over time and he could attempt to break through to the Saint King Realm.
Yang Kai didn’t know if he would be able to obtain such a good opportunity in the future, so he was naturally reluctant to interrupt his cultivation, but with his life on the line, he had no choice.
Zong Ao seemed to be waiting for him to show his hand, and after Yang Kai entered the palace, the old man tossed over a few Space Rings with a smile on his face and said, “The herbs for the Burning Flame Pill are all here. Ha Li Ka and his bunch really went all out to prepare two thousand sets of materials, all of them Saint King Grade. Now, this old master is eager to see how you can refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds.”
“Senior, don’t forget about our bet!” Yang Kai glanced at him lightly, his voice completely calm.
“Good, this old master always means what he says,” Zong Ao coldly snorted, “Are you ready to prepared to spend your life as this old master’s errand boy?”
He was still reluctant to believe that Yang Kai could do what he had said.
“Wait and see!” Yang Kai grinned before putting away the Space Rings and walking inside.
Xue Yue was still the same, breathing smoothly, her vitality strong, so there would be no problem for the time being, but since Zong Ao said that in her current state, she could only live for at most a year and a half, Yang Kai knew this wouldn’t last forever.
Calculating the current time, she only had about a year left.
Yang Kai wasn’t anxious though, his life now depended on refining an appropriate Burning Flame Pill, which meant he had to succeed no matter what.
“Old Zong, I’ll need to borrow your Pill Room,” Yang Kai said as he walked into Zong Ao’s usual Alchemy space.
“As long as you can sincerely convince this old master of your words, you’re free to borrow this place,” Zong Ao followed Yang Kai inside, not showing the slightest trace of politeness, obviously intending to observe and emulate Yang Kai’s methods.
If Yang Kai really possessed a method to refine Pill Clouds, he could study and replicate it. Even if he lost half of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, he would be willing.
Conversely, if Yang Kai was just shamelessly boasting, Zong Ao was happy to watch this joke play out while obtaining a servant he could order around for a lifetime.
Zong Ao was ready for a protracted campaign, and as soon as he entered the Pill Room, he dragged the only chair over and sat down silently, concealing even the sound of his breathing, seemingly unwilling to disturb Yang Kai’s concentration in the slightest, lest it give the young boy an excuse later on.
Yang Kai noticed all this but made no attempt to stop Zong Ao, walking over to the examine the several dozen pill furnaces, reaching out and patting them from time to time, nodding continually, a look of envy appearing in his eyes.
Zong Ao was at least an Origin Grade High-Rank Alchemist, most likely even an Origin King Grade Alchemist. How could his pill furnaces be anything but extraordinary?
There were several dozen pill furnaces here of various sizes, each one of extremely high grade, the lowest still a Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was still using the small pill furnace left behind by Great Demon God. On Tong Xuan Realm, this small pill furnace was considered quite good, but compared to the ones owned by Zong Ao, it is a person on the ground gazing up at the Heavens, several grades worse at least.
A good pill furnace could greatly improve the stability and fit of an Alchemist’s Spirit Arrays as well as increase the success rate and quality of the refine pills.
Therefore, in addition to their lifetime pursuit of Alchemy, Alchemists would also expend great effort to obtain or refine an excellent pill furnace.
Seeing Zong Ao’s collection of outstanding pill furnaces here, how could Yang Kai not be jealous? He even secretly regretted that he didn’t add these furnaces into their previous bet, wondering if he asked now whether Zong Ao would refuse or not.
After looking around, Yang Kai’s eyes fixed on the highest quality pill furnace, patting it gently and nodding, choosing to use it for the time being.
“Your eyes aren’t bad, little brat,” Zong Ao, who had been watching silently, couldn’t help commenting with a snort upon seeing Yang Kai select his own favourite pill furnace.
Alchemists had special feelings regarding their pill furnaces, many of them even regarding their pill furnaces with the same level of importance as their wife or daughter, something that belonged only to them and who no other was worthy to touch. Whoever dared to covet it, they would be willing to fight all out with.
Probably because he owned so many pill furnaces, Zong Ao didn’t have such an overbearing mentality, but this scene still brought some bitterness to his heart.
Yang Kai pretended he hadn’t heard anything and simply began sorting out the herbs inside the various Space Rings to avoid having to search for them later on when he needed them.
Sitting down cross-legged in front of the pill furnace, Yang Kai’s expression instantly became solemn.
Zong Ao’s eyes brightened and he couldn’t help nodded silently.
This rapid change in temperament and expression alone allowed Zong Ao to understand that Yang Kai was not a novice; this young man had extensive experience in the Alchemic Way. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to assume such a state, completely focused, nothing else existing in the world other than the herbs and furnace in front of him.
Zong Ao himself also entered this state when he was performing Alchemy, so he naturally knew of its rarity and mystery.
However… two thousand sets of materials, repeating the same refinement over and over again. Doing this for an extended period of time would cause anyone to become irritated, breaking their concentration. Once such a situation occurred, it would become impossible to refine a proper pill.
Zong Ao’s thoughts turned over quickly and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, preparing to watch a good show.
A scorching force suddenly spread from Yang Kai, but this force wasn’t Saint Qi or any other kind of physical force, but instead came from his Spiritual Energy from his Knowledge Sea.
“Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?” Zong Ao’s face changed suddenly, his eyes bulging as he couldn’t help calling out in alarm.
His body, which had been reclining in his chair, suddenly sat up and even leaned forward, his neck stretching out as if doing so would allow him to see more clearly.
The expression on Zong Ao’s face changed dramatically, as if he was excited and panic-stricken at the same time, a look of disbelief and even some jealousy appearing in his expression. He even crushed the armrest of his chair, inadvertently.
It was actually a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea!
Zong Ao’s heart flooded with complicated emotions.
As a skilled Alchemist, how could he not know how valuable a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was? Even he didn’t possess such special Spiritual Energy. Conflagrated Knowledge Seas were a rarity, some were innate while others were acquired, but as long as one could obtain a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, it would dramatically improve their Alchemy ability.
With a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, performing Alchemy would become more efficient and effective. In his life, Zong Ao had met one or two Alchemists who possessed Conflagrated Knowledge Seas, each of whom used their special Spiritual Energy to refine pills at a monstrous level of efficiency, making Zong Ao candidly admit his inferiority.
More than two hundred years ago, after witnessing the astonishing methods of a colleague with a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Zong Ao had devoted himself to finding a way to transform his own Knowledge Sea, seeking out various flame essences and attempting to refine them into his own Soul.
At that time, he barely managed to survive and severely damaged his Knowledge Sea.
Only after several dozen years, taking many elixirs and precious treasures, was he gradually able to recover.
Although he had not been able to mutate his Knowledge Sea, during those few decades of cultivation and recovery, he was able to come up with the idea of mass Alchemy in order to increase the appearance of Pill Veins.
But now, a young man less than thirty years of age actually owned a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea. How could Zong Ao not be envious?
As this envy surged, Zong Ao suddenly recalled all the suffering he had experienced in the past, causing him to shiver in fear as well as eliminate any covetous feelings he might have had.
His eyes shining brightly, Zong Ao watched Yang Kai begin condensing the medical liquids, thinking to himself that Conflagrated Knowledge Seas were indeed worthy of their reputation. This boy’s cultivation wasn’t high, just a recently promoted Third Order Saint; however, under the effects of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, these Saint Kings Grade herbs were rapidly condensed into pure drops of medical liquid.
Exquisite Spirit Arrays were formed in the air and then inserted into the pill furnace, followed by the condensed medicinal liquids. Although there were some slight flaws in the timing, for someone refining the Burning Flame Pill for the first time it was pretty good.
No Alchemist was immediately proficient in refining pills they had never created before, that required time and experience! Zong Ao was certain this was Yang Kai’s first attempt to refine the Burning Flame Pill, so being able to show this much skill was already beyond his expectations.
Another Spirit Array was depicted and then inserted into the pill furnace, replacing the previous one. The various Spirit Arrays fit perfectly inside the pill furnace and merged with one another, causing the medicinal liquids to undergo subtle and wondrous changes.
“How is that possible?” Zong Ao exclaimed again, unable to understand what he had just witnessed. How could so completely changing the configuration of the Spirit Arrays in the middle of Alchemy not affect the production of a pill?
Although he would sometimes change the Spirit Arrays while in the process of Alchemy, he would do so with extreme care and only chose to do so during moments when the tolerance for error was relatively large.
However, Yang Kai was able to change Spirit Arrays in an unbridled, nearly careless manner, doing so more than a dozen times in quick succession.
Zong Ao wanted to grab Yang Kai immediately and ask him what was happening, but he was also too embarrassed to do so, only able to choke down his doubts and wait while trying to calm his anxious heart.
Inside the Pill Room, Yang Kai waved his hands constantly, portraying one Spirit Array after another, continuing to destroy and replace the ones already inside the Pill Furnace.
When portraying these Spirit Arrays, his Spiritual Energy fluctuations seemed both strong yet delicate all at once.
The longer Zong Ao looked, the more anxious he became, and it wasn’t long before his indifferent facade collapsed. He even recklessly approached Yang Kai in order to get a better view of the Spirit Arrays he was using.
These Spirit Arrays were all familiar to Zong Ao, some of them even his own original creations. It was abundantly clear that this little brat had stolen these Alchemy skills from him and was now using them for his own purposes.
However, these Spirit Arrays which were so familiar to Zong Ao were actually undergoing some profound and mysterious changes after being inserted by Yang Kai into the pill furnace, allowing the medicinal liquids to churn and condense in subtly different ways. Soon, a rich pill fragrance began to diffuse.
Zong Ao showed a thoughtful expression, faintly feeling like a crack had opened up in the barriers which barred his own advancement; he wanted to peer through this crack more clearly but was unable to immediately force it open, nearly causing him to stamp his foot in annoyance.
He was a true Alchemy Grandmaster, and in terms of true Alchemy skills and techniques, was far beyond Yang Kai.
