“Human, Sir Yu Xiong’s temper is short, if you want to survive, you should admit your mistakes and apologize by kowtowing and you might just get to keep your life!” A Monster Race master yelled, as if trying to give instructions to Yang Kai. The charm of their Young Lady was obvious to all so no one thought it was entirely this human boy’s mistake.
“Acknowledge my mistakes and apologize by kowtowing…” Yang Kai touched his chin, as if he didn’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth as he continued staring at the enchanting woman with scorching eyes, a playful smile appearing on his face as he asked, “Beautiful, do you want me to do so?”
The audience was shocked by these words.
Everyone looked at Yang Kai in disbelief.
This Human… actually dared call their Young Lady ‘Beautiful?’ This was not just rudeness, but blatant sexual harassment!
Although the Young Lady was originally human, she had been accepted as the adopted daughter of Lady Tribal Lord for special reasons and had been instructed in cultivation personally by Chi Yue over the years. The Young Lady’s talent was world famous and even if the elite of the Monster Race stood before her they had to act politely and respectfully.
Yet now, a human actually tried to flirt with her in front of so many onlookers? Did he have a death wish?
“Bold!” A Monster Race master roared angrily.
To harass the Young Lady was an insult to the Monster Race and to Red Moon Tribal Lord!
No Monster Race cultivator could tolerate Yang Kai’s presumptuousness and immediately everyone in the hall became indignant and began releasing murderous intent.
Yu Xiong also froze for a moment, but after quickly recovering from his shock, he actually burst into laughter, pointed at Yang Kai, and said to the bewitching woman next to him, “Little Sister, this boy toy actually address you so loosely, only calling you by ‘beautiful’!”
“Am I not?” The enchantress glanced over at Yu Xiong lightly, her enrapturing eyes narrowing slightly.
Yu Xiong’s laughter immediately got stuck in his throat as he shrank his neck and quickly denied, “Brother naturally didn’t mean that, it’s just… I’ve never heard anyone call you that way, so I was surprised for a moment. En, this boy toy is too shameless, Big Brother will teach him a lesson for you!”
Saying so, he looked viciously towards Yang Kai.
In Red Moon Territory, Yu Xiong’s position was under one person while above ten thousand. He was the adopted son of the Red Moon Tribal Lord and his strength and status were incomparable to those of ordinary Monster Race masters.
His demeanor was also straightforward, courageous, and bold, so there were just two people who could make him back down.
One was naturally Red Moon Tribal Lord, while the other was this beautiful woman sitting to his right.
If what Yu Xiong felt towards Red Moon Tribal Lord was a sense of awe, then what he felt for this little sister of his was deep admiration. In terms of aptitude and cultivation speed, his little sister’s talent vastly exceeded his own.
His adoptive mother had once said to him that his little sister was the most promising talent in Red Moon Territory besides Ba He and would definitely break through to the Origin King Realm! He was unable to match this.
“No need!” The beauty rejected Yu Xiong’s proposal.
“You’re letting him off? Isn’t that too lenient? He has to pay for his frivolousness!” Yu Xiong shook his head, somewhat unhappy.
The enchanting woman just smiled lightly, however, got up from her chair, and walked forward while saying with a laugh, “Let him off? Naturally, there’s no way that’s possible. Such a shameless man who clearly goes around loosely plucking flowers everywhere cannot go unpunished. I’ll personally put him in his place!”
“Uh… alright then,” Yu Xiong nodded, glancing towards Yang Kai while clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune, grinning as he said, “Boy toy, you’re finished now. If Father here was the one to make a move, you’d at least have a swift end, but with little sister taking action, heh heh heh…”
As soon as the Monster Race masters lined up on both sides of the hall heard that their Young Lady was going to handle this boy toy herself, all of them grinned as they began looking forward to the coming show.
On the other hand, this boy toy being able to receive their Young Lady’s lesson personally… it was also a kind of blessing, one many of the Monster Race masters were envious of.
A moment later, the enchantress arrived in front of Yang Kai and lifted her smooth, jade-like chin up slightly, giving her a noble and inviolable air while slightly revealing her slender neck-line, a dazzling sight to behold.
Yang Kai showed no fear as he continued smiling at her.
The woman grit her teeth as she slowly stretched out her hand, extending her jade finger as she poked Yang Kai’s chest.
Yu Xiong observed mockingly, expecting his little sister to use some cruel and inhuman ways to torture this shameless boy…
Numerous Monster Race masters also craned their necks as they watched expectantly…
Poking her jade finger onto Yang Kai’s chest, the coquettish woman said lightly, “You decide, should I dig out your heart, pull out your liver, or… split open your chest and take a look whether your insides are black or white!”
“Do you hate me so much?” Yang Kai touched his nose.
“Absolutely!” The woman lifted her chin slightly more, “I hate you to the bone… I wish I could tear your corpse into ten thousand pieces then burn your remains to ashes…”
“Haha…” Yang Kai smiled dryly.
While the enchantress was talking, her jade finger continued tracing over Yang Kai’s chest as she ground her teeth, as if she truly had a deep hatred for Yang Kai.
Yu Xiong’s face flushed with excitement, secretly paying attention to Yang Kai’s reaction.
This little sister of his never seemed to use particularly harsh methods, but with her ability, it should be a simple task for her to make this boy toy suffer.
He was just waiting for this boy toy’s five viscera and six organs to be melted into a pool of pus after being poked by his little sister.
However… why did it seem like his little sister’s tone carried so much sadness with it? Yu Xiong scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.
“Don’t make trouble!” Yang Kai showed a helpless look before grabbing the enchantress’ little hand. The other party tried to shake him off but failed to escape his grip.
The assembled Monster Race masters were immediately filled with righteous indignation as their eyes nearly spat fire.
Impudence! This boy toy not only dared to sexually harass their Young Lady, now he had even gone so far as to frivolously touch her hand; how could this be tolerated?
All of them were about to rush out to teach Yang Kai an unforgettable lesson, but then they saw a shy look on their Young Lady’s face as well as a hint of blush on her delicate cheeks and slender neck. Even her raised chin drooped down, making her arrogant air instantly turn docile…
What exactly just happened? Why was their Young Lady reacting like this?
The gathered Monster Race cultivators were all dumbfounded.
“You bastard!” The enchanting woman cursed under her breath as an aggrieved look filled her beautiful eyes, “Didn’t I tell you that I’m on Monster Emperor Star? Why didn’t you come see me until now?”
“I couldn’t help it, I had no way to carry out a long-distance voyage through the Star Field so I was unable to reach you,” Yang Kai explained helplessly, “Even this time, arriving here was a lucky stroke, but in the end, didn’t I still come? Qing Luo, don’t be angry, it will just create a scene here for everyone to see.”
“They’ve been watching this scene the whole time already,” Shan Qing Luo glared at Yang Kai, “Didn’t you want things to turn out like this? Are you satisfied now?”
“Haha,” Yang Kai grinned, “Actually, I didn’t expect that it would be you meeting me and Little Senior Sister here, so if anyone was caught off guard it should be me.”
“If that’s really the case, then I won’t hold it against you,” Shan Qing Luo snorted softly.
The two of them affectionately and sweetly interacting with one another caused many of the Monster Race masters in the hall to stare dumbly.
By now, all of them had obviously figured out that their Young Lady and this boy toy knew each other from a long time ago, and their relationship was also very close, otherwise they would not have put on such a flirtatious scene.
This only made it harder for everyone to accept though.
Yu Xiong also gawked as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
He had never seen his little sister act so tenderly, and when she spoke with this boy toy, she flashed a look of complete satisfaction and happiness!
Yu Xiong had seen his little sister pining in loneliness for many years, but now, her contentment stood in sharp contrast to her solitary figure.
“Your position here seems to be very high,” Yang Kai commented lightly.
To be honest, seeing Shan Qing Luo sitting at the head of this hall had really surprised him. Even though he had known that Shan Qing Luo was accepted as an adopted daughter by Red Moon Tribal Lord, she was still from a different race so Yang Kai had originally thought that Shan Qing Luo would be having a difficult time here. After seeing her though, he realized he was completely wrong.
“En, Adoptive Mother regards me very highly, so no one from the Monster Race dares to disrespect me,” Shan Qing Luo replied softly.
“Who is he then? He seems to hold the same status as you,” Yang Kai raised his head to look at Yu Xiong.
“He’s the same as me, taken in by Adoptive Mothers. In name, he is my big brother, but he is an orthodox Monster Race,” Shan Qing Luo explained softly, after which she saw the slight trace of hostility in Yang Kai’s eyes disappear.
This discovery made her heart leap for joy.
What it meant for a man to be jealous of his woman, Shan Qing Luo knew better than anyone else.
“Brother-in-law, nice to meet you!” Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and smiled at Yu Xiong, calling out loudly.
Yu Xiong nearly fell backwards on the spot!
If Yu Xiong had a guess about their relationship after seeing his little sister and this boy toy act so intimately just now, the title Yang Kai had just addressed him by, confirmed it.
His little sister and this boy toy… actually had that kind of relationship!
How was that possible though? Yu Xiong stared at Shan Qing Luo in disbelief, but he could clearly see that she had no intention of denying it, instead just smiling shyly.
Yu Xiong suddenly heard from cracking sounds and couldn’t help glancing around at the other Monster Race males in the hall, quickly discovering many of them wearing looks of grief and anguish, as if they just had a knife driven through their hearts. Many were also glaring hatefully at Yang Kai, as if they wished to turn their gazes into sharp arrows that could piece and kill this boy toy immediately.
“Uh…” Yu Xiong found himself somewhat unable to keep up with the situation and also at a loss for what to say Yang Kai, but when his eyes landed on Xia Ning Chang, who had been standing quietly beside Yang Kai the whole time, he couldn’t help asking, “Then what is your relationship with this young lady?”
“Little Senior Sister is my woman!” Yang Kai smiled as he stretched out a hand to wrap around Xia Ning Chang’s waist while using his other to embrace Shan Qing Luo.
Shan Qing Luo struggled slightly but soon complied with Yang Kai’s meaning, nestling her blushing face into his arms.
Yu Xiong’s jaw dropped as he stared at the confidently smiling boy in front of him, a feeling of admiration spontaneously welled up inside of him as he gave a big thumbs-up.
This was a real winner in life! The true role model for all boy toys!
Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang smoothly entered the palace.
After such an overt display back in the main hall, everyone knew about the close relationship between Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo, causing a great deal of jealousy amongst the Monster Race masters who were cursing Yang Kai for his luck in love.
Inside a luxurious guest room, Shan Qing Luo brought Bi Luo to visit Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang.
Just now, there had been too many people around so Shan Qing Luo had not said very much, but now that she had an opportunity, she would naturally speak with him at length.
Although Yang Kai already learned a lot from Bi Luo inside the Emperor Garden, there were plenty of details he wasn’t clear about. After talking with Shan Qing Luo, however, Yang Kai understood that after this enchantress arrived on Monster Emperor Star, she had experienced a lot of hardship.
From the start, she was extremely beautiful and naturally charming, and when she came to Monster Emperor Star, her strength was not high, so she became the target of many unscrupulous men.
If not for her bumping into Red Moon Tribal Lord coincidentally and being accepted as the latter’s adopted daughter, Shan Qing Luo did not even want to think about what her fate would have been.
Therefore, she was very grateful to Red Moon Tribal Lord. Moreover, since accepting her as an adopted daughter, Chi Yue had treated her very well, a fact which was obvious just by looking at Shang Qing Luo’s status in Red Moon Territory. For those who did not already know the truth, they would most likely assume she was a pure-blood Monster Race.
A human being able to hold such a position in Red Moon Territory was a testament to Red Moon Tribal Lord’s vision.
After hearing what Shan Qing Luo said, Yang Kai also felt some admiration towards this Red Moon Tribal Lord he had never met before.
“In short, Adoptive Mother is very good to me. Also, because I refined the Source of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, I can no longer be considered purely human, but I’m not a member of the Monster Race either,” Shan Qing Luo said with a light smile.
“What are you then?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“En, I’m what is known as a Half-Monster. There is a special group on Monster Emperor Star that are considered Half-Monsters, but their status is only slightly higher than humans.”
“Half-Monsters…” Yang Kai was stunned.
“En, these Half-Monsters were born from the union of the Monster and Human Race and are not recognized by humans or accepted by the Monster Race, so their status is quite awkward,” Shan Qing Luo casually explained.
“A union between Human and Monster Race? Is such a thing allowed on Monster Emperor Star?”
“Of course it’s not allowed. Monster Emperor Star is different from other Cultivation Stars in that the Monster Race is supreme, so how could they tolerate their blood being contaminated by humans? However, sometimes love between two people does not follow the common sense of the world around them or care about its disdain. That’s why a special group like Half-Monsters exists,” Shan Qing Luo said lightly, “To be honest, I quite admire those people. For example, Senior Ba He who came with you… he experienced such matters.”
“Do you know about Ba He?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
“En, I didn’t know about it originally, but I heard some things from Yu Xiong recently.”
“Do tell, I’m also quite curious about the old man,” Yang Kai asked quickly. He had heard a lot of rumours about Ba He back in Shimmering Moon City and the strength he had displayed was indeed extraordinary, so Yang Kai had some interest in him.
Shan Qing Luo didn’t know much, but the reason why Ba He had remained hidden in Shimmering Moon City for two hundred years, even changing his appearance and concealing his cultivation, was truly related to a human woman.
Ba He had been the strongest general under Red Moon Tribal Lord for several hundred years and his aptitude was extremely high. He had long reached the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, and with his attainments in Shi, no other Origin Returning Realm master was his match.
For a time, he was known as the first master under the Origin King Realm on Monster Emperor Star.
He was also the most likely candidate on all of Monster Emperor Star to break through to the Origin King Realm! Once he reached that realm, it would mean that he could stand on equal footing with Chi Yue and become a powerful existence at the level of the other Tribal Lords.
But Ba He suddenly fell deeply in love with a human woman at first sight…
The Monster Race rejected the union between ordinary Humans and Monsters, so how could a future star like Ba He be allowed to engage in such behaviour? The resistance he encountered was naturally far greater than normal, especially from Red Moon Tribal Lord, a fact that made Ba He even more miserable.
If things really continued to develop like this, with Ba He’s arrogant temperament back then, it was highly likely he would turn his back on the whole Monster Race! At that point, he would definitely become the target of public scorn across all of Monster Emperor Star.
Red Moon Tribal Lord also had a terrible headache about this problem. Naturally, she did not want to see her most powerful general be forced into such a desperate situation.
Out of respect for his talent, she was even prepared to accept the fact Ba He wanted to be together with that human woman.
After all, although the two races could not openly fraternize with one another, it was perfectly normal for some Monster Race masters to keep a few human beauties. Which Monster Race master’s mansion didn’t have some beautiful human toys? Everyone was well aware of this reality but also made sure not to mention it in public.
As long as Ba He could really break through to the Origin King Realm, him being together with a human woman wasn’t a matter of consequence.
However, before Chi Yue could clearly explain her position to Ba He, a tragedy occurred.
The Human Race woman Ba He was in love with actually experienced a deviation in her cultivation when attempting to break through a Minor Realm and died…
Ba He, who learned the news, was both deeply saddened and infuriated.
He could not help thinking that the reason why his beloved woman inexplicably experienced deviation in her cultivation was because Red Moon Tribal Lord had secretly meddled with her somehow.
In a rage, Ba He ran amok on Half-Moon Mountain before storming into Chi Yue’s private chambers to confront her.
No one knew what happened that day, but when Lady Chi Yue came out, she announced that for his crimes of disrespect and disobedience, Ba He had been executed by her.
For the next two hundred years, there were no news of Ba He.
Only recently had he taken the initiative to show himself in Shimmering Moon City.
“So… Red Moon Tribal Lord didn’t kill Ba He but let him go?” Yang Kai postulated.
“Most likely,” Shan Qing Luo nodded lightly, “Adoptive Mother is a master at the Second-Order Origin King Realm, if she really wanted to kill Ba He, he would definitely be dead. There is no way he could have escaped with his life.”
Yang Kai nodded gently.
“Yang Kai…” Shan Qing Luo suddenly called out softly.
“Hm?”
“Do you think… that human woman’s cultivation deviation and death were really related to Adoptive Mother?”
“How would I know? I’m afraid that no one but those who were directly involved know what happened more than two hundred years ago,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, but upon seeing the worried look on Shan Qing Luo’s face, his brow furrowed and he couldn’t help asking, “What are you worried about?”
Shan Qing Luo slowly shook her head and with a forced smile said, “Nothing. Right, you must be careful of that Mi Tian, I heard that you had a little conflict with him in Shimmering Moon City. Mi Tian is incredibly prideful so after offending him, he will never forgive you.”
“Don’t worry, he can’t do anything to me,” Yang Kai smiled proudly.
The two continued chatting for some time before Shan Qing Luo got up and left.
“Junior Brother, what are we going to do next?” Xia Ning Chang asked softly after Shan Qing Luo was gone.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Yang Kai smiled awkwardly. He had been trying his best to enter the palace to see how Shan Qing Luo was doing, so now that he was certain she was doing well and learned just how high her status was, he naturally relaxed.
“Then do you want to take Elder Sister Qing Luo away?” Xia Ning Chang asked.
“I don’t know, but I think it’s best if we see what she wants first. In fact, I think it would be best for her to remain here; after all, Monster Emperor Star’s environment is extremely beneficial to her cultivation and future development!”
“En,” Xia Ning Chang gently nodded.
After hearing about Ba He, she immediately understood that if Yang Kai really insisted on taking Shan Qing Luo away, it would be difficult. No one knew whether the death of that human woman who Ba He fell in love with had anything to do with Red Moon Tribal Lord, but if it really was the result of Red Moon Tribal Lord’s secret machinations…
Xia Ning Chang understood why Shan Qing Luo showed a worried look just now, she was clearly afraid that history would repeat itself but with Yang Kai as the victim this time.
For the future of her adopted daughter, Red Moon Tribal Lord would not mind the death of a single human man.
“However, since we’re already here, we should do our best to acquire as many unique materials as possible,” Yang Kai said while looking towards Xia Ning Chang with a smile, “We’ll need to rely on you for this, Little Senior Sister.”
…..
Shan Qing Luo left the guest room before taking Bi Luo straight to Chi Yue’s private palace.
Shan Qing Luo was highly regarded by Chi Yue and was being cultivated as her future successor, so no one would dare to stop her from walking around in the palace. All the Monster Race cultivators who saw her bowed to show their respect when she passed by them.
Arriving outside Chi Yue’s chambers, Shan Qing Luo found a man with a bear-like waist and strong, burly back, giving him an impressive stature like an iron tower. This man was standing outside the Chi Yue’s palace with a furrowed brow as he leaned forward slightly, as if listening to something stealthily.
“Yu Xiong!” Shan Qing Luo walked up and shouted.
Hearing the shout, Yu Xiong quickly turned around and put a finger to his lips.
“What are you doing acting all sneaky in front of Adoptive Mother’s residence? You’d best be careful not to get caught or Adoptive Mother will certainly punish you,” Shan Qing Luo frowned, staring at him as she reprimanded him.
“Senior Ba He is being tortured inside, listen!” Yu Xiong pointed inside and gossiped with an interested expression on his face.
Shan Qing Luo was surprised at first, but after listening carefully, she could hear a series of terrible cries from inside the palace.
Shan Qing Luo couldn’t help paling slightly as she asked in surprise, “Does that mean Adoptive Mother refuses to forgive Senior Ba He?”
Although she had never met Ba He, Ba He and her situation were somewhat similar, so if Red Moon Tribal Lord refused to let off Ba He, then her and Yang Kai’s future prospects would certainly be dim.
Ba He’s experience and situation were something Shan Qing Luo could learn from to help predict her own future, so it was only natural for her to become nervous when she heard the screams Ba He was making from being tortured inside.
It was as if Shan Qing Luo could see Yang Kai being tortured by her Adoptive Mother…
“I don’t know, Adoptive Mother has always been amiable and seldom gets angry. Most of the time she will only warn, instruct, or reprimand when someone makes a mistake, rather than punishing them severely. Senior Ba He being tortured so miserably this time must be because Adoptive Mother is truly enraged,” Yu Xiong quickly waxed as he continued to perk up his ears to spy on what was happening inside.
Shan Qing Luo’s expression, of course, darkened even more upon hearing this as the worries in her heart grew slightly stronger and she began thinking hard about what she should say when she met with her Adoptive Mother.
Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong listened to the sounds inside the palace for more than an hour before the screams gradually subsided.
Even a Monster Race master with steel nerves like Yu Xiong could not help feeling somewhat anxious at this moment.
The door of the palace opened suddenly, and a figure staggered out from it. This man was covered in blood and his aura was quite chaotic, seemingly not far from death.
Shan Qing Luo’s eyes shrank…
She could see at a glance that this man should be Ba He; after all, the powerful aura of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master still lingered around his body.
It seemed that her adoptive mother had been extremely angry this time, and it wasn’t yet clear whether she had forgiven Senior Ba He.
“Senior, are you okay?” Yu Xiong walked over and supported Ba He.
“Ah… I’m fine, at least I won’t die,” Ba He waved his hand slowly, as if he didn’t even have the strength to speak.
Yu Xiong opened his mouth but did not know how to comfort him.
Ba He suddenly raised his head and looked at Shan Qing Luo. As an old master with vast experience reading others, the moment he saw her, his eyes could not help lighting up. Even his sluggish aura seemed to recover somewhat at that moment.
Gently nodding, Ba He asked, “You should be Young Lady Shan, right?”
“Qing Luo greets Senior,” Shan Qing Luo elegantly bowed.
“Young Lady Shan is too polite. Good, the Monster Race has finally found a decent talent,” Ba He said with a light smile, “This old master acted too willfully in the past and failed to live up to the expectations of Lady Tribal Lord, I hope you will not disappoint her as well.”
“Junior will remember Senior’s teachings…” Shan Qing Luo said softly, with a complex expression.
“En, go in. Lady Tribal Lord is waiting for you,” Ba He waved his hand before forcing his weak body forward step by step at a slow pace.
Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong stared at the fading figure of Ba He and could not help sighing. This future star of the Monster Race, the First Master under the Origin King Realm, had been punished so severely by their adoptive mother.
“Is that Qing Luo? Come in,” From inside the palace, Chi Yue’s voice called out.
Shan Qing Luo could not help feeling anxious hearing this call, but quickly bit her red lip to brace herself and walked inside.
“Uh, I’ll head back first…” Yu Xiong seemingly thought out loud before turning around to flee.
“Yu Xiong, you get in here too!” Chi Yue’s tender shout rang out.
Yu Xiong’s neck shrank as he put down his already lifted foot, an expression like his father and mother had just died filling his face as he reluctantly followed Shan Qing Luo.
[I should have run away sooner…] Yu Xiong regretted deeply to himself.
Inside the spacious and brightly lit palace, a beautiful woman in a long dress stood quietly, her expression calm and composed.
This beautiful woman had a mature proud figure and a slender waist. There were no energy fluctuations around her at all, as if she was an ordinary mortal that had never cultivated before.
She seemed to have been born extremely beautiful, with red lips like the most glamorous of rubies that flashed a seductive luster and frost-white skin that gave off a cool glow.
In terms of attractiveness to men, she wasn’t inferior to Shan Qing Luo at all; however, she lacked the kind of innate charm Shan Qing Luo naturally radiated, instead possessing a noble aura that was many times greater.
It was hard to imagine that such a beautiful woman was one of Monster Emperor Star’s Ten Great Tribal Lords and the adoptive mother of Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong, Chi Yue!
After the siblings came in, they first greeted Chi Yue, and after receiving Chi Yue’s nod, they sat down cautiously.
“Have you made appropriate arrangements for the Alchemy Grandmaster that arrived here from Shimmering Moon City?” Chi Yue asked casually.
“Reporting to Adoptive Mother, everything has been arranged. Does Adoptive Mother wish to see her immediately?” Shan Qing Luo looked at Chi Yue and asked.
“There’s no hurry. Since she can refine an Origin Grade pill that formed Pill Clouds, she is indeed somewhat extraordinary, but compared to her, I am more interested in the human man who came with her; I’ve been hearing some incredible rumours about him. Qing Luo, is there anything you want to tell me?” Chi Yue turned to look at Shan Qing Luo elegantly.
Shan Qing Luo’s tender body trembled as she hurriedly got up, knelt down on the ground, grit her teeth, and pleaded, “Adoptive Mother, please show mercy, that man…”
“Why are you acting so nervously? Adoptive Mother will not eat him. Get up first and then we’ll talk,” Chi Yue stretched out her hand and brought Shan Qing Luo to her feet.
Seeing that Chi Yue didn’t seem to be angry; Shan Qing Luo couldn’t help feeling relieved and her nervous mood gradually calmed down.
“Tell me, are the rumours I heard true or false?” Chi Yue continued to ask.
“They’re true,” Shan Qing Luo replied through gritted teeth.
“Oh? So that human is really the object of your affection?” Chi Yue laughed softly.
“Yes.”
“What’s so great about him? Why does even a woman like you seem so deeply in love with him? Yu Xiong said that he is just a boy toy that depends on women for food.”
“What’s wrong, Yu Xiong is just spouting nonsense,” Shan Qing Luo shot Yu Xiong a vicious look, to which the latter shrank his head, touched his chin, and looked up at the sky…
“Tell me about him then, what is it about him that causes you to never be able to forget him?” Chi Yue seemed to be interested and asked carefully.
“Adoptive Daughter can’t explain well…” Shan Qing Luo smiled shyly. In front of a powerful existence like Red Moon Tribal Lord, her Demon Queen aura was completely suppressed, “We met when he was very weak. At that time, Adoptive Daughter was just an Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage cultivator while he had only reached the True Element Boundary.”
“That is quite a big gap,” Chi Yue raised her brow, “But he seems to have arrived at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm now. Does that mean he’s able to match your cultivation speed?”
Knowing this, Chi Yue finally showed a hint of surprise.
Shan Qing Luo’s cultivation pace was extremely fast, so Chi Yue seeing this human man not inferior to her adopted daughter in this regard came as a bit of a shock.
“En, I don’t know where he has been over the years or what he has done, but after accidentally crossing paths in the Emperor Garden recently, he seems to have made a special trip to Monster Emperor Star to find me.”
“He has also been to the Emperor Garden?” Chi Yue became more interested.
“En, at that time, Adoptive Daughter joined forces with him and fought a group of people from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, but before we had time to talk, the Emperor Garden closed.”
“Hmph, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!” Chi Yue snorted coldly, a trace of disdain flashing across her pretty face, “Since you collaborated with him in battle, tell me, how strong is he?”
“This…” Shan Qing Luo looked embarrassed.
“You don’t know?” Chi Yue’s face sank.
“Please forgive me, Adoptive Mother. The battle did not last long, and Adoptive Daughter was not able to observe much, but Adoptive Daughter is certain he is not weak.”
Chi Yue laughed softly and declared, “Since you are so certain, I can give him a chance. Although it is admirable that he came to Monster Emperor Star to find you, he is still just a human after all. Moreover, he seems to have another woman! How can this Chi Yue’s daughter share a man with other women? Compose yourself for now; as for his worth, I will test it. If he really has the skill to win my approval, then I will not oppose your relationship with him, but if he is nothing but an embroidered pillow, I will personally kill him!”
After speaking, Chi Yue looked at Shan Qing Luo, thinking she could see this Adoptive Daughter of hers panic and plead for mercy, but instead all she saw was a look of joy on Shan Qing Luo’s face.
“You have that much confidence in him?” Chi Yue was surprised.
“Although I have not seen him in several dozen years, he is a man who is able to create miracles, so Adoptive Daughter believes he will not let me down and will win Adoptive Mother’s approval!” Shan Qing Luo quickly said.
“Sure, since you think so, I will act freely,” Chi Yue nodded slightly, satisfied with Shan Qing Luo’s attitude as she shouted in a low voice, “Yu Xiong!”
“Yes!” Yu Xiong quickly got up.
“I leave this task to you. Test that little bastard’s depths. If he is just an ordinary human, kill him quickly so he does not become an eyesore,” Chi Yue waved her hand.
“Yes!” Yu Xiong replied in a deep voice as his eyes flashed fiercely.
“You may leave.”
The brother and sister pair then left Chi Yue’s palace. After exiting, Yu Xiong wore a look of excitement as he rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was going to start a fight immediately.
Although he thought Yang Kai was an interesting guy, even daring to call him Older Brother, he was still a human. While having another woman, this boy toy was still coveting his little sister; a toad lusting after swan meat if Yu Xiong ever saw one.
Now that he obtained Chi Yue’s instructions, he wanted to immediately test out Yang Kai. In any case, he could think about more complicated things after first beating him up.
“Yu Xiong!” Shan Qing Luo suddenly shouted.
“Hm?” Yu Xiong quickly glanced over at her.
Shan Qing Luo’s beautiful eyes flashed a cold light as she glared at him and declared, “If you dare act against him personally, I’ll make you suffer for it!”
“Uh…” Yu Xiong was dumbfounded, a gloomy look filling his face, “Little sister, older brother was assigned this task by Adoptive Mother, I cannot disobey Adoptive Mother’s instructions!”
“I don’t care, you can’t act yourself! If you do, you won’t have a little sister in the future!” After saying so, she did not give Yu Xiong a chance to speak and flew off immediately.
“Little sister… Great-Aunt…” Yu Xiong called from behind, but no matter how he shouted, he could not get any response.
He suddenly felt he had received a very awkward assignment.
…..
After staying at the palace for three days, Red Moon Tribal Lord finally summoned Xia Ning Chang. As an Alchemy Grandmaster who refined a pill that formed Pill Clouds, Xia Ning Chang was worthy of such an audience.
As for Yang Kai, Chi Yue did not take him to heart and had no plans to meet with him.
Chi Yue’s impression of Xia Ning Chang was particularly good. This human woman was docile and kind, with pure, limpid eyes. Not only did she have a good cultivation level, she also had a profound knowledge in Alchemy.
When she summoned Xia Ning Chang, Chi Yue specially asked several well-known Alchemists in the palace to come test Xia Ning Chang’s skills.
The result greatly satisfied Chi Yue. With regards to Alchemy, Xia Ning Chang had the demeanour and style of a master that was not inferior to the old white-haired men who had devoted their entire lives to Alchemy.
The Alchemy competition held on the spot was also won by Xia Ning Chang overwhelmingly!
Chi Yue was incredibly pleased with this talent and offered extremely favourable terms to hire Xia Ning Chang, allowing her to live comfortably in the palace while providing Alchemy services for her.
If not for Xia Ning Chang’s young age and lack of reputation, the identity of the palace’s Chief Alchemist would likely have immediately changed hands.
Xia Ning Chang’s living conditions improved dramatically as she was granted her own independent palace as well as several young and beautiful maidservants to take care of her daily needs. All she needed to do was relax and perform Alchemy for Chi Yue.
All of this was in line with Yang Kai’s expectation.
“Grandmaster Xia, these materials have been allocated to you by Lady Tribal Lord. Master hopes to see the finished pills within a month,” Outside Xia Ning Chang’s private chambers, a maidservant in green handed her a Space Ring.
“I’ll take it,” Yang Kai smiled as he stuck out his hand.
The green clothed maid frowned slightly, seemingly displeased, but she did not refuse and gently placed the Space Ring into Yang Kai’s hand.
Yang Kai Divine Sense swept the contents of the Space Ring before snorting lightly, “Why are there so few materials?”
