Hearing what he said, the lead man frowned and said in a displeased tone, “I don’t want to be too far away from Domain Stone Mountain. What kind of benefits can we gain if we’re too far? We need to secure a position in the innermost layer.”
“Then we’ll need to snatch one!” Cai Feng grinned.
“Do you have a target in mind?”
“I do,” Cai Feng nodded as he glanced over at the location of Yang Kai and his group and laughed lowly, “Their spot looks good.”
The lead man glanced over towards where Yang Kai was sitting and showed a satisfied expression, nodding as he said, “That spot is indeed good, it’s settled then.”
“It doesn’t seem like they’ll give it up willingly though,” Cai Feng chuckled as he had been noticing Yang Kai observing them. Sending a cold glare towards Yang Kai, Cai Feng snorted, “That little brat seems to have been paying attention to us.”
“Since we’ve settled on their spot, they have no choice but to give way. It doesn’t matter if they agree or not!” The lead man declared before meeting Yang Kai’s gaze unhesitatingly and striding forward.
The other five people in this group followed closely behind, making no qualms about their intentions as they wantonly released their auras.
A moment later, this group of six stopped a hundred metres away from Yang Kai and the lead man arrogantly spat, “Boy, where are you from?”
Yang Kai grinned and replied lightly, “Shadowed Star.”
“Shadowed Star?” The leading man frowned for a moment before curling his lips and saying, “Never heard of it. This King has taken a fancy to your place, leave now or don’t blame us for being impolite.”
Continuing to sit on the ground, Yang Kai picked some wax from his ear indifferently before blowing it towards this aggressive group and declaring lightly, “Sorry, I didn’t hear what you said, can you say it again?”
The leading man sneered, “Boy, you should learn to appreciate kindness. This King doubts you’re deaf. This King won’t repeat himself; you should scram now if you don’t want to die!”
The five people behind him grinned mockingly as they released a threatening aura.
“What is this? If you have something to say we can discuss it in a civilized manner, why immediately resort to threats?” Zhao Tian Ze stood up with a helpless expression.
Although Yang Kai had said he would stand guard and allow him and the others to comprehend the mysteries of Domain from Domain Stone Mountain, how could Zhao Tian Ze rest assured leaving his life in Yang Kai’s hands? No matter how much Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao trusted this boy, to Zhao Tian Ze, Yang Kai was still just a stranger.
What’s more, this boy was just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator! So Zhao Tian Ze had not dared to immerse himself in meditation and naturally immediately noticed this commotion, swiftly jumping out to mediate the situation.
“This one is Green Mountains Star Green Water City’s City Lord, Zhao Tian Ze. Greetings several friends, may I have your honoured names?” Zhao Tian Ze said with a hollow laugh as he bowed in a submissive posture.
The lead man on the opposite side looked at Zhao Tian Ze, completely ignoring Yang Kai as he felt that Zhao Tian Ze was the one truly in charge here. As for Yang Kai with his weak cultivation, this man figured he was just following orders. With a relaxed and confident expression, the lead man said, “This King is Scarlet Wave Star Brilliant Flame Sect’s Zhang Qing, these are my fellow brothers from Scarlet Wave Star!”
“Scarlet Wave Star? Brilliant Flame Sect?” Yang Kai raised his brow slightly, finally understanding why this group’s robes seemed familiar to him.
When he had met Xu Ding Yang, who was killed by the first Domain Vortex Yang Kai came across, the former said he had come from Scarlet Wave Star. At that time, Yang Kai had felt a vague sense of familiarity with this Cultivation Star’s name.
Now hearing this Zhang Qing’s introduction, Yang Kai immediately understood.
In the Emperor Garden, he had met several cultivators from Scarlet Wave Star.
Specifically, he had met two groups of people.
One group was from Brilliant Flame Sect while the other was from Ice Heart Valley. These two groups were fighting over possession of an ancient secluded home that Yang Kai happened to pass by on accident.
At that time, through a series of twists and turns, Yang Kai had gotten himself involved in this dispute and ended up assisting the women from Ice Heart Valley to kill the cultivators from Brilliant Flame Sect.
The True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture and the Purple Origin Furnace were both treasures Yang Kai had obtained from that ancient secluded home.
[No wonder this Cai Feng’s uniform is so familiar, turns out I’ve dealt with his Sect before!] Yang Kai grinned, a slightly playful light flashing across his eyes.
“So several friends are from Brilliant Flame Sect!” Zhao Tian Ze’s face changed slightly and he quickly bowed deeper, “Please pardon my disrespect.”
He had obviously heard the name ‘Brilliant Flame Sect’.
Zhang Qing’s expression grew smugger and he nodded lightly, “Since Friend has heard of my Brilliant Flame Sect, this matter can be settled easily. Tell your partners to clean up and give way. This King won’t be unreasonable, as long as you withdraw, this King can guarantee he won’t harm you.”
“This…” Zhao Tian Ze wore a bitter look and hesitated before saying, “Brother Zhang, forgive me, but I can’t decide this matter alone, please let this Zhao discuss it with his companions.”
“There’s nothing to discuss, this place is off-limits. Find yourselves another one,” Lin Yu Rao’s soft voice sounded.
She and Qian Tong were well aware of what was happening and had been staring over with cold eyes for some time, but when Zhao Tian Ze seemed to be caving to outside pressure, they naturally couldn’t remain silent.
She shared Qian Tong’s deep yearning towards the Origin King Realm!
“Don’t you think you’re going too far here?” Qian Tong’s complexion also sank as he glared at Zhang Qing and his group.
“Going too far?” Zhang Qing sneered, “This King is doing no such thing. This King has given you a way out, but it is up to you whether you can grasp it or not.”
“If you dare talk back again, we’ll just kill you all!” Cai Feng shouted, his expression becoming impatient.
“Everyone, calm down, calm down,” Zhao Tian Ze called out anxiously as he motioned to Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao not to speak before turning to Zhang Qing. “Brother Zhang, please wait a moment, I will explain this matter to them and give you a prompt reply!”
“Fine! Since this is your home star, this King will give you some face, but you do not have much time, I want an answer within half a cup of tea’s time!” Zhang Qing reminded him coldly.
Zhao Tian Ze bitterly nodded before quickly approaching Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao and helplessly said, “Friends, do you really refuse to compromise?”
Qian Tong looked at him faintly, “What’s wrong, does Brother Zhao want to withdraw?”
Zhao Tian Ze slowly shook his head, “If it were possible, how could I be willing to just back down? However, they outnumber us greatly and if we don’t agree to their demands, the end result will not be good.”
Qian Tong frowned slightly before asking in a somewhat surprised tone, “Brother Zhao’s courage isn’t this small, right? Regardless of anything else, you are also a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator who has weathered many great storms before, yes? Is it this Brilliant Flame Sect that you dread? What kind of background do they have to make you so fearful?”
Zhao Tian Ze’s face twitched slightly as he showed a bitter smile, “Elder Qian noticed? Yes, to be honest, I do fear their background somewhat. Brilliant Flame Sect is based on Scarlet Wave Star so it is reasonable to say that as a native of Green Mountains Star, there is no need to be wary of them; however, their Supreme Elder seems to have a close relationship with the Star Master of Green Mountains Star! We can’t afford to offend this group of people!”
“The Star Master of Green Mountains Star!” Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao both narrowed their eyes.
After living on Green Mountains Star for three years now, they naturally knew that there was a powerful Star Master here, one at the Second-Order Origin King Realm.
“If I explain until here, do you two understand?” Zhao Tian Ze looked at them worriedly.
“I understand, but whether we give way or not will be up to Sect Master. If Sect Master chooses to withdraw I will withdraw, if Sect Master tells me to remain, I will remain!” Lin Yu Rao raised her eyes to Yang Kai.
“Up to him…” Zhao Tian Ze’s face sank, never having expected that the final decision would still rest in Yang Kai’s hands.
“Yang Kai, you decide whether we should stay or go!” Qian Tong also looked over, “This old master will follow your lead!”
“Why should we withdraw?” Yang Kai curled his lips, “Naturally we’re staying, how could we miss such a good opportunity? As for those people… rest assured, if they want to court death, I’ll grant their request!”
“If you say so, this old master can rest assured,” Qian Tong grinned fiercely while Lin Yu Rao also flashed an excited look.
“You…” Zhao Tian Ze was truly speechless as he stared at Yang Kai in a daze. “Have you not figured out our situation? If you want to court death, why bother pulling Elder Qian and Elder Lin down with you? They put their lives in your hands so you are responsible for their wellbeing. If you boast so shamelessly, in the end you’ll be the one to suffer.”
Obviously, he had become a little angry and no longer spoke politely to Yang Kai.
“If City Lord Zhao does not wish to remain, you can leave by yourself,” Yang Kai looked at him lightly, “I’m not forcing you to remain and share life and death with us!”
Zhao Tian Ze became enraged and pointed at Yang Kai viciously but was unable to say a word.
Zhang Qing and his group naturally saw this scene and couldn’t help laughing.
They suddenly felt that these four were quite interesting. A disaster was looming over them but not only could they not show unity, they instead had a falling out, truly the height of ignorance and stupidity.
“This old master won’t bother arguing with you!” Zhao Tian Ze was thoroughly irritated with Yang Kai and quickly turned to Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao and said, “Friends, leave this place with me, otherwise they will definitely not be polite.”
Qian Tong, however, just sighed, “Brother Zhao, we have worked together for several years so this Qian understands your character. This Qian understands that you are doing what you believe is for the best, but there is no need. You leave first!”
Lin Yu Rao pursed her lips and smiled, “You shouldn’t leave too far though, perhaps you’ll be back soon.”
Zhao Tian Ze was stunned.
He naturally understood the meaning of Lin Yu Rao’s words, but he simply couldn’t believe it.
Shooting a cold glare at Yang Kai, Zhao Tian Ze sighed, “I don’t know why Elder Qian and Elder Lin are so confident in you, but I hope you know what you are doing.”
After leaving these last words, he flew outwards.
He had given it his best effort but Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao were unwilling to listen to his advice, so he had no other choice.
He didn’t have the confidence to remain and help Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao against this enemy, so he could only choose to leave in low spirits.
Zhang Qing and others looked at him coldly. Without him needing to explain, they already knew the result.
Sure enough, they didn’t try to embarrass Zhao Tian Ze and instead just directed their attention towards Yang Kai’s group of three.
“It looks like you won’t regret it unless you see your coffin?” Zhang Qing sneered, his eyes flashing a cold, sharp light, “Don’t blame this King for not giving you a chance, you brought this on yourselves.”
Saying so, an extremely potent Shi suddenly spread from his body and swiftly engulfed Yang Kai’s group!
Beside Domain Stone Mountain, Brilliant Flame Sect’s Zhang Qing wore a fierce look as he released his Shi to envelop Yang Kai’s group of three.
His Shi seemed to be mixed with a special force that made anyone who fell into it feel as if they had been thrown into a volcanic crater. The ambient heat was astonishing and seemed capable of roasting everyone it touched.
Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao’s faces changed slightly and they quickly released their own Shi to resist.
Yang Kai simply raised his brow and showed a look of interest, however.
This Zhang Qing really had enough capital to back up his arrogance. Obviously, his Shi had reached the minor accomplishment stage!
Shi was a special power that as long as one reached the Origin Returning Realm they could condense. After that, as one’s cultivation increased, the power of their Shi would also grow stronger.
However, if one wanted to cultivate their Shi to the minor accomplishment stage, they needed to integrate their own unique energies into it to strengthen it further.
For example, Yang Kai had integrated his Space Force into his Shi!
As for this Zhang Qing, he had accomplished a similar feat by integrating his understanding of the Flame Attribute into his Shi.
Among all Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, only about twenty percent of cultivators could accomplish this, and Zhang Qing was undoubtedly one such cultivator.
Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao had also made similar achievements in Shi, so they had no trouble resisting the oppression of Zhang Qing’s Shi. This was the fundamental reason why Zhao Tian Ze was not as strong as Qian Tong and the others.
In front of Yang Kai’s group of three, there seemed to be an invisible barrier that was blocking Zhang Qing’s Shi from advancing any further.
Zhang Qing couldn’t help showing a look of shock at this sight.
If it was just Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao who could resist his Shi, he would still be able to accept it; after all, these two had reached the Third-Order Origin realm like him, but what was going on with this boy? Obviously, he was just a Second-Order so why was his Shi also at the minor accomplishment stage? In fact, this boy seemed to have an even easier time resisting his Shi than the two behind him.
This boy was treating his Shi as if it were a light breeze, completely unworthy of attention!
Zhang Qing stared at Yang Kai in amazement as shock filled his heart.
“Minor accomplishment stage Shi!” Yang Kai nodded lightly, a playful smile on his face, “Not bad!”
As he said so, he glanced around casually. Since Zhang Qing and his group approached them, there had been countless eyes looking towards this place, seemingly waiting for a battle to begin. Many of them had sharp eyes and unreadable expressions, as if they were plotting something and just waiting for an opportunity to act.
Yang Kai naturally didn’t miss these hidden intentions and knew that if he didn’t put on a strong enough display this time, even if he could force Zhang Qing’s group to retreat, others would come to provoke them afterwards, creating an endless cycle.
After all, their group having so few people was an obvious weakness.
Sneering to himself, Yang Kai lifted his hand, pointed to a cultivator behind Zhang Qing, and asked, “I heard you say just now that you met an enchantress on the way here, right?”
This cultivator was startled, wondering why Yang Kai was suddenly asking about this, but with a cold expression he replied in a deep voice, “So what?”
“Was that enchantress wearing a red dress?”
“Yes!”
“Did you wound her?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous light flashing across her eyes.
“You’re wrong! It was I who managed to wound her, but unfortunately, it was just a single palm so I couldn’t take her life!” The cultivator sneered.
“Very well!” Yang Kai nodded, his figure flickering in the next instant and without any prior signs of moving, disappeared completely.
Although this happened suddenly, Zhang Qing and his group still reacted swiftly. Which master that had cultivated to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm had not experienced countless life or death battles? Hurriedly, their eyes widened as they searched for Yang Kai.
However, there was nothing to find! There was absolutely no trace of Yang Kai anywhere around them.
The next instant though, Yang Kai’s figure appeared in the middle of Zhang Qing and his group like a ghost. With a cold expression, he reached out his hand and grabbed towards the head of the cultivator who had spoken just now.
“Watch out!” Someone nearby shouted.
The cultivator was furious and was about to strike back, but Yang Kai had already clasped his hand around this man’s head and released a burst of Saint Qi into his body. This Saint Qi smashed through this unfortunate man’s defences like they were wet paper and sank into his five viscera and six organs before Yang Kai swung his arm violently.
The man was tossed out by Yang Kai with great force.
As this man flew through the air, he let out a terrible howl, as if he was suffering the most cruel and inhuman torture. A moment later, the man hit the ground with a thud and his body suddenly burst apart.
Blood and hashed meat flew everywhere as a rich smell of iron rose to the sky!
“I should have mentioned this first, that enchantress is my woman!” Yang Kai declared fiercely.
Everyone was stunned.
Looking over at the blood and flesh which was raining down from the sky, everyone suddenly felt they had stumbled into a tiger’s den and stared at Yang Kai fearfully, many even forgetting to breathe at this moment.
With one blow, this boy had instantly killed a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator. No Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator should be able to do this.
Only an Origin King should be capable of such a feat!
However, the one who was responsible for this astonishing display was clearly just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, a boy who should be the weakest cultivator present!
The gap between this boy’s cultivation realm and the intense visual he had just created had formed an extremely sharp psychological contrast, stunning everyone silent.
Those who had been secretly eyeing Yang Kai and his group before now couldn’t help breaking out into cold sweat, secretly rejoicing that they hadn’t been the first to challenge them otherwise they might have been the ones who ended up in such a miserable state.
“Boy, you dare!” Zhang Qing finally reacted, roared, and threw a rage filled punch towards Yang Kai as he pressed his burning Shi towards him.
Zhang Qing’s fist seemed to burn so hotly that the surrounding space distorted as his punch passed through it, his flame-like attack rushing straight towards Yang Kai’s head.
The moment Zhang Qing took action, his companions also summoned their artifacts and pushed their Saint Qi into them, causing them to light up in a dazzling display of light.
At that moment though, an extraordinary Shi suddenly broke through Zhang Qing’s Shi and suppressed all of them in place.
In an instant, Zhang Qing’s entire group found their Shi fiercely suppressed, to the point where they couldn’t even release it outside their bodies.
Not only that, the space around them solidified greatly, making it difficult for them to even walk while at the same time, the circulation of their Saint Qi inside their bodies was noticeably impeded, causing the brilliance of their artifacts to rapidly dim.
Shi suppression!
They knew better than anyone what the reason was. They had been trapped inside Yang Kai’s Shi, unable to free themselves. They had used this method when dealing with enemies with lower cultivation than themselves many times before as it was extremely effective.
However, now they were the ones being suppressed by someone at a lower cultivation.
If they weren’t personally experiencing it, they would likely have never believed it possible, but their current reality was undeniable!
Their faces pulled taught and their muscles bulged as they desperately pushed their Saint Qi, trying to get rid of Yang Kai’s suppression.
Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao did not give them a chance to breathe though.
Qian Tong roared and summoned a coin-like artifact to his hand, one that exuded a dazzling golden light and had a distinct hole in its centre. As soon as it appeared, Qian Tong tossed it into the air where it split into two, then four, then eight…
In an instant, the sky was filled with golden coins with and at their empty centres a sharp, bolt-like attack formed and shot out towards the enemy in a terrifying barrage.
Lin Yu Rao figure flickered as a coloured ribbon appeared in her hand and lashed towards the frozen Brilliant Flame Sect cultivators, wrapping around one of them and rapidly constricting to the point where the sound of broken bones rang out and blood spewed from his mouth.
By the time the coloured ribbon flew back to Lin Yu Rao’s hands, the enemy she had targeted was already lying limply on the ground, barely alive.
Yang Kai laughed wildly and didn’t pay any attention to any enemies except Zhang Qing. The others could be dealt with by Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao. Neither of them was weaker than Zhang Qing, so when they joined forces, dealing with four enemies who were suppressed by Yang Kai’s Shi wouldn’t be any trouble.
Yang Kai on the other hand was splitting his attention to combat Zhang Qing’s Shi with his own while at the same time sending out a silent order.
Accompanied by the high-pitched cry, the Firebird Artifact Spirit soared out from Yang Kai’s body.
“Kill him!” Yang Kai shouted as he charged towards Zhang Qing. At the same time, the Firebird Artifact Spirit flapped its wings and crashed down like a meteor from Nine Heavens, opening its giant mouth and constantly spitting out scorching hot fireballs towards Zhang Qing’s head.
Zhang Qing’s complexion changed drastically. He hadn’t expected the situation to become like this at all. The miserable screams of his companions filling his ears sent shivers up his spine as he struggled to deal with Yang Kai and the Firebird Artifact Spirit’s joint assault.
In less than three breaths, Zhang Qing was pierced through his lower abdomen by Yang Kai’s Heaven Punishing Spear while the Firebird took advantage of this opening to land a fireball on his forehead.
Zhang Qing’s hair singed, leaving him incredibly dishevelled. Gritting his teeth Zhang Qing glared at Yang Kai with pure hatred as he suddenly released a terrifying aura. At the same time, a sharp sound of thunder rang out as flashes of lightning streaked across his figure.
A golden light suddenly appeared at that moment as Yang Kai sent out a Golden Blood Thread from his fingers that captured Zhang Qing after catching him off guard.
Looking at him mockingly, Yang Kai smiled and said in a low voice, “Do you think I don’t know about your Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire? Did you want to use this Secret Technique to drag me down with me?”
“How did you know?” Zhang Qing’s face changed slightly.
“Because I killed a few of your Brilliant Flame Sect’s people in the Emperor Garden,” Yang Kai snickered before swiftly constricting the Golden Blood Thread that was binding Zhang Qing.
*Snap*
The extremely sharp Golden Blood Thread sliced through Zhang Qing Saint Qi’s defence and cut him into countless pieces, leaving a hashed up pile of meat scattered across the ground.
The battle thus ended…
From start to finish, only ten breaths had passed, causing many who were watching to still not catch up with what had happened.
The group of six headed by Brilliant Flame Sect’s Zhang Qing had been wiped out.
On the other hand, Yang Kai and his group of three were unscathed.
The audience was thoroughly shocked!
All the cultivators present stared at Yang Kai as if he was some kind of monster, astonishment filling their gazes.
They had witnessed the entire course of this battle and naturally understood how important Yang Kai’s role in it was.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he alone suppressed Zhang Qing’s entire group of six. If not for his Shi being so overpowering, Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao would not have been able to kill the enemy like they were chopping up melons and vegetables!
Among this group of six, besides Zhang Qing’s Shi, which he could only release slightly, the other five were unable to use their Shi at all as it was completely suppressed inside their bodies, unable to play any role.
Could an Origin Realm master who couldn’t use their Shi even be called an Origin Returning Realm master?
It was as if Zhang Qing and his group weren’t facing a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivator, but a genuine Origin King…
Around Domain Stone Mountain, all eyes focused towards Yang Kai solemnly.
Everyone realized that this young man was an extremely terrifying opponent!
Many groups closer to Yang Kai retreated backwards, subconsciously distancing themselves from Yang Kai like they were trying to avoid a god of plague.
A mass of purple Thunder Fire floated above Zhang Qing’s corpse. This Thunder Fire not only contained scorching heat but also violent lightning. It was a kind of Secret Technique that Brilliant Flame Sect’s most powerful cultivators could cultivate.
Last time, in the Emperor Garden, the beautiful woman named Tan Ting He from Ice Heart Valley had told Yang Kai that Brilliant Flame Sect had a Heavenly Thunder Fire in their possession that served as the foundation of their Sect and contained astonishing power.
If a cultivator of Brilliant Flame Sect was strong enough, they could use the power of this Heavenly Thunder Fire to cultivate the Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire Secret Technique.
Obviously, Zhang Qing was one such qualified individual.
As soon as this mass of Heaven Scorching Thunder Fire belonging to Zhang Qing appeared, the Firebird Artifact Spirit swooped down as if it smelt a delicious delicacy and swallowed it whole before letting out a satisfied cry.
“Come back,” Yang Kai called out, and the Artifact Spirit immediately turned into a flame that flew into Yang Kai’s body and disappeared.
Turning his head and looking around, Yang Kai found that the crowd had yet to recover from their shock; however, many of them swiftly avoided his gaze when it swept past them, as if they were afraid to meet eyes with him.
Seeing this, Yang Kai just chuckled and shouted loudly, “Rest assured, if others don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke them. I just want to occupy a little space here, as for everyone else, you can do whatever you want.”
Hearing what he said, the vigilant cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and their nervous expressions gradually eased.
With the overwhelming strength Yang Kai just displayed, things would definitely not end well if he were to focus on any of their groups. There were six masters in Zhang Qing’s group, but all of them had died without even being able to put up a fight. On the other hand, the strongest team here only had nine people, so no individual group was confident they could survive Yang Kai’s violent attack or resist his powerful Shi!
“Continue your comprehension, I don’t think anyone will bother us from now on,” Yang Kai motioned to Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao lightly.
The two exchanged a stunned glance and were somewhat at a loss, unable to believe what had just happened.
Just now, they had seen Yang Kai take action and joined in without hesitation, but they had never expected that victory would be so easily achieved. The two of them had thought there would be a bitter battle and perhaps one or all of them would end up falling here.
However, the result was them slaughtering the enemy without any difficulty.
When they killed their opponents, they clearly felt their helplessness.
As a result, once the battle was over, the two of them wound up in a kind of daze.
“Yang Kai, you seem to have grown a lot. Did you make a lot of gains in the Blood Prison already?” Qian Tong looked at him suspiciously.
He had participated in the attack on the three giants of Shadowed Star with Yang Kai, but at that time, Yang Kai had not been this strong. Back then, Qian Tong had felt that Yang Kai had unlimited potential, but had still yet to fully mature and thought that his own strength should be comparable to Yang Kai’s.
But now, it seemed Yang Kai had reached a height he could only look up to.
Yang Kai’s breakthrough in cultivation was only a small part of the reason though, while Yang Kai’s accomplishments in Shi were clearly his strongest capital. Qian Tong vaguely felt that Yang Kai’s trip through the Blood Prison had yielded significant gains.
“Something like that,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, without explaining too much.
Qian Tong gently nodded, calming his mind and no longer thinking about this issue, but just as he was about to sit back down, he suddenly said, “Right, Yang Kai, about Brother Zhao, he…”
“You can decide,” Yang Kai smiled lightly before sitting down cross-legged himself.
Qian Tong nodded, thought about it for a moment, then walked over to a nearby spot where Zhao Tian Ze was standing dumbstruck and talked to the latter in a low voice.
A short time later, Zhao Tian Ze returned with a shameful expression, looked for an open spot, then sat down cross-legged, all the while looking at Yang Kai with a complicated expression.
He was indeed ashamed. Before, he had coveted life and feared death, not daring to remain to share difficulties with Qian Tong and the others, but now that the enemy has been extinguished, he had been allowed to come back and reap benefits without contributing any effort, a situation that made Zhao Tian Ze feel rather embarrassed.
If it were anything else, Zhao Tian Ze would most likely have refused as he still wanted to maintain some of his dignity.
But Domain Stone Mountain’s temptation was simply too great. Even if he felt extremely embarrassed doing so, he still grit his teeth and returned. Now that he was sitting down though, he couldn’t help feeling his old face burning up with shame.
“Brother Zhao, don’t think too much about it, in the situation just now, anyone who didn’t know about Yang Kai’s details would probably have made the same choice. There is nothing for you to apologize for. Brother Zhao, I know your temperament well.” Qian Tong comforted.
Zhao Tian Ze smiled bitterly, glanced over at Yang Kai with dim eyes, but upon seeing the latter just sit motionlessly, not showing any intention to speak, he simply sighed and said sincerely, “This Zhao is deeply grateful!”
He was even embarrassed to speak too many words.
Qian Tong patted him on the shoulder, trying to reassure him that everything was alright.
Around Domain Stone Mountain, hundreds of Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators gathered in large and small groups, each one occupying their own position.
Yang Kai and his group, however, occupied the largest spot, and even though there were only four of them, no one dared to approach. The fresh corpses and blood that still stained the ground were the best evidence of the battle which had happened earlier.
All around Yang Kai’s small group, there was a large open space that no one dared trespass upon.
From time to time, a cultivator who heard about Domain Stone Mountain’s appearance would arrive, and when they saw the open space on both sides of Yang Kai’s group, their eyes always lit up and thoughts of occupying these spots would fill their heads. However, once they saw the broken corpses nearby, their expressions all inevitably darkened and they would eventually give up.
Half a day later, Domain Stone Mountain was surrounded by two full layers with the number of cultivators now reaching as high as two hundred. What’s more, there were still other cultivators constantly arriving from afar.
Conflict inevitably occurred as more people came.
Teams with larger numbers always wanted to seize better positions while the groups that arrived here earlier naturally didn’t want to give up their spot, and if the two sides couldn’t work out some kind of agreement, a fight would naturally break out.
From time to time, dying cries would ring out.
The area around Domain Stone Mountain quickly transformed into a burial ground for Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters. Each of the fallen here was a famous character from a major Cultivation Star, making for an extremely intense scene.
However, no matter how intense the fighting became, Yang Kai’s group of four didn’t encounter any kind of provocation again.
Yang Kai’s group occupying such a good position, with no one around them for quite some distance, was a telling sign. Anyone with a little bit of intelligence would understand that this small group was not to be trifled with and naturally wouldn’t go test their luck.
Qian Tong, Lin Yu Rao, and Zhao Tian Ze seemed to have become completely immersed in the wondrous aura being emitted from Domain Stone Mountain.
Yang Kai, however, didn’t enter a meditative state, instead just sitting cross-legged on the ground, supposedly guarding his group against anyone who dared make trouble for them, but the entire time, there was a strange grin that never left his face as he stared towards Domain Stone Mountain.
It was as if he was staring at something that was already in his pocket!
A day later, many cultivators who were cultivating faintly discovered something wrong.
As more time passed, the miraculous aura emanating from Domain Stone Mountain seemed to be diminishing. In the beginning, everyone felt they were just over-thinking things, but after a closer inspection, they found that this decrease in aura was really happening.
Domain Stone Mountain was slowly losing its effect!
This discovery left everyone at a loss as they wondered why Domain Stone Mountain, which had existed for thousands of years, had suddenly undergone such a change.
After two days, more and more cultivators discovered this phenomenon and soon, everyone became aware.
Whispers sounded one after another.
“What happened? It’s only been a few days, how come Domain Stone Mountain’s aura has weakened so greatly?”
“You noticed as well? I thought I was just imagining things.”
“Could it be that there are too many people here so all the power from Domain Stone Mountain is being absorbed?”
“Nonsense! When has the appearance of Domain Stone Mountain not attracted so many people? In the past, even more people had come to cultivate here but there had never been any kind of problem. Why is it happening this time?
“Could it be that Domain Stone Mountain is losing its function?”
“Stop speculating and take advantage of what little effect is left! If Domain Stone Mountain loses its aura entirely, it will become completely useless.”
The strange change in Domain Stone Mountain made every cultivator who came here feel a sense of crisis and everyone went all out to try to comprehend whatever mysteries from it they could in order to gain the most benefits in the little time they had.
By the third day, the cultivators in the outer periphery of Domain Stone Mountain actually couldn’t feel any kind of aura at all. Only those cultivators who occupied a spot in the inner layer could still gain something.
By the fourth day, however, it became difficult for even those in the inner circle to comprehend anything.
The effect of Domain Stone Mountain seemed to have reduced to a bare minimum. This was something which had never happened before. Domain Stone Mountain was the treasure of the Blood Prison and had existed for over ten thousand years, so no one was able to understand what was happening here.
Only Yang Kai continued to grin wider and wider as time passed.
Suddenly, a soft cracking sound came from a certain position.
Although the noise was extremely slight, it attracted the attention of many people.
Focusing on the source of this sound, in an instant, many cultivators’ eyes bulged in surprise.
“A crack!? There’s a crack in Domain Stone Mountain!” Someone exclaimed, as if something extraordinary had been discovered.
“What? There’s a crack in Domain Stone Mountain? Impossible!” Some people refused to believe it.
What was Domain Stone Mountain? In essence, it was a single, massive Domain Stone, one that had remained undamaged for millennia, so how could it possibly crack all of a sudden?
However, just as some were trying to refuse this claim, more cracks appeared on Domain Stone Mountain. These tiny cracks soon spread out like a spider’s web, leaving a dense, criss-crossing pattern across the mountain’s surface.
*Kacha…*
“Not good, Domain Stone Mountain is going to be destroyed!”
“Is it really going to break apart? Hahaha, such good fortune! Father here was worried he wouldn’t be able to gain anything from this place but now it’s actually going to break apart! The Heavens are helping me.”
All kinds of shouts rang out at that instant as all the cultivators got up one after another, either with solemn or excited expressions as they focused all their attention on Domain Stone Mountain, each of them having different ideas in their hearts.
A tense atmosphere suddenly spread as the many cultivators who had been living in peace with one another now began eyeing everyone around them as if they were enemies.
Everyone was thinking about how to gain the most from Domain Stone Mountain’s collapse.
“Yang Kai, we…” Qian Tong gulped hard as he stared at Domain Stone Mountain with fiery eyes.
But Yang Kai just frowned as he released his Divine Sense all around, his face suddenly changing a moment later as he called out in alarm, “Get back!”
“Withdraw?” Qian Tong was taken aback, wondering why Yang Kai was suddenly so anxious.
“Go now! It will be too late if you don’t,” Yang Kai didn’t explain, letting out one last shout before swiftly retreating, grabbing Lin Yu Rao on his way.
Lin Yu Rao was confused but did not resist, allowing Yang Kai to drag her away as he quickly flew hundreds of metres back.