But now, observing Yang Kai’s completely different methods, Zong Ao’s eyes brightened up. Sometimes, even an inadvertent action by others could bring about unexpected gains to another, allowing them to fall into a state of epiphany.
Therefore, as each new era developed, new Alchemy methods also appeared and developed, and over the countless years, countless Alchemists had created countless branches of Alchemy, each with their own unique Spirit Arrays.
Even someone as knowledgeable as Zong Ao didn’t dare claim to have mastered all Alchemy skills in existence; he still continued to explore his own path in an attempt to pursue his goals.
After a hundred years of near secluded Alchemy, his thinking had become somewhat rigid, so seeing Yang Kai’s actions now had brought him many inspirations related to all aspects of Alchemy, even ones that Yang Kai’s current process had nothing to do with.
“Keep refining, what are you stopping for?” In his agitated state, feeling like he was on the cusp of multiple new discoveries, Zong Ao suddenly found that Yang Kai had actually stopped his movements and couldn’t help speaking up.
“Old Zong, can you be quiet? With you acting like this… I can’t focus on Alchemy,” Yang Kai frowned at him.
Zong Ao’s face blushed bright red, unable and unwilling to say anything.
He then noticed that from inside the pill furnace in front of Yang Kai, a burnt smell was wafting out, and the medicinal liquids which had been tumbling about had all become useless. Apparently, this Alchemy attempt had failed, wasting the batch of herbs.
“Such a result is inevitable for a first attempt,” Trying to cover up his embarrassment for disturbing Yang Kai’s Alchemy, Zong Ao actually took the initiative to speak a few words of comfort before waving his hand, “Good, this old master will sit back down and promises to not disturb you anymore. Go ahead and continue!”
Saying so, he walked back to his chair and sat down, concealing his aura again.
If he didn’t look back now, Yang Kai wouldn’t even be able to notice Zong Ao’s existence, it was clear this old man’s cultivation was far above his own.
Yang Kai shook his head. Through these days of contact, he had discovered that although Zong Ao had a strange temperament, his obsession with the Alchemic Way was incredibly strong. Anything to do with Alchemy could arouse his interest. If this weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have remained in isolation here for a hundred years just to further his pursuit of Alchemy.
As long as he could refine one or two pills that formed Pill Veins, he would be extremely excited.
Such people seem unfriendly and indifferent, but they weren’t difficult to deal with. As long as one could win their favour, they would be easier to get along with than anyone else.
Yang Kai had encountered many such people before so he knew how to cope with them.
Yang Kai wasn’t worried about Zong Ao stealing his Alchemy skills because, in front of Zong Ao, he couldn’t stop him no matter how he tried.
To Yang Kai, he also did not care much about keeping his Alchemy skills secret. However much Zong Ao could learn from observing and emulating was fine with him.
What Yang Kai was concerned about was the Profound Yin Sunflower Water!
After clearing the burnt dregs from the pill furnace, Yang Kai started refining a Burning Flame Pill again.
The first refining failing just now was not because of Zong Ao’s interruption. Even if Zong Ao was shouting loudly, he wouldn’t have been able to break Yang Kai’s concentration. When he was in Nine Heavens Holy Land, every time Yang Kai performed Alchemy, several people would be around him studying his methods and conversing endlessly. Yang Kai would even join these conversations at times and answer questions he was asked. He had long ago gotten used to this.
In truth, Yang Kai failed to refine the Burning Flame Pill just now because it was his first attempt and he had yet to master the necessary control and timing.
During the second refining, Yang Kai had learned a lot, and although it still failed in the end, it did not dampen his enthusiasm.
After the third refining failed at the last moment, Yang Kai’s expression became more confident. He felt that he had understood the full process required to complete the Burning Flame Pill.
Finally, on the fourth attempt, a rich pill scent filled the air and Yang Kai successfully extracted a Burning Flame Pill from the furnace.
Yang Kai placed the warm pill in a prepared jade bottle. Before Yang Kai had enough time to even catch his breath before it was taken away by Zong Ao. After only one glance, Zong Ao threw the jade bottle back, snorting as he commented, “You succeeding after only four attempts isn’t bad little boy, but you couldn’t even form Pill Veins, so how do you expect to refine Clouds?”
“What’s the hurry? This is just the beginning,” Yang Kai smiled, ignored him, and continued onto the next refinement without even a break.
The disdain on Zong Ao’s face gradually converged and was replaced with solemnity as he grumbled in his heart.
When it came to speed, a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was truly a terrifying tool for Alchemy.
Even if he had taken action personally, Zong Ao estimated it would take him a stick of incense worth of time to refine a Burning Flame Pill, but this little brat’s first success actually only required an hour.
By comparison, an hour seemed quite long, but Zong Ao knew better than anyone that if it only took this long for this little brat on his first time, as he became more adept at refining the Burning Flame Pill, that time would rapidly shrink and may even become indistinguishable from his own.
In terms of cultivation Alchemy level, or even time spent studying the Alchemic Way, Zong Ao far, far exceeded Yang Kai, but very soon it was possible he could refine the same pill in the same amount of time.
What kind of concept was that?
Zong Ao was immediately envious of Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea again, anxious to take it for his own use, but when he remembered the pain he had experienced all those years ago, he managed to bear it.
Days passed by.
Every day, Yang Kai would refine ten Burning Flame Pills, no more, no less. After refining these ten pills, he would sit in cross-legged meditation immediately and, while restoring his Spiritual Energy, would reflect upon his Alchemy process, improve his understanding.
During this time, Zong Ao didn’t bother Yang Kai and was also often lost in his own contemplations.
Since Yang Kai began, Zong Ao had not performed Alchemy even once, spending each day watching Yang Kai repeat the process of refining the same type of pill over and over and over again, seemingly without end.
But not only did Zong Ao not feel bored, he rather enjoyed watching.
The frequent replacement of Spirit Arrays inside the pill furnace Yang Kai performed had seemingly opened up a new avenue in Alchemy for Zong Ao. He had never before thought of replacing the composite Spirit Array while refining a pill over a dozen times.
Yang Kai’s bizarre and seemingly eccentric methods gave Zong Ao a sense of excitement and he felt as if the clouds obscuring his view were clearing, allowing the bright rays of the moon to shine in.
As a top-level Alchemy Grandmaster, Zong Ao’s thoughts and ideas expanded far beyond what Yang Kai had demonstrated to him and he faintly felt the mental block that had bound him for many years show signs breaking.
This discovery made Zong Ao’s blood boil.
One month passed by, and Yang Kai had now successfully refined three hundred Burning Flame Pills. When each pill was refined, Zong Ao would grab it and inspect it, but to his surprise, all three hundred Burning Flame Pills Yang Kai had produced were just ordinary pills.
Yang Kai’s tone had been so confident before, that Zong Ao had believed he possessed some kind of extraordinary ability that would at least occasionally allow him to refine Burning Flame Pills with Pill Veins.
But among the three hundred pills, not even one was formed with Pill Veins.
Zong Ao couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed and finally asked, “Little brat, can you even refine Pill Veins? If you just want to rely on luck to form Pill Clouds, this old master advises you to give up. During this old master’s lifetime of Alchemy, even if he hasn’t produced a million pills, he has at least produced several hundred thousand, but out of all those, only a handful formed Pill Clouds, and their grades were not high. Do you want to produce Pill Clouds within just two thousand attempts? Wishful thinking!”
“I don’t intend to rely on luck,” Yang Kai smiled, “The first three hundred pills were just for me to familiarize myself with the process.”
“Become familiar with the process?” Zong Ao looked at him suspiciously.
“Now I know how to refine the Burning Flame Pill at the fastest speed and with the optimal Spirit Arrays, so the important part comes next.”
Zong Ao frowned, wondering what Yang Kai was planning.
Over the past month, the speed at which he refined Burning Flame Pills had indeed grown faster and faster. In the beginning, it had taken Yang Kai an hour to make a single pill, now he didn’t even need half an hour, and Zong Ao believed that as long as Yang Kai continued, this time would eventually be shortened to an amazing degree.
What surprised Zong Ao the most however was not Yang Kai’s Alchemy speed, but his success rate.
After the first three pills failed to be refined by him, Yang Kai suddenly seemed to have reached completely mastery, never again failing to successfully refine a pill.
Zong Ao was nearly shocked to death by Yang Kai!
Even if it was him, some unexpected conditions would inevitably occur during Alchemy, causing him to fail and burn the medicinal liquids. Such a situation basically could not be avoided by any Alchemist.
However, this kind of common sense seemed to not apply to Yang Kai. Every batch of herbs become a pill, and although the quality of those pills differed slightly due to adjustments in temperature and timing, as time passed, the quality of the Burning Flame Pills refined was on average improving, nearly fully utilizing the medicinal efficacies of the herbs.
[Is this the true terrifying merit of possessing a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea?] Zong Ao thought to himself absentmindedly.
Inside the Pill Room, Yang Kai was sweating profusely as one pill after another was refined from his hands. Zong Ao’s eyes widened and he stared at Yang Kai fixedly.
As the sun set over the mountain valley, today’s Alchemy came to an end and Yang Kai put away the last pill without so much as a glance, placed the jade bottle on the ground, and kept a cross-legged sitting posture, popping a pill into his mouth to restore the Spiritual Energy he had consumed.
Zong Ao flew over in a flurry and unceremoniously grabbed the jade bottle, opening it and pouring out the ten pills refined today to carefully inspect them.
“How can this be? How can this be?” After a while, Zong Ao muttered to himself in a daze, his face filled with disbelief. It seemed that these ten pills had given him a great shock, even threatening to crumble his hundred years of unshaken conviction.
His face suddenly became a little pale as he stared over towards Yang Kai, a bitter smile creeping onto his face as he sank to the ground, as if he had lost all his strength.
Of these ten pills, three had formed Pill Veins!
This kind of success rate was something beyond Zong Ao’s wildest imagination.
