“By the way, Yang Boy,” While waiting for the Seven Coloured Radiant Light to retreat, Gui Zu casually asked, “This old master noticed you have quite a deep knowledge of spirit medicines and herbs. Have you studied Alchemy, perhaps?”
Although the pair had only harvested Divine Nirvana Fruits and a Demon Melting Iris so far, Yang Kai had been able to quickly identify these herbs, how to properly preserve them, and which pills could be refined from them, speaking about all of it clearly and confidently. Naturally, Gui Zu would become suspicious.
“En!” Yang Kai nodded, not trying to deny it.
“Oh?” Gui Zu looked at Yang Kai in amazement, “In this short thirty or forty year period, you managed to grow from the Saint Realm all the way to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm. That was surprising enough for this old master, but now you say you also had time to study Alchemy? Are you not afraid you will delay your cultivation by pursuing too many diverse fields?”
Yang Kai chuckled and replied, “My original intention of studying Alchemy was as an auxiliary to my cultivation, the pursuit of the peak of the Martial Dao has always been my priority.”
“Very good,” Gui Zu looked at him approvingly, “Alchemy, Artifact Refining, arranging Spirit Arrays, although each of these fields is of great importance, none are comparable to the Martial Dao. Cultivation should always be one’s priority, everything else can only serve as supplementals to it.”
Regarding Gui Zu’s opinion, Yang Kai naturally nodded in agreement.
“En, but that being said, if you can achieve something in any of these three domains, it is still a remarkable accomplishment,” Gui Zu was satisfied with Yang Kai’s attitude, smiled, and asked curiously, “Do you mind telling this old master what grade of pills you can refine now?”
Hearing his question, Yang Kai thought about it seriously before solemnly replying, “Since it is Senior asking, this Junior won’t conceal anything. En, this Junior can be regarded as an Origin King Grade Alchemist and can refine Origin King Grade Spirit Pills!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Gui Zu’s body shook violently as he stared straight at Yang Kai without speaking for quite some time.
“Senior?” Yang Kai gave a dry laugh when he saw the reaction he was expecting from Gui Zu. After all, how many Origin King Grade Alchemists were there in the entire Star Field? Which of those Alchemists was not grey-haired and extremely famous? At Yang Kai’s age, it should have simply been impossible to become an Origin King Grade Alchemist.
Gui Zu was silent for a long time before taking a deep breath and asking in a shaky voice, “Are you making a joke?”
He thought Yang Kai was playing a prank on him at first, but after observing him for some time and not seeing the slightest signs that Yang Kai was joking, he began to suspect that perhaps… he might be telling the truth.
“No!” Yang Kai shook his head.
“You’re really an Origin King Grade Alchemist!?” Gui Zu exclaimed and after speaking, immediately swept his eyes around, as if he was afraid someone might have heard him shout just now.
“How could this Junior joke about such a matter? En, although I have only refined a few Origin King Grade Spirit Pills, I have indeed refined some. According to the Star Field’s method of classifying Alchemists, this Junior should be regarded as an Origin King Grade Alchemist.”
Gui Zu took another deep breath as he stared at Yang Kai like some strange monster.
Yang Kai was not old, he possessed such high cultivation, and now he also seemed to be an Origin King Grade Alchemist! How did he do it? Even if he began cultivating in his mother’s womb, it should have been impossible to achieve this, right? Only if he had somehow managed to split himself into a dozen clones that could cultivate independently would something this absurdity be possible.
Gui Zu absolutely could not understand!
“There are very few people who know I am an Origin King Grade Alchemist. Besides my women and family, only Senior knows, so I hope Senior can keep it a secret for me,” Yang Kai grinned.
Yang Kai usually concealed his identity as an Alchemist because he lacked strength and had to worry about others trying to take advantage of him.
But now that his strength had reached such a height, exposing his identity as an Alchemist would not cause him any trouble; on the contrary, being known as an Origin King Grade Alchemist would bring huge benefits, so Yang Kai didn’t intend to hide it from his acquaintances if they asked.
Hearing this, Gui Zu nodded and said in a serious tone, “This old master knows what he should do, he won’t spread such information about. What’s more, this old master doesn’t have any associates, so how could he do something as dull as bragging to strangers about another’s accomplishments? However… Kid, why did you just tell this old master the truth? Aren’t you afraid this old master would act against you? You should know just how attractive an Origin King Grade Alchemist is to people like this old master. If one can capture such an Alchemist and force them to refine pills for them, improving one’s strength becomes easy.”
“Haha, Senior is not such a person,” Yang Kai touched his nose. “If I wasn’t confident in Senior’s character, I wouldn’t have told the truth. Besides, between offending an Origin King Grade Alchemist and befriending one, Senior surely understands which is the wiser choice. Even if you were to capture me and force me to perform Alchemy for you, you would constantly need to worry about poison being hidden in the pills I refined for you.”
Saying so, Yang Kai grinned at Gui Zu.
He had chosen to tell the truth to Gui Zu after some consideration, not on a whim.
Gui Zu stared at Yang Kai deeply for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter, “Hahaha! This old master is deeply honoured. En, I never expected that a little brat this old master almost completely wrote off in the past would not only have such profound cultivation but also become an Origin King Grade Alchemist! If this kind of matter were to spread, it would only be giving this old master face.”
“Senior surely jests,” Yang Kai said modestly.
“En, then regarding that Great Nirvana Pill and Demon Vanquishing Pill you mentioned before, can you refine them?” Gui Zu asked nervously.
The Great Nirvana Pill could improve his cultivation while the Demon Vanquishing Pill could suppress his heart demons, both of which were of great use to him. He originally planned to go out to find an Origin King Grade Alchemist in the Star Field to request Alchemy from.
But this would undoubtedly cost him a huge price and would likely take many years; after all, which of these Alchemy Grandmasters wasn’t highly sought after? These were not masters one could simply take raw materials to and then expect a pill from, everything depended on the other party’s schedule.
Due to Gui Zu’s unique circumstances, he was not familiar with all the procedures around such things, but he at least understood common sense. With his cultivation, he may have to agree to some harsh conditions such as helping a certain Alchemy Grandmaster kill someone or take a huge risk to obtain some precious material before the other party would even consider accepting his request for Alchemy.
Even an Origin King like him may not necessarily be able to bear the price that these Grandmasters demanded.
But now, there was an Origin King Grade Alchemist in front of him, and one he had a good relationship with.
Gui Zu was so happy he wanted to shout!
He secretly rejoiced in his heart that he had not killed Yang Kai back then and even offered him thanks for his life-saving grace, forging a kind of friendship with him. Fortunately, in the Severed World this time, he had been genial with Yang Kai at every turn!
Gui Zu suddenly felt that befriending Yang Kai was the wisest decision he had ever made in his life.
“The Great Nirvana Pill and Demon Vanquishing Pill are both Origin King Grade Spirit Pills, so neither is easy to refine, but as long as you can obtain the other ingredients, I should be able to give it a try,” Yang Kai thought about it carefully before nodding.
“What chance do you have to succeed?” Gui Zu hurriedly asked.
“At least sixty percent.”
“Sixty percent!” Gui Zu drew a sharp breath as he realized he was still underestimating Yang Kai. Origin King Grade Spirit Pills were extremely difficult to refine, and the failure rate was surprisingly high. Even most famous Alchemy Grandmasters would not dare guarantee a sixty percent success rate.
Yang Kai was also not the kind to idly boast. Gui Zu was well acquainted with this boy’s stable temperament, so he did not doubt him. Since Yang Kai said he had a sixty percent chance to succeed, he meant sixty percent.
“But…” Yang Kai suddenly laughed.
“But what,” Gui Zu’s heart tightened once more.
“If Senior wants to refine the Great Nirvana Pill and Demon Vanquishing Pill, this Junior can recommend another person, she has far more exquisite skill in Alchemy. If she takes action, the success rate will be higher.”
*Si…*
Gui Zu audibly inhaled as he stared at Yang Kai incredulously, “Do you know another Origin King Grade Alchemist? Right, you should have been taught by some famous Grandmaster, could it be you’re referring to your Honoured Master?”
As Gui Zu spoke, his eyes flashed with brilliant light.
Yang Kai’s Honoured Master was definitely an Origin King Grade Alchemist, and definitely superior to Yang Kai. Gui Zu definitely wanted to befriend such a person. As long as he could form a friendship with such a Grandmaster, he would be able to ask for high-grade pills at any point in the future. At that point, how could he not benefit enormously?
Gui Zu had secretly made up his mind that after this trip to the Severed World, he needed to visit Yang Kai’s Honoured Master.
How many Origin King Grade masters wanted to meet with such an Alchemy Grandmaster but had no way to, yet now Gui Zu had a chance to meet two! Gui Zu almost felt his heart burst from his chest.
“No,” Yang Kai shook his head, “The person I’m referring to is my Senior Sister!”
He was speaking about Xia Ning Chang!
Although her Alchemy skills were not as good as his when Yang Kai brought Xia Ning Chang out from Tong Xuan Realm, he was confident that her Alchemy skills had already surpassed his after practising for so many years with the near-unlimited supply of herbs High Heaven Sect provided her, as well as the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture guiding her, and the Special Constitution that allowed her to comprehend everything about Alchemy.
“Your Senior Sister is also an Origin King Grade Alchemist?” Gui Zu was shocked.
Didn’t that mean… that there were three Alchemy Grandmasters at this level in one single group? How Heaven defying was that!?
Gui Zu hardly dared to imagine what kind of Sect could possess three Origin King Grade Alchemists! With such powerful support, how could this Sect ever lack for high-grade pills?
If this kind of news were to spread, Gui Zu was certain it would set off great waves across the entire Star Field. Even giants such as the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Purple Star, and Sword Union would definitely send people to win over the Sect Yang Kai belonged to.
After all, even these three great forces did not all have their own Origin King Grade Alchemist! Among the three, only Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce and Purple Star had one each, while Sword Union did not have one in its employ.
“Little Senior Sister is indeed an Origin King Grade Alchemist,” Yang Kai nodded.
“Yang Kai!” Gui Zu suddenly took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, “Which Cultivation Star is your Sect established on? Is your Sect recruiting? Do you need a high cultivation Elder or something? En, an Honoured Guest Elder would also be fine. No matter what it is, any title would be acceptable.”
Gui Zu could not calm down at all.
Although he had spent his years alone at ease, only he knew how sorrowful and difficult such isolation could be.
For example, he had no one to ask if he wanted a pill refined. If he wanted to enter retreat to cultivate some Secret Technique, no one would protect him. He even needed to acquire the resources to cultivate by himself.
All kinds of trivial matters put a great strain on him and wasted much of his time.
This was very different from Origin Kings who belonged to great forces. Each of these masters would have extraordinary status and if they needed anything, all they had to do was issue a command and countless disciples would rush around to fulfil their request. All those Origin Kings needed to do was cultivate with peace of mind.
As such, there were times when Gui Zu envied those Origin Kings who belonged to great forces.
However, if he really was asked to join a great force, he would definitely refuse; after all, he wasn’t willing to be restrained by others and did not want to tie himself to some force he had no connection with.
But if it was the Sect where Yang Kai was, it would be completely different!
This Sect had three Origin King Grade Alchemy Grandmasters! This alone was a fatal attraction to Gui Zu.
Furthermore, he felt Yang Kai was quite easy to get along with, and their relationship was amicable, so his feelings of rejection towards the Sect Yang Kai belonged to were comparably less.
Seeing Gui Zu offer himself up without him needing to take the initiative to invite him, Yang Kai was quite happy.
He had not expected that Gui Zu would suddenly propose joining High Heaven Sect, but it made sense to Yang Kai after some thought.
With both him and Xia Ning Chang being Origin King Grade Alchemy Grandmasters, it really was not too difficult to win over an Origin King. It was just that Yang Kai had not been too keen on doing this. Even if there was no Origin King in High Heaven Sect currently, that did not mean there would not be one or more in the future.
Ye Xi Yun could already be considered a quasi-Origin King, and given her aptitude and foundation, breaking through to the Origin King Realm in the future was basically a given, all she was lacking was an opportunity.
However, if Gui Zu wanted to join, that was not something he couldn’t accept. After this period of getting along, Yang Kai also understood that Gui Zu was not as sinister and vicious as he seemed.
His ghastly aura was simply because of the Secret Art he cultivated.
As various thoughts flashed across his mind, Yang Kai grinned, “Junior belongs to a force called High Heaven Sect that has its headquarters on Shadowed Star. Despite lacking in many places, this Junior also serves as High Heaven Sect’s Sect Master…”
He briefly explained the situation of High Heaven Sect to Gui Zu.
When he heard that High Heaven Sect was founded by Yang Kai himself, Gui Zu could not help admiring him greatly. When he learned that there was currently no Origin King in High Heaven Sect, and that across Shadowed Star there was only a single, newly promoted First-Order Origin King, Gui Zu was overjoyed.
He had thought that a great force which possessed several Origin King Grade Alchemy Grandmasters would not be weak, and perhaps already have many Origin Kings serving it. If that was the case, his joining would just be adding flowers to a bouquet, but now it seemed that he could directly become the strongest master of High Heaven Sect and Shadowed Star if he really joined!
The difference in status between these two situations was completely different from what he had expected before. He could become a supreme existence in one leap!
So Gui Zu was even more enthusiastic and could not wait to ask, “Yang Kai, this old master has wandered about all alone for most of his life, and ever since escaping that floating continent, he has drifted about without any place to stop and rest. What do you say to this old master calling your High Heaven Sect home? This old master doesn’t have many requirements. As long as he can hang the title of Honored Guest Elder next to his name and he can enjoy the care of those Origin King Grade Alchemists to occasionally refine a few pills, this old master will be satisfied, haha…”
He was very direct and honest.
Yang Kai laughed, “A master like Senior wishing to join High Heaven Sect. How could this Junior ask for anything more?”
“Then it’s settled?” Gui Zu’s eyes lit up. Although he knew that Yang Kai probably would not refuse him, Gui Zu was still happy when he heard Yang Kai agree.
This way, he could approach the Origin King Grade Alchemist Yang Kai spoke of, and as long as he found the appropriate herbs in the future, he wouldn’t need to worry about having someone to refine them into pills for him! How could his strength not improve rapidly at that point?
Gui Zu could already imagine a future where he broke through to the pinnacle of the Third-Order Origin King Realm and stood at the very peak of the entire Star Field.
“It’s settled!” Yang Kai nodded happily, “But the status of Honoured Guest Elder doesn’t fit Senior’s great strength, so instead… you shall be the Sect’s Supreme Elder.”
Gui Zu’s body shook violently as he stared deeply at Yang Kai, his heart unable to settle for quite some time.
Although he had never joined any great force before, he knew the difference between an Honoured Guest Elder and a Supreme Elder. An Honoured Guest Elder, although granting some rights and privileges, was really nothing more than an in-name position with no real power at all.
On the other hand, a Supreme Elder was completely different. Supreme Elders held real power. Strictly speaking, that power was so great it only ranked below that of the Sect Master. There were even some great forces where Supreme Elders were ranked higher than the Sect Master and were existences that could easily mobilize all the Sect’s resources and disciples with absolute authority.
However, being an Honoured Guest Elder also had its advantages. When the Sect encountered grave danger it could not resolve, an Honoured Guest Elder could choose to help or not according to their own situation, giving them a high degree of freedom, but a Supreme Elder had to advance and retreat together with the Sect, sharing life and death with it.
Supreme Elders were generally the highest in terms of seniority in a Sect, and only those with superb qualifications could hold such a post.
Gui Zu had not expected that Yang Kai would directly give him the title of Supreme Elder, and although the risks he would have to bear became greater if he accepted, the benefits and treatment he would receive would be proportionally better.
“Yang Boy, you treating this old master with such courtesy demands that this old master respond with equal sincerity. Alright, this old master does not speak empty words. When the time comes, this old master will not disgrace his title as a Supreme Elder!” Gui Zu quickly said.
Even though he was not a young man anymore, Yang Kai’s words had still made his blood boil, so he directly spoke these bold words.
“Senior is too serious. Since this Junior offered you the position of Supreme Elder, he does not doubt you,” Yang Kai chuckled.
“You still call me Senior?” Gui Zu asked with a grin.
“En… Junior greets Supreme Elder!” Yang Kai quickly cupped his fists and replied sincerely.
“Many thanks, Sect Master!” Gui Zu also replied, “From now on, this old master is a member of High Heaven Sect and will thus be troubling Sect Master. If Sect Master has any instructions, please don’t hesitate!”
After speaking, the two looked at each other and laughed loudly, as if they had made some kind of illicit deal just now…
“Good, after this trip to the Severed World is over, this old master will follow you back to the Sect,” Gui Zu said with a look of yearning. He was very curious about what kind of Sect could cultivate a monster like Yang Kai. Since he had chosen to join High Heaven Sect, he wanted to see it and determine its strength and prospects.
“A simple matter. I’ll be together with you so this news will reach the Sect promptly and without incident,” Yang Kai nodded.
Saying so, Yang Kai’s brow suddenly rose and he said, “Supreme Elder, I suddenly had a thought.”
“What?”
“We should act separately, that way our search range will greatly increase and the number of treasures we can collect will double. What do you think?”
Yang Kai had not made such a suggestion before primarily because although he had a good relationship with Gui Zu, they were not true allies, so such a proposal wasn’t appropriate as it may cause Gui Zu to misunderstand his intentions.
But now it was different. With Gui Zu joining High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai no longer had any scruples making this proposal.
Gui Zu thought for a while and said, “If we separate, we can indeed search a wider area and our gains will also increase, but there are too many Void Cracks here. Although this old master can discover most of them, there are some which are hidden so deeply that this old master cannot discover. Without you, this old master is not confident he can act freely.”
Just like the situation a moment ago, when the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was approaching, Gui Zu would have been engulfed by the multi-coloured light and the consequences would have been disastrous if Yang Kai had not found a place to escape.
“Heh heh, since I am suggesting this, I naturally have a method to allow Supreme Elder to discover those Void Cracks,” Yang Kai smiled confidently.
“Oh? Does Sect Master have some way to allow this old master to sense the surrounding Void Cracks?” Gui Zu asked in surprise.
Yang Kai grinned, “I can leave a Space Mark on you so that you can perceive those hidden cracks.”
“You can do that?”
“It should be possible. Come, let’s try,” Yang Kai wasn’t completely sure as he had never done this before, but after swallowing and fusing with the energy of the spatial helix, his understanding of the Dao of Space had reached a new height so he felt he could be able to accomplish this.
“If you can really do it, then it would undoubtedly be a boon,” Gui Zu nodded.
With Gui Zu’s consent, Yang Kai took a deep breath and pushed his Space Force to condense a small, swirling vortex at the tip of his finger.
The next moment, Yang Kai gently tapped towards Gui Zu’s chest.
This spiral suddenly exploded and transformed into a type of seal which remained on Gui Zu.
“Oh… this is Space Force?” Gui Zu muttered in surprise. Even though he was a Second-Order Origin King, he could not help marvelling at the profoundness of the Space Force mark on his chest. This mark seemed to send Space Force fluctuations into his surroundings, then feedback information to him.
There were a few places nearby where the feedback information was different, and when Gui Zu looked towards those places, he suddenly discovered that there were Void Cracks at each of them!
And one of them was the hidden crack he and Yang Kai were hiding behind! Before, he couldn’t sense this Void Crack at all, and only after its shape was outlined by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was he able to see it; but now, he could perceive it clearly.
It was as if a certain special perception had been added to his own.
“Is it useful?” Yang Kai asked. Although he felt that his idea should be feasible, using a Space Force mark to sense the existence of Void Cracks, in the end, was a newly formulated Secret Technique he was using on another person, so he was not completely confident.
“It’s useful, very useful!” Gui Zu nodded repeatedly, “This old master can feel all the surrounding Void Cracks now. There are three hidden cracks nearby, right?”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded and smiled, “It seems that there is nothing wrong with this idea.”
“Yeah, this old master won’t run into any problems anymore, but… are you sure you’ll have no problems on your own?” Gui Zu asked worriedly. Most of the people who entered here were Origin Kings, with only Xue Yue and Zi Dong being Origin Realm cultivators, but those two would definitely be following Ni Guang and Zi Long respectively. If Yang Kai was alone, he would need to bear some great risks to act here, and if he encountered any masters, he would be vulnerable to attack.
This made Gui Zu somewhat nervous.
“There’s no problem,” Yang Kai grinned, “Supreme Elder hasn’t forgotten what power I am proficient in, right? There are so many Void Cracks here that this place is simply tailored made for me. If I encounter some aggressive fool, even if I cannot defeat them, I can still run.”
Hearing what he said, Gui Zu also agreed and nodded, “Good, in that case, we’ll act separately, but you must still remain vigilant. En, I will leave something with you as well; as long as you and I are within a few thousand kilometres, I will be able to perceive your location if you stimulate it and I will rush over to assist.”
As Gui Zu spoke, he waved his Ten Thousand Soul Banner, reached into it, and pulled something out.
The next moment, a Yin Soul roared eerily as it was handled by Gui Zu.
This Yin Soul looked incredibly terrifying and had clear facial features while also exuding an extremely powerful aura. This aura was just as strong as an ordinary Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator’s.
“This is the vice-soul of this old master’s Ten Thousand Soul Banner and has a direct link to this old master’s Soul. For now, I’ll leave it with you!” Gui Zu stretched out his hand and placed the Yin Soul on Yang Kai’s shoulder.
The next moment, Yang Kai felt a hint of coldness coming from his shoulder, but it did not affect him much.
After a quick scan to confirm the Yin Soul was attached to his body, Yang Kai nodded slightly to indicate that everything was in order.
Now, all that was left to do was wait for the Seven Coloured Radiant Light to retreat so the two could set off.
While the seven coloured light covered the mountain valley, no one was able to move and could only hide behind nearby Void Cracks.
Yang Kai silently kept track of time.
Finally, the sound of a deep inhalation from the depths of the mountain valley sounded, and along with a slight rumbling, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light receded like a great tide.