“Brother Qian…” Zhao Tian Ze turned a bewildered look towards Qian Tong, asking for some clarification.
“Listen to Yang Kai,” Qian Tong turned into a stream of light without hesitation and followed Yang Kai.
Qian Tong did not know why Yang Kai would make such a choice, but he chose to trust Yang Kai unconditionally.
Perhaps Yang Kai had a profound reason!
Seeing that the three of them had already retreated, Zhao Tian Ze hesitated for a moment before slapping his thigh in annoyance and following them.
The scene quickly became chaotic.
As the cracks on Domain Stone Mountain continued to increase, countless cultivators rushed forward, trying to snatch the fragmented Domain Stone.
There were also some among the crowd who were quite shrewd, however, and upon hearing Yang Kai’s shout they noticed that something was wrong and withdrew quietly instead of wading in the muddy waters.
Something inexplicable was happening, and there was no way to tell what would happen when Domain Stone Mountain truly broke apart.
However, there were not many such people, only about a tenth of the total population. Everyone else lost to the temptation in front of them and ignored Yang Kai’s loud warning.
*Kacha…*
The cracking noises continued to grow louder as Domain Stone Mountain seemed to teeter on the verge of collapse. Before everyone’s eyes, the cracks on its surface grew longer and bigger at an increasing rate.
Soon after, Domain Stone Mountain collapsed and broke into innumerable Domain Stones over varying sizes.
What everyone felt was strange, however, was that the broken Domain Stones were not the same as those which appeared in Domain Vortices. Each piece of Domain Stone was as thin as a cicada’s wings.
“Impossible, was Domain Stone Mountain actually hollow the entire time?” Someone yelled in disbelief.
These paper-thin Domain Stones served as proof that Domain Stone Mountain was hollow inside. If not, how could its broken fragments be as thin as a cicada’s wing? The scene before everyone was similar to what would happen if a porcelain pot fell to the ground and broke.
This was an unacceptable reality for many people.
However, even these extremely thin Domain Stones were Domain Stones.
After a few breaths of surprise, the crowd rushed forward madly again as they began trying to seize these pieces of Domain Stone.
The scene instantly became chaotic!
The light from artifacts and Martial Skills was so blinding that an area with a radius of nearly a hundred metres became impossible to see into. Screams sounded; blood splashed…
Suddenly though, a ripple visible to the naked eye surged outwards at an astonishing speed from the centre of where Domain Stone Mountain once stood.
All the cultivators covered by this ripple involuntarily stopped their actions, their expression changing from ones of frenzy to ones of terror.
When this ripple swept across their bodies, they all felt a dangerous but familiar aura, Domain!
On top of that, it was an extremely powerful Domain!
The invisible Domain Stone Mountain’s unique Domain seemed to suddenly reappear at that moment.
“Not good, run!” A somewhat smarter cultivator shouted.
No one bothered trying to snatch the scattered Domain Stones anymore as every cultivator desperately pushed their Saint Qi and tried to flee outwards.
However, it was too late!
After the first wave appeared, a second followed, then a third… each wave propagating faster than the one before it.
In an instant, countless ripples visible to the naked eye filled a nearly one-thousand-metre radius around the ruins of Domain Stone Mountain.
Space distorted as the true power of Domain Stone Mountain’s overbearing Domain finally revealed its hideous appearance, like a wild and ravenous beast, opening its jaws wide as it swallowed nearly two hundred Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators into its belly.
Screams sounded in all directions, causing the skin of those who heard them to crawl. No Origin Returning Realm cultivator could withstand the crushing force of this violent Domain and the vigorous vitality of all those caught inside of it were swiftly extinguished, disappearing in a flash.
After being struck by this series of ripples, everyone caught in their range exploded into beautiful yet ghastly red blossoms.
Yang Kai and his group of four, standing a few thousand metres away from Domain Stone Mountain, instantly turned pale upon witnessing this sight.
Zhao Tian Ze shivered unconsciously as his teeth began to chatter.
He could easily imagine what would have happened to him if he had given in to his greed just now. He would certainly have been caught in that explosion of Domain just like everyone else and died a miserable death. Turning to look at Yang Kai, his heart filled with gratitude.
Had it not been for this young man who stood higher and saw further, this trip to the Blood Prison would have been over for him.
The complexions of Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao were not much better.
So many cultivators at the same realm as them, so many powerful masters who had the qualifications to strive for the Origin King Realm, had fallen here without being able to resist.
These people had been crushed as if they were ants…
Their mood was subtle and complicated.
At the same time, in the stone pavilion outside the Blood Prison, Luo Hai, who had been sitting peacefully, got up quickly, his expression suddenly turning ugly.
“Sir Luo Hai, what happened?” Seeing such a look on Luo Hai’s face, the old woman surnamed Lei asked nervously.
“Yes, Brother Luo Hai, what has happened to make you so anxious?” An old man also asked curiously.
Any master who had reached the Origin King Realm possessed exceptional control over their mental state and it was extremely rare for them to show shock, not to mention that Luo Hai was no ordinary Origin King. He was the Star Master of Green Mountains Star and a Second-Order Origin King. Even considering the entire Star Field, apart from a few old hidden dragons who never showed their faces anymore, not many people could claim to be stronger than him.
Luo Hai’s face suddenly turning so distraught made everyone realize that something terrible must have happened.
“Domain Stone Mountain has been destroyed!” Luo Hai quickly said.
“What? Are you certain?”
“Yes, how could Domain Stone Mountain be destroyed?”
“Who did it? Those little Juniors shouldn’t have such ability, right?”
Everyone began clamouring. If it had not been Luo Hai who was saying this, none of them would have believed it.
Even if Luo Hai said so, they still had doubts.
How could Domain Stone Mountain possibly have been destroyed?
“Sir Luo Hai, is this really true?” The old woman looked at Luo Hai solemnly.
“Why would this King make such a bad joke with you?” Luo Hai frowned, “As for how it was destroyed, this King is not clear, but it was definitely destroyed!”
Everyone looked at each other but didn’t question Luo Hai’s judgment.
He was this place’s Star Master, so since he said it happened, he must be completely certain.
No one present was able to just accept such a result, however.
“Haa, what a pity, Domain Stone Mountain is the treasure of the Blood Prison. It has existed for over ten thousand years but now it has been destroyed,” After a long silence, the old man who had spoken before sighed. Although Domain Stone Mountain existed on Green Mountains Star, it could be said to be a treasure to the entire Star Field. Now that it was ruined, everyone felt some regret.
Perhaps its destruction would result in far few Origin Kings rising in the Star Field!
“Sir Luo Hai, with Domain Stone Mountain being destroyed, what about the people who had been cultivating around it just now?” The old woman suddenly thought of a more serious problem.
When the others heard this, they all focused their attention anxiously.
“There were many deaths! The exact number of auras that vanished is impossible for this King to tell, but this King estimates that at least two hundred died.”
“Two hundred!?” The old woman’s face changed drastically, a bitter smile forming on her face after some time, “It seems all the great forces have suffered heavy losses then.”
The Blood Prison Trial always resulted in high casualties because the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators who entered didn’t fear each other and in order to gain a greater chance to reach the Origin King Realm they would even resort to killing others who stood in their way.
Today, however, the sudden change in Domain Stone Mountain had actually killed around two hundred cultivators who had entered the Blood Prison all at once. It was likely this tragedy had resulted in the participants from various great forces being completely wiped out.
Everyone quickly realized the seriousness of the problem.
“Fortunately, Third Young Master didn’t come this time, otherwise…” The old man from Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, a look of fear filling his face.
If Xue Yue Third Young Master had also come to participate in the Blood Prison Trial this time and gone to Domain Stone Mountain…
The old man did not even want to imagine it!
Third Young Master Xue Yue was Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s greatest hope for the future.
…..
Inside the Blood Prison, after just a few breaths of time, the chaotic scene calmed down again, but all the cultivators who had not withdrawn ahead of time had been reduced to ash. Only about thirty people survived this catastrophe.
These people had all heard Yang Kai’s warning and retreated immediately, saving their lives.
After recovering from their bout of terror, all of them cupped their fists towards Yang Kai, expressing their gratitude.
Domain Stone Mountain was now gone, so no one would remain here anymore. Everyone began splitting up and flying off in different directions, going deeper into the Blood Prison to continue searching for opportunities.
Soon, only Yang Kai and his group of four were left in this wide-open area.
“Sect Master Yang, this old master is eternally grateful for your life-saving efforts. After leaving the Blood Prison, this Zhao earnestly wishes that Sect Master Yang come to Green Water City so this Zhao can offer his utmost thanks and hospitality!” Zhao Tian Ze said sincerely as he displayed genuine and profound respect for Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled faintly and said, “City Lord Zhao is too polite, I didn’t do anything, but I will certainly pass through Green Water City when all of this is over. I hope I won’t be inconveniencing City Lord Zhao then.”
Qian Yue was still searching for information about Su Yan back in Green Water City, so Yang Kai was certainly going to go pick her up.
“Certainly not!” Zhao Tian Ze waved his hand quickly as a smile appeared on his face, “Sect Master Yang visiting is this Zhao’s honour, how could it possibly be any inconvenience?”
Yang Kai gently nodded before turning to Qian Tong and Lin Yu Rao and saying, “Be careful from here on out.”
Hearing these words, Lin Yu Rao flashed a slight look of disappointment, “Sect Master won’t be joining us?”
“No, I still have something I need to do,” Yang Kai shook his head. He had yet to obtain the Origin Essence Crystal Chi Yue requested of him, and with the other half of the Monster Transformation Art in Yu Xiong’s hands, Yang Kai really had no other choice.
The Source strength of the Golden Divine Dragon in his body was something Yang Kai was extremely eager to develop.
“Then you should also be careful out there. I am confident that no one here is your opponent, but you still need to remain wary of the scattered Domains here as they are very powerful. Don’t push yourself too hard,” Qian Tong warned
“I know, I won’t overexert myself,” Yang Kai grinned, “Then let’s separate here. When this is over, we’ll rendezvous in Green Water City.”
Yang Kai cupped his fists briefly after he finished speaking, turned around, and flew off in a streak of light, quickly disappearing from Qian Tong and the other’s sight.
“Let’s go too,” Qian Tong said, “With so many people dying this time, the competition in the Blood Prison will probably be reduced greatly. We can’t miss this chance to look for opportunities.”
“It is just as Brother Qian says!” Zhao Tian Ze’s eyes lit up, his gloomy mood swiftly giving way to excitement and anticipation.
Somewhere, hundreds of kilometres away from Domain Stone Mountain where no one else was around, Yang Kai landed, double-checked his surroundings, then grinned and whispered, “Come out.”
The next moment, a rustling came from the ground in front of him and a small head with two beady eyes popped out. After this creature leapt out of the ground, it rushed over to Yang Kai.
It was the Stone Puppet, Xiao Xiao.
Yang Kai had secretly released his Stone Puppet while fighting against Zhang Qing’s group while everyone was distracted by his shockingly strong Shi.
Everything had gone according to plan.
“How’s the harvest?” Yang Kai asked, looking down at Xiao Xiao.
The Stone Puppet didn’t show any reaction, simply opening its mouth and spitting out a fist-sized Domain Stone from his mouth.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand, grabbed the Domain Stone, and felt it for a moment before bursting into laughter and patting Xiao Xiao’s small head, praising him liberally, “Good job!”
He didn’t know exactly how many Domain Stone’s were resting in Xiao Xiao’s stomach right now, but the quantity was clearly so great it would cause any Origin King to become jealous.
It could be said that the destruction of Domain Stone Mountain was entirely due to Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao had silently snuck below Domain Stone Mountain and then slowly hollowed it out with no one being the wiser. This was the reason the cultivators felt that the effects of Domain Stone Mountain were getting weaker and weaker as time passed, and why Domain Stone Mountain had suddenly collapsed and turned out hollow inside.
Everything was thanks to the Stone Puppet!
Domain Stone Mountain was indeed extremely hard, but the Stone Puppet’s innate talent allowed it to swallow any and all kinds of ores. The Coloured Glass Sect’s treasure, Thousand Illusion Coloured Glass Mountain, had a gaping hole excavated from it, and Domain Stone Mountain wasn’t a problem either.
The first time he saw Domain Stone Mountain, Yang Kai already had such crooked thoughts.
He hadn’t anticipated that allowing the Stone Puppet to do so would destroy Domain Stone Mountain and trigger such a terrifying Domain explosion, however.
This was why, when he noticed something was wrong, he shouted loudly to warn everyone.
Unfortunately, most of the cultivators present were blinded by the treasures in front of them and paid no attention to his reminders. Only a few people retreated with him, but this swift action had saved their lives.
After ordering the Stone Puppet to follow him, Yang Kai took it to a more remote location and let it spit out all the Domain Stones in its stomach.
After checking his haul, Yang Kai was overjoyed.
There were roughly three thousand Domain Stones!
This was an extremely terrifying number, as could be seen from the fact that Yang Kai’s gains since entering the Blood Prison were just three Domain Stones until now. Others may not have even gained that many.
However, at this moment, Yang Kai had managed to obtain three thousand Domain Stones!
This was probably more Domain Stones than had been collected by cultivators since Blood Prison was created!
There was now no need to worry about comprehending Domain in the future. With so many Domain Stones in hand, Yang Kai could unscrupulously absorb the magical energy inside them to gain insight into Domain and spy upon the mysteries of the Origin King Realm.
His future path was looking smoother and brighter!
Yang Kai’s mood was great.
The main purpose of the cultivators who entered the Blood Prison was to use Domain Vortices to polish their Shi, but their secondary objective was to find Domain Stones.
Yang Kai had cleared both goals handily.
Without even mentioning the massive number of Domain Stones he had now, the various Domain Vortices could no longer slow down Yang Kai’s pace either as his understanding of Shi had reached a new height. Even if he had yet to reach the grand accomplishment stage, he wasn’t far off.
Perhaps, one day, when he broke through to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, Yang Kai would be able to instantly achieve the grand accomplishment stage in Shi and possess the capital to break through to the Origin King Realm!
Yang Kai didn’t plan on wasting any more time. He was now going to find the Origin Essence Crystal left behind by the Monster King who died here over ten thousand years ago to complete the task assigned to him by Chi Yue.
On Monster Emperor Star, there were Ten Great Tribal Lords, but no Tribal Lord was qualified to be called a Monster King.
To become a Monster King, one needed to possess a Third-Order Origin King cultivation. Therefore, only a handful of Monster Kings had been born on Monster Emperor Star since ancient times.
There was one over ten thousand years ago, but unfortunately for him, he had gotten involved in the war on Green Mountains Star and wound up falling in the Blood Prison.
The specific location where this Monster King fell had already been given to Yang Kai by Chi Yue. Monster Emperor Star had been secretly sending Monster Race rising stars to the Blood Prison Trial for many years now, so they had already managed to scout out a good deal of information; unfortunately, until now, there had never been an opportunity to retrieve that Origin Essence Crystal.
Yang Kai flew towards his destination without pause.
He wasn’t certain if it was because of the changes in Domain Stone Mountain that killed so many people, but along the way, Yang Kai felt that the number of cultivators in the Blood Prison had indeed decreased a lot. After flying for a few days, he didn’t notice any other auras around him anymore.
There was a bare hill ahead, no more than a thousand metres high, with not even a blade of grass growing upon it, only gravel and mud.
However, this hill exuded a very strange aura, one that made it difficult to approach.
Monster Qi! And a very powerful Monster Qi at that.
Even a cultivator at the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm wouldn’t dare set foot upon this hill easily, because the omnipresent Monster Qi was not something they could bear. If a cultivator stayed for a long time on this hill, the Monster Qi would begin invading their bodies.
The Monster Qi here was naturally a leftover from the fallen Monster King and could not be purged by mere Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators. Eventually, not only would this Monster Qi corrode their meridians and physique, it would trigger a kind of Monster Transformation, creating dissonance in their cultivation.
Therefore, whenever the Blood Prison opened, this strange hill had always been regarded as a Restricted Area that no one dared to enter at will. Most would even go out of their way to avoid it lest they be inadvertently affected by the potent Monster Qi.
“This should be the place!” Yang Kai looked up at the bare hill and muttered to himself softly. The hill in front of him perfectly matched the description given to him by Chi Yue about where that ancient Monster King had fallen.
After scanning the area for a moment, Yang Kai stepped forward towards the hill.
A short time later, Yang Kai came to the foot of the hill and as soon as he stepped onto it, the ambient Monster Qi reacted like a cat smelling fish, rushing towards him from all directions, drilling into his pores and flooding into his meridians.
Yang Kai pushed his Saint Qi to resist the invasion of this Monster Qi.
It was a bit troublesome! Worthy of the Monster Qi left over by a Monster King level master, it couldn’t easily be resisted even after more than ten thousand years.
Fortunately, Yang Kai possessed the power of Golden Divine Dragon Source, so even if the Monster Qi forced its way into his body, it wouldn’t affect him much. If Yang Kai were any other Human Race Origin Returning Realm cultivator, he would likely have to withdraw immediately.
After confirming that there was no serious threat to him here, Yang Kai strode upwards step by step.
Soon, he came to the top of the mountain and looked around. The surroundings were empty, however, which made him frown.
The information Chi Yue gave him only said that the Origin Essence Crystal was somewhere on this barren mountain, but even she didn’t know exactly where it was.
If it wasn’t on top of the mountain though, it should be somewhere nearby. Silently sweeping the area with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai soon detected something and moved towards a certain direction.
After a stick of incense worth of time, Yang Kai arrived at the back of the hill and stood looking into a dark cave.
The cave was pitch black and didn’t seem out of the ordinary, but when Yang Kai’s Divine Sense tried to penetrate into it, it bounced back.
If his guess was correct, the Monster King should have fallen in this cave, because the Monster Qi was densest in this location.
Unafraid, Yang Kai took out a luminous stone from his Space Ring and stepped into the cave.
The deeper he went in, the richer the Monster Qi became, indicating that its source was up ahead!
A short time later, Yang Kai arrived at the deepest part of the cave.
Here, the cave showed signs of being artificially excavated. It was narrow on the outside while wide on the inside, and the innermost cavern was actually several dozen metres across.
Inside this innermost cave, there was a massive object that an amazing Monster Qi was spreading from.
Yang Kai took out a few more luminous stones and with a wave of his hand sent them all into pre-arranged grooves in the surrounding stone walls.
In the blink of an eye, the entire dim cave became bright.
Looking forward again, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed as they shined with shock.
He surprisingly discovered that the massive object lying in front of him was a giant skeleton!
A huge Monster Beast skeleton!
This skeleton was over twenty metres long and had the appearance of a giant ancient crocodile. Even if it was now just bones, it still exuded an amazing level of energy.
This corpse should be the true body of the Monster King level master. It seemed this Monster King had reverted to his Monster Beast form before death, otherwise, his corpse would not have appeared in this manner.
Generally, if a Monster Race cultivator was born in human form, they would also die in human form, but some cultivated Secret Techniques that could stimulate their Monster Beast bloodlines and allow them to resume their Monster Beast forms to gain additional strength.
This giant skeleton appearing must have been a result of the ancient Monster King assuming his Monster Beast form.
This was the most orthodox type of Monster Race master, one that possessed an extremely pure bloodline!
What’s more, this Monster Beast was a Third-Order Origin King! Even after ten thousand years, its bones were still lifelike, each one looking extremely strong. These were definitely excellent Artifact Refining materials.
Yang Kai’s eyes instantly became fiery.
Chi Yue only said that he needed to hand over the Origin Essence Crystal to Yu Xiong, she never mentioned handing over the Monster King’s skeleton. In other words, Yang Kai was free to claim these bones for himself.
High Heaven Sect was currently in its development phase, and there were some highly accomplished Artifact Refiners among its members. These Artifact Refiners had come from Star Emperor Mountain, and although they were incomparable to Yang Yan, they were still second to no one else on Shadowed Star. If these bones were taken back and given to them for Artifact Refining, Yang Kai believed that they could definitely refine a large number of Origin Grade High-Rank artifacts!
Even this, however, was something of a careless waste of Heaven’s treasures as, in principle, the bones of an Origin King Realm Monster Beast were precious materials that could be refined into Origin King Grade artifacts.
As such wild thoughts crossed his mind, Yang Kai cast his gaze towards the chest of the Monster Beast skeleton.
In an instant, his eyes grew hotter.
He clearly saw that there was a dark red round crystal about the size of a melon there.
The Origin Essence Crystal! It could also be called the core of this Monster King!
Two different names, both referring to the same thing.
Only a master at the Third-Order Origin King Realm could condense an Origin Essence Crystal, not even Second-Order Origin Kings had the qualifications.
An Origin Essence Crystal contained its master’s perceptions of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao, as well as their understanding of Domain. Its value was simply inestimable!
The biggest reason Chi Yue wanted to acquire this Origin Essence Crystal was to use it to break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm and become a true Monster King.
Looking at the entire Star Field, how many Third-Order Origin Kings were there? Their number could likely be counted on a single hand, and most were hidden dragons who never showed their faces. Hardly anyone knew where these peak level masters resided and meeting one was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.
Yet now, the remains of such a master were lying in front of Yang Kai, and not only was its skeleton intact, but its Origin Essence Crystal was also present.
Yang Kai’s breathing inevitably became a bit rapid as he stared at the Origin Essence Crystal hotly.
Carefully releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai extended it forward slowly, but before he could touch the Origin Essence Crystal, the dark red circular crystal suddenly flashed brilliantly.
Yang Kai frowned, and quickly retracted his Divine Sense, not daring to spy on it at will.
Chi Yue was right. This Origin Essence Crystal still retained a strand of the Monster King’s Remnant Soul. Any attempt to meddle with it would provoke resistance. If this were not the case, how could this Origin Essence Crystal and skeleton still linger here? It would have been taken away long ago.
The only way to safely obtain the Origin Essence Crystal was to suppress that strand of Remnant Soul.
But the cultivators who entered the Blood Prison had at best reached the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, so who among them would have the ability to suppress the Remnant Soul of a Monster King?
Only Yang Kai’s Golden Divine Dragon’s Source had such power!
Exhaling lightly, Yang Kai calmed his mind and focused his attention on the Origin Essence Crystal, remaining motionless for a time.
In the darkness, however, an almost imperceptible black shadow cautiously approached Yang Kai. This black shadow clung to the ground, as if it had no substance, not even emitting any aura. Even Yang Kai, with his unusually sharp senses, did not notice it.
The black shadow approached little by little and soon came to a position less than five metres behind him. Slowly, this black shadow condensed into a tiny snake-like object and aimed itself at Yang Kai’s back.
At that moment though, Yang Kai’s body shook slightly and a thunderous dragon roar rang out, filling the cave with an irresistible coercion.
On Yang Kai’s right arm, golden scales suddenly strangely appeared, wrapping his entire right arm. Not only the right arm but even the back of his hand was covered in scales while his five fingers began bursting with golden light, his nails growing longer and releasing a cold glow as they slowly took the form of a claw.
Dragon Transformation!
After cultivating the first half of the Monster Transformation Secret Art, Yang Kai could just barely manipulate the power of the Golden Divine Dragon Source inside his body to transform his right arm into that of a dragon’s.
Swiftly, Yang Kai’s entire right arm transformed beyond recognition, taking on a terrifying aura.
The black shadow that was five metres behind Yang Kai was obviously taken aback by this development and quickly flattened itself to the ground again and retreated.
In a flash, Yang Kai moved, pushing his right arm forward in a thrust that seemed to break through the barrier of space to close in on the Origin Essence Crystal.
Light flashed wildly around the Origin Essence Crystal and a vague restless aura surged from it as if it was about to burst.
Yang Kai snorted coldly and grabbed the Origin Essence Crystal in his hand before squeezing it hard. At the same time, he madly poured his Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy towards the crystal.
A soft noise seemed to echo from the Origin Essence Crystal and the restless aura gradually subsided.
The golden scale armour on Yang Kai’s right arm gradually faded and the terrifying right arm returned to its normal state.
Opening his fist, Yang Kai observed the Origin Essence Crystal in his hand and grinned.
The Remnant Soul wisp which remained in the Origin Essence Crystal had now been wiped away by him. Now, anyone could hold this Origin Essence Crystal in their hand without worrying about it self-destructing.
The entire process was far simpler and easier than Yang Kai had expected.
Chi Yue had warned him repeatedly of the dangers he would encounter so Yang Kai had thought he would encounter at least some hardships, but it actually turned about to be no trouble at all.
“Hm?” Yang Kai looked at this Origin Essence Crystal up close with a strange look on his face.
He vaguely felt that this Origin Essence Crystal seemed a bit familiar, as if he had seen it before.
After thinking about it carefully, Yang Kai suddenly realized that he indeed had encountered an Origin Essence Crystal before.
It was when he first entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field!
Inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field, in the pool filled with Soul Cleansing Divine Water, he managed to obtain a strange crystal-like object. At that time, Yang Kai did not know what it was, only that when he used his Divine Sense to investigate it, the crystal had strangely disappeared and entered his Knowledge Sea.
In the end, the mysterious crystal was completely absorbed by the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, resulting in it successfully evolving into its Seven-Coloured form. Yang Kai also comprehended his Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique at that time.
[So that thing was an Origin Essence Crystal!] Yang Kai finally understood.
No wonder the effect it had on his Soul Warming Lotus was so great it allowed for an evolution. The only pity was he was unable to comprehend anything about Domain from that Origin Essence Crystal. It seems that the master who fell where the Soul Cleansing Divine Water pond was at least a Third-Order Origin King.
Such events happened many years ago though, so Yang Kai didn’t have any plans to investigate it carefully. After understanding all this, he lightly stored the Origin Essence Crystal away.
Although this thing was precious, Yang Kai was more interested in obtaining that Monster Transformation Secret Art!
In the end, he still had to hand it over to Chi Yue.
What’s more, Chi Yue was still Shan Qing Luo’s adoptive mother. If she became stronger, the shelter she could give Shan Qing Luo would be stronger.
Yang Kai understood this well so he never thought about keeping the Origin Essence Crystal for himself. He also believed that, with his own ability, he would one day break through to the Third-Order Origin King realm and reach the peak of the Martial Dao even without relying on this Origin Essence Crystal.
Turning around, Yang Kai stored the Monster King skeleton next. Of course, the Monster King’s Space Ring was not left by Yang Kai either. Although he did not know what was inside of it, the wealth of a Third-Order Origin King would obviously not be small.
This was his biggest gain from this trip.
After checking the cave carefully one last time to confirm he had left nothing behind, Yang Kai left.
The cave wasn’t too deep, so it didn’t take long for Yang Kai to emerge once more.
“You finally came out!”
Just as he stepped out of the cave, however, a somewhat familiar voice sounded from a nearby spot under the ground nearby and a blood-red figure suddenly shot up into the sky, landed in front of Yang Kai, and unleashed a violent storm of attacks.
Yang Kai’s face became cold and Golden Blood Threads shot out from his fingers, dancing through the air as they formed an airtight barrier in front of him.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
There was a violent burst of energy, and all the attacks performed by the blood-red figure were stopped by the Golden Blood Thread barrier.
“Xue Lian!” Yang Kai finally saw who it was that launched this sneak attack and could not help letting out a shout filled with murderous intent.
“That’s right, it’s your grandpa Xue Lian!” Xue Lian roared furiously. He had already used his Flood Dragon Transformation and his entire body was covered in strong looking blood-red scales. Not even pausing for an instant, he desperately bombarded Yang Kai with attacks.
“Seems you’ve come to court death!” Yang Kai sneered, his thoughts flashing as he sent two Golden Blood Threads out that suddenly transformed into Thunder Flame Flying Lizards then proceeded to bare their fangs and pounce towards Xue Lian.
“How could mere lizards compete with my Blood Flood Dragon’s power?” Xue Lian seemed to have completely forgotten the harsh lessons he had received at Chi Yue’s palace and attacked Yang Kai without any fear. His fists, covered in thick scales, threw out two punches, condensing two blood-coloured dragons from his Monster Qi. Shaking their heads and wagging their tails, these two blood-coloured dragons met the two Thunder Flame Flying Lizards head-on and entangled them without losing any momentum.
At the same time, Xue Lian raised his hand and summoned a giant axe to it, which he slashed towards Yang Kai viciously.
An astonishing axe light that seemed capable of smashing anything in its path flew towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s figure flickered as he dodged this blow.
At that moment though, another figure flew out from the ground and pushed both his palms forward, condensing a strange, giant flower that resembled an enormous beast’s mouth that bit towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s face became gloomy as he pushed his Space Force and mysteriously disappeared from his position only to reappear a few dozen metres away.
The strange flower failed to play any role and immediately flew back to the hands of the second attacker, its petals opening and closing just like it was breathing, releasing a sweet fragrance into the air.
“Mi Tian!” Yang Kai grinned as he revealed a playful look, “Great! You’re both here! It seems you knew I would come here; were you lying in ambush?”
“Indeed,” Mi Tian smiled lightly, his expression calm and temperate. “You possess a Divine Dragon Source, and the Origin Essence Crystal’s existence here is not a secret amongst my Monster Race. After you suddenly joined the group our Monster Emperor Star sent to the Blood Prison, how could we not know what you were planning? Was it Senior Chi Yue who asked you to come?”
“Not bad, it seems like your intellect isn’t lacking!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“And the Origin Essence Crystal?” Mi Tian’s breathing became a little quick.
“Since I came out, what do you think happened to that Origin Essence Crystal?” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“You really succeeded!” Mi Tian took a breath, the greed on his face obvious to any who looked.
“You want it?” Yang Kai looked at him sarcastically, “With only you two, I’m afraid you don’t have such ability. You’d best be careful not to overestimate yourselves!”
Seeing the naked contempt Yang Kai had for them, neither Xue Lian nor Mi Tian felt comfortable.
Although they did not want to admit it, both of them knew that when it came to a one on one fight, neither of them was Yang Kai’s opponent. Back at Chi Yue’s palace, Yang Kai had already proven his strength.
“Whether we have enough ability, we’ll see after we fight,” Mi Tian coldly snorted.
Yang Kai was about to laugh when he suddenly frowned and fully released his Shi, creating a hundred-metre zone around himself where space began to warp and innumerable tiny Void Cracks swam about like snakes.
In the collapsed and chaotic space, a cold light suddenly appeared. It seemed that this light had originally tried to attack Yang Kai’s back; however, the twisted space affected its accuracy, causing it to miss and become swallowed by The Void.
With a soft thud, a third figure appeared like a ghost, frowning as it leapt back. Wearing a solemn expression, this newcomer shook his head and sighed, “He is truly difficult to deal with!”
Yang Kai stood tall, like a mountain, glanced back coldly, and said with some surprise, “Lie Feng! You’re also here!”
He had not expected that the third person who attacked him would be Lie Feng from Wild Lion Territory.
Three rising stars of the Monster Race from three territories had gathered!
Mi Tian and Xue Lian’s ambush Yang Kai could understand; after all, there was some friction between him and these two so how could they possibly give up such an opportunity? But Lie Feng being involved in this matter was really a surprise. When Yang Kai first entered the Blood Prison, Lie Feng had invited him to act together, but now, only a few days later, he turned into an enemy who launched a sneak attack on him.
On Monster Mountain, the Monster Qi was quite thick, so it was not difficult for these three Monster Race rising stars to hide themselves perfectly. If Yang Kai’s senses had not been unusually sharp, Lie Feng’s sneak attack may really have succeeded.
“Lie Feng, I have no grievances with you, right?” Yang Kai looked at him coldly and asked calmly.
Lie Feng gave a dry laugh and quickly said, “Naturally not.”
“Then why are you doing this?” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes.
“Brother Yang, please forgive me,” Lie Feng said slightly apologetically, cupping his fists and saying calmly. “To be honest, I don’t want to be enemies with Brother Yang if possible, but since this matter involves that Origin Essence Crystal, I cannot stay out of it.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Understood.”