He was a supreme Alchemy Grandmaster, and after several dozen years of dedicated contemplation, he had finally come up with an Alchemy method to achieve success in this field through sheer quantity. He had come to Rainfall Star to take advantage of the herbs provided by Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, then consumed enormous amounts of effort for nearly a hundred years in continuous Alchemy, refining dozens of pills at the same time.
And even with all that, only when his luck was extremely good would he be able to refine three pills which formed Pill Veins at once. Sometimes, when his luck was bad, not even one such pill would appear.
But this little brat, through the method Zong Ao had once discarded, refining only one pill at a time, had actually managed to form Pill Veins with a thirty percent success rate.
This situation had not just occurred once or twice though, it had been happening consistently for nearly a month!
Every day Yang Kai refined ten pills, no more, no less, and among these ten, two or three pills would invariably form Pill Veins!
This gave Zong Ao an enormous shock as well as attack.
It had been two months since Yang Kai started to refine Burning Flame Pills. At first, when Yang Kai refined three hundred ordinary Burning Flame Pills, Zong Ao had mocked him fiercely, thinking he couldn’t even form Pill Veins, let alone Pill Clouds.
However, ever since the second month, this little brat’s actions had thoroughly shredded Zong Ao’s pride.
On the first day of the second month, Yang Kai refined two Burning Flame Pills which formed Pill Veins. Zong Ao praised him slightly, but still held onto his mentality of disdain, thinking he had just gotten lucky.
On the second day of the second month, when Yang Kai replicated these results, Zong Ao’s disdain disappeared.
On the third day, it was still the same, and Zong Ao could no longer sit still.
Finally today, Zong Ao felt as if he was on the verge of going insane.
A hundred years of persistence in his own philosophy felt as if were being struck by thunder and lightning every day Yang Kai refined these ten pills, all traces of confidence and pride evaporating from his body.
If Pill Veins were so easy to form, just what had he been doing for the past century?
Zong Ao’s efforts to develop a unique mass production Alchemy method seemed like a childish waste of time in the face of these Burning Flame Pills formed with Pill Veins.
Holding the slightly warm jade bottle, Zong Ao’s hand trembled and disregarding Yang Kai’s meditation to restore himself, he stroke over in front of him and anxiously said, “Boy, tell this old master what it is he is missing. Why are you able to refine so many pills which form Pill Veins?”
Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of Zong Ao’s bloodshot gaze, as if the latter had not had a good night’s rest in years.
Zong Ao had been contemplating this very issue for some time now, but no matter how he thought about it, he was unable to understand what Yang Kai had done which allowed him to so easily refine Pill Veins, causing his eyes to literally go red with jealousy.
“No idea, just luck I guess.”
Hearing Yang Kai’s blatantly perfunctory words, Zong Ao snorted, “Don’t think this old master is a fool, how could I not see that this has nothing to do with luck? Boy, don’t try to feign ignorance, explain clearly, this old master will compensate you.”
Right now, Zong Ao wished he could barge into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea and spy on his consciousness.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Old Zong, you also know that each school treats its Alchemy skills as treasures and will not divulge them to outsiders…”
“Smelly brat, didn’t you snoop around this old master’s Medicine Garden Spirit Arrays? Didn’t you read many of the ancient books in this old master’s study? When did this old master ever raise any objections while you pilfered those secrets?”
“Old Zong’s words are misplaced, as an illustrious Grandmaster, it is Old Zong’s duty to guide and instruct the younger generation, and besides, what I was able to learn was nothing more than some general knowledge and peripheral techniques, nothing even worth concealing. On the other hand, my method for producing Pill Veins is different, it is the very core inheritance of my school, how could it be compared with those Spirit Arrays? “
“This old master doesn’t care, if you don’t explain clearly today, this old master will open your skull and search your Soul!”
Such shamelessness, totally disregarding face!
Hearing this threat, Yang Kai felt great disdain in his heart.
However, he also knew that Zong Ao was just blowing hot air. With Zong Ao’s identity and strength, if he really wanted to force Yang Kai to explain his methods, there was no need for him to get so worked up or make such a force, he could simply take action.
Zong Ao acting in such a fluster now was because, despite being at his wit’s end, he had determined he could not resort to violence. He was simply extremely jealous of this method of refining Pill Veins, to the extent that he was willing to disregard his face as a Senior.
“At worst… this old master can worship you as his teacher!” Zong Ao snorted, his face completely solemn as if he saw nothing wrong with this statement at all.
Yang Kai gawked at him in shock, never having expected him to utter such shameless words, even feeling a hint of admiration.
Still, he shook his head, “Old Zong, it’s not that Junior can’t make an exception and enlighten you, it’s just that this method can’t be used by others.”
Back in Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai had freely taught the Alchemy Grandmasters of Tong Xuan Realm his method to refine Pill Veins, and although they had some gains, none of them could even approach Yang Kai’s level of skill. Only when Xia Ning Chang arrived did Yang Kai find a partner he could discuss this method with as an equal.
In the end, this was related to the magical properties of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea.
“Whether others can learn your methods or not is up to them, this old master will figure something out on his own, you need not worry about my success or failure!” Zong Ao said with great determination, compared to learning this secret, his face was worthless.
Yang Kai felt helpless as he knew such a situation would occur, hesitating for a moment before saying, “Old Zong, how about we do an exchange?”
“What kind of exchange? What else do you want to take from this old master?”
“Your method of mass Alchemy, I want it,” Yang Kai said bluntly.
Yang Kai had never met anyone who could use several dozen pill furnaces all at once. Zong Ao’s Alchemy technique was both skilful and refined, enough so for him to open up his own school of Alchemy, Yang Kai very much wished to learn this method.
Using just his Saint Qi, Zong Ao was able to perform several dozen different Alchemy refinements at the same time.
Yang Kai could use both Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy to perform Alchemy, once he studied Zong Ao’s method, using it shouldn’t be an issue.
“See for yourself!” In a flash of light, Zong Ao extracted a plain-looking book from his Space Ring and tossed it over to Yang Kai without any hesitation.
Yang Kai caught it and flipped through a few pages, quickly determining that this was indeed the Alchemy method that Zong Ao pioneered. There was a detailed introduction to it as well as many explanations, presumably Zong Ao had written this book with the intention to one day pass it on to his disciples.
Now it had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands.
Yang Kai nodded lightly before storing the book into his own Space Ring, scratching his nose as he said, “These pill furnaces…”
“I’ll give you ten!” Zong Ao waved his hand, and although he spoke boldly, his face was still twitching.
It was obvious to anyone he was extremely distressed.
In order to collect these dozens of pill furnaces, Zong Ao had travelled far and wide to collect appropriate materials in order to refine them, nearly dying several times. After he had collected the materials, he had personally found a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner he was acquainted with to create them.
It could be said that each pill furnace was the crystallization of Zong Ao’s blood and sweat, a testimony to years of his hard work!
Now though he actually had to offer up ten of them to this brat, making him feel as if his heart was bleeding.
“Half!” Yang Kai raised a finger and swung it.
Zong Ao stared at him with even redder eyes, his face growing pale, seemingly on the verge of biting his head off, but after a long pause, he nodded, “Fine, half!”
In any case, when this little brat failed to refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds, he would become his lifetime servant. When that happened, wouldn’t Zong Ao still own these things? Zong Ao had never been optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances, even if he had received tremendous shock this past month.
Only if Yang Kai’s luck was truly Heaven defying could he somehow manage to refine Pill Clouds, and if that were to happen, Zong Ao wouldn’t have anything to say.
However, such a chance was too slim.
Yang Kai smiled widely, not having expected these negotiations to go so smoothly. He had thought that after living in isolation for so long, and with his pride as a Grandmaster Alchemist, Zong Ao’s personal and negotiation skills wouldn’t be good, but how could Yang Kai have known they would actually be so terrible?
“Old Zong, have you never thought about engraving a Spirit Array into a pill just as it was about to form? To put it plainly, Pill Veins are simply a type of profound Spirit Array, if they weren’t, how would they be able to maintain a pill’s efficacy over vast stretches of time?” Yang Kai said to him with a smile.
“Engraving a Spirit Array into a pill?” Zong Ao’s eyes widened, parroting these words back as a look of shock filled his face. At that moment, the shackles and barriers which had fettered him for so many years were torn asunder, allowing him to gaze upon a wider world he could swim and soar through freely.
Alchemist needed Spirit Arrays to perform Alchemy, Artifact Refiners also needed to use Spirit Arrays in Artifact Refining. Many of the basic Spirit Arrays were even the same, but since ancient times, Alchemists and Artifact Refiners had thought of Spirit Arrays as auxiliaries to the refinement process. During a refinement, various materials were perfectly integrated through the power of various Spirit Arrays to allow them to achieve their peak effect.
No one had ever told Zong Ao that a Spirit Array which was designed to aid in Alchemy could be inscribed into a pill.
“Old Zong, perhaps you consider Pill Veins to be something generated naturally, but when I engage in Alchemy, I try to deliberately form Pill Veins. However, this process requires the use of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, only a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea can rapidly and perfectly portray an appropriate Spirit Array at the moment a pill is formed. I don’t know if Saint Qi can be substituted for Spiritual Energy in this process, but with this method, the probability of you refining Pill Veins should be higher than your current method.”
Yang Kai knew that he had not spoken in vain and that Zong Ao had now fallen into a trance, the expression on his face constantly changing, his eyes were blank while sometimes full of light.
He was clearly experiencing an epiphany.
Yang Kai shook his head and did not bother him, focusing instead of restoring himself.
Ten Burning Flame Pills per day, three hundred pills per month, and a twenty to thirty percent chance these pills would form Pill Veins. Such achievements were enough to show disdain for the entirety of the Star Field’s Alchemists.
But Yang Kai felt no joy.
Because even if he could refine more pills with Pill Veins, he could not solve Xue Yue and his own crisis. What he needed was a single Burning Flame Pill which formed Pill Clouds.
With every attempt, Yang Kai went all out, not daring to slack, giving one hundred percent of his effort and focus to this Alchemy.