“Sect Master, be careful,” Gui Zu entreated.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded before immediately setting off in the opposite direction Gui Zu took.
After separating from Gui Zu, Yang Kai’s speed became much faster. Even though he was much safer while acting with Gui Zu, Yang Kai still had to constantly warn Gui Zu when to change directions to avoid Void Cracks, slowing Yang Kai’s progress slightly. Now, this wasn’t a concern.
In the medicine valley, medicinal fragrances were everywhere, so it was quite simple to find these precious herbs; just by following the flow of medicinal fragrances, one could reap gains.
The only thing to worry about was the existence of Void Cracks and the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
But Yang Kai estimated that since the Seven Coloured Radiant Light had just retreated, it would not appear again for some time, so he acted boldly.
After a stick of incense, he squatted happily beside the roots of a towering tree to pluck a ginseng-like root.
This root did not appear any different from ordinary ginseng besides its glimmering red glow, making it look like a red starry sky that had been shrunk down countless times.
“Red Star Ginseng, this really is a good place,” Yang Kai muttered. All of the herbs he had acquired so far were Origin King Grade, and each was a rare, if not extinct treasure. These herbs could be used to refine Origin King Grade Spirit Pills that even Origin Kings would desperately fight for.
Yang Kai was on the verge of another breakthrough, so these herbs were incredibly useful for his future cultivation.
This trip to the Severed World had provided him with such a rare opportunity to collect herbs so he certainly spared no effort.
After half a stick of incense worth of time, Yang Kai was already three hundred kilometres away as he frowned at a patch of spirit grass in front of him and some disturbed soil, cursing under his breath for being too late.
The spirit medicine which grew in this place had already been harvested.
The only spirit grass remaining was immature, so it would be useless even if it were to be collected.
It seemed that the cultivator who came here before followed the principle of not killing the chicken which laid the eggs. This person took away the mature spirit medicines while leaving behind the seedlings, a courtesy to future generations.
It was not clear who this person was, but after a moment of grumbling, Yang Kai simply shook his head and began tracing the next medicinal fragrance which stimulated his nose.
Another stick of incense worth of time passed before Yang Kai finally gained something, and although this herb was inferior to the Divine Nirvana Fruit and Demon Melting Iris, it was still an invaluable treasure one could not buy even if they had enough money.
“It should be time soon,” Yang Kai muttered to himself.
According to his previous estimates, the period of time between when the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock inhaled and exhaled was roughly half an hour. If this calculation was accurate, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light would soon flood the mountain valley again.
Yang Kai could not be sure about his speculation, though, as he had yet to verify it.
Just to be cautious, Yang Kai began paying attention to the locations of nearby Void Cracks as he continued his search.
Suddenly, he turned his head to look in one direction as he sensed something. He noticed that there was a life aura quickly approaching from about thirty kilometres away, and after some quick checking, he realized that this aura was quite familiar and muttered, “Oh, it’s her!”
Understanding this, Yang Kai did not try to avoid this newcomer and instead turned towards them in order to greet her.
A moment later, a figure appeared nearby.
Yang Kai raised his voice and called out, “Senior Luo!”
Luo Lan had also discovered Yang Kai some time ago, which was why she was flying over towards him, constantly releasing her Divine Sense in order to scan for Void Cracks in her path.
Luo Lan smiled when she heard Yang Kai’s voice and increased her speed.
“Wait!” Yang Kai shouted suddenly.
Luo Lan stopped immediately and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there a Void Crack in front of me?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Yes. If you go forward five steps, you’ll touch it.”
Luo Lan’s pretty face paled slightly as she felt some slight fear, staring towards the space in front of her as she asked, “Here?”
“En, you’ll be fine if you move a metre to either side,” Yang Kai instructed.
Luo Lan moved cautiously, following Yang Kai’s directions as she flew over to his side, saying when she arrived, “Many thanks. If you had not reminded me just now, I’m afraid I’d have already lost my head.”
“A minor matter, Senior doesn’t need to worry about it,” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
“By the way, why are you here alone?” Luo Lan looked at Yang Kai and asked curiously. She had clearly seen Yang Kai enter the medicine valley with Gui Zu before, but now, Gui Zu was nowhere to be seen.
“That’s what I was about to ask,” Yang Kai chuckled. “I acted separately from Senior Gui Zu so that we could have greater gains, but what about Senior Luo? Why aren’t you together with Senior Ni?”
“For the same reason,” Luo Lan said with a smile. “Following him, I was not able to obtain anything good, so I decided to take a chance and explore on my own. Although I have had some gains so far, it seems that the reason I haven’t gotten into trouble yet was merely luck.”
If it had not been for Yang Kai’s warning just now, she definitely would have struck that Void Crack head-on, and the consequences would have been disastrous.
Thinking she might have passed by countless invisible Void Cracks so far; Luo Lan broke out into a cold sweat.
As the two talked, the sound of a great exhalation came from the depths of the medicine valley. Yang Kai and Luo Lan, who had already experienced this phenomenon before obviously knew what it meant and what they had to do.
[Seems my estimates were right], Yang Kai thought secretly. Every time the Divine Bird breathed; it would take about half an hour to complete a cycle.
While he was thinking about this matter, Luo Lan turned her head around to try to find a place to hide. Unfortunately, there were no visible Void Cracks nearby, so with no other choice, she could only turn to Yang Kai.
She did not show any panic though; after all, she was certain there were hidden Void Cracks here that could be used to avoid the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, it’s just that she couldn’t find them.
“Senior, come here!” Yang Kai said without any hesitation, beckoning to Luo Lan as he stood behind a nearby Void Crack, but in the next moment, Yang Kai’s expression cramped up, “Ah…”
“What’s wrong?” Luo Lan stood in front of Yang Kai and asked as she saw an awkward look appear on his face.
“This Void Crack…” Yang Kai looked embarrassed, “It’s a bit small.”
“Small?” Luo Lan was confused at first but quickly realized what Yang Kai was trying to say.
Since the Void Crack was small, there would not be much room for the two of them to hide. If a man and a woman were forced into a small space, it was inevitable they would have some physical contact.
Considering this, Luo Lan’s expression also became a little awkward.
Although she was many times older than Yang Kai, she was still a woman, and a beautiful one who appeared no older than her thirties at that.
“It’s fine, we only need to hide here for a while,” Luo Lan calmed her mind and said she shuffled closer to Yang Kai, leaving only half a metre or so between them before she looked over at Yang Kai and asked, “Can I stand here?”
Yang Kai shook his head.
Luo Lan gave a dry laugh as she realized that this Void Crack was really quite small.
At that moment, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light suddenly flooded out, quickly blanketing the medicine valley.
In the blink of an eye, the wall of light rushed towards the Void Crack in front of Yang Kai and Luo Lan like a great flood.
“Senior, your position is still very dangerous. Forgive me!” Yang Kai called out sharply before rapidly grabbing Luo Lan’s waist and pulling her into his arms.
Caught off guard, Luo Lan had no time to resist and soon found herself nestled in Yang Kai’s embrace.
“Ah!” Letting out a yelp, her eyes bulged as she instinctively pushed her Saint Qi.
“Senior, check behind you!” Yang Kai spoke extremely fast before Luo Lan could act.
Luo Lan was startled and quickly released her Divine Sense to check the situation behind her.
In the next instant, her expression changed dramatically.
Less than a finger’s length behind her, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was freely flowing.
If it weren’t for Yang Kai pulling her in a moment ago, at least half her body would have been covered by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light body. With the terrifying power of this light, she could imagine how terrible her end would be.
Even now, her position was precarious as the light which washed around the Void Crack could touch her body at any time.
Quickly understanding her situation, Luo Lan felt some lingering fear.
She realized that Yang Kai was not trying to take advantage of her and had really just acted out of necessity. Dispersing her Saint Qi, she said with some embarrassment, “I apologize, I overreacted a bit.”
“It’s fine,” Yang Kai shook his head, frowning to himself as he felt his situation was quite difficult.
Although the safety zone created by this Void Crack was technically big enough to accommodate him and Luo Lan, their current state was quite uncomfortable for both of them. Right now, they were almost face-to-face and their bodies were close enough that Yang Kai could clearly feel two astonishingly soft and elastic peaks whenever Luo Lan leaned in closer.
On top of that, when Luo Lan spoke, the orchid scent and heat of her breath was directly transmitted to him…
If someone who did not know the truth saw this, they would likely think that Yang Kai and Luo Lan were doing something shameful, but in fact, both of them were stuck in an abyss of suffering.
Yang Kai was better off as he was a man. Although it was somewhat uncomfortable, he soon calmed down and after purging his heart of wicked impulses, he was not too uncomfortable. Thinking about Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang to dispel any distracting thoughts that surfaced in his mind, it did not take long for him to return to a state of calm.
On the contrary, Luo Lan’s face gradually became redder and redder, that blush soon spreading to her neck, her embarrassment and shy response giving her another layer of attraction. Her tender body which was being held by Yang Kai was extremely stiff but still shivered slightly due to her tension.
She never thought that a situation like this, where she would have such close contact with a young man like Yang Kai, would ever have happened to her!
This was something that had never happened before.
The feel of his solid chest, broad arms, and rich male aura flooded her senses, making it impossible for her to calm her mind.
Her cheeks felt like they were on fire and she was certain her face was completely red!
Blushing like this front of a junior… Luo Lan simply could not wait to find a hole to crawl into and never emerge from again.
But when she remembered that the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was less than a finger-length away from her back, and she had to maintain this position with Yang Kai for at least half an hour, Luo Lan became more and more uncomfortable.
Anxious, she began fidgeting involuntarily…
“Senior… please don’t move around,” Yang Kai smiled bitterly. He had just dispelled all the impulses in his heart and was able to reach a state of mental tranquillity, but Luo Lan had instantly nullified his previous efforts, especially when he felt two small bumps which were pressed up against his chest become slightly stiff…
Listening to Yang Kai’s words, Luo Lan became even more embarrassed, quickly lowering her head and burying it in his chest.
“I’ll turn around,” Luo Lan suddenly whispered.
It was too embarrassing for the two of them to continue facing each other, and she thought that if she turned around, the situation would become somewhat easier.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, letting go of his hands which had been holding Luo Lan’s waist.
Luo Lan turned around cautiously, lest she touch the Seven Coloured Radiant Light which was so close, but she eventually managed to put her back to Yang Kai’s chest.
“Uh…” Yang Kai immediately discovered a new problem though.
When they were facing each other, he could clearly feel Luo Lan’s incredible peaks, and while now he could no longer feel that amazing elasticity… now her perfectly round half-moons were pressing up against his lower half.
Luo Lan was also clearly aware of this. After turning around and settling into place, she instantly went stiff as if struck by lightning, no longer daring to move at will.
The two people felt like every breath that passed was an eternity.
“Senior…” Yang Kai suddenly spoke.
“Hm?” Luo Lan was taken aback and her whole body tensed. In this embarrassing atmosphere, Yang Kai suddenly calling out to her really shocked her, especially when she felt his breath right on her delicate ear, as if someone was gently stroking it.
“After thinking about it carefully, I think it’s best if I leave,” Yang Kai said.
“Leave?” Luo Lan was stunned, “Where can you go now?”
After forcefully stabilizing her mind, she quickly understood that Yang Kai’s proposal was made out of consideration for her innocence and reputation, and her heart couldn’t help warming. She felt that this young man was quite agreeable. Instead of taking this opportunity to take advantage of her, he was able to remain rational and composed, a commendable feat.
However, the entire medicine valley was currently covered in the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, so there was nowhere for Yang Kai to go.
“I can enter the Void Crack!” Yang Kai replied.
“Enter the Void Crack?” Luo Lan gawked. Although she knew that Yang Kai was proficient in Space Force, she did not know how profound his achievements were, so the instant she heard Yang Kai’s proposal, she immediately worried about him putting himself in danger. If he were to enter the Void Crack and become trapped, unable to find his way out, he might even wander about inside The Void until the day he died.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “This place is big enough for a single person to hide comfortably, but for two people… hehe, it’s a bit tight.”
“But… are you sure you can come out from there?”
“Leaving won’t be a problem,” Yang Kai nodded. He had already traversed the Void Crack here so he was not concerned about his safety, the only risky factor was that the place he re-emerged might not be this medicine valley but rather another place in the Severed World. If that were to happen, his loss would be great. The only way to guarantee that didn’t happen would be to not move once he entered The Void, so when he tore space again, he could return to the exact same spot.
But Yang Kai was not interested in explaining all of this to Luo Lan; after all, their relationship wasn’t so close he could share the secrets of his abilities with her.
Luo Lan went silent for a while before whispering, “Actually, you don’t need to take such risks. We… we can just stay like this for a while and wait for the Seven Coloured Radiant Light to disperse…”
Yang Kai being so considerate made her quite reluctant to let him take unnecessary risks.
“Many thanks, Senior, but I’ve already decided,” Yang Kai said with a smile and moved to dive into the Void Crack behind him when suddenly he thought of something and said, “That’s right. Senior, this Junior will give you a little gift.”
“A gift?” Luo Lan asked curiously.
As soon as she asked though, Yang Kai reached out and tapped her shoulder gently.
“Good luck, Senior!” Yang Kai called out before diving into the Void Crack and disappearing.
The space behind Luo Lan suddenly became empty, leaving her somewhat absent-minded, but soon, she stepped back once to improve her margin of safety.
Only after she stood firm did she have time to check what Yang Kai had given her.
Probing her shoulder with her Divine Sense slightly, in the next moment, Luo Lan exclaimed, “This is…”
She did not know how, but when her Divine Sense probed the spot where Yang Kai had just tapped her, she was suddenly able to clearly feel the Space Force fluctuations around her and perceive the hidden Void Cracks in her vicinity!
She immediately understood what kind of gift Yang Kai had given her!
With this gift, she could travel unimpeded through this Severed World without having to worry about running into hidden Void Cracks.
Luo Lan was ecstatic!
“Thank you!” Even though she knew that Yang Kai would not hear her thanks, Luo Lan still called out gratefully.
This encounter had made her thoroughly understand what kind of person Yang Kai really was, and just how great his potential was. It was no wonder Young Master Gu Jian Xin admired Yang Kai so much, it was because he has such charm and ability.
In the past, Luo Lan showing goodwill towards Yang Kai was almost entirely because of Gu Jian Xin and because she wanted to rely on his proficiency in the Dao of Space. But now, even without these factors, Luo Lan would not despise Yang Kai despite him only being an Origin Realm Junior.
This boy was an upright character full of potential and definitely someone who should be befriended. In the future, there may be many times she would want to draw on his support.
Thinking so, Luo Lan secretly made up her mind that after returning to Azure Tree Star, she would take good care of the Twin Shark Island Yang Kai now owned.
…..
Inside the Void, Yang Kai floated alone.
Leaving behind that Space Mark for Luo Lan so she could perceive the existence of Void Cracks around her was not something Yang Kai had done because blood had rushed to his head.
From beginning to end, he never had any improper thoughts about Luo Lan.
He just felt that if Luo Lan was safe and grew stronger, his residence on Azure Tree Star and the Cross-Cultivation Star Space Array which was housed within it would be safer. What’s more, giving her that Space Mark didn’t take him any effort or cost him anything.
Since that was the case, why not?
After entering the Void, Yang Kai did not remain in place but instead began wandering around.
In any case, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light would not withdraw for the next half an hour, so he had some time to search for true Space Spirit Crystals in this Void Crack.
In this land filled with opportunities, Yang Kai did not want to waste any time. However, he also did not want to move about randomly and accidentally leave the scope of the medicine valley.
For this reason, he deliberately left behind some markers wherever he went. If his hypothesis was correct, he could follow these markers back to the place where he had separated from Luo Lan.
Yang Kai searched for Space Spirit Crystals in The Void while silently keeping track of the passage of time.
Just as he felt that half an hour was up, he stopped.
In less than half an hour, he had some gains, but it was not anything much, just five Space Spirit Crystals which had been bred by The Void.
At this moment, Yang Kai came to a stop and looked around his surroundings thoughtfully.
While he was moving through The Void, he noticed that there were several places where the Space Force fluctuations were very unstable.
If his guess was right, these unstable places were where the countless Void Cracks in the Severed World connected to The Void.
In other words, exiting through these unstable points would be equivalent to leaving through Void Cracks.
In order to verify his hypothesis, Yang Kai moved forward.
The next moment, he left The Void and returned to the Severed World again.
Looking around, there was no Seven Coloured Radiant Light while behind him there was a large Void Crack, visible to the naked eye, hovering mid-air.
Yang Kai had clearly walked out of this Void Crack just now.
Looking at the Void Crack behind, Yang Kai nodded slightly as he confirmed his guess was not wrong. Inside the Void, the unstable positions were connected to the Void Cracks spread throughout the Severed World.
It was just that… Yang Kai didn’t know if this place was still inside the medicine valley.
Yang Kai scanned the surrounding environment carefully, and after a short time, he wore a happy smile and muttered to himself, “Seems my luck is good.”
Obviously, he was still within the scope of the medicine valley, because various medicinal fragrances were lingering in the air and there was a short fruit tree with three pale yellow fruits hanging from its branches not far from him.
This was a location that had not been searched yet!
This was not surprising when he thought about it. The medicine valley was massive and only a few people had entered it. On top of that, with the interference of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, the amount of time people could search for herbs was greatly shortened. Therefore, there must be a large number of precious herbs still remaining in this medicine valley.
Yang Kai stepped out and arrived in front of the short fruit tree, leaned over slightly, and after a moment of inspection, smiled widely.
He recognized what spirit fruit these were.
They were Longevity Fruits!
These fruits had no effect on one’s cultivation, but they could prolong one’s life, and their efficacy was excellent.
With the increase in a cultivator’s strength, their lifespan would grow proportionally. If no accidents occurred, Origin Kings were capable of living for three to four thousand years, sometimes even longer; however, there was always a limit to a person’s lifespan and when they reached it, their physical body would wither away, and their vitality would scatter. At that time, there was no choice but to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Generally, when their predestined time of death approached, masters would begin searching for precious treasures to extend their lives in the hopes that by living longer, they would achieve more breakthroughs and thus increase their lifespan.
However, ordinary treasures were of no use to powerful masters, only Spirit Pills at the Origin King Grade would be able to affect the lifespan of an Origin King. But in the Star Field, just how many Origin King Grade Spirit Pills were there that could increase one’s lifespan, and how many Grandmaster Alchemists could refine them?
Pills and herbs which could increase the lifespan of an Origin King were incredibly rare.
The Longevity Fruit in front of Yang Kai right now though could be used to refine the Longevity Pill, a Spirit Pill which could increase the lifespan of an Origin King by at least one hundred years! Unfortunately, a person could only take three such pills before they no longer had any effect, and with each pill they took, the effects would grow weaker. If one took three pills, increasing their lifespan by less each time, a two hundred year increase in lifespan wasn’t unreasonable to expect.
Two hundred years was enough for Origin Kings to do many things.
If they were able to make a breakthrough again during those two hundred years, their lifespan would be greatly increased.
It could be said that if a Longevity Pill was refined and sold to the right person, it would garner a sky-high price!
Everyone only had one life, who would not cherish it?
Even if an Origin King’s lifespan was nowhere near its end, who would not prepare for emergencies? On top of that, such a Spirit Pill could be passed down from generation to generation as a family heirloom.
Yang Kai recalled all kinds of information about the Longevity Fruit and Longevity Pill while carefully collecting the three fruits in front of him carefully to ensure that none of their medicinal efficacies would leak. Storing these fruits into a Wood Attribute container, Yang Kai carefully sealed the box before placing it in his Space Ring.
After this harvest, Yang Kai was in a good mood and continued to explore around.
Just as he suspected, no one had come here before, so during the next period of time, Yang Kai reaped significant gains.
After half an hour passed, when the Seven Coloured Radiant Light struck again, Yang Kai found a Void Crack to escape into and search for Space Spirit Crystals while he waited.
Keeping track of time again, Yang Kai returned to the medicine valley from The Void just at the right moment.
And so, he repeated this process many times…
Yang Kai truly did not waste any time. Not only was he harvesting spirit medicines from the medicine valley, but he was also gathering true Space Spirit Crystals from The Void. Alternating between the two, Yang Kai’s harvest was definitely greater than anyone else’s.
[As I thought, it was more convenient to explore on my own rather than with others!] Yang Kai secretly sighed to himself as he thought about what would have happened if he had not chosen to prioritize Luo Lan’s reputation at that time and not dived into the Void Crack to escape.
If he had simply waited out the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, he wouldn’t have discovered such an efficient way to use time.
An unintentional good deed had yielded him this huge return.
Time passed by and Yang Kai eventually lost track of how long he had been searching through the medicine valley. Travelling back and forth between The Void and the medicine valley, Yang Kai managed to collect more than two hundred Space Spirit Crystals and nearly one hundred precious herbs.
This was an incredible harvest.
The value of both these Space Spirit Crystals and the rare herbs was extremely high, and Yang Kai was certain that others had not gained as much as he had.
However, since he separated from Luo Lan, he had not met anyone else, which Yang Kai found strange.
At one point though, as Yang Kai was following a strange medicinal fragrance, his brow suddenly furrowed.
His Divine Sense had picked up the presence of other people nearby, and it was not just one person, but three.
Two of them were together, with one being a Second-Order Origin King and the other a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator! The third person was alone.
Yang Kai and these three currently formed a kind of triangle and were all heading in the same direction, which obviously indicated that all of them were attracted by the same medicinal fragrance.
Because there were not many people who entered the medicine valley, Yang Kai immediately identified these three.
The pair was the easiest to identify because the only Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators here apart from himself were Zi Dong and Xue Yue, and seeing how this aura did not belong to Xue Yue, it was obviously Zi Dong.
The one together with Zi Dong was undoubtedly Zi Long, the Sect Master of Purple Star! This father and son pair obviously would not separate in this medicine valley.