“Now that Brother Yang understands, this Lie can relax. Every Tribal Lord is aware of the Origin Essence Crystal here and wants to obtain it; however, there was no way to do so. Now that Brother Yang has achieved this, I cannot simply let you leave with it. If Brother Yang can hand over the Origin Essence Crystal, I think Xue Lian and Mi Tian should let you go safely though.”
“Do you think I’ll hand it over?” Yang Kai sneered softly.
Lie Feng thought about it for a while, then said seriously, “No. If I was in your place, I wouldn’t hand it over either.”
“Why are you bothering with all this nonsense? Let’s just kill him quickly! No matter how strong he is, he is all alone, so why should we fear him when there are three of us joining forces?” Xue Lian was the most hot-tempered here, and seeing Yang Kai and Lie Feng chat idly, he felt extremely worked up. After shouting out loud, Xue Lian put strength into his legs and rushed towards Yang Kai.
Releasing all his strength, Xue Lian condensed a huge Blood Flood Dragon phantom behind his back.
Xue Lian clearly knew Yang Kai’s strength so he went all out right from the start!
Mi Tian did not bother with any nonsense. The moment Xue Lian acted, he also roared and sent the strange flower atop his head into a whirl, its petals flying out, disappearing into thin air as they shot forward.
Lie Feng’s figure also faded away again and disappeared without a trace, his figure completely hidden from view.
The three Monster Race rising stars launched an all-out assault all at once.
“Good! Since all of you are courting death, I’ll satisfy you!” Yang Kai, in a one versus three, not only remained fearless but rather his expression became fierce. Five-coloured rays of light suddenly covered his whole body and scrapings sounds seemed to ring out from his body as tiny, nearly invisible Five Elements Sword Qi emerged from every pore on his skin. This extremely sharp Sword Qi provided an extremely strong barrier, but also greatly enhanced his offensive strength.
Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi was originally for both offence and defence!
With his muscles pulling taut, filled with explosive power, Yang Kai threw out three punches to meet Xue Lian’s wild attack.
A violent explosion broke out between the two parties, causing space itself to tremble.
Yang Kai remained unmoved while Xue Lian’s sturdy body recoiled sharply three times before his arms fell weakly to his sides.
In a head-on collision, he was obviously not Yang Kai’s opponent!
Without giving Xue Lian a chance to react, Yang Kai clenched his fist and gathered a dozen Golden Blood Threads together, condensed them into a golden spear, then thrust it towards Xue Lian at phenomenal speed.
Xue Lian’s complexion changed drastically as his eyes filled with shock.
The instant they clashed, he realized that Yang Kai was now much stronger than when they had fought back at Chi Yue’s palace!
At that time, Yang Kai was only a bit stronger than him, but now, Xue Lian was feeling completely suppressed, unable to think of any way to resist. Yang Kai’s imposing offensive smashed his confidence as if it were rotten wood.
This situation could only be explained two ways. One was that Yang Kai had not used his full strength previously, and the other was that Yang Kai had experienced significant growth in the Blood Prison!
Xue Lian’s courage completely shattered!
Perceiving the terrifying power contained in the golden spear, Xue Lian didn’t dare neglect it and hurriedly summoned a defensive artifact in front of him while at the same time crossing his arms across his chest, gritting his teeth, and roaring fiercely, preparing to meet this attack.
*Guangdang…*
A sound like metal pounding metal echoed throughout Monster Mountain.
The protective artifact that Xue Lian hurriedly summoned failed to play any role and was directly pierced by the golden spear, allowing it to stab towards him without any reduction in momentum.
On Xue Lian’s arms, the blood-coloured scales were easily punctured, leaving behind a bone deep wound that sprayed out blood as his body was sent flying into the dark cave.
A clattering rang out from the depths of the cave that did not stop for some time. No one knew where Xue Lian finally landed or how badly he was wounded.
Yang Kai turned around without stopping and waved his hand, creating a massive crescent-shaped Void Crack behind him that immediately began swallowing everything around it.
Lie Feng’s panicked cry rang out as his embarrassed figure re-appeared and hurriedly retreated. Staring at the crescent-shaped Void Crack with a solemn expression, he did not dare approach and could only avoid it.
He had been forced out by Yang Kai without even being able to launch an attack.
Strange flower petals suddenly appeared around Yang Kai, spinning like sharp blades as they scythed toward him from all directions. While these petals spun, however, they also scattered an intoxicating fragrance that seemed to affect one’s consciousness.
This attack by Mi Tian was timed perfectly to catch Yang Kai off balance after he forced Lie Feng back.
In an instant, the countless petals engulfed Yang Kai and re-formed the strange flower from before.
Yang Kai’s figure disappeared at that moment! It was as if he had been swallowed by this strange flower.
Mi Tian did not celebrate, though, and instead frowned tightly as he looked around nervously.
He could perceive that his attack had no effect and that Yang Kai somehow escaped at the critical moment.
“You want to kill me? The three of you are not enough!” A sarcastic voice came from nearby, causing Mi Tian’s eyes to shrink as he quickly looked up to see Yang Kai mid-air completely unscathed.
His face suddenly became gloomy.
Lie Feng quietly appeared beside Mi Tian and also stared coldly, without saying a word.
Three Monster Race rising stars teaming up may not have been enough to face a genuine Origin King, but at the very least they should have been invincible in the Origin Returning Realm.
None of them were ordinary Origin Returning Realm cultivators, all of them being the top elite from Monster Emperor Star!
But the result of this brief battle caused their blood to turn cold!
Without any significant effort, Yang Kai had managed to resolve all their attacks and even send Xue Lian flying. Even now, there was no sign of Xue Lian moving, or even if he was still alive. Meanwhile, the remaining two rising stars had been completely suppressed.
“Is this bastard really human?” Lie Feng brow twitched, deeply regretting wading into these muddy waters.
He knew that Yang Kai was very powerful, otherwise he would not have been able to teach Xue Lian a lesson at Chi Yue’s palace, so when he first entered the Blood Prison, he had invited Yang Kai to act together.
But after he learned about the Origin Essence Crystal from Mi Tian and Xue Lian, he could not just sit idly by.
The Origin Essence Crystal was simply too valuable, enough so that he had to take some risks if it meant he could obtain it.
He had thought that by working with Xue Lian and Mi Tian, Yang Kai would be outnumbered and overwhelmed, but judging from their brief confrontation now, Lei Feng realized it was their side that was in danger!
This human was simply too Heaven-defying! With only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, he must be a unique existence across all of history for being able to achieve this degree of strength.
“Lie Feng, stay focused. There’s no medicine in this world for regret, now it is either he dies or we die!” Mi Tian glanced at him with a gloomy expression, his determination to kill Yang Kai not wavering.
Lie Feng slowly shook his head, “There is no turning back an arrow already released from a bow, I naturally understand this. Alright, once Brother Xue Lian returns, we’ll attack all at once, only then will we have a chance!”
Mi Tian did not refute. When facing Yang Kai, he had no choice but to throw away his pride.
The two stood side by side, their eyes wandering between Yang Kai and the cave nearby anxiously.
Xue Lian remained silent, however, as if he had really been killed by Yang Kai with a single move.
But that should have been impossible. No matter how powerful Yang Kai was, Xue Lian had displayed his Flood Dragon Transformation and had extremely solid defence, so how could he have died so easily?
Mi Tian and Lie Feng did not understand what Xue Lian was doing and were silently cursing him for screwing up at such a crucial moment.
Suddenly though, a terrible roar rang out from inside the cave, one that was both thunderous and deafening.
“It’s Xue Lian!” Mi Tian frowned, his expression becoming uncertain. He did not know why Xue Lian was crying out so madly. Even if he were enraged and unwilling, his normal response would have been to rush out and challenge Yang Kai again, so what was he doing?
“Something’s not right!” Lie Feng suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of crisis grip his heart, an instinctual warning telling him to retreat immediately if he wanted to preserve his life.
This feeling made him extremely uncomfortable!
Like Mi Tian and Lie Feng, Yang Kai also looked towards the cave with dignified eyes, faintly aware that something was wrong.
However, he was more curious than concerned. He did not know what Xue Lian was doing, or whether he was about to use some earth-shattering Secret Technique, but he wasn’t afraid either.
After a while, Xue Lian’s roars suddenly subsided, as if someone had pinched his throat and forcibly silenced him.
But while his roars had ceased, the rich Monster Qi surrounding Monster Mountain suddenly became turbulent, as if it had received some kind of summoning and rushed towards the cave.
The cave was like the open maw of a giant beast, sucking in the massive amount of Monster Qi around it. Less than ten breaths later, the rich Monster Qi that had pervaded Monster Mountain for over ten thousand years disappeared.
Yang Kai frowned.
Mi Tian and Lie Feng looked at each other and seemed to be confused about the situation.
Inside the cave, a fierce aura slowly swelled, its strength causing Yang Kai to feel a little uncomfortable.
*Sha sha sha…*
The sound of footsteps came from the cave, and soon after, Xue Lian’s figure emerged from the entrance. At this moment, he no longer looked disheveled or even angry, instead displaying a thoughtful look on his face as he stretched his hands out in front of himself and seemed to be examining them carefully.
In the depths of his eyes, a joyful light flashed.
“Xue Lian, what are you doing?” Mi Tian yelled with an angry look. Right now, while they were facing off against Yang Kai, Xue Lian had suddenly begun acting so unnaturally, upsetting Mi Tian greatly.
Yang Kai was too strong, and even with three of them there was no guarantee they could kill him, so they could not afford to make any mistakes now.
“He seems different from just now,” Lie Feng squinted as he stared at the entrance to the cave.
“We need to kill Yang Kai first! We can talk about other things later!” Mi Tian coldly snorted and once again sent his strange monster flower to attack Yang Kai.
Although Lie Feng felt there was something off about Xue Lian, he also knew that this was not the time to worry about such things, his figure fading away as he quietly approached Yang Kai.
Yang Kai, however, had most of his attention focused on Xue Lian.
The current Xue Lian was completely different from just now, and Yang Kai felt a strong pressure coming from him!
Xue Lian also seemed to come back to his senses at that moment, his two blood-red eyes glancing light towards a certain spot before a strange lustre flashed across them and he called out, “Shadow Eagle lineage? Interesting, I didn’t expect to meet a descendant of my old friend right after I saw the sun again!”
After saying this inexplicable sentence, Xue Lian took a step forward.
Ignoring the barriers of space, he appeared a hundred metres away in an instant. No one saw how he moved, and even Yang Kai, who had been paying close attention to him, only noticed some clues.
It was not that Xue Lian had leapt over space, his speed had simply been too fast, so much so that his Divine Sense was unable to keep up.
Xue Lian stretched out his hand and grabbed towards empty space seemingly at will.
With a grasp, space suddenly solidified.
A flurried figure appeared at that moment: Lie Feng, who had just disappeared.
Lie Feng’s expression was both startled and angry. He never thought that Xue Lian would ruin his good deed and hurriedly tried to withdraw and ask what was going on.
However, Xue Lian did not give him such an opportunity. Inexplicably, his blood-red, scale-clad hand clenched Lie Feng’s neck!
Yang Kai’s face changed, while Mi Tian was equally surprised.
Unable to care about attacking Yang Kai anymore, Mi Tian glared at Xue Lian and shouted sharply, “What are you doing?”
The three of them had joined forces to ambush Yang Kai, but now, while their enemy was unharmed, Xue Lian had targeted one of their own side. This was simply intolerable!
But Xue Lian didn’t pay any attention to Mi Tian’s interrogation and instead lifted Lie Feng up high, as if he was holding a child. Staring at him with indifferent scarlet eyes, he asked, “Who is that old bastard Tian Jiu to you?”
Lie Feng finally noticed that something was terribly wrong and desperately pushed his Monster Qi to free himself from Xue Lian’s control, but no matter how hard he tried, his Monster Qi seemed to be imprisoned inside his body, unable to circulate.
“You’re not Xue Lian!” Lie Feng exclaimed in shock.
It was absolutely impossible for Xue Lian to have the ability to subdue him like this. Combined with the changes in Monster Mountain’s Monster Qi, Lie Feng immediately understood what was going on.
“Soul possession!” Yang Kai and Mi Tian also reacted at the same time, calling out in shock.
“You brats have decent eyesight!” Xue Lian gave a weird laugh, not trying to deny it. Instead, he stared deeply at Yang Kai as a look of greed flashed across his eyes.
Yang Kai felt a shiver up his spine when he saw this, unsure what this gaze meant.
Xue Lian did not pay much attention to him after that though, retracted his gaze, and continued to ask, “Who is Tian Jiu to you?”
“My ancestor!” Lie Feng flushed and answered through clenched teeth.
“Is he still alive?” Xue Lian tilted his head.
“Ancestor fell many years ago, doesn’t Senior know?” Lie Feng asked in a deep voice.
When Tian Jiu was alive, he was a peak-level master on Monster Emperor Star, an extremely powerful Monster King with a Third-Order Origin King cultivation. Unfortunately, he fell thousands of years ago. Lie Feng was currently the strongest of Tian Jiu’s descendants.
“He actually died, such a pity, this King still had some old accounts to settle with him,” Xue Lian seemed a little disappointed, but soon grinned widely. “But that doesn’t matter, it’s all in the past. Since this King has bumped into one of that old dog’s descendants, he can just take his anger out on you.”
“May I ask who Senior is?” Lie Feng asked in a trembling voice. He could feel Xue Lian’s big hand squeezing harder and harder, to the point where he could barely breathe.
“This King and Tian Jiu were born in the same era, and have a lot of grievances between us; who do you think this King is?” Xue Lian laughed lowly.
Lie Feng’s face turned pale as he said, tremblingly, “You are Mad Crocodile King, the one who fell here!”
Lie Feng was naturally familiar with his family’s history. Over ten thousand years ago, when Heavenly Eagle King was still alive, the Shadow Eagle clan was amongst the strongest forces and almost dominated all of Monster Emperor Star. Unfortunately, there was another powerful Monster King who could fight against Heavenly Eagle King.
That was Mad Crocodile Monster King!
Hearing Xue Lian’s words, Lie Feng immediately realized his identity.
The one who had seized Xue Lian’s body was the bloody and brutal Mad Crocodile Monster King!
Rumour had it that his cultivation was earth-shaking, and due to his incredibly brutal nature, the number of Monster and Human Race masters who had died at his hands was uncountable. All of Monster Emperor Star despised him, so they called him Mad Crocodile Monster King.
Tian Jiu had tried to kill him many times, but never succeeded, instead just creating a deeper and deeper enmity between them.
One day, however, Mad Crocodile Monster King suddenly disappeared from Monster Emperor Star, with most not knowing where he had gone.
Chi Yue and the other Tribal Lord level characters knew that Mad Crocodile King had fallen in the Blood Prison, but the younger generation was not privy to such knowledge.
Now that he knew the truth, Lie Feng lost all hope!
Having been caught by such a Monster Race master, how could his end be good?
“Good, this King fell here, but this King can make a comeback starting today! Heh heh, since you are the descendant of Tian Jiu, you can only blame your bad luck for meeting this King,” Xue Lian sneered as he tightened his grip around Lie Feng’s neck viciously. With a crack, Lie Feng’s body went limp and his head fell to the side, the light in his eyes quickly dimming!
Lie Feng died!
Xue Lian was now far stronger than before!
Mi Tian gulped hard as his face paled.
Even facing Yang Kai, he had never felt so powerless, but Mad Crocodile Monster King’s terrifying reputation rendered him incapable of summoning the will to resist.
The moment Lie Feng died, Mi Tian did not hesitate to flee, wanting to escape from this place above all else.
“Without this King’s permission, you think you can leave?” Xue Lian suddenly turned to look at the location of Mi Tian and casually reached out his hand, sending out a burst of strange, ethereal power.
The space in front of Mi Tian seemed to solidify into an iron wall, one Mi Tian slammed into and was stopped by.
Yang Kai’s eyes widened as he watched this scene, a vague sense of understanding suddenly coming to him.
The power Xue Lian used was naturally Domain! Although Xue Lian’s current aura was still just at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, Mad Crocodile Monster King was a genuine Third-Order Origin King! It was understandable that he could still use Domain to a certain extent.
[So you can use this power in such a manner!] Yang Kai’s eyes shone brilliantly, seeming extremely interested in Xue Lian’s methods.
Mi Tian could not escape this way, so he immediately changed direction, but Xue Lian simply snorted coldly and sent out a phantom Blood Flood Dragon with a wave of his hand, which swiftly transformed into a kind of rope and flew towards Mi Tian.
Mi Tian roared furiously, spun around, and shot his strange flower artifact’s thousands of petals towards Xue Lian.
At the same time, his eyes suddenly flashed a strange brilliance as he stared directly towards Xue Lian.
Xue Lian showed no fear and instead just sneered contemptuously, “Soul Swallowing Evil Eye! You dare use such pathetic means to deal with this King? Boy, your overconfidence is shocking!”
Saying so, his scarlet eyes became deep and dark, like bottomless pits, and pulled in all of Mi Tian’s eye power.
A terrifying wave of Spiritual Energy also burst forth.
Mi Tian screamed, as if he was subjected to intolerable pain, and his entire aura rapidly deflated.
Not only had Mi Tian’s Evil Eye failed to play any role, Xue Lian had counterattacked and greatly damaged his Soul.
The blood-red rope tied around Mi Tian tightly in that instant, preventing him from escaping.
Xue Lian grinned, raised his hand up high, and slowly clenched his fist.
The blood-red rope that bound Mi Tian, following the movement of this fist, slowly tightened around Mi Tian’s body.
“No!” Mi Tian yelled, but to no avail. The blood-red rope quickly began crushing his physique and breaking his bones.
With a resounding crack, Mi Tian’s body was crushed, his flesh and blood spattering out!
With just a few light gestures, he had killed two of the Monster Race’s rising stars. Xue Lian looked down at his hands and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face, “Not bad, the ancient Blood Flood Dragon lineage really has its own uniqueness.”
He seemed to be quite satisfied with his new body.
But soon, he slowly shook his head, raised his eyes, and stared at Yang Kai with a fiercer gaze. His eyes were filled with greed. To him, Yang Kai’s existence seemed even more attractive!
“Aren’t you going to run?” Xue Lian asked in a somewhat stunned voice. He had been paying attention to Yang Kai’s movements when he killed Mi Tian and Lie Feng to ensure Yang Kai did not have a chance to escape.
However, from start to finish, this human boy simply stood there, observing everything indifferently, not showing any intentions to flee, a fact that surprised Xue Lian greatly.
“Why should I run?” Yang Kai stood there with a grin and asked with his brow casually raised.
“You’re not afraid of death? Are you not worried this King will kill you?” Xue Lian showed an expression of interest.
“It is uncertain who will be the victor or deceased. Senior should be careful not to speak too confidently,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Xue Lian narrowed his eyes as he stared at Yang Kai earnestly for a moment before nodding, “Although I don’t want to admit it, you’re much better than those brats from my Monster Race, human. It seems my Monster Race is on the decline now.”
“Senior’s praise is unnecessary,” Yang Kai still remained indifferent. “But Senior does not need to keep up this act. Even if you were a Monster King ten thousand years ago, how much strength can you display right now after just seizing that body? If Senior were to suddenly come up short here, your death will be quite ugly.”
Xue Lian was startled briefly but soon burst into laughter, nodding in approval, “Good good, even if you know this King’s identity, you still don’t show the slightest fear and are even able to talk back in such an arrogant tone. Human boy, I praise you for your confidence. It is to the point that this King feels a little bit reluctant to kill you. Good, this King has just seized this body, and after ten thousand years of decay, cannot display anywhere near his peak strength, but… it’s still more than enough to kill you. What’s more, you must die as this King has taken a liking to the Golden Divine Dragon Source in your body. However, if you obediently hand it over, this King can grant you a swift death!”
“Golden Divine Dragon Source?” Yang Kai frowned, revealing a faint look. “It turns out that Senior wanted to attack me in the cave just now, no wonder I felt that something was wrong.”
“Your senses are sharp too!” Xue Lian snorted coldly, “Enough nonsense, surrender without a fight and this King can show mercy, but if you dare to resist…”
“So what if I resist?” Yang Kai snorted back, his figure flickering the moment he spoke, disappearing strangely from where he stood.
“This is…” Xue Lian frowned, revealing a dignified look. The moment Yang Kai disappeared, he noticed a strange power fluctuation, one that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him, but soon he identified it and exclaimed, “Space Force!”
Xue Lian’s eyes burst with a terrifying blood-red light as his expression twisted into one filled with excitement.
He hadn’t expected that this human boy’s body would contain so many treasures worth coveting.
Without even mentioning the Golden Divine Dragon Source, a treasure any Monster Race master would desire, just this boy’s ability to use Space Force was not something ordinary cultivators could achieve.
As long as he could seize this human boy’s body, whether it was the Golden Divine Dragon Source or his understanding of the Dao of Space, he could claim it all! Although his original body also inherited an ancient bloodline, it was only a diluted Variant bloodline, incomparable to a Golden Divine Dragon’s. Xue Lian felt that if he could seize Yang Kai’s body and occupy all these advantages, he may be able to reach a cultivation even higher than his previous peak!
“Excellent! The Heavens have graced this King!” Xue Lian laughed, his blood-red eyes filled with greed.
A tearing sound suddenly rang out as a half-moon-shaped Void Crack suddenly appeared a dozen or so metres in front of Xue Lian. This Void Crack was ten metres long and as soon as it formed began releasing a chaotic aura, one that made those who felt it extremely uncomfortable, as if an invisible force was trying to draw them in and exile them to the endless Void.
“Your mastery of the Dao of Space Force has actually reached such a level!” Xue Lian exclaimed in excitement.
Still, standing on the spot without moving or even evading, Xue Lian simply stretched his hand forward.
As he clenched his fist, the rapidly advancing crescent-shaped Void Crack suddenly seemed to be restrained by an invisible force and stopped mid-air, unable to advance any further.
Xue Lian frowned at that moment and pushed his Monster Qi madly, roaring angrily, “Break!”
After this shout, the crescent-shaped Void Crack was crushed by him and the surrounding distorted space began to twist and repair itself.
*Huala…*
A slight noise came from the soles of Xue Lian’s feet, and a small grey figure leapt out of the ground before swinging down a jet-black stick it was carrying.
“What’s this?” Xue Lian was taken aback. Even with his sharp senses, he was unable to notice any trace of this creature approaching him. It wasn’t until this figure emerged from the ground that Xue Lian was even aware of its presence.
Looking at this newly appeared figure, it was clear it wasn’t a creature but instead a human-shaped rock.
It was quite small, only about half the size of any ordinary person.
However, the black stick it held in both hands had a force behind its swing that frightened Xue Lian greatly!
If this stick hit him, Xue Lian was certain he would suffer.
His face sank and a cold snort left his throat as Xue Lian released a blood-red mist from his body that seemed to have a mind of its own and rapidly condensed into a protective layer around him.
The pitch-black struck in the next instant.
A loud crack sounded as Xue Lian’s defence was unable to withstand the power of this blow and broke, allowing the black stick to slam down at him unabated.
Xue Lian’s complexion finally changed as he once again displayed his Flood Dragon Transformation to cover his arms in blood-red scales and throw out a fierce punch to meet this stick. This punch not only contained enormous physical power but also a strange aura.
Domain!
*Hong…*
Blood-coloured and black light collided to create a dazzling explosive halo. Xue Lian’s figure was directly smashed into the ground while Xiao Xiao was also sent flying, landing with a thud some distance away. Quickly shaking his head though, Xiao Xiao stood up, as if nothing had happened.
A sharp bird cry rang out at that moment as a strange giant flaming bird manifested high up above.
Flapping its wings, the Firebird Artifact Spirit opened its beak and sprayed out a barrage of burning hot fireballs towards Xue Lian’s position.
Xue Lian’s roar instantly sounded along with the echoes of exploding fireballs!
Yang Kai’s figure appeared like a ghost at this time and dove straight down from the sky. The Verdant Dragon Bone Sword was already in his hand and a giant dark green dragon appeared as he poured his Saint Qi into it, opened its gaping maw, and rushed towards Xue Lian, as if it wanted to swallow him whole!
Yang Kai had used almost all his cards at this moment, not showing any intention of holding back.
His opponent’s strength was unfathomable and Yang Kai would naturally not regard him as a common Origin Returning Realm master.
The giant dark green dragon ferociously hit the ground, sending out a massive shockwave. Yang Kai then ejected hundreds of Golden Blood Threads to madly slice through the surrounding space.
“Boy, you court death!” Xue Lian roared furiously. He never expected he would suffer such a big loss at Yang Kai’s hands just after seeing the sun again after thousands of years.
He thought Yang Kai was no different from Mi Tian or Lie Feng, who he had easily killed just now. He had severely underestimated Yang Kai’s abilities.
Releasing his Domain, Xue Lian stopped all the fireballs dropping towards him ten metres outside his body, causing all of them to burst. At the same time, he punched away the giant dark green dragon, sending it flying. As for Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Threads, they didn’t have much effect, leaving only shallow scars on the surface of Xue Lian’s body.
After being taken over, Xue Lian’s strength had massively increased.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and stretched out his hand, summoning his Purple Shield to defend his body.
The next moment, a blood-red giant fist bombarded the shield.
*Bang…*
After following Yang Kai for many years, the Origin Grade High-Rank defensive artifact that had been repaired and refined several times by Yang Yan was completely shattered.
The destruction of the Purple Shield slowed the destructive power of Xue Lian’s punch, allowing Yang Kai a chance to intercept it with one of his own.
When the two fists collided, Yang Kai only felt an incredible impact he was unable to resist. As hot liquid filled his throat, Yang Kai was sent flying a few thousand metres before managing to stabilize his figure.
After standing firm, Yang Kai spat out a mouthful of blood before staring forward fixedly.
In the direction he stared, with the dust clearing, Yang Kai saw a dishevelled Xue Lian glaring back at him with a hideous and terrifying expression.
He seemed to have become truly enraged.
Yang Kai grinned widely as his nerves settled.
Just now, although he seemed to be going all out, Yang Kai was actually making a careful but forceful probe.
Now that he obtained the desired result, he was naturally happy.
Xue Lian wasn’t invincible!
He was wary of the Heaven Shaking Pillar held by Xiao Xiao, Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Threads, the Verdant Dragon Bone Sword, and the Firebird Artifact Spirit!
All of Yang Kai’s means could cause him harm!
This was enough. Yang Kai had been worried that no matter how hard he tried, Xue Lian would remain unharmed. If that was really the case, he would have immediately fled. If he couldn’t break his opponent’s defences, what point would there be in fighting?
As Yang Kai’s mind turned sharply, Xue Lian’s furious expression abated significantly, as if he became aware of something and a look of dread flashed across his eyes.
He finally understood the situation he was in clearly. Yang Kai was very different from Lie Feng and Mi Tian and not an existence he could kill at will.
This little brat was oddly strong!
Sweeping his eyes solemnly over the Firebird, Stone Puppet, and giant dark green dragon, Xue Lian suddenly shouted, “Boy, you are truly impressive! Since you cultivate Space Force, this King is not confident he can kill you! En, how about we make a deal? Leave behind this King’s Origin Essence Crystal and we can shake hands and make peace, from now on not interfering with one another!”
“You want that Origin Essence Crystal?” Yang Kai grinned.
“Yes, that is this King’s core, this King naturally cannot give it away.”
“In your dreams!” Yang Kai laughed, “The Origin Essence Crystal is mine now, there’s no way I will return it. If you want it, come get it yourself.”
“Boy, don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! This King appreciates your talent and does not want to bully the weak, don’t make the mistake of embarrassing yourself here.”
“Really? Why does it sound more like Senior is lacking in confidence? Don’t you want my Golden Divine Dragon Source? If you kill me, everything is yours, why bother wasting so much breath here?”
Xue Lian’s face sank, “Boy, are you really not going to give this King face?”
“What thing are you?” Yang Kai smiled contemptuously.
“Good, you are one of the few who dare talk to this King like this other than that old ghost Tian Jiu, but you will die here today so, it matters not!” Xue Lian roared and released a blood-red mist from his body, enveloping him to the point where his figure disappeared and only a cloud of blood remained.
Immediately, this blood cloud flew forward at an extremely fast speed and enveloped Yang Kai.
Inside this blood mist, a terrifying and astonishing energy fluctuation broke out as blood-red rays shot towards Yang Kai like a living creature, trying to entangle him.
At the same time, a mysterious power surged around him.
Yang Kai suddenly felt that moving became difficult and the Saint Qi in his body was slightly suppressed.
Domain!
Yang Kai released his Shi madly, causing the surrounding space to twist and collapse.
However, his Shi was completely suppressed by Xue Lian’s Domain and could only extend a finger length outside his body.
“Your Shi is close to the grand accomplishment stage!” Xue Lian commented in surprise, “You have the capital to back up your arrogance, boy. A mere Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, yet Shi condensed to such a level, however… you’re still not good enough!”
With a wide grin, Xue Lian released a large amount of Blood Qi filled with malice from his body, transformed it into flood dragons, and sent them hurtling towards Yang Kai from all directions.
This Evil Qi was filled with Mad Crocodile Monster King’s malevolent aura, and an average cultivator that was contaminated with it would immediately become deranged.
Although Yang Kai did not completely understand the mysteries behind this attack, how could he just stand there and allow it to get close?
Hundreds of Golden Blood Threads flew out from his body, like hundreds of tiny arms, waving and shuttling about his figure.
The pressure from Xue Lian’s Domain was instantly reduced!
Golden Blood Threads had the miraculous ability to cut apart Shi. Domain was an evolved form of Shi, so these Golden Blood Threads were able to restrain it somewhat. One or two may not have been enough to make a difference, but with hundreds working together, they could display some positive effects.
Yang Kai’s Shi spread a metre beyond his skin in an instant.
With a wave of his hand, the giant dark-green dragon transformed into a green glow and flew back to his hand, assuming its normal Dragon Bone Sword shape.
A loud dragon roar sounded from the sword as Yang Kai held it in one hand, poured his Saint Qi into it, and swung it forward.
A green sword wave tore through space and ripped the blood-red aura around him in half before soaring towards Xue Lian who was still hidden inside the blood mist.
Xue Lian could not ignore this attack and was forced to dodge, but before he could regain his stance, a burly figure suddenly emerged from the ground.
Stone Puppet!
The Stone Puppet at this moment suddenly transformed into a stone giant while the Heaven Shaking Pillar in its hand also grew to a terrifying size, nearly five metres long. The jet-black stick carried a Heaven destroying and Earth-shattering momentum with it that caught Xue Lian off guard as it smashed towards him.
Xue Lian was stunned and did not dare take a blow from the Heaven Shaking Pillar, so with a flicker of his figure, he dodged once more while simultaneously sending out a fierce punch.
There was a terrifying power contained in the fist that struck the Stone Puppet’s chest.
With a bang, Xiao Xiao was forced back several steps and several stone chips blew off from his chest.
The Stone Puppet was obviously taken aback.
Since its birth, it had never been hurt by anyone; today was the first time!
Even if it was only a few stone chips, it was still an injury.
Xiao Xiao’s round eyes suddenly filled with a ferocious light as it stretched out its free hand and pounded its chest loudly. Immediately after, the Stone Puppet’s body filled with a shocking, blazing hot energy.
A hot aura burst from Xiao Xiao’s body, one seemingly capable of burning all creation.
The body of the Stone Puppet also seemed to melt, and its entire figure turned fiery red!
Yang Kai was dumbfounded, not knowing what happened to Xiao Xiao. He had never seen such a change in the Stone Puppet before and fell back in a flurry to avoid a frontal confrontation with Xue Lian so he could pay close attention to Xiao Xiao’s condition.
He was not sure whether this sudden change was good or bad for the Stone Puppet.
Soon, the Stone Puppet’s body had become covered in a molten magma-like substance.
At a glance, it appeared like Xiao Xiao was now wearing a lava armour! The heat radiating from this lava armour was so intense that even Yang Kai did not dare to approach easily.
“Sun’s True Fire!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
He felt the aura of the Sun’s True Fire coming from this lava armour!