“So few? There are enough materials for forty Origin Grade pills inside,” The green clothed maid frowned.
“En, truly too few, can you bring more materials?” Yang Kai asked.
“I can, but… the other Grandmasters in the palace only use so many materials per month, if any more are brought, there won’t be enough time to completely refine them.”
“How can those people compare to my Little Senior Sister!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully, “Go bring more materials! The more the better!”
The green clothed maid looked over at Xia Ning Chang awkwardly. Honestly, she did not like Yang Kai very much. The rumour was that Yang Kai was a boy toy who only relied on women for food. His poor reputation had already propagated throughout the entire palace.
No woman would hold a good impression of such a man.
Worse, while he had already deceived this female Alchemy Grandmaster, he wasn’t satisfied and was now stretching out his claws towards Young Lady Shan Qing Luo. Sadly, Lady Qing Luo’s eyes seemed to have been blinded somehow and she was unable to see through the true shameless nature and corrupt soul of this man.
Inside the palace, almost everyone was sighing for Shan Qing Luo, feeling like a beautiful flower was willingly being planted in cow dung, eliciting strong feelings of indignation.
Now, listening to Yang Kai boast so shamelessly, the green clothed maid’s already poor impression of him dropped further.
However, Lady Tribal Lord seemed quite taken with this new Alchemy Grand Master, so it wasn’t easy for the maid to refuse. As a last resort, the green clothed maid sought Xia Ning Chang’s opinion on the matter.
“Do as Junior Brother says,” Xia Ning Chang said softly, “If Lady Tribal Lord asks, you can just say I requested the materials, she won’t disagree.”
“Yes!” The green clothed maid nodded helplessly.
“By the way, those Grandmasters in the palace, what is their average probability of success in Alchemy?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
“Twenty percent!” The green clothed maid replied indifferently, “For every ten sets of materials, they succeed in refining pills twice!”
“Understood, many thanks!” Yang Kai smiled and cupped his fists.
The green clothed maid looked at him seriously, as if she wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a while, she couldn’t vocalize her thoughts. Nodding to Xia Ning Chang, she simply turned and left.
“That girl doesn’t seem to like me very much,” Yang Kai looked at her back and laughed dryly. He understood why the other party was giving him such a disgusted look, but he didn’t take it to heart.
“Junior Brother, isn’t this a little improper?” Xia Ning Chang looked at Yang Kai worriedly.
“How is it improper?”
“These are Origin Grade materials in the end, their value isn’t low. If we do this, isn’t it equivalent to stealing materials from Red Moon Tribal Lord…” Xia Ning Chang felt a little uneasy and guilty.
“That’s not right,” Yang Kai shook his head, “Think about it, Little Senior Sister, that girl just now said that when the other Grandmasters in the palace refine Origin Grade pills, the probability of them succeeding is only about twenty percent. That means that eighty percent of the materials they use will be wasted. But Little Senior Sister, you’re different. If you put in your best effort, even if you cannot reach a one hundred percent success rate, you will at least reach eighty to ninety percent. Even if you occasionally fail, it would be inconsequential. In the end, as long as you turn over thirty percent of the finished pills, Red Moon Tribal Lord will already make a massive profit. At the same time, we’ll gain some benefits as well. This is a good deal for everyone involved.”
“Although I understand what Junior Brother is saying, I still feel like there’s something wrong with acting like this,” Xia Ning Chang pursed her red lips lightly.
Right now, she felt like she and her Junior Brother were behaving like thieves, but since Yang Kai had asked her to do this, Xia Ning Chang would not refuse.
The two quickly dedicated their full effort to Alchemy.
To Xia Ning Chang, Alchemy was cultivation. To her, Alchemy was a kind of enjoyment rather than laborious work. On top of that, she was now a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, and after studying the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture, her attainments in Alchemy had grown significantly.
In addition, the last time she successfully refined a pill with Pill Clouds in Shimmering Moon City, she had gained a much deeper understanding of the Alchemic Way. Yang Kai couldn’t help admiring her talent in the field of Alchemy.
Raw materials were transformed into finished products in her hands at an extremely efficient rate.
Yang Kai didn’t remain idle either as he focused on experimenting with the refining method left in the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture that would lead to one set of materials producing more than one pill.
It was conceivable that if he succeeded in this experiment, it would have a profound impact on the entire Star Field’s Alchemic Way.
This would no doubt be a groundbreaking development.
Unfortunately, Yang Kai didn’t have any clues as to how to succeed yet and could only continue refining pills while studying and comprehending the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture.
The Senior Sister and Junior Brother pair working together consumed the trivial forty sets of materials in just a few days.
A few days later, when the green clothed maid came over again and received a bottle with twelve pills inside of it, her eyes filled with shock.
It had only been a few days yet this young, beautiful Alchemy Grandmaster had really finished refining all the materials she had been given. On top of that, the number of pills she had refined was ten percent higher than the other Grandmasters in the palace!
The green clothed maid could hardly believe her eyes.
If it weren’t for the pills actually matching the previously delivered materials, she would have suspected that Xia Ning Chang had simply handed her previously refined pills.
No wonder Lady Tribal Lord valued her so much, she was worthy of it!
Thinking about this, the maid even more felt that Yang Kai was an eyesore. This boy toy was truly thick-skinned, sitting around all day doing nothing, forcing this innocent girl to let him remain by her side, as if he was afraid that someone would try to snatch her away from him!
However, this couldn’t be blamed on him entirely; after all, with no real ability of his own, and a need to rely on a woman just to feed himself, of course this boy toy would constantly be on guard, as a woman like Grandmaster Xia would surely have many suitors.
“Grandmaster Xia, there are a hundred sets of Origin Grade pill materials inside this Space Ring. Lady Tribal Lord has also said that if you want more materials, just ask any of the maids and the palace will supply herbs to you unconditionally,” The green clothed maid respectfully handed over the new set of materials.
“Thank you!” Xia Ning Chang smiled gently.
“Just place them down over there somewhere,” Yang Kai gestured lightly.
The green clothed maid shot him a ferocious look, put down the Space Ring in her hands, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly shouted, “Please be nicer to Master Xia, you shameless boy toy!”
After saying so, she left angrily.
Yang Kai wore a bewildered look as he knit his brow, “Why did she feel the need to scold me? I didn’t do anything to her!”
Xia Ning Chang giggled pleasantly before saying lightly, “Don’t worry about what others think, they just don’t know how good you are, Junior Brother. It’s fine as long as I know.”
Yang Kai’s heart warmed.
Xia Ning Chang lowered her head and whispered softly, “In fact, it’s better like this, I’m really afraid that more women will come to know how good you are!”
“Since Little Senior Sister has said so, then I’ll have to trouble you to take care of this boy toy,” Yang Kai laughed.
Xia Ning Chang’s face reddened as the words boy toy always reminded her of some embarrassing memories…
Red Moon Territory was among the strongest three of the ten territories on Monster Emperor Star and was rich in natural wealth. What’s more, since this was Monster Emperor Star, there were countless Monster Beasts, so the palace did not lack for herbs and other alchemy materials, including Monster Beast parts and Monster Cores.
No matter how many materials Xia Ning Chang asked for, the palace was able to satisfy her.
In order to gain as many benefits as possible from this place, Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang spared no effort to refine pills. After receiving a batch of materials, they would refine thirty percent of them into pills that were handed over the green clothed maid when she came to deliver the next batch.
The remaining seventy percent, went straight to Yang Kai’s pockets.
There were not many opportunities to freely obtain so many high-grade Alchemy materials, so how could Yang Kai let this one pass?
In truth, the amount didn’t matter too much to Yang Kai as he was already an Origin King Grade Alchemist. Unless he used Origin King Grade materials, there was no way for him to increase his Alchemy level. No matter how many pills he refined, the only thing that would improve was his refining proficiency.
But Xia Ning Chang was different. She needed a huge base of materials to perform Alchemy in order to improve her cultivation.
As the Star Master of Tong Xuan Realm, Little Senior Sister was extremely eager to improve her cultivation so she could restore vitality to her homeland.
These materials obtained from the palace would become the stepping stones for Xia Ning Chang’s growth.
Xia Ning Chang’s outstanding performance also made Chi Yue very happy.
Although there were several other Origin Grade Alchemists in the palace, none of them were anywhere near as fast or efficient as Xia Ning Chang. It could be said that all the rest of the Origin Grade Alchemists in the palace put together were less useful than Xia Ning Chang.
Chi Yue felt that if Xia Ning Chang could work for the palace for ten years, Red Moon Territory would be able to create another hundred Origin Returning Realm masters!
This wasn’t an exaggeration; if, over ten years, the pills refined by Xia Ning Chang were given to talented Monster Race cultivators, those talents would definitely grow at a remarkable pace.
Chi Yue favoured Xia Ning Chang greatly, almost granting any request she made without the slightest delay, which naturally made it easier for Yang Kai to plunder materials.
He was already considering whether he should begin asking for Origin King Grade materials from Chi Yue.
An Origin King Grade Alchemist had never appeared on Monster Emperor Star!
This also meant that there must be a large amount of Origin King Grade herbs stored in the palace.
Yang Kai had discretely asked Shan Qing Luo about this matter and learned that Chi Yue had a special storehouse where many precious materials were preserved, including those at the Origin King Grade, a fact that excited Yang Kai greatly.
Inside their residence, Xia Ning Chang was focusing on Alchemy while Yang Kai was thinking about how to obtain the Origin King Grade herbs from Chi Yue’s storehouse.
Obviously, there was only one option.
To use the Stone Puppet!
The Stone Puppet could move silently through the earth, and because of its unique physiology, it was extremely difficult for people to detect any trace of it. When Yang Kai was a guest at Shadowed Star’s Coloured Glass Sect, he had used the Stone Puppet to steal a large amount of Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass, which was subsequently used as a primary material for refining the Origin King Grade Starship.
However, this situation was somewhat different from the one back then.
Although Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain was tightly protected by Coloured Glass Sect, Yang Kai still had an opportunity to pilfer it as the masters of Coloured Glass Sect never imagined such a strange creature existed, which could extract Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass right under their noses.
But the level of defence around Chi Yue’s storehouse would obviously vastly exceed anything protecting Coloured Glass Mountain.
Although the Stone Puppet had many useful abilities, its intelligence wasn’t very high, and if Yang Kai sent it out rashly, it would very likely alert others to its presence.
He had to do this himself!
Concluding so, Yang Kai didn’t hesitate anymore, stretched out his hand, and summoned out the Golden Stone Puppet. This Stone Puppet was Xiao Xiao’s only kin, but when it was born, its Soul failed to form properly for some reason, making the originally low sentience creature completely brain dead.
However, as a result, it became the perfect vessel for Yang Kai to use as an Avatar.
It had absorbed a lot of pure Golden Blood from Yang Kai, so its colour had turned pale gold.
Looking at the Golden Stone Puppet in front of him, Yang Kai gently nodded before extracting his Soul Clone from his Knowledge Sea and sending it into it.
In the next moment, the sluggish eyes of the Golden Stone Puppet regained some of their light, becoming animated and intelligent.
Yang Kai closed his eyes and his expression changed slightly.
No matter how many times he experienced this, it still felt extremely mysterious. By inserting his Soul Clone into the Golden Stone Puppet, he transformed it into a physical Avatar, making Yang Kai feel as if he had been split in two.
Not only could he feel all the emotions and sensations of his own body, but he could also see and hear everything the Golden Stone Puppet did at the same time.
It was a strange and inexplicable feeling.
Yang Kai didn’t rush to act, but instead tried to control the movements of the Golden Stone Puppet with his Soul Clone. Only after familiarizing himself with this peculiar body did he suddenly burrow into the ground.
The seemingly solid earth was no more a barrier to the Golden Stone Puppet than air was, like a fish in water. Additionally, its peculiar body was able to perfectly camouflage itself inside the ground.
No one inside the palace noticed its presence.
Regarding the location of the storehouse, Yang Kai had also asked Shan Qing Luo, so there was no need for him to search randomly.
Estimating the distance and location, it only took a moment for the Golden Stone Puppet to arrive beneath the storehouse.
Yang Kai quietly released his Divine Sense then and spied upward.
Unsurprisingly, even deep below the storehouse, there seemed to be a barrier protecting it. When Yang Kai’s Avatar’s Divine Sense swept the area, it quickly encountered an invisible resistance that impeded it from advancing any further.
This invisible resistance didn’t seem to be very strong, so with a furrow of his brow, Yang Kai slightly increased the output of his Divine Sense, condensing his Spiritual Energy and shelling the space in front of him.
This was just a simple test and Yang Kai was doing his best to control both the power he used and the area he targeted, not daring to act too forcefully. He thought such a small test wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.
However, when his pulse of Divine Sense came into contact with the invisible barrier, a terrifying aura suddenly spread out from somewhere in the palace.
The strength of this aura caused everyone in the palace to tremble.
From the void, a pair of invisible eyes seemed to open and look down at the entire palace, observing everyone’s movements. No one dared to act rashly under the gaze of these eyes.
The powerful aura swept forth, but soon after it scanned the entire palace, it receded and disappeared.
Many people fell to the ground as sweat dripped from their foreheads. Even the Origin Returning Realm masters inside the palace felt their bodies go weak and limp at this moment.
“What was Lady Tribal Lord looking for?”
“I don’t know, could it be someone did something to anger her inside the palace?”
Confusion and discussion abounded.
Everyone knew that the powerful aura belonged to Red Moon Tribal Lord as only she could silence the entire palace with a single thought.
Yang Kai was also taken aback. He never expected Chi Yue’s reaction to be so fast. If it weren’t for the unique physique of the Stone Puppet, which allowed it to perfectly blend in with the surrounding land, his Avatar would definitely have been exposed.
After such an experience, Yang Kai didn’t dare have any ideas about the storehouse and quickly and quietly withdrew his Avatar.
Inside Chi Yue’s chambers, her brow furrowed lightly as a look of suspicion covered her face, “Strange, the barrier of the storehouse was obviously just touched, so why couldn’t I find anything?”
She also didn’t understand.
No one could act presumptuous in her domain, and no one could avoid her sight, so she simply concluded that the barrier around the storehouse had fallen into disrepair after such a long time and some kind of fault had caused the reaction just now.
Thinking so, she no longer tried to investigate, instead flashing an interested smile as she muttered to herself softly, “Yu Xiong seems to have used his head this time, using a borrowed knife to do the deed. This Queen must have a look at what kind of skill this human boy has!”
Saying so, she quietly released her Divine Sense towards the palace where Xia Ning Chang was staying to observe the movements there.
Inside the palace, Yang Kai had just taken the Golden Stone Puppet back into his Black Book Space when suddenly he turned to stare towards a certain spot with a frown.
At this moment, he actually felt like someone was spying on him, but even after inspecting with Divine Sense carefully, he found nothing.
Could it be that he was exposed somehow in the incident just now and Chi Yue was now monitoring him?
Yang Kai’s face instantly turned black.
“Oh… this little boy actually sensed something?” Chi Yue said in surprise.
With her powerful Second-Order Origin King cultivation, it should have been a simple task for her to observe a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy without his knowledge, but Yang Kai’s glance towards the void just now clearly indicated he had noticed her prying eyes.
However, that was his limit as it was certainly impossible for him to really perceive her Divine Sense.
He should only be suspicious right now! Chi Yue could infer this from Yang Kai’s reactions.
[Things have become interesting!] Chi Yue suddenly thought to herself.
Yang Kai frowned as he sat in place, secretly feeling the situation become complicated.
After a moment though, his expression calmed down and he pretended that nothing had happened, closed his eyes, and began adjusting his breathing.
Soon after, Yang Kai heard voices coming from outside.
“I’m sorry, two Young Lords, but you cannot go in. This is the private residence of Grandmaster Xia. Lady Tribal Lord has ordered that no one may disturb Grandmaster Xia while she is performing Alchemy!”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he heard this voice. He instantly recognized that the speaker was the same green clothed maid that came to deliver herbs to Xia Ning Chang; however, at this moment, she seemed to be trying to prevent someone from approaching the palace.
“This Young Lord knows this is the palace of Alchemy Grandmaster Xia, that’s why he has come. If not for this, do you think this Young Lord would come to this remote place? Stand aside, this Young Lord has something to discuss with that Grandmaster Xia!” A rough voice sounded loudly.
“Two Young Lords, please reconsider! Lady Tribal Lord has already issued strict orders, please do not embarrass this servant!” The green clothed maid begged while again mentioning Chi Yue’s name, using both soft and hard methods.
“Scram!” The previous speaker shouted angrily, “Don’t try to use Senior Chi Yue’s name to suppress this Young Lord! If Senior Chi Yue has a problem, this Young Lord will explain himself to her, not you! How dare a mere servant try to block this Young Lord’s way!”
“Little lady, you should give way. This Young Lord came here with Brother Xue Lian this time to request Grandmaster Xia refine a pill, not to intrude upon her privacy; however, Brother Xue Lian’s temper is a bit bad, so if we’ve offended you, this Young Lord will apologize on his behalf,” Another voice sounded.
Yang Kai suddenly sneered.
The owner of this voice was someone he was familiar with, Young Master Wicked Eyes Mi Tian!
Since entering the palace, Yang Kai had not seen him again, but a person with such high pride would definitely not let the matter in Shimmering Moon City drop. Shan Qing Luo had also reminded him to be wary of Mi Tian’s revenge.
His intentions for showing up at this time were clearly not good.
But who was the other person? Hearing Mi Tian calling him Brother Xue Lian, it seemed the other party’s status was not low.
Yang Kai instantly became curious.
“Request Alchemy from Grandmaster Xia?” The green clothed maid froze for a moment before quickly shaking her head, “That would be inappropriate, Grandmaster Xia is a talent Lady Tribal Lord highly favours. Without the permission of Lady Tribal Lord, she cannot perform Alchemy for others.”
“Not appropriate?” The Monster Race master named Xue Lian sneered, “Inappropriate, how? She’s just a trivial human woman; This Young Lord asking her to perform Alchemy is her honour, how could she refuse? If she dares say no, this Young Lord will immediately kill her!”
The green clothed maid turned pale in fright. Although she was afraid of the ferocity of the Monster Race master named Xue Lian, she still stood firmly in front of him and prevented him from entering the palace.
“I’ll give you three breaths time, if you don’t give way by then, be prepared to die! Even if this Young Lord kills a trivial maidservant, Senior Chi Yue won’t care, think carefully before you decide,” Xue Lian glared coldly at the green-clothed maid, a fierce and violent light flashing across his eyes.
“Little lady, you’d best step aside, your delicate skin and tender flesh will certainly not look good if it’s ripped apart,” Mi Tian still maintained a gentle smile as he persuaded the green-clothed maid, his eyes flashing a wicked and enchanting light.
When she made contact with these eyes, the green-clothed maid’s vision blurred and the look of struggle on her face gradually smoothed, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks as she gently and shyly nodded before backing downs.
With a cold snort, Xue Lian stretched out his hand and shoved the maid further away before taking a big step forward towards the palace.
Mi Tian smiled and followed behind him.
When the two were less than ten metres from the palace, however, the front door suddenly opened and Yang Kai walked out, closing the door behind him before sweeping his eyes across Xue Lian and Mi Tian indifferently.
Xue Lian and Mi Tian both stopped at the same time, the former staring at Yang Kai disdainfully.
The latter’s eyes narrowed, however, as a look of hatred and dread flashed across their depths.
He would never forget Yang Kai’s terrifying performance back in Shimmering Moon City; this was an opponent he had no choice but to take seriously.
“Brother Xue Lian, be careful, he’s the human I mentioned to you before,” Mi Tian looked at Yang Kai coldly and muttered.
The Monster Race cultivator named Xue Lian frowned slightly as he took another look at Yang Kai for grinning widely, “So this is the Human that killed your two Thunder Flame Flying Lizards? He doesn’t look like much.”
From his contemptuous expression, it was clear he did not put Yang Kai in his eyes.
Mi Tian chuckled, “If Brother Xue Lian underestimates him simply because he is a human, that would be a big mistake, he’s… somewhat different from the other humans on Monster Emperor Star.”
“Hmph, I haven’t seen you in more than ten years, Mi Tian, but it seems you’ve lost all your spirit in that time, even cowering before a mere human now. If my carriage’s Monster Beasts were killed by this boy, he would have never lived to see the next sunrise! Mi Tian, it seems this is as far as you’ll rise, from now on, this Monster Emperor Star will be my, Xue Lian’s world!” Xue Lian did not seem to take Mi Tian seriously, even ridiculing him for his timidity.
Mi Tian did not get angry, however, and simply smiled, “I was only advising you, whether you listen or not… heh heh!”
These two Monster Race masters did not even try to lower their voices, so Yang Kai naturally heard every word they said.
Yang Kai could not help observing the cultivator called Xue Lian with some interest and curiosity.
This Xue Lian must really have a powerful background, otherwise, he would not dare speak to Mi Tian like this. Yang Kai knew Mi Tian was the Young Lord of Thousand Eyes Tribal Lord, a figure famous across all of Monster Emperor Star, but this Xue Lian actually stood on equal footing with him and even criticized and mocked him mercilessly, so what were Xue Lian’s origins?
Regardless, this Xue Lian’s cultivation was not weaker than Mi Tian’s, having also reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm!
“Do you two have business here?” Yang Kai’s face was full of smiles but the light in his eyes was slightly cold as he asked faintly.
“Of course we have business here,” Xue Lian grinned and stared at Yang Kai disdainfully, “But you’re not qualified to talk to this Young Lord. Get that human woman surnamed Xia to come out and see me.”
“You want to see Little Senior Sister?” Yang Kai chuckled and shook his head, “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Little Senior Sister is currently in the middle of performing Alchemy and won’t see anyone.”
“She won’t?” Xue Lian said with a sharp expression before coldly snorting, “That’s not up to her to decide! Since this Young Lord is here, she must see me, she has no say in the matter.
Mi Tian, who was standing behind Xue Lian, smiled and added, “Brother Xue Lian came this time to find that young lady to help him with Alchemy. En, we’ve heard that her Alchemy skills are quite good. Brother Xue Lian has prepared the necessary herbs, as long as she agrees to refine them, this matter can be settled.”
“Help with Alchemy?” Yang Kai nodded, “Such a small matter isn’t worth disturbing Little Senior Sister over, I can agree on her behalf, just give the herbs to me then go back and wait.”
Mi Tian raised his brow while Xue Lian sneered, “Give you the herbs? What thing are you? This Young Lord heard that you’re just a boy toy that relies on women to survive. Go back and tell that woman to get out here and see me! Hmph, a trivial human slut dares put on airs in front of this Young Lord, she’d best be careful I don’t tear off her limbs as punishment!”
The smile on Yang Kai’s face receded immediately as his eyes narrowed, suddenly showing a cold and callous expression, “Did you just insult my Senior Sister?”
“Are you deaf? So what if I insulted her?”
“Then you’ll have to pay for it!”
Yang Kai declared coldly and then, before anyone even saw him move, his figure flickered and mysteriously appeared directly in front of Xue Lian, his arm already extending outwards as he sent a punch towards the latter’s face, his Saint Qi bursting out with incredible intensity.
The other party was obviously here to make trouble, so Yang Kai had no interest in continuing to talk with him.
Xue Lian was startled. He had not seen how Yang Kai moved just now, but feeling a sharp murderous intent approaching him, he roared and threw out a punch of his own.
His eyes were filled with anger, but also with disdain.
Yang Kai suddenly attacking him had truly been a surprise. No human had ever dared initiate an attack on him.
However, this human boy was clearly much too overconfident, actually trying to compete with him with pure physical strength! Even considering all of Monster Emperor Star, Xue Lian’s lineage was renowned for its physical strength with few Monster Race masters being his equal, much less a mere human.
Xue Lian responded with his full strength, thinking he would easily crush Yang Kai.
*Hong…*
The fists collided and space seemed to collapse as an invisible shockwave exploded outwards from the point of impact.
Yang Kai’s body shook slightly as he raised his brow in surprise.
Xue Lian’s eyes bulged as a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
When their fists met, both were able to feel the full ferocity of the other’s blow and instantly realized their opponent was not one that could be casually dealt with.
The tremendous strength of the impact pushed both of them back a few steps before they could stabilize their stances.
“Fierce!” Mi Tian praised without hesitation. The moment Yang Kai made a move, he had lightly retreated, and after standing firm, he was able to see the exchange of blows between these two.
Mi Tian was quite surprised.
Although he had always felt that he was no worse than Xue Lian in terms of overall strength, if it was a contest of physical power, Mi Tian had no choice but to admit his inferiority; after all, Xue Lian’s bloodline was famous for its resilience and brute strength.
If he were to fight Xue Lian one on one, Mi Tian would do his best to avoid meeting him head on as much as possible and attack using his own strengths.
But this human named Yang Kai chose to clash directly with Xue Lian! On top of that, in their first exchange of blows, no one seemed to have a clear advantage…
Mi Tian’s expression became solemn as he immediately understood that Yang Kai being able to kill his two Thunder Flame Flying Lizards in Shimmering Moon City was not just a lucky eruption of strength but his real ability!
There was going to be a good show here! Mi Tian suddenly became excited, his eyes glancing over towards a certain position a few thousand metres away.
Over there, Yu Xiong was standing atop the palace’s roof with folded arms, looking down from on high with a triumphant expression. Noticing Mi Tian’s gaze, he raised his hand and waved, as if to say hello before turning back to continue watching the battle.
“Interesting, very interesting, human!” Xue Lian scanned Yang Kai up and down, re-examining him for a moment before shouting, “Again!”
As his words fell, a bloody glow suddenly appeared around his body, one that was filled with a malevolent and violent aura, causing Xue Lian’s aura to soar.
Stamping his foot, Xue Lian rushed out towards Yang Kai.
With every step he took, the ground shook and deep footprints were left behind. With these footprints as an origin, the ground split and cracked into a dense web-like pattern.
Yang Kai was instantly enveloped by a potent murderous intent.
This murderous intent was almost tangible and it felt like a cold blade was trying to slice into his skin. It was a disturbing feeling most would try to avoid.
But Yang Kai had no intention of backing down.
With a low, guttural roar, like that of a raging beast, Yang Kai’s muscles swelled up and his bones creaked as his aura also rapidly rose, shattering the murderous intent which was pressuring him.
Xue Lian rushed in front of Yang Kai and sent out a hail of fists, each one containing Heaven destroying and earth shattering power.
Yang Kai did not even try to dodge, allowing his opponent’s attack to land on him while he sent out his own iron fists towards Xue Lian’s vitals.
*Peng peng peng…*
Constant explosive impact sounds erupted together with loud shouts and roars, causing the skin of those who heard them to crawl.
Yang Kai showed no sign of being defeated and instead was meeting Xue Lian blow for blow.
Mi Tian was stunned while Yu Xiong’s jaw dropped. Even the green-clothed maid had lost the ability to think as her beautiful eyes shivered while watching this raw display.
She had always thought that Yang Kai was nothing more than a leech who clung to women for support, a shameless waste. She had secretly been pitying Xia Ning Chang, thinking this innocent Grandmaster must have problems with her vision. There were so many outstanding suitors in this world, but she had somehow chosen such a man.
But now, she finally understood that this man who she regarded as worthless had his own strong points.
For his woman, daring to fight head-on with Young Lord Xue Lian was already an astonishing feat…
At this moment, he seemed far more handsome than before!
The physical strength Xue Lian was so proud of failed to play any role in suppressing Yang Kai as it was clear the other party’s accomplishments in this field were comparable to his own.
With cold and ferocious glints in their eyes, like an enraged bloodthirsty Monster Beasts, Yang Kai and Xue Lian punched and kicked one another with reckless abandon, each blow delivering a shocking amount of power.
Between Yang Kai and Xue Lian, a wild strength surged about. This was a manifestation of the pure physical power these two were releasing.
Even masters like Mi Tian and Yu Xiong couldn’t tell the specific situation on the battlefield as they could only see the two figures flicker back and forth, hear the thunderous explosions, and feel the terrifying shockwaves coming from it.
A truly bloody battle!
Xue Lian roared, his voice filled with rage, while Yang Kai was in a similar state. Although it was the first time these two had met one another, they already seemed to see each other as life or death enemies, red light flashing from their eyes that was terrifying to behold.
The two figures were entangled together, bombarding each other violently. Just like reckless men who had never cultivated before, not using anything other than the raw power in their bodies, each trying to suppress the other.
Bursts of light constantly appeared, like meteors flying by, painting a gorgeous and intoxicating scene.
This kind of rough and simple fighting method was always looked down on by cultivators, but at this moment, this kind of brutal contest was mesmerizing to see.
Any kind of strength, when cultivated to the extreme, could not be despised.
Xue Lian became more and more startled as they fought.
He had never thought that a mere human could fight him head on with only physical power. Each time his fists landed on Yang Kai, it felt as if he was punching the hardest of rocks and the sound that rang out was like that of hammering metal.
The toughness of Yang Kai’s physical body made Xue Lian feel like it was forged from the strongest steel rather than flesh and blood.
But how was that possible? Even among the Monster Race, which was known for its physical strength, none could compare with his lineage in this domain, so how did this human accomplish this?
Was he really human?
What was most terrifying about Yang Kai, however, was as the battle continued, his momentum only grew stronger and stronger along with the power behind each of his fists. At this point, in the heat of the battle, Xue Lian felt as if he was losing the initiative.
Initially, their strengths were even, but after engaging in a fierce battle for a cup of tea worth of time, Xue Lian was beginning to feel somewhat suppressed.
[What was happening here? Could it be that this human had been holding back his full strength?]
Xue Lian’s expression became more and more solemn as his face twisted in rage.
He was a Heaven-sent genius, a dazzling, rising star on Monster Emperor Star! He did not fear facing strong enemies, instead his blood drove him to fight even more fiercely. Only by killing powerful masters could he prove his own strength!
He finally became interested in Yang Kai!
“Yu Xiong, what happened?” A few thousand metres away from the battlefield, on the roof of the palace, Shan Qing Luo suddenly appeared, her brow furrowed deeply as she asked anxiously while looking at the battle down below.
With such a loud disturbance, how could she have not noticed? Realizing that the fluctuations of a battle were emanating from Xia Ning Chang’s palace, she immediately flew over, and the scene she was greeted with was Yang Kai and Xue Lian engaging in a bloody struggle.
“Why is Yang Kai fighting Xue Lian? Didn’t Xue Lian just arrive a few days ago?” Shan Qing Luo asked suspiciously. If Yang Kai were fighting Mi Tian, she could still understand; after all, there was already a grudge between the two of them. Yang Kai had killed Mi Tian’s two Ninth-Order Monster Beasts, and with Mi Tian’s personality, how could he simply let such an insult pass?
But Yang Kai and Xue Lian had clearly never met before and there was no deep hatred between them, so how did they suddenly end up in a life or death battle?
“I don’t know,” Yu Xiong shrank his head and waved his hand quickly, indicating that this matter had nothing to do with him, but his shifting eyes were not missed by Shan Qing Luo.
“You really don’t know anything?” Shan Qing Luo squinted at Yu Xiong, a cold light flashing across her eyes.
“En, en…I really don’t know…”
“I’ll ask you one last time, what’s this all about!” Shan Qing Luo grit her teeth and shouted.
Yu Xiong’s face turned bitter as he looked at Shan Qing Luo mournfully, a sad expression on his face as he kept his mouth shut.