As for the lone Origin King, Yang Kai was familiar with his aura so was able to identify him as well: It was none other than Xu Wei!
Xu Wei was an Elder of Abandoned Lair and the one who had tried to use Yang Kai and Xue Yue as bait to distract the Illusionary Void Butterfly swarm.
Since Yang Kai was able to detect them with his Divine Sense, naturally the others had discovered Yang Kai as well.
As such, the instant they found there was competition, Zi Long and Zi Dong’s speed soared. Undoubtedly, they wanted to rush to the source of the medicinal fragrance before Yang Kai or Xu Wei could snatch this unknown treasure!
Zi Long acting so boldly was due to his confidence in his great strength.
As a Second-Order Origin King, in this mountain valley, only Gui Zu and Ni Guang were worthy to be his enemy. As for everyone else, Zi Long did not put any of them in his eyes, especially a junior like Yang Kai who he figured he could kill with a single finger.
On the other side, after Xu Wei hesitated for a moment, he too rushed forward.
Facing the temptation of these precious herbs, he was not willing to retreat, even if the opponent was Zi Long. On top of that, as an Elder of Abandoned Lair, Xu Wei did not need to give Zi Long any face as they were already enemies.
As the speed of both his competitors increased, Yang Kai also made his move.
A total of four people began racing towards a single central position at top speed.
“Hmph, courting death!” Zi Long thought that his presence alone would be enough to deter Yang Kai and Xu Wei and make them turn around and flee, but it now seemed these two were set on competing with him for this unknown herb.
This annoyed Zi Long greatly as he felt he was being underestimated.
Xu Wei was one thing. Although his strength was not as high, he was at least an Origin King. Killing Xu Wei here would take quite a bit of effort, and in this place, Zi Long did not want to waste time on such a fruitless endeavour.
But what was this little Third-Order Origin Returning Realm brat? Daring to challenge him despite his pitiful strength, did this boy not know how to write the word ‘death’?
“Father, do you want me to…” Zi Dong asked with a cold light in his eyes.
He too had felt uncomfortable with Yang Kai’s presence.
As the Young Master of Purple Star, him being able to enter this place was entirely because Zi Long had brought him here. Xue Yue was also a young genius comparable to him, so naturally ‘he’ too had the qualifications to appear here.
But what was this thing called Yang Kai? Zi Dong had never seen Yang Kai before, nor had he heard his name at all.
But this unknown boy had unexpectedly come to this precious place just like he and Xue Yue had.
Zi Dong felt that this place’s majesty was tainted just because Yang Kai had entered it!
Entering the same place with a random nobody was an insult to Zi Dong! Only by killing him could this humiliation be washed away.
As such, when he noticed the existence of Yang Kai, Zi Dong became eager to fight, wanting to show Yang Kai just how great the gap was in their strength and let him know that not everyone was qualified to enter the Severed World, and the price for daring to enter without the qualifications was death!
“A pitiful weakling, why bother with him!?” Zi Long coldly snorted, “If he dares to appear in front of you, you can act as you please.”
“Understood!” Zi Dong nodded when he heard the words and said with a sneer, “I’m afraid he doesn’t have the guts though.”
As soon as these words came out though, Zi Dong was stunned again because in his perception, instead of shrinking away from danger, Yang Kai increased his speed again.
“Interesting, it seems there are people who are eager to die in this world!” Zi Dong smiled viciously as he turned his eyes towards Yang Kai’s direction, as if he could not wait for Yang Kai to appear soon.
While Zi Long and Zi Dong were speaking, Yang Kai had already identified the location of the spirit medicines from the richness of the surrounding medicinal fragrances.
This was not difficult as he had already stayed in this medicine valley for a long time and collected many different herbs. On top of that, Yang Kai himself was an Alchemist, so he was experienced in this area.
Fortunately, the unknown herbs were closest to him, and for some unknown reason, the region up ahead was filled with many Void Cracks that happened to be in Zi Long and Xu Wei’s ways. As such, while Yang Kai had an almost clear path to the herbs, the other two would have to spend some time to avoid these Void Cracks.
Thinking so, Yang Kai sped up again.
Suddenly, Yang Kai sniffed the air again as a look of surprise appeared on his face, “More than one kind?”
At this moment, he was able to identify several different medicinal fragrances, which was why previously the fragrance itself had seemed a bit turbid and indistinguishable.
Yang Kai gazed up ahead and saw that a few thousand metres away, on a small hillside, five small lavender flowers were blowing in the wind. Each of these flowers was about the size of a palm and had nine petals that were releasing an inexplicable charm.
Behind these flowers, there was also a huge Void Crack that seemed like a giant beast’s mouth that was just waiting to swallow up these five strange flowers.
“Those are…” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed, but in the next moment he recognized what they were and shouted, “Enlightenment Flowers!”
These were the Enlightenment Flowers mentioned by Gui Zu before!
Gui Zu had previously stumbled upon this medicine valley and managed to collect a few Enlightenment Flowers that were growing on its periphery. It was at that point Gui Zu realized the value of this medicine valley, but because of several scruples, he couldn’t explore its depths. Even so, he had been quite satisfied with his harvest because Enlightenment Flowers were able to help a cultivator perceive the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao and improve their realm. This was an incredibly attractive treasure for Origin Kings.
When cultivating, a petal of Enlightenment Flower in one’s mouth could offer miraculous effects.
Enlightenment Flowers also had different appearances depending on their medicinal age, and as they grew older, their medicinal efficacies also increased. An Enlightenment Flower would not bloom until it was at least three hundred years old, and when it first blossomed it would only have three petals. Every hundred years thereafter, one more petal would be added until it reached a maximum of nine petals.
Nine was the highest! An Enlightenment Flower with nine petals would have a medicinal age of at least nine hundred years.
From that point on, although the number of petals would not increase, the Enlightenment Flower’s colour would slowly change, from its original white to bright red, blood red, then eventually purple.
Each transformation would take many years and be much harder than the growth of its petals.
The five Enlightenment Flowers in front of Yang Kai were already a deep lavender colour; in other words, the medicinal age of these Enlightenment Flowers was at least three thousand years!
This kind of treasure had incalculable value to an Origin King. If an Origin King was able to collect these five Enlightenment Flowers, they wouldn’t even need any other kinds of auxiliaries to assist them in their future cultivation. As long as they digested a single petal at appropriate times in their secluded meditation, they would be able to steadily improve their cultivation.
So as soon as Yang Kai discovered these five Enlightenment Flowers, he realized their great value.
Of all the precious treasures Yang Kai had collected up until now, only the two Divine Nirvana Fruits were comparable in value to these Enlightenment Flowers!
Yang Kai’s blood boiled as he prepared to rush up and snatch these five Enlightenment Flowers.
But just as he moved, his whole body suddenly tightened as a chill shot up his spine. At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a purple streak of light fly towards him like an all-piercing sword.
This purple light contained an indescribable and extremely terrifying aura.
This was definitely not the attack of an Origin Returning Realm cultivator, but rather one from an Origin King. On top of that, the Origin King who released this strike was definitely not weak.
Zi Long!
Yang Kai immediately knew who had attacked him!
Yang Kai had heard from Xue Yue that Zi Long and Zi Dong cultivated a special technique called the Purple Qi Eternal River Secret Art. This Secret Art was famous throughout the Star Field and belonged exclusively to Zi Long’s family. Zi Long being able to rise to the Second-Order Origin King Realm was entirely because of this Secret Art.
In order to cultivate this Secret Art, one needed to rise every morning to absorb the special purple qi that was generated while the sun rose. Once cultivated to the extreme, this purple qi could transform into great rivers and oceans that could easily destroy a million kilometres of land.
Under normal circumstances, a master like Zi Long would prioritize his face, and even if he had a blood enmity with Yang Kai, he would not have launched a sneak attack against such a junior. If Zi Long wanted to kill Yang Kai, he would do so in an upfront manner with absolute strength.
After all, he was fully capable of acting in such a dignified manner.
But the situation now was a little different. Zi Long had undoubtedly discovered the five Enlightenment Flowers and knew how precious and rare they were, possibly even being the key to his breakthrough to the Third-Order Origin King Realm. In the face of such benefits, how could Zi Long care about face?
Yang Kai was obviously the closest to the Enlightenment Flower, with him and Zi Dong being in second place while Xu Wei was still more than five kilometres away.
If Zi Long did not delay Yang Kai somehow and allowed this boy to reach the Enlightenment Flowers, Zi Long would then have to steal from a dead rat.
So, when he discovered the Enlightenment Flower and Yang Kai, Zi Long didn’t even think about it and directly made a move. Although this was just a casual blow, coming from a Second-Order Origin King, it was still quite terrifying, not something an Origin Realm junior could resolve.
After making one move, Zi Long’s speed increased sharply, not even sparing another glance towards Yang Kai. In his eyes were only the five lavender flowers.
As for whether Yang Kai was dead or alive, that was not his concern.
Why should he care about if an ant lived or died?
On the other side, Yang Kai roared as he waved his hand and summoned a hundred Golden Blood Threads and condensed them into a giant shield in front of him.
Not finished yet, with a solemn expression, Yang Kai pushed his Saint Qi madly as he sent dozens of punches around his golden shield to intercept the incoming blow.
*Peng peng peng peng…*
Saint Qi burst forth as a violent explosion erupted mid-air.
Punches impacted the purple light, each one of them diminishing the purple light’s radiance slightly.
Next, the Golden Blood Thread shield was struck and rapidly dimmed until it burst apart into its individual Golden Blood Threads; however, the purple light had still not been dispersed and struck towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai snorted as his body involuntarily flew backwards, his face paling slightly.
Although he had not taken any serious injuries, he had still suffered a slight loss! Staring at Zi Long, who was quickly approaching the Enlightenment Flowers, a look of astonishment appeared on Yang Kai’s face.
This was not the first time he had competed against a Second-Order Origin King. Luo Hai was also a Second-Order Origin King.
But the pressure Yang Kai felt from Zi Long was much stronger than the one he felt from Luo Hai.
This person had definitely reached the peak of the Second-Order Origin King Realm! Perhaps, as long as he had some kind of opportunity, Zi Long could break through to the Third-Order.
The Sect Master of Purple Star deserved his reputation!
“Hm?” Zi Long also let out a call of surprise, and as he dashed towards the Enlightenment Flowers, he turned his head and glanced at where Yang Kai was in disbelief.
He had not expected that Yang Kai would actually be able to block his attack. Although Yang Kai looked somewhat dishevelled, and Zi Long had only struck at him casually rather than using his full strength, an Origin Realm boy being able to achieve this was still quite amazing.
[This boy… is strange!]
Zi Long estimated that if his son, Zi Dong, was the one who had been attacked just now, at the very least, he would have been seriously injured, yet Yang Kai actually only had a slightly pale face and nothing else.
[Is this boy actually stronger than my son? When did such an astonishing young man appear in the Star Field? Is this boy the disciple of some old monster who had secluded himself from the world?]
In that instant, many thoughts crossed Zi Long’s mind and the expression on his face as he stared towards Yang Kai grew solemn.
Suddenly, at that moment, an exhaling sound appeared from the depths of the medicine valley.
“Father!” Zi Dong, who had been following behind Zi Long, exclaimed loudly as a look of fear appeared on his face.
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light was coming!
Judging from past experiences, the speed at which the Seven Coloured Radiant Light flooded the medicine valley was extremely terrifying and if they did not find a place to hide in time, they would swiftly be engulfed by it.
So Zi Dong could not help but panic.
At this time, Zi Long was less than a thousand metres away from the Enlightenment Flower, closer than Yang Kai, so victory was practically within his grasp.
However, this distance was still too great. A look of struggle and hesitation flashed across Zi Long’s face, but in the end, he did not dare take the risk. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Zi Dong and swiftly moved behind a nearby Void Crack to take shelter.
Not far away, Xu Wei, who had been rushing towards this side, also stopped quickly and hid behind a Void Crack.
Yang Kai did the same!
Fortunately, there were many Void Cracks in this area. Otherwise, the three parties would have had no choice but to risk rushing towards the Enlightenment Flowers to hide behind the giant Void Crack overlooking them.
At this moment, the three parties stood motionless, almost equidistant from their target, forming a triangle with the Enlightenment Flower in the middle.
Silently, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light flooded the medicine valley.
The whole world seemed to go quiet at this moment, with only the faint sound of breathing to be heard.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, glanced coldly towards the spots where Xu Wei and Zi Long were, then sat down cross-legged and threw a healing pill into his mouth.
Although he had blocked Zi Long’s attack just now, his Saint Qi flow had become somewhat turbulent, so he needed to stabilize it quickly.
Fortunately, this was not difficult, and Yang Kai’s condition stabilized after a few breaths. Now, all he needed to do was rest until the medicinal efficacies from his healing pill took effect.
Zi Long’s face had become extremely gloomy as he cast a fiery gaze towards the five Enlightenment Flowers. But behind Zi Long, Zi Dong was now directing a contemptuous look towards Yang Kai, a sneer clearly displayed on his lips.
As for Xu Wei, his gaze was shifty, glancing back and forth, as if he was hatching some kind of wicked scheme.
“Heh heh heh…” When the three parties were locked into a temporary stalemate, Yang Kai suddenly let out a muffled laugh.
Zi Long frowned, turned his gaze, and asked in a disgruntled tone, “Boy, what are you laughing at?”
Yang Kai just shot him a side-long glance without making a sound.
Zi Long narrowed his eyes as a cold light flashed across their depths.
A trivial Origin Realm Junior dared ignore him, it was the epitome of not knowing how high the sky was and how thick the earth was.
Although he was annoyed in his heart, Zi Long was still able to endure it, but Zi Dong who was next to him immediately called out in response to Yang Kai’s disrespectful conduct, “Brat, did you not hear my father ask you a question? Are you deaf?”
Yang Kai shifted his eyes, pretended to clean his ear, then scoffed towards Zi Long and Zi Dong, “If he asks something, I have to answer? What thing is he? What thing are you?”
Yang Kai had neither grievance nor grudge with Zi Long and Zi Dong, but Zi Long had still launched a sneak attack against him just now. If it were not for his strength being out of the ordinary, Yang Kai would already be dead.
The other party was a Second-Order Origin King but still disregarded his status and launched a sneak attack against him!
This annoyed Yang Kai greatly, and seeing Zi Dong’s domineering and arrogant attitude did nothing to improve his mood.
As such, Yang Kai did not bother being polite with this father and son duo.
Hearing his rude words, Zi Long’s murderous intent flared up momentarily while Zi Dong angrily sneered, “You’re finished! This Young Master hasn’t met anyone as crazy as you in a long time, just you wait, in half an hour, this Young Master will personally take your life!”
“Your name is Zi Dong, right?” Yang Kai squinted at him with an expression of disdain, “I wonder if you’ve heard a certain saying.”
“And what’s that?” Zi Dong came to look at Yang Kai with a sneer.
“Dogs that can bite… don’t bark. Dogs like you who can only yell can’t bite!” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
“You dare curse me?” Zi Dong Lai’s face suddenly became cold as his tone dropped noticeably.
“So what if I cursed you!?” Yang Kai laughed as a look of madness filled his face and he continued to taunt, “Hit me then! Come on, hit me! If you’re not a lame dog come over here and kill me!”
Zi Dong’s lungs almost exploded when he heard this.
He was the Young Master of Purple Star, a noble existence with incredible cultivation for his age. No matter where he went, he would receive lavish praise and anyone whom he found unpleasant to the eye would be dead before the next sunrise.
When had he ever been forced to endure such humiliation?
Under any other circumstance, he would have rushed out to teach Yang Kai a harsh lesson long ago, but in this damned place, this medicine valley covered in Seven Coloured Radiant Light. No matter how much he wanted to torture and kill Yang Kai, he could not.
He did not have the ability to rush through the Seven Coloured Radiant Light to where Yang Kai stood.
He had never encountered such a suffocating situation before and was extremely angered by it, wishing he could rush out and beat Yang Kai to a pulp immediately.
Zi Dong glared towards Yang Kai viciously, his eyes practically spraying hatred and anger.
“Idiot!” Yang Kai snorted coldly as he snorted towards Zi Dong and Zi Long with a look of disdain.
“Just you wait, in half an hour, I’ll let you know the consequences of provoking this Young Master!” Zi Dong shouted viciously.
“Did you just bark again?” Yang Kai looked at him mockingly.
Zi Dong fumed and was about to say something more, but Zi Long glared at him and said flatly, “Why waste time arguing with him? In half an hour, he’ll be dead. Is there any reason to speak so much with a dead person?”
Zi Dong’s heart clenched as he realized his father was a little dissatisfied with his performance. Humbling accepting his lesson, Zi Dong nodded and although he no longer spoke to Yang Kai, his expression only became more sullen. Obviously, he was concocting how to shame Yang Kai after half an hour was up.
“Hahahaha!” On the other side, Xu Wei laughed loudly and clapped, “Interesting, interesting, really interesting. Kid, you’re too amusing, this old master has suddenly become interested in you.”
He had been standing nearby, watching silently as Yang Kai unscrupulously offended both Zi Long and Zi Dong. Seeing such a display of recklessness, Xu Wei could not help feeling Yang Kai wasn’t quite right in the head.
Didn’t this boy know he would definitely die after the Seven Coloured Radiant Light retreated? And judging from how this kid had provoked Zi Long, the latter would definitely not make his death quick.
This brat was simply looking for trouble at this point. If he could choke down his anger and then flee the instant the Seven Coloured Radiant Light retreated, he might still have been able to survive, but now…
Xu Wei looked at Yang Kai as if he was looking at a dead person.
“How about it boy, are you interested in joining hands with this old master?” Xu Wei smiled and suggested.
“Cooperate with you?” Yang Kai looked at Xu Wei and curled his lips into a grin, “Not interested, this Young Master hasn’t forgotten what happened between us before.”
“Kid, you’d best speak more politely,” Xu Wei’s expression became cold when he heard Yang Kai refer to himself as ‘Young Master’ in front of him, it was nothing short of an insult.
“Is there a need to be polite with someone like you?” Yang Kai sneered.
Seeing that Yang Kai and Xu Wei also had friction between them, Zi Dong suddenly snickered. At this moment, he also felt that Yang Kai’s head was messed up. Among the three parties present, Yang Kai had the lowest strength, but instead of trying to keep a low profile and concealing his abilities, he openly acted defiantly and extremely arrogantly. After offending one party, he chose to offend the other as well. It was nothing less than courting death.
How had a person with such poor judgement managed to cultivate to the Third-Order Origin Returning Realm?
“Elder Xu, this kid seems to be looking down on you,” Zi Dong sneered and provoked discord.
Xu Wei frowned and ignored Zi Dong’s provocations; after all, Zi Long’s existence put a great deal of pressure on him and he did not want to snap back at Zi Dong lest it cause him further trouble.
Moreover, if he wanted to obtain the Enlightenment Flowers later, his personal strength definitely would not suffice. Although Yang Kai seemed like a fool, it was a fact that he had resolved Zi Long’s attack just now, so there was no question about his strength. Perhaps there was a chance this boy could stall Zi Long, even if just for a moment, which would give Xu Wei an opening to snatch the Enlightenment Flowers and immediately escape.
He could not beat Zi Long, but there shouldn’t be any problem with just running away.
“It’s fine, this old master won’t lower himself to deal with you,” Xu Wei waved his hand magnanimously as he continued to look at Yang Kai, “Actually, this old master didn’t have much of a grievance with you, everything before was just a small misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?” Yang Kai chuckled lightly, “Then the misunderstanding must have been quite big.”
Xu Wei frowned and said sincerely, “Boy, in this place, people die all the time, that’s only normal. This old master was indeed in the wrong though, so if you insist on pursuing the matter, this old master can compensate you.”
Mentioning this in passing, Xu Wei didn’t explain how he would compensate Yang Kai before continuing, “But let us not mention this for now. This old master wants to cooperate with you. What do you think?”
“Cooperate how?” Yang Kai asked casually while refining the medicinal efficacies in his body.
“Simple, you and I join forces to exchange moves with this pair from Purple Star. You should know how precious these Enlightenment Flowers are, and if you and I don’t join forces, neither of us will obtain any of them,” Xu Wei said solemnly.
Yang Kai raised his brow but did not answer immediately, as if he was considering this proposal.
On the other side though, Zi Long’s eyes flashed as he stared at Xu Wei faintly and said, “Xu Wei, you’re far too presumptuous! Do you really think you can snatch these Enlightenment Flowers from this King’s hand just by joining forces with this boy!?”
Xu Wei laughed, “Whether I can snatch them or not, you’ll have to wait and find out. There are five Enlightenment Flowers right in front of us, and this Xu does not want to miss out on them. These are treasures this Xu is willing to risk his life to obtain!”
“In that case, this King will wait and see if you and this little brat can achieve what you want,” Zi Long’s expression remained indifferent, and after speaking, he closed his eyes lightly.
“Kid, have you considered it clearly?” Xu Wei urged Yang Kai, “Take a look around, there are many spirit flowers and grasses here. Besides the Enlightenment Flowers, there are also some stalks of Heavenly Infant Grass. Do you know how precious Heavenly Infant Grass is? It is a main ingredient in the Origin King Pill. If you can obtain such a pill, breaking through to the Origin King Realm in the future will be assured. There are also several Seeking Heart Lotus over there. These are treasures that can discipline one’s state of mind. You being able to have such achievements at such a young age must mean you need to temper your mind. The Seeking Heart Lotus are perfectly suited to you. If we can succeed later, this old master only wants those Enlightenment Flowers, everything else is yours for the taking. Is this old master’s sincerity enough for you?”
“It’s enough!” Yang Kai nodded.
“Then you agree?” Xu Wei smiled.
Yang Kai shook his head.
Xu Wei’s face sank as he shouted angrily, “Brat, are you mocking me?”
Yang Kai snickered, “Old dog, do you think this Young Master is a fool? You offer nothing but a few honeyed words and expect me to work to the death for you? Are you stupid? This Young Master has never met such an idiot before!”