In a flash, Yang Kai suddenly understood.
Xiao Xiao had swallowed the Sun’s True Essence many years ago, but since then, he had never used this power; as a result, even Yang Kai did not know he was capable of this.
But today, Xue Lian’s punch undoubtedly infuriated the Stone Puppet and forced him to utilize his full strength!
Wearing his lava armour, Xiao Xiao suddenly transformed into a lava giant, and while carrying the unbelievably heavy Heaven Shaking Pillar in one hand, he clenched his other into a fist as a fiendish grin appeared on his always simple and honest looking face, a strange sight indeed.
*Deng deng deng…*
Xiao Xiao charged forward into the cloud of blood mist without fear, swinging his huge burning fist towards Xue Lian.
Xue Lian let out a strange roar as the thick blood mist rapidly became thin, as if it was being evaporated by the power of the Sun’s True Fire.
After a couple dozen punches, Xue Lian’s figure was exposed again.
His complexion was blue as he stared at the lava giant that was constantly approaching him with great dread, and his eyes filled with a look of shock.
Even with his vast knowledge, he had never even heard of a creature like the one in front of him now.
The first time it attacked him, it was only half the height of a regular person, looking quite small and delicate. The second time it attacked it had suddenly grown into a mighty giant. Now, it seemed to have transformed again into a giant made from molten lava.
Xue Lian retreated again and again, not daring to meet Xiao Xiao head-on.
The Firebird took advantage of this situation to launch a new barrage of fireballs
These fireballs not only contained scorching heat but also arcs of lightning.
The Firebird had also swallowed several Sun’s True Fire wisps, allowing it to achieve incredible growth. It had also swallowed several Heaven Scorching Thunder Fires, which let its flames take on a violent Thunder Attribute aura.
Its flames were even more terrifying than the Stone Puppet’s, and what it lacked compared to Xiao Xiao’s sheer power, it made up for in agility and flexibility.
Yang Kai’s two great helpers, one on the ground and the other in the sky, joined forces to completely suppress Xue Lian.
Yang Kai could not help grinning.
With the Firebird and Stone Puppet alone, Xue Lian could not act freely. Even if he had been a Monster King ten thousand years ago and could even still use a bit of his Domain, his current body greatly limited his strength in the end.
If he had been at his peak, Xue Lian would have been able to deal with Yang Kai with a wave of his hand.
Any Third-Order Origin King was not to be trifled with.
However, a great dragon trapped in a shallow pond could not create any big waves.
“Scram!” In a distressed state, Xue Lian roared and sent a fierce punch towards the Stone Puppet, the huge force behind it forcing Xiao Xiao back a hundred metres or so.
However, Xue Lian’s fist was also severely burnt as a result.
In the next instant, he charged forward, dodging the Firebird’s bombardment, and leapt straight towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was the key to this battle. So long as Yang Kai was killed, the Stone Puppet and Firebird that listened to his orders wouldn’t be able to cause Xue Lian any trouble. As such, he made up his mind to launch an attack with his full strength in hopes of executing Yang Kai in a single blow.
Domain surged forth, consuming Yang Kai as Xue Lian pounced forth.
Yang Kai pushed his Shi madly to resist this Domain, but it was clearly being overwhelmed and was soon suppressed back into his body.
Xue Lian closed in, a fiendish look upon his face as he roared madly.
This roar was piercing like a sword that sank into the heart of anyone who heard it, penetrating Yang Kai’s Soul and causing his movements to freeze up.
“Boy, you’re dead!” Xue Lian yelled frantically as he reached out to grab Yang Kai.
“Oh really?” A strange smile suddenly appeared on Yang Kai’s face as his body suddenly shook and a low growl erupted from his throat, “Dragon Transformation!”
A glorious golden light burst forth as golden scales suddenly emerged from Yang Kai’s right arm, covering his skin in a kind of impenetrable armour.
Golden light flashed from his hand as it transformed into a giant dragon claw.
The overwhelming aura of a Divine Dragon filled the air.
Xue Lian’s eyes instinctively flashed with fear and his seemingly unstoppable momentum rapidly deflated.
The pressure of an Ancient Divine Spirit had a suppressive effect on any Monster Race, let alone the ruler of those Divine Spirits!
Whether it was Xue Lian’s body or Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul, both were distant descendants of Variant Ancient Divine Spirits, incomparable to a Golden Divine Dragon.
Yang Kai struck with his right hand; his five fingers grouped together like a sharp sword he thrust out fiercely.
A splash sounded.
Xue Lian’s body, which seemed as solid as iron, was directly pierced by Yang Kai’s right hand like it was tofu.
A beating sound echoed from Xue Lian’s chest as Yang Kai’s right hand gripped his heart.
Xue Lian froze in place, his big hand which was grabbing towards Yang Kai’s head stopped motionless mid-air, his eyes trembling violently.
“Let me send you on your way!” Yang Kai grinned and squeezed his right hand, directly crushing Xue Lian’s heart.
“Boy, you’re still too naive!” Xue Lian laughed strangely before he died, the light in his eyes fading after his heart was crushed.
Yang Kai’s complexion darkened as he faintly realized that something was wrong. Just as he was about to pull out his arm though, he saw a blood-red light suddenly fly out from Xue Lian’s forehead and without pause, rush directly into his head.
This blood-red light radiated an extremely strange aura, one that broke through Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea defences as easily as crushing dry weeds or smashing rotten wood.
“So that’s what you were plotting!” Yang Kai immediately understood and immediately sent his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea.
Inside his Knowledge Sea, the flames of his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea tumbled.
A strange figure stood mid-air, looking at everything around him in shock and surprise.
He found that his situation was a little different from what he had imagined!
“If you planned on seizing my body, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you,” Yang Kai looked at the strange figure and sneered.
Mad Crocodile Monster King had never regarded Xue Lian’s body as important.
He had pretended to launch a desperation attack on Yang Kai in order to get close enough to break into the latter’s Knowledge Sea with his Soul Avatar the moment Yang Kai relaxed his guard. From there, Mad Crocodile’s plan was to seize Yang Kai’s body.
His plan had succeeded so far!
His Soul Avatar had crashed into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea as he had planned, and now, all he needed to do to occupy Yang Kai’s body and enjoy the many treasures it held was to swallow Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar.
Mad Crocodile was confident he could accomplish this last part. Although his Spiritual Energy had continued to weaken for the past ten thousand years, almost to the point where his Soul was about to dissipate, a thin camel was still bigger than a horse, and his Spiritual Energy was not something an ordinary Origin Returning Realm boy could contend with.
If this wasn’t the case, he would not have been able to possess Xue Lian’s body in such a short time.
After all, Xue Lian was also an elite among Origin Realm cultivators.
However, when he broke into this scorching hot Knowledge Sea, Mad Crocodile immediately had a bad premonition.
“You actually have a Mutated Knowledge Sea!” Mad Crocodile exclaimed.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai looked at him lightly, not rushing to take action, his hands folded and his tone indifferent, as if he was just chatting with a friend.
Mad Crocodile frowned as he looked around, but soon his eyes were attracted to a certain seven coloured island at the centre of Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. In an instant, his eyes bulged as disbelief filled his face. Pointing his trembling finger, Mad Crocodile hesitantly asked, “Is this the legendary Soul Warming Lotus?”
“Senior knows about the Soul Warming Lotus?” Yang Kai was surprised.
Mad Crocodile’s face sank, “This King has drunk more water than you have crossed over. How could this King not know about a Supreme Treasure like the Soul Warming Lotus?”
This boy actually possessed a Soul Warming Lotus! What’s more it was a fully evolved Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus.
With this kind of Supreme Treasure nurturing it, it wasn’t surprising that this boy’s Soul was unusually strong and that his Spiritual Energy was so rich. It was said that this Supreme Treasure would constantly nourish and strengthen its owner’s Soul. In a short time, it may not yield much effect, but as time passed, its effect would be astonishing.
It could save a cultivator countless years of hard work!
Ten thousand years ago, when Mad Crocodile was still alive, he had naturally heard about the Soul Warming Lotus, but unfortunately he had never seen one. Now, unexpectedly, he was able to witness this treasure with his own eyes after trying to seize Yang Kai’s body.
The only question was whether this boy managed to obtain this Soul Warming Lotus in its seven coloured form, or if he had managed to grow it to this point on his own.
The former possibility seemed more likely though! Evolving a Soul Warming Lotus was said to be extremely difficult, so how could it be possible for such a young boy to cultivate one to its final seven coloured form?
[This boy’s luck is too Heaven-defying!] Mad Crocodile thought to himself.
Mad Crocodile was a Monster King, so his aptitude and bloodline were naturally extraordinary. On top of that, he had many fortuitous encounters across his life and managed to achieve his peak strength after many years of hard work, but when he compared himself to Yang Kai, his own opportunities seemed like complete trash.
After staring at the seven coloured island greedily, he took a deep breath, as if to calm his excitement, turned his head, stared at Yang Kai solemnly, and shouted loudly, “Boy, this King truly looked down upon you. It seems what will follow will be a bitter struggle, all that is uncertain now is in the end, whether you die or I perish!”
The power of this boy’s Soul wasn’t below his own, and with the support of the Soul Warming Lotus, Mad Crocodile Monster King didn’t have complete confidence he could consume Yang Kai’s Soul Avatar.
He now regarded this boy as an equal opponent he needed to confront head-on.
“I think the latter possibility is much higher actually,” hearing this declaration, Yang Kai could only chuckle, his expression calm and relaxed, displaying complete confidence, as if he didn’t even put Mad Crocodile Monster King in his eyes.
“Don’t get too cocky, boy! It’s time you learned a painful lesson, lest you continue to underestimate this world’s heroes.”
“You don’t believe me?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at Mad Crocodile with a sneer, “Forget it, I have no time for nonsense with you. The sooner you die, the sooner this will be over.”
Saying so, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky.
Mad Crocodile didn’t know what Yang Kai was doing and looked up suspiciously.
A strange oval-shaped object with a long slit running horizontally across its centre appeared up above, looking like a closed eye, radiating a profound and mystical aura.
But with a snap of Yang Kai’s finger, this slit slowly began to open.
Soon, a brilliant golden light flashed.
This golden light became more and more intense until finally it formed a beam of light which shot out and covered Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul Avatar.
Contained within the golden light there was also a multi-coloured radiance!
As soon as this beam of light enveloped Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul Avatar, he was instantly frozen in place, unable to move, as if he was completely restrained.
“What is this?” Mad Crocodile exclaimed in horror.
As soon as he was struck by this golden light, he realized that something was terribly wrong. Instantly, he felt as if his consciousness was melting away, like snowflakes exposed to the scorching sun. This discovery shocked Mad Crocodile, and he fought desperately to resist.
The golden and multi-coloured light began to disperse, seemingly not capable of completely restraining Mad Crocodile Monster King.
Yang Kai raised his brow and revealed a slightly surprised look.
The Demon Eye of Annihilation was one of Great Demon God’s Divine Abilities and was capable of producing a golden ray of light that could completely extinguish an enemy’s Soul. This powerful technique had been used by Yang Kai countless times and never had any difficulty in the past.
Although Great Demon God only reached the Saint King Realm before he died, he was an extraordinary genius and this Divine Ability he created only grew in power as Yang Kai’s cultivation increased.
What’s more, the current Soul destroying golden light had been merged together with the Coloured Glass Divine Light’s power.
Coloured Glass Divine Light was able to suppress an opponent’s Soul, so when combined with the extinguishing power of the golden light, both dramatically increased one another’s power.
Even so, Mad Crocodile Monster King’s Soul apparently couldn’t be wiped out in one fell swoop, showing just how pure and powerful his Spiritual Essence was.
But this was also understandable; after all, Mad Crocodile was a Monster King level master, if he could be so easily killed, that would truly be strange.
Yang Kai grinned wickedly as his thoughts flashed and the tumbling, roaring flames down below swelled up and from all directions and transformed into a massive wave that crashed towards Mad Crocodile’s Soul Avatar .
In an instant, the place where Mad Crocodile was located was enveloped by burning hot Spiritual Energy.
“No!” Mad Crocodile roared as he struggled to resist the sea of flames, releasing one powerful Soul Skill after another.
“Mad Crocodile, I am the master here! You daring to come here was nothing short of digging your own grave!” Yang Kai shouted as he pushed his Spiritual Energy even more ferociously.
The combined assault of Yang Kai’s Golden Light, Coloured Glass Divine Light, and Conflagrated Spiritual Energy caused his Knowledge Sea to tumble violently.
Mad Crocodile’s roars continued to echo, but no matter how hard he struggled to resist, he still couldn’t escape the golden light. Under the golden light, his Soul was being scattered at an extremely terrifying speed and his aura rapidly grew weak.
Soon, Mad Crocodile’s cries weakened and his resistance grew less intense.
Not long after, everything fell silent, and after Yang Kai waved his hand to calm the tumbling Spiritual Energy and take back the power of his Demon Eye of Annihilation, what was left, floating high up in the sky above his Knowledge Sea, was a mass of pure Spiritual Energy where Mad Crocodile’s Soul was completely extinguished!
Looking at the mass of energy, Yang Kai’s eyes burned.
This was what was left after Mad Crocodile’s Soul had been purified, and it contained his understanding of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao as well as his insight into Domain!
This was a Third-Order Origin King master’s lifetime worth of cultivation experience!
Its value was immeasurable.
If he could cleanly absorb this mass Spiritual Energy, Yang Kai knew he would experience tremendous growth and very possibly save himself many years of hard work.
Thinking so, Yang Kai sent his consciousness back to his body and began sweeping his eyes around. Walking over to the dead Xue Lian and the other dead Monster Race rising stars, Yang Kai collected their Monster Cores and Space Rings, used his Demonic Flames to burn their bodies to ashes, then turned around and flew back into the dark cave.
Xue Lian, Mi Tian, and Lie Feng were all extremely famous and powerful Origin Returning Realm masters on Monster Emperor Star, representing what was essentially the highest combat strength in the Origin Realm.
Their Monster Cores were naturally extremely valuable.
Yang Kai didn’t use their corpses to condense Blood Beasts as, with his current methods, he had no need for such means to confront his enemies.
Three Monster Cores equivalent to those of peak Ninth-Order Monster Beasts, if used well as Pill Spirits, could definitely allow Yang Kai to refine three Origin King Grade Spirit Pills!
He decided to use these three Monster Cores to refine particularly precious pills as Monster Cores of this grade were quite rare.
Inside the cave, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged then began savouring the taste of the mass of Spiritual Energy he had obtained, his expression changing between exhilaration joy, shock, and wonder.
A hundred kilometres outside the Blood Prison, inside a stone pavilion.
Luo Hai sat motionlessly with closed eyes.
Meanwhile, he was focusing his Divine Sense to cover the entire Blood Prison.
Although he couldn’t perceive anything inside too clearly, he could still get a general idea of what was happening.
Right now though, all of his focus was on Monster Mountain.
It seemed he had discovered something amazing and, since half an hour ago, his body had been trembling slightly and a great storm had been surging in the depths of his heart.
Because of the request of the old woman surnamed Lei and the others, he had been paying more attention to Yang Kai’s movements.
When Yang Kai entered Monster Mountain, Luo Hai had naturally noticed it, as well as the changes that followed.
In particular, the disappearance of the aura of the Origin Essence Crystal which was hidden on Monster Mountain caught his attention.
That Origin Essence Crystal had sat there for over ten thousand years, undisturbed, but not long after Yang Kai entered Monster Mountain, its aura had vanished. What this meant, Luo Hai naturally understood immediately.
The Origin Essence Crystal had been taken away by Yang Kai!
That was a treasure that even Luo Hai greatly coveted. He concealed the deep excitement in his heart, without showing the slightest hint of disturbance on his face so as not to alert the others around him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t constantly thinking about this treasure now.
A Monster King master had left that Origin Essence Crystal there after his death, and Luo Hai was not about to let it slip through his fingers as it was the key to him breaking through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
It was not just that Monster King that had dropped Origin Essence Crystals. Two other fallen Third-Order Origin King masters produced Origin Essence Crystals upon their deaths in that great war all those years ago. However, those two Origin Essence Crystals had already been taken, leaving only the Origin Essence Crystal of that Monster King, which was difficult to retrieve.
The rich Monster Qi enveloping Monster Mountain made no Human Race Origin Returning Realm cultivator dare to break in easily.
This time, however, someone had finally succeeded, so how could Luo Hai let him off?
Luo Hai already regarded the Origin Essence Crystal as something in his pocket!
However, he had the capital to back up such self-confidence as he was the Star Master of Green Mountains Star. As long as Yang Kai was still on Green Mountains Star, he could never escape his control.
When the time came, all he had to do was find this boy and ask him to hand over the Origin Essence Crystal; afterwards, he would give him some benefits and everyone would be satisfied.
If this boy wanted, Luo Hai was even prepared to accept him as a disciple!
This was the greatest honour and opportunity that one asked for.
Luo Hai had not been so excited in many years and was almost unable to keep up appearances! If not for him worrying about the other Origin Kings inside the stone pavilion seeing some kind of flaw, he would have already burst into laughter.
“Sir Luo Hai, the Blood Prison will close in ten days, right?” The old woman surnamed Lei suddenly asked.
“En,” Luo Hai nodded, “There is only ten days left, after which, the Domain inside the Blood Prison will erupt and force those little fellows out.”
“Haha, I wonder what kind of gains they’ll have this time. By the way, is that little Second-Order Origin Realm boy safe and sound?”
When Yang Kai was asked about, everyone opened their eyes and looked at Luo Hai, apparently quite concerned with the former’s condition.
“There’s no problem, this King can sense he’s still alive. You don’t have to worry about his safety.”
“Great, as long as he can walk out alive, this old lady will invite him to join Sword Union immediately!” The old woman was overjoyed.
“This boy has a boundless future. Although there are always some Second-Order Origin Returning Realm Juniors who don’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth and enter the Blood Prison, none ever survive while most fall within a few days. If he can emerge safely, his future will certainly be bright!”
“This old master can’t wait to see this little boy and find out what kind of background he has.”
“En, looking at his performance, the Star Field must have a place for him in the future.”
Everyone was speaking extremely highly of Yang Kai while Luo Hai simply smiled without interrupting. Only he understood how much more extraordinary Yang Kai was than everyone had thought.
…..
Inside the cave on Monster Mountain, Yang Kai had completely immersed himself in his comprehension and had lost track of the passage of time.
At a certain point, however, he frowned slightly and opened his eyes.
He noticed a faint change in the atmosphere of the Blood Prison as well as a trace of Domain suddenly appearing where he was on Monster Mountain.
Before coming here, Chi Yue had said that once the aura inside the Blood Prison changes, he must leave immediately, otherwise he would die without burial.
When this kind of change occurred, within five days, the entire Blood Prison would become a Restricted Area that no one could set foot into, filled with chaotic Domains that would not subside again until a thousand years later.
[It is time to leave!]
Slowly getting up and inspecting his gains, Yang Kai grinned widely.
He felt that his understanding of Shi had become much deeper and he was only one step away from the grand accomplishment stage. This step seemed very close but also far away, as if there was some kind of shackle holding him back from reaching it.
However, this wasn’t a big deal. After absorbing the remnant Spiritual Energy of Mad Crocodile Monster King, as long as he thoroughly digested the insights it contained, it wouldn’t be difficult for Yang Kai to reach the grand accomplishment stage in Shi.
Also, as soon as he broke through to the Origin King Realm, forming his own Domain would undoubtedly be easier.
This kind of benefit was something beyond Yang Kai’s reach until now and could only be realized once he reached the Origin King Realm.
Walking out of the cave, Yang Kai took a moment to orient himself before he shot off in a flash of light.
Two days later, in a small valley, Yang Kai appeared leisurely.
“Boy, you’re here!” A figure suddenly flashed from the side and landed in front of Yang Kai, looking at him with a smile.
“Senior Ba He!” Yang Kai turned and nodded to him.
“Brat, I thought you’d died after we didn’t hear from you for so long!” Yu Xiong appeared suddenly and greeted Yang Kai grimly, looking him up and down to see if he was missing any arms or legs.
“Yang Kai!” Shan Qing Luo smiled winningly and landed directly beside him, taking his arm.
Xue Sun appeared immediately after Shan Qing Luo, but only nodded faintly to Yang Kai without much expression.
“Seems like you’re all here,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Did you accomplish that task Adoptive Mother gave you?” Yu Xiong walked over to Yang Kai and asked curiously.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand and wiped his Space Ring, taking out a round crystal-like object and tossed it to Yu Xiong.
Yu Xiong caught it nervously and carefully observed it.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes were drawn to this pure crystal, their eyes growing extremely hot.
“This is… an Origin Essence Crystal?” Ba He gulped hard as he stared at the Origin Essence Crystal without blinking. Even the most indifferent Xue Sun had her breathing turn rapid.
“It’s not fake, right?” Yu Xiong looked up at Yang Kai.
“What do you think?” Yang Kai snickered.
“Doesn’t look like it!” Yu Xiong shook his head then hurriedly took out a jade box from his Space Ring before carefully storing the Origin Essence Crystal into it and putting it away. He then turned to look at Yang Kai with a somewhat complex expression and said, “Little brat, you’re certainly decisive enough. En, this is the second half of the Monster Transformation Secret Art that Adoptive Mother gave me to hold onto.”
Saying so, he tossed something that looked like an ancient book towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai caught it then began flipping through it quickly. After confirming that there were no problems with it, he nodded and said, “I’ve completed the task assigned to me by Senior Chi Yue, now that I’ve handed that thing over to you, it has nothing to do with me anymore.”
“Don’t worry,” Yu Xiong grinned, “With so many of us, we aren’t afraid we will lose it.”
Yang Kai didn’t say anymore on this subject and instead turned to look at Shan Qing Luo and whispered, “Come with me, I have something to say to you.”
“Okay,” Shan Qing Luo nodded and walked off a short distance with Yang Kai.
As if realizing what was about to happen, Shan Qing Luo’s mood suddenly became a little depressed.
Everything around her suddenly lost colour and became bleak.
Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo stared at each other as a reluctant atmosphere filled the space between them.
After a long silence, Yang Kai sighed and asked, “I met some guys before that seemed to have fought with you. One of them even said he hurt you, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, my Saint Qi was only disturbed a bit by his attack, he didn’t even cause a minor wound,” Shan Qing Luo slowly shook her head. “Are they dead?”
After having met Yang Kai, it would be strange if that group was still alive.
“En.”
“You’re much stronger than me now. When we were back in the Ash-Grey Cloud Evil Land before, I was the one protecting you,” Shan Qing Luo laughed lightly.
It had only been a few dozen years, yet the fledgling boy she met that day had already walked ahead of her, and that was even after she obtained the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider’s Source.
“Back then… things were quite good,” Yang Kai’s eyes showed a look of remembrance and his smile became ambiguous.
Shan Qing Luo clearly understood what he was referring to and gave him an amorous look.
“Are you going back to Monster Emperor Star?” Yang Kai asked suddenly.
“Adoptive Mother has been very good to me, I can’t just leave her like this,” Shan Qing Luo’s expression instantly saddened, “Moreover, I don’t want to burden you in the future. I am now a Half-Monster Race, and Monster Emperor Star is the most suitable place for me to cultivate. If I leave with you, I will only become a burden to you later, I don’t want that!”
Yang Kai made her feel a great sense of pressure, and if she wanted to walk beside him from now on, she could not settle for temporary satisfaction. Shan Qing Luo knew this better than anyone else.
Yang Kai nodded slightly to express his understanding.
He had considered all of this long ago, so when Shan Qing Luo said it out loud, he wasn’t surprised at all.
“What about you? Are you leaving?”
“En,” Yang Kai smiled lightly, “I picked up the people from the Central Capital and Tong Xuan Realm and will be taking them to a Cultivation Star called Shadowed Star, which is very remote. If there is a chance, I will come to Monster Emperor Star again to see you.”
Shan Qing Luo bit her red lips and clenched her fist tightly, a layer of mist forming across her eyes as she said faintly, “When we last separated, we didn’t even get to say goodbye and it took thirty years for us to reunite. I don’t even know how long we will be apart this time.”
Yang Kai reached out, took her delicate hand, and placed it over his heart as he brought her into his embrace.
Shan Qing Luo looked up and her beautiful eyes blossomed with an amazing brilliance.
Blushing, she held Yang Kai’s hand and also placed it over her heart.
‘You are in my heart, and I am in yours’, such words were left unspoken because there was no need to say them out loud…
Standing up on her tiptoes, Shan Qing Luo closed her eyes tightly as her long eyelashes quivered and she pressed her red lips towards Yang Kai.
“Ah youth…” Not far away, Ba He waxed nostalgically as he crossed his arms and turned his eyes towards the sky.
“Seems my future brother-in-law has been decided,” Yu Xiong grinned as he winked towards Xue Sun.
Xue Sun’s face and neck blushed red as she quickly lowered her gaze and stared at the ground as if trying to find an ant.
Yang Kai’s blood began to boil and his breathing became rapid as he tasted the sweetness and beauty of Shan Qing Luo. Although the Beguiling Demon Queen had charms which could enchant any living creature, this was actually her first time engaging in such an act. So, naturally, she was not Yang Kai’s opponent.
Soon, Shan Qing Luo felt embarrassed with her defeat. Her whole being felt like she was floating on the clouds while her body seemed to no longer belong to herself.
Suddenly, Yang Kai let out a yelp and pulled his mouth back.
Shan Qing Luo took this opportunity to escape from his wicked clutches and withdrew a few steps back, a half-full expression remaining on her face as she clenched her teeth and stared towards Yang Kai.
“Why did you bite me?” Yang Kai asked, aggrieved.
“To commemorate the occasion, and to make sure you don’t forget about me even when we’re apart!” Shan Qing Luo giggled and smiled as tears fell from her eyes and she whispered, “Go now, if you don’t… I’m afraid I won’t be able to let you leave.”
She seemed to have made an extremely difficult decision, and her tender body was trembling slightly.
Yang Kai licked his lips and nodded, “Take care of yourself!”
Saying so, he took out a Space Ring and handed it to Shan Qing Luo, “Take this as well, but don’t show its content to anyone.”
“What’s inside?” Shan Qing Luo looked at him suspiciously.
“You’ll understand soon enough,” Yang Kai grinned, not making things clear before turning towards where Ba He and the others were waiting and shouting, “You should all depart now, there’s no need to wait for Xue Lian and the rest of them.”
As soon as he left these words, Space Force wrapped Yang Kai and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.
Shan Qing Luo opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything in the end.
Ba He and the others stood in place and looked at each other.
Shan Qing Luo seemed to be in a daze as she held the Space Ring in her small hands, feeling Yang Kai’s lingering warmth on it.
Sinking her Divine Sense into it, and after seeing what was in the Space Ring, Shan Qing Luo immediately flashed a shocked expression.
Inside this Space Ring were at least two hundred Domain Stones!
She almost thought that she was seeing things, but after carefully examining these things, Shan Qing Luo confirmed they were really Domain Stones, each one emitting a gentle Domain aura.
[So many!] Shan Qing Luo was astonished, and her tender body couldn’t help shivering slightly.
One had to know that, over the entire time she spent in the Blood Prison, she had only managed to acquire three Domain Stones. She obtained these three after much painstaking effort and thought she had reaped a great harvest.
Yu Xiong only got a single piece while Ba He managed to acquire two.
But Yang Kai had unexpectedly given her two hundred pieces all at once! This number was enough to drive anyone crazy.
But where had he obtained so many Domain Stones?
After recovering from her initial shock, Shan Qing Luo laughed sweetly as she gripped the Space Ring a little tighter.
With so many Domain Stones, she was confident that she could reach the Origin King Realm in a very short time, and that she would not become a burden to Yang Kai in the future.
“Don’t wait for Xue Lian and the others? What does that mean?” Yu Xiong looked confused.
Ba He’s face dimmed as his eyes flashed, clearly understanding what Yang Kai’s last words implied, and simply waved, “Let’s go, there’s no need to wait.”
Xue Sun also flew over and landed beside the still smiling Shan Qing Luo and pulled her towards a well-concealed Void Corridor nearby.
This Void Corridor had existed in this valley since ancient times and led to a place a million kilometres outside Green Mountains Star. The Monster Race cultivator from Monster Emperor Star always left through this Void Corridor after the Blood Prison closed.
With Ba He, Yu Xiong, and the other’s cultivations, after leaving the Void Corridor, they would need to fly through the Starry Sky for three or four months before returning to Monster Emperor Star.
Fortunately, there wasn’t much danger along this road, so they didn’t have anything to worry about on the way.
Two days later, Yang Kai left the Blood Prison and arrived at a vast wilderness.
Sporadic cultivators appeared one after another from inside the Blood Prison, either alone or in groups, but without exception looking both excited and sad.
Excited because they survived the Blood Prison Trial, an achievement that proved they had the qualifications to condense their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage and possibly break through to the Origin King Realm.
Even if they could not break through in the end, they could still become top-level Origin Realm masters after this experience.
They were also sad because many of their companions had died!
Some great forces even had all the cultivators they sent to participate in the Blood Prison Trial annihilated inside, such as Scarlet Wave Star’s Brilliant Flame Sect.
Above the wilderness, countless cultivators were waiting for their fellow Sect companions to emerge, and once they found them, they would smile and greet them enthusiastically with a look of expectation and hope in their eyes.
Naturally, no one came to welcome Yang Kai.
Shan Qing Luo and the others who came with him from Monster Emperor Star had headed back there.
Yang Kai did not care about these people’s excitement and instead released his Divine Sense to start looking for Qian Tong and the others.
He came out late so Qian Tong and the others should have come out long ago!
Soon, he noticed a familiar aura and turned to fly off in a certain direction.
Not far from there, a group of people who seemed to have a strong background were surrounding a beautiful young woman, trying their best to win her over. All of their expressions were extremely sincere, and they were constantly sending out attractive offers.
“Madam, if you don’t have a particular destination in mind, why not come to my Blue Radish Sect? With your cultivation and strength, as long as you join, you can immediately become an Outer Sect Elder, have your own Spirit Peak, and be provided with a generous amount of Saint Crystals and pills every month. My Blue Radish Sect has seventy-two main peaks, one of which is empty as we have not found a suitable owner until today.”
“What does the Blue Radish Sect count for? Madam, come to our Heavenly Dream Palace, we have an Origin King Realm Master who commands Heavenly Dream Palace so you will have an opportunity to receive guidance in the mysteries of Domain every three years if you join us. Madam cannot miss this opportunity.”
“If Madam is willing to join my Imperial Spirit Pavilion, this old master can guarantee that you will become an Inner Sect Elder right away. My Imperial Spirit Pavilion will also do its best to help you cultivate so you can make a breakthrough to the Origin King Realm as soon as possible!”
The beautiful young woman turned a deaf ear to the noise around her and simply stood in place with a frown on her brow, seemingly waiting for someone as she would look around from time to time.
After becoming somewhat annoyed with all the noise around her though, she finally shook her head and said, “I apologize to everyone here, but this Mistress already has a Sect and does not plan to leave it, so please don’t waste your time with me.”
“It doesn’t matter if you already have a Sect,” The old man from Imperial Spirit Pavilion who had previously invited her to join laughed, “This old master won’t insist you leave your current Sect. Madam can simply join my Imperial Spirit Pavilion as you are now without any trouble.”
In order to win over this beautiful young woman, he didn’t mind offering extremely generous conditions, not even minding her already having a Sect she belonged to.
“I’m sorry, but I have no such intentions,” The young woman still shook her head.
“Elder Lin,” Yang Kai walked over suddenly and called out.
Hearing this call, Lin Yu Rao’s beautiful eyes lit up and she quickly turned her gaze towards him and called out cheerfully, “Sect Master, you finally came out.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and looked around, “Why are you alone, where are Qian Tong and the others?”
Lin Yu Rao’s expression turned complicated as she whispered, “It’s not convenient to talk here, let’s talk while walking.”