“It really is your fault!” Shan Qing Luo was furious, her chest heaving up and down. Xue Lian was no ordinary Monster Race master, and whether Yang Kai won or lost against him, the end result would be bad.
After realizing that all of this was planned out by Yu Xiong, Shan Qing Luo could not wait to dismember this cheap older brother of hers to vent her anger.
“I really didn’t do anything…” Yu Xiong scratched his head awkwardly, “Xue Lian came to the palace three days ago and I was just bragging about the Alchemy skills of Grandmaster Xia in front of him and Mi Tian. It just happened to be that Xue Lian wanted a certain pill refined, so…”
Shan Qing Luo did not say a word and just grit her teeth as he glared at Yu Xiong.
“It’s not Big Brother’s fault! Big Brother originally wanted to push Mi Tian to take action, but that hateful guy was too cunning and somehow manipulated Xue Lian into being the one to attack. En, if we really want to get to the bottom of this, it’s little sister’s fault.”
“My fault?” Shan Qing Luo screamed, her anger growing even more intense.
Yu Xiong felt like he was sitting on pins and needles as he anxious said, “You said that big brother couldn’t take action personally, but figuring out this little brat’s depths was a order from Adoptive Mother, so Big Brother spend three days and three nights wracking his brain before finally coming up with this plan! If you had just let Big Brother take care of this himself, I would definitely hold back to not hurt him; after all, nominally, he’s my brother-in-law, hahahaha!”
“So this is all my fault?” Shan Qing Luo flashed a smile that was in no way a smile.
“No no, it’s all Big Brother’s fault,” Yu Xiong readily admitted his mistake. He knew that if he pushed his luck any further, he would not have a good end, so he simply decided to play hoodlum while asking for his little sister’s forgiveness.
“If anything happens to my man, you’re dead!” Shan Qing Luo ground her teeth as she shouted.
“No need to be so anxious, Lady Qing Luo!” At that moment, a voice suddenly called out from the side.
Both Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong were shocked and quickly turned their heads to look at the source of the sound only to discover that at some point Ba He had arrived beside them.
As expected from the strongest master below the Origin King Realm on Monster Emperor Star! It seemed that after concealing himself for two hundred years, not only had his cultivation not regressed, but it had instead grown stronger!
Yu Xiong and Shan Qing Luo were both in awe and hurriedly saluted.
“Senior, what you said just now… Are you optimistic about Yang Kai’s chances?” Shan Qing Luo stared at Ba He with her beautiful eyes and asked with an excited expression.
Although she too had reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, which was the same as Ba He, when it came to vision and insight, she had no way to compare with the other party, so Ba He’s assurances just now had allowed her to calm down significantly.
Ba He chuckled and shook his head, “I didn’t say that, but… he’s not someone easy to deal with. Xue Lian probably has no way to defeat him. En, in his current state that is!”
After saying so, Ba He let out a sigh, “Truly incredible, the present younger generation is really amazing. This boy is only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator but he is actually able to fight Xue Lian to a draw. When he breaks through to the Third-Order, Xue Lian will certainly not be his opponent!”
Shan Qing Luo immediately beamed as she felt a deep sense of pride.
This was the man she had chosen! He was truly extraordinary!
Back then in the Central Capital, even with his weak cultivation, he had managed to kick up a storm. At that time, he often created miracles, and after several dozen years had passed, it seemed he had only grown more amazing!
Xue Lian was no ordinary Monster Race master. He had a powerful record and was a top-notch presence in the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
Shan Qing Luo’s beautiful eyes flashed brilliantly as her heart filled with pride, as if there was nothing Yang Kai could not do.
“Senior, did you just say that Xue Lian can’t defeat him in his current state?” Yu Xiong however paid more attention to the other meaning behind Ba He’s words.
“En, Xue Lian hasn’t used his full strength yet as he hasn’t stimulated the power of his Blood Flood Dragon lineage,” Ba He explained with a smile.
Hearing what he said, Shan Qing Luo could not stop her pretty face from darkening again, suddenly realizing this problem.
Yu Xiong glanced over at Shan Qing Luo cautiously before asking, “Then Senior, if Xue Lian goes all out, can my brother-in-law resist him?”
“I don’t know,” Ba He smiled faintly, “I don’t know the details of this boy. If this is the extent of his abilities, then he should be unable to stop Xue Lian, but if he has other cards to play then the end results of this battle will be difficult to determine. En, in my opinion though, in terms of pure physical strength, Xue Lian should be able to emerge victorious.”
“En, Junior agrees,” Yu Xiong nodded in agreement.
However, a human who was a Minor Realm lower in cultivation being able to compete with Xue Lian like this was more than enough to be proud of.
The assignment Yu Xiong and Shan Qing Luo’s adoptive mother had given him could be completed perfectly like this. After such a performance, Chi Yue should have no problem accepting Yang Kai. However, this little brat having other women was something their adoptive mother would absolutely not allow; how could his little sister possibly share her man with other women?
“Little Sister, rest assured. If things get dangerous, Big Brother will intervene to separate them,” Yu Xiong said comfortingly.
Shan Qing Luo just shot him a vicious look, however, causing Yu Xiong to laugh dryly.
“Hm, golden blood?” Ba He suddenly cried out in surprise as he stared at Yang Kai fixedly, a look of shock flashing across his face.
He discovered that the blood flowing from Yang Kai’s wounds was a pale gold in colour…
This was not a colour of blood a human should have. Did that mean he carried some kind of incredible bloodline that allowed him to compete with Xue Lian in physical strength?
But… what kind of bloodline could produce golden blood?
This blood that exuded a pale golden shimmer seemed to contain a potent vitality that would rapidly heal any wound on Yang Kai’s body, restoring his cracked skin and bruised physique in the blink of an eye.
[How could he have such powerful restorative ability?] Ba He was dumbfounded and involuntarily leaned forward a little, as if waiting to see the situation more clearly.
A few thousand metres away, the bloody battle continued.
Yang Kai and Xue Lian were both covered in light gold and red blood as they continued to entangle with one another.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
An intensive thundering suddenly erupted from the spot where the two were fighting and after a shockwave spread out, Yang Kai and Xue Lian separated.
The eyes of these two remained as sharp as ever, neither caring about their injuries as they stared at one another coldly.
“Human, you’re extraordinary, I take back my boasts from before, you’re a good opponent!” Xue Lian took a deep breath and shouted in a deep voice.
“Indeed!” Yang Kai grinned, “You on the other hand don’t seem to be worth much.”
Xue Lian laughed, “You’re arrogant enough, I’ll give you that. This Young Lord hasn’t met a human like you for a long time. The last human who dared talk to me like this was torn limb from limb by me. I hope you can hold on a bit longer than he did so we can have some more fun!”
As his words fell, Xue Lian’s exposed skin suddenly oozed drops of red blood, and as soon as these droplets appeared, they exploded into a blood mist which quickly enveloped Xue Lian.
Xue Lian’s aura, which was already incredibly violent, suddenly surged upwards.
In an instant, Xue Lian turned into a blood man, his entire body dyed red, giving him an incredibly terrifying appearance.
The blood mist swirled around him before suddenly condensing into scales which covered his skin.
At the same time, on Xue Lian’s forehead, two majestic crimson horns sprouted.
“Flood Dragon Transformation!” Ba He muttered in a low voice, his expression growing serious.
Shan Qing Luo’s expression also became tense while Yu Xiong’s grew solemn.
Xue Lian was the son of the Blood Flood Dragon Tribal Lord and possessed the bloodline of the Blood Flood Dragon, the most powerful Monster Race lineage on Monster Emperor Star, a fact that was acknowledged by all Monster Race cultivators.
After displaying his Flood Dragon Transformation, Xue Lian’s strength increased by about thirty percent; it was a core Secret Technique of the Blood Flood Dragon clan.
This kind of Secret Technique was one many powerful Monster Race masters possessed, but the increase in strength it could grant when used heavily depended on one’s bloodline.
The current Xue Lian’s momentum was completely different compared to just a moment ago. As a fierce and invisible aura spread outwards from him, it caused the world itself to tremble.
The blood all over his body seemed to be boiling and burning as a bright red aura enveloped him. The remaining red mist twisted and changed its form, rising into the sky like a flame, making him look like a burning fireball.
Xue Lian was going all out!
“This little boy Xue Lian’s Flood Dragon Transformation has already reached the grand accomplishment level,” In Chi Yue’s chambers, she muttered to herself softly while observing the situation more and more intently.
As one of the Ten Great Tribal Lords, she would not run over to watch the excitement like Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong; such behaviour was beneath her status. However, with her powerful Divine Sense, secretly watching from afar was not a problem.
In all honesty, she had greatly appreciated the battle between Yang Kai and Xue Lian.
Xue Lian was the son of Blood Flood Dragon Tribal Lord, a successor personally cultivated by Blood Flood Dragon Tribal Lord, and the future master of the Blood Flood Dragon Territory, yet even with his powerful Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, Xue Lian had failed to defeat Yang Kai.
If Yang Kai had been able to match an ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, he would already be a Heaven-sent genius, but his opponent was actually Xue Lian.
Chi Yue hadn’t expected that Yang Kai, as a human, could actually force Xue Lian to use his Flood Dragon Transformation in order to win a contest of raw physical power.
Even amongst the masters of the Monster Race, few people could accomplish this.
But Yang Kai was able to do so as a human!
This was unprecedented in Monster Emperor Star’s history. The Human Race cultivators on Monster Emperor Star were always suppressed by the Monster Race, especially when it came to cultivation resources, so humans even reaching the Origin Realm was extremely rare, let alone someone who could fight Blood Flood Dragon Tribal Lord’s favoured son head-on!
A look of shock filled Chi Yue’s face as she felt she had been mistaken before, and was unable to see Yang Kai’s true strength.
All that was left… was to determine what his accomplishments in other fields were like. If his overall strength was also as impressive, he would make a good enough match for Shan Qing Luo and Chi Yue wouldn’t have any reason to stand in the way of them becoming a couple.
If this was the case, not only would Shan Qing Luo feel relieved staying with her, but Chi Yue could also add another powerful supporter, achieving two goals with one stone.
After the incident with Ba He two hundred years ago, Chi Yue no longer dared object too forcefully, as she was afraid of pushing Shan Qing Luo away or even causing a repeat of that year’s mistakes.
“I hope you won’t disappoint this Queen!”
Thinking so, Chi Yue continued monitoring the battlefield with her Divine Sense, paying close attention to how the situation developed.
Outside the palace, Yang Kai frowned as he looked at Xue Lian strangely.
At this moment, Xue Lian gave off a terrifying aura and had an even more terrifying appearance, his skin covered in blood-red scales and his body radiating an ominous red light. With renewed fighting spirit, Xue Lian cast Yang Kai an indifferent look and laughed triumphantly, “Human, are you afraid now? If you are, it’s not too late to beg for mercy!”
“Do you only know how to talk big?” Yang Kai curled his lips as the strange expression on his face became stronger.
The moment Xue Lian used his Flood Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai felt a certain force in his body stir as if wanting to escape his control and rush out into the open.
This surprised him greatly.
After figuring out what exactly it was that was making him restless though, Yang Kai immediately relaxed.
Yang Kai didn’t allow this mysterious power to erupt, but instead suppressed it while simultaneously emitting a five coloured light, which seemed to possess its own spirituality, from his figure.
Yang Kai’s already powerful momentum soared upwards once more!
“What is this?” Ba He was shocked and quickly craned his neck towards Yang Kai.
“Damn, he really hasn’t been using his full strength! Isn’t he a bit too much of a freak?” Yu Xiong’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as a look of astonishment filled his face.
Mi Tian, who had been watching from a distance, was also stunned. He thought that after Xue Lian showed his Flood Dragon Transformation, Yang Kai would immediately lose, but on the contrary, in the blink of an eye, Yang Kai also used a magical Secret Technique to increase his strength.
[The Human Race’s Secret Techniques are truly broad and profound!] Mi Tian was excited as he stared at Yang Kai without blinking, as if trying to figure out just what effect this strange five-coloured light possessed.
Streams of yellow, blue, white, red, and golden light wove together around Yang Kai, each one giving off a distinct aura; however, these five auras did not conflict with one another but instead were perfectly blended together.
Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi!
Yang Kai having such extremely high attainments in physical strength was first because he had a strong foundation and second he had refined a large amount of Life Revitalizing Jade Cream to replace most of his original blood with pure Golden Blood which had astonishing vitality.
Now, after cultivating the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art, his physical strength had risen to a new height.
This was a heaven defying Body Tempering Secret Art.
When Yang Kai cultivated it, the five supreme elemental treasures he used were all of extremely high grade, so the effect was naturally remarkable.
Yang Kai had reached the minor accomplishment stage in the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art now, so he could use it in battle!
Seeing Yang Kai shrouded in this five coloured light, Xue Lian was stunned for a moment, but soon he grinned fiercely, “Amazing! Human, it seems that you also have a trump card left to play; now, let’s see whose is stronger, yours or mine!”
As soon as his words fell, his figure flickered and transformed into a blood-red streak of light that blasted towards Yang Kai.
This red light, like a cloud of blood, descended directly on top of Yang Kai’s head, then split apart like a giant mouth that tried to engulf Yang Kai, swallowing him whole. A thick blood mist filled with a violent and malevolent aura filled the air and stimulated the base instincts in Yang Kai’s heart, causing his eyes to turn bloodshot.
Yang Kai gave a long exhale as he transformed the five-coloured rays of light around him into a kind of energy armour before concentrating a dazzling golden radiance onto his fists. In an instant, Yang Kai’s hands seemed to be covered with countless tiny golden needles. Clenching his fists, Yang Kai sent out a barrage of punches towards the approaching blood mist.
Of the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qis, the Metal Attribute was the sharpest and possessed the strongest lethality.
The dense blood-red scale armour on Xue Lian’s body appeared very strong at first glance, so Yang Kai naturally intended to use his Metal Attribute Indestructible Sword Qi to counter-attack.
The masters who were paying attention to this battle overtly and secretly held their breaths at this moment, wondering who would emerge victorious between Yang Kai and Xue Lian after they had both used their Secret Techniques.
The result was shocking!
Instead of the intense struggle between two evenly matched opponents that had occurred before, this time, after Yang Kai and Xue Lian collided, Xue Lian immediately suffered a clear loss.
From inside the bloody light, Xue Lian roared fiercely while Yang Kai remained silent; however, everyone could detect that he was launching an intense and merciless assault.
Blood splashed out as broken scale-like objects were sent flying. Naturally these were Xue Lian’s blood scales.
Ba He’s eyes shrank.
It wasn’t until this moment that he finally realized he had been greatly mistaken before. Yang Kai’s accomplishments in Body Tempering and physical strength had surpassed the Blood Flood Dragon lineage which was famous for its tenacity and intrepidity.
In his mind, Ba He placed himself in Xue Lian’s position and tried to think of a way to resolve this immediate crisis if he was the latter.
The result of his analysis caused him to pale.
Helpless! He was absolutely helpless!
The true strength of this Second-Order Origin Returning Realm human wasn’t inferior to any master at the Third-Order; in fact, this body was fiercer than most Third-Orders! Even if Ba He were the one fighting him, he was likely the one who would be defeated in the end.
A fine sweat oozed from Ba He’s forehead as he groaned in his heart, completely dumbfounded as he wondered just where Yang Kai had come from.
Even if one searched the entire Star Field, they would likely not find a second genius of this level!
“Little Sister, which Cultivation Star did you say my brother-in-law came from?” Yu Xiong asked blankly.
“A backwards low-level star,” Shan Qing Luo smiled, “You wouldn’t know it even if I told you.”
[A low-level star…] Yu Xiong felt like he had lost the ability to think.
Could a human who emerged from a low-level star have such frightening strength? This monster was strong enough to make all the so-called geniuses of the Star Field commit suicide with grief.
“En, now can you make a report to Adoptive Mother? I believe Adoptive Mother will be very satisfied with this result,” Shan Qing Luo glanced at Yu Xiong, with a smile that could enthrall any living creature.
“I can…” Yu Xiong nodded repeatedly. If such a human was unable to satisfy their adoptive mother, then it was likely no one would ever be able to.
In this battle, this newfound brother-in-law of his had proven his strength to everyone.
Shan Qing Luo stopped talking and instead focused all her attention on the battle, immersing herself in Yang Kai’s overwhelming display of strength, unable to extricate herself.
After confirming that Yang Kai had the upper hand, she was no longer worried about him and instead began to appreciate the fight.
A fierce roar rang out suddenly as Xue Lian retreated from the engagement, his eyes flashing with horror as he stared at Yang Kai tremblingly.
His aura was sluggish, and many of his blood-red scales had been destroyed. Even the two horns on his forehead seemed to have become a little dim, no longer emitting the dazzling luster from before.
Shame! He was showing such a shameful display!
Being forced into this state by a human cultivator a Minor Realm lower than him was a stain Xue Lian would never be able to remove from his life!
He could not accept such a result.
On Monster Emperor Star, Xue Lian was famous and feared no cultivator beneath the Origin King Realm; he had not even put Mi Tian in his eyes, but now this human, with an unknown background, had forced him to suffer such a big loss. It was nothing short of a humiliation to him and his entire bloodline.
How could he accept it? How could he be willing to give up?
“Human, you’ve forced me to do this!” Xue Lian roared, and after speaking, a decisive expression appeared on his face as he spat out a round, blood-red bead from his mouth.
This round bead was about the size of a baby’s fist, and it contained a terrifying power. Vaguely, one could even see a tiny snake-like creature swimming about inside this blood read bead.
“Has Xue Lian gone mad!?” Yu Xiong was shocked as he screamed in disbelief, “He actually brought out his Monster Core!”
“Not good, Xue Lian is going all out!” A look of horror flashed across Ba He’s face and he hurriedly shouted, “Stop him!”
Saying so, he rushed towards the battlefield.
Shan Qing Luo seemed to have finally recovered as well and hurriedly followed after Ba He.
Monster Race cultivators, whether they were Monster Beasts that assumed human form, or were born in human form, each had a Monster Core in their body. A Monster Core was the most important treasure of a Monster Race and was tied directly to their life.
In battle, unless a Monster Race cultivator had no other recourse, would never summon their Monster Core, because once it was even slightly damaged, the consequences would be disastrous.
The risk was great, but by using their Monster Core, the strength a Monster Race cultivator could display would greatly increase.
Xue Lian spitting out his Monster Core at this time showed just how blinded by rage he had become, so it was no wonder Ba He and the others became panic-stricken.
Xue Lian’s identity was extraordinary, so if he used his Monster Core and still lost to Yang Kai, Blood Flood Dragon Tribal Lord would never let this matter drop. The anger of a top master no less powerful than Chi Yue could affect all of Monster Emperor Star!
On the other hand, if Xue Lian won in his crazed state, how could Yang Kai’s end be good?
How could Ba He, Yu Xiong, and Shan Qing Luo simply stand by?
No matter what, they had to stop Xue Lian before he could display the power contained in his Monster Core! Only by doing this could they possibly make big things small and make small things nothing.
The movements of the trio were swift. They were only a few thousand metres from the battlefield to begin with, and with their strength, such a distance could be covered in a flash.
Ba He opened his mouth and was just about to try to act as a peacemaker, persuading the two to stop, but before he could say anything, a deafening roar resounded from Yang Kai’s body while simultaneously an overwhelming force spread out.
Even with his great strength, Ba He couldn’t stop his heart from trembling at that moment.
The words he wanted to say caught in his throat as his eyes stared towards Yang Kai in utter shock.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the roar just now was…
“A dragon roar!” Inside her chamber, Chi Yue’s beautiful face paled as she instantly got to her feet and her beautiful eyes glowed with a strange brilliance, as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
Even with her Second-Order Origin King cultivation, when this roar resounded, she still felt a chill run up her spine. She was struck with an instinctive awe that had nothing to do with strength.
Chi Yue had a trace of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s bloodline in her, which was what allowed her to cultivate to the Origin King Realm. This was also the reason she was so optimistic about Shan Qing Luo who had actually absorbed the Source of a true Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, accepted her as an adopted daughter, and cultivated her vigorously.
Chi Yue was looking forward to the day when Shan Qing Luo could bring out the full power of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider and revive its long lost ancient glory.
The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider was a Variant Ancient Divine Spirit, one of the most terrifying Monster Beasts to have ever lived.
However, compared to true legendary Ancient Divine Spirits, there was still somewhat of a gap.
Amongst Ancient Divine Spirits though, the dragon and the phoenix were hailed as sovereigns!
Unfortunately, all powerful Divine Spirits had long ago disappeared, with only obscure references in the oldest ancient books aggrandizing their might remaining today.
The Ancient Divine Spirits were thought to only exist in legends, and although they technically belonged to the Monster Race… they were born as emperors and were existences that every Monster Race would have to bow before and worship.
Chi Yue also thought that the Ancient Divine Spirits had long ago disappeared.
But now, in her palace, she actually heard a genuine dragon roar.
As this deafening roar rang out, shaking the Heavens, the faint trace of Heavenly Moon Demon Spider blood in Chi Yue’s veins trembled in fear.
Not daring to hesitate, Chi Yue’s figure flickered as she shot out from her chambers and rushed towards the battlefield.
She knew that Xue Lian was in terrible trouble this time!
Outside the palace, Yang Kai wore a cold look as he took a deep breath and gave up suppressing the rampaging mysterious power in his body and allowed it to fully erupt.
The dragon roar shook the sky as golden light exploded outwards then condensed into a massive golden figure that swam about Yang Kai’s body. Its figure was obscuring the heavens as an imposing majesty pulsed from its form. Its two eyes, which were bigger than houses, also flashed with the purest golden light, awing all those who saw them.
Shaking its head and waving its tail, as soon as it appeared, it rushed towards Xue Lian without pause.
Xue Lian was dumbfounded and the rampaging, flame-like aura around his body seemed to instantly be doused with a basin of cold water and was all but annihilated.
In the instant Xue Lian fell absent-minded, the golden dragon’s figure opened its mouth wide, chomped down on his Monster Core, then swallowed it into its abdomen before immediately returning to the top of Yang Kai’s head to stare down at everyone below.
“Impossible!” Mi Tian screamed out as he stared at the golden dragon blankly, unable to contain his shock at its sudden appearance.
“A Divine Dragon!” Yu Xiong almost bit his tongue as he shivered violently.
Ba He simply stared at the astonishing scene in front of him speechlessly, as if he had lost the ability to even form coherent thoughts.
Shan Qing Luo’s beautiful eyes flashed with a brilliant splendor as a giant silver spider phantom with a crescent moon pattern on its head manifested behind her to resist the thick Dragon Pressure. This spider was bigger than a house and was so lifelike it could easily have been mistaken for a living creature.
Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!
Of all those who were present, only Shan Qing Luo’s situation wasn’t so embarrassing.
Firstly, she was born a human, so the Dragon Pressure brought the least amount of suppression to her. Secondly, she had absorbed the Source of a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, so she was able to partially resist the powerful Dragon Pressure.
Even so, she too was thoroughly shocked by the Golden Dragon that suddenly emerged from Yang Kai’s body.
The entire audience felt silent as the bloody battle came to an abrupt end, leaving only the laboured breathing of one of the fighters to fill the void.
Yang Kai glanced upwards as a strange look flashed across his face before turning to Xue Lian and saying faintly, “Sorry, this guy seems to be very interested in your Monster Core, I couldn’t suppress him anymore!”
Xue Lian’s expression had become extremely dispirited and the once thick pride that covered his eyes had seemingly been crushed to dust.
In this battle, from beginning to end, Yang Kai had thoroughly wounded him both inside and out, leaving him in a battered and broken state!
Under the terrifying Dragon Pressure, Xue Lian failed to even think about taking back his Monster Core.
“Enough!” A shout suddenly rang out as a beautiful woman suddenly appeared and swept a fierce glance around the audience before finally fixing her sight on the giant Golden Dragon. Taking a deep breath, her rich peaks heaved exaggeratedly.
“Adoptive Mother!” Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong shouted quickly.
“Milady!” Ba He saluted respectfully.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as he swept his Divine Sense across this beautiful woman but was shocked to discover he was unable to sense her depths at all.
An Origin King!
The identity of the other party was easy to guess, this was undoubtedly the master of this palace: Chi Yue!
This was not the first time Yang Kai had seen an Origin King as he had been around Gui Zu for some time, but the pressure he felt from Chi Yue was much stronger than the one he felt from Gui Zu.
After all, Gui Zu was only a First-Order Origin King while Chi Yue had reached the Second-Order.
The gap between one Minor Realm and the next at the Origin King Realm was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.
“Junior Yang Kai, greets Senior Chi Yue!” Yang Kai cupped his fists and shouted loudly.
Only then did Chi Yue cast her eyes towards him and gently nodded, “You are also a guest in my palace, no need to be overly polite.”
Yang Kai grinned and said freely, “Junior has long admired Senior’s resounding reputation and should have taken the initiative to visit to pay his respects, but Junior’s status is low so he did not have the face to disturb Senior. Please forgive this Junior as he meant no disrespect.”
“It doesn’t matter, this Queen also had not planned to see you,” Chi Yue replied lightly.
“Adoptive Mother, this time…” Seeing that Chi Yue’s attitude towards Yang Kai seemed lukewarm, Shan Qing Luo couldn’t help panicking, thinking that she was blaming him and hurriedly tried to defend him.
“There’s no need to say anything, I know,” Chi Yue interrupted her with a wave, not giving her a chance to speak. With her phoenix eyes narrowed, Chi Yue looked down at Yang Kai before opening her lips lightly and said, “The battle has been concluded, shouldn’t you return his Monster Core now?”
“You want me to give it back?” Yang Kai raised his brow as he showed a look of surprise.
“You’re not thinking of killing ruthlessly are you?” Chi Yue slowly shook her head, “You’re a smart man, you should know what the consequences will be if you do this.”
“Junior is truly ignorant and hopes Senior Chi Yue will enlighten him!” Yang Kai stared back at Chi Yue leisurely, not showing the slightest fear.
Ba He was sweating all over while Mi Tian felt like the soles of his feet were cramping. Yu Xiong was simply shivering to the side…
Someone actually dared speak to Lady Chi Yue like this! This little brat really didn’t know how high the Heavens were or how thick the Earth was!
What good would enraging a Monster Race Tribal Lord do for him? Didn’t he understand the concept of sparing those who you could afford to spare?
“Little bastard!” Even if Chi Yue’s temperament was quite good, she couldn’t help feeling exasperated by Yang Kai’s nonsense, but after thinking about it for a moment, her expression became gentle and she said, “This Queen is giving you face, so you should give this Queen some as well. Suffice it to say, I am many years your elder, saying too much is tiresome for me.”
“Is Senior old? Junior feels that Senior is still a full flower not inferior in any way to a young maiden,” Yang Kai said with astonishment.
Ba He and the Monster Race master present immediately gawked…
Everyone stared at Yang Kai like he was some kind of freak.
Did this brat just sexually harass Lady Tribal Lord? He did, didn’t he?
In this world, someone actually dared sexually harass Lady Tribal Lord?
Looking at Chi Yue cautiously, Ba He and others discovered to their further astonishment that Lady Tribal Lord didn’t show the slightest anger, instead flashing a strange smile as if she was simply enjoying the compliment. A moment later, however, she coldly snorted and said, “You’re quite glib even for a human, no wonder Qing Luo is so deeply in love with you. You must have deceived her like this, right?”
“Senior has spoken incorrectly, Junior conquered Qing Luo with his personal charm, not some honeyed words,” Yang Kai shook his head with a serious face.
“Wild!” Chi Yue pursed her lips and smiled, but she quickly calmed herself and put on a serious expression, “Regardless, you may not act too presumptuous in my palace. If Xue Lian has some kind of accident here, this Queen won’t have a way to explain to Xue Jiao. Return his Monster Core and treat it as this Queen owing you a favour.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced over at the pale Xue Lian, a slight look of reluctance on his face.
“He doesn’t need to do anything!” Xue Lian suddenly shouted, “A trivial Divine Dragon remnant image can’t restrain this Young Lord’s Monster Core!”
Saying so, he opened his mouth and inhaled sharply.
A soaring dragon roar sounded again as a blood-red light suddenly shot out of the Golden Dragon’s body and was swallowed by Xue Lian.
He had easily taken back his Monster Core!
The Golden Dragon was furious at its snack being stolen and bared its fangs in anger for a time.
“Human, this Young Lord acted carelessly just now, allowing you to seize the advantage, but do you really think you can beat this Young Lord with this kind of faded afterimage? You look down on me too much!” Xue Lian said with a competitive look on his face, but all of his prior contempt was now gone and a trace of dread still flashed across his eyes.
Whether he admitted it or not, Yang Kai’s strength was not inferior to his at all.
“Enough. Xue Lian, since you are here in this Queen’s palace, you will have to abide by this Queen’s rules. Do you think you’re still in Blood Flood Dragon Territory? Before you came here, did Xue Jiao not teach you how you should conduct yourself?” Chi Yue scolded, “This Queen will forgive you this once, but if anything similar happens again, you know the consequences!”
Xue Lian’s face filled with a look of struggle but eventually he cupped his fists and said, “Xue Lian was disrespectful and hopes Senior Chi Yue will not take offence.”
“Mi Tian, take him back with you to rest, there aren’t many days left before you Juniors have to set off. Make sure you watch him well, if he tries to stir up trouble again, this Queen will hold you responsible!” Chi Yue turned her gaze towards Mi Tian, who had been keeping his distance the whole time, and declared coldly.
“Yes!” Mi Tian replied obediently. No matter how arrogant or rampant he was, he knew he had to act cautiously in front of Chi Yue.
None of the Monster Race’s Ten Great Tribal Lords could be provoked carelessly, let alone Chi Yue who ranked amongst the strongest.
He quickly flew over to Xue Lian, wanting to bring him away.
“Human, you’d best remember this. This matter isn’t settled!” Xue Lian looked at Yang Kai hatefully and left some threatening words before flying off.
Yang Kai simply sneered and watched these two fly off for a while before withdrawing the Golden Dragon into his body.
“You also go back,” Chi Yue casually waved to Yu Xiong and the others before turning her eyes back to Yang Kai and ordering, “As for you, come with this Queen!”
Saying so, she swiftly stretched out her hand towards Yang Kai and exerted a gentle force that instantly enveloped him.
Perceiving that Chi Yue had no malicious intent, Yang Kai did not try to resist and simply allowed her to do as she willed.
The next moment, the pair disappeared.
“Adoptive Mother!” Shan Qing Luo exclaimed.
“Rest assured, Little Sister. Adoptive Mother shouldn’t want to harm him. With Adoptive Mother’s great strength, if she really had ill intentions, he would not be able to resist,” Yu Xiong comforted
Shan Qing Luo hesitated for a moment before gritting her teeth and hurrying towards Chi Yue’s private palace.
Inside her chambers, Chi Yue and Yang Kai’s figures appeared.
Yang Kai looked around and found that the decor here was quite simple, but it had a noble aura to it despite its sparseness.
[This should be where Chi Yue lives.] He speculated.
After bringing Yang Kai here, Chi Yue stared straight at him, her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, not showing any further movement.
Yang Kai was an island of calm, however, staring back at her without fear.
After a while, Chi Yue gently nodded and then spoke in a tone that made it impossible to tell if she was complimenting or ridiculing him, “Your courage is indeed not small, there likely isn’t a second human who dares to stare at this Queen. Do you really believe this Queen won’t act against you?”
“Probably not,” Yang Kai chuckled, “Senior doesn’t look like a person who bullies the weak.”