Saying so, Yang Kai simply shook his head and sighed, looking distressed.
After being scolded by Yang Kai, Xu Wei’s face became gloomy to the extreme and his eyes burned with anger. At this moment, he was not any different from Zi Dong, wishing he could rush out to beat Yang Kai to a pulp to relieve his hatred!
Now it was Zi Dong’s turn to laugh, “Elder Xu, this boy is clearly messed up in the head, you’d be better off not wasting your breath on him.”
“Is barking all you can do?” Yang Kai turned his head to stare at Zi Dong again, flicking his poisonous tongue freely, “A toothless dog that can only run its mouth and can’t even remember when it’s taught a lesson. If I were your father, I’d have choked you to death the moment you were born, but it seems your father must be just as stupid if he sired such an idiot son.”
The smile on Zi Dong’s face instantly stiffened and his brow twitched vigorously.
Even Zi Long suddenly opened his eyes and stared deeply at Yang Kai.
Even though his mental discipline was strong, he could not help becoming irritated by Yang Kai. If it were not for the Seven Coloured Radiant Light that could even corrode Spiritual Energy, Zi Long would definitely have used a Soul Skill to turn Yang Kai into a true idiot in order to shut his mouth permanently.
But now, even if he couldn’t wait to strangle Yang Kai, he could only endure his anger.
He believed that Yang Kai had seen this too, which was why he was acting so unscrupulous.
“I, Zi Dong, swear here: I will make you taste the most brutal torture in the whole world!” Zi Dong ground his teeth as he shouted with extreme hatred.
He was completely enraged now. He had been humiliated by Yang Kai three times in front of his father and even implicated his father in that abuse. How could he bear such a thing? Yang Kai had to suffer immensely to soothe the hatred in Zi Dong’s heart.
“I’m so scared!” Yang Kai looked at Zi Dong coldly, “But little doggy, swearing a vow isn’t something you should just do at random. If you fail to follow through, you will be condemned by the Heavens!”
Zi Dong glared bitterly at Yang Kai without saying a word.
He could see that he was not Yang Kai’s opponent when it came to trading insults; after all, he had almost no experience in this field before. After being provoked by Yang Kai several times, he was completely unable to stabilize his mood and his face twisted in a mixture of hatred and gloominess.
To the side, however, Zi Long frowned.
Zi Dong was blinded by his anger at the moment and might not be aware of the insidiousness of Yang Kai’s words just now, but as an established Origin King with immense life experience, how could Zi Long not understand the hidden implications of what had just transpired?
Yang Kai’s words sounded plain on the surface, as if he was just having a meaningless argument with Zi Dong.
But if one thought about it carefully, they were extremely vicious.
Because once Zi Dong failed to uphold his oath, Yang Kai’s existence would definitely become a heart demon to him!
Zi Dong was now a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator and his next breakthrough would be to the next Great Realm, the Origin King Realm. This was an extremely critical and dangerous juncture, and if a heart demon were to disturb Zi Dong during his breakthrough, it would cause his breakthrough to fail at best, and his Soul being extinguished at worst.
So, when Zi Long heard Yang Kai say this, he realized just how shrewd and vindictive the latter was.
This boy was clearly not a fool; but if that was the case, why had he intentionally angered him and Xu Wei over and over again? What exactly was this young man trying to do?
Did he have complete confidence that he could escape from under the nose of himself and Xu Wei?
Despite his immense cultivation and wealth of knowledge, Zi Long really could not understand what Yang Kai was thinking.
However, judging from the current situation, it was absolutely impossible to simply let this boy off. As long as he was alive, he would become a heart demon that interfered with Zi Dong’s rise. As such… he had to die!
Zi Long secretly made up his mind that, he would do his utmost to suppress Yang Kai once the Seven Coloured Radiant Light retreated and allow Zi Dong to complete his vow. After suppressing Yang Kai, he would snatch the Enlightenment Flowers from Xu Wei.
Zi Long was confident that with his great strength, he would not have any difficulty accomplishing these tasks.
“Boy!” Xu Wei called out again, his tone impatient, “This old master will ask you one last time, will you cooperate with this old master or not?”
“Scram!” Yang Kai turned his head towards Xu Wei’s direction and spat with a disdainful expression, “What the hell do you count for? Do I need to cooperate with you?”
“Good, good, good!” Xu Wei was also livid at Yang Kai and coldly declared, “Then, this old master will watch to see how you die!”
There was no doubt that Yang Kai would die here. Xu Wei was confident that even if he didn’t take action, Zi Long would not let Yang Kai go, so he didn’t bother trying to win over Yang Kai anymore and was simply preparing to sit atop the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
“You don’t need to worry about that!” Yang Kai chuckled lightly as he began to stretch, cracking his neck and rotating his shoulders, seemingly loosening himself up. Speaking to himself, while at the same time jabbing at Zi Long and Xu Wei, “It’s almost time, this Young Master won’t waste any more words on you.”
He put up the appearance of a man about to do something special.
The other three watched fixedly, not knowing what Yang Kai was up to.
But in the next instant, three pairs of eyes bulged as they observed Yang Kai’s movements in a daze, looks of shock covering their faces.
On the other side, Yang Kai took a step forward with an indifferent expression, then another, then another, and another…
After only a few steps, he arrived at the edge of the safe zone the Void Crack provided for him and as long as he proceeded another step, he would enter the glowing Seven Coloured Radiant Light, putting himself in an extremely precarious position.
“What’s wrong? Are you so certain you’ll die you want to commit suicide now?” Zi Dong sneered.
He could not think of any other possibilities, even though he felt it was highly unlikely.
Yang Kai glanced over at him faintly before ignoring him altogether and simply lifting his foot once more to take another step forward!
“Haha!” Zi Dong’s laughter rang out as he felt there was no need for him to even take action to vent the anger in his heart.
But his laughter stopped just as abruptly as it began.
Right before his eyes, Yang Kai suddenly disappeared, as if he had never been there in the first place!
At that exact same moment, a strange and mysterious force seemed to emanate from Yang Kai and shroud his body in obscurity.
“Where did he go?” Zi Dong was stunned, but in the next moment, he caught sight of a figure abruptly appearing nearby out of the corner of his eye.
Zi Dong could not help exclaiming in surprise.
The figure that appeared suddenly was none other than Yang Kai who had just disappeared a moment ago, but now, he had actually arrived at another safe zone, and this safe zone happened to be the one where the five Enlightenment Flowers were growing!
At the base of the small hill, where the five Enlightenment Flowers grew, there was a large Void Crack that prevented the Seven Coloured Radiant Light from washing away.
When Yang Kai reappeared, he was standing beside the Enlightenment Flowers.
Zi Dong stared at him in a daze before glancing back to the spot where Yang Kai had once stood, unable to figure out what kind of shocking Secret Technique he had used to leap over space and instantly appear a thousand metres away.
Beside him, Zi Long’s eyes shrank as a profound light flashed across their depths, as if he had just witnessed something terrifying.
“Space Force!” Xu Wei exclaimed as he pointed at Yang Kai, calling out in alarm, “Kid, you’re proficient in Space Force? How is that possible?!”
Xu Wei looked like he had just seen a ghost.
“Space Force?” Zi Dong was taken aback for a moment but soon realized what Xu Wei was talking about.
In that instant, his eyes filled with incredible envy as he stared at Yang Kai.
The Dao of Space was extremely esoteric, difficult to comprehend and even harder to master. In the entire Star Field, there were trillions upon trillions of cultivators, but how many of them could use Space Force? The number was certainly less than a thousand.
And among these thousand people, how many could use Space Force proficiently?
Zi Dong did not know, but he was certain there were fewer such people than there were Origin King Grade Alchemists.
Purple Star also had few masters who cultivated the Dao of Space, but none of them could achieve what Yang Kai had just displayed, crossing a thousand metres instantaneously. This was a true instant movement, not an illusion created by incredible speed.
The few cultivators in Purple Star who comprehended the Dao of Space only knew how to patch Space Arrays and could not use their Space Force to do anything else.
Even so, their status in Purple Star was extremely high, each of them receiving treatment better than the average Foreign Elder.
Those few people were regarded as treasures by Purple Star!
But compared to this unknown young man, those people were nothing but trash!
If Yang Kai’s accomplishments in Space Force were at a level of a master, then those people who belonged to Purple Star were just apprentices who had barely entered the Martial Dao. Even with Zi Dong’s inexperienced eyes, he could see that the two were completely incomparable.
What kind of opportunity did this little brat have that allowed him to cultivate the Dao of Space and reach such astonishing achievements in it? Zi Dong’s eyes nearly burned with jealousy as he glared towards Yang Kai, his heart extremely disturbed.
He was the Young Master of Purple Star, an honoured and lofty position, so why was he unable to comprehend the Dao of Space?
If he could master this power, it would absolutely make him stronger than he was now!
Zi Dong clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
“So, that’s how it is!” Zi Long took a deep breath and spoke, the confident expression on his face being replaced with an extremely solemn one, “It turns out that this is what you were relying on. No wonder you dared to speak so wildly before.”
Yang Kai grinned meaningfully and did not deny the charge.
Him being proficient in the Dao of Space was not known to many people, and he had taken great pains to hide this fact, but Yang Kai had no choice but to expose his cards when facing the attraction of these five Enlightenment Flowers.
Enlightenment Flowers were extremely rare, especially ones that were lavender like the ones in front of him. The medicinal ages of these five flowers were extremely high, and if Yang Kai missed them this time, he would find it difficult to ever find similar ones in the future.
As such, Yang Kai made his choice.
“Young man, your name is Yang Kai, right?” Zi Long’s temperament was undoubtedly better than his sons, and after learning that Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he quickly composed himself despite his shock and asked.
Although he had not paid much attention to Yang Kai before, he has vaguely recalled hearing Xue Yue call Yang Kai’s name before, so he had taken note of it at the time.
“What about it?” Yang Kai looked at Zi Long flatly.
Zi Long chuckled, not angered by Yang Kai’s attitude and instead saying in a pleasant tone, “This King attacking you before, was this King’s mistake!”
He wore a sincere look when he spoke.
“Father…” Zi Dong gawked at Zi Long in astonishment, his face filled with shock.
His father was the Sect Master of Purple Star, one of the most powerful people in the entire Star Field, a man who could stomp his foot and cause the Star Field to shake, yet he had actually apologized to a Junior who had repeatedly insulted and provoked him? Zi Dong could hardly believe his ears and secretly began to wonder if everything he was seeing now was some kind of elaborate illusion.
“You shut up!” Zi Long glanced at him faintly while releasing a thick majesty. Seeing the sharp light in his father’s eyes, Zi Dong did not dare to say anything again.
“You’re apologizing?” Yang Kai grinned.
Zi Long frowned, and said lightly, “If that’s how you want to take it, so be it.”
“En… since it is an apology, then I’ll reluctantly accept.”
Reluctantly…
Zi Dong was so mad he nearly coughed up blood!
After the Sect Master of Purple Star took the initiative to apologize, this little brat did not even show the slightest gratitude and instead pretended like it was some kind of burden for him to accept? Didn’t he know how much of an honour this was? This bastard… was simply unforgivable!
“However… what are you really trying to say?” Yang Kai ignored Zi Dong’s glares and focused on Zi Long, a meaningful grin filling his face.
This kind of apology was nothing more than a few bits of spit that could be casually thrown out, so Yang Kai naturally did not take Zi Long’s words to heart; however, the other party’s attitude had raised his suspicions.
He did not believe that Zi Long couldn’t see the heart demon he had planted for Zi Dong just now, nor did he believe that Zi Long was really so magnanimous that he would forgive all the provocations and insults he had made a moment ago.
The Sect Master of Purple Star was not to be underestimated!
“This King doesn’t have any hidden intentions. This King simply wants to ask if you are interested in joining my Purple Star?” Zi Long looked at Yang Kai solemnly and asked while sending out an invitation.
“Join Purple Star?” Yang Kai chuckled.
“En, although your cultivation hasn’t reached the Origin King Realm, this King can offer you the position of Honoured Guest Elder based on your performance just now!”
“Honoured Guest Elder!” Zi Dong could not hold his silence anymore when he heard this.
Being an Honoured Guest Elder of Purple Star was far different from being one of some other random Sect or family. This was not just an immense status, it also represented incredible strength!
Currently, there were only seven Honored Guest Elders of Purple Star, each one of them an Origin King. What’s more, Honored Guest Elders of Purple Star had always been Origin Kings, none had ever been an Origin Realm cultivator.
But now, the Sect Master of Purple Star was personally inviting a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm youth to join Purple Star while offering him such an identity.
If words of this spread, it would likely rock the entire Star Field.
“Honoured Guest Elder…” Yang Kai snickered, showing the slightest interest as he shook his head, “No thanks, I’ve always been a lone wanderer and don’t like being restricted, so I’ll have to decline your generous offer of an Honoured Guest Elder post.”
[Is this kid an idiot?] Zi Dong looked at Yang Kai like he was some kind of fool. Didn’t he know how much weight the words Honoured Guest Elder represented? How could he refuse without the slightest hesitation?
Zi Dong’s mind was in chaos.
“Honoured Guest Elders are not restricted by my Purple Star in any way, they maintain complete independence. Little friend seems to have misunderstood my proposal…” Zi Long explained patiently.
Before he could finish what he was saying though, Yang Kai interrupted him, “No need to explain, I know what an Honoured Guest Elder is, it’s just… I don’t plan on joining any great force.”
Zi Long narrowed his eyes and said with a faint smile on his face, “Little friend, are you sure you won’t reconsider?”
“You talk too much,” Yang Kai looked at him contemptuously, without giving him any face.
Zi Long’s face immediately sank.
“Haha, kid, you were right to refuse!” Xu Wei called out, clearly taking pleasure in Zi Long’s misfortune, “Don’t believe his rhetoric, if you really agree to his proposal, your future will definitely be miserable. However, this old master very much appreciates your attitude, so why not consider joining my Abandoned Lair? You’ve offended this guy now, so it will be difficult for you to mix into the Star Field in the future, but my Abandoned Lair does not fear his Purple Star. This master guarantees that there won’t be any problems with you joining, and with your abilities, you will quickly become one of Abandoned Lair’s leading characters!”
“You’re also too long-winded!” Yang Kai turned to look at Xu Wei and sneered, “Old dogs, do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do? You think you can stall me with these cheap antics?”
As soon as this remark came out, both Xu Wei and Zi Long’s expressions changed slightly; obviously, Yang Kai had exposed their true intentions.
Although Xu Wei and Zi Long were by no means friends, and could even be considered enemies, seeing Yang Kai’s performance just now and watching him approach the treasures they coveted, they naturally felt a sense of crisis. With their sharp wits, without even needing to discuss the matter, these two old masters knew that their best option in this situation was to try to stall Yang Kai until the Seven Coloured Radiant Light retreated.
After being exposed by Yang Kai, Zi Long’s face suddenly became ugly and he declared coldly, “Boy, being too smart is not a good thing. Don’t think your paltry mastery of Space Force is enough for you to escape this King’s palm! You are just an Origin Realm junior who does not understand the horrors of the Origin King Realm, and this King is a master even amongst the Origin Kings. If you think you can rely on your Space Force to escape, you could not be more wrong. This King will give you one last chance: Pick those Enlightenment Flowers and deliver them to this King and this King will spare your life!”
With everything else having failed, he finally tore all face with Yang Kai.
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed, “How terrifying are those in Origin King Realm? I’ve killed more than one of you ‘terrifying’ Origin Kings.”
“Madman!” Zi Dong muttered to the side.
Even a genius like him, who could fight opponents above his realm, could not pose any threat to an Origin King despite his peak Origin Realm cultivation. On the contrary, such a master would easily be able to kill him.
Between the Origin Returning Realm and the Origin King Realm, there was an uncrossable gap!
As such, he subconsciously thought Yang Kai was talking nonsense.
But what Zi Dong did not know was that Yang Kai had really killed more than one Origin King. One of them had even been a Second-Order Origin King, and although Yang Kai achieved that with the help of a Star Emperor Token, it was still his experience.
If Zi Dong came to know the truth, he would definitely feel crushed.
“Forget it, I don’t have time to care about you,” Yang Kai said dully and turned around. Although he had been verbally sparring with Xu Wei and Zi Long, Yang Kai had not lost track of time either.
There was about a stick of incense worth of time before the Seven Coloured Radiant Light retreated, which was more than enough!
“Wow, such rich medicinal fragrance!” Yang Kai exclaimed exaggeratedly as he breathed in the scent of the five Enlightenment Flowers in front of him, putting on an intoxicated expression as he commented out loud, “Good, as expected of Enlightenment Flowers, the efficacy is really extraordinary. I can even feel my bottleneck loosening somewhat, could this be my chance?”
While saying so, he scratched his head and wore an awkward appearance.
It was obvious he was bluffing, like a seller bragging about the quality of his wares, but that did not stop Zi Dong’s eyes from going red.
A single breath of this medicinal fragrance was all it took to loosen a bottleneck?
Yang Kai had the same cultivation as him, peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm, only one step away from breaking through to the Origin King Realm, and now… Yang Kai had seemingly seized this opportunity.
But now, Zi Dong could only stare blankly at him from a mere thousand metres away, powerless to do anything.
This situation caused Zi Dong to suffer both physically and mentally and he could not wait to rush forward and take Yang Kai’s place, his fists clenched so tightly they began to crack.
“Not good, not good, breaking through in this damned place is tantamount to seeking death, I need to quickly suppress this feeling and only breakthrough when it is safe!” Yang Kai shouted again.
Zi Dong really wanted to cough up blood.
A chance he sought for more than anything else was placed in front of Yang Kai but the latter actually abruptly suppressed it, was there anything more frustrating to see in this world?
Zi Dong began to believe that encountering Yang Kai in this Severed World was his life’s biggest nightmare! He had to make sure Yang Kai died without a complete corpse…
“Little brat, enough!” Zi Long saw what was happening to his son and could not help shouting at Yang Kai.
“Heh heh…” Yang Kai glanced at him lightly before turning back and rubbing his hands like a pervert standing before a naked beauty, saliva almost leaking from his lips, his image completely unsightly as he stretched out his claws towards an Enlightenment Flower.
With just a light pull, the Enlightenment Flower was plucked by Yang Kai directly, roots and all.
Generally, when one picked extremely precious herbs, they would only harvest the usable parts while trying to leave the plant itself undamaged, this way they could obtain the maximum benefits without destroying this opportunity for future generations. As long as the roots of the Enlightenment Flowers were left here, they may bloom again after enough time had passed.
Alchemists would be especially careful to adhere to this principle when collecting herbs.
However, Yang Kai felt that leaving behind any trace of these Enlightenment Flowers would only benefit Zi Long and Xu Wei, so he decided to literally pull out the problem at its roots so these two old foxes didn’t gain anything.
“En, so this is the legendary Enlightenment Flower, not bad! Not bad at all. Nine petals and a lavender colour, it seems to be at least three thousand years old! With such a rich medicinal age, once I break through to the Origin King, using this it will certainly provide a great boost when cultivating. Even if I do not use it myself, I’ll definitely be able to exchange it for many good things!” Yang Kai said as he took out a jade box from his Space Ring and stored the Enlightenment Flower carefully inside.
His movements were slow and exaggerated, making the whole process visible to Zi Long and Xu Wei.
Watching this display, the two Origin Kings felt like their hearts were leaking blood.
This bastard was definitely doing this on purpose!
Xu Wei and Zi Long had such a thought in their hearts at the same time, and their hatred for Yang Kai only grew more intense as a result.
This was like two starving men who had not had food or drink for days suddenly coming across a table filled with delicacies, but not only could they not eat, they had to sit there and endure watching another stuff their face. It was nothing short of torture.
Yang Kai was undoubtedly the one sitting at the table, eating his fill, blabbering on and on about just how delicious the food was…
“Now for the second, hahaha…” Yang Kai picked another Enlightenment Flower and continued talking to himself as he placed it in another jade box.
His actions were the same as before, painfully slow and deliberate!
Zi Long took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He no longer wanted to watch, simply thinking that ‘what the eyes do not see, the heart does not grieve.’
Zi Long really could not stand seeing Yang Kai’s shameless antics anymore, so he decisively closed his eyes to not allow the scenes taking place less than a thousand meters away to disturb his mind.
However, Yang Kai had no intention of letting things end here.
His voice continued to flow into Zi Long’s ears, “Oh, why is this Enlightenment Flower not as big as the first two? The petals are a little thin and wilted as well. It must have been malnourished. The medicinal efficacies of this one are definitely not as good, but… well, it’s better than nothing. I might as well collect it.”
Zi Long’s body shook slightly as his Saint Qi almost burst out involuntarily.
On the other side, Xu Wei’s forehead was also covered with bulging veins, an obvious sign of how irritated he was by Yang Kai.
But instead of closing his eyes like Zi Long, he stared stubbornly at Yang Kai’s movements, praying that Yang Kai would at least leave some soup for him to drink after Yang Kai ate this large piece of meat.
It was not long though until he noticed something wrong.
This little brat was simply too vicious. When collecting the Enlightenment Flowers, he was pulling them out roots and all, leaving nothing behind.
Xu Wei sighed in exasperation, knowing that no part of these five Enlightenment Flowers were destined to belong to him. Taking a hard breath, he followed Zi Long’s lead and closed his eyes.
“Ah!” Yang Kai suddenly cried out, as if he had discovered something astonishing, his voice filled with surprise and excitement.
Xu Wei, who had just closed his eyes, opened them again as he stared over towards Yang Kai, trying to figure out what had just happened.
Even Zi Long could not hold back his curiosity and opened his eyes slightly…
But the sight that greeted them was just Yang Kai laughing happily as he put the third Enlightenment Flower into a jade box as he muttered to himself, “That was close, I almost put it into the wrong box and wasted its medicinal efficacies.”
Xu Wei opened his mouth as if he wanted to scream, but he somehow held his tongue in the end and just cast his cold glare to the side.