Seeing this kind of look on her face, Yang Kai did not ask any questions and simply nodded, “Alright.”
“Friend, please wait!” Seeing that Yang Kai was about to take Lin Yu Rao away, the people who had been surrounding her suddenly became anxious and hurriedly stood in front of Yang Kai.
“Do you have something you need to say?” Yang Kai frowned.
The old man who had been speaking happily just now cupped his fists and asked politely, “Friend, are you the Sect Master of this lady here?”
“Yes, what of it?”
“Nothing much, this old master is Imperial Spirit Pavilion’s Great Elder, and would like to invite this lady on behalf of my Sect to join our pavilion as an Inner Sect Elder!” The old man saw that Yang Kai was just a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and could not help feeling somewhat contemptuous, otherwise, how could he continue trying to poach Lin Yu Rao right before Yang Kai’s eyes?
After all, this kind of thing was a bit improper…
“Do all of you have such intentions?” Yang Kai looked around at the rest of the crowd.
“Indeed,” Those people nodded, their expressions calm.
“And your opinion?” Yang Kai turned to look at Lin Yu Rao.
“Why would Sect Master ask such a question? This Mistress won’t leave High Heaven Sect,” Lin Yu Rao brushed her hair behind her ear and responded lightly.
Yang Kai nodded, “All of you heard her, yes? Since that is settled, let’s leave.”
Saying so, Yang Kai tried to lead Lin Yu Rao off.
“Madam, are you certain you don’t want to think about this matter more carefully? If you feel that this old master’s offer is not sincere enough, we can still discuss it, everything is open to negotiation,” The old man still chattered and followed Lin Yu Rao.
“Scram!” Yang Kai shouted coldly as he glared at the old man.
These people had greeted him with smiles, so Yang Kai did not want to embarrass them directly and instead asked Lin Yu Rao for her opinion. But after the other party got Lin Yu Rao’s answer, he was still reluctant to give up, which was nothing less than a slap in the face.
Facing such naked contempt, Yang Kai was not about to just sit back in silence.
The old man was stunned for a moment before his face immediately turned gloomy and he snickered, “Brat, this is none of your concern, you’d better close your mouth obediently otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Yang Kai looked back at him coldly.
“Otherwise, you’ll regret it. Do not think that because you are a so-called ‘Sect Master’ you can act rampantly. What thing are you? As a Sect Master, how can you have a cultivation level inferior to one of your Elders? What kind of Sect Master are you? In my opinion, this madam serving you is a waste of her talents, talents that would be better put to use in my Imperial Spirit Pavilion where she will certainly have a brighter future.”
As the old man spoke, the other cultivators who wanted to invite Lin Yu Rao began calling out as well, belittling Yang Kai’s cultivation and trying to force him to back down and not ruin Lin Yu Rao’s future.
“What are you quarrelling about?” Yang Kai was annoyed and said coldly, “Elder Lin has already rejected you, yet you are still trying to bother her, are you not putting me in your eyes at all?”
“Does this old master need to put you in his eyes? Nonsense!” The old man said coldly snorted.
Everyone else looked at Yang Kai disdainfully, obviously not paying attention to him.
The conflict here had attracted a lot of attention, but seeing how Yang Kai was just a trivial Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and that he had provoked so many enemies all at once, many began wearing sympathetic looks, feeling that Yang Kai had eyes but failed to see and would certainly suffer a big loss.
“Old man, if you don’t want to die, I would stop provoking him. Don’t just look at his cultivation, he’s not someone you can handle,” An abrupt voice interrupted, causing the old man and the others around him to frown. Turning around, they saw that the source of this sound was an ordinary-looking young man standing nearby with his arms folded across his chest and a mocking grin on his face.
Being so disdained, the old man was naturally angry and his face sank, but just as he was about to retort, he caught sight of a three-petal flower pattern embroidered on the chest of the young man’s clothes. As if thinking of something, his expression changed slightly and he cupped his fists politely and asked, “May I ask this friend, who is Senior Wu Dao to you?”
The young man said lightly, “My Master!”
Gasps resounded all around as everyone present stared at this young man in shock, disbelief, and deep envy.
“Heavens, this person is actually a disciple of Senior Wu Dao.”
“It was rumoured that Senior Wu Dao accepted a disciple fifty years ago but unfortunately no one knows who it was. It turns out to be him.”
“He actually came to participate in the Blood Prison Trial.”
“What did he mean just now then? Does that Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy have some kind of incredible background like him?”
After learning that this young man turned out to be Senior Wu Dao’s disciple, everyone looked at him with awe and envy.
The old man of the Imperial Spirit Pavilion did not dare ignore this young man’s warning just now anymore, frowned, and asked, “This friend, a moment ago, what did you…”
The young man still maintained a relaxed look and just shook his head faintly, “You all heard what I said just now, what more do you want to ask? If you want to die, keep trying to provoke him.”
The old man’s face turned pale as he shot a fear-filled glance towards Yang Kai. Now, it was as if he could see some kind of massive shadow behind Yang Kai, one he didn’t dare act presumptuously before anymore.
Yang Kai was also confused at the moment as he observed this young man curiously.
From the reactions of everyone around, Yang Kai had already figured out that this young man’s background was not trivial. This so-called Senior Wu Dao was obviously an Origin King Realm master.
If this wasn’t the case, the crowd would not have had such an exaggerated reaction.
However, why was this person trying to help him? Moreover, Yang Kai somehow felt that this young man was a bit familiar, as if he had met him somewhere before.
“Friend, I’ve paid back the favour I owe you from the Blood Prison. From now on, we don’t have any debts between us,” The youth grinned at Yang Kai.
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai suddenly remembered!
He really had met this young man before, he was one of the thirty or so people who had retreated from Domain Stone Mountain at that time! Before leaving, he had faintly nodded to express his gratitude to Yang Kai.
There were too many people at that time who had made such a gesture though, so Yang Kai had not paid it much mind.
It seemed the so called favour was referring to this. Yang Kai finally understood.
The other party was obviously thanking him for his warning at that time, which had turned out to be life saving advice.
[This person is rather interesting.] Yang Kai smiled and politely cupped his fists as he reported his name, “Yang Kai!”
“Xu Bin Bai!” The young man replied.
Yang Kai gently nodded while faintly sensing that this young man wasn’t simple. This had nothing to do with him having an Origin King Realm master behind him, more like he himself was special.
This was purely intuition without any basis at all.
But Yang Kai trusted his instincts!
Nevertheless, the two didn’t have any kind of deep friendship or grudge, so Yang Kai didn’t pay him too much mind. Just as he was about to leave with Lin Yu Rao, however, the surrounding World Energy suddenly trembled, as if it was pounded by a giant hammer, sending powerful vibrations out across a vast area and causing everyone’s expressions to change dramatically.
Soon, a mysterious energy emerged from a distant place and pierced everyone’s hearts like a sharp sword.
Yang Kai frowned as he turned to look in the direction this force came from.
Xu Bin Bai also showed a look of surprise, but quickly thinking of something, his expression changed sharply.
“Someone is going to try to break through to the Origin King Realm!” Someone suddenly sounded.
These words immediately broke the surrounding silence.
Everyone turned to look at the speaker in unison with amazement.
“Is that true?”
“En, this is definitely a precursor to someone breaking through to the Origin King Realm. This old master had the honour to witness such a breakthrough before, and although that was many years ago, that memory is still fresh in this old master’s mind. This feeling is exactly the same as the one from that year. There is definitely someone who wants to break through to the Origin King Realm!” The person who spoke explained eloquently.
“It must be some master who emerged from the Blood Prison just now. It seems this person had significant gains in the Blood Prison and decided to make a breakthrough as soon as he came out.”
“The Blood Prison is really a good place and this person’s luck is also quite good.”
“Why are we all just standing around here? We need to hurry up and watch the excitement. The breakthrough of an Origin King isn’t something that can be seen casually. I really want to know who it is that had such good luck.”
The breakthrough of a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master was generally carefully prepared for. The Sect they belonged to would support this breakthrough with everything it had, opening its Sect Defending Array while also deploying all its disciples to stand guard and ensure that the one breaking through was not disturbed.
Those who didn’t have a Sect would invite trusted relatives and friends to protect them while they broke through in a hidden or safe location.
Few people failed to make perfect preparations.
Therefore, the breakthrough of an Origin King was extremely difficult to witness.
But right now, there was a master in the middle of nowhere who was about to try to make a breakthrough.
This person had obviously not made full preparations and acted hastily.
This kind of good show was something one could rarely see even once in thousands of years.
How could the countless cultivators outside the Blood Prison miss such a good opportunity? By observing and emulating the breakthrough of an Origin King Realm master, they could gain a great deal of experience as well as perhaps learning something about Domain, benefits that would last them a lifetime.
As such, after understanding the truth of this matter, the cultivators gathered outside the Blood Prison summoned their Star Shuttles one after another and flew off to seek this unknown master.
“Sect Master!” Lin Yu Rao’s pretty face turned pale as her tender body trembled slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai frowned when he realized that she was not looking right.
“If I’m not mistaken, the one trying to break through… should be Qian Tong!” Lin Yu Rao quickly said.
“What?” Yang Kai was shocked, his expression suddenly turning solemn, “Are you certain it’s really Elder Qian?”
“At least eighty percent!” Lin Yu Rao bit her red lip, “The reason Elder Qian didn’t wait for you here was that he felt his Qi swelling up and showing signs of a breakthrough, so he quickly left hoping to find a secluded place to break through, but now… it seems he was too late.”
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. If the person who was breaking through was indeed Qian Tong, then the current situation was far from ideal.
Outside the Blood Prison, there were at least a thousand cultivators with about seventy or eighty percent of them being Origin Realm masters. At this moment, all of these outside cultivators were rushing towards the place where Qian Tong was trying to break through, and if they were to disturb him in some way, it might cause his breakthrough to fail. At best, Qian Tong would suffer serious wounds while at worst, he would die on the spot.
Yang Kai didn’t know what kind of scene would appear during a breakthrough to the Origin King Realm, but inferring from his breakthrough to the Origin Returning Realm, it would definitely not be simple. The World Energy baptism that was surely to come would be a huge test for Qian Tong, one that others could absolutely not be permitted to interfere with.
Unexpectedly, it was Qian Tong who crossed this threshold first! Yang Kai felt somewhat surprised.
After all, when he separated from them at Domain Stone Mountain, Qian Tong showed no signs of breaking through. It seemed like Qian Tong had another significant opportunity over the past few days.
Yang Kai’s speed was incredible even without using a Star Shuttle. A pair of almost transparent wings appeared behind him and the sound of roaring wind and thunder resounded as he shot forward, overtaking cultivator after cultivator.
Suddenly, Yang Kai sensed something and turned his head to the side.
Not far away, a figure was moving at a pace on par with his own, and noticing Yang Kai’s gaze, this person turned his head and smiled at him.
Xu Bin Bai! This guy really wasn’t simple, not only able to keep up with his speed but doing so in an obviously relaxed manner.
“Brother Yang, your wings are quite impressive,” Xu Bin Bai glanced at the Wind and Thunder Wings behind Yang Kai and a hint of appreciation flashed across his eyes.
Every time these wings flapped, Yang Kai’s body would make a great leap forward, one Xu Bin Bai had to use significant effort to keep up with.
“You as well!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“To each their own,” Xu Bin Bai smiled slightly and asked thoughtfully. “Brother Yang, is the reason you’re acting so anxious because the person trying to break through is related to you?”
“En, that person is indeed related to me!” Yang Kai was in no mood to chat so he simply answered directly.
“Oh? Then this Xu will offer his congratulations to Brother Yang. The addition of an Origin King to a Sect is a very big event. If you have use of this Xu in the coming moments, Brother Yang just needs to ask.”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up hearing this and quickly cupped his fists, “Then I shall thank Brother Xu in advance.”
The other party being willing to help was naturally a great boon. Even though Yang Kai did not know how strong an Origin King Wu Dao was, it could be seen from everyone’s attitude towards Xu Bin Bai before that even amongst Origin Kings, his Master Wu Dao was extremely powerful.
Taking advantage of such a fierce tiger’s name would make things far more convenient.
By the time their chat ended, they had already arrived at their destination and Yang Kai fell to the ground with a loud crash like a meteor next to a few people.
The next moment, Xu Bin Bai landed lightly nearby.
“Sect Master, you’re here!” Yang Xiu Zhu and Chu Han Yi saw Yang Kai arrive and their expressions brightened as they quickly saluted.
Mo Yu also nodded lightly while Zhao Tian Ze stepped forward to greet Yang Kai.
Looking around and seeing that everyone he knew was safe, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief before asking in a deep voice, “Is it Elder Qian?”
“En!” Chu Han Yi frowned, “It happened so suddenly that all of us were caught off guard!”
They obviously also understood the seriousness of the problem. Breaking through here was not a good thing and had turned what should be a happy event into a troublesome one.
Zhao Tian Ze smiled bitterly, “Originally, this old master was going to take Elder Qian to a place five hundred thousand kilometres away. There’s an isolated region there that few travel through and the World Energy is also rich enough, but…”
“It’s not your fault,” Yang Kai frowned, “By the way, City Lord Zhao, what did Elder Qian encounter that allowed him to suddenly achieve a breakthrough?”
“We didn’t encounter anything in particular, it’s just that after separating from you, Elder Qian broke into a few Domain Vortices and seemed to gain a great deal from them,” Zhao Tian Ze replied respectfully.
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded gently.
Everyone who had come with Yang Kai to Green Mountains Star had been stuck at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm for many years and all had the qualifications to attempt to reach the Origin King Realm. All they were lacking was a greater comprehension of Shi and the appropriate opportunity.
As long as they could condense their Shi to the grand accomplishment stage, they could attempt a breakthrough.
Qian Tong clearly met this requirement.
This was his opportunity and fate!
As Yang Kai’s group was talking, more and more cultivators rushed to this place while around Qian Tong, the World Energy became more and more violent. There was also a mysterious power which was permeating throughout the surroundings. At first this power spread out slowly, but in the blink of an eye it had suddenly expanded greatly.
Qian Tong’s Shi!
Within a range of several thousand metres, winds roared and small tornadoes formed one after another, sealing off the region entirely while creating a violent and shocking display.
Qian Tong’s Shi had indeed reached the grand accomplishment stage and he had successfully integrated his own unique power into it.
“Sure enough, there is someone trying to break through to the Origin King Realm!” A cultivator who arrived here shouted as many stared wide-eyes towards this scene, all of them hoping to get closer and see it more clearly.
Some people actually passed by the location where Yang Kai and his group were standing and approached very closely to try to comprehend the many mysteries which were swirling about.
These were Qian Tong’s insights into the mysteries of the Origin King Realm. When he was breaking through, these insights would diffuse outwards without reservation and were extremely attractive to any Origin Returning Realm master.
Yang Kai’s face sank and he quickly flew up into the air, cupped his fists to those below, and shouted loudly, “Everyone, please don’t get too close so as not to disturb the concentration of this Yang’s Senior!”
The cultivators who had approached closely, however, just snorted disdainfully towards Yang Kai, not caring about him at all.
Being able to observe the breakthrough of an Origin King was a one in ten thousand year event, something rarer than the Blood Prison Trial opening, so how could these people give up this opportunity just because of Yang Kai’s request?
All of them couldn’t wait to get even closer!
“If everyone could give this Yang a little face, this Yang would be extremely grateful!” Yang Kai was extremely annoyed and wanted to use force to deter these people, but out of concern for Qian Tong’s breakthrough, he had to suppress his anger and act politely.
“What the hell do you count for? Us standing here is not interfering with anything, much less making trouble. This isn’t your house, so you have no right to tell us what we can do,” Someone yelled in dissatisfaction.
“That is right, a trivial Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy dares try to tell us what to do? You’d best hope this old master doesn’t come over there and waste you!”
“Young man, you should watch your tongue, this isn’t a place you can speak freely.”
Many people mocked him while the rest simply didn’t take him seriously.
Yang Kai’s face went ashen!
“Everyone, while another is trying to break through, isn’t it inappropriate for you to run over and disturb them? One day, when you are all trying to break through, how would you like it if this Xu ran over to bother you?” Xu Bin Bai grinned meaningfully, his voice not loud but still clearly reaching everyone’s ear.
“Little brat, who do you think you are?”
“Young people nowadays really don’t know how to respect their elders, mouthing off so unscrupulously will only cause you to suffer a big loss sooner or later!”
“You’re courting death, that guy is Senior Wu Dao’s disciple! Do you dare speak to him like that?”
Not everyone knew about Xu Bin Bai’s origins, but someone who had overheard the conversation between Xu Bin Bai and the Imperial Spirit Pavilion Elder outside the Blood Prison earlier and knew his identity quickly warned his companion in a low voice.
“What? Senior Wu Dao’s disciple? Are you sure?”
“It can’t be, it’s said that Senior Wu Dao hasn’t shown up for hundreds of years, when did he take a disciple?”
“Believe what you want, just don’t blame me for not warning you when you suffer the consequences later.”
“Ah… it’s true, look at that pattern on his chest. That’s clearly Senior Wu Dao’s three-petal emblem! Only those closest to Senior Wu Dao are eligible to wear it.”
“Heavens, Senior Wu Dao’s disciple! This young man’s achievements in the future will certainly be limitless.”
“Could it be fake?”
“Who would dare fake such an emblem? Wouldn’t that be asking for death?”
“So he really is Senior Wu Dao’s disciple…”
After learning the identity of Xu Bin Bai, the cultivators who had been acting so arrogantly before and weren’t taking Yang Kai seriously became gloomy, regretting that they had been rude just now and spoken up before confirming their opponent’s background first.
Xu Bin Bai just chuckled lightly, “What’s more, this friend will soon break through to the Origin King Realm. If you dare act presumptuously here, aren’t you worried he will try to find trouble with you after he succeeds?”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone paled greatly!
While Xu Bin Bai’s identity made these people cautious, this sentence truly frightened them.
They just wanted to watch the excitement out of curiosity and to reap some benefits, but they had failed to consider the ramifications until after Xu Bin Bai reminded them.
Someone here would soon break through to the Origin King Realm. If their breakthrough failed, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about as this would likely result in this person’s soul being extinguished under the violent World Energy baptism, but if this person succeeded and became a true Origin King, would he let them off after they caused trouble for him during such a critical moment?
Continuing to remain here to observe and emulate would lead them to a dead end in that case!
At this point, all the cultivators who were cursing Yang Kai earlier turned to Xu Bin Bai and cupped their fists, “Many thanks for this friend’s reminder!”
Saying so, they began to withdraw quickly while wearing awkward smiles and nodding to Yang Kai, “This little brother, this one was simply hot-blooded a moment ago and meant no offence, please don’t mind!”
Others also laughed and apologized.
Yang Kai’s complexion cleared up and he nodded gently, “Everyone is too polite. This Yang was also a bit presumptuous a moment ago. As long as everyone stands a little further away and does not affect the breakthrough of this Yang’s Senior, this Yang will naturally not interfere.”
“Good, good, good, many thanks, Little Brother.”
The tense scene relaxed invisibly as all the cultivators who were standing close backed off on their own initiative.
Yang Xiu Zhu, Chu Han Yi, and the others secretly wiped cold sweat from their brows.
Yang Kai landed and nodded lightly to Xu Bin Bai while saying gratefully, “Many thanks Brother Xu for your assistance, this Yang will not forget this favour.”
“It was nothing, Brother Yang doesn’t need to worry,” Xu Bin Bai smiled freely.
At this moment, an uproar suddenly occurred.
“Heavens, Sir Luo Hai has come.”
“The movement here naturally alerted Sir Luo Hai; after all, he is the Star Master of Green Mountains Star.”
“Many other Origin Kings have come as well! Isn’t that Senior Lei from Sword Union?”
“Look, that’s Senior Li Wan Ning from Purple Star.”
“That’s Old Jiu of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce…”
Eight Origin Kings suddenly appeared and were instantly recognized by the crowd; after all, these characters weren’t like Wu Dao who never showed his face. Although these masters were also rarely seen, they still showed up occasionally throughout the Star Field and each had resounding reputations.
These Origin Kings appeared on the distant horizon, but they soon arrived above the crowd under Luo Hai’s lead.
An invisible force surrounded these figures and all those who were close to them involuntarily withdrew a large distance, automatically forming a three hundred metre space around them.
“Ho, an Origin King is about to be born right after the Blood Prison. From the looks of it, this person has obviously touched the threshold of Domain. If he’s lucky enough, he will break through soon!” Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s Old Jiu commented as his sharp eyes gazed towards the swirling mass of World Energy around Qian Tong’s location. Frowning slightly, he continued, “This old master hasn’t seen this person before. I wonder what great force he comes from.”
The beautiful woman named Li Wan Ning from Purple Star laughed, “Old Jiu, do you want to win him over as well? If that’s your plan, why not just speak frankly instead of trying to cover your intentions so thinly?”
“How is this old master hiding things? Don’t all of you have the same idea?” Old Jiu snorted lightly.
The others just laughed and said nothing, obviously indicating that Old Jiu was right.
“This person must certainly be won over, but this old lady is more interested in that mysterious little boy. Sir Luo Hai, where is that boy now? Is he around here?” The old woman of Sword Union asked as she clutched her cane and looked around, her eyes stopping for a moment on each Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator she found.
Luo Hai’s expression flickered, but he didn’t try to hide anything, simply nodding and saying, “He’s here, as for who he is, exactly, I think that’s not difficult to tell with your Divine Senses, right?”
“Since Sir Luo Hai has said so, then this old man will not hold back!” A burly looking man grinned meaningfully while releasing his powerful Divine Sense.
The same was true for all the others.
In an instant, seven or eight Divine Senses that belonged to Origin King Realm masters scanned all the surrounding cultivators one after another, shocking everyone and causing them to wonder what these powerful masters wanted.
“It’s him!” Old Jiu suddenly let out a low voice as his eyes fixed on Yang Kai.
Immediately after him, everyone noticed the existence of Yang Kai.
Although there were more than a thousand people present, there weren’t that many Second-Order Origin Realm cultivators, and among these Second-Order Origin Realm cultivators, Yang Kai’s Saint Qi and vitality were by far the strongest.
“This boy is truly exceptional. His Saint Qi is almost twice as dense as an average Third-Order Origin Realm! No wonder he was able to traverse the Blood Prison freely,” Old Jiu smiled and nodded with satisfaction.
“This old lady is also curious what kind of Body Tempering Secret Art he cultivates, his vitality is far stronger than normal,” A curious glint flashed across the old woman surnamed Lei’s eyes.
“This boy is simply incredible.”
“Why waste time standing here evaluating him? It’s best if we just talk to him in person, or are you worried he’ll try to bite?” The beautiful woman named Li Wan Ning smiled before swiftly landing and gracefully stepping towards Yang Kai, her enchanting eyes fixing on his face.
Yang Kai frowned suddenly.
These Origin King Realm masters arriving here suddenly had stunned Yang Kai, but he quickly reasoned that they had detected Qian Tong’s breakthrough and had come to observe. Still, this left him nervous about their intentions.
Origin Kings were peak level masters, so let alone eight of them, even one arriving here would be enough to make people anxious.
Yang Kai immediately became vigilant, but seeing this beautiful woman suddenly focus on him and even walk over towards him, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling confused.
Immediately after this beautiful woman approached, the other Origin Kings also started walking over towards him…
What did they want with him?
Yang Kai instinctually began circulating his Saint Qi, his expression becoming alert.
With his current strength, beneath the Origin King Realm Yang Kai was invincible, but in the face of a genuine Origin King, he would have no choice but to flee, and if he were to make a single mistake, he would certainly die.
The gap between the Origin King Realm and the Origin Returning Realm was simply too big, otherwise throughout the entire Star Field there wouldn’t have been so many cultivators trapped at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm and there would be far more Origin Kings.
“Brother Yang, don’t be nervous,” Xu Bin Bai’s voice suddenly called out, seemingly aware of Yang Kai’s vigilance. “They shouldn’t have any malicious intent.”
“Why would you say that?” Yang Kai asked in a low voice.
“En, after every Blood Prison Trial, the Origin Kings from various great forces will try to win over some outstanding cultivators. This time is naturally no exception. I think they are all very interested in you, so they are coming over to try to recruit you.”
“Recruit me?” Yang Kai frowned, “I wasn’t the only one who came out of the Blood Prison, so why did they all settle on me?”
Xu Bin Bai smiled brilliantly, “This is naturally due to Brother Yang’s incredible performance in the Blood Prison. To be honest, even I feel great pressure when facing you!”
“My performance… how do they know about my performance in the Blood Prison?” Yang Kai’s face sank.
“They probably don’t know anything in detail, but Senior Luo Hai of Green Mountains Star can sense some things as he is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master,” Xu Bin Bai explained.
Yang Kai’s complexion changed hearing this as he suddenly realized that his situation wasn’t good.
As a Star Master, it was only natural to be able to sense what happens on the Cultivation Star of which one refined the Star Source.
However, this would also consume a great deal of power, and no Star Master was idle enough to simply be spying on others at will. If there was enough time for that, they might as well just cultivate instead.
Yang Kai naturally understood this as Xia Ning Chang was also a Star Master, although her situation was a bit special. With her ability, she was still able to perceive the situation everywhere in Tong Xuan Realm.
As a Second-Order Origin King, Luo Hai was several times stronger than Xia Ning Chang and probably had no difficulties perceiving the situation inside the Blood Prison.
Seeing the dark look on Yang Kai’s face, Xu Bin Bai immediately understood what he was worried about and chuckled, “Brother Yang doesn’t need to be too nervous. The chaotic power of Domain which floods the Blood Prison is so powerful that even Senior Luo Hai shouldn’t be able to perceive what happens inside too clearly.”
“Not too clearly?” Yang Ka’s brow rose.
“Yes, it is said that there is a barrier which was erected by the previous Star Master of Green Mountains Star using the power of its Star Source around the Blood Prison. The previous generation Star Master had a Third-Order Origin King cultivation, which is higher than the current Senior Luo Hai, so until Senior Luo Hai reaches a similar height, it should be difficult for him to overcome this barrier entirely,” Xu Bin Bai explained.
Yang Kai nodded slightly, his nervous expression relaxing somewhat.
However, even if what Xu Bin Bai said was true, Yang Kai remained a little uneasy.
The movement at Domain Stone Mountain wasn’t of concern as it was the Stone Puppet who was secretly acting at the time. As such, Yang Kai was confident that even if Luo Hai was paying attention, he would never have noticed what really happened.
However, the events on Monster Mountain were a different story.
Chi Yue and the other Tribal Lords knew about the existence of the Origin Essence Crystal there, so how could Luo Hai, as Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, not know?
Yang Kai had fought a great battle with Mad Crocodile Monster King on Monster Mountain after which he had taken the Origin Essence Crystal away with him…
[Does Luo Hai know about this?] Yang Kai didn’t dare to make arbitrary judgments, but the Origin Essence Crystal was a treasure that Chi Yue coveted greatly.
Chi Yue had the same cultivation as Luo Hai, so what she wanted, he must want as well!
Many thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind before he took a deep breath and restored his calm while shooting a glance towards the golden-crown-wearing Luo Hai.
The other party was also paying attention to him, and when their four eyes suddenly met, Yang Kai clearly saw Luo Hai’s eyes flash.
Yang Kai’s heart sank!
“Oh… Young Man, what’s the relationship between you and Senior Wu Dao?” The beautiful woman who had walked over to Yang Kai first and was about to ask him about himself suddenly noticed Xu Bin Bai standing beside Yang Kai as well as the three-petal flower pattern on his chest and asked in surprise.
“He is my Master!” Xu Bin Bai replied, neither humbly nor arrogantly.
“Senior Wu Dao is your master?” Li Wan Ning couldn’t help covering her mouth as a look of shock filled her face.
“What, this little guy is Senior Wu Dao’s disciple?” The other Origin Kings who were following behind also exclaimed, as if they had found something extraordinary, all of them turning to look at Xu Bin Bai with interest.
Even Luo Hai, who was the strongest amongst this group and who also possessed the highest status, showed a trace of shock. Obviously, he had not expected that someone with such immense background would participate in this Blood Prison Trial.
“Xu Bin Bai greets several Seniors!” Although Xu Bin Bai was a disciple of Wu Dao, he was still a Junior, so he didn’t dare act aloof when facing so many Origin Kings and politely offered his greetings.
“En, Little Brother need not act so polite.”
“That’s right, there are no outsiders here so there’s no need for such formality. This Zhou was fortunate enough to meet Senior Wu Dao five hundred years ago and suddenly became enlightened thanks to Senior’s advice. Only then was I able to break through to the Origin King Realm. Strictly speaking, Senior Wu Dao is this Zhou’s half-master, so you and I are fellow apprentice brothers.” The burly looking man wore a kind smile as he spoke to Xu Bin Bai. Even as an Origin King, he obviously didn’t care about his identity at all and highly praised Wu Dao.
“Senior Zhou must be joking; this Junior does not have the skill or ability to dare call Senior Zhou a brother!” Xu Bin Bai smiled lightly and said humbly.
“Hahaha. Senior Wu Dao seems to have found a promising successor. Little Boy, work hard so as not to lose face for Senior Wu Dao.”
“Junior will take Senior’s teachings to heart!” Xu Bin Bai replied.
“En, when you see Senior Wu Dao again, please extend him this Luo’s greetings,” Luo Hai exhorted him kindly.
“Junior will certainly deliver Senior Luo’s sentiments!” Xu Bin Bai nodded, “Master once said that if nothing unexpected happens, the next master to break through to the Third-Order Origin King will be Senior Luo Hai.”
When the various Origin Kings heard this, all of them turned a look of admiration towards Luo Hai, obviously treating such an evaluation from Wu Dao as extremely high praise.
“Really?” Luo Hai raised his brows, a look of pride appearing on his face as he laughed loudly. “Then this Luo will certainly do his best to live up to Senior Wu Dao’s high expectations!”
“Junior hopes that Senior achieves this accomplishment soon.”
“En, enough gossip though. All of you should do what you came here to do,” Luo Hai smiled and looked at Yang Kai with interest.
“How should we address this little brother?” Li Wan Ning was the first to ask, smiling at Yang Kai as a light floral fragrance wafted from her figure.
The others also stared at him with inquisitive eyes.
“Yang Kai!”
“Yang Kai?” Everyone heard this name and frowned, looking around at each other as they shook their heads slowly, indicating they had never heard this name before.
Generally, the rising stars in the Origin Returning Realm would have some fame associated with their names, but this was the first time they had heard of Yang Kai.
“Why does this old master feel like he’s heard someone mention your name before?” Only Old Jiu showed a thoughtful expression.
“Senior is…”
“This is Old Jiu of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!” The beautiful woman took the initiative to introduce Yang Kai.
“Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?” Yang Kai’s brow twitched, “Senior may have heard my name from Xue Yue.”
Old Jiu’s eyes lit up and he nodded and said, “That’s right, I heard about you from the Third Young Master. This old master remembers the last Third Young Master came back from the Emperor Garden he mentioned you several times. Is Little Brother familiar with Third Young Master?”
“En,” Yang Kai braced himself and nodded.
Rather than familiar, that woman Xue Yue couldn’t wait to cut him up into tiny little pieces…
“This is really fate!” Old Jiu was overjoyed, “It is no small matter for the Third Young Master to never forget a person. Little Brother, if you are willing to join my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, you can definitely become one of my Chamber of Commerce’s future high-level figures with your aptitude. You should understand just how influential my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce is in the Star Field, right?”
“Hey Old Jiu, this Mistress came here first, didn’t she? Isn’t it a bit unfair for you to suddenly cut in line?” Li Wan Ning saw Old Jiu speaking so straightly that she suddenly felt a little unhappy.