“If you really think so, then you greatly underestimate the value of your Divine Dragon Source!” Chi Yue took a deep breath and put on a solemn expression, “To tell you the truth, I am also quite interested in the Divine Dragon Source in your body, so much so that even now I am thinking about killing you and seizing it. With it, this Queen may be able to spy into greater depths of the Heavenly Way and break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm. Do you have any idea how many years this Queen has waited for such an opportunity? I can barely resist such temptation!”
Yang Kai still didn’t show any fear after hearing this however, simply nodding lightly and saying, “If Senior says so, it means that you don’t want to kill me. En, may I know the reason?”
“Seems you’re not stupid!” Chi Yue snorted coldly before turning around and taking a seat, not trying to conceal her intentions at all as she explained, “There are three reasons. First, this Queen cannot guarantee that after killing you she can seize that Divine Dragon Source. Since it chose you, it means it has recognized you as well, and this Queen is not certain she can make it recognize her. Second, even if it does accept me, I still may not have an opportunity to break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding, “And the third reason?”
“You are the one Qing Luo loves, if this Queen really killed you, I would lose Qing Luo. The gains do not outweigh the losses. Her future potential is far greater than this Queen’s!”
“Junior admires Senior’s straightforward and upright talk!” Yang Kai grinned.
“Cease your flattery, this Queen cares not for it,” Chi Yue’s expression remained solemn. “Although this Queen does not want to kill you, do you know how much trouble you’ve caused this time?”
Yang Kai frowned for a moment before thoughtfully asking, “Is Senior referring to Xue Lian?”
“What trouble is he?” Chi Yue snorted, “The trouble this Queen refers to is naturally the other Tribal Lords on Monster Emperor Star!”
Yang Kai was stunned briefly but soon understood what Chi Yue was implying.
“You still underestimate the attraction of your Divine Dragon Source to us. If a Human Origin King learned you possess a Divine Dragon Source, they may be surprised, even amazed, and possibly find a way to strangle you before you fully mature, but to us Monster Race cultivators, the Divine Dragon… the Divine Dragon is a supreme sovereign, an existence that the hundreds of millions of my Monster Race’s clansmen worship. Who wouldn’t want to have such a treasure for their own?” Chi Yue said gravely, “What do you think will happen once news of this leaks out to the other nine Tribal Lords? At that time, all of them will not hesitate to travel to this Red Moon Territory to target you! When that happens, do you think this Queen will speak to protect you or not? This Queen does not belittle her strength, but two fists cannot block four strikes. Do you now understand how much trouble you’ve caused for this Queen?”
“En…” Yang Kai was surprised, “Junior never thought about this, but Senior, is this time’s matter really Junior’s fault? In the end, doesn’t Senior carry some responsibility for allowing things to reach this point?”
The time he was fighting Xue Lian was not short, and Yang Kai was certain Chi Yue had noticed it; however, since she had not moved, she had obviously tacitly consented to it. There was even a chance she was the one who had secretly arranged for this fight to happen.
Chi Yue glared at Yang Kai ferociously, naturally refusing to admit she played any part in this.
“To put it bluntly, this Queen has nothing to do with you, any trouble you caused, you’ll have to solve yourself. This Queen won’t interfere,” Chi Yue declared, almost as if she were trying to sweep Yang Kai out completely.
“Heh heh, Junior had no intention to ask Senior for shelter,” Yang Kai touched his nose, “If they want the Divine Dragon Source in my body, they must have the ability to take it!”
Chi Yue frowned and looked at him blankly, taking quite some time to recover from her shock before sneering, “Just how rampant are you? Even not putting the Tribal Lords of my Monster Race into your eyes. This Queen always knew that humans were arrogant, but never has she encountered one as wild as you.”
“Those who have the ability can act however they please!” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, “Though it may displease Senior to hear this, even if you wanted to kill this Junior, you may not be able to succeed.”
Chi Yue narrowed her phoenix eyes and questioned in an icy tone, “Are you provoking this Queen?”
Yang Kai just shook his head slowly, “Junior has no such intentions, he is simply speaking the truth.”
Chi Yue stared at him seriously, as if wanting to see if he was trying to act mysterious while in reality was bluffing, but all she could see was the steadfast expression on Yang Kai’s face that showed no sign of guilt from telling a lie. She really did not know where Yang Kai got his confidence from.
She was a Second-Order Origin King while he was a mere Second-Order Origin Realm brat. There was a gap of an entire Great Realm between them, so even if his performance in his battle with Xue Lian was impressive, Chi Yue was confident it would only take her one strike to kill him.
Having lived for so many years, she had never met such a wild and aggressive boy like Yang Kai!
However, it was undeniable that although this brat was a little arrogant, he had his own unique charm. No wonder Qing Luo had fallen inextricably in love with him.
“You still have a trump card to use!” Chi Yue’s pretty face finally showed a hint of surprise.
She thought that Yang Kai had been going all out in his fight against Xue Lian, but after hearing him just now, she realized that Yang Kai had still been holding back!
Xue Lian’s defeat was not undeserved! Compared to this human boy, all the rising stars of the Monster Race like Mi Tian and Xue Lian were simply mediocre…
“Indeed!” Yang Kai readily admitted.
Chi Yue sighed softly, looking at Yang Kai as if seeing a true monster. After a long time, she waved her hand languidly, “Forget it, it’s useless to investigate these things now! Right now, you can be considered a member of the Half-Monster Race, and as your elder, this Queen will naturally not embarrass you too much. Good, I will not try to prevent or interfere in the relationship between you and Qing Luo anymore, we can just… let nature take its course.”
“Since when did I become a member of the Half-Monster Race?” Yang Kai yelled with a blank face. Chi Yue’s comment had made him very unhappy.
He was clearly one hundred percent human, guaranteed exchange if not genuine!
“Huh! Do you think that’s an insult to you?” Chi Yue looked at Yang Kai coldly, “This is an opportunity that others cannot even dream of possessing! Boy, you should be doing your best to show a look of satisfaction!”
“An opportunity…” Yang Kai’s brow twitched, hesitating for a moment before asking, “Is Senior referring to that so-called Divine Dragon Source?”
“Indeed! Your current situation is somewhat similar to Qing Luo’s. As a human, you have inherited the Source of a powerful Monster Race, so you can now be considered a Half-Monster!” Chi Yue nodded.
“Regarding this Divine Dragon Source matter, can Senior explain about it to Junior?” Yang Kai asked.
“What do you want to know?” Chi Yue asked back.
“Junior would like to know everything about it…” Yang Kai looked at Chi Yue with a mischievous smile.
Chi Yue frowned, but didn’t get angry, instead deciding to explain patiently, “You should have heard the term ‘Ancient Divine Spirit’ already, yes? In ancient times, Ancient Divine Spirits were powerful creatures that were born at the dawn of the Heavens and Earth. They were the predecessors of my Monster Race and the strongest of existences! My Monster Race nowadays has tens of millions of races that were derived from the blood of these Ancient Divine Spirit, but most have only inherited faint traces of those bloodlines, so they are relatively small and weak. Others, however, have inherited stronger bloodlines which make them more formidable. En, that Xue Lian who you fought carries the bloodline of the Blood Flood Dragon, a descendant of the True Dragons. His bloodline is also quite strong, which is why he was instantly suppressed when the Divine Dragon Source in your body revealed itself, and why that Divine Dragon Source was so interested in Xue Lian’s Monster Core. If it had been allowed to swallow Xue Lian’s Monster Core, it would be able to strengthen itself.”
Yang Kai listened carefully, nodding his head from time to time. This was information straight from the Monster Race’s Red Moon Tribal Lord so undoubtedly it carried great authority.
“However, even though you have the power of a Divine Dragon Source, you don’t seem to know how to use it, you’re completely squandering this huge opportunity,” Chi Yue looked at Yang Kai mockingly, “That’s also why Xue Lian could easily take back his Monster Core from you. If that weren’t the case, how could he still be alive?”
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
This so-called Divine Dragon Source was something he obtained from the Inheritance Heaven Cave with Su Yan back when he was in High Heaven Pavilion.
Many years later, Yang Kai had learned that this inheritance had actually been left behind by the founders of Tong Xuan Realm’s Dragon Phoenix Palace.
However, during the following decades, Yang Kai had almost never used it for anything. Only when he dual cultivated with Su Yan would the Golden Dragon Tattoo engraved on his body become more active.
Chi Yue saying he was squandering this huge opportunity was not wrong.
“Let’s set that aside for now. Each of the Ancient Divine Spirits from antiquity possessed extraordinary strength and were Emperors of the Monster Race. Among them, the dragon and the phoenix were hailed as the strongest! However, for some unknown reason, at some point, these Ancient Divine Spirits all vanished. There are rumours saying that after a great battle, ninety-nine percent of all Ancient Divine Spirits fell. There are also rumours that these Divine Spirits have simply gone into hiding. As for the truth, no one knows.”
“After the disappearance of the Ancient Divine Spirits, some other powerful Monster Races took the lead. These Monster Races were called Variant Ancient Divine Spirits! The Blood Flood Dragon, Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, Nine Silent Winged Tiger, and many others belong to this category. Although these Variant Divine Spirits appeared later, some were so powerful they were not inferior to orthodox Divine Spirits. Some were even stronger than their predecessors. Moreover, some Variant Divine Spirits have survived until now. Naturally, after countless generations, these bloodlines have become quite thin and are incomparable to their ancient ancestors.”
“Xue Lian’s bloodline and the Source Qing Luo possesses belong to Variants, correct?” Yang Kai asked humbly.
“Indeed,” Chi Yue nodded, “That’s why this Queen said that Qing Luo’s future achievements will be brighter than this Queen’s! What she has is a complete Source, unlike this Queen who simply inherited a thin bloodline. In a sense, she and I can be considered one family. You should understand from this just how much Qing Luo means to this Queen.”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai nodded sincerely.
“Good, back to Divine Spirits then,” Chi Yue was very satisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude. “Just now, this Queen said that among Divine Spirit’s, the dragon and phoenix were rulers, but among the Dragon Clan, the Golden Divine Dragons were considered emperors! What you inherited is the Source of a Golden Divine Dragon!”
“Golden Divine Dragon!” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed.
“Simply put, the power you inherited, even among Divine Spirits, is the strongest! Now, you should understand just how attractive it is to the Tribal Lords of the Monster Race, right?”
Yang Kai gently nodded before suddenly grinning, “Junior admires Senior deeply for being able to resist such temptation.”
“Without Qing Luo, do you think this Queen would be speaking any nonsense with you?” Chi Yue’s elegant demeanor turned cold as she grumbled unwillingly, “Without Qing Luo, this Queen would have already caught you and refined your Soul.”
“Haha!” Yang Kai smiled dryly.
“However, this Queen is also very curious just how much of the Divine Dragon Source you inherited…” Chi Yue looked at Yang Kai with great interest, her Divine Sense scanning him carefully.
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders.
“Hm, that’s strange,” Suddenly Chi Yue seemed to have discovered something, the look on her pretty face becoming even more curious. “Why… do I sense the power of two different Divine Spirits in your body? One is the previous Divine Dragon, but there is another as well…”
“Does Senior mean this?” Yang Kai frowned, and without hesitating, summoned the Verdant Dragon Bone Sword and poured his Saint Qi into it. With a loud dragon roar, a green dragon appeared above Yang Kai’s head and stared down at Chi Yue condescendingly.
Chi Yue’s phoenix eyes suddenly shrank as she cried out, “Impossible, you even have something like this!”
With her eyesight, it was easy for her to see that this was an artifact refined from a piece of Dragon Bone as well as what seemed to be a Dragon Bead! On top of that, there was even a faint Dragon Soul inside the Dragon Bead.
Chi Yue was shocked as her eyes turned red with envy at the opportunities Yang Kai had.
He was just a human, so why did he have so many opportunities that could drive any Monster Race master insane with jealousy?
“Is this your trump card?” Chi Yue gasped as she felt the rush of Dragon Pressure which caused her thin Heavenly Moon Demon Spider bloodline to tremble slightly. After some time, however, the excitement on her face calmed down and was replaced with a complicated expression, “If this is what you are depending on, then this Queen would advise you not to think too highly of yourself. With the power of this artifact, you might be invincible against another Origin King Realm Cultivator… that is, if you were in the same realm as them. Origin King Realm is something that an Origin Returning Realm cannot resist against.”
Yang Kai simply smiled nonchalantly.
[This little brat still has other cards to play!] Chi Yue was truly shocked. What kind of freak was he?
Yang Kai looked at Chi Yue lightly.
He knew that what Chi Yue just felt was not the Dragon Bone Sword but the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul!
However, the Ice Phoenix Remnant Soul was not owned by him and was only temporarily using him as a vessel. It belonged to Su Yan!
Yang Kai had chosen to expose the Dragon Bone Sword rather than let Chi Yue detect the existence of the Ice Phoenix.
If Chi Yue learned of it, Yang Kai was not sure how she would react.
“Forget it, put it away, if you keep bringing such things out like this, this Queen may not be able to resist taking you,” Chi Yue said sternly.
Yang Kai responded by storing the Dragon Bone Sword into his body.
Chi Yue sat silently for some time, as if her mood was still fluctuating. Yang Kai also remained silent, simply standing and waiting, not daring to disturb her rashly.
After a full cup of tea worth of time, Chi Yue raised her head again and stared at Yang Kai, a strange smiling creeping onto her face as she asked, “Boy, do you want to unearth the power of the Divine Dragon Source in your body?”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “Senior has a way?”
“Haha, why would this Queen not have such a method?” Chi Yue smiled slyly, “Just now, this Queen witnessed your battle with Xue Lian from beginning to end. En, although your level of Body Tempering far exceeds that of Xue Lian’s, and this Queen doesn’t know exactly how you managed to achieve it, it must have something to do with that five coloured ability you showed! However, if you were able to use the power of the Golden Divine Dragon, your physical strength would rise to an entirely new level, one comparable to a true Golden Divine Dragon!”
Yang Kai’s eyes became brighter.
“Such a level can only be described as immortal and indestructible!” Chi Yue’s words were filled with strong temptation.
The look of desire on Yang Kai’s face instantly faded away, however, and he instead looked at Chi Yue vigilantly, hesitating for a moment before saying, “If Senior has something to say, it would be best to get straight to the point. Junior admits he is very interested in what Senior has to offer but is also well aware there must be a price to pay for it. Since that is the case, Senior might as well explain clearly what she wants from Junior. If the price is too steep, then we may as well forget the issue ever came up.”
“Straightforward!” Chi Yue nodded, “Talking to smart people is much simpler. En, this Queen does need your help with something, but you can choose to agree or refuse, everything is voluntary.”
“Senior, please speak!”
“Have you heard of the Blood Prison Trial on Green Mountains Star?”
“I’ve heard of it,” Yang Kai’s expression turned weird. He had naturally heard of the Blood Prison Trial as he had just left Qian Tong and the others on Green Mountains Star to wait for it to begin.
Why would Chi Yue bring this topic up though?
Although the Blood Prison Trial was indeed famous and attracted Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters from across the entire Star Field to participate, the masters from Monster Emperor Star all belonged to the Monster Race, so wouldn’t it be impossible for them to flagrantly appear on Green Mountains Star?
If they were really to do this, they would definitely suffer. Just like the Monster Race on Monster Emperor Star suppressed the Human Race, humans elsewhere would suppress the Monster Race.
“If you’ve heard of it then this will be easy to explain,” Chi Yue smiled with satisfaction, “This Queen needs you to go to Green Mountains Star, enter the Blood Prison, find something, and return it to this Queen!”
“What are you looking for?”
“An Origin Essence Crystal!” Chi Yue declared firmly.
“A what?” Yang Kai frowned.
“A treasure only Third-Order Origin Kings are qualified to condense. You can think of it as the crystallization of that master’s Spiritual Essence. After the death of a master of this level, their Origin Essence Crystal will be left behind. Of course, what I want you to find is an Origin Essence Crystal left over from one of the top masters of my Monster Emperor Star. Essentially, it is his body’s Core!”
“Core?”
“Yeah, you should have heard about the origins of the Blood Prison Trial; that was a battlefield that twenty Origin King Realm masters fought and died on. The battlefield is littered with the remnant Domains of those Origin Kings, which is why it has such attraction to Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators. Back then, a powerful Tribal Lord from my Monster Race participated in that battle. Unfortunately, he fell inside the Blood Prison. I want you to retrieve his Origin Essence Crystal!”
“You want me to retrieve it?” Yang Kai frowned, “Right, Mi Tian and Xue Lian arriving at your palace at this time must be because they are going to participate in the Blood Prison Trial, right?”
Yang Kai suddenly understood this point, and counting the days, the Blood Prison Trial was not far away. The Young Lord of Thousand Eyes Tribal Lord and the son of Blood Flood Dragon Tribal Lord arriving at Chi Yue’s palace together and Chi Yue mentioning the Blood Prison Trial now, allowed Yang Kai to understand the situation.
“Yes, they will participate, that’s why they came to this Queen’s palace! Because only this Queen can safely deliver them to the Blood Prison. Not only them, Qing Luo, Yu Xiong, and Ba He will also be participating together with two other Monster Race Juniors you’ve not met yet but who should arrive soon!”
“Since so many people are going to participate, why do you need me to retrieve it?” Yang Kai squinted at Chi Yue, sneering as he asked, “There isn’t some kind of insurmountable danger, right?”
“Participating in the Blood Prison Trial is extremely dangerous in and of itself. Haven’t you heard that at least half of the masters who enter the Blood Prison never leave? As for that Origin Essence Crystal… there is certainly some danger related to obtaining it, but with your rampancy, are you going to tell this Queen you’re afraid of a little danger?”
“Junior only has one life, so naturally he should cherish it, so Junior must ask Senior to answer his question from just now,” Yang Kai said as he stared at Chi Yue stubbornly.
[This smelly brat is really troublesome to deal with.] Chi Yue cursed to herself.
However, she hadn’t expected Yang Kai to easily agree; after all, how could this shrewd brat not ask about such details?
“Fine,” Chi Yue sighed, “The reason why this Queen needs you to take it is because only you can. Although that top master from my Monster Race fell long ago, his Origin Essence Crystal is not something that can easily be obtained. Any attempt to interfere with it will cause it to resist, likely leading it to self-destruct, leaving nothing behind.”
“It has sentience?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“No, it only possesses a trace of the Remnant Soul of that Monster Race master,” Chi Yue slowly shook her head, “I need it in order to comprehend the mysteries of the Third-Order Origin King Realm, and only you can suppress it the moment you encounter it with the power of your Golden Divine Dragon Source. Do you understand?
“En, Junior understands…” Yang Kai nodded, “But Junior is curious, since Senior wants to obtain it so badly, why not go retrieve it yourself? With your means, suppressing it should be easy, right?”
“You must be joking!” Chi Yue snorted angrily, “Don’t you know that Green Mountains Star has a Star Master? It’s fine sneaking a few Monster Race Juniors into the Blood Prison, but if this Queen were to go to Green Mountains Star in person, how could that old dog just stand by? This Queen isn’t foolish enough to fight with him inside his territory!”
“Ah, Green Mountains Star actually has a Star Master?” Yang Kai was stunned, “So, you’re saying that Green Mountains Star has a Third-Order Origin King Realm master?”
“Who knows how that old dog obtained such good fortune? With just a Second-Order Origin King cultivation, he dared to refine Green Mountains Star’s Star Source and managed to succeed by some annoying miracle!” Chi Yue pretty face distorted somewhat, as if she was familiar with that Star Master.
Yang Kai gently nodded. If this was the case, then everything made sense.
With a Star Master guarding Green Mountains Star, Chi Yue really wouldn’t dare go there easily. With both of them having Second-Order Origin King cultivation, if they were to fight somewhere else, they might be tied, but on Green Mountains Star, Chi Yue definitely would not be that Star Masters’ opponent!
On top of that, since the core left-over from that Monster Race master, also known as an Origin Essence Crystal, was extremely sensitive, any attempt to interfere with it would lead to unpredictable consequences; however, the power of the Golden Divine Dragon’s Dragon Pressure would have an incredible suppressive effect on it!
It would be similar to how Yang Kai suppressed Xue Lian before.
“That is the proposal of this Queen, whether you want to agree or not, you can take some time to consider. In any case, there is still quite some time before the Blood Prison Trial starts! This Queen can wait!” Chi Yue looked at Yang Kai with a smile, as if she was absolutely assured he would comply.
“There’s no need to consider. I agree,” To Chi Yue’s surprise, however, Yang Kai accepted very readily.
“But I also have a condition!” Yang Kai grinned.
“What?”
“Teach me the method to tap into the power of the Divine Dragon Source first.”
“Do you take this Queen for some three-year-old child?” Chi Yue asked in exasperation, “You’ll only get your reward after you succeed! How could this Queen possibly pay you in advance?”
Yang Kai just faintly shook his head, “Senior’s thinking is flawed. According to what Senior said before, whether or not Junior can succeed depends on being able to use the Golden Divine Dragon Source’s suppression. Junior knows nothing about how to utilize the strength of the Golden Divine Dragon Source, so if something goes wrong at that time, how is he supposed to stop the Origin Essence Crystal from self-destructing? Presumably Senior doesn’t want to see such a result, right?”
Chi Yue’s pretty face sank as her brow furrowed.
She was well aware that Yang Kai was simply speaking irresponsibly, but in this situation, even these small worries had to be taken into consideration by her.
“To be on the safe side, Junior thinks Senior should teach that method to me first. Senior may rest assured that since this Junior has agreed to this matter, he will not go back on his word and exert his utmost effort to retrieve that Origin Essence Crystal!”
[This Queen would be a fool to believe you!] Chi Yue coldly snorted to herself.
After some hesitation, however, Chi Yue suddenly smiled, “It’s not impossible to give it to you first, this Queen can even instruct you personally in it and share with you her personal experiences!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai raised his brow, “It would be impolite for Junior to refuse Senior’s kindness.”
“However, this Queen will only teach you half of it, you will only obtain the other half after you succeed.”
“Deal!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, but after speaking, he seemed to think of something and added, “En, can Senior teach me the first half of this method then give the second half to Yu Xiong for safekeeping? That way, after going to Green Mountains Star, once Junior obtains that Origin Essence Crystal, he can exchange it for the second half immediately.”
Chi Yue frowned slightly as she stared at him suspiciously.
“Hehe, Junior is very impatient to obtain such a good Secret Art,” Yang Kai showed a harmless smile.
Chi Yue stared at him for a long time before gently nodding, “Fine! But this Queen must warn you, don’t get any crooked thoughts! Otherwise, don’t blame this Queen for not taking Qing Luo’s feelings into account.”
“Of course, of course! I always act in an upright manner,” Yang Kai patted his chest and affirmed.
Having finished the negotiations, Chi Yue immediately took Yang Kai to a cultivation room and taught him half of the Secret Art that would allow him to unlock the potential of the Golden Divine Dragon Source inside him.
In order to ensure that Yang Kai’s chances of successfully retrieving the Origin Essence Crystal were as high as possible, Chi Yue did not conceal anything and imparted all of her own experiences and insights into this Secret Art.
This Monster Transformation Secret Art was designed to tap into the strength hidden inside one’s bloodline and had remarkable effects when it came to Sources on the Divine Spirit level.
Since Yang Kai obtained the Golden Dragon Tattoo, he hadn’t been able to tap into this source of strength at all, but now, with Chi Yue’s help, he was finally able to draw out the incredible power of the Golden Divine Dragon.
Although his cultivation did not see any kind of increase, if he were to use the Golden Divine Dragon Source strength now, Yang Kai’s combat power would increase significantly!
Time flew by, and soon half a month had passed.
Yang Kai walked out of Chi Yue’s palace with excitement as well as a somewhat half-full expression on his face.
Now he truly realized the value of the Source he was bearing, but unfortunately, Chi Yue had only taught him half of the Secret Art rather than the complete article, causing him some small regrets.
“Just what kind of mischief is this little brat up to?” Inside her chambers, Chi Yue muttered to herself. Although Yang Kai asking her to give the second half of the Secret Art to Yu Xiong made her feel that something was wrong, after much contemplation, she was unable to understand what Yang Kai was plotting.
Was he not planning to return to Monster Emperor Star? That was the only way his proposal made any sense.
However, as long as his Little Senior Sister was still here, how could he not return? Judging from his appearance and actions, he didn’t seem like a man who wouldn’t care about his Senior Sister’s safety. If that was really the case, Qing Luo would definitely have long ago become disgusted, and parted ways, with him.
This was a result Chi Yue very much hoped to see actually.
After some more thought though, Chi Yue still couldn’t figure anything out and decided to just watch how the situation played out for now.
As long as Xia Ning Chang was still in the palm of her hand, she didn’t need to fear Yang Kai stirring up any trouble.
Meanwhile, inside Xia Ning Chang’s room, she and Shan Qing Luo were both waiting anxiously.
It had been half a month since Yang Kai and Xue Lian clashed and Yang Kai was taken away by Chi Yue, but until now, he had yet to return, a fact that made the two women extremely worried.
Shan Qing Luo had visited Chi Yue’s private chambers many times to ask for a meeting, but had never gotten a response.
“Ning Chang, don’t worry, Adoptive Mother won’t do anything to him,” Shan Qing Luo herself was as anxious as an ant on the hot wok, but still tried to comfort Ning Chang.
“Elder Sister Qing Luo, are you sure Red Moon Tribal Lord won’t do anything bad to Junior Brother?” Xia Ning Chang looked at her eagerly, as if pinning all her hopes on her.
Shan Qing Luo felt immense pressure being asked this so innocently. Although she didn’t dare to guarantee anything even to herself, she quickly nodded with a look of confidence.
At that moment, there was a slight sound of footsteps outside, and the two women released their Divine Senses at the same time, the next moment showing joyful looks on their faces as they hurriedly jumped to their feet.
Soon after, Yang Kai opened the door and stepped inside, completely unharmed and seemingly in very good spirits.
“Were you waiting for me?” Yang Kai glanced at the two women, walked over to the table, and poured himself a glass of water.
“Are you okay?” Shan Qing Luo asked nervously.
“Me? I’m very good,” Yang Kai chuckled, “Don’t worry, Senior Chi Yue didn’t do anything to me, she just wanted to make a deal.”
“A deal?” Shan Qing Luo frowned, “What kind of deal?”
“Hm, it’s difficult to explain all the specifics, but in short, I’ll be travelling to Green Mountains Star with you!”
“You’re also going to Green Mountains Star? Are you going to participate in the Blood Prison Trial?” Shan Qing Luo covered her small mouth.
“En!”
“But you’re only at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm!” Shan Qing Luo’s beautiful eyes trembled, “Those who go there are all Third-Order.”
“There’s no problem with that,” Yang Kai chuckled, “No one stipulated that you must be a Third-Order to enter. In any case, I’ve already promised Senior Chi Yue so it’s too late for regrets now.”
“Maybe so, but…”
“Don’t worry,” Yang Kai shook his head. “However, there’s still something I’m confused about. By my count, the Blood Prison Trial should be starting in just a month or two. If we don’t set out now, how are we supposed to make it there in time?”
Shan Qing Luo smiled lightly, “We don’t need to spend any time traveling there. There’s an Ultra-Long Distance Space Array inside the palace which can send us directly to the Blood Prison, so we just need to wait for the Blood Prison to open.”
Yang Kai’s eyes immediately lit up, “There’s an Ultra-Long Distance Space Array here?”
“En,” Shan Qing Luo nodded, “Supposedly, it’s a relic from over ten thousand years ago. The Blood Prison Trial is a famous event that many of Monster Emperor Star’s Monster Race masters wanted to participate in, but it is inconvenient for us to go to Green Mountains Star, so a previous Red Moon Tribal Lord gathered a group of Array Masters and Artifact Refining Grandmasters to construct an Ultra-Long Distance Space Array thousands of years ago. Basically, every time the Blood Prison Trial is opened, Monster Emperor Star will secretly send a group of rising stars to participate.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai suddenly understood, “No wonder time is so tight yet Senior Chi Yue didn’t seem to be in any hurry. It turns out she had such a method in hand the whole time.”
“En, why else do you think Mi Tian and those other Young Lords came here? They all need to set out for the Blood Prison from here,” Shan Qing Luo explained with a smile.
Listening to what Shan Qing Luo said, Yang Kai understood why the Monster Race masters from other territories would rush to Red Moon Palace. It turned out they wanted to borrow the Ultra-Long Distance Space Array.
“By the way, Qing Luo, this Blood Prison Trial likely won’t be easy. Take this.” Yang Kai suddenly thought of something, took an item out of his Space Ring and handed it to Shan Qing Luo. “Although there’s not a lot of time left, try to refine it as much as possible. Maybe it will help you!”
“This is…” Shan Qing Luo looked over sceptically at the thing Yang Kai was handing her. Her beautiful eyes then brightened, and she whispered, “Origin King Grade artifact?”
She immediately noticed the strong and restrained energy fluctuations emanating from this thing. This kind of special energy fluctuations could only be possessed by an Origin King Grade artifact!
“En.” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “It’s called Thunder Fire Seven Birds Whip; I think it should suit you well.”
Shan Qing Luo’s smile reached her beautiful eyes. She didn’t act politely with Yang Kai, but enthusiastically took the Thunder Fire Seven Birds Whip and poured Saint Qi into it. Immediately, a buzz was heard from the long whip. The buzzing sound seemed to resonate with her Saint Qi.
“This seems to really suit me…” A thoughtful look appeared on Shan Qing Luo’s face, “Its previous owner was Human, right? The Soul Brand left in the whip is a bit incompatible with it… Well, it seems that it must be operated with Monster Qi to exert all its power.”
“Really?” Yang Kai was stunned.
He really did not know this.
Thunder Fire Seven Birds Whip was originally the treasure of Thunder Typhoon Sect. After Yang Kai killed Fang Peng inside the Sealed World Bead, this Origin King Grade artifact became his trophy, but he had not studied it carefully. He just vaguely felt that this long-whip shaped artifact was very much in line with Shan Qing Luo’s temperament, so he gifted it to her.
After some thought, the enchanting and charming Shan Qing Luo swung her whip. With her long hair flying and her clothes fluttering, it made onlookers blood boil, and caused them to desire to be conquered.
“It’s called Thunder Fire Seven Birds Whip?” Shan Qing Luo was joyfully playing with the long whip, clearly in love with it.
“Yeah.”
“I see. This may have been an artifact owned by a master of my Monster Race that fell into the hands of Humans. I can feel the aura of its original owner!”
“Now that you mention it, that might have been the case.” Yang Kai frowned slightly, “When I was fighting with the former master of this artifact, I had a feeling that this artifact was not very powerful. If it is as you said, then its power was just not being fully utilized. But now that it’s yours, it would be in good hands.”
“I will definitely not let it down. Yang Kai, thank you!” Shan Qing Luo’s eyes blurred as she looked at Yang Kai, her pretty face blushing slightly.
She had never owned an Origin King Grade artifact.
Those who possessed artifacts of this level were all Tribal Lords of the Monster Race!
She knew the value of such an artifact better than anyone.
But now, such an invaluable artifact had been given to her by Yang Kai without even blinking.
She clearly felt her weight in Yang Kai’s eyes…
She was jubilant. She felt all those years of waiting had finally bore fruit. Filling her heart with joy and love.
“… should I leave?” Xia Ning Chang asked weakly from the side.