Next, the fourth flower, then the fifth flower…
Yang Kai acted like a complete countryside hick who had never seen the world before, shouting and cheering about every little detail as he picked the Enlightenment Flowers one by one. The elaborate praises and long, drawn-out descriptions sounded like the most grating screeches in Xu Wei and Zi Long’s ears.
Those words were like sharp sticks poking their hearts, making both of them feel incredibly uncomfortable.
After Yang Kai finished collecting all five Enlightenment Flowers, Xu Wei and Zi Long actually couldn’t help letting out sighs of relief, inexplicably feeling like some kind of torture had finally ended…
At that moment, it seemed like the world itself had become a lot brighter.
“A good harvest indeed!” Yang Kai patted his Space Ring and smiled.
Xu Wei grinned wickedly hearing this and quipped, “You should wait until you carry those things off before celebrating.”
Although he knew Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space and could even teleport a thousand meters in an instant, Yang Kai was still just an Origin Realm cultivator. He and Zi Long were both Origin Kings, so there was a massive gap in strength between them. Xu Wei would not let Yang Kai leave here easily, and he was certain Zi Long wouldn’t either.
When the Seven Coloured Radiant Light dissipated, both he and Zi Long would immediately attack Yang Kai!
Only at that time could it really be determined who the Enlightenment Flowers would belong to.
Right now… This little brat was only holding onto them, he did not own them yet.
“Carry them off? Just wait and see,” Yang Kai replied lightly, not showing the slightest worry about the coming crisis. Immediately, he straightened himself up and turned his attention to a spot not far away and declared loudly, “En, those Seeking Heart Lotuses are also good things, I can’t just ignore them.”
Yang Kai did not know what was special about this particular area to not only have so many Void Cracks but also to nurture so many rare and precious herbs.
When the three parties entered a stalemate just now, all of them had already noticed this peculiarity and taken note of the Seeking Heart Lotuses and Heavenly Infant Grass which also grew here in addition to the Enlightenment Flowers.
Seeking Heart Lotuses could be used to steady the mental state of a cultivator and hone their state of mind, while the Heavenly Infant Grass was one of the main ingredients in the Origin King Pill. Taking an Origin King Pill could increase the chance of one successfully breaking through to the Origin King Realm. It was an incredibly valuable pill.
However, among these three precious herbs, the Enlightenment Flowers were undoubtedly the most valuable, so everyone’s attention had been focused on them before and not much focus had been placed on the Seeking Heart Lotuses and Heavenly Infant Grass.
But now that the Enlightenment Flowers had entered Yang Kai’s pocket, the targets of everyone’s attention naturally shifted.
Fortunately, the Seeking Heart Lotuses, like the Enlightenment Flowers, were growing behind a certain Void Crack, so it was not currently covered by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. Only the Heavenly Infant Grass was now submerged in the seven coloured tide.
When Yang Kai spoke these words, Xu Wei’s heart could not help clenching.
It seemed the Seeking Heart Lotuses would not be able to escape this little brat’s poisonous hands! Realizing this, Xu Wei’s face went dark.
The situation played out exactly as Xu Wei feared. After Yang Kai finished speaking, he pushed his Space Force and directly arrived at the spot where the Seeking Heart Lotuses were growing.
Just like when he appeared next to the Enlightenment Flowers, Yang Kai leapt over the barrier of space, moving a few dozen meters in an instant.
Zi Long has been staring at Yang Kai, seemingly wanting to discover some clues about how he was moving, but he quickly gave up as he realized the Dao of Space was simply too elusive for him, making it impossible for him to tell how Yang Kai moved.
Zi Long only felt a strange force enveloping Yang Kai before the latter disappeared. By the time Yang Kai reappeared, that strange force had disappeared.
[Has Space Force always been this unfathomable?] Zi Long frowned deeply as a feeling of weakness gripped his heart.
However, his determination to kill Yang Kai was stronger than ever. Without even mentioning the fact that he would be a heart demon for Zi Long’s son as long as this boy lived, just this brief interaction had forged a deep grudge between them. If this boy really grew up and broke through to the Origin King Realm, he would certainly pose a great risk to Purple Star.
An Origin King who was proficient in Space Force, how terrible would that be? Zi Long could not even imagine it.
This danger had to be nipped in the bud!
“Hello.”
While Zi Long was lost in thought, Yang Kai actually called out to taunt him and Zi Dong with a grin.
The Seeking Heart Lotuses were only forty meters away from where Zi Long and Zi Dong were standing, so Yang Kai was relatively close at the moment.
“Boy, act rampantly all you’d like for now. This Young Master will definitely torture you brutally in a moment,” Zi Dong glared at Yang Kai and ground his teeth.
After being humiliated so many times by Yang Kai, he seemed to completely lose his ability to think and could only keep mouthing off, putting his own powerlessness on display.
“Haha!” After Yang Kai let out a burst of grating laughter, he ignored Zi Dong entirely and squatted down to carefully collect the Seeking Heart Lotuses.
What made Zi Long and Xu Wei breathe a sigh of relief secretly at the same time though was that Yang Kai did not continue his harassment this time and simply completed the harvesting process in silence.
It seemed that as time passed, this little brat was gradually beginning to feel uneasy! This was the assumption these two made.
Shortly after, the few Seeking Heart Lotuses were properly preserved by Yang Kai and stored in his Space Ring.
“Haha, giving up on the Heavenly Infant Grass, Kid?” Xu Wei stood in the distance and laughed. He had been irritated by Yang Kai just now and finally found a way to hit back, so he was not going to pass up the opportunity. Staring at Yang Kai triumphantly, he mocked, “Is that all there is to your skill, boy? If you have the ability, why not pick those Heavenly Infant Grass as well?”
Whether it was the Enlightenment Flowers or the Seeking Heart Lotuses, both were growing in spots that weren’t covered by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, so Yang Kai was able to use his Space Secret Technique to easily collect them.
But the Heavenly Infant Grasses were different and were currently completely shrouded in Seven Coloured Radiant Light. Even if Yang Kai had astonishing talent, he should not be able to collect these spirit grasses.
Xu Wei’s provocation was obviously just trying to annoy Yang Kai as a way of soothing his own hatred.
Zi Long smiled faintly and joined in, “Why must Brother Xu embarrass this boy now? How could he possibly achieve such a feat?”
“If he can do it, this Young Master will immediately waste his meridians!” Zi Dong was even more arrogant and boldly declared.
Hearing what he said, Zi Long could not help frowning. He secretly felt that his idiot son was looking for trouble for no reason. Mocking and ridiculing Yang Kai was one thing, but going so far as to say he’d waste his own meridians just to make a point was highly improper.
Such words should never be spoken so casually.
But… Zi Long did not reprimand him, because Yang Kai was truly incapable of collecting the Heavenly Infant Grass, in his opinion.
All three of them taunting like this only showed how eager they were to see Yang Kai’s frustrated face.
Yang Kai, however, just stood in place and glanced between Xu Wei, Zi Long, and Zi Dong before chuckling, “It looks like you all haven’t learned your lesson yet. Seems like I’ve been too soft-hearted.”
When collecting the Seeking Heart Lotuses just now, Yang Kai did not bother provoking them anymore mainly because he didn’t feel interested in doing so anymore. After repeating the same thing once or twice, it lost its appeal and became boring, but Yang Kai had not expected that these three would actually try to provoke him again.
Since that was the case, Yang Kai coldly snorted and decided they needed to pay the price.
“Say whatever you’d like, Brat. It won’t change the fact that you can’t collect those Heavenly Infant Grasses,” Xu Wei shouted.
“And if I can collect them?” Yang Kai looked at him coldly.
Xu Wei was startled, but quickly laughed even louder, “Such craziness! Go on then, show this old master how you plan to pick them.”
Yang Kai spat disdainfully and shook his head, “Old dog, if you want this Young Master to collect those Heavenly Infant Grasses, you’ll have to pay an appropriate price. After all, entering this Seven Coloured Radiant Light isn’t something that can be done for free.”
Xu Wei snickered and declared, “If you can really take them away, this old master will call you grandpa!”
Yang Kai was stunned, never having expected Xu Wei to go to such an extent just to provoke him. Apparently, this old dog hated him to the bone and whole-heartedly wished for him to rush into the Seven Coloured Radiant Light to seek death.
Recovering quickly, Yang Kai chuckled as he looked at Xu Wei, “You said it yourself.”
“So what if this old master said it?” Xu Wei snorted defiantly.
“In that case, I’ll look forward to you calling me Grandpa!” Yang Kai laughed loudly before his figure flickered and appeared behind the Void Crack nearest to the Heavenly Infant Grass.
This Void Crack was less than twenty metres away from the Heavenly Infant Grasses.
After Yang Kai stood firm, the eyes of Xu Wei, Zi Long, and Zi Dong fixed on him, waiting for the show to begin.
None of them believed Yang Kai could succeed.
Standing still and thinking for a while, Yang Kai eventually waved his hand and sent out a Golden Blood Thread.
He had never tested the power of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light and had only heard from Ni Guang that it was extremely dangerous, so he did not know whether his Golden Blood Threads would be useful here.
A golden light flashed, and under Yang Kai’s careful control, the Golden Blood Thread penetrated the Seven Coloured Radiant Light slightly.
But in the next moment, Yang Kai’s expression changed dramatically.
Because the moment the tip of his Golden Blood Thread touched the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, it began to sizzle and melt away.
Things did not end there though as the corrosive force continued to eat away at the Golden Blood Thread and rapidly moved up it towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was shocked and quickly disconnected the Golden Blood Thread from his hand, discarding it on the ground just in time to see it completely melt away.
Yang Kai could not help showing a look of shock.
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light really deserved its terrifying reputation.
Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Threads were condensed from his own pure Golden Blood, and since condensing them, aside from the ones he had intentionally detonated, none had ever been destroyed, but now, under the corrosion of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, one of them had almost instantly disintegrated.
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light ignored any form of defence and not only had the ability to corrode physical forms but could also annihilate one’s Soul. These characteristics perfectly restrained Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Threads.
According to Yang Kai’s observations, as long as it was a flesh and blood living creature, once it was contaminated by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, the consequences would be disastrous.
On the other side, Xu Wei and Zi Long, who were carefully monitoring Yang Kai’s movements, were also secretly shocked.
This was also their first time witnessing the power of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. Having seen it firsthand, the two Origin Kings both concluded that if they were accidentally contaminated by this strange light, they wouldn’t be able to resist its corrosion.
But soon, Xu Wei sneered loudly and called out, “Boy, is that all you’ve got? Come on, try again.”
Yang Kai glanced over at him and sneered.
The reason why he had used a Golden Blood Thread just now was mainly because he wanted to test whether the power of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was really as rumoured, and now that he had his answer, he wouldn’t experiment any further.
Yang Kai had figured out how to harvest the Heavenly Infant Grass a while ago. In any case, the Heavenly Infant Grass was very valuable, and Yang Kai never planned on letting it off, much less let it fall into Xu Wei or Zi Long’s hands.
Ignoring Xu Wei’s ridicule, Yang Kai sat down cross-legged directly.
Immediately, he reached out and waved his hand, summoning a small, somewhat stupid-looking stone.
Stone Puppet number two!
The second Stone Puppet was Yang Kai’s Embodiment. When this Stone Puppet was born in High Heaven Sect, its sentience had failed to form properly, and although it had survived, it did not possess its own consciousness. Unable to act on its own, it was essentially brain dead, so Yang Kai had used it as a body for his Soul Clone to create an Embodiment.
And because Yang Kai had injected a lot of his Golden Blood into it when it was born, it had turned golden, a bit different from Xiao Xiao.
For a long time, this Embodiment had not played any role. When fighting against his enemies, Yang Kai had Firebird Liu Yan and Stone Puppet Xiao Xiao to rely on, so he had always kept the existence of his Embodiment a secret.
But now was the perfect opportunity to put it to use.
Yang Kai did not dare to release Xiao Xiao; after all, Xiao Xiao was one of his biggest helpers, and if something were to happen to him in the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, the loss would be immense.
The Stone Puppet’s physique was not composed of flesh and blood, so it should not be affected by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. It also lacked its own sentience, so it should not fear the Seven Coloured Radiant Light’s ability to corrode Spiritual Energy. The only thing to worry about was whether it could protect Yang Kai’s Soul Clone.
In order for the Stone Puppet Embodiment to act, Yang Kai had to infuse his Soul Clone into it, which he normally kept inside his Knowledge Sea. This way, Yang Kai could directly manipulate it.
Yang Kai did not know whether the Seven Coloured Radiant Light would destroy his Soul Clone inside the Embodiment’s form.
However, the only way to find out was to try, so Yang Kai steeled himself, reached out his hand, and tapped the head of his Embodiment.
The Soul Clone which had been resting inside his Knowledge Sea immediately poured into the Embodiment and the sluggish eyes of the Golden Stone Puppet quickly became bright and agile.
As for Yang Kai, he felt as if his consciousness had been split in two at this moment. Not only could he see and perceive everything from his own perspective, but also from the perspective of his Embodiment, a truly strange and wonderful feeling.
Controlling the Embodiment, Yang Kai’s Soul Clone moved its hands and feet slightly, adapting to this new body.
“What is that?” On the other side, Zi Dong stared with a stunned expression towards the Golden Stone Puppet.
He had never seen such a peculiar existence. This stone man looked more like a living creature rather than a puppet, but it also did not appear to be alive, a peculiar sight indeed.
Although the aura from this stone body was not very strong, it was still something he had never seen before, so he turned to his father for answers.
He thought that, with his father’s experience and knowledge, Zi Long would definitely know something, but what he didn’t expect was that after a long silence, his father muttered, “Your father also doesn’t know what that is.”
Zi Dong was shocked.
[There are still existences in the Star Field that Father is unaware of?] Zi Dong looked towards Xu Wei, hoping he would know something, but he soon discovered that this Abandoned Lair Elder was staring at this strange stone creature with a frown on his face and uncertainty in his eyes.
He too did not know anything!
Where did this brat named Yang Kai find this thing, and why did two Origin Kings have no idea what it was? Zi Dong could not help feeling stunned.
However, in the next moment, Zi Dong’s heart clenched, and he subconsciously whispered, “This thing, it couldn’t…”
Although he could not recognize what the Stone Puppet was, Zi Dong could tell that it did not have a flesh and blood body, so it shouldn’t be a problem for it to enter the Seven Coloured Radiant Light; and if that was the case, could Yang Kai really obtain the remaining Heavenly Infant Grass?
Realizing this, Zi Dong’s face sank as he recalled he would waste his meridians if Yang Kai achieved this, his mood instantly becoming gloomy.
Xu Wei also felt rotten.
Zi Dong had said he would waste his meridians while he had said he would call Yang Kai Grandpa; if Yang Kai really managed to obtain the Heavenly Infant Grass…
[Damn it, why has the Seven Coloured Radiant Light not withdrawn yet!] Xu Wei cursed constantly in his heart, wishing he had some Secret Technique that could disperse the Seven Coloured Radiant Light and allow him to attack Yang Kai.
Under the piercing gazes of these three, Yang Kai controlled his Embodiment to step forward and enter the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
As soon as the Embodiment stepped into the flowing light, Yang Kai felt his entire body sink, as if a hundred thousand kilogram boulder was pressing down on him, on par with the Domain of an Origin King. The Seven Coloured Radiant Light made the surrounding space extremely thick and difficult to move through.
Fortunately, after a quick observation, Yang Kai found that his Soul Clone inside the Embodiment was not taking any damage. It seemed the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was completely isolated by his Embodiment’s body.
This discovery made Yang Kai incredibly happy, as it confirmed his previous guess. The Seven Coloured Radiant Light ignored all forms of defence, not by aiming at a physical body but at the existence of flesh and blood, so the Stone Puppet’s physique was not restrained by it.
Now, if Yang Kai found any precious treasures here later and he was unable to collect them himself, he could simply dispatch his Embodiment.
Taking note of this option, Yang Kai continued to control his Embodiment to move forward.
His Soul Clone had inherited his will and understanding of cultivation, so although Embodiment itself was not that powerful, it could still use Space Force.
The Embodiment began emitting a field of Space Force around itself in the next instant, greatly reducing the pressure it felt and increasing its speed significantly.
The distance of twenty metres was crossed by the Embodiment at an extremely quick rate.
Xu Wei’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
He was now certain the few stalks of Heavenly Infant Grass would be unable to escape Yang Kai’s clutches, but this was not the biggest problem; that lay with the words he had spoken just now.
Naturally, it was impossible for him to really call Yang Kai, a mere Junior, Grandpa. If Xu Wei were to do this, he would not be able to show his face in the future, and he would need to scram back to Abandoned Lair to hide for the rest of his life.
But if he did not honour his word, he would surely be ridiculed by Yang Kai again. Xu Wei was quite familiar now with how poisonous this brat’s tongue was.
He felt a headache coming on as his expression turned ugly.
After just ten breaths of time, the Embodiment arrived in front of the Heavenly Infant Grass, and although the hands of the Stone Puppet were quite large and thick, under Yang Kai’s delicate control, it was still able to skillfully harvest the Heavenly Infant Grass. Finished with its task, the Embodiment got up, turned around, and walked back over to where Yang Kai sat.
Once his Embodiment returned, Yang Kai collected the Heavenly Infant Grass, stored them into a box he had prepared ahead of time and put them into his Space Ring before taking back his Soul Clone and Embodiment with a smile.
Immediately, he turned his head and glanced towards Xu Wei.
Xu Wei’s eyes avoided his…
“What? Refusing to admit your loss?” Yang Kai sneered, “Didn’t you say you’d call me Grandpa?”
Xu Wei suddenly became angry out of shame and with a stern face glared towards Yang Kai, as if warning him to keep his mouth shut or he would immediately attack.
He had decided to act shamelessly as there was nothing Yang Kai could do to him regardless.
Yang Kai sneered and turned to Zi Dong next, “Didn’t you say you’d waste your meridians?”
Zi Dong roared angrily, “What thing are you? You dare ask this Young Master to waste his meridians?”
Yang Kai stroked his chin and grinned as he nodded, “So your words are as meaningless as farts.”
Zi Long coldly snorted, “Boy, this old master will give you some advice. Act according to your station or you will suffer in the future. Why do you insist on going so far?”
“Act according to my station?” Yang Kai sneered, “Do I need to show any respect to trash like you?”
“Boy, pay attention to your words. Don’t forget, this Seven Coloured Radiant Light will soon retreat, and once it does, you should know what your end will be,” Zi Long glared Yang Kai coldly.
“That’s right boy, obediently take out all the things you’ve collected, throw them on the ground, kneel down and kowtow a few times to admit your mistakes and this old master swears that once this damned light dissipates, he will spare your life!” Xu Wei also yelled from the side.
The two Origin Kings had lost a great deal of face this time, so their hatred for Yang Kai ran very deep, but fortunately for the two of them, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was about to withdraw. After enduring half an hour of taunting from Yang Kai, they would finally be able to make him pay the price, causing both to feel jovial.
Once the Seven Coloured Radiant Light retreated, what did it matter if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space or not?
As soon they used their Domains to lock him down, he could not escape no matter what!
As long as they captured Yang Kai, not only could they solve the hatred in their hearts, they could also obtain the Enlightenment Flowers, Seeking Heart Lotus, and Heavenly Infant Grass that had been collected by Yang Kai.
They had both been secretly looking forward to this moment.
“You think you’ve won already?” Yang Kai looked at Zi Long and Xu Wei with disdain, not showing any signs of panic, shocking the two Origin Kings. On the contrary, his expression was one of gloating, as if victory was in his hand.
Zi Long frowned, wondering if Yang Kai was bluffing or he really had something to rely on still.
“Little brat, what are you up to now? This old master advises you to obediently cooperate while you still have a chance to survive.” Xu Wei shouted in a deep voice.
“Laughable, there’s actually such an ignorant fool like you in this world,” Yang Kai laughed before suddenly saying in a bored tone. “Forget it. I have no more time to play with you. This Seven Coloured Radiant Light should retreat soon so I’ll be going on ahead, enjoy waiting here!”
Saying so, Yang Kai waved his hand goodbye.
“Go on ahead?” Zi Long frowned deeply, but soon he thought up a frightening possibility. Could this boy actually…
Before he finished his thoughts, his eyes bulged as he watched Yang Kai’s movements in shock, an expression of complete disbelief covering his face.
Zi Long saw Yang Kai turn around and step into the Void Crack behind him, disappearing from sight.
This boy entered the Void Crack!
Zi Long could not help drawing a sharp breath!
On the other side, Xu Wei’s jaw dropped. He seemed to be trying to say something, but no matter what, the words would not form. The look of shock on his face was no better than the one on Zi Long’s.
“He, he, he…” Zi Dong also called out incoherently, pointing in the direction of where Yang Kai disappeared, unable to form a complete sentence for quite some time.
“Brother Xu!” After a long time, Zi Long took a deep breath and with a gloomy expression called out, “It seems we’ve all underestimated his accomplishments in the Dao of Space.”
Xu Wei nodded and said with a serious expression, “En, unscrupulously rushing into a Void Crack, this brat’s attainments in the Dao of Space are simply unprecedented.”
“Brother Xu, you don’t need me to remind you how terrifying a cultivator who has mastered Space Force is. Right now, he is just a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm boy, but if he manages to break through to the Origin King Realm in the future…”
“He won’t have a future. This old master won’t let him leave this place alive!” Xu Wei’s face filled with a sullen expression.
Zi Long nodded with satisfaction, “In that case, we’ll put aside our grievances for now and cooperate. This King will also try his best to find him and eliminate him here in this Severed World.”
Both were aware of just how terrifying Yang Kai’s future potential was and were rightfully frightened by it. They did not dare allow Yang Kai to continue to grow and made up their minds to kill him here in the Severed World.
A few words were all they needed to negotiate a temporary alliance.