“How can this kind of thing be decided by a first-come-first-served attitude? Clearly, the one who strikes first has the advantage!” Old Jiu laughed loudly while he continued trying to win over Yang Kai, “Little Brother, Xue Yue Third Young Master rarely cares about any young talents, and this old master also knows a little bit about your strength and aptitude, so if you join my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, this old master can take responsibility to offer you this…”
Old Jiu began listing a set of attractive conditions that caused all the nearby cultivators who were listening to gasp and stare at Yang Kai with envy and jealousy, wishing they could rush up and recommend themselves while begging Old Jiu to let them join Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
“Don’t listen to him, what’s so good about Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce?” Li Wan Ning sneered and immediately set her beautiful eyes upon Yang Kai while elegantly saying, “Little brother, as long as you promise to join my Purple Star, I can offer you the same conditions as Old Jiu as well as find you an Origin King Realm master to personally guide your cultivation. Of course, if you would like, this Queen can also personally guide you. What do you say?”
“Don’t go making exaggerated claims without having anything to back your words up with, you two,” The old woman surnamed Lei couldn’t help butting in, tapping her cane on the ground as she turned to Yang Kai and said. “Little brother, you should join my Sword Union instead. En, our Sword Union always welcomes young fresh blood. As long as you agree to join now, this token is yours!”
Saying so, the old woman surnamed Lei suddenly summoned a black token into her hand.
The token was made from neither metal nor jade and had a sword-shaped emblem on it while pulsing with a faint but sharp aura.
“A Sword Union Elder Token!” A rather knowledgeable person called out as he gazed at this token blazingly.
“Impossible, how could it be a Sword Union Elder Token? Can a Second-Order Origin Realm cultivator even become a Sword Union Elder?”
“Senior Lei is truly bold. There should only be ten Great Elders in the entire Sword Union, each one a top-rank character.”
“Tsk tsk, with this Elder Token, one can mobilize a large part of the human and financial resources of Sword Union. With it, there would be no need to worry about one’s cultivation in the future.”
“What is so special about this little brat? Why are so many masters trying to win him over?”
Amongst the onlookers, various reactions like admiration, jealousy, and confusion abounded.
No one understood why these Origin Kings were ignoring all the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators around them and doing their best to invite a mere Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy to join their forces instead.
All of them weren’t any worse than him, right? Many felt indignant and began having competitive thoughts.
With the Star Field’s three super forces all having set out their offers, the other Origin Kings were unwilling to fall behind and instantly began trying to woo Yang Kai one by one, each of them expressing an extremely sincere attitude.
There was only one lone Origin King Realm old man who remained indifferent, as his intentions here were simply to purchase Domain Stones.
“Several Seniors’ intentions, Junior understands well,” Yang Kai waited for them to finish before nodding sincerely.
He never expected that he would receive so much attention just after stepping out of the Blood Prison. These Origin King Realm masters were all trying to win him over with unusual zeal!
Each of them had a friendly attitude and a very sincere look on their face.
However, the more enthusiastic they acted, the more disturbed Yang Kai’s heart became!
These masters inviting him so vigorously must be because they knew about his performance inside the Blood Prison, otherwise, how could they act like this?
And the reason why they could understand this was all because of Luo Hai!
[This place is not suitable to stay for long!] Yang Kai secretly made up his mind to immediately leave Green Mountains Star after Qian Tong finished his breakthrough successfully.
“Since you understand, what is your decision?” Li Wan Ning asked nervously.
From Luo Hai, they deeply understood how excellent Yang Kai was. Throughout the ages, many Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators had entered the Blood Prison, but the number who had come out unscathed was one, Yang Kai being the very first.
This alone was enough for them to want to win the other over, not to mention that they were able to tell that Yang Kai had some incredible ability, with their vision.
He was definitely a genius among geniuses, and no one wanted to miss out on a chance to recruit him.
Above the wilderness, eight Origin Kings looked towards Yang Kai, waiting for his reply.
Over a thousand other cultivators had their eyes focused on Yang Kai as well, and for a moment, Qian Tong’s breakthrough to the Origin King Realm faded into the background.
Xu Bin Bai stood to the side and smiled, seemingly not surprised at all. To him, it was only natural that Yang Kai had attracted the attention of so many people.
“Several Seniors’ intentions, Junior understands very well,” Yang Kai nodded faintly, “But please forgive this Junior for speaking presumptuously. This Junior is flattered and thankful, but I am afraid this Junior is not fated to receive several Seniors’ blessings.”
“Uh…” Old Jiu was stunned, obviously not having anticipated Yang Kai would refuse so many sincere invitations from all of the Origin Kings who were trying to win him over.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take some more to consider this matter?” Li Wan Ning was also quite surprised. All of these Origin Kings had been certain that Yang Kai would not refuse such an invitation and would accept at least one of them.
However, he actually rejected all of them, a truly surprising turn of events.
The cultivators who were watching also flew into an uproar!
“Is this boy an idiot? So many great opportunities were laid out in front of his eyes, yet he plans to actually refuse all of them?”
“There’s definitely something wrong with this brat’s head. Why are all of us even here? Isn’t it to seek opportunities and resources? Now that all these benefits were offered to him, doesn’t he want any of them? Why didn’t I receive this kind of Heaven sent opportunity? The injustice of it all!”
“Senior Jiu, I am willing to join the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, please take me with you.”
“Senior Lei, I have long admired Sword Union, please be sure to accept me.”
“Senior Li…”
The scene descended into chaos as the invitations of all eight Origin King Realm masters were rejected by Yang Kai. The Origin Kings also felt slightly uncomfortable having been rejected like this, and when they saw others yelling towards them suddenly, their expressions sank, and they released some of their strength.
No one present could withstand the anger of an Origin King and realizing that these masters weren’t in a good mood, the clatter abruptly stopped, with no one daring to act presumptuous again.
“Little brother, are you certain?” Li Wan Ning looked at Yang Kai in disbelief. She really did not understand why Yang Kai was so indifferent. The conditions she offered weren’t bad and could even be said to be extremely generous. Moreover, she had even offered to personally guide him in his cultivation.
The personal guidance of an Origin King Realm master was something that all Origin Returning Realm cultivators dreamed of.
Was he not tempted at all?
“That’s right, please think twice about this,” Old Jiu looked at Yang Kai unwillingly.
Yang Kai, however, just slowly shook his head, smiled, and said, “Junior really must decline several Seniors good intentions. Junior simply has no plans to join any great force currently.”
Hearing him say this, everyone showed a look of regret; after all, they had just missed out on such a good seedling and only the Heavens knew when they would run into another in the future.
“Alright, Alright. Since this little brother doesn’t want to join any of you, there’s no need to force the issue. Besides, aren’t there still many good candidates here?” Luo Hai smiled gently.
“En, a forcefully picked melon is not sweet, this old master won’t insist any further. However, little brother, if you ever feel like joining my Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce someday, just go to Water Moon Star to find this old master. The doors of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce will always be open to you and the conditions this old master offered will remain unchanged,” Old Jiu nodded lightly to Yang Kai.
“The same goes for my Sword Union,” The old woman surnamed Lei immediately said.
The other Origin Kings expressed similar opinions, saying that if Yang Kai wanted to join them in the future, he could come look for them directly whenever he wanted.
…..
The Origin Kings gathered around Yang Kai then scattered and began to look for other outstanding candidates to recruit.
They had come to Green Mountains Star this time first to lead some of their own great force’s disciples to participate in the Blood Prison Trial, and second to recruit new talents after the trial ended.
Yang Kai’s performance had simply been too blinding, so he had become their first goal. Now that Yang Kai had refused their offers though, they naturally set their sights on other candidates.
In an instant, many people gathered around the Origin King Realm masters, all of them volunteering to join their forces.
Luo Hai didn’t move though.
Yang Kai turned to him, thought about it for a moment, then cupped his fists politely, “Many thanks Senior for your assistance, this Junior will keep this favour in mind.”
Luo Hai glanced at him and smiled lightly, “You’re welcome, this King is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, so this is only what this King should do. En, looking at your face, it seems you have some concerns bothering you right now. Could the one breaking through to the Origin King right now be your friend?”
Yang Kai did not try to deny this, as in front of such a master denial served no purpose, simply nodding and saying, “Yes, he is one of my elders.”
“No wonder you aren’t interested in the offers of others, it turns out one of your Elders is going to break through to the Origin King Realm!” Luo Hai seemed to understand something and chuckled, “This King is also a little curious, where are you from? How come each of you seems to be so outstanding?”
While speaking, he glanced around at Yang Xiu Zhu, Chu Han Yi and Lin Yu Rao who had all been standing beside Yang Kai. With Luo Hai’s eyesight, he was naturally able to see that each of these three had cultivated to the very peak of the Origin Returning Realm, which meant they only needed to achieve a slightly deeper comprehension of Shi in order to break through to the Origin King Realm.
In other words, these three were pinnacle masters in the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm.
Yang Kai knit his brow, and although feeling somewhat reluctant in his heart, he still replied, “We are from Shadowed Star.”
“Shadowed Star…” Luo Hai frowned, because despite being quite knowledgeable, he had never heard of Shadowed Star before. Glancing over at Yang Kai for a moment, however, he wore a meaningful smile and said, “It must be a good place!”
He clearly thought Yang Kai had casually fabricated the name of a Cultivation Star to fool him.
Luo Hai did not have any intention to pursue this issue though, as he fell silent and turned to stare outwards indifferently, as if he had sunk into contemplation.
Yang Kai also raised his eyes and focused his attention on Qian Tong’s location.
Over there, Qian Tong’s Shi had now spread out to a radius of a few thousand metres, and the swirling winds inside this range were becoming more and more violent. Small vortices combined to form bigger ones, while bigger ones split apart into several smaller ones in a constant dynamic situation.
The earth within this radius now appeared like it had been haphazardly plowed by an iron hoe, with criss-crossing ravines and ditches dug out in random directions.
What’s more, an astonishing and terrifying amount of World Energy had gathered high up into the sky, gradually forming a thick black cloud that blotted out the sun.
Yang Kai was both shocked and moved.
He noticed just how immense the World Energy hidden inside these dark clouds were and it was enough to frighten even him.
This was also not the end as the surrounding World Energy was still continuing to gather together.
As time passed by, the noisy scene gradually calmed, and the Origin Kings who had been recruiting talents gradually returned. Each of them had apparently gained a lot, but those they had gathered were offered vastly different treatment than what was offered to Yang Kai previously.
Not only did these newly recruited talents have to accept some difficult tests, even if they were to pass these tests and became eligible to join the great forces these Origin Kings represented, they could not enjoy the rich treatment Yang Kai would have.
No one dared to complain though.
Bargaining with an Origin King Realm master was no different than courting death!
All eyes were now staring towards Qian Tong’s location while the several Origin Kings who had once again gathered began whispering amongst themselves.
Soon, these Origin Kings seemed to obtain some information from Luo Hai and all of them turned to look at Yang Kai in astonishment and asked, “Little brother, is the person who is breaking through your Elder?”
“En.” Yang Kai nodded.
“Is his temperament the same as yours?” Old Jiu quipped.
They felt somewhat regretful being unable to win over Yang Kai, but there was another person more worthy of them trying to win over here, Qian Tong!
In the end, Yang Kai was just a good seedling with excellent aptitude, but his future was still uncertain.
The Star Field was vast and had so many geniuses living in it, but most of these geniuses would fall before they truly reached the peak of the Martial Dao. On the other hand, there were some who plodded along slowly but who would eventually have the last laugh as they simply managed to survive to reach a height where others had no choice but to look up to them.
Among the many Origin Kings present, not all of them had started out as top-level geniuses, but they were all now amongst the most powerful cultivators in the Star Field.
In short, Qian Tong and Yang Kai’s worth was vastly different at this moment; after all, once Qian Tong broke through successfully, he would be a genuine Origin King Realm!
There were not many Origin Kings in each great force, so even adding one more would greatly increase their overall strength.
It was obvious these Origin Kings would put in their best effort to win over Qian Tong!
Of course, this was all based on the premise that Qian Tong was able to break through successfully.
“Do several Seniors want to try winning him over?” Yang Kai quickly understood.
“Of course,” Old Jiu nodded.
“If that is the case, several Seniors might as well speak with him when the time comes, if he wishes to join any of you then this Junior will naturally not have any opinion.”
“Why you…” Old Jiu smiled helplessly.
With this matter temporarily settled, everyone fell silent and focused all their attention on Qian Tong’s approaching breakthrough.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai frowned suddenly and turned his eyes towards the thick black clouds high up in the sky, faintly feeling something was wrong.
He didn’t know why, but though this dark cloud had been growing continuously, and had drawn in all the World Energy within a ten thousand kilometre radius, it still hadn’t initiated Qian Tong’s baptism.
Breaking through to a new Great Realm would inevitably be accompanied by a World Energy baptism, after which a cultivator’s cultivation would truly rise.
However, the baptism still refused to begin, leaving only an extremely tense atmosphere.
“Brother Yang, the concentration of World Energy here is insufficient!” Xu Bin Bai suddenly moved to Yang Kai’s side and whispered.
“Is that a problem?” Yang Kai showed a look of surprise.
“En. Because I am at the peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, I can break through to the Origin King Realm at any time, but before attempting to do so, my Master had warned me that the most important thing to prepare is a place with sufficient World Energy!” Xu Bin Bai explained.
Yang Kai frowned.
Although the World Energy of Green Mountains Star was indeed quite good, there were naturally some places which were superior to others. The World Energy density in this vast wilderness was not very high and was obviously insufficient to meet the requirements of Qian Tong’s breakthrough.
“Is there a solution?” Yang Kai asked hurriedly.
“Of course, there is,” Before Xu Bin Bai could answer, Old Jiu suddenly laughed and interjected, “If there is not enough World Energy, one simply needs to supplement it. Saint Crystals are the best choice in this kind of situation. Little brother, if you wish to borrow some Saint Crystals from this old master, this old master will naturally oblige. Although this old master does not have much on him, he certainly has enough Saint Crystals to solve this little issue.”
Old Jiu was obviously trying to show good will, taking the initiative to offer to loan Yang Kai some Saint Crystals. If Yang Kai accepted his favour, he would have a significant bargaining chip in hand; after all, eating from another man’s table and not reciprocating was simply bad manners.
“This Queen also has many Saint Crystals here,” Li Wan Ning pursed her lips and smiled.
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched as he directly ignored them. Naturally, he understood what these people were up to.
At this time, if he really borrowed Saint Crystals from them, the favour would be quite heavy as this was related to Qian Tong successfully breaking through to the Origin King Realm.
“How many Saint Crystals do you have?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yang Xiu Zhu and the others.
Yang Xiu Zhu and the others exchanged a quick glance before taking out all their Saint Crystals and giving them to Yang Kai.
“That’s all?” Yang Kai did a rough count with his Divine Sense and frowned.
The number of Saint Crystals they had collectively was only about five million.
Such few Saint Crystals weren’t small, more than enough to satisfy each of their individual cultivation needs. Moreover, when they left Shadowed Star, Yang Kai had basically been responsible for bringing along Saint Crystals.
However, those Saint Crystals were already used up on Tong Xuan Realm when Little Senior Sister was refining the Star Source.
As such, Yang Kai did not have many Saint Crystals on hand!
He could not help feeling a little troubled and quickly began rummaging through his Space Ring.
From the Space Rings of Mi Tian, Xue Lian, Lie Feng and a few others, Yang Kai was able to gather a few more Saint Crystals, but only about five million more!
All of these cultivators had come here to participate in the Blood Prison Trial, so how could they have brought a large number of Saint Crystals with them?
“If you don’t have enough, I can lend you some,” Seeing Yang Kai’s expression, Xu Bin Bai took the initiative to speak.
“How could I ask that of you?” Yang Kai sighed, never having anticipated that one day he would be worried about having enough Saint Crystals. In the past, he had always spent Saint Crystals freely without any cares.
“Why not? It’s just Saint Crystals,” Xu Bin Bai grinned, “But I don’t have much, only about twenty million.”
“That should be enough,” Yang Kai nodded. “Many thanks, Brother Xu.”
“You’re welcome. Maybe this Xu will also have a request for Brother Yang one day. When that time comes, please do not refuse,” Xu Bin Bai smiled and handed a Space Ring to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took it and nodded to him, “This Yang will forever remember Brother Xu’s kindness. If there is ever a day you need this Yang’s assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I hope you and I will meet again then,” Xu Bin Bai smiled lightly.
Thirty million was not a huge number of Saint Crystals, but it also wasn’t small.
However, it should be enough for Qian Tong’s breakthrough. The World Energy in this wilderness was only a little thin, not barren.
Seeing Yang Kai prefer to ask Xu Bin Bai to borrow Saint Crystals than them, the many Origin Kings present exchanged a helpless glance.
Yang Kai knew what they were thinking, so they understood his thought process as well.
Not making a big deal of the situation, Old Jiu just kindly reminded, “Boy, if you want to deliver Saint Crystals to your Elder, you should do so quickly. The dangers of breaking through to the Origin King Realm are beyond your imagination, if you remain too long inside, you will likely get caught up in those dangers.”
“Many thanks for Senior’s reminder!” Yang Kai gently nodded, took a deep breath, then flew upwards.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s figure transformed into a streak of light that rushed straight into the chaotic storm.
Everyone was paying attention to his movements with single-minded focus.
Countless big and small tornadoes swept back and forth, but Yang Kai’s figure was able to flicker between them and approach the centre of the disturbance at extremely fast speed.
The Shi permeating from Qian Tong’s body was actually his biggest obstacle.
Shi which was condensed to the grand accomplishment stage was almost on par with Domain, but fortunately, Yang Kai now had plenty of experience breaking into Domain Vortices inside the Blood Prison. This obstacle could not bar his path, and after integrating his own Shi into the surroundings, Yang Kai didn’t encounter much resistance as he moved forward.
This also allowed Yang Kai to not interfere with Qian Tong’s breakthrough.
“This boy has some impressive skill!” Old Jiu’s eyes flashed.
“He managed to integrate his own Shi into another’s so smoothly. It seems his understanding of Shi has far surpassed that of an ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator!”
“If given enough time, he will definitely break through to the Origin King Realm!”
After less than ten breaths, Yang Kai arrived nearby Qian Tong.
Qian Tong was sitting cross-legged at this moment, but Yang Kai’s arrival had naturally disturbed him, so he opened his eyes. After seeing that it was Yang Kai, however, Qian Tong closed his eyelids again and remained as motionless as a rock.
Yang Kai did not dare to delay. Using his Divine Sense, Yang Kai took out all the Saint Crystals he had gathered from his Space Ring and piled them up around Qian Tong.
“Elder Qian, take this, it may be of help to you at the critical moment,” Yang Kai suddenly threw a jade bottle over to Qian Tong.
After finishing all this, Yang Kai rushed back out.
A short time later, Yang Kai returned to his original spot.
As soon as he stood firm, a shocking energy fluctuation suddenly emerged.
A white beam of light shot up into the sky, and along with this beam, the thirty million Saint Crystals Yang Kai had just scattered about and burst into dazzling light. It seemed that the energy inside these Saint Crystals had been drawn out and sucked up into the dark clouds up above.
The dark clouds immediately became thicker and more solid.
A shocking clap of thunder suddenly resounded.
*Kacha…*
With a deafening sound, the power of Heaven and Earth fell from above like a great flood dragon and bombarded Qian Tong without warning, pouring into his body in a relentless torrent.
“It has begun!” Luo Hai muttered in a low voice and stared fixedly.
Qian Tong’s breakthrough had finally begun!
A kind of magical aura spread out as soon as the breakthrough began, causing all the cultivators present to involuntarily show a thoughtful expression. Everyone was trying their best to comprehend this mysterious air to benefit from it.
This was the Domain of an Origin King that was breaking through, something that was of great value to the growth of all the Origin Realm cultivators present.
The first wave of World Energy in the baptism caused the entire region to tremble violently, with tremors reaching as far as ten thousand kilometres away. It was a terrifying experience that left all in awe of the power of the world.
Such a display of power left many Origin Realm masters pale.
These masters were imagining themselves in Qian Tong’s place and realizing that for most of them, at their current strength, it would be impossible for them to resist. In all likelihood, a single confrontation would result in them dying!
Was breaking through to the Origin King Realm really this frightening?
Some people felt their confidence suffer a blow while others instead felt inspired as a strong sense of desire filled their eyes.
The Origin Kings present were paying close attention to Qian Tong but were also keeping an eye on the reactions of the surrounding cultivators, identifying which of them were talents that could be cultivated.
The second wave of the baptism pounded down soon after, followed by a third, then a fourth…
Soon, it was as if a torrential downpour was taking place, with not a single break in-between.
Qian Tong’s beast-like roars rang out and it was not difficult for anyone to imagine just how much pressure he was currently facing.
His own Shi was fluctuating wildly as the numerous whirlwinds whipped around him, gradually sublimating, and transforming his Shi in the process.
As time passed slowly, Yang Kai and the others looked on nervously.
From Qian Tong’s roars, Yang Kai could infer some information. The pressure Qian Tong was experiencing seemed to be growing greater and greater, and his aura was simultaneously growing weaker and weaker, his vitality now seeming quite weak.
It was as if he was afloat on a small boat in the middle of a storm, in danger of being swallowed up at any moment.
“The situation isn’t good!” Old Jiu looked worried.
“En, the World Energy baptism that he is bearing seems to be much stronger than the one I experienced,” Li Wan Ning also frowned.
“The stronger the baptism you endure, the higher your achievements will be in the future. Each Origin King experiences a different intensity of baptism when they attempt to break through. If one survives, their horizons expand greatly, but if they fail, even their soul will be extinguished,” Luo Hai sighed softly, “From ancient times to present, how many geniuses have fallen on this threshold? Breakthroughs for the Martial Dao’s first few Great Realms aren’t too troublesome, but after the Saint King Realm, no Great Realm can be crossed casually, each one is a struggle against death!”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Each person present was a seasoned expert, so how could they not understand such simple truths?
Luo Hai was right. When a Saint King broke through to the Origin Returning Realm, they would have to face a life or death challenge, and failure would have only one result, death!
There was no other possibility!
Once the power of Heaven and Earth gathered, either one was reborn under its baptism, or they died trying.
Old Jiu glanced over at Yang Kai, pondered for a moment, then spoke, “Boy, you’d best be mentally prepared, the current situation is not optimistic.”
Yang Kai simply turned his head and glanced at him before chuckling, “Elder Qian will succeed.”
Old Jiu simply shook his head, “Sometimes will is not enough to overcome reality. This old master also hopes that this person can succeed, but…”
He did not continue, apparently feeling Qian Tong’s prospects weren’t optimistic.
Yang Xiu Zhu and the others also became nervous.
Five of them had followed Yang Kai to leave Shadowed Star and come to Green Mountains Star. It was mere coincidence that their arrival here coincided with the once-in-a-thousand-year opening of the Blood Prison Trial and Qian Tong’s opportunities had clearly been the best, bringing him to the point where he was finally qualified to touch the threshold of the Origin King Realm. None of them wanted to see him fail at this last moment.
If he succeeded, Qian Tong would become the first Origin King born on Shadowed Star in over ten thousand years.
Although he would be breaking through on a different Cultivation Star, it would be enough to allow Yang Xiu Zhu and the others to see hope for the future.
The power of heaven and earth continued to fall, bombarding Qian Tong constantly while his roars grew increasingly weaker. Soon, Qian Tong’s vitality was akin to candlelight caught in a storm, teetering on the brink of being snuffed out…
“Ha, it looks like he will fall short,” The old woman surnamed Lei shook her head suddenly, a trace of regret appearing on her face.
“En, it’s a pity after reaching such a point,” Old Jiu nodded in agreement.
Under their perception, Qian Tong’s vitality had already dimmed to the point where there was no hope of him surviving.
If nothing changed, this person would undoubtedly die!
A breakthrough to the Origin King Realm was not only dependent on strength, sometimes luck was the deciding factor.
Qian Tong’s luck obviously was not good.
Although his strength surpassed the average for Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators by a large margin, and he had significant gains inside the Blood Prison, the World Energy baptism he encountered while breaking through was incredibly powerful.
He had been able to endure it so far, which already proved his great strength.
However, it seemed that persisting until the last moment would be impossible. The dark clouds up above had only diminished to half their original size, which meant that the World Energy baptism was only halfway through.
No one was optimistic about him! Even Luo Hai looked regretful and stopped paying attention.
Although Yang Kai had spoken confidently just now, he too was secretly worried for Elder Qian.
He had never encountered this kind of scene before, so he was somewhat uncertain.
However, he had faith in Qian Tong as well as the treasure he had given to him at the last moment!
Ordinary people couldn’t appreciate Shadowed Star’s cultivators’ desire to reach the Origin King Realm. Under the suppression and restriction of Shadowed Star’s World Principles, no one had been able to break through to the Origin King Realm for over ten thousand years. So more than any, Shadowed Star’s cultivators yearned for this unreachable peak.
Just in terms of strength of conviction, Qian Tong would not lose to anyone.
*Kacha…*
Another terrifying wave of power washed down and poured into Qian Tong’s body, shredding it from the inside while also cleansing it in a brutal and uncaring manner.
Inside this swirling chaotic energy, Qian Tong’s weak vitality was clearly in danger of being annihilated!
Lin Yu Rao screamed and her beautiful face paled. Unable to help herself, she covered her mouth with her hands.
Yang Xiu Zhu and Chu Han Yi Mo Yu also wore extremely dark faces!
“It’s no good, it’s no good! It seems he really will fall short,” Old Jiu shook his head regretfully. “This person’s luck was simply too poor, otherwise he would have very likely broken through to the Origin King Realm, what a pity… Hm? Wait, what happened?”
Suddenly Old Jiu’s eyes widened as he stared straight ahead, as if he discovered something extraordinary.
The other Origin Kings also showed looks of surprise on their faces and began calling out.
“What? How come this person’s vitality is suddenly rising sharply?”
“Did he take some kind of Heaven-defying Spirit Pill? But what Spirit Pill can achieve such a miraculous effect?”
“Nonsense, how could there be any Spirit Pill that could bring a dead man’s vitality back to its peak in an instant? Not even an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill can accomplish this!”
“Strange, what was it he consumed then?”
The many Origin Kings were all at a loss, none of them understanding how Qian Tong’s vitality, which was about to disappear, suddenly blossomed back to full strength in an instant.
Even through the violent, chaotic energies swirling around, the potent vital aura of the man at its centre could be felt clearly.
Suddenly, from afar, Qian Tong’s loud laughter rang out and his figure could be seen standing straight as a sword, staring arrogantly up at the sky as he shouted, “This old master hasn’t lived enough yet, how could he die in some foreign land? Heavens! If you have anything left you’d best use it now!”
Old Jiu and the others twitched as shock filled their eyes.
This person dared to challenge the power of Heaven and Earth when he was breaking through. Throughout the ages, there had never been such a crazy person.
Didn’t he know that the World Energy Baptism caused by his breakthrough had a level of consciousness?
Making such a provocation was akin to digging one’s own grave!
Sure enough, as soon as Qian Tong’s voice fell, the huge black clouds up in the sky began swirling fast and the booming thunder turned absolutely deafening.
In the blink of an eye, a huge vortex appeared above Qian Tong’s head.
Immediately after, a thick beam of energy shot out from the vortex and directly impacted Qian Tong!
Qian Tong’s miserable howls sounded again and his surging vitality was consumed at a rapid pace.
“This old ghost!” Old Jiu spat, not knowing what to say.
Luo Hai’s eyes also filled with light as he stared forward deeply, his expression somewhat moved.
The World Energy baptism seemed to be pouring down all at once in this giant beam of light and the dark clouds up in the sky were rapidly becoming smaller as a result.
Less than ten breaths of time later, the sky suddenly cleared up and the terrifying pressure and intense World Energy aura disappeared without a trace.
In the distance, only Qian Tong’s figure stood straight, motionless!
From just looking, it was impossible to know whether he was alive or dead.
However, a potent Shi rapidly spread out from Qian Tong in the next instant, covering a radius of several hundred kilometres in the blink of an eye.
Immediately afterwards, this Shi contracted rapidly towards Qian Tong’s body.
As it shrank, it also seemed to undergo a kind of miraculous transformation…
Many Origin Returning Realm masters wrinkled their brows as they couldn’t see through the mysteries involved in this process, but the Origin Kings present all raised their brows and showed looks of surprise.
“Compressing his Shi into Domain, this person… unexpectedly succeeded!” The old woman surnamed Lei whispered.
Yang Kai, who had been paying attention to the movement of these Origin Kings, heard this and couldn’t help letting out a laugh.
He couldn’t infer anything from just the scene of Qian Tong’s breakthrough so he could only take clues from the Origin Kings present. Now hearing the words of the old woman surnamed Lei, he was immediately relieved.
Qian Tong was now a genuine Origin King Realm master!
Of course, compared with Luo Hai and the other established Origin Kings present, Qian Tong was still just a fledgeling; after all, perfecting his Domain would take more than a day or two to achieve.
Amongst the Origin Kings present, the one who had broken through most recently had done so over five hundred years ago. In other words, he had five hundred more years of experience than Qian Tong in tempering his own Domain.
Facing any of these masters, Qian Tong may not be able to last three breaths of time!
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai flew high up into the sky, cupped his fists, and said loudly, “Everyone, although Elder Qian has just broken through to the Origin King Realm, it will take him some time to consolidate his cultivation. This Junior hopes that everyone will disperse now so as not to disturb Elder Qian’s mood. Although this is somewhat presumptuous, this Juniors asks for your understanding!”
Many cultivators glanced around at each blankly, knowing that Yang Kai was trying to drive them away.
However, without any of their previous disdain or disregard, the Origin Returning Realm masters present all turned around and left sensibly, a few of them even pausing to cup their fists to Yang Kai while offering some polite words of congratulations.
Before, they were able to ignore Yang Kai because they had a vast numerical advantage and superior strength, but now that this Qian Tong had become a genuine Origin King, if they were to act provocatively, wouldn’t that just be courting death?
No one dared to do this.
“Several Seniors, this…” Yang Kai next turned to the Origin Kings and asked questioningly.
“It’s fine, you don’t need to shoo us all away, this old master will take his leave here!” Old Jiu snorted, “But when your friend over there wakes up, please bring him to meet with this old master and his companions in the nearby city. He has just broken through and will surely have many questions he wants to ask, if he wishes, he may consult with us freely. We won’t be stingy with our experiences.”
“Yes, if we can be of assistance to him, we will offer it freely,” The old woman surnamed Lei also nodded in agreement.
“Junior will replace Elder Qian in offering his thanks to several Seniors then,” Yang Kai respectfully nodded.
The Origin Kings glanced at each other before their figures flickered and disappeared.
Yang Kai clearly saw Luo Hai glance at him before leaving, however.
This place was really not suitable to remain at for long!
“Brother Yang, I’ll also take my leave here, I hope that one day you and I will have the chance to meet again,” Xu Bin Bai cupped his fists to Yang Kai.
“Take care, Brother Xu!” Yang Kai nodded. Although he felt Xu Bin Bai was a good person and someone worthy of making friends with, now was not the time to be thinking about such things so he did not try to delay him.
Soon, only Yang Kai and his party were left above the once noisy wilderness.
Zhao Tian Ze didn’t leave either. At this moment, he was looking towards Qian Tong in the distance with envy, secretly worrying about whether he would ever reach such a height. He and Qian Tong had entered the Blood Prison together and experienced it together, but Qian Tong had managed to break through while he only felt that he had made some improvements in his Shi and a turning point to reach the Origin King Realm was still far away.
“City Lord Zhao,” Yang Kai walked over to Zhao Tian Ze and spoke.
“Does Sect Master Yang have some kind of instruction?” Zhao Tian Ze asked.
“I wouldn’t dare issue instructions, but… I’m afraid we will have to leave soon.”
“Leave?” Zhao Tian Ze was stunned, “Where will you go?”
“Back to Shadowed Star!” Yang Kai said in a low voice.
“Why are you leaving so hurriedly?” Zhao Tian Ze looked puzzled. Even Yang Xiu Zhu and the others turned curious looks towards Yang Kai, “Didn’t those Seniors just invite Elder Qian to go visit them, why…”
As he spoke, Zhao Tian Ze frowned, seemingly realizing something.