The chance of generating Pill Veins greatly increased over time, and as he further mastered the refinement of Burning Flame Pills, it reached as high as forty percent.
This meant that nearly half the Burning Flame Pills refined by Yang Kai formed Pill Veins, an incredible feat!
If these things were given to a cultivator who cultivated a Fire Attribute Secret Art, they would be able to rapidly improve their strength, but now they were all simply tossed aside by Yang Kai.
Every day, after he finished performing Alchemy, Yang Kai felt exhausted.
Refining a trivial ten Burning Flame Pills couldn’t cause him such fatigue, rather it was the huge psychological pressure weighing down on him which was responsible. And as time passed, that pressure only grew heavier.
Yang Kai, now deeply realized how difficult it was to refine Pill Clouds and even understood why those Alchemists who occasionally succeeded in this feat would shed tears of joy and offer thanks to the Heavens.
He could also wait for the Heavens to bestow him such good fortune, solving his current crisis.
Unlike Yang Kai, who was constantly frowning and in an irritable mood, Zong Ao’s face beamed radiantly these days and was filled with energy.
After Yang Kai’s words made him fall into an epiphany, he discovered that his own Alchemy technique had been unknowingly improved.
Every time he used to refine several dozen pills at once, he would need to maintain absolute focus in order to avoid mistakes, but now he could actually accomplish this task with ease, as if he was cooking a light meal.
And, by applying Yang Kai’s method, he had also successfully artificially refined Pill Veins!
Although his success rate wasn’t as frightening as Yang Kai’s, it still reached as high as ten percent.
One-tenth, that meant that for every ten pills he refined, one would form Pill Veins. This was something Zong Ao had never even dreamed of before. Zong Ao had his own pride and insistences, but regarding this matter, he was truly grateful to Yang Kai.
If Yang Kai hadn’t helped him overcome his mental block, Zong Ao imagined he would have blindly continued down his current Alchemy path and eventually gone astray.
By now, Zong Ao felt Yang Kai was incredibly pleasing to the eye, he no longer cared about him robbing half his pill furnaces. He didn’t bother Yang Kai at all, spending all day long familiarizing himself with the new Alchemy method Yang Kai had taught him while studying all kinds of Spirit Arrays, choosing the ones most suited to form Pill Veins.
He had reaped a huge harvest, and even his short temper had softened greatly, spending much of the day in a festive and laughing mood.
When the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce cultivator responsible for the regular delivery of herbs and collection of pills came, he could hardly believe his eyes.
He would be incredibly frightened and apprehensive every time he came to this place, as if he was walking on thin ice, only wanting to quickly hand over the herbs to Zong Ao and take the refined pills before fleeing the mountain valley out of fear that Zong Ao would find trouble with him.
During these exchanges, Zong Ao would perpetually wear a sour expression, as if he owed him millions of Saint Crystals.
But this most recent time, Zong Ao actually welcomed him with a smile, said a few words of thanks and praise while patting his shoulders, saying he had worked hard in these recent years, finally even inviting him inside to have a cup of tea.
The cultivator was so scared he didn’t even dare utter a word before departing in a fear-induced panic.
When this man reported what had happened with Zong Ao to Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng and the other executives, all of them were just as dumbfounded, wondering what Zong Ao had experienced to undergo such a drastic change, only able to guess it had something to do with Yang Kai.
These executives were very concerned about the progress of this matter, because if Lady Xue’er was unable to awaken again, they would all be punished, very likely implicating the entire branch.
After incurring Third Young Master’s anger, it wasn’t impossible for all of them to be sent as slave miners to an Ore Star.
However, none of them had the courage to ask Zong Ao anything, each day that passed now feeling like an entire year, all of them only able to wait for Yang Kai to pass along the news to them.
On a certain day, Yang Kai finished his Alchemy, the expression on his face unsettled, a dark cloud hanging over him as he sat cross-legged there without moving.
Zong Ao came over and glanced towards the piled up Burning Flame Pills nearby, asking lightly, “How many batches of materials have been consumed?”
“It’s been six months, so more than eighteen hundred!” Yang Kai replied casually.
“More than one thousand and eight hundred batches…” Zong Ao took a soft breath, “There are seven or eight hundred Burning Flame Pills here that have formed Pill Veins. Being able to achieve such a result is something you can take great pride in, so why do you look so dissatisfied, kid?”
“I only want one pill with Pill Clouds,” Yang Kai glanced up at him, “Even if all these pills formed Pill Veins, they’d be worthless to me.”
“Is this little girl really so important to you?”
“My life is literally connected to hers, how important do you think she is to me?” Yang Kai smiled bitterly.
“Your lives are linked?” Zong Ao frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before calling out in shock, “Soul Chains?”
“You know about them, Old Zong?”
“Of course this old master knows about them, only Soul Chains can connect the lives of two people. It’s an artifact which carries the Soul Skill of one of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Honoured Guest Elders! No wonder when I checked for her last time I felt there was an invisible connection between you. Who is this little girl to Ai Ou? How did you two end up like this?”
Zong Ao was an experienced master and from all the clues he had he was able to infer that Xue Yue had a close relationship to Ai Ou, otherwise it was impossible for her to possess Soul Chains.
Yang Kai just shook his head, not wanting to explain, just saying wryly, “Old Zong, I now understand the meaning of that phrase you always speak.”
Zong Ao chuckled, “Pills are difficult to refine, en, when others hear it, they only assume this old master is showing off his Alchemy skills, but there are a rare few who can understand the bitterness which lies behind them. Kid, it seems you now count among those few.”
He was finally not alone, Yang Kai had become a fellow comrade.
Seeing Yang Kai remain silent, Zong Ao paused for a moment before saying, “You only have less than two hundred batches of Burning Flame Pill herbs left that you will consume in less than a month. That little girl also only has about half a year left to live. What do you plan to do now? En, there’s still time to let Ha Li Ka gather up more herbs, but even if you collect more materials, you won’t have many opportunities left.”
Yang Kai sat in place and thought for a long time before declaring, “I’m going out for a walk!”
Saying so, he stood up and walked out.
Zong Ao stared at his back and nodded lightly.
Sometimes, when a person worked for a long time at something but was still unable to accomplish it, it was best to set it aside, clear their head, and refresh their mood. Although by continuing to attack the problem forcefully, there was always a chance of success, doing so would also often cause people to develop mental blocks that would hamper their progress rather than help it.
Zong Ao’s own experience was the best example of this, he had worked in isolation on his Alchemy method for a hundred years but only after Yang Kai’s sentence had he managed to see the light.
However, no one could wake up Yang Kai now, he really needed to go out and walk around, perhaps in his travels, he would find some inspiration that could lead him to the right path.
Inside Xue Yue’s room, Yang Kai stayed for a while to examine her condition.
Yang Kai hadn’t come to see her since he began refining Burning Flame Pills, and after half a year, Xue Yue’s condition had finally started to show some signs of deterioration. Her vitality, which Zong Ao had managed to stabilize, was being continuously consumed, and her white skin had become paler, with traces of frost appearing on it now.
Yang Kai knew that the Profound Yin Sunflower Water which had been temporarily suppressed was once again showing its effects.
Xue Yue would die if he failed to refine a Burning Flame Pill with Pill Clouds.
It was also impossible for Ha Li Ka to collect more herbs, there was no supply anywhere close enough to be found, but even if he could, it was pointless.
Without saying a word, Yang Kai left Zong Ao’s palace, and not caring about a destination, he simply summoned out his Star Shuttle and flew off.
Yang Kai crossed famous mountains and rivers, jungle and swamps, taking on the role of an outsider, an observer watching the day to day lives of the people on Rainfall Star as well as its various natural sights and scenes. The endless stream of emerging cultivators and the prosperity and suffering of ordinary mortals were all taken in by Yang Kai with great interest.
Gradually, his anxiety settled, and the stone which had been weighing down his heart this past year slowly lifted, allowing him to relax and even forget about Xue Yue and his own crisis.
Stopping over in each and every small town, Yang Kai left his footprints all over Rainfall Star.
Spectating bloody, corpse-filled conflicts between big and small families because of various interests.
Seeing Sects receive disciples of all sorts of cultivations, the successful rejoicing while the unsuccessful wept.
Watching a group of people fight over an artifact, their past bonds of brotherhood tossed to the wind.
Observing those of great ability scatter the clouds and rain, obtaining the praise and admiration of others.
Finding a young beauty bathing in the mountains and stopping a while to peak, after which he was hunted down by several dozen big and little girls from a nearby Sect.
Fleeing in panic like a stray dog…
Drinking heartily until he half-drowned in alcohol!
Yang Kai had never experienced such an unrestrained carefree time in his life. He no longer thought about his search for Su Yan, or about what would happen if Xue Yue were to die, he didn’t even think about his friends and family back on Tong Xuan Realm.
Only obeying the whims of the moment, Yang Kai experienced an indescribable freedom and joy, going where he pleased, doing what he wanted without any regard for consequences.
He suddenly felt as if there was nothing he couldn’t do.
Inside a remote mountain forest, a Saint Realm cultivator was fighting a Blue Eyed Fire Dragon Eighth-Order Monster Beast in order to seize the Origin Grade Blue Blood Flower spirit herb it was guarding.
Just after this battle began, Yang Kai happened to pass by.
He didn’t interfere though, instead choosing to stand back and watch from a distance.
Saints couldn’t be regarded as powerful cultivators on the vibrant Rainfall Star, you could find crowds of them anywhere.
Yang Kai stood on a high slope, holding a wine sack in his hand, watching while he drank.
He had no plan to lend this cultivator a hand and was only intending to watch the show.
The cultivator was obviously not worthy to be the Blue-Eyed Fire Dragon’s opponent and it wasn’t long before he became battered and bloodstained, nearly dying a few times, his defensive artifact smashed and his abdomen pierced by a sharp horn on the forehead of the dragon.