At that moment, Zi Dong, who had not been able to calm his mind, suddenly exclaimed as he pointed behind Xu Wei and shouted, “He, he…”
Zi Long was startled, turned his head, and looked towards Xu Wei. In the next moment, his eyes shrunk as he shouted, “Watch out!”
Hearing this shout, Xu Wei rapidly reacted, but before he could turn to look back, a familiar voice that filled his heart with disgust called out, “Hahahaha, little grandson, grandpa is here to teach you a lesson!”
It was Yang Kai!
Xu Wei’s expression changed drastically. He had never imagined Yang Kai would appear from the Void Crack behind him and launch a sneak attack.
A scorching force struck at him from behind, accompanied by a strong wind.
Xu Wei roared as he furiously condensed his Saint Qi on his back, forming a thick protective layer while at the same time he hurriedly tried to turn around and face.
His movements were quick, but Yang Kai was faster.
Just as his Saint Qi began to condense, Xu Wei felt a fist impact his back with such terrifying force it almost shredded his Saint Qi defences.
Fortunately, his cultivation was higher than Yang Kai’s, otherwise, this punch alone would have been enough to render him powerless.
Even so, this punch was not easy to withstand. Xu Wei felt his blood roil and his face could not help turning pale as his body staggered forward involuntarily.
What’s more, right in front of him was the Seven Coloured Radiant Light that everyone present dreaded!
“Not good!” Xu Wei exclaimed as cold sweat leaked from his forehead. Instinctively, Xu Wei released his Domain and bit his tongue before spitting out a mouthful of Blood Essence as he stamped his feet hard on the ground.
In an instant, his legs sank all the way to his knees into the ground and his body stopped lurching forward.
*Chi chi…*
A harsh cracking sound rang out as a look of desperation filled Xu Wei’s face.
Although his response was not slow, and his actions had been well executed, he still couldn’t completely stop his forward momentum, and one of his arms entered the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. In an instant, a stinging pain filled his arm and looking down, Xu Wei clearly saw his flesh being corroded at an extremely frightening speed, exposing his meridians and bones.
Things had not ended yet though as Yang Kai, who was standing behind him, was already preparing to launch a second blow.
Feeling Yang Kai’s thick murderous intent, Xu Wei was furious and grit his teeth while roaring, “Little Brat, don’t look down on this old master!”
Saying so, a dazzling light burst from his body and, together with a grating sound, terrifying waves of energy burst from his figure and spread out in all directions.
Yang Kai’s expression suddenly became dignified as he realized that Xu Wei had become desperate and was going all out. Quickly withdrawing his attack, Yang Kai rapidly retreated while at the same time summoning his Golden Blood Threads to condense a golden shield in front of himself.
*Dang dang dang dang…*
A series of metallic noises rang out as Yang Kai’s golden shield trembled.
Looking at Xu Wei, who was only a few steps in front of him, Yang Kai sneered slightly and did not continue his assault, instead choosing to jump back into the Void Crack.
The moment his figure was about to disappear, cold words entered the ears of Zi Long and Zi Dong, “I’ll be hiding in The Void and accompanying you from now on so you won’t be lonely.”
Hearing this, Zi Dong felt a chill fill him from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. In a flurry, he turned around and stared at the Void Crack behind him, his eyes wide.
He was terrified Yang Kai would appear suddenly and try to kill him.
Yang Kai’s existence had become a nightmare to him!
“Ahhh!” On the other side, Xu Wei’s screams rang out. At this moment, the terrifying Seven Coloured Radiant Light had eroded half of his arm and was rapidly spreading towards his shoulder.
Grinding his teeth, a savage look appeared on Xu Wei’s face as he desperately urged his Saint Qi to resist the damage caused by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
But no matter how he tried, everything was futile.
Seeing that the situation was getting worse and worse, Xu Wei mercilessly chopped at his shoulder.
What remained of his arm fell to the ground as blood splashed from the fresh wound.
As the pain hit, Xu Wei’s face went as pale as paper and his figure staggered slightly. Hurriedly using his Saint Qi to staunch the flow of blood, Xu Wei took out a few high-grade healing pills from his Space Ring and stuffed them into his mouth.
But he did not even dare to sit down cross-legged to refine these pills and immediately turned around and stared vigilantly at the Void Crack to guard against Yang Kai, just like Zi Dong.
Although Yang Kai’s sneak attack failed to kill him, it had cost Xu Wei an arm.
The atmosphere became extremely solemn, and whether it was Xu Wei or Zi Dong, none of them dared to even breathe heavily, their nerves as tight as could be.
Even Zi Long did not dare relax his guard, focusing his Divine Sense on the Void Crack behind him…
Time passed slowly.
When the sound of inhalation came from the depths of the medicine valley, and the Seven Coloured Radiant Light dissipated like a tide, Zi Dong gasped for breath, as if he had just been saved from death, and he immediately fled from the Void Crack to a relatively safe place.
The same was true for Xu Wei.
He had been bitten by a snake once and was now frightened of even ropes. Every time he glanced towards a Void Crack, it was as if he saw that bastard just waiting to leap out and attack him.
However, even if Seven Coloured Radiant Light had withdrawn, and there was now no need to worry about Yang Kai’s sneak attack, Xu Wei’s crisis had not ended.
With a pale face, he stood on the spot, watching Zi Long not far away vigilantly, his Saint Qi condensed as he stood ready to escape at any time.
Although he and Zi Long had reached a kind of agreement just now to deal with Yang Kai together, Xu Wei was well aware of the hatred between Abandoned Lair and Purple Star as well as the gap in status and strength between him and Zi Long.
If Zi Long acted against him now, Xu Wei was certain it would be disastrous for him.
At his peak, he might have been able to escape from Zi Long’s clutches, but in his current state… it would be nearly impossible!
“Brother Xu, this King advises you not to think about running away!” Zi Long looked at him faintly, “You should know something about this King’s Purple Qi Eternal River Secret Art. With this King’s means, you have no hope of escaping.”
Xu Wei smiled miserably while cursing in his heart how his worst fears had come true.
Zi Long obviously intended to add insult to injury here and had no intentions of letting him go. If he tried to escape now, Zi Long would attack.
“Brother Zi, why must you be this way!” Xu Wei squeezed out an ugly smile, “This Xu was not your opponent from the beginning, if you really wanted to kill me, this Xu would have no ability to resist. But Brother Zi, do not forget, that little brat said he will be hiding in the cracks, following us around. Young Lord Dong is only a Third-Order Origin Realm cultivator, if that boy were to launch a successful sneak attack, what would the consequences be? Brother Zi should be clear.”
“Naturally, this King understands,” Zi Long’s expression remained indifferent. “But what does this have to do with you? If my son is in danger, this King will notice.”
“You can’t say that for certain,” Xu Wei shook his head, “If this old master is still around though, that boy will have to split his attention, improving everyone’s safety, right?”
Zi Long frowned, as if he was thinking for a while before raising his brow slightly a moment later, “What Brother Xu says is correct.”
Xu Wei secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“But… Brother Xu, your situation isn’t optimistic now. Even if you can divert a part of that boy’s attention, just how much is debatable. This King would be happy to take this opportunity to kill you and avenge the many Purple Star cultivators who suffered at your hands,” Zi Long squinted slightly, a murderous intent flashing across his eyes.
Xu Wei’s heart, which had just relaxed, clenched tightly as he secretly cried to himself while cursing Yang Kai again and again in his heart. If it were not for the attack by Yang Kai just now, how could he have fallen into this predicament?
Zi Long coldly snorted, “Brother Xu, don’t say this King didn’t give you a chance. This King will now give you two choices: First, I kill you. Death ends all troubles!”
Xu Wei bit his lip and asked in a deep voice, “And the second option?”
“Hand over your Soul Brand and obey this King’s orders from now on!” Zi Long crossed his hands behind his back and stared down at Xu Wei in an imposing manner, “You are a worldly man who has experienced great winds and waves, you should know what decision to make!”
“Hand over my Soul Brand?!” Xu Wei’s face became cold as he thought about attacking Zi Long on the spot; however, considering the consequences of such actions, he forcefully suppressed his anger.
If he handed over his Soul Brand, he would have to obey Zi Long’s orders in the future, if not, Zi Long could make his life a living hell with a single thought!
However, if he refused, he would definitely die!
Xu Wei surprisingly discovered that Zi Long disgusted him even more than Yang Kai!
Yang Kai taunted him, played some cheap tricks, and sneak attacked him, but Zi Long, as the revered Sect Master of Purple Star, a famous figure throughout the entire Star Field, was actually shameless enough to add insult to injury at this moment!
“Time is short and this King’s patience is also limited. Think quickly, Brother Xu.” Although Zi Long’s words were light, they were nothing less than thunderous in Xu Wei’s ears, causing him great suffering.
A look of struggle filled Xu Wei’s face for a moment before he grit his teeth and said, “Fine, this old master accepts. If you want the Soul Brand of this old master, then this old master will hand it over to you! However, I hope Brother Zi won’t make things too difficult for this old master in the future!”
Zi Long nodded with satisfaction, and said, “This King will naturally not embarrass you, because… It won’t be this King who is in charge of your Soul Brand, but my son!”
“What? Zi Dong?” Xu Wei shouted as he turned to look at Zi Dong, a look of rage appearing on his face.
Zi Dong was also startled when he heard this, but in the next moment, he turned an ecstatic look towards his father, one filled with gratitude.
Even if he was the Young Master of Purple Star, and had some rights to mobilize the Origin King Realm masters of Purple Star to do things for him, this power was extremely limited; after all, which Origin King did not have great power and authority as well?
Any time Zi Dong asked these masters for something, he would have to pay them handsomely for their services.
Now there was a chance for him to completely control an Origin King. This was nothing short of a treasure falling from the sky into his lap, causing Zi Dong great happiness.
His thoughts quickly turning, Zi Dong’s face sank as he glared towards Xu Wei, “What, does Elder Xu think that this Young Master is not qualified to control your Soul Brand? If that is the case, then this Young Master doesn’t want it either. This Young Master has no interest in forcing a man to act against his will.”
While this rhetoric seemed upright and appropriate for a Young Master of Purple Star on the surface, Xu Wei could not help cursing violently in his heart.
Right now, he was nothing more than a fish on the block, so how could he dare to resist? What’s more, he had already made a concession before, so even though he knew the situation would be quite different from what he had imagined, his unwillingness had decreased noticeably.
There were many cases where, after one made a concession, it became easier to make a second concession… and then a third concession…
After thinking about it, Xu Wei squeezed out a smile and said, “Young Master misunderstands. Young Master is a dragon among men, and his future achievements will certainly be higher than this old master’s, so how could this old master have such thoughts? Being able to serve Young Master is this old master’s honour.”
“En, it is indeed as you say!” Zi Dong smiled widely, the gloom which had clouded his mood thanks to Yang Kai being quickly wiped away. Zi Dong’s mood was extremely happy right now and, in his heart, he swore that if he were to ever see Yang Kai again, he would make Xu Wei kill him to soothe the hate he felt.
Although Xu Wei was missing an arm due to the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, this damage had little effect on his strength as an Origin King. As long as he recuperated well, Xu Wei would still be a powerful master.
“Brother Xu, if you’d please!” Zi Long urged to avoid complications due to delay.
Even though Xu Wei was unwilling, he had to condense his Soul Brand, walk over to Zi Dong, and transfer it to him.
During this whole process, Zi Long was watching him vigilantly, so he had no chance to play any tricks.
After completing this, Xu Wei felt a deep sense of loss.
From this moment on, he was no longer an Elder of Abandoned Lair, but a servant, a thug… he no longer had his freedom.
As he was thinking so though, Xu Wei’s expression suddenly changed dramatically as he felt his Knowledge Sea churn and a splitting, almost unbearable pain assaulted his head.
Even though he was an Origin King, Xu Wei could not resist this kind of pain and suffering.
He could not help screaming and instantly collapsed to the ground, holding his head in his hands as he writhed in agony.
He quickly realized what was going on, and bracing his spirit, he grit his teeth and called out, “Young Master, why are you…”
“En… it’s really effective,” Zi Dong looked down at Xu Wei, who had fallen to the ground howling, without the slightest pity on his face. Instead, he watched with great interest as he continued to apply pressure to the Soul Brand he had just acquired.
Xu Wei’s cries grew more desolate and more violent by the moment as he continued to wail, “Young Master, stop quickly. If this continues, this old master’s Soul will be extinguished!”
“This old master?” Zi Dong’s eyes flashed coldly, “In front of whom are you daring to call yourself old master? Who gave you such gall?”
“Aaah! Old… Old Servant was wrong! Young Master, please stop, Old Servant won’t dare act presumptuously again!”
“Hahaha, you’re quite clever. It seems you’ll make a good dog in the future!” Zi Dong laughed as a wicked, ferocious grin filled his face. Tormenting an Origin King like this gave him immense satisfaction.
Yang Kai had repeatedly insulted him as a dog that could only bark and not bite, so Zi Dong was now venting this resentment on Xu Wei.
“Enough, despite everything else, Elder Xu is still in some sense your Senior. You cannot treat him like this in the future!” Zi Long looked at his son and indifferently ordered.
“Yes!” Zi Dong replied and immediately ceased.
The intense pain in Xu Wei’s Knowledge Sea disappeared at that moment, but even so, he was still unable to get up and was forced to lay on the ground for a long time before struggling to his feet, keeping his head lowered to conceal the hatred which was flashing across his eyes.
A moment ago, he was an Origin King Realm Elder of Abandoned Lair, but now his Soul Brand was controlled by another and he had also been humiliated and tortured by a mere Junior. How could he not feel resentful?
But people under the eaves have to bow their heads, and Xu Wei was naturally not stupid enough to show open hostility here.
He had to hide everything well now if only to find an opportunity in the future to make Zi Long and his bastard son pay.
“Does Elder Xu have any objections to this Young Master’s conduct? Just now, this Young Master was simply experimenting a bit to determine the usefulness of this thing; after all, this Young Master has never controlled an Origin King’s Soul Brand before. It was a novel experience,” Zi Dong stared at Xu Wei and asked with a faint smile on his lips.
“I wouldn’t dare!” Xu Wei gasped as he lowered his head deeply, “Young Master should address Old Servant by his name directly in the future. Old Servant does not dare claim to be an Elder before Young Master. As for what happened just now, Old Servant naturally does not mind.”
“Great!” Zi Dong nodded with satisfaction, “Follow this Young Master carefully and protect his safety. When this Young Master becomes stronger in the future, it will naturally benefit you.”
“Yes!” Xu Wei nodded respectfully.
“By the way, what have you gained since entering this medicine valley? Bring out everything you have for this Young Master to inspect,” Zi Dong seemed to think of something again and asked brightly.
Xu Wei’s face twitched slightly, and his heart stung, but he didn’t dare to resist in the slightest. Quickly removing his Space Ring from his hand, Xu Wei handed it to Zi Dong and said with a flattering smile, “All of Old Servant’s possessions are inside, please have a look Young Master, if there is anything you like, feel free to take it.”
He had to do this; after all, his life was now no longer his to control, so he would not be able to control his possessions either.
Zi Dong did not act polite and after taking the Space Ring, he released his Divine Sense to investigate it. After a while, an expression of joy appeared on his face as he began removing all the valuable treasures from Xu Wei’s ring.
These things not only included everything Xu Wei harvested in the medicine valley, but also the treasures he had collected over the many years of his life.
Abandoned Lair was a gathering place for people who committed all kinds of evil, and as an Elder, Xu Wei had killed many and robbed them of their possessions, so there were truly a lot of good things in his Space Ring.
Each of these treasures was worth a great deal, even to someone like Zi Dong, so he was not planning on letting anything off.
As he watched his possessions being taken out and put into Zi Dong’s Space Ring, Xu Wei felt like his heart was bleeding, but he did not dare to show any dissatisfaction, simply standing to the side and squeezing out a smile.
“Huh…” Zi Dong suddenly let out a cry of surprise as he took out a token-like object from Xu Wei’s ring.
The material of this token was quite strange, being neither wood nor metal, and even with Zi Dong’s eyesight, he was unable to identify it. The token was black in colour and simple in design, with only the character for ‘Emperor’ engraved on its front.
A profound aura radiated from this character though, and as Zi Dong glanced at it, and felt that his very soul was being bathed in this aura, causing him to fall into a state of astonishment.
“A Star Emperor Token!” After seeing this token, Zi Long, who had been standing to the side silently, snatched it from Zi Dong’s hand and his eyes burst with red hot light, releasing his Divine Sense to carefully investigate it.
This was indeed a Star Emperor Token!
Star Emperor Tokens were relics the Great Emperor had personally refined millennia ago and were legendary existences that few in the entire Star Field had ever seen. However, as the Sect Master of Purple Star, Zi Long stood at the pinnacle of the Star Field’s hierarchy so he was naturally familiar with the secrets of the Star Emperor Tokens.
What’s more, there was also a Star Emperor Token in Purple Star’s possession, which was personally kept by the Supreme Elder, a Third-Order Origin King. The Supreme Elder used the light Emperor Pressure which radiated from the Star Emperor Token to cultivate while he was in retreat, trying to use it to comprehend the mysteries of the Martial Dao and break through to the next realm.
“A used Star Emperor Token…” After scanning it for a while, Zi Long found that the Great Emperor’s Divine Ability which had been sealed in this Star Emperor Token had already been used, causing a faint trace of disappointment to appear on his face.
“This thing is something this old servant managed to obtain after braving many dangers…” Xu Wei explained with a smile on the side, feeling extremely distressed. If it had not been for this Star Emperor Token being already used, how could he have fallen into his current miserable state?
It was rumoured that the Great Emperor refined nine Star Emperor Tokens in total, each one containing one of his supreme Divine Abilities.
No one knew how strong the Great Emperor truly was, but Xu Wei was certain that with the help of the Great Emperor’s Divine Ability, killing Zi Long and his son would have been a breeze.
If the Divine Ability sealed in this Star Emperor Token still existed, Xu Wei would have used it rather than turning over his Soul Brand and accepting the humiliation of becoming a slave.
“Father, I’ve heard that there is a shocking secret hidden within the Star Emperor Tokens, is that true?” Zi Dong asked curiously as he stared at the Star Emperor Token held by Zi Long. He was Purple Star’s Young Master, but this was his first time seeing a real Star Emperor Token. Until now, Zi Dong had at most read some ancient records regarding the Star Emperor Tokens.
“There are indeed such rumours, but I don’t know if there is any earth-shattering mystery hidden within them,” Zi Long replied faintly, “Even if there was some kind of earth-shattering mystery, it’s not something that would be revealed with just one or two Star Emperor Tokens. One would need to gather all nine before they could try to discover this secret.”
“Gather all nine?” Zi Dong was stunned for a moment but soon laughed, “I’m afraid no one is capable of that. The Star Emperor Tokens are ancient, and many have been lost in the Star Field. The only one I know of for certain is the one that Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce holds…”
“Not just Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Sword Union also has one!”
“Sword Union has one too?” Zi Dong was a little surprised.
“Don’t underestimate Sword Union. Although Sword Union is the weakest among the three super forces of the Star Field, it is by no means weak. In the age when the Great Emperor lived, our three forces were able to provide the Great Emperor with some small assistance, and in return, we were each granted a Star Emperor Token that had one of his Divine Abilities sealed inside as compensation. Purple Star, Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, and Sword Union all came to possess Star Emperor Tokens this way.”
“Something like that happened?” Zi Dong was shocked, and even Xu Wei showed a dumbfounded look.
Although he was an Elder of Abandoned Lair, he still knew nothing about such a secret.
“It happened a long time ago,” Zi Long sighed slightly. “After over ten thousand years, the Star Emperor Tokens owned by our three forces have already been used when respective disasters struck. If it had not been for those Star Emperor Tokens, our three forces might not have survived to this day. The rise and fall of great forces are like the ebb and flow of the tide, nothing is infinite and immutable, so great forces can fall at any time. Only individual strength is real strength, remember this well.”
“Yes, Father, I will remember!” Zi Dong nodded respectfully, secretly making up his mind that he needed to enter seclusion after returning from this expedition and not leave until he broke through to the Origin King Realm! If he could reach the same realm as the Great Emperor one day, he would become the new legend of the Star Field and assume the Great Emperor’s lauded mantle. Just how glorious would that be?
While lecturing his son, Zi Long stored the Star Emperor Token into his Space Ring.
Although this Star Emperor Token had already been used, its value was still enormous.
Zi Dong also returned Xu Wei’s Space Ring to him, but everything of value had already been looted. When Xu Wei used his Divine Sense to investigate, he nearly coughed up blood from distress, feeling as if a good chunk of his flesh had been flayed off.
“Let’s go, but be careful of the surrounding Void Cracks. That boy may really be hiding nearby, looking for opportunities to launch sneak attacks!” Zi Long swept the surrounding Void Cracks with his eyes before leading the way forward.
Zi Dong quickly followed while Xu Wei, pale and helpless, brought up the rear.
Inside The Void, Yang Kai wandered freely.
After attacking Xu Wei, he returned to the extremely safe Void and began happily searching for Space Spirit Crystals.
The words he left behind just before disappearing were only meant to intimidate the enemy, he was not really interested in following after Zi Long and the others. A single successful sneak attack was likely the most he could get away with in any case; now, his enemies would be taking precautions, so Yang Kai did not plan to linger around any longer.
There were so many good things here, how could Yang Kai bother wasting time with those three anymore?
Therefore, after uttering that threat, Yang Kai immediately left.
His choice of a target last time was also something Yang Kai carefully considered. Zi Long was a Second-Order Origin King, so Yang Kai was not certain he could successfully sneak attack him or Zi Dong, who was standing beside him. As such, Yang Kai had to settle on targeting Xu Wei. Although he did not manage to kill Xu Wei, he did cost the latter an arm, collecting a little interest in advance.
Yang Kai estimated that Xu Wei would have to cut off his arm in order to save himself which would result in a serious injury and a massive temporary drop in strength. Once that happened, Zi Long likely would not let him off, quite possibly killing him on the spot!