Yang Kai couldn’t easily explain the truth of the situation, so he simply said, “Elder Qian will definitely not join them. If he won’t join, why bother going to see them? Moreover, just now, I also refused their offers, so although they didn’t say anything, they will no doubt have some discomfort in their hearts. If Elder Qian now refuses them again, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not become angered.”
“They wouldn’t….” Zhao Tian Ze broke out into cold sweat.
Although he didn’t believe that those Origin Kings would be so petty, Yang Kai’s words also had some truth to them.
“It is better to act cautiously in these circumstances. As such, after Elder Qian awakens, we will leave Green Mountains Star immediately!”
Zhao Tian Ze nodded lightly and sighed, “That’s a pity, this Zhao also wished to invite Sect Master Yang to visit my Green Water City to rest for a few days.”
“There will be a chance in the future,” Yang Kai chuckled, “For now though, this Junior will have to trouble City Lord Zhao with something.”
“Please name it, Sect Master Yang, this Zhao will definitely live up to your expectations,” Zhao Tian Ze quickly said. In the Blood Prison, Yang Kai had not paid any mind to his previous suspicions and even allowed him to return to study the mysteries of Domain Stone Mountain. After that, he had saved Zhao Tian Ze’s life, so Zhao Tian Ze was eager to repay these favours.
“Can I ask City Lord Zhao to go back to Green Water City and bring Qian Yue to me?”
“Little Qian Yue?”
Zhao Tian Ze was no stranger to Qian Yue. When Yang Kai left Green Mountains Star, Qian Tong and the other Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators had stayed behind, but Qian Yue had also remained, hoping to inquire about news of Su Yan, Qing Ya, and her other companions from Ice Sect.
Now that Yang Kai was going to leave, he couldn’t just leave her behind.
“Not a problem, this Zhao will set off immediately. Within seven days, this Zhao will definitely bring little Qian Yue here!” Zhao Tian Ze promised, and after saying some goodbyes to Yang Xiu Zhu and the others he flew off.
“Sect Master, why are you so anxious?” Yang Xiu Zhu looked at Yang Kai somewhat puzzled. He could feel that Yang Kai was on edge but did not know why.
“If it was just about rejecting those people’s offers, Sect Master wouldn’t be so anxious. This is a matter of personal choice, so even if they felt uncomfortable, they wouldn’t sully their own reputations by acting wickedly.”
“It’s not just about this,” Yang Kai shook his head, “The matter of them trying to win us over isn’t of concern, what I’m worried about is something else.”
“What?” Lin Yu Rao asked.
“I’m afraid someone has set their eyes on us,” Yang Kai’s mouth twitched.
There were various signs that Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, Luo Hai had some understanding of what transpired inside the Blood Prison. This was related to an Origin Essence Crystal, so Yang Kai didn’t dare act carelessly.
If the Origin Essence Crystal was still in his hands, everything would be fine. At worst, he could simply hand it over to Luo Hai to keep everyone safe, but now the Origin Essence Crystal was no longer in his possession, as he had already given it to Yu Xiong.
Having lost this bargaining chip, how could Yang Kai dare to remain here any longer?
If not for Qian Tong still needing some time to emerge from his current state, Yang Kai would have left immediately.
Yang Kai didn’t explain in detail, but from his tone and demeanour, Yang Xiu Zhu and the others could infer that the matter was serious, so they didn’t ask anymore and simply decided to follow Yang Kai.
Qian Tong was still standing in the distance, motionless, most likely immersed in some kind of comprehension.
With nothing else to do for now, Yang Xiu Zhu and the others sat down cross-legged to meditate and digest their harvests from the Blood Prison trip.
Although they did not obtain a chance to break through to the Origin King Realm like Qian Tong, it didn’t mean they gained nothing. On the contrary, everyone had obtained significant benefits, and as long as there were enough opportunities in the future, they still had a chance to be able to reach the Origin King Realm.
Yang Kai’s expression changed constantly as various thoughts flashed across his mind. He kept imagining different situations which might happen in the coming days and was planning out how to cope with them.
Time passed slowly, and three days later, Zhao Tian Ze returned with Qian Yue.
After seeing Yang Kai, Qian Yue was naturally extremely happy, but when she remembered that she had been searching for clues on Green Mountains Star for several years but found nothing related to Su Yan and the other’s whereabouts, Qian Yue couldn’t help feeling depressed.
Zhao Tian Ze did not stay long; after delivering Qian Yue here, he hurried back to Green Water City.
When the Blood Prison opened this time, he had entered together with the Vice City Lord of Green Water City. Unfortunately, the Vice City Lord, who was also a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm master, fell inside the Blood Prison.
This was a serious matter.
Zhao Tian Ze needed to return to Green Water City promptly to choose a new Vice City Lord.
Time flowed on, and another five days later, Qian Tong’s laughter rang out, prompting all the waiting people to look over in his direction.
In a flicker, Qian Tong appeared in front of everyone with a smile on his face.
“Congratulations Elder Qian,” Yang Xiu Zhu cupped his fists and congratulated.
“Elder Qian has successfully broken through to the Origin King Realm. This is a grand event my Shadowed Star has not witnessed in over ten thousand years! Shadow Moon Hall will definitely rejoice, as will all cultivators on Shadowed Star,” Mo Yu chuckled.
“All of you are too serious,” Qian Tong shook his head. “This time this Qian barely managed to escape death. If not for Yang Kai, I would have fallen long ago rather than broken through.”
Saying so, he turned to look straight at Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, this old master owes you another favour!”
At that time, if it wasn’t for the item inside the jade bottle Yang Kai gave him, which allowed him to rapidly strengthen his vitality and heal his wounds, how could Qian Tong have persisted until the end?
Qian Tong knew that what Yang Kai gave him was Life Revitalizing Jade Cream! He and Fei Zhi Tu had seen it once before after all.
Together with Soul Cleansing Divine Water and Immortal Source Liquid, these treasures were known as the Star Field’s Three Great Divine Waters, and every drop was incredibly precious.
The bottle Yang Kai gave him, however, had at least twenty drops inside of it.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his breakthrough being successful was due in large part to Yang Kai’s assistance.
“Elder Qian is too polite,” Yang Kai chuckled, “Good, this isn’t a place to stay and talk, it’s important we leave quickly.”
“Leave now?” Qian Tong frowned.
“Now!”
“Okay!” Qian Tong didn’t raise any objections and simply followed Yang Kai’s lead.
“There are too many of us to move quickly, come in first!” Yang Kai said, summoning the Sealed World Bead.
Everyone knew what Yang Kai meant and they naturally cooperated, relaxing their guards and not resisting.
Yang Kai opened the Sealed World Bead and in a flash of light, almost everyone was pulled into it.
“You don’t need to bring this old master in,” Qian Tong smiled lightly, “I just made a breakthrough, so this old master would like to feel the surrounding World Principles for a while longer.”
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai didn’t want to force him, simply nodding and reminding, “Sure… But if there is any danger…”
“This old master is now an Origin King, what possible danger could there be?” Qian Tong laughed, not paying it much mind.
A trace of anxiety appeared between Yang Kai’s brow, but he didn’t try to explain, instead just signalling to Qian Tong, summoning his Star Shuttle, and setting out towards the Starry Sky.
While they were still on Green Mountains Star, Yang Kai didn’t dare to summon the Starship casually. Once an Origin King Grade Starship appeared, Luo Hai would immediately be alarmed.
The speed of the two was extremely fast, and while Yang Kai was filled with worries, Qian Tong was feeling quite spirited, feeling everything around him and even showing a thoughtful expression now and then.
The moment they set out, in a city thousands of kilometres away, inside the City Lord’s Mansion, Old Jiu and the other Origin Kings were chatting amongst themselves, exchanging their cultivation experiences while passing the time.
They had all remained here because they wanted to meet with Qian Tong!
Qian Tong was a newly promoted Origin King, and they all thought that the other party would come to find them; after all, each Origin King would have many things they did not understand after they broke through, and if someone was willing to answer their questions, they would naturally not want to miss the opportunity.
None of them had expected Yang Kai to act so decisively and immediately leave Green Mountains Star.
Luo Hai was sitting at the head of the room, occasionally speaking a few words which would garner him the admiration of Old Jiu and the others present.
Suddenly, Luo Hai frowned and revealed a look of surprise.
“Sir Luo Hai, what happened?” The old woman surnamed Lei looked at him and asked curiously.
“This King has something he must deal with, excuse me!” Luo Hai said before his figure flickered and disappeared without a trace.
“What matter would require Brother Luo Hai to suddenly just disappear?” Old Jiu and the others looked at each other at a loss.
“From the look on his face, it seems something major has happened. Could some kind of accident have occurred here?”
“It couldn’t be. Brother Luo Hai is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master, so who would dare act presumptuously here, on his home turf!?”
“That’s right, haha, it seems I am overthinking things. On the other hand, why hasn’t that newly promoted Origin King arrived yet? “We’ve been waiting here for several days now, he couldn’t have run away, right?”
“Why would he try to run? We have no malicious intent towards him and can even teach him some of our experiences for free. As long as he is not a fool, he would not reject such a good offer.”
“Then let’s continue waiting.”
…..
Above Green Mountains Star, Yang Kai and Qian Tong flew out as swift as the wind, trying to escape from the star’s radius.
Suddenly, however, Qian Tong frowned and shouted, “Yang Kai!”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
“I feel as if I‘m being watched!” Qian Tong frowned, expanding his Divine Sense like a tide but failing to notice anything, making him even more puzzled.
He had just made a breakthrough and was feeling quite proud of himself, so suddenly feeling like this was quite uncomfortable.
“Pretend like you haven’t noticed anything!” Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to silently tell him.
“Yang Kai, do you know something?” Qian Tong also replied with his Divine Sense.
“I have a fair idea!” Yang Kai’s face turned ugly, “If I’m not mistaken, it is Green Mountains Star’s Star Master Luo Hai who is staring at us!”
“Him!?” Qian Tong’s face changed drastically, “Why would he be looking for us?”
“Not us, me!” Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “He thinks I have something he needs.”
“What should we do then?” Qian Tong asked in surprise.
Being stared at by such a master caused even Qian Tong to start panicking. While he was now an Origin King, he had only broken through a few days ago. As for Luo Hai though, he was a master at the Second-Order Origin King Realm as well as the Star Master of Green Mountains Star.
Qian Tong had no doubt that on Green Mountains Star, if this opponent wanted to take his life, he could do so with a wave of his hand.
“We need to quickly leave this damned place. As long as we escape from the constraints of Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, Luo Hai will be nothing but an ordinary Second-Order Origin King! Only then will we have a chance to survive,” Yang Kai declared clearly.
Qian Tong heard this and nodded lightly.
As long as they were beyond the reach of Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, Luo Hai would not be so terrifying and they may be able to escape from him.
Thinking so, the pair increased their speed greatly.
“You want to leave Green Mountains Star?” In the distance, Luo Hai seemed to be aware of their intentions and grinned faintly, “A good idea, but you are far too naive.”
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and gently grabbed forward, causing a strange change in the atmosphere as he did.
Yang Kai and Qian Tong, who were tens of thousands of kilometres away, suddenly had their faces go pale and their bodies come to a halt, like they had been struck by lightning.
Looking out towards the endless Starry Sky, Yang Kai grit his teeth secretly and desperately pushed his Saint Qi and Shi, trying to get rid of the invisible shackles binding him, but to his shock, he was still completely incapable of moving.
It was as if the surrounding space had been frozen solid.
This was the power of a Star Master!
[Just a bit further!]
Yang Kai could feel that he and Qian Tong only needed to travel a bit further to escape Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, but at this last moment, they were actually blocked.
Qian Tong seemed to be in a better condition than Yang Kai, at least he could still circulate his Saint Qi properly and glance around while shouting, “Who’s there!”
A figure appeared silently not far in front of Yang Kai and Qian Tong, with a golden crown on his head and a golden robe covering his body. Naturally, it was Luo Hai.
Shooting a glance towards Qian Tong indifferently, a hint of approval flashed across his eyes.
As a freshly broken through Origin King, even though Qian Tong’s realm was not yet stabilized, being able to remain even somewhat mobile was quite a feat. If given enough time, Qian Tong would surely reach the Second-Order Origin King Realm.
However, he didn’t pay too much attention to Qian Tong and quickly turned his gaze back towards Yang Kai.
His main purpose for coming here was Yang Kai!
Above that patch of wilderness, there were too many people around and it would not have been appropriate for him to act against Yang Kai, but now that these two had left Green Mountains Star and come to the edge of the Starry Sky, Luo Hai could act without restraint.
“So it is Senior Luo Hai!” Yang Kai looked towards Luo Hai with some difficulty and frowned, “I wonder what Senior’s intentions are?”
A faint smile appeared on Luo Hai’s face and instead of answering, he asked, “The two of you seem to be in a hurry, where do you plan on going?”
“Naturally we wish to leave here and return to Shadowed Star, does Senior have some kind of objection?”
“Of course not,” Luo Hai slowly shook his head, “But Old Jiu, Sister Lei and the others are all waiting to discuss with this friend. The two of you leaving without even saying goodbye is not very appropriate, is it?”
“It is somewhat impolite,” Yang Kai gently nodded. “But we truly must rush back to Shadowed Star as soon as possible. Since we’ve seen Senior here by chance, we will have to bother Senior to relay our apologies for not being able to bid our farewells in person.”
“That won’t do!” Luo Hai obviously didn’t intend to compromise, “They have all been waiting for quite some time now, so you two must come back with this King.”
“Sir Luo Hai’s words are somewhat unreasonable,” Qian Tong took a deep breath and spoke, “Whether we go or stay is our decision to make, why does Sir Luo Hai insist on forcing us to remain?”
He had learned from Yang Kai that Luo Hai had ill intentions towards them, so he didn’t bother acting polite. Having just broken through to the Origin King Realm, Qian Tong was in very high spirits, so even facing Luo Hai, he didn’t intend to flinch.
Luo Hai glanced over at Qian Tong and his eyes flashed.
Qian Tong immediately felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his entire body shivering as his face went pale and his eyes bulged, immediately realizing the immense gap between him and Luo Hai.
After giving Qian Tong a small lesson, Luo Hai smiled happily towards Yang Kai, “You should consider well before replying to this King. En, I’ll give you ten breaths.”
His attitude was completely inflexible.
Yang Kai’s face sank as he never expected a master of this level to be so shameless.
Qian Tong and Yang Kai’s eyes met and they could both see each other’s helplessness. When facing Luo Hai on Green Mountains Star, even a Third-Order Origin King might not be able to defeat him, not to mention Yang Kai and Qian Tong.
Ten breaths of time passed in the blink of an eye and Luo Hai asked faintly, “Have you considered?”
As he spoke, the solidification of the surrounding space became stronger and stronger, making it more and more difficult for Qian Tong and Yang Kai to move.
Qian Tong looked at Yang Kai and signalled that he would follow his lead.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, and said solemnly, “I have.”
“Oh? And what is your answer?”
“To comply!”
Luo Hai showed a satisfied smile on his face.
“Is impossible!” Yang Kai shouted.
As soon as his voice fell, Qian Tong’s body emitted a weak Domain, one that allowed them to contend with the Star Force of Green Mountains Star, bit his tongue, then sprayed out a mouthful of blood.
Qian Tong’s life essence was hidden in this blood fog and quickly transformed into an arrow that shot towards Luo Hai at lightning speed.
“Impudence!” Luo Hai was furious. No one had dared challenge him before on Green Mountains Star. Yang Kai and Qian Tong were the first.
Glaring sullenly at Qian Tong, Luo Hai simply waved his hand and the blood arrow that was shot at him shattered. At the same time, Qian Tong was sent flying, his chest caving in as more blood sprayed from his mouth.
His face instantly went as pale as paper.
“Die!” Luo Hai’s eyes flashed coldly, not intending to let off Qian Tong for this insult.
Having already torn face, Luo Hai had no intention of showing mercy. In any case, they were at the edge of the Starry Sky, almost beyond the range of Green Mountains Star’s World Principles, no one could perceive their battle here.
His biggest goal was Yang Kai. As for Qian Tong, his life or death didn’t matter.
Stretching out his hand, Luo Hai condensed a ball of white light at his fingertip before suddenly sending out a beam towards Qian Tong.
*Kacha…*
At that moment, however, a booming sound of thunder and lightning appeared above Luo Hai’s head, along with an aura that caused him to pale greatly.
Luo Hai’s expression changed dramatically and as he looked up, his eyes shrank fiercely.
Above his head, a black cloud had appeared, and in that cloud, countless tiny arcs of lightning shuttled back and forth.
Although these lightning arcs were small, each one contained a Heaven destroying and earth-shattering power.
Even Luo Hai was deeply shocked.
Suddenly realizing something, he turned to look at Yang Kai and found that this boy was now holding a dark blue bead in his hand which he was madly pouring his Saint Qi into. There were lightning arcs on the surface of this bead which greatly resembled the ones currently above his head.
What was this little boy plotting? What was this strange bead?
Luo Hai’s thoughts turned sharply, but before he could see through the mysteries of this inexplicable blue bead, the countless tiny lightning arcs above his head rained down and shrouded his figure.
Intense crackling sounds rang out!
Luo Hai’s angry roar instantly resounded through the sky and directly impacted the surrounding Star Field.
Green Mountains Star shook in response to its Star Master’s anger.
At this moment, the entire Green Mountains Star seemed to tremble, with the earth trembling and tsunamis forming, as if it was the advent of Armageddon.
Green Mountains Star’s trillions of inhabitants all paled.
Old Jiu and the others leapt to their feet as well, their faces filled with shock.
“It’s Sir Luo Hai!” A hint of panic appeared on the face of the old woman surnamed Lei.
“Who made him so angry?”
“Who could make him so angry?”
Everyone raised their heads to look towards the sky, their eyes seemingly penetrating through the barriers of space as they detected something unusual.
“Emperor Pressure!” Li Wan Ning exclaimed, her pretty face draining of all colour.
The others trembled as well.
They were Origin Kings, able to stand atop the clouds and overlook all living beings, but in front of the legendary Starry Sky Great Emperor, they were still nothing but ants! The moment they felt this Emperor Pressure, all of them were astonished.
However, why would Emperor Pressure suddenly appear in the Starry Sky above Green Mountains Star? And why did this Emperor Pressure carry a rich murderous intent with it?
What had happened to Luo Hai?
Everyone looked around at each other, wanting to take a closer look, but none of them daring to do so. Without even mentioning the fact that they could not resist the intense Emperor Pressure, if they were to accidentally spy on something Luo Hai did not wish them to see, they would certainly suffer for it.
All they could do was stand in place with dignified expressions, waiting quietly while silently feeling the changes around them.
At the edge of the Starry Sky, a ten thousand kilometre sphere radius was filled with countless tiny arcs of lightning that flashed back and forth.
It was akin to a world of thunder and lightning!
Luo Hai’s expression was extremely gloomy as he stared towards a certain direction, gritting his teeth as he shouted, “Emperor Artifact! You actually have an Emperor Artifact! Little brat, you’ve forced this King’s hand! Now, even if you don’t want to die, you must!”
He never expected that Yang Kai possessed a Heaven-defying Emperor Artifact.
Only an Emperor Artifact could tear through the shackles he had placed on Yang Kai and Qian Tong and allow them to depart safely.
Naturally, Luo Hai had heard of Emperor Artifacts.
These were artifacts used by the Great Emperor and had been marked with the Great Emperor’s aura, hence the term Emperor Artifact.
But throughout the Star Field, although Emperor Artifacts were famous, no one had personally seen one in over ten thousand years. No one even knew what the Emperor Artifacts looked like or what kind of amazing powers they had.
Luo Hai was experiencing all of this firsthand this time.
If not for Yang Kai’s low cultivation, and for him being within the range of Green Mountains Star’s Star Force, the blow just now would probably have been enough to hurt him.
A Second-Order Origin Returning Realm boy hurting a Second-Order Origin King was nothing but a fantasy, but this little brat named Yang Kai almost managed to achieve just that.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind before Luo Hai’s eyes lit up and he muttered aloud, “Annihilation Thunder Bead, that should be the legendary Annihilation Thunder Bead!”
Every artifact used by the Great Emperor was famous, and while ordinary cultivators may not have heard much about them, Luo Hai, as a Star Master and a Second-Order Origin King, had naturally heard about the Annihilation Thunder Bead.
After feeling the power of this Emperor Artifact for himself, Luo Hai immediately judged that it was the Annihilation Thunder Bead!
Luo Hai grinned and let out a burst of fierce laughter.
If he could obtain the Annihilation Thunder Bead, he would definitely be able to exert most of the Emperor Artifact’s power. At that time, even if he were to face a Third-Order Origin King, he would have the confidence to win.
He, Luo Hai, would instantly become the strongest in the Star Field!
The lightning arcs gradually weakened and then disappeared.
The Starry Sky once again regained its calm!
“You want to run?” Luo Hai flicked his sleeve, and with his hands behind his back, like he was taking a leisurely stroll through his courtyard, he flew out hundreds of kilometres, chasing after Yang Kai.
Without even mentioning the Origin Essence Crystal in Yang Kai’s hands, just the Annihilation Thunder Bead was enough for Luo Hai to never let Yang Kai escape.
He wanted the Annihilation Thunder Bead as well as that Origin Essence Crystal!
What surprised him though, was that right now he could only feel Yang Kai’s aura in the distance, while Qian Tong seemed to have vanished entirely.
Not only that, but Yang Kai also seemed to have disappeared inexplicably for a time, to the point where even Luo Hai was unable to sense how he had moved.
A distance of ten thousand kilometres from Luo Hai, Yang Kai was desperately pushing his Saint Qi and adjusting his breathing while running away, his face extremely solemn.
Although he had escaped from Luo Hai’s suppression with the help of the Annihilation Thunder Bead and left the bounds of Green Mountains Star, even without Green Mountains Star’s Star Support, Luo Hai was still a genuine Second-Order Origin King.
Escaping from him would be incredibly difficult!
What’s more, using the Annihilation Thunder Bead had almost emptied all the Saint Qi in Yang Kai’s body. He had no choice but to explode a drop of pure Golden Blood to restore himself.
The more Saint Qi poured into the Annihilation Thunder Bead, the greater the power it could display. Even if it was used by a Third-Order Origin King, it would definitely not be able to exert its full might.
Yang Kai estimated that he could only bring out ten percent of the Thunder Bead’s power.
There was also a stinging pain in his head as his Knowledge Sea rolled and cracked, a clear sign he had overused his Spiritual Energy.
This kind of wound wasn’t too serious, and in normal times, Yang Kai would not even pay it much mind. All he would need to do was rest for a few days, then with the help of the Soul Warming Lotus, his Knowledge Sea would be completely restored.
But how could he spare any time to recuperate in his current predicament?
Throwing a number of pills into his mouth, Yang Kai tried his best to accumulate some Spiritual Energy as quickly as possible. Only by doing so would he have a chance to escape.
Fortunately, these pills were hand-made by Yang Kai, so each of them was of extremely high grade and quality. When the pills entered his stomach, they instantly turned into a stream of heat which flooded his body and began supplementing the Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy he had lost.
He had taken Qian Tong into the Sealed World Bead after the latter took a blow from Luo Hai. Qian Tong had suffered some injuries, and although they weren’t too serious, it was undoubtedly better for him to not fight again at this moment.
In the unlikely event that Luo Hai’s assault caused Qian Tong’s realm to fall, it would become a lifelong regret!
Qian Tong had just broken through to the Origin King Realm after all, and his realm had not stabilized yet.
In terms of cultivation, Yang Kai was far below the current Qian Tong, but in terms of being able to escape, Yang Kai was confident he would not lose to anyone.
His speed was already extremely fast, and with his Wind and Thunder Wings spread out behind him, he was able to soar through the Star Field like a bolt of lightning.
However, Luo Hai’s speed was still superior, and the ten thousand kilometre gap between was noticeably shortened in just a cup of tea’s worth of time.
Feeling a strong pressure coming from behind him, Yang Kai immediately understood that Luo Hai was closing in.
“Boy, cooperate with this King obediently and this King may spare you! If you continue to defy this King, don’t blame me for being merciless!” Luo Hai’s threatening voice clearly reached Yang Kai’s ears.
Yang Kai naturally ignored him and continued to flee. Facing such an opponent, he did not have any intention to fight, only by running as fast as possible was there a chance he could survive.
“You court death!” Luo Hai was furious when he saw Yang Kai disregard him. Now, just a thousand kilometres away from Yang Kai, he stretched out his hand and condensed a ball of energy at his fingertip and in the next instant, shot it out at a terrifying speed towards Yang Kai.
Feeling the murderous aura approaching from behind, Yang Kai grit his teeth and pushed his Space Force, stretching out his hands, grabbing the space in front of him, and tore it apart.
A Void Crack immediately appeared in front of him.
Yang Kai flew into the Void Crack and disappeared in the blink of an eye, a moment after which Luo Hai’s attack pierced through his afterimage.
“A Void Crack!” Luo Hai called out in surprise, and with a flicker, he arrived at the position where Yang Kai disappeared. He wanted to follow Yang Kai and rush into the chaotic void.
But Yang Kai obviously didn’t give him this opportunity and sealed the Void Crack behind him.
“This boy is proficient in the Dao of Space!” Luo Hai muttered in shock.
After reaching such a height in his cultivation, Luo Hai had seldom been surprised by anything, but Yang Kai had repeatedly shocked him.
First summoning the Emperor Artifact, then casually tearing space, how extraordinary was this little brat?
Possessing an Emperor Artifact could be written off as Yang Kai simply having had an extremely profound opportunity in some unknown place in the past. However, even Luo Hai had never heard of someone possessing the ability to tear space freely.
Among the Star Field’s trillions of cultivators, there were indeed a few who cultivated the Dao of Space, but the few people Luo Hai knew about had only dabbled in this field and could at best patch slightly damaged Space Arrays.
How could that even compare to the ability to tear space?
“Is this your trump card? No wonder you dared display such impudence in front of this King!” Luo Hai said gloomily before chuckling lightly, “But if you think this is enough for you to escape from this King’s palm, you are gravely mistaken.”
As soon as his words fell, he released his terrifying Divine Sense outwards.
After only three breaths, his eyes flashed and he turned his head to look in a certain direction, “Oh, seems you’re quite quick, little boy. You unexpectedly managed to flee five thousand kilometres!”
Taking a deep breath, Saint Qi exploded from Luo Hai’s body and he shot forward like a comet, rapidly approaching Yang Kai’s position.
Five thousand kilometres away, Yang Kai had only managed to take a few breaths before he felt a powerful Divine Sense lock onto his position, one he could not throw off.
Looking back, in the distant Starry Sky, a stream of light was rapidly approaching him.
Yang Kai grit his teeth, reached out his hands and tore space once more.
A moment later, Luo Hai arrived and came to a halt. After expanding his Divine Sense for the second time and searching for Yang Kai’s location, he set off in pursuit again.
One escaped, one pursued, the distance sometimes narrowing and sometimes expanding, but the atmosphere was always extremely tense.
Yang Kai knew that he must not fall into Luo Hai’s hands, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
Time flew by and half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.
Luo Hai’s originally calm and relaxed mood, as if victory was in his hand, had long ago disappeared and been replaced by fierce anger.
He thought that even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he would never be able to escape his palm.
The Dao of Space was extremely mysterious, and any cultivator who was proficient in it was extremely difficult to kill, but compared to Luo Hai, Yang Kai’s cultivation was simply too low!
How much Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy was required to tear space even once, Luo Hai did not know, but he estimated that the cost was not small. He only needed to follow after Yang Kai, and once his prey grew weak, he would be able to easily capture him.
This was his plan all along!
But what surprised Luo Hai was that during this past half a month, Yang Kai had torn space at least two hundred times, and every time, he was able to escape a distance of two to three thousand kilometres. What’s more, as time passed, the distance he escaped seemed to be increasing, likely a result of Yang Kai’s mastery of the Dao of Space increasing due to the intense pressure he was under.
Worse yet, the little brat showed no signs of exhaustion!
How could he have so much Saint Qi to splurge? Where was he getting all his Spiritual Energy from? Even taking high-grade pills constantly would not allow him to escape for such a long time.
Luo Hai was completely baffled!
Nevertheless, he didn’t give up. He firmly believed that his guess was correct, and that Yang Kai would eventually have no choice but to stop from exhaustion.
Luo Hai’s assumptions were indeed correct, Yang Kai needed to consume a huge amount of Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy to tear space, and after two months of fleeing like this, he was akin to a lamp without oil!
Fortunately, he still had more than enough Saint Qi to spare as all he needed to do was explode a drop of pure Golden Blood to refill his reserves.
Spiritual Energy was another matter, however. Yang Kai was consuming Spiritual Energy at a terrifying rate, faster than he could restore it. If it weren’t for him possessing a supreme treasure like the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai would have already been rendered powerless.
Even so, he was now an arrow at the end of its flight!
He had taken a lot of pills already and almost exhausted the ones which were capable of restoring his Spiritual Energy!
With no other choice, Yang Kai could only swallow raw herbs that helped restore Spiritual Energy now.
Although swallowing such herbs was nothing short of wasting Heaven’s precious gifts and was extremely inefficient, in the middle of this desperate escape how could Yang Kai care about such things?
As a side effect though, pushing his limits again and again was unconsciously expanding Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea as well as strengthening his Spiritual Energy.
His mastery of the Dao of Space was also increasing with time.
But Yang Kai didn’t notice this as all his energy was focused on escaping from Luo Hai’s tracking!
After thinking about it for so long, Yang Kai knew there was only one option.
He had to hide inside the Sealed World Bead! However, this method was far too risky, and once Luo Hai found where he was hiding, he would become akin to a turtle hiding in its shell.
He didn’t dare to do this unless he had no other choice!
Five more days passed.
The pursuer and pursued had now crossed an unknowable part of the Star Field, but Luo Hai was relentless, remaining not far behind Yang Kai the entire time, forcing the latter to tear space to open up some distance only to have it closed in short order.
Origin Kings were truly not to be underestimated!
With his Knowledge Sea almost completely dried up, even swallowing raw herbs couldn’t replenish Yang Kai’s waning Spiritual Energy. Right now, he could tear space three more times at most before he was completely exhausted.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai tore space and leapt into the Void Crack. The next moment he appeared a few thousand kilometres away.
Without pause, Yang Kai tore space a second time…
Then a third time…
In a single breath, he had put ten thousand kilometres between himself and Luo Hai.
Yang Kai’s face was as pale as paper, and as he looked around, his sight immediately landed on a massive nearby asteroid.
This asteroid was about a hundred kilometres wide, as big as a mountain.
After arriving at the asteroid, Yang Kai looked for an extremely well-concealed location and immediately took out the Sealed World Bead, hid it in the crevice, then with a flicker entered the Small Sealed World.
This Small Sealed World was incredibly peaceful.
The relatives and friends Yang Kai had brought from Tong Xuan Realm had lived here for some time now.
There was no competition in this world and the World Energy aura was quite strong. Apart from the incomplete World Principles, this place was simply a paradise.
Inside the Small Sealed World, there were many recently constructed lofts scattered in a roughly hundred-kilometre radius. Inside each of these lofts were cultivators meditating in seclusion.
They were built by the cultivators from Tong Xuan Realm. Inside the Small Sealed World, there were mountains, rivers, plains, and forests, so it was very convenient for them to collect basic construction materials.
The Three Clans, Human, Demon, and Monster, lived in harmony without disputes.
Everyone treasured their current life greatly.
The cultivation conditions and environment here were many times better than those on Tong Xuan Realm. Almost ninety-nine percent of the people had already made some kind of breakthrough in recent years.
Meng Wu Ya, Chu Ling Xiao, Ling Tai Xu, Demon Commander Zhang Yuan, the Monster Race Great Seniors…
All of these veteran Third-Order Saints had successively broken through to the Saint King Realm.