Yang Kai was certain this cultivator was destined to die, but just as he was preparing to depart, the fight suddenly took an unexpected turn.
The Eighth-Order Monster Beast, who had held the absolute upper hand from start to finish, began retreating as it howled in anger.
After the cultivator’s defensive artifact was completely destroyed, all of a sudden he managed to summon forth unimaginable strength, abandoned any kind of defences, and attacked the fire dragon with a stern and fearless attitude.
Half an hour later, the blood and guts of the Blue-Eyed Fire Dragon spilled across the ground and it fell to the ground, dead.
The Saint Realm cultivator also collapsed, stuffing a handful of pills into his mouth but failing to stop the last remnants of his vitality from slipping away.
The gap in strength was too great, and although this cultivator had somehow managed to kill the Blue-Eyed Fire Dragon, taking its life while losing his own was the limit of his ability.
Yang Kai held his wine sack and walked over to this cultivator, standing in front of and overlooking him.
The cultivator’s dim and fearful eyes seemed to flash a profound light as he arduously stretched out his hand toward Yang Kai, as if grasping for his own vitality, yet all he was able to catch was air.
His expression was filled with the desire to live.
Yang Kai drank a mouthful of wine before squatting down and without a word forced a drop of golden blood from his fingertip into the open mouth of the cultivator.
Yang Kai’s Demon God Golden Blood had an extremely powerful restore ability, one he had relied upon several times to survive.
However, he always felt that his Demon God Golden Blood was somehow not on the same level as Great Demon God’s!
A single drop of Golden Blood from Great Demon God contained infinite power as well as all kinds of profound mysteries. Yang Kai was able to obtain and cultivate one of Great Demon God’s Divine Ability by refining a drop of his blood. Demon General Xue Li had also hunted him across all of Tong Xuan Realm just for a chance to seize this blood.
Although the quality was vastly inferior, it still had some restorative properties.
Suddenly, the bloody cultivator was shrouded in the faint golden halo, and a look of shock and disbelief appeared on his face. He felt as if his condition had dramatically improved and the approaching aura of death was gradually dissipating, giving him some hope he could yet survive.
He looked at Yang Kai in confusion, wondering why this stranger who had just passed by would save his life.
He opened his mouth to speak but failed to form any words.
Yang Kai simply grinned towards him, “Don’t thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you, en, I’ve only given you a chance, whether you live or die now depends on your own fortune.”
After saying so, Yang Kai tossed his half-filled wine sack onto the ground and strode away while letting out a loud, carefree laugh.
Sometime later, the cultivator managed to sit upright and stare off in the direction Yang Kai left with a puzzled look on his face. He didn’t know why Yang Kai had thanked him, and eventually figured that this young man simply had some kind of problem with his head!
However, the other party did save his life, which was an indisputable truth. Grabbing Yang Kai’s wine sack he drank a mouthful in order to celebrate his victory and survival, but when the wine hit his stomach, the cultivator couldn’t help grimacing in pain, sweat once again covering his whole body. Not daring to act rashly, the man immediately focused on refining the potent medicinal efficacies of this drink.
Inside the mountain valley, Zong Ao was working hard to refine pills. Now he no longer used his original mass Alchemy method, but instead, like Yang Kai, chose his best pill furnace to refine one pill at a time.
Every time he extracted a pill formed with Pill Veins from this furnace, Zong Ao’s old face would smiled broadly, the wrinkles and folds of his skin squishing together to form a terrifying visage.
In any case, no one ever came to this place, Yang Kai had left, and the only outsider around was in a coma, no one could see his horrible grin so Zong Ao didn’t need to worry about embarrassing himself.
Suddenly, at a critical moment in his refinement, Zong Ao’s expression changed as he called out in surprise, “He came back?”
Zong Ao felt a life aura rapidly and unscrupulously approaching.
On Rainfall Star, no one except Yang Kai would act like this. Even Lin Mu Feng and Ha Li Ka wouldn’t dare.
Zong Ao swiftly ended what he was doing, not even caring about if he successfully refined the pill he was working on.
A moment later, Yang Kai walked in.
Narrowing his eyes, Zong Ao couldn’t help feeling startled, swallowing back down the words he was about to say.
He had originally wanted to comfort Yang Kai, making him not shrink back in the face of death, but from what he could see, this boy was actually smiling right now and his aura was filled with a certain feeling.
Zong Ao had to stare at Yang Kai for a while before he was able to determine that this feeling was confidence!
Gently shaking his head, Zong Ao wore a smile and asked, “Did you find a solution?”
“No!” Yang Kai answered happily.
“If you haven’t found a solution, why are you so happy?” Zong Ao was even more confused.
“Can’t I be happy without finding it?” Yang Kai asked back, “Although I didn’t find a solution, I think I should be able to succeed.”
“And why is that?” Zong Ao was completely confused by Yang Kai’s seemingly contradictory words, since he hadn’t found a feasible method, how could he succeed? Grabbing Yang Kai’s arm, Zong Ao shouted, “Speak clearly.”
“Saying it won’t make it clear, just watch and see if I can refine Pill Clouds this time!” Yang Kai broke free from his iron grip and straightened his shirt.
Zong Ao didn’t say anything more, converging his aura and standing back to observe Yang Kai’s movement.
Actually, what Zong Ao most wanted to know was why, if Yang Kai and that little girl’s lives were linked together by the Soul Chains, he didn’t just go to and ask Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Honoured Guest Elder to unlock them? That way, even if the little girl died, he wouldn’t have to.
Even if he left now, there was still plenty of time to do this.
However, he thought that since Yang Kai hadn’t done so, there must be some reason it was inconvenient for him to travel to Water Moon Star. Zong Ao wasn’t interested in probing into this matter too much.
While Zong Ao was pondering these issues, Yang Kai had sat down cross-legged sitting in front of his commonly used pill furnace.
Next Zong Ao saw Yang Kai take out a pile of herbs from his Space Ring, and upon closer inspection, Zong Ao found that these herbs were the ones sent by Ha Li Ka to refine the Burning Flame Pill.
The remaining nearly two hundred batches of herbs were all piled up into a great mountain.
After all the herbs were taken out, he saw Yang Kai pick out a single set of materials from the pile.
In the next instant, a ball of Demonic Flame shot out from Yang Kai’s hand, engulfing the mountain of herbs, reducing all these Saint King Grade materials to ash.
Zong Ao’s eyes widened instantly and a shocked expression appeared on his face!
He never expected that Yang Kai would make such an insane move.
[Burning one’s boat?]
This kid had burnt down the remaining two hundred sets of materials, leaving only one, which meant he now had only once chance to succeed, how could this be anything but burning one’s boat?
Did he want to use this great pressure to squeeze out his maximum potential?
Zong Ao shook his head slowly, a look of disappointment appearing on his face. For cultivators, whether it was in cultivation or in battle, using this kind of method could indeed inspire one to break through their limits and achieve success in something they would normally find impossible.
However, it was a fatal mistake to apply this method to Alchemy.
By burning one’s boat, the pressure one would give themselves would be a thousand times than usual, but what Alchemy required most was a stable state of mind, it simply wasn’t suitable to use this kind of desperation tactic.
If Yang Kai really was attempting to burn his boat, then Zong Ao could conclude that he may not even be able to refine a pill which formed Pill Veins.
In his disappointment though, Zong Ao looked towards Yang Kai’s face and was stunned to see that the latter didn’t show any signs of pressure.
Yang Kai simply sat there with a relaxed expression and not a trace of worry, his self-confidence not disappearing because of the destruction of the last two hundred sets of herbs, but instead growing more intense.
Zong Ao saw where this confidence came from; in this moment, Yang Kai simply believed there was no way he could fail.
Zong Ao was slightly lost.
Was this boy really so confident he could achieve his goal with this last set of materials? Where did this sudden unwavering faith come from?
Zong Ao sat quietly, paying close attention to this scene.
Like with the previous Burning Flame Pills, Yang Kai proceeded meticulously and with great precision.
Portraying the Spirit Arrays, condensing the medicinal liquids, grasping the timing to add different herbs, changing Spirit Arrays…
Yang Kai seemed to be just repeating what he had done these past six months, but faintly, Zong Ao felt that this time’s Alchemy was very different. The same process and movements were somehow giving him a new and refreshing feeling.
Seemingly infected by Yang Kai’s skilful display and confident aura, Zong Ao couldn’t help but also believed that Yang Kai could accomplish this incredible feat.
Zong Ao’s eyes widened even more as he waited for the moment when this Pill Clouds pill was finally formed.
Time passed slowly, and Zong Ao’s mood grew tenser and tenser, his fists clenching unconsciously. Despite his great strength, Zong Ao currently felt as if he was suffering endless years of torment, wishing he could leap into the future to see the end result.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had always maintained a kind of indifferent attitude, besides the swimming medicinal liquids inside the pill furnace, there seemed to be nothing else in his entire world.
That Saint Realm cultivator who fought fiercely with Blue Eyed Flame Dragon was able to emerge victorious not because of his strength, but because of his momentum.
He was sure he could win because he knew that if he didn’t win, he would die!
So he won, although in the end he had almost perished together with the Blue-Eyed Flame Dragon.
From that battle, Yang Kai was inspired, so he had saved the young man’s life.
During these past six months, the numerous Alchemy failures had done nothing but increase the pressure Yang Kai felt, making him worry about what would happen if he failed to refine a pill that formed Pill Clouds. With all these distracting thoughts, being able to refine a pill with Pill Clouds was a dream.
But now, Yang Kai had no such thoughts.
He had burned the nearly two hundred remaining batches of herbs not to push himself into an all or nothing situation, but instead to strengthen his convictions and faith.
He did not waver before this challenge, only becoming more and more confident.
Inside the Pill Room, the only sound that could be heard was the subtle tumbling of the medicinal liquids.
Zong Ao hid himself completely to avoid disturbing Yang Kai, even suppressing his breathing and heartbeat, as if he was a dead man.
All of Zong Ao’s attention was focused on the pill furnace and the young figure sitting in front of it.