Shan Qing Luo was taken aback and immediately giggled. She stood up and walked to Xia Ning Chang, stretched out a lush jade white hand, raised her chin, and immediately leaned down. Her red lips were pressed towards Xia Ning Chang’s.
“Elder Sister Qing Luo, what are you doing…”
Before Xia Ning Chang could finish speaking, her mouth was blocked by Shan Qing Luo, and their lips met through the veil. Xia Ning Chang even felt something poking into her little mouth.
Her eyes widened in an instant, and she was at a loss.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded.
After a while, Shan Qing Luo straightened up. She ran the tip of her scarlet tongue over her upper lip, sensually bit her lower lip, and glanced at Yang Kai charmingly, letting out a silver bell-like laugh. She then turned around and strutted out the door.
Yang Kai and Xia Ning Chang were left breathing heavily.
“Did Qing Luo give this as a thank you gift to the wrong person?” Yang Kai looked straight out of the door, swallowing his saliva and asking dryly. Before she left, Shan Qing Luo’s glamorous eyes almost hooked his soul away.
“En…” Xia Ning Chang lowered her head, looking like she would never dare to look at anyone again, her delicate earlobes bright red.
Yang Kai looked at her and immediately became erratic. He didn’t know why… but, although Shan Qing Luo’s thank you gift was definitely given to the wrong person, and even though there had been a veil in the way, it made his blood boil and it seemed to have stirred his deepest desires.
He stood up, walked to Xia Ning Chang’s side, and held her.
Yang Kai could feel that Xia Ning Chang’s tender body was hot.
…
On the Monster Emperor Star side, it was originally planned that six Monster Race rookies would go to Green Mountains Star to participate in the Blood Prison Trial.
Red Moon Territory naturally nominated two, Shan Qing Luo and Yu Xiong.
In addition to them, there were Mi Tian and Xue Lian from the Thousand Eyes Tribe and Blood Flood Dragon Tribe. There were also two more Monster Race Masters, all of whom were Third-Order Origin Returning Realm!
But now that Ba He had returned, this Blood Prison Trial was naturally crucial for him.
Ba He had chosen to admit his mistakes to Chi Yue and return to the palace. He also wanted to take the opportunity to participate in the Blood Prison Trial as he hoped to break through his current bottleneck and reach the next realm.
With the addition of Yang Kai, Monster Emperor Star was sending eight people to Green Mountains Star.
Some would not come back alive. No one could guarantee their life as the Blood Prison Trial was renown to be extremely dangerous. It was expected that at least half of the masters who entered it would fall within.
The danger in the Blood Prison came not only from the power of the Domain that pervaded the terrifying battlefield but also from the competitors of different cultivation stars.
It could be said that most masters fell due to the struggle between them.
But no matter how dangerous the Blood Prison was, it still could not erase the enthusiasm and determination of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters to enter the Blood Prison as the breakthrough towards Origin King Realm was extremely difficult. Out of one hundred Third-Order Origin Returning Realm who could cultivate their own Shi to the grand accomplishment stage, there were no more than two or three people who were eligible to break through to the Origin King Realm. Among these two or three people, there may not be one who could really succeed.
Therefore, Origin King Realm masters were extremely rare in the entire Star Field. Every cultivator who reached this level was considered to be a powerful entity.
By entering the Blood Prison, not only could one perceive the power of Domain in the battlefield left tens of thousands of years ago, but one might even find something special in it.
Domain Stone!
The formation of the Domain Stone had a great relationship with the fallen Origin King Realm masters. The Domain power that erupted after their deaths allowed some of the peculiar jade in the Blood Prison to absorb it. After countless years of accumulation and precipitation, it formed a special object called a Domain Stone.
The mystery of the Domain contained in the Domain Stone allowed cultivators to feel it anytime, anywhere.
Most Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators entered the Blood Prison Trial in order to obtain the Domain Stone.
They did not expect that they would be able to break through to the Origin King Realm in the Blood Prison. They just wanted to find some Domain Stones and come back to understand the mystery carefully, so as to improve their Martial Dao.
This was the ultimate goal for most cultivators who entered, and it was also the source of most conflicts. If there was no such thing, perhaps 90% of masters would maintain their senses and not fight others so readily.
After all, no one wanted to fall after cultivating to such an extent.
But it was precisely because of the temptation of the Domain Stone that the chance of falling in the Blood Prison Trial was extremely high.
Shan Qing Luo’s understanding of the Blood Prison Trial was undoubtedly more profound than Yang Kai’s, and she gave him this information. After learning that there was something as special as the Domain Stone in the Blood Prison Trial, he suddenly became interested.
Although he only had the cultivation realm of Second-Order Origin Returning Realm, he would also become a Third-Order master one day and would need to face the same trial to reach a greater height in the Martial Dao.
The Domain Stone could undoubtedly be of great help to him.
He rolled up his sleeves and waited for the day when the Blood Prison Trial would start.
During this period, Xia Ning Chang had been refining pills and Yang Kai was comprehending the skill that Chi Yue taught him, trying his best to develop the original power of the Divine Spirit in his body.
This period was uneventful.
A month and a half later, Yang Kai was in the attic urging the original power of the Golden Divine Dragon in his body. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked out.
After a while, there was a knock on the door, Yang Kai got up, opened it, and saw Shan Qing Luo standing outside.
“Is it time?” Yang Kai asked.
“En.” Shan Qing Luo gently nodded, “Adoptive Mother asked us to gather now.”
“Okay!” Yang Kai nodded, “Wait a moment, I’ll be right back.”
He turned around and walked into the attic again. After a while, he reappeared in front of Shan Qing Luo and let her lead the way.
In the palace, a terrifying force had gathered. Not only were the rookie masters of the Monster Race there, but also several Origin King Realm masters.
However, everyone was silent and seemed to be waiting for something.
….
From time to time, a Monster Race master came, bowed to the three Tribal Lords directly above, and then found a place to sit down, closing his eyes and resting.
Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo finally arrived, and as soon as they stepped into the palace, Yang Kai’s eyes shrank, and his Saint Qi started cycling involuntarily.
He was shocked to discover that there were three Origin King Realm masters sitting in this palace. In addition to Chi Yue, there were two others that he had never met.
The sharp gazes of the two Monster Race masters made his scalp numb.
“Hey, Chi Yue, why is there a Human here?” On the left-hand side, an old man with red hair buzzed and looked at Yang Kai suspiciously.
“Yeah, Chi Yue, you never told us about this. What is the meaning of this?” The other brawny man with bronzed skin on his right hand was also puzzled.
Chi Yue chuckled sweetly, and said lightly, “Why bother making such a fuss, it’s just a trivial Human.”
The red-haired old man coldly snorted and said with a displeased expression, “A trivial human really isn’t worth making a fuss over, but Chi Yue, aren’t you making a mistake here? We’ve gathered here to deliver our Monster Race’s young talents to the Blood Prison. Is him being here because he’s going to enter the Blood Prison as well?”
“That’s right,” Chi Yue gently nodded.
The red-haired old man’s face sank as a look of anger flashed across his eyes while the burly man coldly and sternly asked, “Why haven’t Brother Kuang Shi and I heard about this before?”
“For such a small matter, this Queen thought it wasn’t necessary to inform anyone, so she didn’t,” Chi Yue said casually before putting on a disgruntled look, “This boy and my Qing Luo are old acquaintances, they are simply using this Queen’s Space Array to go to Green Mountains Star, you two don’t need to interfere!”
The burly man frowned and stared at Chi Yue deeply before asking in a low tone, “Chi Yue, what are you plotting?”
“Since when was this Queen plotting anything? Can’t the two of you see that this boy is only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm brat? This boy is so arrogant and overconfident that he wants to rely on his old friendship with my Qing Luo to try to taste swan meat as a mere toad. This Queen spared his life and agreed to allow him to pursue Qing Luo if he can live through the Blood Prison Trial. Since he wants to die, this Queen won’t try to stop him. I’m sure this is enough of an explanation to satisfy the two of you.”
The red-haired old man and the burly man exchanged a glance, neither of them daring to believe all of Chi Yue’s words, but also feeling like pressing the matter further was inappropriate.
The Space Array leading to the Blood Prison was created by a previous Red Moon Tribal Lord ten thousand years ago and belonged exclusively to Red Moon Territory, so only Chi Yue could open it to allow the rising stars from the other territories through.
Chi Yue had complete control over this Space Array!
If they became stubborn here, the gains wouldn’t be worth the loss. If Chi Yue became angry and refused to allow their descendants and disciples to use this Space Array next time, they wouldn’t be able to enter the Blood Prison Trial.
“This brat is certainly crazy enough!” The red-haired old man looked at Yang Kai disdainfully, “Such shameless boasting! Since he wants to die, naturally this old master has no objections, but Chi Yue, next time, if something like this is to happen again, please inform this old master in advance!”
“Indeed!” The burly man nodded in agreement.
Chi Yue smiled winningly and said, “This Queen acted somewhat rashly this time. Fine, this Queen promises that there won’t be a second instance.”
With Chi Yue saying these words, the red-haired old man and the brawny man couldn’t say anymore, they could only open one eye while closing the other, pretending they saw nothing.
“Qing Luo, come greet Senior Kuang Shi and Senior Nu Xie, these two are prestigious figures on my Monster Emperor Star,” Chi Yue beckoned to Shan Qing Luo.
Shan Qing Luo responded immediately and swiftly stepped forward to offer her greetings.
Yang Kai’s expression moved slightly as he immediately understood that these two Origin King Realm masters should be the Wild Lion Tribal Lord and Fierce Crab Tribal Lord, but he was still confused as to why they had appeared here.
Just as he was contemplating this, however, Yang Kai suddenly felt a hate-filled glare coming from nearby. When he turned to take a look at the source of this glare, Yang Kai saw Xue Lian staring at him. Yang Kai simply grinned at this sight, causing Xue Lian’s face to twitch, as if he was recalling the fight he had with Yang Kai the other day, bringing unpleasant memories up in his mind.
In that battle, his pride had been completely shredded.
“Yang Kai, over here!” Ba He greeted him enthusiastically.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and walked over to the chair beside him and sat down.
A few days ago, Ba He had come to Little Senior Sister’s palace to request Alchemy and left happily. The herbs he had worked hard to gather had not gone to waste and were successfully refined by Xia Ning Chang’s masterful hands.
As such, Ba He was very grateful to Xia Ning Chang and behaved even friendlier with Yang Kai in turn.
“Yang Kai, you must be careful during this trip to the Blood Prison. Everyone there will be a Minor Realm higher than you in cultivation. Don’t become overconfident,” Ba He whispered.
“Junior has always been very low-key,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Ba He couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
“By the way, Senior, who are those two?” Yang Kai cast his eyes towards a pair of Monster Race rising stars he had never met before and asked.
Ba He naturally wouldn’t conceal something so simple so he immediately introduced these two in a quiet voice.
One of the two was a well-endowed woman named Xue Sun who hailed from Fierce Crab Territory and was the most powerful subordinate of Fierce Crab Tribal Lord. The other was a sunny-looking young man named Lie Feng who came from Wild Lion Territory and was similarly one of Wild Lion Tribal Lord’s best subordinates.
Fierce Crab Tribal Lord and Wild Lion Tribal Lord apparently didn’t have satisfactory heirs, so they could only send their best subordinates to participate in the Blood Prison Trial. Of course, both Xue Sun and Lie Feng were talents in their respective territories.
Yang Kai gently nodded and kept them in mind.
The two Monster Race masters also seemed to be very interested in Yang Kai, glancing over at him from time to time with Lie Feng even sending Yang Kai a friendly smile.
[This guy should not be difficult to get along with!] Yang Kai secretly mused.
The hall remained relatively silent as time passed by. Everyone had their eyes closed and seemed to be in a meditative state.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense constantly probed the Ultra-Long Distance Space Array in the main hall, prying into its hidden subtleties. After some time, he discovered that the layout of this array was actually quite similar to the one which connected Monster Emperor Star and the Spider Mother’s Den, making him wonder if they had some kind of connection.
One day later, Chi Yue and the other Tribal Lords suddenly opened their eyes together and energy pulsed from their forms.
“It’s time!” Wild Lion Tribal Lord gave a low shout.
The eight Origin Returning Realm masters who were waiting to depart all stood up together.
Without seeing how they acted, the three Monster Race Tribal Lords all suddenly arrived at the edge of the Ultra-Long Distance Space Array and stood in a triangular pattern with solemn expressions.
“Begin!” Chi Yue yelled softly as she suddenly formed a complicated series of signs with her hands.
The same was true for Nu Xie and Kuang Shi. As these three Monster Race Tribal lords continued their actions, shocking and powerful waves of energy began condensing around their bodies.
The Origin Returning Realm cultivators in the hall all stared at this dazzling display while secretly dreaming about when they would be able to reach such a phenomenon height.
Chi Yue, Nu Xie, and Kuang Shi’s Saint Qi surged suddenly as they began pouring it madly into the Space Array, seeming going all out.
The array buzzed and the Saint Crystals set in it long ago burst into radiant light, filling the hall with a brightness not inferior to the mid-day sun, blinding everyone in the hall.
“All of you, Green Mountains Star is far from Monster Emperor Star, and although this Ultra-Long Distance Space Array can guarantee that you arrive safely inside the Blood Prison, it cannot guarantee where you will appear, so you must exercise extreme caution,” Chi Yue’s voice rang out, “All those who can enter the Blood Prison are masters with high strength. In there, try to avoid conflicts, your main objective is to comprehend the mysteries of Domain and obtain Domain Stones. This Queen hopes that all of you leaving today will arrive back together!”
“Is that clear?” Kuang Shi couldn’t help roaring when the crowd didn’t react much.
“Yes!” The Monster Race Juniors replied in unison.
Kuang Shi finally showed a satisfied look.
“This King doesn’t have any more advice for you,” Nu Xie chuckled, concisely stating, “As long as you return alive, Monster Emperor Star will have a place for you in the future!”
“We will obey three Seniors’ teachings!”
At this moment, the entire palace seemed to tremble and the Ultra-Long Distance Space Array released a terrifying roar as a white beam of light shot out from it into the sky.
Even from thousands of kilometres away, one could clearly see this white beam of light.
The trembling gradually subsided and the white light beam gradually disappeared before finally, atop the Ultra-Long Distance Space Array, an oval-shaped gateway comprised of pure energy appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.
“Go!” Chi Yue solemnly shouted.
Ba He took the lead, nodding to Chi Yue lightly before rushing into the gate without a single glance backwards, disappearing in a flash.
One figure after another followed Ba He through the light gate.
Yang Kai didn’t bother fighting with the others, simply waiting until there was no one left. When he stepped onto the Space Array and was about to disappear, however, he suddenly grinned towards Chi Yue and waved his hand, “Senior Chi Yue, if there’s a chance, let us meet again!”
Chi Yue’s pretty face sank and her brow furrowed when she heard this.
But without waiting for her to ask anything, Yang Kai also disappeared.
“This human boy is really rampant!” Kuang Shi coldly snorted.
“Close the gateway first,” Nu Xie hurriedly said, “We need to avoid causing too much of a disturbance lest that old dog from Green Mountains Star notices something.”
Chi Yue did not respond, however, her expression suddenly changing. As if she had realized something, she released her Divine Sense like a flood towards the palace where Xia Ning Chang had been staying.
The next moment, Chi Yue’s pretty face twisted as she ground her teeth and muttered under her breath, “Little bastard, you dare play tricks with this Queen!”
When she realized that Xia Ning Chang was not in the palace, Chi Yue immediately understood what Yang Kai had been plotting.
He never planned to return to Monster Emperor Star because there was no need for him to do so!
Chi Yue had thought that by retaining Grandmaster Xia, she could manipulate this little human brat at will, but it turned out the other side was one step ahead of her.
However, no matter how she thought about it, Chi Yue couldn’t figure out how Yang Kai made Xia Ning Chang disappear or where he had hidden her.
Obviously, that woman surnamed Xia was still in the palace a day ago, so how had she suddenly disappeared?
“Chi Yue, what are you doing?” Nu Xie and Kuang Shi both looked at her with puzzled faces, not understanding why she suddenly became so angry.
“Nothing,” Chi Yue shook her head and took a deep breath, “Close the gateway first.”
Being outwitted by a mere human brat at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm was not something Chi Yue would advertise. If she really told them, the only result would be Nu Xie and Kuang Shi laughing at her in derision.
She would not admit such a shameful truth.
[But this little brat really had some good methods; no wonder he wanted me to hand over the second half of the Monster Transformation Secret Art to Yu Xiong for safekeeping.]
What about Qing Luo though? Would she leave with him? Thinking so, Chi Yue’s thoughts became somewhat distressed and her expression turned ugly.
Even if she was tricked by Yang Kai, as long as he obtained that Origin Essence Crystal and exchanged it with Yu Xiong, she wouldn’t lose anything, but if that little bastard managed to lure Qing Luo with some sweet nothings, how would she find them in this vast Star Field?
[If you dare do so, even if this Queen needs to search until the end of time, she will take your head!] Chi Yue secretly decided.
A feeling of vertigo, as if space had been distorted and collapsed in on itself, overcame Yang Kai.
This was a clear sign of tearing space!
For Yang Kai, short-distance jumps did not affect him, but this kind of ultra-long-distance transmission from one Cultivation Star to another Cultivation Star was still a burden to him.
Fortunately, with his proficiency in the Dao of Space, he was able to dispel most of these negative effects after circulating his Saint Qi slightly.
After the flash of light around him faded, Yang Kai found himself in a strange land.
Before he had time to look around, he noticed that there was a life of aura not far away.
Turning his head vigilantly, Yang Kai found that the man was actually Lie Feng of Wild Lion Territory, who had appeared about a thousand metres away from him.
The other party had entered the Space Array before him, but was clearly in worse shape, seemingly still trying to stabilize himself after the transmission.
Lie Feng did not cultivate the Dao of Space like Yang Kai did, so the negative side-effects of this kind of long-range teleportation naturally took longer to recover from. However, Lie Feng was a rising star of the Monster Race with a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, so after about three breaths, he opened his eyes having fully recovered. Like Yang Kai, he vigilantly began scanning his surroundings while silently condensing his Saint Qi in preparation to deal with any crises that might arise.
In the next moment, he saw Yang Kai.
“Oh…” Lie Feng showed a look of surprise and stood in place for a moment before walking over to Yang Kai with a smile on his face and asking, “I heard your name is Yang Kai, yes?”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded lightly, his attitude neither warm nor cold.
“I also heard that you taught Xue Lian a harsh lesson?” Lie Feng seemed very interested in him.
Yang Kai didn’t answer.
Lie Feng simply shrugged, “I heard from Yu Xiong. It is a pity that I hadn’t arrived earlier in Red Moon Territory, otherwise I would have been able to watch such a lively event. Heh heh, to tell you the truth, I’ve never liked Xue Lian either. However, it’s really surprising that you were able to beat Xue Lian. Seems the Human Race cannot be underestimated. En, I’d like to offer you an invitation.”
“An invitation to do what?” Yang Kai looked at him curiously.
The other had a friendly attitude from start to finish, so Yang Kai’s impression of him wasn’t bad.
“To act together,” Lie Feng smiled, “Brother Yang, as you know, this is Green Mountains Star. We Monster Race cultivators snuck in here and obviously won’t receive any good treatment, and from the looks of it, it seems that only you and I appeared in this area. If Brother Yang and I can join forces, our security will definitely increase a lot.”
“Sorry, but I’m not interested!” Yang Kai shook his head and refused.
“Why?” Lie Feng frowned.
“Because I’m human! I won’t be discriminated against here,” Yang Kai pointed to himself, then pointed to Lie Feng and said, “You belong to the Monster Race, so what do you think would happen if someone who hates the Monster Race saw me with you? Would they also attack me? I don’t want to ask for extra trouble.”
“Uh…” Lie Feng was stunned, then scratched his head and said, “That’s reasonable. Since Brother Yang thinks so, then forget it, this Lie hadn’t considered the situation completely.”
Yang Kai nodded.
“Then I’ll simply wish Brother Yang good luck and head off first!” Lie Feng didn’t look irritated because Yang Kai refused his invitation, instead just laughing heartily before picking a direction at will and flying off.
He was very straightforward.
After he left, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense to scan his surroundings more carefully.
A moment later, his face changed slightly and he quickly took back his Divine Sense.
What Shan Qing Luo had told him wasn’t wrong. Inside the Blood Prison, it wasn’t a good idea to casually release one’s Divine Sense.
Although there were no restrictions or suppression of Divine Sense in this place, there were countless Domain Vortices all across this ancient battlefield.
These Domain Vortices were all remnants from the great battle between Origin King Realm masters over ten thousand years ago. Some had dissipated while others had undergone strange transformations and become more terrifying over time.
These Domain Vortices were capable of swallowing anything, including Divine Sense!
Yang Kai had suffered a small loss just now, and if he hadn’t withdrawn his Divine Sense in time, it was likely he would have suffered severe damage to his Soul. Even so, there was a stinging pain in his head at this moment, like a needle pricking his brain.
This was a sign that his Divine Sense had taken damage, but with the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus nourishing his Soul, Yang Kai didn’t need to care too much about this damage.
“It looks like this really is the Blood Prison,” Yang Kai looked around and muttered to himself.
Only in the Blood Prison would such strange Domain Vortices exist.
The former Red Moon Tribal Lord was indeed a Heaven sent genius, able to create an Ultra-Long Distance Space Array that connected to the Blood Prison from Monster Emperor Star.
Unfortunately, because the distance was too far, it was unable to select a precise destination. Yang Kai only discovered Lie Feng nearby while the other Monster Race rising stars had clearly been sent somewhere else.
Yang Kai was fairly confident in Shan Qing Luo’s strength as she had inherited the power of a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s Source, making her more than a match for ordinary cultivators in the same realm as her.
Coupled with the Thunder Fire Seven Birds Whip that he had given her, Shan Qing Luo’s current combat strength was truly impressive.
The only troublesome thing was her enchanting appearance, which was likely to become the main reason for others to target her.
[No man is capable of resisting her charms…]
After thinking about it for a while though, Yang Kai just shook his head slowly and set the matter aside.
[Qing Luo has her own path to follow.] Yang Kai felt that it was impossible for him to take care of her all the time; what’s more, they had been separated for dozens of years yet she was still alive and well, so Yang Kai believed she wouldn’t have a problem moving forward smoothly in the future.
Randomly picking a direction, Yang Kai slowly flew off.
He didn’t dare to move too quickly. He had only heard about the dangers of the Blood Prison and never personally experienced them, but this place being the burial ground for innumerable Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters was a fact.
Yang Kai was confident he was invincible beneath the Origin King Realm, but he still needed to act cautiously when facing the power of an Origin King’s Domain. He didn’t want to die here from acting recklessly.
There were no major incidents along Yang Kai’s way as he moved forward, but a few of the Domain Vortices which were scattered about did draw Yang Kai’s interest.
Unfortunately, these Domain Vortices weren’t too strong and the mysteries they hid were quite vague, so even though Yang Kai tried to penetrate them with his Divine Sense and spent a fair amount of time trying to comprehend something from them, his gains were very limited and he was forced to give up.
He didn’t relax his vigilance as he knew there was murderous intent hidden everywhere in this place. He definitely couldn’t underestimate the Blood Prison simply because the first Domain Vortices he came across were small and weak.
Along the way, he also felt several life auras and even saw another Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation pass by a few thousand metres away from him.
Fortunately, the Blood Prison had only just opened and no one was willing to stir up trouble yet. Everyone was still doing their best to avoid conflict while searching for opportunities; therefore, as soon as the unknown cultivator noticed Yang Kai, they changed direction to avoid him.
One day later, Yang Kai stood solemnly at a certain spot while staring straight ahead at a place a thousand metres away.
In that direction was a middle-aged man in blue robes covered in blood. Bursts of Saint Qi flickered from this man’s body and it seemed his situation was quite distressed. Outside his body was a defensive artifact that resembled a water curtain which was shielding him.
This man was constantly releasing his Shi and using various Secret Techniques in an attempt to escape from the place he was trapped.
Unfortunately, his efforts failed to yield any noticeable results. The space around him seemed calm, but also somewhat solidified, confining him in place and making it impossible for him to move forward or backwards at all.
All around this middle-aged man were flowing streaks of light, like sharp swords, cutting into his defensive artifact and draining its power.
This man had accidentally rushed into a Domain Vortex!
What’s more, this was a very powerful Domain Vortex that could easily imprison a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master.
This man’s expression was ugly to the extreme and, as he felt the grip of death closing in around him, he only urged his Saint Qi harder and harder.
Suddenly, he saw Yang Kai who was staring at him from nearby, and his eyes lit up, as if he had caught a life-saving straw. Shouting loudly, “Friend, please help! I was accidentally caught in this Domain Vortex and am unable to escape, please show mercy and lend me your aid!”
Yang Kai frowned and did not respond.
Although he wasn’t afraid of this middle-aged man, the Domain Vortex that was currently trapping this man caused Yang Kai some anxiety. For a stranger, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t put himself in danger.
The reason Yang Kai even remained here was to comprehend the mysteries of this Domain Vortex.
Seeing that Yang Kai was not replying, the middle-aged man couldn’t help growing anxious, thinking that the other party was cold-blooded and refused to save him. Hurriedly, he shouted once more, “Friend, this one is Scarlet Wave Star Blue Feather Sect’s Sect Master Xu Ding Yang. Please assist me. If you can save me, this Xu will surely offer generous thanks and Blue Feather Sect will also be eternally grateful.”
“Scarlet Wave Star?” Yang Kai brow rose slightly, thinking he had heard this name before but was unable to put his finger on it at the moment. However, he still slowly shook his head, “Friend, it’s not that I don’t want to save you, but the power of this Domain Vortex is a bit too daunting.”
Xu Ding Yang’s complexion darkened. Although he showed an unwilling look, he knew that Yang Kai was telling the truth.
For a while, he fell speechless.
“Hold on, let me see if I can find a solution,” Yang Kai said lightly.
Yang Kai wasn’t acting out of kindness here. He knew nothing about this Xu Ding Yang’s true temperament, but even if he was really a righteous soul, he must have been mentally prepared to fall since he had entered the Blood Prison.
This Xu Ding Yang couldn’t blame anyone if he died here.
Yang Kai only offered to help because he wanted to enter the Domain Vortex to study it.
He wanted to learn more about the unique power of Origin Kings, Domain.
Xu Ding Yang obviously misunderstood Yang Kai’s intentions though and was immediately overjoyed, “Please allow this Xu to offer his thanks in advance! Friend, please be careful, this vortex seems to be a fusion of many different Domains which is why it is so difficult to deal with!”
Yang Kai just nodded lightly and took a step forward.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s face paled. At this moment, he felt that the surrounding space seemed to freeze and that many powerful, contradictory forces were overlapping here, causing him to push his Saint Qi unconsciously to resist.
With a ripping sound, several noticeable cuts appeared on Yang Kai’s clothes. The invisible Domain here seemed capable of killing any creature that dared to enter it, with even a single step creating an enormous difference in intensity.
Not daring to hesitate, Yang Kai hurriedly resisted this force and summoned his Purple Shield at the same time, transforming it into a light curtain which enveloped his body.
In an instant, the sound of scraping metal rang out from the Purple Shield as a terrifying invisible force constantly grated against Yang Kai’s defensive artifact.
The purple light curtain covering his body faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Yang Kai’s face sank seeing this and he quickly took back his Purple Shield.
Although this defensive artifact was Origin Grade High-Rank and was incredibly strong, it wasn’t sufficient to compete with the Domain here. If this Domain were allowed to destroy the light curtain, the Purple Shield’s spirituality would suffer a massive loss.
Yang Kai was forced to push his Saint Qi with all his strength to resist the invisible and terrifying pressure around him as he was stuck in place struggling against the tide.
“Only Second-Order Origin Realm…” Xu Ding Yang stared dumbfounded at Yang Kai, a look of astonishment on his face.
As soon as Yang Kai pushed his Saint Qi, Xu Ding Yang naturally perceived Yang Kai’s true cultivation and was inevitably disappointed.
Although the Second and Third-Order were only one Minor Realm apart, the gap in strength between the two was immense. Moreover, this was the Blood Prison, where normally only Third-Order Origin Realm cultivators entered to seek opportunities.
Xu Ding Yang felt that with Yang Kai’s strength, forget about saving him, even preserving his own life would be impossible.
“Friend, forgive me!” Xu Ding Yang worked hard to resist while kindly warning Yang Kai, “This Xu didn’t know you were only a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivator, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked for help. Friend has not yet entered too far, so you should hurry up and withdraw before it’s too late and you no longer can.”
Yang Kai ignored him however and simply continued to strengthen the output of his Saint Qi, probing the mysteries of the Domain Vortex.
What shocked Yang Kai, however, was that this Domain Vortex seemed completely unaffected by his efforts. No matter how hard Yang Kai tried, the suppression he felt remained the same, making it difficult to even move a single step.
Several strange and mysterious powers wrapped around his body, making it impossible for Yang Kai to comprehend anything.
[So this is the power of Domain! Worthy of the unique power possessed by Origin King Realm masters.]
“Friend, use your Shi to resist it, you can’t rely on brute force to deal with Domain, otherwise you’ll only get pulled deeper and deeper into it!” Seeing Yang Kai’s difficult situation, Xu Ding Yang quickly warned.
Yang Kai’s expression changed and he quickly released his Shi as suggested.
In an instant, he noticed that the solidified space around him seemed to loosen somewhat as his Shi cut into the Domain Vortex like an invisible blade, allowing him to resist its influence.
“Many thanks for the advice!” Yang Kai raised his head, glanced over at Xu Ding Yang, and said his thanks.
“A minor matter!” Xu Ding Yang squeezed out an ugly smile as sweat dripped from his forehead and the Saint Qi glow around his body faded even more rapidly.
After talking to Yang Kai for a moment, Xu Ding Yang’s situation became even more unbearable and he immediately focused all of his attention on resisting the terrifying pressure of the Domain Vortex.
Yang Kai’s demeanor also became solemn as he tried his best to expand his Shi.
With him as the centre, a circle with a ten metre radius began to form where space slowly distorted and faint, almost invisible Void Cracks appeared and disappeared.
Once this zone was established, the pressure Yang Kai felt suddenly eased greatly.
The Domain of an Origin King Realm master was an evolved form of Shi, a mysterious power a level higher than Shi.
As such, using Shi to resist Domain was naturally effective.
If this Domain was being displayed by a living Origin King Realm master, Yang Kai’s Shi wouldn’t be able to put up any resistance even if he had cultivated it to the grand accomplishment stage, but this Domain Vortex was simply a remnant from over ten thousand years ago, so even if it had strengthened and condensed over a long span of time, it wasn’t nearly as dangerous without anyone controlling it.
Yang Kai was barely able to deal with it.
It was no wonder so many Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters flocked to the Blood Prison despite it being extremely dangerous, the benefits here were simply that attractive to Third-Order masters.
The Domain Vortices that existed here were simply the best auxiliary aide for Third-Order Origin Realm masters to condense their Shi.
A cultivator could condense their Shi here, enhancing their control over it, while at the same time comprehend the mysteries of Domain, so once they cultivated their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage, they would have the capital necessary to attempt a breakthrough to the Origin King Realm!
This was a height that most Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters would never be able to reach.
Yang Kai wholeheartedly used his Shi to resist the surrounding invisible Domain while some faint, stray thoughts inexplicably poured into his mind. Sometimes he frowned and thought while sometimes his face was filled with joy, his expression constantly changing.