Although the World Principles of this Small Sealed World were incomplete, they were still able to meet the breakthrough requirements for these people; after all, the Saint King Realm did not require that much.
When Yang Kai appeared, the entire Small Sealed World remained silent.
No one noticed his arrival.
Relying solely on willpower to endure the pain in his head, Yang Kai spread out his Divine Sense to investigate.
Quickly, he found the location of Xia Ning Chang and his figure flickered, immediately arriving on the second floor of her loft.
Xia Ning Chang was still wearing her black veil as she performed Alchemy silently. When she was focused on Alchemy, she seemed to exude the faint halo that gave her a mysterious and dignified atmosphere, and although one could not see her face clearly, just the outline of her figure was enough to make any man lose his soul.
Yang Kai’s appearance greatly surprised her, but after she noticed his weak aura, her beautiful face paled immediately and she rushed over to support him, anxiously asking, “Junior Brother, what happened? Who hurt you?”
“It’s nothing, I just met a strong enemy who is currently chasing me,” Yang Kai wanted to laugh to relieve Xia Ning Chang’s worries, but he was too weak to even do that.
Xia Ning Chang’s expression changed noticeably but she didn’t ask anything. She knew that anyone who could force Yang Kai into such a state must at least be an Origin King!
She understood Yang Kai’s strength very well. Back at Chi Yue’s palace, even a master like Xue Lian was not Yang Kai’s opponent. So with him being in such a miserable state now, who else besides an Origin King could be responsible?
Xia Ning Chang grit her teeth and a pained look flashed across her wet eyes.
“I’ll be fine if I rest for a while, it’s not a big problem,” Yang Kai saw her crying, and knowing she was worried about him, he quickly tried to comfort her.
Xia Ning Chang nodded slightly as her eyes reddened.
“Do you have pills for restoring Spiritual Energy? Give me as many as you can!” Yang Kai reached out to her.
Xia Ning Chang quickly searched her Space Ring and took out several dozen jade bottles!
She had been concentrating on refining pills in the Small Sealed World almost the whole time she was here. Furthermore, with no shortage of materials, the results were remarkable. The pills in these jade bottles were all used to restore Spiritual Energy and ranged from Saint King Grade to Origin Grade High-Rank.
So many pills, if put outside and sold, would definitely be worth a fortune.
“This Clear Mind Restoration Pill is the best I have, there are also a few with Pill Veins. Use them first,” Xia Ning Chang picked out a jade bottle, opened it, and poured out the pills onto Yang Kai’s hand.
Yang Kai took them without saying a word and stuffed them into his mouth.
Stretching out his hand, he then swept all the other jade bottles into his Space Ring before sitting down cross-legged to meditate.
Little Senior Sister held her breath and quietly moved away from Yang Kai so as not to disturb him, her long eyelashes trembling lightly as she paid close attention to his condition.
Yang Kai’s complexion began to recover at a visible rate, allowing Xia Ning Chang to confirm he really was fine and had simply overdrawn his Spiritual Energy.
As long as Yang Kai was well, she could feel relieved.
Inside the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai meditated to restore himself, but he still maintained his Divine Sense outside to monitor the surroundings and prevent any accidents.
As the owner of the Sealed World Bead, this was not a difficult task.
Yang Kai was not certain if he could escape from Luo Hai with this method. This was a Second-Order Origin King, the most powerful enemy Yang Kai had ever encountered!
If Luo Hai discovered the existence of the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai would truly become a turtle hiding in its shell.
A figure flew past the huge asteroid where the Sealed World Bead was hiding a moment later and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Luo Hai!
He really did not manage to find the Sealed World Bead and instead continued in the direction Yang Kai had been fleeing.
Yang Kai calmed down but didn’t dare become careless. While desperately refining the pills’ medicinal efficacies to restore his Spiritual Energy, he continued to pay attention to the outside world.
After a short while, Luo Hai returned and came to a stop roughly fifty kilometres away from the asteroid.
The terrifying Divine Sense of a Second-Order Origin King spread out like a tide, sweeping the surrounding several ten thousand kilometre radius, not overlooking a single spot.
His eyes flashed a sharp light like a predatory eagle, seemingly able to see across vast distances at a glance.
Suddenly, his gaze was cast towards the massive asteroid where the Sealed World Bead was located.
Yang Kai could not help holding his breath as he secretly became nervous.
Fortunately, Luo Hai quickly shifted his sight and continued to search elsewhere, obviously not discovering anything out of the ordinary.
However, he was still an Origin King Realm master, and having lost Yang Kai suddenly in this area obviously did not make sense to Luo Hai. He didn’t think Yang Kai could escape from the range of his Divine Sense in an instant and was certain Yang Kai was hidden nearby, but it was a mystery what kind of method this boy had used to obscure his aura from him.
“Interesting!” Luo Hai muttered to himself as he continued shuttling back and forth in the surrounding several tens of thousands of kilometres range, searching for any suspicious place while shouting, “Boy, this King knows you are hiding here, but do you think this is enough for you to escape this King? Nonsense! Come out obediently now, hand over the Emperor Artifact and Origin Essence Crystal to this King, and this King can spare your life, if you force this King to find you, hmph…”
Yang Kai ignored these threats entirely.
Since Luo Hai had severed any form of reconciliation with him, there was no chance he would let Yang Kai go. Otherwise, if today’s events were spread, it would be a serious blow to his reputation.
Also, the mere existence of an Emperor Artifact and the Origin Essence Crystal was extremely sensitive, so how could Luo Hai allow a witness like Yang Kai live?
As long as he could obtain these two treasures, Luo Hai would certainly burn down bridges after crossing them.
Yang Kai secretly scolded Luo Hai for being so shameless.
While on Green Mountains Star, Luo Hai’s impression was still quite good. As a Star Master and a Second-Order Origin King, he did not display any pretentiousness and was quite approachable, but now, without any witnesses, he had revealed his true face.
If it had been a different Origin Realm cultivator, they may have buckled under Luo Hai’s pressure and staked everything on the remote chance the other party would show mercy.
But Yang Kai knew admitting defeat would only result in a quick death.
A day passed by, and Luo Hai had traversed the surrounding ten thousand kilometre region several times, carefully searching it again and again but never finding anything.
This made him extremely annoyed.
He was even beginning to doubt whether Yang Kai was really hiding here. Perhaps this little brat had actually already managed to escape!
Suddenly coming to a stop, Luo Hai’s expression became gloomy, as if he had made some kind of decision. He grits his teeth and shouted, “Boy, you’ve forced this King’s hand! I hope you won’t regret it when you arrive in the next life!”
Saying so, Luo Hai suddenly stretched out his hands and faced his palms towards one another.
A terrifying Saint Qi erupted from his figure as a ball of light appeared between his palms.
The Saint Qi in his body seemed to have found an exit and began gathering in this glowing ball of white light.
In the blink of an eye, a white energy ball the size of a fist appeared in front of Luo Hai.
Although this ball was not very big, it contained a terrifying amount of power capable of shattering worlds.
And as Luo Hai continued infusing more of his Saint Qi, the energy inside this light ball only grew more intense.
The Divine Sense Yang Kai left outside the Sealed World Bead sensed this scene and he realized that the situation was deteriorating. Knowing what Luo Hai was planning to do, for a moment, Yang Kai did not know how to respond and could only force himself to calm down and watch.
Ten breaths later, the white ball of light between Luo Hai’s hands had expanded to the size of a washbasin.
Luo Hai gave a slight grin and pushed his hands forward.
The white ball of light floated forward lightly, flying out a hundred kilometres in no time at all.
The next moment, a dazzling white light blossomed from that location, and the surrounding ten thousand kilometres were instantly flooded with a blinding brilliance. With the white light as its centre, within a radius of a few ten thousand kilometres, everything was disintegrated into dust.
Countless asteroids suspended in the Starry Sky were vaporized and even a small Dead Star nearby cracked apart and disappeared.
The full-powered blow of a Second-Order Origin King produced such terrifying effects!
Luo Hai did not move, simply expanding his Divine Sense while paying attention to any movement in his surroundings.
He believed that as long as Yang Kai was still hiding nearby, he would definitely die!
With a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivation, it was simply impossible for him to resist such a violent attack.
As for the Origin Essence Crystal and Emperor Artifact, neither was an ordinary treasure and they couldn’t be destroyed in such an energy blast.
Luo Hai doesn’t need to catch Yang Kai alive; he only needed those two treasures!
Everything within a few ten thousand kilometres disappeared, leaving an empty void. What shocked Luo Hai, however, was that there was no trace of Yang Kai at all, nor any sign of the Origin Essence Crystal or Emperor Artifact.
“Did he really escape?” Luo Hai’s face sank and his mood immediately became extremely gloomy.
Suddenly, he turned his head to look towards a certain direction.
In that position, there seemed to be something being driven by the violent energy impact and flying away quickly!
Luo Hai frowned and became a little suspicious.
The attack he just used had already destroyed everything in the vicinity, so what was this object that had survived?
No matter what it is, it was something extraordinary.
With his curiosity stimulated, Luo Hai planned to give chase.
When Luo Hai cast his eyes on the location of the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai knew the situation had become bad.
Hurriedly warning Xia Ning Chang, he put a pill into his mouth and rushed out of the Sealed World Bead.
The next moment, Yang Kai appeared in the Starry Sky, collected the Sealed World Bead, then tore space and rushed into the newly formed Void Crack.
“You are still here!” Luo Hai snorted sharply before transforming into a flash of light and hurriedly pursuing.
This time, though, when Luo Hai locked onto Yang Kai’s aura again, he was shocked to discover this boy was five thousand kilometres away!
“Did his use of Space Force become more refined?” Luo Hai changed countenance and, not daring to neglect, chased after Yang Kai.
Yang Kai also quickly discovered this point.
Just now, he had escaped five thousand kilometres in one leap, and… this didn’t seem to be his limit as he had accomplished this feat with ease just now.
Being chased after by Luo Hai and forced to constantly tear space to escape seemed to have helped him cultivate his Space Force!
Yang Kai suddenly felt an epiphany strike him.
Pushing his Space Force fiercely, he stretched out his hands again, tore space, and stepped into The Void.
When he appeared again, he silently calculated the distance moved this time.
Five thousand five hundred kilometres!
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed brilliantly, and he couldn’t help letting out a joyous laugh.
He suddenly discovered that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to squeeze out his own potential by overcoming this life or death crisis.
Standing in place, Yang Kai waited for Luo Hai to close to within a certain distance before leisurely tearing space to escape.
Six thousand kilometres!
Six thousand five hundred kilometres!
Seven thousand kilometres!
…..
“This little bastard!” What kind of character was Luo Hai? He could easily guess what Yang Kai’s actions meant. This brat was using him to cultivate his understanding of the Dao of Space.
To Luo Hai, this was an immense shame!
Cultivators who were proficient in the Dao of Space were terribly difficult to deal with. If it were any other Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, they would have long ago been killed.
But Yang Kai could even play a game of cat and mouse with a master like Luo Hai.
Luo Hai’s face was blue, and his fists clenched tightly, his bones creaking under the strain.
When had he ever suffered such an insult?
In the Star Field, apart from those old ghosts and hidden dragons who never showed their faces, Luo Hai was amongst the strongest. Senior Wu Dao had even commented that he was the most promising candidate to break through to the Third-Order Origin King realm in the Star Field.
This was an unparalleled honour!
Yet now, such a master had been rendered powerless to take an unknown little brat, a reality that nearly drove Luo Hai seething with rage.
Seeing Yang Kai once again disappear cockily from a position not far away, Luo Hai suddenly stopped in place, a terrifying calm spreading across his face, a sign a great storm was coming.
Releasing his Divine Sense, he locked onto the position where Yang Kai re-appeared, his deep gaze piercing space as he took a deep breath and roared furiously, “Green Mountains Star, hear your Star Master and obey his command, send me your Star Force!”
As soon as these words fell, on Green Mountains Star, which was billions of kilometres away, suddenly shook and an unfathomable beam of energy shot out from it, leaping across space as it raced towards Luo Hai.
Luo Hai’s already extremely powerful aura soared, nearly breaking through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm!
At the same time, in the main hall of a certain City Lord’s Mansion, Old Jiu and the other Origin Kings paled in shock as they leapt to their feet.
“Star Force Support!” The withered body of the old woman surnamed Lei trembled as her turbid eyes flashed an amazing light.
“It’s truly Star Force Support! Sir Luo Hai actually used the source strength of Green Mountains Star!”
“As a Star Master, no matter where they are, as long as they are still within the Starry Sky, they can summon the power of their star’s Star Source. What danger has Brother Luo Hai encountered that could force him into such a situation?”
“Who is he fighting against?”
The seven Origin Kings looked around blankly, with none of them able to understand what kind of crisis had befallen Luo Hai that required him to borrow the power of Green Mountains Star’s Star Source.
One had to know, even as a Star Master, it was not easy to use the power of their Star Source.
Star Master and Cultivation Star were closely related, sharing honour and disgrace. Once a portion of the Star Source’s power was used up, it could not be restored in short order. This was more serious than the Star Master himself suffering a grievous wound. Whether he won or lost the subsequent battle, Green Mountains Star’s loss could not be made up for within a thousand years unless Luo Hai broke through again with that time and reached the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
If Luo Hai had not been forced into a desperate situation, he would never have done this, but just how many people in this world could threaten Luo Hai so?
Had he provoked some hidden top master?
The faces of Old Jiu and the others turned pale!
Although they were all Origin Kings themselves, they were just First-Orders. The Second-Order was completely out of reach for them, not to mention the illusory Third-Order.
Everyone realized the situation had become grave.
Just after Luo Hai summoned the Star Source power of Green Mountains Star to him, the World Energy aura of Green Mountains Star weakened.
This subtle difference was not too obvious, but it was real.
This was the direct consequence of drawing the power of the Star Source!
It was rumoured that in ancient times, there was a battle between two Star Masters who wantonly used the power of their respective Star Sources, and in the end, both of them died and their Cultivation Stars degraded from extremely prosperous lands to ones that were barren, forever unable to recover.
Out in the Star Field, with the aid of the Star Force Support, Luo Hai’s aura rose wildly as he stared at the location of Yang Kai from afar. Opening his mouth, Luo Hai condensed a white beam of light that he then spat out like a flying sword.
Ten thousand kilometres away, Yang Kai’s hair all stood on end as a feeling of crisis gripped his heart.
Although he did not know what happened to Luo Hai, he knew that his opponent had become truly enraged. Not daring to neglect, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and slashed the space in front of him.
This time, however, his attempt to tear space did not go smoothly. The space where Yang Kai stood seemed to be sealed by something, and no matter how he tried to tear it open, he could only create a half meter long Void Crack and was unable to expand it any larger.
*Chi chi chi…*
Violent scraping sounds resounded all around as the white light approached. Even before this attack arrived, Yang Kai felt as if he had fallen into a blizzard from the potent murderous intent it contained. It was as if he was stuck atop a snowy mountain and the sharp wind was cutting into his skin.
[Not good!] Yang Kai’s complexion changed drastically as he saw the sword light getting closer and closer. Not daring to remain, he desperately pushed his Saint Qi and flew out.
But, as soon as he began moving, the white sword light slashed through the spot he was previously.
Space seemed to be torn in half as a massive Void Crack appeared!
Luo Hai did not understand anything about the Dao of Space, but his attack was so powerful it was actually able to affect the stability of space around him.
The remaining power of this attack exploded outwards, some of it landing on Yang Kai and releasing a terrifying sound.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s clothes were dyed golden by his blood and hundreds of tiny holes appeared in his intrepid flesh! From each hole, a fierce Qi penetrated Yang Kai’s body and tried to destroy his meridians and physique.
The fallout from this attack was already so strong, it made Yang Kai realize that if he had been struck head-on, he would likely have been vaporized instantly.
His face was slightly pale, but he didn’t have time to check his injuries as he desperately pushed his Saint Qi to suppress the sharp Qi which had penetrated his wounds and used his Space Force to again tear open a Void Crack.
The moment Yang Kai stepped into the Void Crack, Luo Hai arrived behind him!
“Let’s see you escape this time!” Luo Hai shouted as his face became gloomy, seemingly stunned that even after using his Star Force Support, he could not kill Yang Kai. His already dark mood instantly became worse and his body flickered as he continued to pursue Yang Kai.
One escaped while the other pursued, but different from before, Yang Kai was going all out this time.
Seeing Luo Hai’s strength soar inexplicably, Yang Kai guessed that it had something to do with the beam of light he had seen a moment ago which was in all likelihood the legendary Star Force Support!
[To think this old dog was willing to use such extreme measures to deal with me!] Yang Kai could not help cursing as he too knew the consequences of using the power of the Star Source like this.
After narrowly escaping from death again, Yang Kai’s face was extremely gloomy.
Luo Hai, with his Star Force Support, was completely different from earlier. Yang Kai estimated that once he ran out of Spiritual Energy again, he would be powerless to resist.
The Sealed World Bead had already been exposed once, so it was impossible to deceive Luo Hai with it again, making it dangerous to use while still out in the Starry Sky.
He could only go to a Cultivation Star!
With countless lives on a Cultivation Star, even Green Mountains Star’s Star Master Luo Hai could not act too presumptuously. Only by arriving at the nearest Cultivation Star would Yang Kai have an opportunity to use the Sealed World Bead to hide again!
Yang Kai’s eyes became firm as he sank his consciousness inward, transforming into a Soul Avatar above his Knowledge Sea.
Looking up at the sky, Yang Kai found his current position in the vast Star Chart hanging there and then looked for the nearest Cultivation Star!
With this Star Chart, he could see a miniature version of the Star Field anytime he wanted, so it was not difficult to find a Cultivation Star.
A moment later, his eyes lit up and his Soul Avatar escaped from his Knowledge Sea. Changing directions, he then continued to flee!
There was a great Starry Sky Storm ahead of him, but Yang Kai was not afraid. Directly breaking into it, Yang Kai used his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi to protect himself.
Luo Hai, who was right behind him, naturally did not fear this Starry Sky Storm. Exhaling another burst of white Sword Qi from his mouth, he flew straight into the storm.
Wherever he went, the Starry Sky Storm seemed to be disturbed and even took the initiative to separate to the sides to make way for him.
After only a quarter of an hour, Luo Hai emerged from the Starry Sky Storm safely.
But looking around, where was Yang Kai?
The little brat had somehow managed to disappear again, only leaving behind a residual Space Force fluctuation.
“So troublesome!” Luo Hai was in a bad mood as he turned his head towards a huge, vibrant Cultivation Star a few hundred thousand kilometres away. Narrowing his eyes, he muttered, “So you want to hide there? Good, this King wants to see how long you can hide!”
He quickly inferred Yang Kai’s intentions and judged that he was definitely hiding on this Cultivation Star.
Because once he hid there, it would be impossible to find him easily.
Cultivation Stars were different from Dead Stars in the Starry Sky. Dead Stars could be destroyed at will and no one would care, but if a Cultivation Star was destroyed, it would likely lead to the entire Star Field becoming his enemy. Even if Luo Hai hid back on Green Mountains Star, he would probably still die.
Without destroying this Cultivation Star, however, looking for someone who was deliberately hiding was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even Luo Hai was powerless here; after all, this was not Green Mountains Star where he could use his connection to the Star Source to spy on everything at once.
“Is this Scarlet Wave Star?” Luo Hai quickly came to the place a hundred thousand kilometres above the Cultivation Star, and after scanning it with his eyes, he realized that he had been here before and coldly snorted, “Fine, I’ll go see that old ghost Chi Huo first. I haven’t seen him for a thousand years now; I wonder if that old ghost’s cultivation has made any progress since then!”
Saying so, he flew off in a certain direction.
At the base of a barren mountain, in a river that flowed from north to south of, under a layer of silt, the Sealed World Bead lay quietly.
This was simply named Blue Mountain, and the river was called the Blue River.
Yang Kai passed through the Starry Sky Storm and successfully escaped Luo Hai’s Divine Sense tracking. After flying down to the surface of this Cultivation Star, he quickly found a deserted place to hide the Sealed World Bead then entered it himself.
He believed that Luo Hai would not dare act recklessly on this Cultivation Star, so he was safe for the time being.
On the second level of a loft in the Sealed World Bead, Xia Ning Chang’s tears dripped down as she saw Yang Kai’s situation this time was much worse than before.
Last time, he had only exhausted his Spiritual Energy and was slightly tired, but this time, he was covered in wounds. These wounds were like tiny pinholes which were not visible to the naked eye, but Xia Ning Chang keenly felt that a sharp Qi was festering in these wounds, destroying Yang Kai’s body from the inside out.
Yang Kai’s face was also as pale as paper.
“Don’t worry, I just need to enter retreat for a while!” Yang Kai comforted Xia Ning Chang once before he sat down cross-legged down and began trying to resolve the foreign Qi in his body.
Xia Ning Chang walked out of the attic silently, glancing back anxiously as she silently guarded him.
Quickly, however, she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion, took out a large number of herbs and other ingredients, sat cross-legged there, calmed her mood, and began performing Alchemy!
She felt that she was too weak and hated that she could not help Yang Kai.
On Tong Xuan Realm, she did not feel a sense of crisis, because as long as she wanted, she could suppress the entire realm by herself.
But since Yang Kai brought her out from that small world, she was able to understand the true splendours and dangers of the Star Field.
She now knew how weak she was.
If she was strong enough to fight alongside her Junior Brother, maybe he wouldn’t have been injured!
With such thoughts filling her head, Xia Ning Chang started desperately performing Alchemy!
Yang Kai’s arrival did not cause any kind of disturbance as, inside the Small Sealed World, nine out of ten cultivators were currently in secluded retreat.
In the loft, Yang Kai sat cross-legged and took out some pills to help him physically recover before he began using his Saint Qi to resolve the sharp Qi in his body.
These tiny strands of Qi contained the Domain of an Origin King Realm master and were filled with killing intent. If Yang Kai’s physical body had not been strong enough, these threads of Qi would have been enough to shred his body to pieces.
The methods of a Second-Order Origin King could not be judged by common sense.
Pushing his Saint Qi, Yang Kai began trying to purge these tiny threads of Qi from his meridians and physique.
But soon, Yang Kai’s complexion changed and became extremely ugly.
His own dense Saint Qi, which was powerful enough to show disdain for any other Origin Realm cultivator, was helpless to dissolve these foreign Qi threads. No matter how much Saint Qi Yang Kai condensed, the moment he tried to use it against these Qi threads, it would be ripped apart and scattered.
Not becoming discouraged, Yang Kai continued condensing his Saint Qi again and again, trying to slowly wear down the foreign Qi.
Ten days passed in a flash.
Inside the loft, rather than recovering, Yang Kai’s aura had instead become fainter.
After ten days of hard work, he had obtained no results. Not only had he not managed to expel Luo Hai’s Qi, but he had also wasted a massive amount of his own Saint Qi in the process.
With a difference of an entire Great Realm between them, Yang Kai’s Saint Qi was simply not a match for Luo Hai’s.
Yang Kai opened his eyes and stopped this pointless exercise. Although his expression was sluggish, his eyes were still bright.
This Qi was dead while he was alive, so he was still confident he could rid himself of it, but he had not found the right method yet.
Since Saint Qi was useless, what about the other forces Yang Kai had in his body?
Namely, there was his Space Force and his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi…
Thinking so, Yang Kai began to experiment.
Condensing his Space Force, Yang Kai tried to wrap up the small threads of Qi in his body. Seemingly aware of his Space Force, the Qi threads immediately began to counterattack. The extremely sharp Domain stabbed towards Yang Kai’s concentrated Space Force, and although it was still able to tear it apart, it seemed to be having a more difficult time than with Yang Kai’s Saint Qi.
[This could work!] Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he began pushing his Space Force more carefully.
A short time later, Yang Kai successfully wrapped his Space Force around one of the tiny threads of foreign Qi, and no matter how the thread struggled back and forth, it was unable to escape.
The next moment, Yang Kai pushed his Divine Sense and in conjunction with his Space Force instantly shifted the thread of Qi outside of his body.
Yang Kai’s Space Force dissipated, and the invisible Qi thread sputtered about before shooting off, leaving behind a pin-hole in the loft before dissipating entirely.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had now determined that Space Force could be used to get rid of Luo Hai’s Qi in his body, the only problem was it was quite cumbersome and inefficient.
While he was escaping, Yang Kai had been hit by several tens of thousands of Qi threads. If he were to try to drive them all out with this method, he would need at least three years to finish!
Naturally, this was far too long!
Yang Kai frowned and next tried his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi.
The Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art was a profound Body Tempering Secret Art. Cultivators who cultivate it would be able to form Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi, and each of the five different elements had their own specialty. Metal and Fire were specialized in attacking, Wood specialized in recovery, and Earth and Water specialized in defence. The five elements mutually constrained one another and when cultivated to the extreme, allowed one to obtain an immortal and indestructible body.
Yang Kai’s Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art was barely at the minor accomplishment stage. It could be used in battle, but it was far from the legendary immortal and indestructible body.
Activating his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi, Yang Kai extracted the Metal and Fire Sword Qis, the two specialized in attacking, and began using them to disperse Luo Hai’s Qi.
Inside his body, golden and red rays of light bloomed and shuttled through Yang Kai’s wounds, attacking the foreign Qi.
Although Luo Hai’s Qi had no form of sentience, it instinctively responded to a threat and began counterattacking the two Sword Qis.
However, this was in vain as the Metal and Fire Sword Qi only took three breaths to disperse one of the invisible Qi threads!
Yang Kai raised his brow and showed a joyful look.
He had not expected that the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi would be so effective at resolving Luo Hai Qi, making his Space Force seem somewhat lacking in comparison.
However, this was also understandable. Although the Dao of Space was broad and profound, Luo Hai’s Qi was a variant of Sword Qi, so with the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi also being a form of Sword Qi, it naturally had some ability to restrain the former.
Seeing hope, Yang Kai spared no effort to push his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi. Not only did he use the two offensive elements, but also the Water, Wood, and Earth Sword Qis as well. Doing so, Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised to find that his efficiency increased once more.
No longer thinking about it, Yang Kai didn’t waste any time, took out his Five Elements supreme treasures, arranged the appropriate Spirit Array around himself, then began cultivating his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art while simultaneously driving out Luo Hai’s Qi.
Time flew by and soon, three months had passed.
Yang Kai’s body had finally been purged of Luo Hai’s Qi, and Yang Kai also felt that the power of his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi had increased greatly as a result.
He guessed that it had something to do with dissolving Luo Hai’s Qi and absorbing it with his own Sword Qi!
As for the Five Elements supreme treasures, the Sun’s True Essence, Profound Yin Sunflower Water, Divine Nullification Sand, Profound Gold, and Thunder Wood were all in different states of depletion.
There was no need to worry about the Sun’s True Essence. As the core of a sun star, even after Yang Kai had used it to cultivate for so long, it had basically not shown any change while about half of his Profound Yin Sunflower Water and Divine Nullification Sand were left. On the other hand, the Profound Gold had shrunk to the size of a baby’s palm while the Thunder Wood also did not seem like it would last much longer.
Cultivating the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art consumed too much of the energy from these Five Elements supreme treasures.
Most people could not afford to cultivate this Body Tempering Art.
It seemed that besides the Sun’s True Essence, the other four treasures would soon need to be replaced. Otherwise, once Yang Kai finished consuming even one of them, he would no longer be able to continue cultivating.
Thinking so, Yang Kai ended his cultivation.
He next began to examine his body carefully.
Luo Hai’s Qi had been completely expelled, and all the injuries he suffered had basically been healed. Moreover, after experiencing a life or death crisis while escaping from Luo Hai, Yang Kai faintly felt that his cultivation had made a lot of progress.
It seemed he was on the verge of breaking through to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm!
This was not too surprising, as Yang Kai had also gained a lot inside the Blood Prison. However, because it had not been too long since he last broke through, Yang Kai didn’t want to rush ahead and risk destabilizing his foundation. If this was not the case, Yang Kai felt that he could have broken through to the Third-Order inside the Blood Prison.
He did not feel rushed and simply decided to let things happen naturally.
Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai soon spotted Xia Ning Chang who was still immersed in her Alchemy with a firmness to her beautiful, somewhat bloodshot eyes. It was difficult to tell just when she had last rested seeing her like this.
Yang Kai sighed slightly before sending her a Divine Sense Message telling her he had fully recovered, eliciting a smile from her.
However, Yang Kai did not rush to exit his seclusion and instead continued to remain in the loft.
During his escape from Luo Hai, Yang Kai had constantly used his Space Force which in turn gave him great inspiration and caused his comprehension of the Dao of Space to deepen.
His situation was too dire at the time, so he didn’t have any freedom to carefully digest these insights.
Now that the crisis had passed, he would certainly not miss this opportunity. Staying inside the loft, Yang Kai continued cultivating his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art while enhancing his comprehension of the Dao of Space.
……
Pure Ice Island was a famous spot on Scarlet Wave Star.
It was the headquarters of one of the two most powerful Sects on Scarlet Wave Star, Ice Heart Valley.
Pure Ice Island was surrounded by the sea on all sides and had ice flows around it that never melted thanks to the extremely low temperatures. The disciples of Ice Heart Valley all cultivated Ice Attribute Secret Arts and Martial Skills while the artifacts they used were also Ice Attribute.
The reason Ice Heart Valley was one of the two most powerful Sects on Scarlet Wave Star was because of its Supreme Elder, an Origin King Realm master!
In addition to the Supreme Elder, however, the Valley Master and several of the Elders were peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, only one step away from breaking through to the Origin King Realm.
Purely in terms of Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, Ice Heart Valley had over a hundred.
Such a number was extremely frightening. No great force on Shadowed Star was comparable. The once most powerful force, Star Emperor Mountain, only had thirty Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters, all of whom now belonged to High Heaven Sect.
On par with Ice Heart Valley was the equally famous Brilliant Flame Sect.
These two Sects had held the title of Scarlet Wave Star’s strongest Sects for over ten thousand years, but whether because of the nature of their Secret Arts, or because there was simply no way for a mountain to have two tigers, many grievances and grudges had formed between the two Sects and they were now in a perpetual state of conflict.
With grievances forged over thousands of years, there was now no longer any no possibility of resolving them peacefully.
At this moment, at the centre of Pure Ice Island, inside a magnificent ice palace, a dozen or so women with unique styles and features, each a great beauty in her own right, sat in two rows facing one another.
At the head of the hall was a woman wearing a long white dress. While this woman’s beauty was not country destroying, her eyes radiated a kind of cold purity that could entrance anyone who stared into them.
Ice Heart Valley’s Valley Master: Bing Long! A master at the very peak of the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm with Shi that had reached the grand accomplishment stage. She was the strongest master beneath Ice Heart Valley’s Supreme Elder.
The disciples of Ice Heart Valley were all female, and there had never been a precedent for males being accepted here.
However, no one dared to look down upon them just because they were women as anyone who tried to would die a swift death.
The atmosphere in the ice palace was a bit solemn, with the leadership of Ice Heart Valley seemingly discussing some particularly important matters.
“Valley Master, Brilliant Flame Sect’s recent movements are a bit strange, the pressure they are putting on our Ice Heart Valley has become much weaker while many of their disciples seem to frequently be out of the Sect, searching for someone.” The woman sitting in the first seat on the left said. She had the appearance of a thirty-year-old woman and seemed quite youthful, but her expression was extremely cold.
She was Ice Heart Valley’s Great Elder, Ran Yun Ting, and had a cultivation equivalent to that of Valley Master Bing Long; however, her strength was slightly inferior to the latter, so she could only take the position of Great Elder.
“Looking for someone? Why?” Ice Heart Valley’s Valley Master Bing Long raised her brow, her voice extremely soft and melodious. “What information did our disciples gather?”
Ran Yun Ting shook her head, “The disciples of Brilliant Flame Sect themselves don’t seem to understand much, only that they are looking for a young man. I have a portrait of him here, please have a look, Valley Master!”