When the refinement reached the halfway mark, the various medicinal liquids began blending with one another under the influence of Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea and the numerous Spirit Arrays, undergoing fundamentals and wondrous changes.
Zong Ao had a premonition.
This time, Yang Kai would at least be able to produce Pill Veins.
This kind of strange intuition had never appeared before. Zong Ao had been observing and emulating Yang Kai’s Alchemy process for half a year now, and although the probability of him refining pills that formed Pill Veins was quite high, there was a higher chance Yang Kai would fail and only be able to obtain an ordinary Burning Flame Pill.
Yet all this time, there had never been an occasion where Zong Ao was certain Yang Kai would be able to produce Pill Veins!
How could this be though? Zong Ao was thoroughly shocked and began observing Yang Kai’s movements even more cautiously, not willing to miss a single detail.
However, as far as he could tell, Yang Kai’s actions were the same as before, without a single change. Even the Spirit Arrays that he portrayed over a thousand times until now were the same. Zong Ao could close his eyes and still know exactly what step Yang Kai would take next and what Spirit Array he would portray.
The only difference Zong Ao could find this time was Yang Kai’s aura which was filled with confidence.
It was this unparalleled momentum that affected Zong Ao’s judgment, making him certain that the pill currently being refined would be able to form Pill Veins.
Could Pill Clouds be created though? There was only one chance for success now, so Zong Ao couldn’t wait to know the final answer.
Zong Ao couldn’t help admiring Yang Kai, because if he were in his place, he would definitely be feeling stressed and anxious, and once that happened, he wouldn’t be able to wholeheartedly concentre on Alchemy, inevitably leading to failure.
Yet Yang Kai didn’t show any such signs, remaining completely indifferent, as if he was refining an ordinary, insignificant pill, his movements calm and meticulous, utilizing his skills to their utmost limit.
As time passed, Zong Ao grew more and more anxious.
A faint pill scent gradually began floating about the Pill Room, which was a sign that the pill would soon be formed.
Yang Kai’s expression seemed to have become more solemn. Every time a pill was about to be formed, he would become extraordinarily cautious.
The Spiritual Energy flowing from his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea would be strong at times, then weak at others, exquisitely portraying the different Spirit Arrays inside the pill furnace.
Yang Kai’s mind and heart were perfectly clear, without the slightest hint of distraction, even forgetting about the pill furnace in front of him and the pill that would soon be formed.
He suddenly thought back to the pill he found which had formed Pill Clouds!
That pill was the one he had found together with the Holy Land Saintess An Ling’er in the underwater Ancient Ruins. Although Yang Kai had eventually swallowed that pill, its huge medicinal efficacy allowing the Five Coloured Soul Warming Lotus to transform into its Six Coloured variant. Before then, he had spent a fair amount of time studying it, trying to gain some inspiration from the Pill Clouds.
At this moment, all kinds of memories flashed across Yang Kai’s mind and he vaguely managed to grasp the key point.
The clouds which obscured his view suddenly parted and his eyes widened, a brilliantly light flashing across them.
When the final composite Spirit Array was portrayed and sent into the pill furnace, Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Knowledge Sea’s full strength burst out, engraving this set of Spirit Arrays into the pill which had yet to fully form.
Suddenly, as if the floodgates in his body had opened wide, Yang Kai’s Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy all flowed out at once, his meridians and dantian emptying out repeatedly as his Knowledge Sea dried out in an instant.
Yang Kai’s vision dimmed and he felt like he was on the verge of passing out.
At that instant, Yang Kai felt as if his life force was being drawn out and that he would die in the next moment.
A thick pill fragrance burst from the pill furnace, one that dwarfed any which was released from the eighteen hundred Burning Flame Pills Yang Kai had previously refined.
A crisp, delightful sound came out from the pill furnace.
Yang Kai smiled widely as he stiffly sat in place.
Zong Ao’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest. How could he not see the extraordinariness of the pill which would momentarily take shape inside Yang Kai’s pill furnace?
He thought Yang Kai had succeeded.
Waiting for a while though, Yang Kai didn’t move.
Zong Ao whispered a few words but received no response. After a few attempts to raise his attention, Zong Ao stepped forward cautiously and quietly released his Divine Sense, a startled expression soon filling his face.
Yang Kai’s face had lost all colour, as if he had just fought against a powerful enemy. His aura was erratic, and his vitality was weak to the extreme…
He had closed his eyes and passed out, but at the very least, he was not dead. As long as Yang Kai had a few days of rest, he could recover.
Ignoring Yang Kai, Zong Ao’s trembling hand patted the pill furnace in front of him, causing a pill to fly out and land in a prepared jade bottle.
Taking a deep breath, Zong Ao peered into the jade bottle.
But after a glance, Zong Ao couldn’t help showing a look of disappointment.
The surface of the Burning Flame Pill in the jade bottle was clear and smooth. Forget about Pill Clouds, there wasn’t even any Pill Veins.
[He failed?] Zong Ao’s expression was complicated. The momentum Yang Kai displayed just now while he was performing Alchemy made Zong Ao certain this boy would succeed, never had he expected the actual final result would be so bleak.
When Yang Kai woke up and found that the last Burning Flame Pill he refined with such painstaking effort was just an ordinary pill, he would likely faint again.
Zong Ao sighed with pain.
He had lived for many years and knew that sometimes there was a huge gap between expectations and results, he too had felt the ruthlessness of having his dreams torn asunder by the thorns of reality.
Yang Kai was still just a young man, so it wasn’t surprising for him to have to face such experiences again and again, but after failing to refine Pill Clouds, and refusing to travel to Water Moon Star for help, it seemed his death would soon be upon him.
Zong Ao can’t help but feeling somewhat depressed. During this past year, Zong Ao had clearly realized Yang Kai’s talent in the field of Alchemy and truly did not wish for him to die so young. Zong Ao even began to think of ways to comfort and advise Yang Kai after he woke up.
At such a time, what this young boy would need most was comfort and encouragement.
While thinking about this though, Zong Ao’s expression suddenly changed again.
He noticed that the flow of the surrounding World Energy had become somewhat strange.
Releasing his Divine Sense, Zong Ao soon let out a panic-stricken shout.
Zong Ao didn’t know how or why, but a massive amount of World Energy was currently gathering towards this place. This movement was even more extreme than when Yang Kai had been crazily cultivating before, almost as if a great dragon was forming in the skies above his head.
A huge attraction suddenly came out of the jade bottle in Zong Ao’s hand, and the Burning Flame Pill which had just come out from the furnace seemed to come alive, thrashing against the sides of the jade bottle as if trying to escape.
The World Energy dragon soaring through the sky dived down and smashed into the palace where Zong Ao had lived for the past hundred years.
A loud bang rang out and half the palace instantly collapsed, with several dozen of its rooms exploding outwards. Various bits of debris smashed into and bounced off of Zong Ao’s Saint Qi guard.
The waterfall of World Energy, which was visible to the naked eye, all poured into the jade bottle, causing it burst into dust.
Zong Ao’s eyes widened as he clearly saw the small Burning Flame Pill suck in and devour this torrent of World Energy like a bottomless abyss, causing its energy aura to rapidly inflate.
The howling winds and storm of dust obscured Zong Ao’s hearing and vision. Through the occasional gaps in this storm, Zong Ao was able to see his thousands of acres of Medicine Gardens and many rare herbs ripped to shreds and scattered about.
His face twitched and his heart bled.
These herbs were cultivated by him personally, and each strain was infused with his own sweat and blood, yet now, as this World Energy storm swept over his precious Medicine Gardens, many herbs were directly uprooted while the rest were severely damaged.
“Fuck!” Zong Ao’s old face distorted with rage and he couldn’t stop himself from howling, hurriedly waving his hands at the whipping winds but finding himself incapable of stopping this disaster.
After half an hour, calm returned.
Among the broken walls, Yang Kai was still sitting cross-legged, the dozens of pill furnaces in front of him also intact, even remaining in their original positions, but Zong Ao’s palace had now completely collapsed and the comatose Xue Yue had been buried in the rubble.
Zong Ao didn’t give a thought to the little sleeping girl as he tightly gripped a new jade bottle in his hand and stared out across his vast Medicine Gardens in despair, his face twitching uncontrollably.
The thousands of acres of Medicine Gardens had all suffered catastrophic damage, with next to nothing remaining intact.
Ninety percent of the once-thriving herbs had been destroyed, while the remaining ten percent had been severely damaged, their vitality flickering like candles in the wind.
The leaves of his dozens of Heavenly Yang Fruit Trees had been stripped clear, leaving only bare branches. These Heavenly Yang Fruit Trees wouldn’t recover for at least ten years.
His half-acre of Sparrow Lotus Flowers had disappeared without a trance, and the heavenly power storm had even dug into the land, scraping off nearly a meter worth of precious soil.
[Where are this old master’s Thousand Petal Flowers go?] Zong Ao turned his eyes about weakly, but when he looked towards where the Thousand Petal Flowers, which he regarded to be as precious as his own life, were supposed to be, he only saw some half shredded root hairs.
Zong Ao’s eyes rolled back and he nearly fainted.
Without even mentioning the loss of his Medicine Garden’s precious herbs, Zong Ao was shocked to discover that the massive Spirit Array he had spent countless years perfecting inside this mountain valley had also been destroyed and can no longer play any role.
Within a thousand kilometre radius, the World Energy aura had been completely hollowed out!
The sound of clothes swishing came from afar as Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the middle-aged woman led various the masters from the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch over.
When the shocking Heavenly Force had appeared here, they were naturally startled, and not knowing what happened, they quickly came to investigate.
After they got a look at the now unrecognizable scene, all of them were stunned, unable to believe their eyes for quite a while.
They didn’t know what kind of disaster had struck this mountain valley, but what was certain was Zong Ao’s palace had been destroyed and his thousands of acres of Medicine Gardens and profound Spirit Array no longer existed.