What Yang Kai did not anticipate was that Zi Long did not kill Xu Wei but instead allowed his son to collect Xu Wei’s Soul Brand…
With the Seven Coloured Radiant Light having just receded, there was plenty of time to hunt for treasure, so after Yang Kai shuttled The Void for half a cup of tea’s time, he found a random weak spot and returned to the medicine valley.
The surroundings were quiet, without a single person, so Yang Kai enthusiastically began to search for more precious herbs.
After half an hour, he returned to The Void again.
Repeating this process over and over again, Yang Kai’s gains continued to pile up.
At the same time, he was silently keeping track of time.
Before entering, Ni Guang mentioned to him that the longest one could remain in the Severed World was a month, after which they needed to return to the Star Field; otherwise the consequences would be extremely serious.
Because the ancient aura here was too rich, it was not suitable for modern-day cultivators to remain for too long. If they did, they would encounter suppression and rejection by the World Principles here.
Similar to how Qian Tong was repelled by Shadowed Star’s World Principles, the world itself would begin imposing punishments that no cultivator could resist for long.
However, Yang Kai estimated that from entering the Severed World until now, only eleven or twelve days had passed, so even if it would take him some time to return to the entrance, he should have at least ten more days to continue exploring.
As such, he wandered around the medicine valley with peace of mind.
In the blink of an eye, another few days passed.
As time went on, the number of precious herbs that could be found in the medicine valley gradually reduced, but that was not surprising; after all, no matter how large this medicine valley was, it still had a limit. Even if the number of cultivators who entered this place was not large, after so many days of searching, most of the good things here had already been collected.
Even Yang Kai’s gains in terms of Space Spirit Crystals had shrunk dramatically.
On this day, Yang Kai spent half a day inside The Void and only managed to harvest a total of three Space Spirit Crystals and one somewhat valuable herb.
Compared to the first day he entered the medicine valley, it was quite a shabby result.
“It’s time to rendezvous with Gui Zu!” Yang Kai stood in place, stored the herb into his Space Ring, and muttered to himself.
Now that the harvest had started to become thin, it did not matter if he acted separately from Gui Zu or not. If they joined up though, they could assist one another if need be.
Thinking so, Yang Kai poured a bit of his Saint Qi into the mark left by Gui Zu on his shoulder.
Yang Kai stood in place for quite some time but did not see any trace of Gui Zu.
It seemed that Gui Zu was not within a thousand kilometres of him or he would have sensed his call.
Yang Kai was not in a hurry though and simply decided to change position before trying again, but at that moment, a deep rumbling suddenly rang out from the depths of the medicine valley.
The moment he heard this sound, Yang Kai instinctively thought that the Seven Coloured Radiant Light was about to appear, but he realized that something was wrong in the next moment.
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light’s cycle was incredibly regular, allowing Yang Kai to grasp the time when it would appear and disappear with near-perfect accuracy, yet according to his calculations, the Seven Coloured Radiant Light should not appear for another cup of tea worth of time.
Not only that, but the sound he heard was wrong somehow.
Every time the Seven Coloured Radiant Light appeared; the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock Divine Bird would release a loud exhalation sound from where it roosted in the depths of the medicine valley.
The sound that reached Yang Kai’s ear now though was vastly different from a breathing beast, but rather like… the sound of wings flapping, stirring up the air.
Thinking so, Yang Kai’s complexion changed abruptly as he gazed off in the direction the sound was coming from.
At that moment, a piercing cry rang out.
This cry sounded similar to the call of a cat, but many, many times louder as it pierced the sky like a sharp sword, seemingly wanting to penetrate the Severed World itself.
Yang Kai Knowledge Sea even shook slightly from the impact of this sound.
Immediately afterwards, high up in the air, a seven coloured light appeared and blanketed half the sky!
“What’s going on?” Yang Kai exclaimed, standing on the spot, looking at the horizon with trembling eyes.
That was the place where the sound came from every time the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock breathed, where the Divine Bird lived!
Yang Kai had always been curious about how strong this Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock Divine Bird was, but until now, he remained clueless.
However, judging from the power of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light it breathed out, this Divine Bird was at least as strong as a Third-Order Origin King! Perhaps it was even stronger than that.
He had thought about going to see what this Divine Bird looked like, but had not acted on this impulse; however, now it seemed something had changed with the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock.
[Could some blind fool have provoked it?]
Yang Kai thought this might be the case and paid silent tribute to this poor soul. Anyone who provoked the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock would definitely die without burial.
“No, that’s not right!” Yang Kai’s expression changed once again because he noticed that although the movements coming from the depths of the medicine valley were obvious, there was not any fallout from combat. Clearly, the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock had not been provoked. As a brilliant light covered the sky, a massive figure flew up from the ground and blended into seven coloured radiance before soaring off into the distance!
“It flew away?” Yang Kai frowned, making a guess.
The next moment though, excitement filled his face!
The Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock had always occupied a certain location deep inside the medicine valley, so there was no doubt some incredible treasure there which had attracted its attention. In other words, the greatest treasure of this medicine valley should be located there!
Now that the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock had left, wouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity to go search its nest?
Once he had this thought, Yang Kai could not suppress it and his desire to go explore grew stronger rapidly. After struggling with himself for a moment, Yang Kai grit his teeth and flew off quickly.
At the same time, in a certain place in the medicine valley, Zi Long stood in place, his eyes flashing with fanaticism as he stared towards the disappearing seven coloured streak of light, shouting in an excited voice soon after, “The time has come. I did not expect we’d be so lucky! Just ten days after our arrival, the Divine Bird has decided to leave its nest. Hahahaha, what a Heaven-sent opportunity!”
Zi Long had always been very calm and composed, but now he couldn’t contain his excitement, as if he had encountered a once-in-a-million-year opportunity.
Xu Wei wore a confused expression.
However, Zi Dong immediately understood and asked joyfully, “Can we obtain the Immortal Tree now?”
“Immortal Tree?” Xu Wei’s eyes bulged instantly as he stared at Zi Dong in amazement, asking with shock, “Young Master, did you just say Immortal Tree?”
He obviously also knew about the existence of the Immortal Tree, and what the Immortal Tree represented; however, he had only heard of it in rumours and was not even certain a supreme treasure like the Immortal Tree really did exist.
However, just now, he was certain he heard the words ‘Immortal Tree’ from Zi Dong’s mouth.
Combining all he knew, Xu Wei immediately deduced that the place where the Divine Bird made its nest was also where a supreme treasure like the Immortal Tree would be growing.
“What does it matter to you?” Zi Dong casually glanced over at Xu Wei coldly. His mood had been disturbed just now and he had accidentally exposed some important information, but that did not matter much now. In any case, all three of their group would be travelling together, so even if Zi Dong did not say anything about the Immortal Tree, Xu Wei would figure it out himself soon enough.
Xu Wei looked at him and did not dare to ask more.
“I don’t know if I can obtain it, but this is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity!” Zi Long took a deep breath, “Let’s go. If my guess is right, others will also be rushing over.”
“Then, they’re courting death!” Zi Dong coldly snorted.
The Immortal Tree was a Heaven defying treasure that only Purple Star was qualified to possess, and only he and his father were qualified to refine. Sharing the benefits together, this father and son duo would become immortal and indestructible. In time, they would cultivate to the peak of the Martial Dao and dominate the Star Field. How glorious would that be?
Anyone who dared try to snatch the Immortal Tree from them deserved to be damned!
Elsewhere, Ni Guang and Xue Yue were also flying towards the Divine Bird’s nest.
“Uncle Ni, how long will the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock be gone?” Xue Yue asked as she followed Ni Guang.
“I don’t know,” Ni Guang shook his head. “The Divine Bird will leave its nest every once in a while, but as for how long it is gone, it all depends on its mood; nevertheless, this is a rare opportunity. Even if we cannot obtain the Immortal Tree, we must take away the Immortal Source Liquid! Although it is not as precious as the Immortal Tree itself, it is still one of the Three Great Divine Waters, a true miracle medicine!”
“Will Zi Long also appear?” Xue Yue frowned.
“He will definitely not let this opportunity pass. We are prepared to collect the Immortal Source Liquid, so how could Zi Long not be prepared as well? However, when we reach that place, who can obtain what will depend on their own ability. At that time, you must be careful as I may not have the spare capacity to look after you.”
“I understand, Uncle Ni. You can rest assured,” Xue Yue nodded and looked ahead, wondering if that guy would also be attracted by this movement. If they could converge, it would increase their odds of success.
Two thousand kilometres away from where Ni Guang and Xue Yue were, Gui Zu was wrapped in his black Qi as he stared towards the direction of the Divine Bird’s nest. After a long silence, he grinned with interest and muttered, “Good, let us go take a look. Yang Boy definitely won’t miss this kind of chance to join in the fun, and it’s about time I met up with him. The treasures that can be collected in this place are becoming fewer and fewer anyways.”
The three Second-Order Origin Kings were attracted by the Divine Bird’s movement and flew towards the direction of its nest one after another. At the same time, many First-Order Origin Kings became interested and also planned to participate in this treasure hunt.
Although most people did not know about the existence of the Immortal Tree and the Immortal Source Liquid, their thinking was the same as Yang Kai. They all felt that the place where the Divine Bird nested must contain extraordinary treasures, so none of them were willing to miss such a rare opportunity.
Suddenly, all the people in the medicine valley began converging towards a single point.
At the centre of the medicine valley, there was a large flat piece of land where no trees or weeds grew. There was only a one-metre tall, verdant sapling, with leaves blowing in the wind.
This young sapling looked weak and frail, but its leaves and trunk seemed to contain an infinite vitality. This vitality was so strong that it was visible to the naked eye, forming a visible halo around its frame.
Only seven leaves grew on the saplings, and on a few of them was a drop of dew. These drops of dew were round and flawless, showing a creamy white colour while exuding a refreshing fragrance.
There were only three drops of dew in total.
These drops were the rumoured Immortal Source Liquid, an incredibly rare and precious treasure that formed on the leaves of the Immortal Tree! It was rumoured that the Immortal Source Liquid had Heaven defying properties that could even save someone from the brink of death. As long as a person had not truly died and their body had not been damaged beyond repair, they only needed to take a single drop of Immortal Source Liquid and they could completely recover.
Among the Three Great Divine Waters, Immortal Source Liquid could be considered the most valuable because it was a life-saving treasure.
Suddenly, a figure appeared on the horizon and soon landed on an empty part of the flat ground. Judging from the speed of this man and the Saint Qi fluctuations coming from his body, he was a First-Order Origin King.
Meng Tong!
The Origin King with no deep background and had cultivated by himself to this point!
“There’s no one here yet!” Meng Tong glanced around and realized that he was the first to arrive, feeling slightly ecstatic as his small eyes scanned the surroundings and quickly landed on the Immortal Tree not far away.
“What’s this?” Meng Tong stared at the Immortal Tree in amazement, unable to identify it.
Although he could not recognize the Immortal Tree, he could tell how extraordinary this young sapling was. Not only was this sapling clearly a priceless treasure, but even its leaves and the drops of dew on them were treasures!
“Damn it, why is it surrounded by Seven Coloured Radiant Light? How vexing!” Meng Tong cursed in anger.
The Divine Bird had indeed left, and Meng Tong was the first to arrive here, but a ten-metre radius around the Immortal Tree was still covered in a dome of Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
Anyone who wanted to obtain this treasure would have to pass through this Seven Coloured Radiant Light barrier.
Meng Tong did not dare to take risks with his life and scratched his head in frustration as he couldn’t come up with any good ideas.
*Shua shua…*
The sound of strong wind came from nearby and Meng Tong’s face sank as he realized that someone else was approaching. Turning his head, he saw three streaks of light flying over, and a moment later, the figures of Zi Long, Zi Dong, and Xu Wei appeared.
Meng Tong frowned as he put some distance between himself and Zi Long’s group before his eyes landed on Xu Wei’s severed arm and his eyes shrank as a tinge of regret filled his heart.
He did not know what happened to Xu Wei to cause him to lose an arm, or why Xu Wei would act together with Zi Long and his son, but he knew that he wasn’t this group’s opponent.
It seemed he had missed this Heaven-sent opportunity, causing Meng Tong to sigh heavily while cursing the existence of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light dome.
If not for this barrier, he would have snatched the Immortal Tree away rather than just stand here in a daze.
“What an excellent opportunity!” Zi Long landed and his eyes lit up as he shouted.
He had not expected that when he arrived, only Meng Tong would be here, and from the look on Meng Tong’s face, it was obvious he didn’t know what to do.
Since he was basically the first one here, Zi Long would naturally not waste time and immediately tried to approach the Immortal Tree.
“Brother Zi, you’re quite quick!” At that moment though, a voice that caused Zi Long to frown rang out and he couldn’t help freezing in place. Glancing over, Zi Long quickly spotted Ni Guang with Xue Yue, who had landed not far away.
“Brother Ni isn’t slow either!” Zi Long snorted, feeling extremely upset. If Ni Guang had come just a little later, he may have been able to pocket this treasure without opposition.
“Haha, I’m still no match for Brother Zi,” Ni Guang laughed while taking a casual glance around to understand the current situation, continuing immediately after. “While there still aren’t many people, you and I should decide how to divvy up the spoils here. There are three drops of Immortal Source Liquid, each of us will take one while the last drop…”
Before Ni Guang could finish, a voice came from afar, “Oh? So, this is Immortal Source Liquid and the rumoured Immortal Tree? Heh heh heh, it seems that this old master’s luck has still not run out. The last drop of Immortal Source Liquid belongs to this old master!”
As soon as these words fell, a cloud of black Qi rushed over, one that seemed capable of swallowing all light, and instead the cloud, Gui Zu’s figure was vaguely visible.
Ni Guang and Zi Long’s expression both turned serious as they glanced over towards Gui Zu.
Gui Zu just stood in place, meeting eyes with Ni Guang and Zi Long as he asked with a chuckle, “You two shouldn’t have any objections, right?”
Zi Long and Ni Guang glanced at each other for a moment and seemed to be discussing something, but soon, Zi Long nodded, “With Your Excellency’s cultivation, it is enough for you to be treated as an equal by this King and Brother Ni. Very well, the third drop of Immortal Source Liquid is yours for the taking.”
“I have no objections,” Ni Guang nodded and agreed.
“In that case… shall we begin?” Gui Zu grinned meaningfully.
Although both Ni Guang and Zi Long had been forced to compromise due to Gui Zu’s strength, Gui Zu himself was at a loss about how to obtain the Immortal Source Liquid, so he was in no hurry to start. Instead, he planned to observe Zi Long and Ni Guang’s movements first before coming up with a plan.
Knowing it wouldn’t be long before other Origin Kings appeared, Zi Long didn’t dare to delay and immediately took action.
Waving his hand, Zi Long summoned out a giant glowing bronze python-like object and began pouring his Saint Qi into it. The two eyes of this python lit up a moment later, as if it was coming to life.
“A puppet?” Gui Zu narrowed his eyes and immediately understood that Zi Long had prepared for this long ago. Since this puppet was not refined from flesh and blood, it shouldn’t fear the terrifying Seven Coloured Radiant Light, which made it the best way to enter the barrier and extract the Immortal Source Liquid.
But… could it really be that easy? Gui Zu was suspicious as he outwardly portrayed calm, turning his eyes to Ni Guang next.
Ni Guang also released a puppet, but rather than a giant python, this one was human-shaped. This puppet had clearly been refined by a Grandmaster and was quite lifelike. At first glance, one might even mistake this puppet for a real person and only after carefully examining it would they discover that it had no life aura.
As soon as the two puppets with different shapes appeared, they rushed towards the Immortal Tree under the control of Ni Guang and Zi Long.
The python slithered across the ground while the humanoid rang forward.
A moment later, both puppets rushed into the Seven Coloured Radiant Light and immediately slowed down, as if they had become stuck in the mud and were struggling to free themselves.
That was not all though as clear creaking sounds rang out from the two puppets. It seemed that they were under intense pressure, making movement quite difficult.
The faces of Ni Guang and Zi Long became solemn.
Although they had prepared beforehand and brought along the best puppets they could, it appeared like they had still underestimated the terrifying power of the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. While a puppet without flesh or blood did not fear being corroded by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light which could ignore all forms of defence, that didn’t mean these puppets were immune to the innate pressure the Seven Coloured Radiant Light gave off.
If this continued for too long, it was likely that these puppets would be crushed into dust by the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
Realizing this, Zi Long did not dare to neglect and hurriedly urged his giant python puppet forward.
Instantly, the python’s speed increased and after a great deal of effort, it managed to reach the Immortal Tree.
At the same time, Ni Guang’s humanoid puppet also arrived.
The eyes of the two men burst into fiery light as the same thought occurred to both of them and they issued the same instructions to their respective puppets.
In the next moment, the giant python’s body wrapped around the entire Immortal Tree and then fiercely pulled upon it, as if trying to uproot the Immortal Tree!
The humanoid puppet’s approach was even more direct as it grabbed hold of the Immortal Tree’s roots with both hands and pulled up!
The two Second-Order Origin Kings obviously had the same plan.
As a result, the giant python puppet was being hindered by the humanoid puppet while the humanoid puppet interfered with the giant python, making it impossible for the two puppets to exert their full strength as more and more cracking sounds rang out from both of them.
When Gui Zu saw this, his eyes widened and a disgruntled look appeared on his face.
After all, one of the three drops of Immortal Source Liquid had been promised to him, so Ni Guang and Zi Long acting like this without any warning, essentially killing the chicken which laid the precious eggs, naturally made Gui Zu unhappy.
But soon, Gui Zu began to snicker because he found that rather than cooperating, the two puppets were blocking each other while the seemingly thin and weak Immortal Tree took absolutely no damage from their struggle.
“Brother Ni, you should stop your puppet first,” Zi Long suddenly called out, “This King promises that if he can obtain the Immortal Tree, you will get a fair share!”
Saying so, Zi Long continued to urge his giant python puppet.
Ni Guang simply sneered and shot back, “Brother Zi, why not let your puppet quit first? This old master can also guarantee that if he can obtain the Immortal Tree, you will get a share!”
The two men looked at each other and saw clear distrust in each other’s eyes, snorting in unison as they then proceeded to ignore one another.
The situation instantly became a stalemate.
At this time, Kong Fa from Galaxy Ridge also rushed over, and when he saw the situation in front of him, he could not help feeling a bit stunned. But after noticing Xu Wei, Kong Fa grinned happily and moved to join him.
After all, these two were both scoundrels, so them allying at times like this was only natural.
However, he only moved slightly before Xu Wei shook his head at him stealthily.
Kong Fa stopped immediately and observed Xu Wei thoughtfully before turning his gaze to Zi Dong next to him with a dignified expression.
He also discovered that Xu Wei had lost an arm and was now standing together with the people of Purple Star for some unknown reason.
Before Kong Fa understood the situation, he did not dare act rashly. Instead, he observed his surroundings and flew over to Meng Tong’s side a moment later, cupping his fists, “Brother Meng, could you explain what’s going on here?”
Meng Tong glanced over at him and after a brief pause informed him of the situation without trying to conceal anything.
Meng Tong had always been a loner, so he had no hatred for Galaxy Ridge and would sometimes even patronize Abandoned Lair and Galaxy Ridge to look for the cultivation resources he needed. He had some past dealings with Kong Fa, so they could be considered acquaintances.
Therefore, facing Kong Fa’s inquiry, Meng Tong didn’t feel compelled to conceal anything.
“That’s really the legendary Immortal Tree and Immortal Source Liquid?” Kong Fa’s body shook as fanaticism filled his face, his eyes turning towards the centre of the field as many thoughts seem to be churning in his head.
“It would be best if Brother Kong calms down. There are three Second-Order Origin Kings here, and if you act rashly, the consequences will be serious,” Meng Tong reminded him with a smile.
Kong Fa heard this, and his enthusiasm immediately deflated as he nodded lightly, “What Brother Meng says is true, but… from the looks of the situation, it seems none of them will be able to easily succeed.”
“This is an opportunity,” Meng Tong said in a low voice, “We should wait, and when things become more chaotic, perhaps we’ll have a chance to obtain something.”
Kong Fa thought about it and nodded, immediately falling silent while continuing to observe intently.
On the other side, Zi Dong stared at Ni Guang, who was in a stalemate with his father for the Immortal Tree, and his face grew sullen. He felt that if it were not for Ni Guang’s obstruction, his father would have already obtained the Immortal Tree. Because of Ni Guang, his father was locked in a stalemate, it was simply too hateful.
Suddenly, he saw Xue Yue standing alone not far away and could not help grinning as he thought up a good idea.
“Xu Wei.” Using his Divine Sense, Zi Dong signalled to Xu Wei.
“What are Young Master’s orders?” Xu Wei shivered slightly, seemingly somewhat alarmed, and quickly replied.
“Do you see Xue Yue?”
“Old servant naturally sees him.”
“Good, go and kill him!” Zi Dong ordered lightly.
“What?” Xu Wei’s face changed wildly, “Kill… Kill him? But Young Master, he’s…”
Xue Yue was the future successor of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, so not even a desperado like Xu Wei would dare attack Xue Yue easily. Otherwise, even if he hid inside Abandoned Lair’s headquarters, President Ai Ou would find a way to get to him and make him experience a fate worse than death!
“What’s wrong? Do you dare disobey your Young Master’s orders?” Zi Dong’s face sank.
“Old servant wouldn’t dare! Please forgive me, Young Master!” Xu Wei quickly admitted his mistake, his face extremely pale.
“Good,” Zi Dong coldly snorted, thought about it, and followed up. “Actually, I don’t want you to kill him; after all, with his background and heritage, you may not even be able to! All you have to do is act aggressively.”
Xu Wei heard this, and suddenly understood, “What Young Master means is… to attack Xue Yue to interfere with Ni Guang’s concentration so he cannot focus on fighting for the Immortal Tree?”
“En, exactly,” Zi Dong nodded lightly.