Unconsciously, he began stepping forward, and although his speed was extremely slow, Yang Kai was undoubtedly moving towards the centre of Domain Vortex, seeking more powerful mysteries of Domain.
Yang Kai’s control over his Shi also became more flexible and the original ten metre radius around himself began to expand at a subtle speed. Although this change wasn’t conspicuous, it was definite and steady.
Yang Kai was completely immersed in his comprehension, unable to extricate himself.
The man named Xu Ding Yang was in a dire situation, but he still made some time to observe Yang Kai’s movements.
When he saw Yang Kai walking towards him step by step, resisting the terrifying Domain power with only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, Xu Ding Yang was completely shocked.
He knew better than anyone the intensity of this Domain Vortex and had figured that, with Yang Kai weak cultivation, he would definitely be forced to withdraw immediately, otherwise he would undoubtedly die.
However, this young man who he had never met before not only didn’t withdraw, he instead began steadily moving towards the centre of the Domain Vortex.
[The world must be going crazy,] Xu Ding Yang thought as he could hardly believe his eyes.
Any cultivator who reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm was a master that had both extreme pride and superb methods to back it up. Xu Ding Yang was also the Sect master of a small Sect who had been cultivated diligently since childhood as a genius.
But compared to this young man in front of him, Xu Ding Yang couldn’t help feeling ashamed!
He felt his self-confidence take a hard hit.
Just as he momentarily lost focus, a sharp noise suddenly rang in his ears.
Xu Ding Yang’s expression changed and he quickly looked towards the source of this sound, his face turning pale in the next moment.
The defensive artifact that was protecting his body had finally reached its limit and the water curtain-like halo began to rapidly crack apart.
“Friend! This Xu is afraid that disaster is now inevitable. If it is convenient, please visit Scarlet Wave Star’s Blue Feather Sect and inform the Sect Elders that this Xu fell here. You may take everything in this Xu’s Space Ring as a thank you gift!” Xu Ding Yang shouted anxiously.
Hearing his shout, Yang Kai awoke from his comprehension and turned his eyes towards Xu Ding Yang.
Yang Kai’s eyes opened just in time to see the water curtain surrounding Xu Ding Yang’s body crumble into dust and the little Saint Qi which he had left erupt from his body as he desperately rushed outwards with all his strength.
Although he had told Yang Kai he could not escape this disaster, Xu Ding Yang obviously didn’t want to just sit and wait for the end; he was determined to put up a final struggle.
The rays of light surrounding his body alternated between light and dark as a fierce expression filled his face and a roar similar to that of an angry beast escaped from this throat.
A crackling sound rang out in the next instant as the invisible Domain crashed towards Xu Ding Yang from all directions.
After making it less than three steps, Xu Ding Yang suddenly shivered and stopped in place, his skin becoming red as blood leaked out from all his pores.
*Peng…*
With a dull thud, Xu Ding Yang’s whole body burst apart, his physique being shredded until not even his bones remained.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrunk slightly as his face filled with shock.
A master at the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm had died so tragically in front of him, making him deeply understand the horrors of this Domain Vortex. At the same time, he couldn’t help feeling some inexplicable sadness at this untimely death.
But soon, Yang Kai dispelled these distracting thoughts and closed his eyes once more to continue his slow trek towards the centre of the Domain Vortex step by step.
He and Xu Ding Yang were complete strangers, so Yang Kai wasn’t deeply affected by the latter’s death.
The Domain Vortex which had consigned Xu Ding Yang to his doom would not do the same to him! Yang Kai was completely confident of this.
Yang Kai’s Shi shuttled back and forth in the surrounding space, allowing Yang Kai to sense the mysterious power that flooded this place, absorb it, remove what was useless to him and turn what was useful to him into nutrients for his own growth.
The killing power surrounding Yang Kai could not stop him from continuing his exploration as he slowly but surely advanced further.
Without using any kind of defensive artifact, and only circulating his Saint Qi to the minimum required level, Yang Kai used his flesh and blood body as well as his Shi to resist this Domain Vortex, allowing him to feel its mysteries in the most unobstructed manner possible.
As he continued to gain from this experience, Yang Kai gradually became immersed in it.
The benefits of Yang Kai’s intrepid physique manifested once again. Perhaps no other Origin Returning Realm master dared do this, only able to use their Shi to resist the Domain here to gain benefits.
This indirect method was vastly inferior to Yang Kai’s reckless method.
Yang Kai not only used his Shi, but also his own flesh and blood.
He was able to gain benefits at a much more rapid rate than other Origin Realm cultivators this way.
As time passed, at a certain moment, Yang Kai suddenly opened his eyes, his body shivered, and his Shi suddenly expanded outward.
The Domain Vortex, which made it difficult for any who entered it to even walk, didn’t put up the slightest resistance and Yang Kai was able to take large strides forward and arrive at its centre in short order.
This was the spot where the Domain Vortex’s pressure was most intense, as well as the spot where Xu Ding Yang had died. There were still residual bits of hashed meat from what was once Xu Ding Yang’s corpse as well as a thick smell of blood lingering in the air.
Yang Kai stood there, silently, gradually retracting his Shi, allowing the surrounding Domain to press down on him.
The terrifying power in this location caused Yang Kai’s bones to creak, as if they were about to snap. The power of the Domain Vortex at this point seemed to want to grind him into dust.
Five-coloured light suddenly burst from Yang Kai’s figure as his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi filled every muscle in his body, augmenting his physical strength enormously, allowing him to compete with the power of this Domain.
Yang Kai’s face flushed and his blood boiled, as if he would explode and die at any moment.
However, his harvest grew even bigger at this moment.
From this extreme experience, Yang Kai was able to deeply realize the mysteries of Domain and his understanding of Shi simultaneously became far more profound.
Unsatisfied with just this, after confirming that his life was in no danger, Yang Kai fell into a deeper level of meditative cultivation.
Yang Kai had a premonition that participating in this Blood Prison Trial would grant him unimaginable growth.
Originally, Yang Kai was not very interested in this Blood Prison Trial; after all, this place was almost exclusively for Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators to temper themselves and seek opportunities.
Yang Kai was only at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm, and even though he could fight opponents above his realm and wasn’t afraid of anyone below the Origin King Realm, his lack of cultivation was a fact. Yang Kai thought he wouldn’t be able to gain much from the Blood Prison so he hadn’t hesitated to leave Qian Tong and the others on Green Mountains Star while he went to Tong Xuan Realm to find his relatives and friends.
However, since Shan Qing Luo told him about the Domain Stones that formed inside the Blood Prison, he became interested.
Now that he was here, Yang Kai fully understood that even without any Domain Stones, he could gain unimaginable benefits simply by relying on the Domain Vortices which filled the Blood Prison.
As long as one’s ability was sufficient, any Origin Returning Realm cultivator could further condense their Shi with assistance from these Domain Vortices, pushing them closer to the grand accomplishment stage! This had nothing to do with one’s cultivation.
Having said that, there were probably very few that could really do this.
Thankfully, Yang Kai was one such individual.
Meanwhile, a hundred kilometres outside the Blood Prison, atop a high mountain, there was an elegant stone pavilion.
At this moment, seven cultivators sat inside this stone pavilion, some who looked old, some who looked young, some who were male, while others were female, but without exception, all these cultivators were Origin Kings.
Anyone who saw such a terrifying lineup would be shocked.
This was definitely a tyrannical gathering.
These masters sat in various positions inside the stone pavilion, some with their eyes closed in meditation while others discussed the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao or even just casually observed their surroundings.
These top masters had come from various Cultivation Stars from across the entire Star Field!
Naturally, these masters hadn’t rushed here for the Blood Prison Trial to seek entertainment, but rather to recruit top talents.
All of them were waiting for the day when the cultivators that entered the Blood Prison emerged.
Entering the Blood Prison and being able to leave safely meant that a cultivator had great potential. Even if they couldn’t ultimately break through to the Origin King Realm in the future, they would still no doubt become a top master in the Origin Returning Realm.
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce naturally welcomed such experts, as did Purple Star, Sword Union, etc.
It could be said that these seven Origin King Realm masters represented the several great forces that reigned supreme over the Star Field.
Every time the Blood Prison Trial opened, representatives would come to Green Mountains Star to seek talents for their great force to cultivate.
Of course, some also came here for the Domain Stones exclusively produced inside the Blood Prison.
These Origin King Realm cultivators obviously had no use for Domain Stones personally, but they had descendants and disciples who needed them. In short, every Domain Stone brought out from the Blood Prison could sell for an incredible price.
Among these seven Origin Kings, there was one man who wore golden robes and had a purple gold crown atop his head who was the most conspicuous. When the other masters present looked at him, they all wore dignified expressions.
This man looked like he was only about thirty or so years old and had sharp, sword-like brows. His expression was stern and dignified, as if he had been born into a high position, giving him a noble air.
At this moment, this man had his eyes closed and seemed to be resting.
Suddenly, his eyes opened and he mumbled under his breath in a soft voice, seemingly surprised.
All the other Origin Kings in the surrounding area looked towards him one after another.
An old woman frowned pensively for a moment before asking with a chuckle, “Sir Luo Hai, did you find something interesting? If it’s convenient, could you tell us about it? We are well aware that on Green Mountains Star, only you, the Star Master, can sense some things inside the Blood Prison.”
Another master nodded and said, “Yes, although this place is very close to the Blood Prison, only you can truly sense anything inside of it. Our Divine Senses simply cannot penetrate the barrier surrounding this place, so we can only ask you. What is happening inside now?”
The man named Luo Hai smiled, stood up, and said unhurriedly, “This King did find something interesting, but it’s not a big deal. You don’t have to make such a fuss. En, it seems that for this time’s Blood Prison Trial, a little fellow at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm went in.”
“Oh? A Second-Order Origin Returning Realm?” The old woman looked surprised.
The others were also surprised.
“A Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator entering the Blood Prison isn’t without precedent, but there are very few instances of it happening and their fates have always been quite tragic. Essentially all who tried died after only a day or two. Most of them were just small characters with eyes that failed to see. I’m afraid it’s the same for this person,” The old woman shook her head slowly with a hint of contempt.
“En, such hot-headed youths won’t settle down unless they suffer a bit. The Blood Prison Trial has always been for Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators, and although there are no explicit rules forbidding others to enter, ten thousand years of experience has proved that such ideas are not wise!”
“Brother Luo Hai, what’s the situation of that little guy now? You being interested in him must mean he has done something extraordinary, yes?” A beautiful woman smiled and looked at Luo Hai. This beautiful woman had an enchanting visage and a First-Order Origin King cultivation, but she still acted cautiously when facing Luo Hai.
This was not just because Luo Hai’s cultivation was higher than her own by a Minor Realm, but because this was Green Mountains Star, Luo Hai’s territory!
No one was stupid enough to oppose a Star Master on their Cultivation Star!
To put it bluntly, even if a top master at the Third-Order Origin King Realm came here, they might not be able to kill Luo Hai on Green Mountains Star.
Here, he was the master.
When Luo Hai broke through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm, any master who came to Green Mountains Star would need to give him face, and Luo Hai, who had refined a Star Source, definitely had such potential!
Therefore, the Origin King Realm masters present, while afraid of Luo Hai, also took a flattering attitude towards him.
“He didn’t have any kind of impressive performance,” Luo Hai smiled slightly, “It’s just that this King hasn’t seen such an interesting little fellow in quite a long time, so I was simply a bit curious. En, he seems to have rushed into a Domain Vortex now though, but the specific situation is something even this King cannot investigate; after all, even though this King is the Star Master of Green Mountains Star, his Divine Sense is greatly restricted inside the Blood Prison.”
“He rushed into a Domain Vortex?” The old woman sighed lightly, “It looks like he’ll be dead soon. There are always youngsters who don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth.”
“He’s only getting what he deserves!”
“Forget it, there’s no need to pay any attention to him, he won’t live long. What I’m more interested in is if any good seedlings will survive this trial.”
“En, all of us have come to Green Mountains Star for this once in a millennium opportunity, right?”
Hearing everyone chattering amongst themselves, Luo Hai smiled and interjected, “Everyone, this King knows your purpose in coming here, but let this King warn you: If you see any good seedlings this time, you must not use force to bring them back with you, everything must be voluntary. This King, as the Star Master of Green Mountains Star, has an obligation and responsibility to protect these youngsters and ensure they receive fair treatment.”
“Brother Luo Hai need not worry, over all these years, which one of us has ever tried to use force? Of course, everything will be up to these Juniors’ will,” the beautiful woman pursed her lips and smiled.
“I don’t want to recruit anyone; this old master came here this time simply to buy Domain Stones. Heh heh, after all, these little brats will surely be able to collect a few,” A pale-haired old man grinned meaningfully, his expression turning somewhat unwillingly as he pined, “If it weren’t for Brother Luo Hai forbidding it, this old master would have preferred to enter the Blood Prison himself to search for Domain Stones.”
“Brother Zhou is mistaken,” Luo Hai shook his head, “It’s not that this King refuses to allow it, it’s simply that the Blood Prison has a barrier around it which was erected by Green Mountains Star’s previous Star Master before his death, one that shuts out any Origin King. While this King is now the new Star Master of Green Mountains Star, he still cannot do anything about this. It may be several thousand years before this King breaks through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm and is finally able ignore this barrier.”
“The previous generation’s Star Master put up a barrier?” Everyone was shocked, as if they had never heard such information.
“Yes, this King has never publicized it but this is a fact. Why else do you think that during that great war thousands of years ago, no one fled from the Blood Prison?”
“It was because of that barrier?” Someone showed a thoughtful look.
“En, this barrier was created using the power of Green Mountains Star itself and not only blocked the entry of an Origin King from the outside, but also stopped everyone already inside from leaving,” Luo Hai gently nodded.
“No wonder, no wonder more than twenty masters with such cultivation died inside. It turns out there was such a reason,” Someone muttered in understanding.
Many questions surrounded that war all those years ago, but the biggest was no doubt why there had been no survivors.
Even if that battle had been unprecedented in scale and intensity, involving a massive number of Origin Kings, logically speaking, it was impossible for absolutely no one to survive since entire Sects were involved.
However, the ancient records clearly stated that there had been no survivors.
Now listening to Luo Hai’s explanation, everyone understood.
With a barrier created using the power of Green Mountains Star, without the Star Master’s permission, no other Origin King could possibly escape. The final result may have been that the previous generation’s Star Master was greatly outnumbered and decided to take all his enemies down together with him.
Knowing the truth about the formation of the Blood Prison, everyone couldn’t help sighing and falling silent.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed by.
Suddenly Luo Hai let out another cry of surprise.
“Sir Luo Hai, have you discovered something else of interest?” The old woman frowned and asked.
“Interesting, truly interesting,” Luo Hai raised his brow, a look of pure surprise filling his face as he quickly said. “That little boy managed to emerge from that Domain Vortex!”
“What?” The old woman was shocked.
“Brother Luo Hai, you mean that little Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy you mentioned before?” The beautiful woman was also shocked.
“Indeed! Curious, how did he manage to survive?” Luo Hai wore a suspicious look. Even though he was the Star Master of Green Mountains Star, he could not monitor the exact situation inside the Blood Prison, so Yang Kai managing to survive truly came as a surprise to him.
“Could it be that the Domain Vortex he entered was very weak?” Someone speculated, “The Domain Vortices in Blood Prison are endless, but some are so weak they aren’t even worth mentioning. He should have encountered such a Domain Vortex, right?”
“No! Not long before, a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm died in that same Domain Vortex, so it was definitely not weak,” Luo Hai slowly shook his head, denying that person’s guess.
When they learned that a cultivator at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm could escape from such a Domain Vortex, the Origin King Realm masters in the stone pavilion suddenly went into a flurry.
They all immediately realized that this Origin Realm boy had unimaginable potential.
“Heh heh, this little guy, this old lady wants to reserve for Sword Union,” The old woman chuckled lightly, “If he can emerge from the Blood Prison alive, this old lady will take him back to the Home Star of Sword Union and cultivate him vigorously.”
“Senior Sister Lei, are you sleep talking?” A scholarly dressed middle-aged sneered, “You think a few words are enough to lay claim? Shouldn’t you ask all your friends here if they agree first? Such a good seedling, my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce naturally doesn’t want to give up either.”
“Count my Purple Star in as well,” The beautiful woman called out.
“This old lady doesn’t care! If he can come out alive, this old lady only wants him, everyone else will be up to you all to decide,” The old woman declared in a resolute tone.
“Senior Sister Lei, you can’t act arbitrarily here. None of us knows who this boy is, where he comes from, or whether he has some kind of backer behind him. Even if he does not have some strong background though, are you sure he will willingly follow you, Senior Sister Lei? Perhaps he will be more optimistic about my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce; after all, in the Star Field, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is more famous than Sword Union,” The middle-aged man, not wanting to be outdone, said in a somewhat smug tone.
“As far as fame is concerned, our three forces aren’t much different, right?” The beautiful woman pursed her lips and giggled in disagreement, “Perhaps he will be more interested in my Purple Star.”
The old woman gave a cold snort and said with an unkind expression, “Do you two really intend to fight with this old lady for that little boy?”
“It’s not that we wish to fight with Senior Sister Lei, it’s just that you are being unreasonable,” The middle-aged man slowly shook his head.
“Enough, don’t quarrel!” Luo Hai frowned and interrupted the trio, “It’s still not even certain whether this boy will make it out alive, so why are you three bickering here like this? Perhaps he was only lucky to escape that Domain Vortex and will not be able to hold out until the end. If he were to die mid-way after all of you made such a fuss, wouldn’t it just end up turning into an embarrassment for you?”
When Luo Hai spoke, the three of them winced slightly before nodding in agreement.
The old woman added, “Sir Luo Hai, please pay attention to that little boy’s movements. If he dies inside, please inform us so we don’t continue waiting in vain.”
“This King will do his best,” Luo Hai gently nodded.
“Many thanks, Sir Luo Hai,” The old woman quickly thanked.
Calm was then restored to the stone pavilion.
Meanwhile, inside the Blood Prison, Yang Kai picked up the Space Ring on the ground, shrouded himself in his Shi, then walked outwards leisurely.
The terrifying Domain Vortex could not suppress him at all, and Yang Kai traversed it as easily as he would flat open ground, exiting its area of influence in short order.
After a few days of resisting and silently feeling this Domain Vortex, Yang Kai felt that his Shi had grown significantly and his understanding and control over it had deepened a level.
This was something meditation alone could not achieve.
The Blood Prison really was a treasure trove!
Standing in place, Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to seep into Xu Ding Yang’s Space Ring before quietly putting it away.
There was nothing in Xu Ding Yang’s Space Ring that was of great interest to him. Although Xu Ding Yang’s wealth was quite substantial compared to other Origin Returning Realm masters, Yang Kai’s standards were incredibly high, so he would not be moved by such meagre gains.
As for Xu Ding Yang’s request before he died, Yang Kai did not care.
The two had met by chance and shared no friendship, nor had Yang Kai ever agreed to his request. He wouldn’t make a trip all the way to Scarlet Wave Star to deliver a message to Blue Feather Sect for a stranger.
If there was a chance, he would not mind doing so, but Yang Kai simply left things up to destiny.
Raising his head and picking a direction, Yang Kai began moving forward again.
The Blood Prison was different from other places Yang Kai had gone to explore in the past. Whether it was the Flowing Flame Sand Field on Shadowed Star or the Emperor Garden, they were extremely wide and there were many entry restrictions. So, even if a lot of people entered, there would be few opportunities to meet others.
The Blood Prison was different.
Although the Blood Prison covered a wide area, it had also existed for over ten thousand years and was famous across the Star Field, attracting countless Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters to it each time it opened, allowing Yang Kai to often encounter strangers along his way.
Most people didn’t want to make trouble, and as soon as they noticed the aura of a stranger, they would change direction to avoid conflict.
However, when others realized that Yang Kai was only a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivation, all of them showed stunned expressions which quickly turned to scorn or sympathy, as if he was about to die.
Naturally, Yang Kai paid no attention to these people.
He encountered several life or death struggles among cultivators as well.
The great forces of the Star Field certainly did not live in harmony. Many great forces had grievances between them, and when their members encountered one another inside the Blood Prison, it was obvious that fights would break out.
Yang Kai did not try to involve himself in such matters and instead focused on searching for Domain Vortices, hoping to gain more benefits from them and further condense his Shi.
This cautious approach worked well for him, and half a month after entering the Blood Prison, Yang Kai had yet to get involved in any kind of fight. He had encountered three powerful Domain Vortices and entered them without hesitation, leaving each one a few days later safe and sound after reaping a great harvest.
His Shi raced past the minor accomplishment stage and was now steadily advancing towards the grand accomplishment stage.
However, to his disappointment, Yang Kai was unable to find the special product of the Blood Prison: Domain Stones.
The formation of Domain Stones was inseparable from the existence of Domain. The Domains which had survived for countless years in Blood Prison had been absorbed by some peculiar jades that formed into Domain Stones after constant condensation.
Therefore, Domain Stones generally existed inside Domain Vortices. In short, if one wanted to obtain Domain Stones, they needed to enter Domain Vortices.
Yang Kai felt that his luck was not very good.
One day, as he was looking for Domain Vortices, Yang Kai suddenly heard a series of loud sounds that seemed to be approaching him.
Yang Kai frowned as he immediately recognized the sounds of battle.
He subconsciously wanted to avoid it, but when his Divine Sense swept forward to investigate, he suddenly paused in place and stared suspiciously.
He noticed that one of the approaching auras was somewhat familiar.
The cultivator who was rushing towards this place obviously also discovered the existence of Yang Kai and increased their speed dramatically, rushing straight towards him.
After a short while, a streak of light appeared in Yang Kai’s eyes and ten breaths later, a graceful yet somewhat disheveled figure landed in front of him.
“You?” Yang Kai frowned, showing a look of surprise.
It was actually Xue Sun of Fierce Crab Territory, one of the Monster Race masters who had accompanied him here from Monster Emperor Star.
At this moment, her aura was somewhat unsteady, and it was obvious that she had some injuries on her body. Her green dress was dyed red, but it was unclear whether it was her blood or her enemies’. After landing in front of Yang Kai, she gasped for breath while staring at him with a complicated gaze.
She also did not seem to expect that the one standing here would actually be this human boy.
She had only sensed a somewhat familiar aura here and wanted to ask for help.
“You look quite distressed, are you hurt?” Yang Kai looked her up and down.
“Enough with the sarcasm, obviously I’m being pursued,” Xue Sun replied coldly, her attitude quite unfriendly as she declared bluntly, “Help me.”
Yang Kai raised his eyes and looked behind her, seeing two figures rushing over towards them with clear murderous intent leaking from them.
“Why should I? This is none of my business, right?” Yang Kai frowned. If he had known that it was Xue Sun approaching, he would have left long ago.
Xue Sun’s eyes flashed a little helplessly as she bit her red lips lightly and said, “Believe it or not, I have a good relationship with Sister Qing Luo.”
“That still has nothing to do with me,” Yang Kai chuckled lightly. Did she think that by saying she was close with Shan Qing Luo, it would be enough for him to support her unconditionally? Shaking his head, Yang Kai declared, “I think you’ve made some kind of mistake here, I’m just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator. You’d best run away quickly, those two are about to catch up, if you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”
“Even if you are only at the Second-Order, you can’t be taken lightly. I know what happened back at the palace, you defeated Xue Lian easily, so you’re not weaker than me!” Xue Sun was obviously unwilling to give up the reinforcements she had luckily found.
Yang Kai still shook his head, “Girl, your current situation isn’t that bad, is it? With your strength, even if you cannot beat those two, there shouldn’t be a problem for you to run away, why try to drag me into this mess?”
Clearly seeing this, Yang Kai did not want to intervene.
Xue Sun’s persistence annoyed him as it felt like she was trying to use him.
“Of course I can escape,” Xue Sun replied proudly, “But have you ever thought about it? I belong to the Monster Race. If I flee so openly through the Blood Prison, once other Human Race masters notice me, how do you think they will react? Won’t they try to hunt me down? Fleeing will only make my situation worse!”
“True enough,” Yang Kai admitted, not having thought of this before.
“Help me kill one of them, I’ll solve the other myself,” Xue Sun stared straight at Yang Kai and quickly said. “If you do, I’ll owe you a favour.”
“Who cares about a favour, what real benefits can you offer me?” Yang Kai asked casually, sweeping his eyes up and down her, and pausing for a moment on her rich, heaving peaks.
A look of disgust flashed across Xue Sun’s beautiful eyes, squirming slightly to hide her figure as she asked lightly, “What benefits do you want?”
“It’s not about what I want, but what you can offer,” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Xue Sun frowned, a trace of hesitation appearing on her pretty face, but as she glanced back and saw her pursuers closing in, she grit her teeth and said, “I found a Domain Stone but didn’t have enough time to collect it. I can lead you to its location.”
“A Domain Stone?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and nodded immediately, “Deal!”
Seeing him only care about profits like this, the disgust in Xue Sun’s eyes became even stronger.
She really could not understand why Shan Qing Luo, who was always so prideful and arrogant, had taken a liking for such a man. After this trip, she had to make an effort to persuade her Sister Qing Luo to avoid this bastard, so he would not ruin her bright future.
Just as Xue Sun was considering her options, the two people who were chasing her suddenly landed a hundred metres away.
The pair consisted of one man and one woman. The man had skin so white that most women would be jealous of him, but the aura pulsing from his body was so strong it could not be ignored.
The female had a bewitching appearance with thick makeup and clothes with high exposure, her white thighs and arms completely exposed to the air, drawing in man’s attention unconsciously. Her eyes were both limpid and filled with seductive appeal.
When she landed, the woman glanced towards Yang Kai and her beautiful eyes lit up as interest flashed across her face. Giggling eagerly, said to the man next to her, “Senior Brother, this boy has a good figure.”
“Junior Sister fancies him?” The man didn’t seem the least bit surprised, instead just inspecting Yang Kai with interest for a moment before nodding, “His physique is quite good, exactly the type you like.”
While saying so, he squeezed the seductive woman’s plump bottom right in front of Yang Kai and Xue Sun as he grinned wickedly, “Junior Sister, are you tempted?”
“Senior Brother…” The woman blushed pink as she whispered back, “Junior Sister just wants to have a little fun with this boy, it’s you who she truly loves.”
“Senior Brother knows.” The man grinned meaningfully.
Yang Kai and Xue Sun were dumbfounded watching this display.
Although Xue Sun was a Monster Race cultivator and inherited some of the Monster Race’s bold temperament, she couldn’t bear watching this kind of scene. The loose aura that seemed to radiate from this pair made her sick.
“Two good-for-nothings!” Yang Kai glanced over at Xue Sun, frowned and asked, “Is this guy chasing after you because of your beauty?”
Xue Sun heard these words and glared at Yang Kai fiercely, grinding her teeth as she spat, “Keep your sarcasm to yourself.”
Yang Kai just chuckled lightly.
Seeing them look confident and indifferent, the man and woman who had been chasing after Xue Sun were a little surprised. The man looked at Yang Kai seriously for a moment but soon couldn’t help laughing, “A Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy actually dares enter the Blood Prison? Interesting, Junior Sister, this boy seems quite bold.”
“I like men who are bold,” The seductive woman stuck out her tongue and licked her red lips, her interest in Yang Kai growing as her expression became more and more enchanting and she shifted her posture to further emphasize her luscious curves.
“Alright, then this boy belongs to you,” The man nodded before pointing to Xue Sun and declaring, “This enchanting woman belongs to me. Senior Brother has lived for so many years but this is the first chance he has had to play with such a high-quality Monster Race. This will definitely be enjoyable! Enchantress, could it be that you rushed here counting on this brat to save your life? I advise you to surrender without a fight. This Li always shows tender affection to beauties, and as long as you cooperate, I won’t make things too difficult for you, even allowing you to experience physical and spiritual bliss. How about it?”
He spoke as if he didn’t consider Xue Sun or Yang Kai any threat at all.
“A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory,” Xue Sun coldly snorted before shouting, “I’ll leave that woman to you, this bastard is mine.”
“Can we trade? I don’t like killing women…” Yang Kai glanced over at her, but before he could finish speaking, Xue Sun had already rushed out, her Monster Qi exploding fiercely and violently as it crashed towards her opponent.
In an instant, Xue Sun was locked in combat with the man, leaving Yang Kai and the seductive woman alone and staring at each other.
“Little brother, did you just say you want to kill me?” The seductive woman didn’t show any concern for her Senior Brother and instead focused her attention on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai grinned and replied, “How could I be willing to kill a woman like you?”
The woman was surprised for an instant but soon let out pleasant laughter as she directed an amorous gaze towards Yang Kai and said, “Since that’s the case, why don’t we find a quiet place to sit down and talk instead? Little brother looks quite young, so Elder Sister here is also reluctant to embarrass you.”
As she spoke, she exhaled an orchid scent, and a sweet fragrance suddenly filled the air, lingering at the tip of Yang Kai’s nose.
This sweet aroma was like an invisible little hand that stroked the depths of Yang Kai’s heart, causing his blood to boil and his heartbeat to race.
Stepping forward, the woman extended her delicate, jade white hand to stroke Yang Kai’s cheek, her eyes filled with tender affection, her movements enough to make any man lower their vigilance and allow her to do whatever she pleased.
“Sure,” Yang Kai smiled brilliantly, but before the woman’s hand could touch him, a cold light suddenly appeared in his eyes and he ruthlessly grabbed her wrist.
Caught off guard, the woman’s wrist was easily captured by Yang Kai.
The charming woman’s beautiful face changed slightly and she couldn’t help letting out a light moan as she looked at Yang Kai aggrievedly and said, “Little brother, you’re hurting me.”
Saying so, she shook her arm slightly, twisting it like a snake as she tried to free herself from Yang Kai’s control.
Yang Kai grinned fiercely as he tightened his grip on her wrist and forcefully yanked her towards him.
Realizing that she could not resist Yang Kai’s wild strength, the woman’s face finally changed and silently, a pair of long, needle-shaped artifacts appeared in her free hand which she swiftly thrust towards her captor’s waist and abdomen.
Relaxing her jade arms as she settled in close to Yang Kai, the woman’s breathing suddenly became heavy and a watery mist appeared in her beautiful eyes as she gently exhaled onto his face, giggling as she said, “These Seven Emotions and Six Desires Needles are Elder Sister’s exclusive artifacts. Little brother, be obedient now and Elder Sister will satisfy you.”
“Seven Emotions and Six Desires Needles was it?” Yang Kai grinned mockingly, “They’re a bit lacking in my opinion.”
The charming woman’s smile immediately stiffened on her face and as she glanced downwards she was shocked to discover that Yang Kai’s waist and abdomen had a purple light curtain protecting them. Her needle-shaped artifacts were completely blocked by this purple light.
Immediately, she let out a shout and pushed her Saint Qi fiercely, delivering a palm to Yang Kai’s chest.
Yang Kai coldly snorted and sent a fist covered in black Demonic Flames towards her palm.
*Hong…*
When the two Saint Qis collided, the woman’s jade hand was unable to withstand Yang Kai’s violent strength and she was easily deflected, the residual force of his punch landing squarely on her well-rounded peaks with a loud, bone-snapping sound.
A scream rang out as the woman was sent flying like a paper kite with a broken string.
The black Demonic Flames burned the clothes on her chest, revealing an alluring white spring scenery that could infatuate any man who saw it; however, this picturesque scene was soon scorched by the intense Demonic Flames.