Zong Ao himself seemed like his soul had been pulled out as he sat helplessly on the ground, dust covering his robs as flames seemed to rage within his eyes.
Nearby, Yang Kai sat cross-legged in front of several dozen pill furnaces amidst a mess of broken walls, remaining motionless even now.
“What happened?” Ha Li Ka and the others were dumbfounded.
This was the highest level Restricted Area on Rainfall Star, no one dared to even approach it without authorization, so none of these new arrivals could understand how it had suddenly been destroyed.
Exchanging a few confused glances, the Heng Luo Chamber Of Commerce masters summoned their courage and flew down to where Zong Ao was sitting, with Ha Li Ka calling out hesitantly, “Grandmaster Zong, what happened here?”
Lin Mu Feng even shouted indignantly, “Did some bold bastard dare to intrude and cause trouble? Grandmaster Zong need only say the word and we will definitely exact revenge for you!”
The middle-aged woman also nodded firmly, her eyes flashing a thick murderous intent.
Zong Ao raised his head creakily, staring at them blankly for a moment before suddenly jumping up and pointing towards Yang Kai’s direction while fiercely screaming, “It was this little bastard that ruined my Medicine Gardens and exploded my palace! The precious herbs this old master spent a hundred years cultivating have all been ruined, and now I don’t even have a home! If you really want to exact revenge for this old master, then kill him for me!”
Spittle sprayed out and rained down on the three executives’ faces, yet none of them dared to move, their expressions contorting as they stood there.
After a long time, Ha Li Ka wore an ugly smile and appeased, “Grandmaster Zong, please calm yourself. What really happened? Weren’t you refining a pill to treat Lady Xue’er’s condition? When I last came here, everything seemed fine, how did all of this happen after only a few months?”
He could also see that despite the thunderous voice Zong Ao was shouting in, he was only venting his anger and not actually serious in killing Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was sitting in meditation at the moment, his aura and appearing extremely weak. If Zong Ao really wanted his life, why would he need to borrow their hands? Even if Yang Kai was at his peak, it would be impossible for him to fight Zong Ao, let alone now.
“Who told you that this old master was refining such a pill?” Zong Ao gave them a sideways glance.
“Could it be that Grandmaster wasn’t the one refining it but rather Little Brother Yang?” Lin Mu Feng laughed dryly.
Zong Ao rolled his eyes and didn’t explain.
He knew that even if he were to tell them to the truth, they wouldn’t believe him! In fact, if he hadn’t seen this ridiculous scene with his own eyes but instead heard about it from someone else, Zong Ao would have dismissed such a tale as nonsense.
However, the pill inside the jade bottle he was gripping was evidence that all this was real! This little boy whose true cultivation only reached the Third Order Saint Realm had really done all this.
“Go away, scram!” Zong Ao waved impatiently, “This old master spent one hundred calm and stable years in this place, yet it only took one little brat a few months to blast everything apart. If anyone of you dares to approach within a hundred kilometres of this place in the future, this old master will twist your heads!”
The three Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t help shrinking their necks while hurriedly withdrawing, none of them daring to remain.
However, before they could go too far, Zong Ao’s voice rang out again, “Wait!”
Ha Li Ka turned around, smiling helplessly, “Does Grandmaster Zong still have something he wishes to say?”
Zong Ao pointed to the dilapidated palace and snorted, “Find some people to build this old master a place to stay! A bunch of blind fools, do you want this old master to sleep outdoors tonight?”
Ha Li Ka nodded quickly and assigned a dozen of the cultivators who had come with the three executives to build a temporary house for Zong Ao before taking his leave.
A dozen cultivators swiftly flew off, seemingly going to search for materials to build a small palace.
Zong Ao glanced over at Yang Kai who was still in a coma, then turned to look at the jade bottle which held the Burning Flame Pill, a faint look of dejection filling his face.
After three full days, Yang Kai finally woke up.
A strong sense of weakness spread from all parts of his body, causing Yang Kai to freeze up for a moment, but soon he remembered everything from before he slipped into a coma.
His Knowledge Sea was still a bit dry, the magnificent ocean which once covered it not reduced to a thin layer of water. The Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus was sparing no effort to make up for this loss, but it would take at least another ten days for Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea to fill up again.
Every muscle in his body was sore and the amount of Saint Qi he had consumed was not small.
Yang Kai had never experienced this kind of feeling before. He had suffered great injuries before, but this time he was completely unfounded. His current state could only be described as one of extreme weakness, as if his vitality had been sucked dry, making Yang Kai feel as if he had aged.
Standing up with great difficulty, Yang Kai looked around and quickly saw Zong Ao standing nearby, glaring angrily towards him, his old face filled with gloom and a raging fire burning in his eyes.
Yang Kai drew in a cold breath, wondering why Zong Ao was wearing such a horrible look.
However, after taking a look around, he immediately understood.
Without broaching the subject, Yang Kai sifted through the ruins for a while, pulled Xue Yue out from under a few planks, then found a comfortable place a few kilometres away to lay her down.
Before he could catch his breath though, Zong Ao silently appeared beside him.
Yang Kai looked at him, but didn’t say a word, instead just panting for breath.
“You’re not going to ask if you succeeded or not?” Zong Ao waited for a while before he couldn’t help himself from asking.
“I put forth the greatest effort I could, that’s enough.”
Zong Ao stared deeply at him for a moment before nodding lightly, “Good, this old master won’t hold you accountable for the loss this time.”
In any case, he could just go ask Ha Li Ka and his bunch to compensate him for this loss; they wouldn’t dare say no.
Saying so, he threw a jade bottle he had been holding this entire time over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught it and glanced at it without much surprise or excitement, everything seemingly within his expectations.
Inside the jade bottle, there was a single pill which was covered in a fine layer of misty clouds, and even though the jade bottle was partially blocking them, the energy fluctuations coming from this pill were incredibly strong.
It was pulsing regularly, seemingly having a life of its own.
Pill Clouds, it was a Burning Flame Pill which had formed Pill Clouds!
Although it was technically just a Saint King Grade Low-Rank pill that did not diminish its value or significance, if any outstanding Alchemists were to hear about it, they would likely go all out to acquire it.
They could obtain a great deal of insight and information from these Pill Clouds, possibly allowing them to further their Alchemy skills.
As Yang Kai observed this pill, Zong Ao briefly explained what happened after he fell unconscious before casually saying, “The Pill Clouds surrounding this pill are different from the ones this old master managed to refine.”
“Different how?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Zong Ao tossed four other jade bottles over to Yang Kai, each one containing a single pill.
These four pills had been refined by Zong Ao over the past hundred years, each one the result of incredibly good luck.
After comparing them to the Burning Flame Pill he just refined though, Yang Kai was immediately able to discover the biggest difference.
The Pill Clouds of the pills Zong Ao refined were very sparse, not even completely enshrouding the pill’s surface. There was even one that only had half its surface covered.
In addition, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the medicinal efficacy and energy contained within his Burning Flame Pill was more than twice as strong as those of Zong Ao’s.
Zong Ao suddenly took out a piece of Saint Crystal and placed it in Yang Kai’s hand.
Immediately, the energy inside this piece of Saint Crystal was slowly drawn out and absorbed by the Pill Clouds, further enhancing its efficacy.
“Pills that form Pill Veins have their medicinal efficacies doubled and can be stored indefinitely without their potency falling, different from ordinary pills which will slowly lose their efficacy over time. After three or four hundred years, most pills will become completely useless. Once Pill Clouds appear on a pill though, not only can they be preserved for an unlimited amount of time, along with the passing years, the Pill Clouds will also actively absorb the surrounding World Energy to nourish the pill, allowing its medicinal efficacies to become richer and richer. As such, for a pill that forms Pill Clouds, the longer it is stored, the stronger its effects will be!” Zong Ao said, seemingly talking to himself.
Yang Kai nodded, understanding all this well.
When he swallowed that ancient pill which had formed Pill Clouds, he had nearly exploded as it had been accumulating energy for thousands of years.
“This old master inadvertently refined this pill ninety years ago,” Zong Ao said while picking up one of the jade bottles he had tossed to Yang Kai. Inside this bottle was a brown pill. “After ninety years of nourishment, the efficacy has more than doubled, and its grade was also Saint King Grade Mid-Rank, but compared to the Burning Flame Pill you refined a few days ago, it still falls far short.”
“It’s probably because of the difference in density of the Pill Clouds!” Yang Kai said thoughtfully.
“This old master came to the same conclusion,” Zong Ao gently nodded, “This old master used to think that Pill Clouds were all like this, but after seeing your Burning Flame Pill, this old master now knows that Pill Clouds can be more complete, covering the entire pill. On top of that, your pill absorbs energy at a far faster rate than this old master’s, if it were to be placed in storage for a few hundred years, it would likely become as valuable as an entire star!”
“That’s not possible, is it?” Yang Kai was startled, thinking Zong Ao was exaggerating a bit too much.
“How could it not be possible?” Zong Ao sneered, “Do you know how many Origin Returning Realm spend their entire lives struggling yet failing to break through to the Origin King Realm? Do you know how many Origin King Realm masters spend their entire lives failing to break through to the next Minor Realm? If this Burning Flame Pill was set aside for a few hundreds of years, it may be possible for an Origin King Realm master who cultivates a Fire Attribute Secret Art to break through to the next Minor Realm. Do you think they’d not be willing to trade an entire star for it?”
After hearing what he said, Yang Kai really thought it was possible, although he still felt it was a bit overblown.
“Are you really willing to feed this treasure to this little girl?” Zong Ao glanced back and forth between Yang Kai and Xue Yue solemnly.
“My life is about to expire, why wouldn’t I feed it to her?” Yang Kai laughed. After investing so much time and effort to refine this Burning Flame Pill, how could he not feed it to Xue Yue?
Zong Ao’s face twitched slightly, seemingly wanting to say something, but eventually, he managed to choke his words back down and wave his hand, “Forget it, you were the one who refined this pill, so what you do with it is your decision; however, you have to tell this old master, how were you able to produce these Pill Clouds?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Zong Ao almost spat blood.
Anways, 10 Chapters this week 😀
Yang Kai really didn’t know how he managed to produce Pill Clouds.
When he was refining this last Burning Flame Pill, he had no distracting thoughts, nor did he feel any kind of pressure, he simply believed he would be successful.
When he finished the refinement though, Yang Kai clearly felt that a great deal of his vitality had been stripped away, leading to his current state of weakness.
In fact, had it not been for Yang Kai’s Demon God Golden Blood, making his vitality incredibly rich, this massive drainage would have killed him on the spot.
This Burning Flame Pill wasn’t anything like a pill at all, it was closer to a living creature!
That was also why it was so full of life and energy, startling Zong Ao greatly.
Although he had managed to succeed once, if Yang Kai was do another refinement now, he wouldn’t be able to succeed, because he had lost that indescribable sense of confidence and momentum.
After explaining his thoughts to Zong Ao in order to alleviate his emotional damage, the old man comforted himself by thinking all of this was due to Yang Kai entering some kind of ethereal state of enlightenment, allowing him to produce Pill Clouds.
Hundreds of years pursuing the Alchemic Way, yet finding himself inferior to a less than thirty years old Junior made Zong Ao feel like he had simply lived in vain, sending him in a spiral of shame and resentment.
Fortunately, though, his will was tough and he had many more years to live, there was plenty of time for Zong Ao to continue studying Alchemy.
Inside a palace at Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s branch, Yang Kai set Xue Yue down and fed her the Burning Flame Pill. After making sure her vitality had stabilized, Yang Kai left her room.
After turning a few corners, Yang Kai saw Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and a number of others crowding around Zong Ao, praising and flattering him without end, extolling Zong Ao’s extraordinary skills and methods which had even allowed him to refine the legendary Pill Clouds, sincerely admiring him.
Some even going so far as to say the top-ranked Origin King Grade Alchemists in the Star Field couldn’t accomplish such a feat, saying that all of them were just a crowd of fame-seeking imposters who couldn’t compare to Zong Ao.
Zong Ao’s old face blushed bright redness as he withstood this barrage of flattery, wishing he could kick all these people out but lacking the energy to do so, only able to silently endure it.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the others in this group of blind idiots only felt Zong Ao wasn’t happy with their insufficient praise and began flattering him even more, causing the old man’s complexion to grow even worse.
Only after Yang Kai walked out did this group cease their unending stream of praise and shoot him a strange look. Ha Li Ka even quietly gave him a big thumbs up with a look of admiration before patting Lin Mu Feng’s shoulder heartily and quickly departing.
The backs of these two straightening up much, as if a great weight had just been lifted from their shoulders.
Yang Kai walked over to Zong Ao with a confused look, wondering what they all meant when they shot him those looks.
“Boy, are you really willing to hand such huge benefits over to this old master? You successfully refined a pill which formed Pill Clouds and are able to consistently produce Pill Veins at a rate of thirty to forty percent. With such skill, you can become one of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s most honoured guests, and no one would dare to provoke you. You would be able to own your own territory, with as many servants and beauties as you want. You’d be able to enjoy the highest standards of treatment with things others would need to spend their entire lives fighting for at your fingertips. Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce would also go all out to cultivate you, allowing you to reach the highest heights in the shortest amount of time. This old master can’t figure out why you didn’t tell them that Burning Flame Pill was refined by you and instead handed this undeserved credit over to this old master!” Zong Ao said slowly, picking up his cup of tea and taking a small sip.
Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and everyone else all thought that the Burning Flame Pill which had formed Pill Clouds was refined by Zong Ao, because Yang Kai had told them that was the case from the beginning, and even now Zong Ao had not corrected the record, causing all of them to be even more convinced this was the truth.
That was why they were all showering Zong Ao in compliments.
Yang Kai sat next to him, picked up the pot of tea and poured himself a cup, taking a sip before letting out a chuckle, “Old Zong, don’t feign ignorance. The tall tree is the first to be knocked over by the wind, this Junior understands this concept very well. This Junior is less than thirty years old today, and although I have some small methods, my cultivation is still too low. Such great benefits are not something I can withstand, only an established and respected Grandmaster like Old Zong can enjoy such a reputation. Do you believe that if both you and I were to take a Burning Flame Pill which formed Pill Clouds to President Ai Ou, our treatment will be completely different? You will receive even greater respect and President Ai Ou will only become more courteous to you, perhaps even granting you dominion over an entire Medicine Star, but I would immediately be put under strict supervision, with numerous masters constantly watching me, never allowing me to take a single step out of my room while forcing me to refine pills every day. Perhaps even when they send some beautiful women for me to play with, those masters will continue peeping on me…”
“Hahahaha!” Zong Ao heard Yang Kai’s words and couldn’t help laughing, imagining such a funny scene with a big smile as he nodded, “Kid, your thoughts are quite sharp, such merits are really not easy to handle! I really wonder how many great storms you’ve had to pass through in order to develop such keen insight at your age.”
“Without such insights, this Junior would have died already!” Yang Kai shrugged.
“En, you’re right, the tallest tree is the first to be destroyed by the strong winds! Good, this old master will shoulder these benefits and reputation for you. In any case, this old master’s Alchemy skills have indeed risen a lot, such advantages aren’t completely undeserved!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he quickly got to his feet and cupped his fists, “Congratulations Old Zong, this Junior has been so absorbed in refining Burning Flame Pills during this time that he failed to realize Old Zong had taken a step further along the Alchemic Way!”
After offering his congratulations, Yang Kai sat down again, a touch of worry appearing in his expression as he continued, “But Old Zong, if you do this, you may not be able to resist joining Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce. They used to indulge you in your pursuits, but they likely won’t now. If my guess is right, Ha Li Ka, Lin Mu Feng, and the others will have reported this event to Water Moon Star and it won’t be long before a real executive from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters comes to speak with you.”
“This old master naturally understands,” Zong Ao nodded, “This old master has already lived on Rainfall Star for a hundred years, so as long as they don’t interfere with my Alchemy, everything can be discussed. Whether I join them or not is just a formality. If they dare to annoy this old master, can’t this old master simply leave?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty. Zong Ao couldn’t be regarded as a virtuous person, he had a strange temperament and his own sense of arrogance. Yang Kai also knew that he had directed murderous intent towards himself at least three times before.
But regardless of all this, Zong Ao had agreed to carry this undeserved credit for him, and although it would greatly enhance the old man’s reputation, that wasn’t something Zong Ao wanted. Truly capable people don’t care about their reputation, only those who seek for power and wealth dedicate themselves to climbing the social ladder.
After this time, Zong Ao would lose a lot of his personal, but perhaps he simply considered this repayment for Yang Kai showing him the path forward in the Alchemic Way.
Both Yang Kai and Zong Ao understood these things well.
“What’s the situation with that little girl?” Zong Ao obviously didn’t want to talk about this anymore and quickly changed the subject.
“The negative effects of her exposure to the Profound Yin Sunflower Water should have been removed completely, and her vitality is stable, but she’s still in a coma. To wake her up, I need to find a way to revive her Soul Avatar,” Yang Kai said with a frown. He had just checked Xue Yue’s Knowledge Sea again but even after searching around for a while, he was unable to locate her Soul Avatar; he really didn’t know where it had hidden.
Zong Ao also frowned and said, “In principle, exposure to Profound Yin Sunflower Water cannot cause this situation… Her Soul Avatar going missing must be related to something else.”
Yang Kai was shocked and quickly asked, “Please offer me your guidance, Old Zong.”
Zong Ao unfortunately just shook his head, “I don’t know anything about this little girl, so what guidance can I provide you? Since you are her guard, you should understand whether she has any kind of deep-seated regrets in her heart. Sometimes, when a person falls into an unconscious state and cannot be awoken, it is not because of physical injuries, but rather because of some kind of heart knot. As long as she can overcome this barrier, she will naturally be able to awaken.”
After hearing these words, Yang Kai wore a thoughtful look on his face, his eyes slowly growing brighter, as if he had discovered something.
Zong Ao noticed this change and nodded lightly.
This kid was a worldly person with incredible skills; Zong Ao really didn’t understand why he would choose to become another’s guard.
Sometime later, Yang Kai’s look suddenly became relaxed.
“Figured it out?” Zong Ao asked with a smile.
“I have some ideas, whether they’re right or not will have to wait until I can verify them,” Yang Kai chuckled, suddenly remembering something and asking, “By the way, when I came here, Ha Li Ka and the others all gave me a strange look, what was that all about?”
“Want to know?” Zong Ao gave him a meaningful glance.
Yang Kai nodded.
“This old master just told them that you deeply in love with that little girl and when she needed to take those pills you fed it to her mouth to mouth,” Zong Ao said lightly, as if it was just an innocent comment.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, was furious, “Don’t you feel embarrassed to publicize such things? Don’t you have any kind of moral standards?”
Zong Ao snorted, “This old master has taken on such a heavy burden for you and lost so many good things to you, you think I’ll just let you off for free? Just you wait. Xue Yue Third Young Master will charge over to Rainfall Star, peel your skin, and crush your bones. Hahaha, to think a little guard actually dares to have ideas about Xue Yue’s woman. I really don’t know if you care about your life or not. If I were you, I’d leave here as quickly as possible!”
Laughing loudly, Zong Ao strode off in a good mood.
[Old fart!]
Yang Kai stared at Zong Ao with resentment, immediately realizing why Ha Li Ka and the others had shot him such a strange look. Yang Kai was annoyed to no end that he hadn’t bet even bigger with Zong Ao, asking for all of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water and pill furnaces.
There were no good people amongst these old bastards!
This was true of Gui Zu and Zong Ao!
However, no matter how Zong Ao thought about it, he wouldn’t have been able to imagine that this Lady Xue’er was actually Xue Yue himself!
[You think kissing Xue Yue’s woman is something to worry about? Father here has seen and touched everything Xue Yue’s body has to offer!]