Red blood dripped down her chest and flowed onto her thighs, forming a sharp contrast with her fair skin, adding a touch of scarlet to her beauty.
The woman staggered as she desperately pushed her Saint Qi, but upon finally stabilizing herself and standing mid-air, when she lowered her gaze and saw what had become of her chest, her face immediately distorted and she screamed at Yang Kai in hysterical hatred, “I’ll kill you!”
Yang Kai’s expression turned cold and stern. A golden light flashed in front of him as two Golden Blood Threads appeared, transformed into arrows, and shot mercilessly towards the woman.
The woman was shocked. She never expected that this boy with only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation would be so powerful.
She thought she would be able to easily deal with him, making him bow down and beg to become her slave.
It was only now that she realized how wrong she was.
This Second-Order boy wasn’t inferior to any Third-Order master, possibly even stronger.
As the two golden lights shot towards her, the woman did not dare to neglect them, her tender body flickering as a light blue Artifact Armour immediately appeared, wrapping around her while at the same time she waved her hands and sent out a series of needle-shaped artifacts once more.
With a clinking sound, the two Golden Blood Threads were blocked by her strike.
But before the woman could breathe a sigh of relief, the two Golden Blood Threads suddenly transformed into two red and gold lizard Monster Beasts with giant wings on their backs.
“Thunder Flame Flying Lizards!” The woman’s expression filled with shock as she was unable to understand anything about the strange Secret Technique which was used against her.
The two massive Thunder Flame Flying Lizards rushed towards her from her left and right, their giant maws wide open, seemingly wanting to swallow her whole.
The woman’s expression became flurried and her beautiful eyes filled with terror as she couldn’t stop her tender body from shivering.
Before this woman could use any kind of Secret Technique, the huge claws of the right Thunder Flame Flying Lizard descended upon her and sent her flying with a muffled thud straight towards the jaws of the other Thunder Flame Flying Lizard.
Her light blue Artifact Armour flickered as it resisted the terrifying bite of the Thunder Flame Flying Lizard.
Yang Kai flew up at that moment, and right before the desperate gaze of the woman, summoned a short arrow-like artifact into his hand.
Feather Spirit Arrow! After charging this strange artifact, it could be used twice to display an incredible lethal attack that even a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator couldn’t ignore.
With a flick of his wrist, Yang Kai sent out an energy arrow towards the woman.
Feeling death rapidly approaching her, the woman cried out in panic, “Senior Brother, save me!”
Her cries for help ceased abruptly, however, when the Feather Spirit Arrow smashed her defensive Artifact Armour to pieces, and without the protection of this Artifact Armour, the Thunder Flame Flying Lizard was able to snap her in two.
It wasn’t that her body was fragile by any means, but there was no way she could resist the ominous force of the Thunder Flame Flying Lizard’s jaw.
A fresh corpse fell from the sky as the smell of blood rose to the sky.
The two Thunder Flame Flying Lizards distorted and transformed back into Golden Blood Threads again before swiftly returning to Yang Kai’s body.
Standing in place, Yang Kai pondered for a moment before showing a satisfied look.
Last time in Shimmering Moon City, Yang Kai had killed Mi Tian’s two Monster Beasts and used two of his Golden Blood Threads to absorb the Blood Essence of each Thunder Flame Flying Lizard and refine them into Blood Beasts. This was the first chance he had to use them in battle.
Their power was quite good! The most commendable thing was that once they were refined into Blood Beasts, there was no need for Yang Kai to manipulate them directly. Blood Beasts had the ability to independently confront the enemy.
This made Yang Kai extremely satisfied.
Casting his gaze towards the other battlefield, Yang Kai observed for a moment before relaxing.
The arrogant man from before seemed to not be Xue Sun’s opponent at all. Monster Qi soared, completely suppressing the man’s aura, indicating that Xue Sun had the absolute upper hand.
It wasn’t that this man’s strength wasn’t equal to Xue Sun’s, however; if the two were to fight at their full power, they would likely be well-matched opponents.
Even if Xue Sun was somewhat stronger, the difference wasn’t great, at least not to the point where she could easily kill her opponent one on one.
The deciding factor in their battle was the great shock Yang Kai’s lightning-fast victory had brought to the man.
The cry for help from the seductive woman before her death had greatly disturbed his concentration, making him unable to face his opponent with all his strength.
What’s more, Yang Kai was still standing nearby, eying him covetously, causing the man to only grow more and more unnerved.
He couldn’t figure out how his Junior Sister had died after just a few breaths of time!
He was very familiar with his Junior Sister’s strength and knew that she was no weaker than him, so how was this possible? In such a short time, she had actually died at the hands of a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivator!
The man was thoroughly shocked and had no idea what happened between his Junior Sister and the strange young man.
Fear of the unknown disturbed his concentration greatly, so how could he display his full strength? Naturally, Xue Sun didn’t miss this opportunity to vent her anger and used various artifacts and Secret Techniques that belonged to the Monster Race to pummel her opponent.
The man was completely suppressed, and the battle quickly became one-sided.
Obviously unwilling to just sit and wait for death, the man suddenly bit his tongue and spat out a mist of Blood Essence, displayed the powerful Secret Technique to repel Xue Sun for a moment, then flickered as he shot off into the distance.
He had decided to flee, not daring to continue entangling with Xue Sun.
Before leaving though, this man glanced over at Yang Kai and found that this unfathomable youth was just standing there, seemingly not intending to stop him, a fact which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Just when he thought he thought he had escaped from death, however, the space around him suddenly became viscous.
His figure stalled in place involuntarily and his eyes narrowed as he screamed in horror, “Shi!”
He was also a master at the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, so he naturally understood the mysteries of Shi, so when he fell into this sticky space, he knew he had been trapped inside a powerful Shi.
This Shi was far stronger than his own, to the point where it frightened him. Moreover, this Shi seemed to have some kind of strange force integrated into it.
Not daring to neglect, he quickly released his own Shi to resist, but this only allowed him to regain a bit of freedom. He couldn’t get rid of this Shi’s suppression in short order.
Suddenly, a person appeared in front of his eyes, and when he looked up, he couldn’t help exclaiming, “How is that possible? How are you here?”
At this moment, he was shocked to discover that Yang Kai, who should have been watching him from afar, was now right in front of him. However, he hadn’t even noticed the other party’s movements.
“Why can’t I be here?” Yang Kai grinned as he gradually increased his Shi’s power.
The man caught in this Shi began to sweat as he struggled violently.
*Chi Chi…*
A tearing noise sounded from all directions, and when the man looked around he suddenly found that the surrounding space seemed to be collapsing, with ting, pitch-black cracks constantly appearing and disappearing around him…
His courage broke entirely upon seeing this! He never knew that someone’s Shi could have such an incredible effect on space.
At this moment, he finally understood that it was no accident that his Junior Sister had died so quickly. This Second-Order Origin Returning Realm youth was an incredibly terrifying enemy.
Without giving him a chance to resist, Yang Kai flicked his wrist and sent out a dozen pitch-black Space Blades one after another. These black blades easily cut through the man’s protective Saint Qi and defensive artifacts before slicing him into dozens of pieces while banishing the bulk of his physique to The Void.
What was left of the man’s corpse fell in the next moment and scattered about in a bloody mess.
Xue Sun’s beautiful eyes shrank as she witnessed this incredible scene, her tender body shivering unconsciously.
Although she knew that Yang Kai’s victory just now was partially due to him launching a sneak attack, his strength was beyond doubt.
No wonder Xue Lian had suffered a loss at his hands and Mi Tian dreaded him greatly, there was a good reason behind it.
Judging from his performance just now, when he dealt with Mi Tian and Xue Lian, he must have been holding back. Otherwise, how could those two still be alive?
Xue Sun had always thought that in the Origin Realm, Xue Lian and Mi Tian were already peak figures. Those two were existences that she looked up to and admired, but today, she learned she had simply been sitting in a well, staring up at the sky, thinking how vast it must be.
Origin Returning Realm masters could actually be this powerful!
The arrogance and disdain in her eyes quickly abated and she began to re-examine Yang Kai.
[Perhaps… Sister Qing Luo’s choice wasn’t wrong.] She thought in her heart.
When Yang Kai turned his eyes to stare at her, Xue Sun quickly averted her gaze, almost not daring to look at him. She didn’t know why she did this, but deep in her heart, a trace of fear of this young man had budded.
Since he could easily kill the two people who had been chasing her down in such a short time, killing her would simply be effortless!
Xue Sun’s figure flickered as she rushed to pick up the two ownerless Space Rings before flying over to Yang Kai and handing them to him.
“Thanks,” Yang Kai chuckled, not refusing, putting away the two Space Rings without even inspecting them before asking, “Alright, where is that Domain Stone you mentioned?”
“I’ll take you there!” Xue Sun immediately volunteered before using her movement skill to fly off in a certain direction.
“How are your injuries?” Yang Kai followed her behind and asked casually.
“They’re just minor wounds, no big deal,” Xue Sun replied lightly.
Yang Kai nodded then stopped talking as he followed her through the Blood Prison.
The place Xue Sun found the Domain Stone wasn’t too far away from their previous position, so it only took her and Yang Kai an hour to reach it.
“I have to tell you one thing,” Halfway, Xue Sun’s beautiful eyes flickered, as if feeling a little guilty.
“What?” Yang Kai looked at her suspiciously.
“Actually, the two people you killed have companions,” Xue Sun turned her head and looked at Yang Kai.
“They do? Where?” Yang Kai was stunned.
“Where the Domain Stone is…” Xue Sun became more anxious, gritted her teeth as she told the truth, “I found the Domain Stone first and wanted to take it, but before I could I met a group of five who all seemed to come from the same Cultivation Star. Two of them chased after me while the other three stayed behind. I don’t know if they successfully obtained the Domain Stone now, but if they have…”
“That’s fine, we’ll just snatch it,” Yang Kai grinned.
Xue Sun frowned slightly and looked at him seriously, “Aren’t you angry? I hid this from you, lied to you.”
“A little bit,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
Xue Sun’s face paled slightly.
“But it doesn’t make any difference to me, so I don’t really care,” Yang Kai smiled slightly. “Lead the way.”
“Okay,” Xue Sun sighed softly, finally feeling relieved.
Soon after, Yang Kai raised his brow as a look of joy appeared on his face and he asked, “Is it right up ahead? I can already feel a powerful Domain fluctuation.”
“En,” Xue Sun nodded, speeding up as she did.
Before long, Yang Kai and Xue Sun came to the edge of a Domain Vortex.
This Domain Vortex was nearly two thousand metres across and was giving off a daunting energy fluctuation. In the centre of this Domain Vortex were several fist-sized stones with an indescribable lustre.
Domain Stones! Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he stared hotly towards these few Domain Stones.
It was the first time he saw a Domain Stone, so he was naturally curious, but because of the surrounding Domain Vortex, he couldn’t release his Divine Sense to investigate them carefully, nor could he tell exactly how many of them there were.
However, it was undeniable that any piece of Domain Stone had immense value. If one could successfully obtain one, they could exchange it for a lot of precious cultivation resources or simply absorb the power inside of it to promote their comprehension of the mysteries of Domain.
Inside the two thousand metre Domain Vortex, there were three people, each of them occupying a different position. These three were all sitting down cross-legged, releasing their Shi, seemingly trying to comprehend the mysteries of this Domain Vortex so they could dive deeper and obtain the Domain Stones.
The great value of Domain Stones was not only because of the power of Domain contained within it but also because of the risk of obtaining it.
Whenever something was rare, it became precious; this logic applied perfectly to Domain Stones.
Domain Stones only ever formed in Domain Vortices. If one wanted to obtain a Domain Stone, they needed to first understand the mysteries of the Domain Vortex surrounding them before they could reach the deepest point and obtain them safely.
Countless Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters had fallen inside Domain Vortices, their lives adding value to each Domain Stone.
To obtain Domain Stones, many risked their lives, some of them ultimately losing them in the process.
Now, it appeared several Domain Stones had formed inside the Domain Vortex in front of him, a fact that naturally made Yang Kai very excited.
He just casually glanced at the three strangers who had penetrated into the vortex before paying no more attention to them.
The Domain Vortex in front of him felt neither strong nor weak; however, it was definitely less powerful than the one that had shredded Xu Ding Yang, otherwise these three strangers would not have been able to remain inside of it safely.
The arrival of Yang Kai and Xue Sun naturally disturbed the three people who were sitting cross-legged inside the Domain Vortex. These three people opened their eyes and turned to look at Yang Kai and Xue Sun, at which point a white-haired old man couldn’t help calling out in surprise, “Slut, why are you still alive?”
Xue Sun coldly snorted, “Old dog, are you disappointed I’m still alive?”
“Where are Brother Li and Junior Sister Chu?” A different one-eyed man frowned and asked coldly.
Xue Sun sneered, “Since I’ve come back alive, what do you think happened to them?”
“Impossible!” The one-eyed man’s expression changed, stunned by the words Xue Sun said and unwilling to believe her.
“How could a mere slut like you kill Brother Li and Sister Chu? There should be a limit to shameless boasting,” The third person sneered, apparently thinking Xue Sun was talking nonsense.
“Believe what you want,” Xue Sun didn’t bother explaining, clenching her teeth as she swept her eyes across them and declared, “Those two died, and all of you are next!”
The white-haired old man was startled for a moment, but immediately burst into laughter, “Slut, you’re certain rampant enough! Good! this old master is busy with this Domain Vortex right now so he cannot deal with you immediately. Feel free to run your mouth however you like, but if you really have the courage, just wait for this old master to get out of here then he will settle our dispute once and for all.”
After the white-haired old man made this declaration, he glanced over at Yang Kai curiously and asked with a light smile, “Little brother, aren’t you human? Why are you colluding with this slut?”
“Colluding with her?” Yang Kai frowned, “Old man, aren’t you being a bit arbitrary?”
The old man shook his head, “Humans are humans, monsters are monsters, humans hunt monsters, monsters hunt humans. The two races are wholly incompatible, but now you’re serving this slut, what else besides colluding could you be doing?”
He subconsciously thought that Xue Sun, who had the stronger cultivation, was taking the lead while Yang Kai followed.
“This old master only wants to ask, is what this slut said about her killing Brother Li and Sister Chu true?” The old man’s expression suddenly turned solemn as he interrogated Yang Kai in a low voice.
“Yes, I saw them die with my own eyes,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
“Were you involved?” The old man narrowed his eyes as a murderous intent flashed across them.
“Indeed.”
“Why?”
“On the road, I saw an injustice and drew my sword to assist!” Yang Kai replied firmly.
Hearing these words, Xue Sun snickered to herself.
“Good, good, good!” The old man nodding as his tone grew icy, “Daring to do and daring to admit! Boy, your courage is not small! This old master has memorized your appearance. Know that this Blood Prison will definitely be your grave.”
Yang Kai smiled brilliantly, “Old Sir, before boasting, you should measure your own ability first, lest you stick out your tongue only to have the wind cut it off.”
The old man grinned viciously, “Whether this old master can back his words, he knows best. This old master does not have time to argue with you now, we will settle this after this old master takes these Domain Stones.”
“Take the Domain Stones?” Yang Kai raised his brow and said in an arrogant tone, “The Domain Stones belong to me, don’t even dream of touching them.”
The old man was startled, and his two companions were stunned, but soon they broke out into laughter.
The one-eyed man said with a sneer, “A little brat who hasn’t even grown hair down there wants to take these Domain Stones? You should go back to cultivate for a hundred more years first. A mere Second-Order Origin Returning Realm brat dares enter the Blood Prison.”
“I won’t waste any more time on you idiots, I have Domain Stones to obtain,” Yang Kai spat disdainfully before stepping towards the Domain Vortex.
“Be careful!” Xue Sun’s beautiful face paled as she quickly warned him.
She had experienced the terrifying power of this Domain Vortex already and knew just how dangerous it was.
The white-haired old man and his companions also gawked in amazement. They never expected Yang Kai would rush into the Domain Vortex so haphazardly. Was he courting death?
The old man could not help sneering as a mocking smile appeared on his face and he waited for the show to begin.
He was certain that Yang Kai would be crushed to death by the Domain Vortex!
However, in the next moment, the smile on his face went stiff.
The Domain Vortex which caused him and his companions so much dread was unable to stop this arrogant boy in the slightest as Yang Kai stepped forward lightly, as if he was out for a stroll.
The old man could not help drawing a sharp breath as his eyes flashed with shock and he focused his full attention on Yang Kai’s movements.
He could clearly see that the Shi which was radiating from Yang Kai’s figure was not inferior in power to his own, possibly even stronger. This invisible Shi was like a perfect armour that protected Yang Kai and allowed him to walk inward without hindrance.
Fortunately, this situation did not last very long. The strange young man only managed to move two hundred metres forward before his pace slowed, then after another hundred, he came to a halt.
Having stopped in place, Yang Kai closed his eyes and felt the strange fluctuations around him while comprehending the mysteries of this Domain.
Seeing this scene, the old man finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If Yang Kai really walked straight to the centre of the Domain Vortex and snatched the Domain Stones without stopping, the old man would probably have coughed up blood.
Luckily, although this little brat was quite unusual, it seemed he was not able to completely ignore this Domain Vortex and had to spend time studying it before he could reach its depths.
[I still have a chance!] The old man’s eyes burst brightly as he got to his feet and then, ignoring the massive load on his body, advanced a short distance.
Seeing this, the other two were unwilling to show weakness and moved slightly deeper.
The closer one moved to the centre of a Domain Vortex, the stronger the pressure they would be subjected to. If one was unable to shoulder such pressure, the result would be them being shredded by the Domain.
Therefore, when cultivators studied the mysteries contained in a Domain Vortex, they would generally do so extremely carefully, not daring to exceed their limits lest they make a deadly miscalculation.
Before Yang Kai arrived, the old man and his two companions were advancing slowly, step by step, planning to steadily approach the Domain Stones before taking them.
But Yang Kai’s arrival and astonishing performance had made them feel a sense of crisis. They realized that if they did not speed up, they wouldn’t be able to obtain any of the Domain Stones they were after.
The chaotic flow around this Domain Vortex made it extremely dangerous for anyone to try to attack anyone else, otherwise, it would be very likely to trigger a strong backlash from the surrounding Domain.
If not for this, the old man and his companions would have struck to kill Yang Kai first. Now, however, whoever reached the centre of the vortex first and took the Domain Stones away would be the winner.
With treasures in front of them, no one would show weakness.
Outside the vortex, Xue Sun’s beautiful eyes glowed with brilliance as she stared at Yang Kai’s back in deep shock.
This strange man had walked three hundred metres straight into the Domain Vortex without stopping! It was like a ten-ton sledgehammer had pounded directly onto Xue Sun’s heart, causing her to become dazed and somewhat short of breath.
Her being sent by Fierce Crab Tribal Lord to participate in the Blood Prison Trial meant she was the strongest Origin Returning Realm master in Fierce Crab Territory.
The attention she received from Fierce Crab Tribal Lord and the respect and admiration of those in the same realm were enough for her to take pride in! She had never felt inferior to other Origin Returning Realm masters.
But today, the arrogance in her heart had taken a serious blow.
Yang Kai’s performance made her realize that even in the Origin Realm, she had not reached the peak. In this realm, there were still people who towered over her.
After gritting her teeth, Xue Sun also pushed her Shi and stepped into the Domain Vortex.
As soon as she entered the vortex, Xue Sun’s tender body trembled slightly. From all directions, a terrifying, invisible power descended upon her, forcing her to push her Monster Qi madly in order to protect herself while she did her best to follow after Yang Kai!
After only advancing fifty metres, however, Xue Sun was unable to move forward again.
Looking up at Yang Kai at that moment, Xue Sun suddenly realized that in this very short time, he had actually moved forward again.
How did he do it? Xue Sun completely could not understand.
It had been less than half a day since she came across Yang Kai inside the Blood Prison, but her pride and self-confidence had been completely shaken. She felt she was simply incomparable with this human…
Xue Lian and Mi Tian were not any better either.
On Monster Emperor Star, all the Tribal Lords evaluated Xue Lian and Mi Tian extremely highly and believed that these two Juniors would likely break through to the Origin King Realm and become new Tribal Lords.
But if Xue Lian and Mi Tian were highly likely to become Origin Kings, Xue Sun was certain Yang Kai would become one.
Just his outstanding performance right now proved that his mastery of Shi had reached a level that surpassed nearly all Origin Realm masters. He may have even touched upon the threshold of Domain.
Xue Sun was awed by another Origin Returning Realm master for the first time in her life, and the back of the figure in front of her now looked like an unattainable mountain she could only gaze up upon.
“Impossible, that’s impossible!” The one-eyed man screamed out loud as he stared in the direction of Yang Kai and watched the latter steadily advance towards the centre of the vortex. Even if Yang Kai paused once in a while, those breaks were extremely short, and he would soon begin moving again.
This powerful Domain Vortex seemed incapable of barring his path at all!
The one-eyed man’s eyes were blank, and his face was dull as he was repeatedly shocked by Yang Kai’s actions.
“Calm down!” The white-haired old man suddenly yelled, “This little brat is indeed a bit weird, but we started earlier than him and he is slightly behind us, so we still have a chance. Focus now, we cannot allow this boy to succeed!”
Hearing what he said, the one-eyed man seemed to recover his calm and took a deep breath before nodding heavily, “I know.”
“Really?” Yang Kai grinned suddenly as he glanced over at the white-haired old man, “Am I still behind you? I think you should check again, Old Dog.”
As these words fell, Yang Kai, who had been standing in place for some time now, suddenly moved forward lightly.
One step, two steps, three steps… Yang Kai showed no signs of stopping at all, like a flowing river that could not be stopped, approaching the centre of the vortex where the Domain Stones laid at a rapid pace.
The old man was stunned, the one-eyed man was stunned, the third man was stunned.
Xue Sun also could not help crying out in shock as her hands covered her red lips, staring blankly in Yang Kai’s direction.
Yang Kai seemed to have suddenly comprehended something and as his Shi enveloped him, it repelled all the Domain’s powers, leaving no obstacles in his way.
In this manner, he easily reached the centre of the vortex.
The three men stared at this scene helplessly.
At this moment, they did not know what to do. If they were nearby, they would definitely go all out to block Yang Kai, but inside this Domain Vortex, they could only stand and watch.
Their faces became dark and bitter.
Suddenly, however, the old man’s eyes lit up as he discovered something extraordinary.
At the centre of the whirlpool, Yang Kai had stopped his foot midair, seemingly unable to tread the final step, his brow furrowed as a thoughtful look filled his face.
This little brat had encountered some kind of problem! The old man was overjoyed and secretly prayed that this boy would be halted where he was, or better yet, strangled to death by the Domain Vortex.
The old man felt that some strange movements were occurring within this Domain Vortex now and that most of its power was now being focused on Yang Kai, putting increasing pressure on him!
Yang Kai’s complexion gradually became dignified and sweat oozed from his forehead as the invisible Domain continued to crash towards his body.
The pressure the old man and his companions were under suddenly eased, and after exchanging a glance, their eyes glowed red and they rushed forward recklessly.
No one had expected such a situation, and no one had ever encountered anything similar. In fact, none had even heard of such an occurrence before.
There were five people inside the same Domain Vortex, but most of the power of Domain was being directed towards a single person. It was as if the Domain Vortex had begun to target that person to prevent him from reaching its core.
The pressure of the old man and his group felt was greatly reduced, so they saw a glimmer of hope and were unwilling to just give up on the Domain Stones.
The three men rapidly moved towards the centre of the Domain Vortex with fierce expressions on their faces, staring at Yang Kai wickedly as they released a thick murderous aura, their intentions clearly unfriendly.
Xue Sun’s beautiful face changed dramatically seeing this, and after yelling to remind Yang Kai, she also tried to rush forward.
“Stay put if you don’t want to die!” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly rang in her ears.
Xue Sun’s raised foot paused mid-air as she stared at Yang Kai’s back with a fluctuating expression, her brow furrowed, not understanding what he was trying to do.
However, she only hesitated for a moment before deciding to believe in Yang Kai and putting her foot down.
Yang Kai’s situation seemed very dangerous as the intense Domain flowing towards him was not something an Origin Returning Realm master could bear. It was a miracle that he was even still standing.
Xue Sun clearly felt that Yang Kai’s Shi could not compete with this rampaging Domain and was being suppressed back into his body.
Xue Sun couldn’t help getting nervous, unable to imagine what Yang Kai’s end would be like once his Shi was completely suppressed.
Most likely, he would die on the spot!
If that really happened, her sister Qing Luo would definitely be sad. Xue Sun had heard that the relationship between these two was very good…
As she worried, Yang Kai’s Shi collided with the swirling Domain, like two clashing armies in the midst of a desperate struggle, but clearly, Yang Kai’s Shi was on the losing side.
The range of Yang Kai’s Shi was shrinking little by little, and soon only covered his body.
The fluctuations in the Domain Vortex were becoming even more chaotic and violent, as if all of its power was being drawn towards Yang Kai. Suddenly, a fierce and merciless wave crashed towards him, completely destroying his Shi and submerging him in Domain.
Xue Sun unconsciously let out a scream and turned her eyes away, somewhat unable to bear seeing Yang Kai explode and die.
However, the sounds of flesh and blood being torn asunder and flying out never came, stunning Xue Sun. Then, a moment later, despite his seemingly desperate situation, Yang Kai let out a joy-filled burst of laughter.
Xue Sun turned her head back rapidly to look at Yang Kai, and to her immense surprise, found him standing there, completely submerged in the swirling Domain, completely unscathed.
“How is that possible?” Xue Sun was stunned.
She clearly didn’t feel Yang Kai releasing any Shi, yet he was standing at the very centre of the Domain Vortex perfectly safe!
There was a kind of mysterious force lingering around Yang Kai, allowing him to merge with the Domain Vortex. Without looking at him with her eyes, Xue Sun would definitely not be able to notice his existence. It was as if he had integrated with the Domain Vortex and become a part of it.
Yang Kai’s foot, which had still been lifted, slammed down at that moment and he truly arrived at the most central position of the Domain Vortex.
With the fall of his foot, the Domain Vortex which had been chaotically flowing towards him was suddenly restored to its normal state, and its terrifying pressure which had vanished re-appeared, causing Xue Sun to let out a moan as she was once again forced to resist it.
The old man and his companions weren’t so lucky though.
When the pressure had lightened earlier, they had rushed forward greatly and were now only a hundred metres away from Yang Kai’s position.
But now that the Domain Vortex’s pressure had returned, how could they possibly bear it?
The sudden reappearance of the Domain horrified the trio and with panicked yells, they desperately pushed their Saint Qi and summoned various artifacts to protect their bodies as they attempted to draw back.
This wasn’t a place where they could remain. If Yang Kai hadn’t pulled most of Domain Vortex’s pressure towards himself, these three would not have been able to reach their current position.
However, it was undoubtedly too late to retreat now.
The trio couldn’t compete with the intense Domain pressure and it wasn’t long before their defensive artifacts exploded into dust. With terror-filled screams, the three men exploded one after another, painting the ground around them with hashed meat and blood…
Xue Sun stared at this scene in a daze. Three Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters dying in such a gruesome manner in less than three breaths caused her to shiver from head to toe.
At that moment, she recalled the warning Yang Kai had quietly passed her just now.
‘Stay put if you don’t want to die!’
She was now certain that if she had not listened to Yang Kai’s warning, she would have shared the same fate as those three men, dying filled with regrets.
Feeling like she had just escaped from death, Xue Sun’s heart pounded and her face turned pale.
[Did he… did he plan this all along? Was he trying to integrate himself into the Domain Vortex so it no longer affected him? Where did he get the confidence to even attempt such a feat? Just how deep is his understanding of Shi?]
[Has he really comprehended the mysteries of Domain?]
Xue Sun had countless questions filling her head, but she found it difficult to ask any of them. She only knew that the height this human had reached on the Martial Dao was something she could only look up towards.
Truthfully, although this Domain Vortex was indeed quite powerful, if the old man and his companions had gradually studied its mysteries and advanced at a slow and steady pace, there was a chance they could have eventually made it to the centre rather than die a miserable death.
Unfortunately for them, they didn’t have such an opportunity. Yang Kai gave them hope, then just as they were about to seize it, he sank them into despair…
Without any effort, he had used the power of the Domain Vortex to kill all three of them!
If Yang Kai had been planning this all along, he was far too devious…
[It must have been a coincidence, right?] Xue Sun’s expression turned extremely complicated.
“What are you doing? Let’s go,” Yang Kai’s voice suddenly called out, startling Xue Sun slightly. When she recovered, she found that Yang Kai had at some point arrived in front of her and had two strange, lustrous stones in his hand: Domain Stones.
Seeing he had gotten her attention, Yang Kai tossed one of the Domain Stones to her.
Xue Sun caught it by reflex before turning a suspicious look towards him and frowning, “Why are you giving me one? I didn’t do anything.”
Yang Kai just smiled lightly and said, “You brought me here. You also discovered these Domain Stones first, so I figured I’d share. What? If you don’t want it, you can give it back.”
Xue Sun stuffed the Domain Stone into her Space Ring in an instant.
A small advantage gained by doing nothing shouldn’t be given up easily!
Yang Kai grinned, “I’ll divide the Domain Stones with you, but I’m keeping those three’s Space Rings. There’s nothing good inside them, but gains are gains.”
“I don’t have any interest in their Space Rings,” Xue Sun replied faintly, pausing for a moment before saying, “Let’s say our goodbyes here, good luck out there.”
“You’re not going out?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“I want to stay here and continue cultivating!”
Yang Kai nodded, not trying to force her and simply saying, “Then I’ll wish you good luck, I’ll be going on ahead.”
Saying so, he walked past her and strode towards the outsider.
“Yang Kai!” Xue Sun suddenly shouted from behind.
“Hm?” Yang Kai turned his head and looked at her.
“Can I ask, how did you integrate yourself into the Domain Vortex?” Xue Sun looked at him curiously.
Yang Kai touched his chin, pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, “I just followed the path my Shi flowed.”
“Follow your Shi?” Xue Sun frowned, carefully savouring the meaning of this sentence for a moment before suddenly her beautiful eyes lit up. Showing a grateful expression, she nodded sincerely, “Thank you!”
“A minor matter,” Yang Kai waved his hand gently, and walked forward without looking back, soon drifting away.
…..
Over the next few days, Yang Kai continued wandering around the Blood Prison. Once he found a Domain Vortex that met his requirements, he would enter it to study its mysteries.
By continuously comprehending the mysteries contained in these Domain Vortices, Yang Kai’s Shi grew at a terrifying speed.
No Domain Vortex could pull him into a deep state of meditation anymore. In fact, Yang Kai could enter and exit most Domain Vortices at will. Even if he occasionally encountered some powerful ones and it took him some time to navigate them, he was still able to integrate himself into them and move about unimpeded without too much difficulty.
He found that the method Xu Ding Yang taught him before was slightly mistaken.
To comprehend the mysteries of Domain, using one’s Shi to fight against it was one way, but integrating one’s Shi into it could garner far deeper insights.
That’s why he gave such advice to Xue Sun.
However, if one wanted to do this, they needed to have extremely good control over their own Shi, otherwise the results would be terrible.
Yang Kai didn’t find many Domain Stones as they were extremely rare, even inside the Blood Prison. Half a month after separating from Xue Sun, Yang Kai had entered dozens of big and small Domain Vortices but had only obtained two more Domain Stones.
As he was travelling, Yang Kai spent some time studying these peculiar products.
These Domain Stones contained the power of Domain inside them, making them similar to the Domain Vortices inside the Blood Prison.
But the power of Domain contained in these Domain Stones was extremely gentle, not violent and difficult to resist like Domain Vortices.
This kind of gentle force could easily and safely be absorbed by any Origin Returning Realm master to improve their understanding of Shi and to comprehend the mysteries of Domain.
This was one of the reasons why Domain Stones were so valuable.
Besides Xue Sun, Yang Kai didn’t encounter any other acquaintances, whether it was the Monster Race masters who came here from Monster Emperor Star together or Qian Tong and the others who he had left on Green Mountains Star, he did not meet a single one.
Yang Kai didn’t know if Qian Tong and the others had even entered the Blood Prison, but the main reason they stayed on Green Mountains Star at the time was for this, so they obviously wouldn’t have missed this event if at all possible.
They should have come in; it was just that he didn’t know where they were.
Occasionally, Yang Kai would take out his communication artifacts and pour his Divine Sense into them to try to contact Qian Tong and the others.
Unfortunately, even after so many days, there was no response from anyone.
One day, as Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged in mediation in a secluded place to recover his stamina, he took out his communication artifact to check it.
He didn’t really expect anything, but when he poured his Divine Sense into it, Yang Kai couldn’t help showing a happy look and quickly began scanning it carefully.
Qian Tong had actually responded!
What’s more, he had even asked for him to come to a certain rendezvous point.
It seemed he had found something incredible!
A hundred kilometres outside the Blood Prison, atop a certain peak inside a certain stone pavilion, Luo Hai had his eyes closed tightly, as if he was silently sensing something.
The other Origin King Realm masters were all paying attention to his movements.
They couldn’t tell anything that was happening inside the Blood Prison, only Luo Hai, the Star Master, could somewhat probe the situation. Naturally, Luo Hai became the focus and centre of attention for everyone here.
After a long time, Luo Hai opened his eyes with a smile on his face.
“Sir Luo Hai, did you find something worthy of attention? Why do you seem so happy?” The old woman from Sword Union asked quickly.
“A fortuitous event has happened!” Luo Hai gently nodded.
“A fortuitous event?” The beautiful woman from Purple Star raised her brow and glanced at Luo Hai thoughtfully, showing a sudden look, “Does Brother Luo Hai mean…”
“Haha, yes. There is only one fortuitous event that happens inside the Blood Prison; it is exactly as you think,” Luo Hai gently nodded, quickly declaring. “The Domain Stone Mountain has appeared!”
“The Domain Stone Mountain has appeared?” Everyone was moved.
“En.”
“This truly is a fortuitous event!” The old woman’s wrinkled face smiled brightly, “Those little fellows who entered the Blood Prison this time are quite lucky it seems, at least more so than most.”
“Senior Sister Lei, why are you acting so envious? When you entered the Blood Prison two thousand years ago, didn’t you also encounter similar good fortune?” The beautiful woman pursed her lips and smiled.
“Hehe, en, two thousand years have passed in a flash,” A look of remembrance appeared on the old woman’s face. “If it hadn’t been for the Domain Stone Mountain back then, this old lady would probably not have been able to spy on the mysteries of Domain and break through to the Origin King Realm. It could be said that the Domain Stone Mountain is the foundation for this old lady’s current achievements!”
“Senior Sister Lei encountered the Domain Stone Mountain back then?” Many people showed a surprised expression, with some of them complaining, “Why didn’t I encounter such good fortune? When I entered the Blood Prison, the Domain Stone Mountain remained hidden behind such a powerful Domain field that it was impossible to even catch a glimpse of it.”
“This is all a matter of luck,” Luo Hai chuckled, “The Domain Stone Mountain is the treasure of the Blood Prison and is extremely strong. Even an Origin King may not necessarily be able to damage it at all. It’s also so massive that no one can take it away. It is the best place for Origin Realm Juniors to spy on the mysteries of Domain. Unfortunately, it is usually surrounded by chaotic Domains all year round that only weaken briefly at random intervals to reveal its true appearance. The Blood Prison only opens once every thousand years, and when it does, the Domain Stone Mountain does not always appear. It is normal for you to not have encountered it. But don’t envy Sister Lei’s luck, aren’t you all Origin Kings now?”
“That said, if I had encountered the Domain Stone Mountain back then, I would not have had to spend an additional three hundred years in cultivation to break through to my current realm.” The one who spoke earlier grumbled, sighing over how his luck was not as good as the old woman’s.
The old woman simply smiled and said, “Why are you sighing? This old lady’s luck was all used up at that moment. After encountering the Domain Stone Mountain and reaching the Origin King realm, this old lady has barely made any progress in her cultivation. I’m afraid that this old lady’s path will end here.”
“Senior Sister Lei need not belittle herself. Who can tell what will happen in one’s future cultivation? Perhaps Senior Sister Lei will receive a flash of enlightenment and breakthrough to the Second-Order Origin King Realm one day?” The beautiful woman comforted.
Although there was a lot of friction between the great forces in the Star Field, as Origin Kings who stood above the mundane, everyone here had some friendship between them, so offering some casual comfort was not difficult.
“I hope so,” The old woman smiled reluctantly before frowning again with a worried expression on her face. “But although the appearance of the Domain Stone Mountain is a fortuitous event, it also increases the difficulty of this trial greatly. Back then, when this old lady was fighting for a good position near the Domain Stone Mountain, she nearly died. This time, I’m afraid many will die in the competition.”
“It may be a blessing or a curse, it all depends on one’s own good fortune. In any case, it is useless for us to worry about it here,” The old man from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce shook his head slowly.
“Fair enough. By the way, Sir Luo Hai, what’s the situation of that little Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy like now? Is he still alive?” The old woman suddenly thought of Yang Kai and asked.
Everyone looked at Luo Hai intently, all of them seemingly very interested in Yang Kai.
Luo Hai smiled slightly and said, “He’s still alive, this King can feel his vitality.”
“Still alive?!” The old woman was overjoyed, “Amazing! This old lady was worried his luck would turn bad and he would be killed by someone. It seems that his luck is better than this old lady expected. En, I look forward to the day when he emerges from the Blood Prison. This old lady wants to see if he has three heads and six arms.”
“He certainly doesn’t have three heads and six arms, he’s just unusually bold. He…” Luo Hai was speaking when suddenly he paused, a frown forming on his face which was soon replaced by a look of surprise.
“Sir Luo Hai, has that boy encountered some kind of terrible trouble?” Purple Star’s beautiful representative asked nervously.
No one wanted to see Yang Kai encounter trouble or fall inside the Blood Prison as they all regarded him as a potential rising star for them to recruit. All of these masters were just waiting for him to leave the Blood Prison so they could offer him extremely generous terms to win him over.
“He hasn’t encountered any trouble, but this King thinks he’s looking for some!” Luo Hai said in a strange tone.
“What do you mean?” The old woman asked nervously.
“He’s actually travelling in the direction of the Domain Stone Mountain!” Luo Hai’s expression turned sour.
“Huh?” Everyone was shocked.
“Why would he go in the direction of Domain Stone Mountain?” The old woman ground her teeth in frustration. “This little brat is simply courting death! Is that a place he’s capable of going? If he were to be caught up in some kind of dispute…”
“En, this little boy really knows how to cause worry,” The beautiful woman from Purple Star sighed with a helpless expression.
Yang Kai was inside the Blood Prison, so they could not interfere, they could only watch as he tread into one dangerous situation after another.
Several of the Origin King Realm masters present wished they could break into the Blood Prison right now, fish out Yang Kai from there, and teach him a severe lesson.
“This is becoming more and more interesting; this little boy is truly bold.” Luo Hai smiled softly.
“Sir Luo Hai, please pay some attention to that little boy to see if he can…” The old woman asked anxiously.
“Of course. Although I can’t investigate too carefully, this King can still perceive whether that boy lives or dies. If there is any change in his status, this King will tell you,” Luo Hai nodded, not rejecting this simple request.
He too was quite interested in Yang Kai.
“Then I shall trouble you with this, Sir Luo Hai.”
….
Inside the Blood Prison, there was a hill at a certain location.
Although it was a hill, it was really quite small.
No more than a hundred metres high and a hundred or so metres across, this entire hill was glowing with a peculiar lustre and a subtle Domain pulsed from it to fill its immediate surrounding.
Domain Stone Mountain! The treasure of the Blood Prison!
This hill was actually one, massive Domain Stone. No one knew how it was formed, but since it came into existence, it had become a permanent feature of the Blood Prison.
Shrouded by a terrifying Domain all year round, no one could approach it to get a glimpse of what Domain Stone Mountain truly looked like.
The Domain around Domain Stone Mountain was recognized as the most powerful Domain in the Blood Prison. No Origin Returning Realm master cultivator dared to challenge it as anyone who did would die without doubt.
Although it was constantly shrouded by a powerful Domain, there were times when this Domain would weaken somewhat and Domain Stone Mountain would be exposed.
There was no rule to this weakening, but in the past, when the Blood Prison opened, the Domain Stone Mountain had revealed itself only a handful of times. During those times, all Origin Returning Realm masters who heard the news were like cats smelling fish, gathering from all directions towards Domain Stone Mountain to look for a suitable location to experience the Domain emanating from Domain Stone Mountain.
This was far safer and more effective than trying to wade into Domain Vortices as the profound aura which pulsed from Domain Stone Mountain could be easily studied by cultivators to spy on the mysteries of Domain.
Some cultivators who had never had an opportunity to break through to the Origin King Realm were able to break through because they encountered the Domain Stone Mountain.
The old woman surnamed Lei from Sword Union was one such case.
For over ten thousand years, although Domain Stone Mountain had only appeared a couple of times, that did not dampen enthusiasm cultivators had towards it.
At this moment, over a hundred Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters had gathered around Domain Stone Mountain. These people came from all corners of the Star Field and were groups as small as three or four, to as big as seven or eight, each of them occupying different positions nearby.
These groups were all noticeably separated from each other.
Among these groups, the few with the largest number occupied the best positions and were currently releasing an imposing aura as they held their artifacts in their hands and stared around with cold eyes.
No one dared to provoke them, not only because of their large number but also because of their background.
The remaining groups, following their strength, also occupied different spots.
With nearly a hundred people, Domain Stone Mountain was almost entirely surrounded, and although there were still some open spaces, a steady stream of cultivators who had heard the news were still arriving.
It was conceivable that the open spaces would all eventually be occupied by cultivators.
The cultivators who came late and did not get a good position would often challenge weaker groups to seize their spots.
On one side of Domain Stone Mountain, in a spot that was neither good nor bad, three Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators gathered.
Among these three, two were familiar with Yang Kai, Qian Tong and the beautiful woman Lin Yu Rao from Star Emperor Mountain, while the last was someone Yang Kai had never met before.
At this moment, all three of them are silently condensing their Saint Qi, holding their most powerful artifacts, and observing their surroundings vigilantly.
These three had arrived here quite early, so the position they occupied wasn’t bad; however, as the number of cultivators who came here continued to increase, some people were already looking at them unkindly, seemingly considering whether they could drive them away.
If the three of them did not show enough deterrence, they would definitely not be able to keep this spot.
However, continuing to remain so vigilant was also not an appropriate solution. Domain Stone Mountain had already appeared and the larger, more powerful groups had begun to comprehend the mysteries of Domain from it while the three of them could only continue to delay, resulting in them not gaining anything.
The three of them understood this clearly, but they didn’t dare relax their vigilance, frustrating them greatly.
“Elder Qian, have Elder Yang or Elder Mo responded?” Among the three, an elderly man wearing a brown robe looked around from time to time and continued to ask Qian Tong in a low voice.
“No,” Qian Tong slowly shook his head and replied anxiously, “I don’t know where they are, but the communication artifacts can’t reach them at all. What about Vice City Lord Ning? Have you been able to reach him yet?”
The elderly man sighed, “I can’t get in touch with him either. I don’t know where Brother Ning has gone.”
The two looked at each other and both saw the anxiety and helplessness in each other’s eyes.
The elderly man was Green Mountains Star’s Green Water City’s City Lord. When Yang Kai left Green Mountains Star and returned to Tong Xuan Realm, Qian Tong and his group of five stayed in the City Lord’s Mansion to prepare for the Blood Prison Trial, which would open a few years later.
The City Lord of Green Water City had an astute character, and after learning about Qian Tong and the others’ arrival, he had strongly invited them to serve as Honoured Guest Elders of Green Water City. Not wanting to cause any misunderstandings and in need of a good place to stay, Qian Tong and the others agreed.
Over the past few years, everyone had got along fairly well and there were no gaps or friction between them now.
As soon as the Blood Prison Trial started, they entered the Blood Prison with this elderly City Lord and Vice City Lord Ning.
All of them were Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters and entered the Blood Prison to comprehend the mysteries of Domain in order to touch upon the threshold of the Origin King Realm, so of course, it was impossible for all seven of them to travel together.
As such, everyone dispersed.
A few days ago, the elderly man heard about the appearance of the Domain Stone Mountain and immediately used his communication artifact to contact his companions, but only Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao had arrived so far while Yang Xiu Zhu, Chu Han Yi and Mo Yu from Clear Sky Sect were nowhere to be seen, nor was there any contact from Green Water City’s Vice City Lord Ning.
Seeing more and more people arrive here, Qian Tong and the others present naturally grew anxious.
Without an absolute advantage in strength and number, it would be impossible for them to keep the spot they currently occupied.
There was already a group of cultivators not far away who could not obtain a good position and were now eyeing them maliciously; however, because there were only two of them, they didn’t dare act rashly.
However, this pair was constantly sending their Divine Senses into their communication artifacts, seemingly contacting someone.
Once this pair’s reinforcements arrived, Qian Tong and their group’s situation would become precarious.
“Elder Lin, have you had any responses?” The elderly man turned his eyes to Lin Yu Rao next.
Lin Yu Rao slowly shook her head as a look of worry flashed across her beautiful eyes, “No.”
“What should we do?” The elderly man muttered anxiously and uneasily. Such a great opportunity lay in front of him but didn’t have the time or ability to take advantage of it, only able to stand in place vigilantly. This was nothing short of torturous.
“We’ll wait for another half a day, and after half a day. If Elder Yang and the others don’t come, we… we’ll leave!” The elderly man grit his teeth and decided.
Although the appearance of Domain Stone Mountain was a Heaven-sent opportunity, he did not want to lose his life here. The area around Domain Stone Mountain had been relatively calm so far, but it clearly would not be long before chaos ensued as many cultivators fought for better positions!
“To leave…” Qian Tong’s expression became cloudy and uncertain, filled with unwillingness.
Those from Shadowed Star, like him, had an incredible desire to spy on the mysteries of the Origin King Realm.
If it weren’t for Yang Kai bringing them away from Shadowed Star to this place, Qian Tong most likely never would have been able to shake off the World Principles shackles there his entire life, leaving him forever unable to seek higher levels of the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai had given him this chance, and now an incredible opportunity lay before him, so taking the initiative to leave it behind was naturally something Qian Tong was not reconciled to.
“Hm…” While in the throes of frustration, Qian Tong’s expression suddenly changed, and he poured his Divine Sense into his communication artifact once more.
“Did someone respond?” Green Water City’s City Lord asked Qian Tong joyfully when he saw this change in expression.
Lin Yu Rao’s beautiful eyes also glanced towards Qian Tong expectantly.
Qian Tong did not respond, however, as he was focused on the communication artifact. Only after some time did he laugh heartily, “Oh, someone has arrived.”
“Who is it? Elder Yang, Elder Chu, or Elder Mo?”
“None of them,” Qian Tong shook his head slowly.
“None of them? Could it be Brother Ning then?” Green Water City’s City Lord’s expression changed, nodding in approval. “Brother Ning is also good, his strength isn’t weak.”
“It’s not Brother Ning either.”
“Then who is it?” Green Water City’s City Lord was confused. Qian Tong and his party consisted of five people, two of whom were currently here while three were not. If none of them had responded, who had?
Lin Yu Rao also looked puzzled as she stared at Qian Tong curiously, not knowing what he meant.
Qian Tong chuckled, turned to Lin Yu Rao and said, “Yang Kai came!”
Lin Yu Rao’s beautiful eyes lit up as she asked with pleasant surprise, “Sect Master is here? Why is he here? Didn’t he return to his homeland?”
“I’m also confused,” Qian Tong smiled as a look of relief filled his face, “Perhaps he rushed back in time. When he left Green Mountains Star that year, didn’t he say that if there was enough time, he would return?”
“Elder Qian, are you certain? Are you sure the response you got was from Sect Master?”
“How could I be mistaken about such a thing?” Qian Tong shook his head repeatedly, “Although this old master is getting on in years, he hasn’t lost his faculties yet.”
“This is wonderful,” Lin Yu Rao nearly jumped for joy, “If Sect Master is here, things will be much easier.”
The two of them spoke in harmony, their words filled with admiration for Yang Kai. Although Green Water City’s City Lord did not know who this Yang Kai was, it was clear from Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao’s expressions that an amazing helper was on his way.
His nervous mood loosened, and he laughed, turning to Lin Yu Rao and saying, “Elder Lin, can you tell this City Lord a little bit about your Sect Master? This old master has never met him before and would prefer to not appear rude when he does.”
What Lin Yu Rao’s strength was, this elderly man knew very well. She was definitely stronger than himself.
Not only Lin Yu Rao, everyone from her group of five were far stronger than ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters! Their understanding of Shi was very profound, and their Saint Qi was extremely pure and dense.
At first, the elderly man didn’t quite understand why this was, but after associating with them for so long, he eventually learned that the Cultivation Star Qian Tong and the others came from had a kind of constraint which was related to its World Principles that prevented cultivators from breaking through to the Origin King Realm, forcing them to polish their Origin Returning Realm strength continuously.
It was for this reason that they had pushed their strength to the very peak of the Origin Returning Realm, surpassing the Origin Returning Realm masters of other Cultivation Stars.
Repeated tempering would lead to such results.
A man called Sect Master by a master like Lin Yu Rao should obviously be stronger than Lin Yu Rao, right? It was likely that this Yang Kai was already half a step into the Origin King Realm!
Green Water City’s City Lord took this as a given.
With the arrival of such a powerful helper, Green Water City’s City Lord was naturally overjoyed.
“How should I describe him…” Lin Yu Rao could not help showing a look of embarrassment on her face, seemingly finding it difficult to express herself clearly.
“Haha, I can’t tell you clearly, but after you meet him, Brother Zhao will understand,” Qian Tong smiled from the side, also feeling that any kind of explanation would be useless as Yang Kai couldn’t be described using common sense.
“En, very well!” The elderly man nodded lightly, not forcing the issue. In any case, he would soon be meeting this mysterious master, so there was not much point in asking about him now.
“However, Brother Zhao, this Qian will tell you in advance: Sect Master Yang cannot be judged by his appearance!” Qian Tong seemed to warn casually.
“Cannot be judged by his appearance?” Green Water City’s City Lord frowned slightly, wondering what Qian Tong meant.
“He’s here!” Qian Tong’s expression suddenly changed as he turned to look in a certain direction.
When the Green Water City’s City Lord heard this, he immediately refreshed his spirits and prepared to meet this powerful helper with full courtesy.
A figure flew over from that direction at extreme speed.
When Qian Tong first called out, this figure was still far away, a mere black spot that could barely be seen, but after three breaths, a brave and heroic youth appeared in front of Domain Stone Mountain.
“Yang Kai, over here!” Qian Tong shouted.
Around Domain Stone Mountain, countless cultivators glared at him.
Qian Tong could not help laughing awkwardly, realizing that he had acted a bit too eye-catching in his exuberance and quickly became low-key.
Yang Kai, who rushed to this place, first glanced at the huge Domain Stone Mountain, surprise flashing across his eyes as he did, before he turned and flew down to the spot where Qian Tong and the others were gathered and greeted them enthusiastically, “Elder Qian, Elder Lin!”
“Greetings, Sect Master!” Lin Yu Rao hurriedly saluted.
Yang Kai waved his hand, signaling for her to not be so polite, before asking in curiously, “Why are you two here? Where are the others?”
“We can’t contact them, so we don’t know where they are right now,” Qian Tong smiled helplessly. “Have you returned from your homeland?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Just in time, just in time. I was worried that you wouldn’t make it for this Blood Prison Trial,” Qian Tong laughed.
“It was just a stroke of luck,” Yang Kai replied casually, not explaining anything.
It was indeed a lucky break for him to have made it here. He had gone to Monster Emperor Star to meet Shan Qing Luo but somehow wound up coming to the Blood Prison from there.
After exchanging greetings, Yang Kai turned to the unfamiliar elderly man and asked, “This is…”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Green Water City’s City Lord Zhao Tian Ze. Brother Zhao, this is the Yang Kai I told you about.”
Zhao Tian Ze stared at Yang Kai blankly, his expression extremely weird.
Since Yang Kai appeared, Zhao Tian Ze had been examining him.
After all, from the previous conversation between Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao that praised Yang Kai’s strength and status, Zhao Tian Ze’s expectations of him had been set quite high.
He had expected a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master!
He thought that the help who was coming would be stronger than Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao.
But as soon as they met, Zhao Tian Ze discovered that something was wrong.
The one who had come was a seemingly young man, which in and of itself was not a problem, but the aura fluctuations coming from this boy actually indicated that he was only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator!
Zhao Tian Ze almost thought he had made a mistake and kept examining Yang Kai with his Divine Sense, but after three times, he was certain this boy really was just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator…
Realizing this, Zhao Tian Ze nearly coughed up blood.
The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
At this moment, Zhao Tian Ze finally understood why Qian Tong had said before that seeing he was someone who cannot be judged by his appearance, he was clearly referring to this!
However, what could a mere Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy do? Even if he could fight others above his realm, he couldn’t change their current situation. His arrival wouldn’t help them at all! At most, he could barely be considered another helper.
Zhao Tian Ze’s mood suddenly deflated.
But at any rate, he was a City Lord, and he had a good relationship with Qian Tong, Lin Yu Rao, and the others, so he wouldn’t allow his disappointment to show through too obviously. With a forced smile on his face, he cupped his fists and said, “This Zhao greets Sect Master Yang, Sect Master Yang… en, is a young and promising man.”
The insincerity of this compliment was apparent to everyone.
Yang Kai replied politely as well, not taking any offence. Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao looked at each other and also didn’t bother to explain.
They clearly knew how powerful Yang Kai was. It could be said that Yang Kai being here was the same as having a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master to assist them! This gave them enough confidence to remain here.
“Hah, it’s just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm brat!”
“This boy actually managed to survive inside the Blood Prison for so long, his luck must be quite good.”
“However, his luck has just run out, I’ll bet he won’t survive the day.”
“Hmph, an ignorant boy who doesn’t know how to spell ‘death’, actually daring to come to Domain Stone Mountain!”
“This little brat must be an idiot. His arrival not only doesn’t help his companions but actually adds a weakness instead, they’re finished.”
Whispers suddenly sounded all around as countless cultivators focused their attention on Yang Kai, most of them wearing disdainful or mocking expressions while some just felt it strange.
Around Domain Stone Mountain, there were more than a hundred Origin Returning Realm masters, all of them at the Third-Orders.
Yang Kai was the only Second-Order present, making him stand out like a crane amongst chickens, so he became the topic of everyone’s attention and discussion.
Yang Kai remained perfectly calm, not caring about everyone else discussing him at all. Zhao Tian Ze’s expression, however, became more and more uneasy.
Originally, with just him, Qian Tong, and Lin Yu Rao here, even if some people were eyeing them with ill intent, they still had enough strength to maintain the status quo for a while, but the moment Yang Kai showed up, their location immediately became the focus of attention. Divine Senses swept toward them constantly as strong auras began pressuring them, causing Zhao Tian Ze to grow nervous.
The arrival of this young man named Yang Kai seemed to have made their situation more difficult.
Glancing around at their surroundings, Zhao Tian Ze began leaking sweat from his forehead.
“Yang Kai, those two over there have been eyeing us for a while now,” Qian Tong moved to Yang Kai’s side and whispered, gesturing towards a nearby spot as he spoke.
Following his gaze, Yang Kai quickly noticed two Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators who were constantly observing them. Seeing Yang Kai’s gaze, one of these two stared back and grinned maliciously.
The other person, holding a communication artifact in his hand, was still communicating with someone.
“I see,” Yang Kai nodded slightly, a trace of suspicion flashing across his face.
He vaguely felt that the robes worn by these two people were familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
However, he had been living on Shadowed Star almost the entire time he had been in the Star Field and had rarely interacted with cultivators from other Cultivation Stars, so he couldn’t recall where he had seen such uniforms before.
[Was it in the Emperor Garden?] Yang Kai thought to himself as the Emperor Garden was the only place where he had frequently dealt with cultivators from other Cultivation Stars.
“By the way, what is this place and what is that huge Domain Stone? How come so many people have gathered here?” Yang Kai withdrew his gaze and asked the questions which had been bothering him since he arrived.
He had hurried over to this place after receiving a message from Qian Tong, but he still knew nothing about Domain Stone Mountain.
“This is Domain Stone Mountain,” Qian Tong replied, “We only know that this thing has always existed inside the Blood Prison, as for the specifics, you’d best ask Brother Zhao instead, he knows much more about it.”
“Then I’ll have to bother City Lord Zhao,” Yang Kai cupped his fists and bowed to Zhao Tian Ze.
“Sect Master Yang is too polite,” Zhao Tian Ze laughed dryly. Although he was still a little uneasy, it wasn’t a problem to explain about Domain Stone Mountain to Yang Kai.
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai suddenly became interested.
“So, the chances of Domain Stone Mountain appearing are very small?”
“Naturally, it has only appeared a handful of times when the Blood Prison Trial has opened in the past. Normally, it is surrounded by a terrifying Domain, making it impossible to approach,” Zhao Tian Ze nodded.
“And no one has ever thought of trying to take it away?” Yang Kai stared at the huge Domain Stone with scorching eyes.
Even Origin Kings would go all out to acquire such a large piece of Domain Stone, right? As long as they placed it in their Sect, it would become a core treasure that could produce many Origin Kings!
The gentle Domain aura it exuded was an incredible cultivation treasure.
“Sect Master Yang surely jests.” Zhao Tian Ze said as the corner of his brow twitched, “Without even mentioning how heavy this Domain Stone is, making it impossible to move, even if someone had the strength to carry it off, none would dare touch it arbitrarily.”
“Why not?” Yang Kai was startled.
“If one triggered a powerful wave of Domain, who could possibly resist?” Zhao Tian Ze spoke solemnly as he stared at Yang Kai with a strange expression.
He wanted to scold Yang Kai for asking such an ignorant question, but was too embarrassed to actually speak such words.
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai gently nodded, finally understanding the peculiarities of this Domain Stone Mountain. Staring at it earnestly for a moment, Yang Kai suddenly grinned, “But this is indeed a Heaven-sent opportunity! Since we’re here and occupy a good place, let’s not waste any time. We need to hurry up and cultivate, there are already many doing so apparently.”
“Uh, relying on just the few of us?” Zhao Tian Ze was astonished.
“Are we waiting for someone else?”
“We’re not expecting anyone else, but with so few of us, if we were all to sit in meditation and were suddenly sneak attacked while we were in the midst of some critical comprehension, the consequences would be disastrous…” Zhao Tian Ze worried, pointing to the group with the largest number of people in the distance, “Sect Master Yang, look over there. There are many of them so they can separate into two different groups, one to stand guard while the other meditates, but with just the four of us…”
“I’ll stand guard then, the three of you meditate,” Yang Kai said freely.
“This…” Zhao Tian Ze was stunned and showed a trace of gratitude. Although he was a little disappointed with Yang Kai’s arrival, Yang Kai offering to stand guard for them while they benefited was still a touching gesture.
Regardless of his strength, this young man had an upstanding character.
“Sect Master, I can stand guard,” Lin Yu Rao took the initiative to ask.
“No need, since I’ve said you can cultivate, just cultivate. Don’t waste time,” Yang Kai waved his hand and urged. “The earlier you begin, the more benefits you will get!”
“Alright,” Qian Tong pondered for a moment before nodding, “Since that’s your decision Yang Kai, we’ll go along with it. Also, we won’t sink completely into a meditative state, if there is any movement, we will be able to react immediately. When I’ve reached a good point to stop my comprehension, I’ll change places with you.”
“En.”
Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao exchanged a glance before sitting down cross-legged.
Zhao Tian Ze hesitated, however, and quickly approached Qian Tong to ask in a low voice, “Elder Qian, can we really do this?”
He did not feel assured leaving his safety in Yang Kai’s hands. He would rather Qian Tong or Lin Yu Rao stand guard as that would at least put him more at ease.
“When Yang Kai acts, you can rest at ease,” Qian Tong stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder, speaking seriously.
Zhao Tian Ze smiled bitterly. He really didn’t know why Qian Tong had so much confidence in Yang Kai, but seeing both him and Lin Yu Rao close their eyes to seek enlightenment, he too couldn’t help giving in to the temptation of Domain Stone Mountain, grit his teeth, and sat down cross-legged to meditate.
However, he didn’t dare to fully immerse himself in his comprehension, making sure he could still react to any sudden changes around him.
Seeing that all three of them had entered a state of comprehension, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged as well and observed Domain Stone Mountain with interest.
Earlier, he couldn’t have imagined that there was such a large piece of Domain Stone in the Blood Prison. He had entered several dozen Domain Vortices already but only managed to obtain four Domain Stones, all of which were only the size of a fist, and one of them he had given to Xue Sun.
If such a large piece of Domain Stone could be taken away…
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling excited, his eyes sparkling as he grinned deviously.
Just as he was about to put his plan into action, however, Yang Kai’s expression suddenly changed and he turned his head to the side.
From a certain direction, a group of four people were flying over towards their position, and after a short while, these four people landed nearby, and paused to stare at Domain Stone Mountain with scorching eyes and looks of joy on their faces.
The appearance of Domain Stone Mountain was a rare opportunity for any cultivator!
“You’ve finally arrived!” Someone greeted these four while also complaining slightly.
Yang Kai looked over and found that this man was the one who had been eyeing him maliciously earlier. He and his other companion had been in contact with someone while paying attention to Qian Tong and the others since before Yang Kai arrived.
It seemed that these four who had just arrived were the ones this man’s companion had contacted before.
“We had some trouble on the road thanks to an enchantress!” The leading man replied in a deep voice.
“An enchantress?” The questioner’s brow rose.
“En, I don’t know where she’s from, but she was incredibly strong. If it weren’t for there being four of us, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to repel her. Fortunately, with all of us working together, we managed to wound her, but unfortunately, she managed to escape after that,” The leading man replied angrily.
“That enchantress was so beautiful, Brother Cai. You didn’t see her, but if you did, I’m afraid you’d have trouble even walking straight,” Someone else from the newcomers commented.
“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit too much?” The man surnamed Cai curled his lips, obviously not believing them.
“It’s no exaggeration. That enchantress was definitely the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life, but the aura she gave off was a bit strange. She seemed to have Monster Qi and Saint Qi mixed together.”
“Forget it, don’t mention that enchantress anymore,” The leading man waved his hand and interrupted the chatter, “Brother Cai Feng, what’s the situation here?”
“Nothing serious,” Cai Feng shrugged, “You should be able to see that there’s only so much space around this Domain Stone Mountain. The innermost section has already been occupied by those who got here first, but in the outer region, there are still a few good spots.”