“Old servant understands,” Xu Wei calmed down and acknowledged the order. As long as he didn’t really have to kill Xue Yue, it was a simple matter. Xu Wei even remembered to add some flattery, “Young Master is wise!”
“Alright already, go now.” Zi Dong urged impatiently.
Xu Wei nodded faintly before turning his eyes towards Xue Yue and released his Domain without saying a word.
Xue Yue never imagined that someone would sneak attack her in this kind of place and at this time, much less an Origin King. Caught off guard, she was instantly engulfed by Xu Wei’s Domain and could not help gasping from the pressure.
Although Xu Wei’s sneak attack caught Xue Yue a bit by surprise, her reaction was extremely fast. Pushing her Shi as soon as she noticed something was wrong, she managed to alleviate some of the pressure she felt. At the same time, a bright flash emerged from her figure as she summoned a jade-like artifact that created a light barrier around her body.
This light curtain greatly reduced the impact of Xu Wei’s Domain on her.
The jade pendant in her hand was obviously a powerful artifact that could offset the power of an Origin King’s Domain, similar to the Bright Sea Domain Dividing Mirror worn by Sword Union’s Young Master Gu Jian Xin.
Such artifacts were impossible for ordinary people to obtain as they were extremely difficult to refine and the materials required to make them were incredibly rare and expensive. An ordinary cultivator simply could not afford something like this.
But for characters like Xue Yue and Gu Jian Xin, carrying one or two such artifacts was necessary, in case of emergencies.
After all, they were just Origin Realm cultivators, and if an Origin Returning Realm cultivator wanted to contend with an Origin King, the greatest difficulty would be the suppression of their Shi by a Domain. As long as this difficulty was relieved though, an Origin Realm cultivator would have a much greater chance to survive the assault of an Origin King.
This kind of artifact was a life-saving treasure for them.
As soon as the jade pendant came out, the pressure Xue Yue felt was greatly reduced and she straightened herself up again, turned her head, and glared coldly towards her attacker.
“Xu Wei!” Xue Yue shouted as a look of surprise appeared on her face. She did not understand what Xu Wei was thinking, attacking her at this time.
After all, this was of no benefit to him at all and would thoroughly offend Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce.
Had something gone wrong with Xu Wei’s head?
“Third Young Master, pardon my offence!” Although Xu Wei was unwilling in his heart, under Zi Dong’s despotic power, he had no choice but to obey and rushed out towards Xue Yue. Since his Domain was unable to completely suppress Xue Yue, he had to personally take action. Waving his hand, Xu Wei summoned a dagger artifact and poured his Saint Qi into it, causing it to tremble slightly.
“Go!” Xu Wei flicked his wrist and the dagger in his hand shot out like a stream of light towards Xue Yue.
Xue Yue’s beautiful face changed colour. Facing the blow of an Origin King, she did not dare to resist head-on. Twisting her body quickly, she hurriedly dodged while at the same time she summoned her own bracelet artifact, transforming it into two copies of itself, then four, then eight…
In an instant, the sky was filled with phantom clones of her bracelet, making it impossible to tell which was the original and which ones were immaterial.
The countless bracelets floated around Xue Yue, forming an airtight protective net.
*Ding ding dang dang…*
A series of crisp metallic impacts sounded as the bracelet shadows were impacted by the dagger light. Many of the illusionary bracelets were destroyed and dispersed but the dagger’s power was also slowly being consumed.
“Xu Wei, you court death!” Ni Guang also noticed this movement and could not help becoming enraged.
Xu Wei grit his teeth and held his tongue as an extremely bitter taste filled his mouth and heart.
He knew that he would be in serious trouble after this incident.
“Brother Ni, this King’s previous proposal is still valid. You might as well reconsider it,” Zi Long’s call came out in an unhurried manner, as if he was completely confident of grasping victory.
Others did not understand why Xu Wei attacked Xue Yue, but Zi Long understood that it was his son’s idea. Only Zi Dong could force Xu Wei to take action here.
Zi Long felt very satisfied with Zi Dong’s decision.
Ni Guang’s expression sank greatly as he controlled the humanoid puppet to compete with Zi Long for the Immortal Tree while also paying attention to Xue Yue’s situation. Soon, he ground his teeth and shouted, “If this old master cannot obtain it, neither will you!”
“What are you trying to do?” Zi Long’s expression changed after hearing this.
Ni Guang did not answer with words but with action and in the next moment, the humanoid puppet released a dazzling light, lifted its arms, and fiercely attacked the giant python puppet.
A loud cracking sound rang out as sparks flew from the spot where the python was struck.
“Ni Guang!” Zi Long roared, his expression turning savage. Inside the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, his puppet was already under great pressure and had suffered significant damage, so now that it had been attacked by Ni Guang’s humanoid puppet, that damage only became more serious; to the point where the python puppet began to show signs of failing.
“Hahahaha!” Ni Guang laughed loudly as he took advantage of the moment when the giant python puppet was repelled by having his humanoid puppet grasp a leaf that had a drop of Immortal Source Liquid on it and violently pull it down.
The next moment, the humanoid puppet rushed out without looking back.
However, as the humanoid puppet was returning, cracks echoed from its body and some pieces even fell off it.
The puppet had obviously reached its limit!
Its speed was getting slower and slower and it seemed it might collapse at any moment.
At the same time, Zi Long’s giant python puppet was not doing much better. After being fiercely attacked by Ni Guang’s humanoid puppet, the python’s body had been deformed and it was unable to move freely; there were even pieces of beginning to break off.
Seeing this situation, Zi Long immediately understood that he would not be able to complete his primary objective and could only back down. After controlling his giant python puppet to bite a leaf with a drop of Immortal Source Liquid on it, Zi Long hurriedly had it return.
In the end, the two puppets each brought back a leaf from the Immortal Tree, as well as a drop of Immortal Source Liquid.
Ni Guang and Zi Long rushed forward, not daring to take the situation lightly.
If Gui Zu suddenly struck at this time and robbed them, everything they had just fought over would become meaningless.
On the other hand, Xue Yue’s situation was gradually becoming precarious. Ni Guang was unwilling to give up the Immortal Source Liquid and the Immortal Tree’s leaf that he would soon obtain though, so he could only have Xue Yue hold on for a moment longer.
Ni Guang believed that because of Xue Yue’s background, Xu Wei would not easily kill her.
And Xue Yue did not fail to live up to his expectations. Powerful artifacts and various Secret Techniques emerged in an endless stream, and even her Symbiotic Monster Spirit Xie Zhi was summoned, but the gap between Great Realms was not something that could easily be overcome.
“Boy, using your strength to bully the weak? Utterly shameful!” Gui Zu, who had been standing to the side silently, suddenly snorted, stretched out his hand, and struck towards Xu Wei.
A mass of black Qi swiftly condensed above Xu Wei’s head as countless Yin Souls converged into a giant palm print that released a terrifying howl.
Gui Zu suddenly making a move nearly caused Xu Wei’s soul to leave his body. Screaming in terror, he did not dare attack Xue Yue and quickly summoned all his defensive artifacts while pushing his Saint Qi towards the sky.
*Hong…*
With a loud bang, the giant black hand trembled slightly under Xu Wei’s counterattack, but it soon continued its descent and directly covered its target.
The ground shook and Xu Wei let out a pitiful snort. After the giant black hand vanished, Xu Wei remained standing, pale-faced and with blood leaking from his lips.
He had obviously been injured by that blow.
The gap between Second-Order Origin King and First-Order was clear!
After one blow, Gui Zu did not continue; after all, although he was stronger than Xu Wei, it was not easy to kill an Origin King. What’s more, there were more important things waiting for him to deal with, so how could he bother with Xu Wei any longer?
The entire reason he took action was because of Yang Kai.
In his opinion, Xue Yue was Yang Kai’s woman, and as High Heaven Sect’s Supreme Elder, how could he just sit back and watch while Xue Yue was bullied by an Origin King? If he had feigned ignorance here, he would not have been able to explain himself to Yang Kai later.
“If you dare act any further, this old master will kill you!” Gui Zu gave Xu Wei a vicious look as he threatened.
Xu Wei broke out in a cold sweat.
Xue Yue panted heavily as she glanced over at Gui Zu and nodded slightly to express her gratitude, while Zi Dong wore an angry expression mixed with a bit of confusion on the other side, extremely upset with Gui Zu’s interference.
He did not understand why someone like Gui Zu would help Xue Yue.
After such a delay, Ni Guang and Zi Long had already collected their respective Immortal Tree leaf and drop of Immortal Source Liquid. Both took out pre-prepared containers as quickly as possible and sealed these treasures inside before stuffing them into their Space Rings. Only once this was completed did the two masters breathe a sigh of relief.
Regardless of anything else, being able to obtain a leaf from the Immortal Tree and a drop of Immortal Source Liquid had made this trip worthwhile. As for the Immortal Tree itself…
Both of their puppets had essentially been destroyed so they had no method to penetrate the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
“Hey, Little Yang Kai is here!” Gui Zu suddenly looked over in one direction as he sensed something.
Hearing this, Xue Yue smiled happily and followed Gui Zu’s gaze to see a ray of light flying over rapidly. From that ray of light, Xue Yue felt an aura that filled her with warmth.
A moment later, Yang Kai appeared and was shocked to see so many people gathered already.
He had rushed over as fast as he could but now it seems he was late.
Glancing over at Xue Yue, he nodded lightly before rushing over to Gui Zu’s side and asking in a low voice, “Supreme Elder, am I late?”
“En, a bit,” Gui Zu nodded, “But it doesn’t matter, the biggest treasure is still here and none of them can take it away, hahahaha.”
Yang Kai heard this, and his gaze immediately fell upon the Immortal Tree, his eyes narrowing slightly as he observed it before a look of shock gradually appeared on his face.
He could feel that there was an unimaginable vitality radiating from this weak-looking sapling and the milky white drop of dew on one of its leaves was definitely an invaluable treasure as well.
“Immortal Tree, Immortal Source Liquid?” Yang Kai called out in shock.
“Oh, you recognize this thing?” Gui Zu looked at him in surprise.
If it had not been for Ni Guang and Zi Long speaking about it just now, Gui Zu would not have recognized the Immortal Tree, but it seemed Yang Kai was able to identify it at a glance.
“Only the Immortal Tree could possibly possess such astonishing vitality,” Yang Kai’s face was filled with delight. “There is actually an Immortal Tree! No wonder the Divine Bird made its nest here…”
The Immortal Tree was a supreme treasure that was even higher in value than Yang Kai’s Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus. After all, while the Soul Warming Lotus could nourish one’s Soul, the Immortal Tree could grant a cultivator an immortal and indestructible body. Which was more valuable was apparent.
“En, this is indeed the Immortal Tree, and that drop of Immortal Source Liquid on that leaf belongs to this old master. It was an agreement between Ni Guang and Zi Long just now. They each took a drop. Yang Kai, this old master has no way to get that Immortal Source Liquid from the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. Do you have a solution?” Gui Zu turned to Yang Kai and asked.
Although Yang Kai was only a Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, Gui Zu always felt astonished by his myriad of abilities, so at this critical time, he could only ask Yang Kai.
After all, what if this boy had a way?
Yang Kai really did have a way. He had already experimented with this method when collecting the Heavenly Infant Grass before, discovering that the Stone Puppet could move about inside the Seven Coloured Radiant Light. Although it was also affected to a certain extent, the impact was not too great.
So, when Gui Zu asked, Yang Kai couldn’t help grinning, “Of course I have one!”
“Quickly, stop him! We absolutely cannot let him act!” Zi Long’s face changed drastically as he pointed in the direction of Yang Kai and shouted. Since Yang Kai appeared, Zi Long’s expression had turned extremely ugly, and now seeing him stand and communicate with Gui Zu, he immediately realized that the situation was not good.
The puppets brought by him and Ni Guang had already been damaged and could not be used again, so while they had no way to penetrate the Seven Coloured Radiant Light, the stone man Yang Kai previously showed him had become the key existence that could determine ownership of the Immortal Tree.
So, when Zi Long saw that Yang Kai intended to act, he couldn’t hold his silence anymore and called out to Ni Guang, “Brother Ni, we need to set aside our grievances for the moment. We need to cooperate to stop this brat; he has a rare treasure in his hand that can withstand the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.”
“What?” Ni Guang was taken aback and turned to look at Yang Kai.
Although he was not very familiar with Yang Kai, he had at least travelled with him for several days, but during that time, he hadn’t noticed anything particularly special about Yang Kai. Now that Zi Long was calling out so anxiously though, Ni Guang could not help feeling surprised, wondering just what kind of rare treasure Yang Kai possessed that could withstand the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
After all, he and Zi Long had brought puppets which were especially refined for this task, and whether it was Purple Star or Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, they only managed to create one such puppet.
However, even those two puppets could not remain inside the Seven Coloured Radiant Light for too long, and although some of the damage they suffered was due to mutual attacks, the biggest reason was the Radiant Light’s suppression.
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light’s pressure was simply too terrifying.
Could this rare treasure in Yang Kai’s hand be stronger than their two puppets?
“Brother Ni, do you want to watch this treasure fall into the hands of another? Why don’t you and I join forces and seize that treasure from him first? Then, we can use it to obtain the Immortal Tree. After we obtain it, we can share it equally!” Zi Long spoke out loud and extremely quickly, showing no scruples about Yang Kai hearing him.
Ni Guang frowned and glanced towards Xue Yue.
He needed to ask Xue Yue for her opinion.
Xue Yue slowly shook her head with a serious expression on her face.
Ni Guang understood and said lightly, “Brother Zi, your proposal is somewhat inappropriate, so forgive this Ni for not being able to agree.”
“Fool!” Zi Long was incensed. In this situation, he wanted to obtain the Immortal Tree and could only rely on the stone man in Yang Kai’s possession, but it was obvious at a glance that Yang Kai and Gui Zu were working together. Gui Zu was a master on Zi Long’s level, so his only option was to draw Ni Guang into the fight, but Ni Guang had refused!
Didn’t Ni Guang realize that if the situation continued like this, he would lose all hope of obtaining the Immortal Tree?
The Divine Bird leaving its nest was a rare opportunity, and if this chance was missed, the Immortal Tree would surely slip through his fingers, and he would never be able to obtain an immortal and indestructible body.
Zi Long quickly became as anxious as an ant on a hot wok…
“Jie Jie…” Gui Zu cackled wickedly as the black Qi outside his body churned, showcasing his displeasure, “You’re the Sect Master of Purple Star? One truly cannot know a person until they meet them personally. Your performance here really disappoints this old master. Hmph, if you wish to deal with my Sect’s Sect Master, you’ll have to pass this old master first!”
Saying so, a wailing howl rang out from Gui Zu’s figure, causing everyone nearby to shudder. With a wave of his hand, Gui Zu summoned his Ten Thousand Soul Banner and transformed it into a giant ghastly face that seemed able to swallow the world itself and floated it above his head.
The ghost head exuded a strong, cold aura, and its giant mouth opened and closed menacingly, occasionally revealing a terrifying darkness inside of it, like a bottomless abyss.
Zi Long’s expression could not help darkening.
“Uncle Ni, we should support Yang Kai as well,” Xue Yue said softly.
Ni Guang was taken aback but soon nodded, wrapping his Saint Qi around Xue Yue and flying over towards Yang Kai and Gui Zu’s side.
When he first entered the Severed World, Ni Guang had a bad impression of Gui Zu, feeling that the latter was a vicious and troublesome individual who cultivated some kind of evil Secret Art. But just now, when Xu Wei was attacking Xue Yue, Gui Zu had intervened to help her, a fact Ni Guang had not missed.
As such, Ni Guang felt incredibly grateful to Gui Zu.
So, he did not reject Xue Yue’s proposal. He did not know what the relationship between Xue Yue and Yang Kai was, but since Xue Yue had spoken, it was obvious she wanted to support him in this matter.
After landing, Ni Guang nodded lightly to Gui Zu, the latter simply responding with a chuckle.
The two Second-Order Origin Kings had instantly formed a kind of alliance.
Zi Long’s face turned even uglier.
Standing there, he stared coldly at Gui Zu and Ni Guang, his heart unsettled.
Zi Long knew that this Immortal Tree would slip through his grasp if nothing changed. With two Second-Order Origin Kings, the other party had absolute superiority.
But even so… he could not make it that easy for them!
Zi Long quickly composed himself and sent a Divine Sense Message to Xu Wei. After Xu Wei heard it, he quickly raised his head and beckoned to Kong Fa who was standing not far away, “Brother Kong, come here!”
Kong Fa’s eyes narrowed as he glanced over at Zi Long with a worried look.
Xu Wei chuckled, “Brother Kong, this Xu wouldn’t harm you, you can rest assured and come over.”
Kong Fa pondered for a moment before nodding and quickly walking over.
Xu Wei turned his attention to Meng Tong next.
But before he could speak, Meng Tong grinned meaningfully, “This Meng will take his leave first. May we meet again if there is a chance!”
Saying so, he turned around and left at an extremely fast speed.
He obviously did not want to get drawn into this muddy water; after all, the situation was quite tense right now, with the top masters opposing one another and two factions clearly forming. Meng Tong had managed to reach the Origin King Realm without any help from a powerful great force and had entered the Severed World simply to search for some opportunities. Getting caught up in this precarious fight was clearly not something he was interested in.
So, he made a decisive decision and immediately left.
He was the first to come and was the first to leave. It could be seen that Meng Tong was an extremely cautious individual and it was not just luck that he managed to reach the Origin King Realm.
“Coward!” Zi Long coldly snorted, rather scornful of Meng Tong’s timidity.
With Meng Tong gone, Zi Long only had two First-Order Origin Kings, Xu Wei and Kong Fa, on his side, while the other side had two Second-Order Origin Kings. Although there was technically one more Origin King on his side, Zi Long did not think he had the advantage.
The key to everything was Yang Kai!
As long as he could capture Yang Kai and snatch his rare treasure, victory would be his!
“Interesting.” Seeing Zi Long’s movements, Gui Zu gave a gloomy smile, “Yang Kai, act freely. With this old master here, no one can touch a hair on your head!”
“Yang Kai, don’t worry, Uncle Ni will also support you,” Xue Yue said as she stood next to him.
Ni Guang heard this and nodded without hesitation, “En.”
Since Xue Yue had already declared so, how could he refuse? While verbally agreeing, he muttered secretly in his heart that the relationship between Xue Yue and Yang Kai was much closer than he first imagined.
If that weren’t the case, Xue Yue wouldn’t have offered his support.
“Then, I’ll have to trouble you two!” Yang Kai laughed loudly then without any delay summoned his Embodiment.
As soon as the golden stone puppet Embodiment appeared, it attracted everyone’s attention.
Zi Long, Xu Wei, and Zi Dong had already seen Yang Kai’s Embodiment before, so they knew that Yang Kai would definitely use this rare treasure to try to obtain the Immortal Tree, but it was the first time that Gui Zu, Ni Guang, and the others saw it.
Everyone seemed a little surprised.
None of them knew what the Stone Puppet was.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged and sent his Soul Clone into the Embodiment before controlling it to walk towards the Immortal Tree.
“In your dreams!” Zi Long could not contain his anxiety and shouted as he stepped forward, releasing the terrifying coercion of an Origin Kings towards Yang Kai.
“Hahaha, Brother Zi, this Ni would like to exchange pointers with you!” Ni Guang laughed and took a step forward to meet the pressure with own.
*Hong…*
The ground cracked as the invisible pressure from two Second-Order Origin Kings collided, causing the surrounding space to tremble for a moment.
The two snorted at the same time and their bodies shook slightly.
In this confrontation, they came out evenly matched.
Ni Guang’s eyes brightened as a burning fighting intent flashed across them. On the other side, Zi Long ground his teeth and shouted, “Ni Guang, are you willing to see the Immortal Tree taken away by an outsider? It’s not too late to collaborate with me to obtain it!”
Ni Guang curled his lips into a grin, “Join hands with you? Stop sleep talking. Even if I cannot get the Immortal Tree for the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, your Purple Star shouldn’t even dream of obtaining it.”
“Fine! You’ve forced my hand,” Zi Long was angry and his entire body burst with dazzling purple light. This purple light was so dense that it almost seemed tangible. At the same time, a crashing sound rang out from Zi Long’s figure, like a raging ocean.
“Purple Qi Eternal River Secret Art!” Ni Guang’s face sank as he realized that Zi Long had really become impatient and was planning on seriously fighting him. As such, Ni Guang did not dare hold back and also pushed his Secret Art to the limit. A golden aura burst from his body, one that was both majestic and imposing.
The surrounding aura became turbulent as the Domains of two Origin Kings crashed against one another…
With a loud roar, Zi Long transformed into a streak of purple light and rushed straight towards Ni Guang.
Ni Guang released a similar growl as his figure flickered and shot out like a blast of golden lightning to meet the enemy.
The world shook as the purple and golden lights collided mid-air and powerful Saint Qi explosions filled the sky.
The battle between Zi Long and Ni Guang started instantly.
Xu Wei and Kong Fa looked up at the terrifying scene in the sky and trembled, deeply feeling their own weakness.
As Origin Kings, they always had eyes atop their heads, but they were just First-Order after all. Now that they had a chance to witness an all-out battle between Second-Order masters, they immediately understood the gap between them.
Both Ni Guang and Zi Long were so strong, what about Gui Zu, who was at the same level as them?
The two people had the same thoughts as they glanced over towards Gui Zu.
Gui Zu had not moved to attack them and was instead standing next to Yang Kai to guard him. Gui Zu understood the priority at this moment and naturally placed Yang Kai’s safety above defeating Xu Wei and Kong Fa. As long as these two people didn’t move, Gui Zu wouldn’t bother with them.
However, Gui Zu did not expect that Xu Wei’s life was not his to control, and was actually clenched in Zi Dong’s hands.
Seeing that his father and Ni Guang were already fighting, Zi Dong wanted to contribute as well and immediately sent a message to Xu Wei, telling him to attack Gui Zu.
Xu Wei’s face was extremely ugly as he cursed Zi Dong vehemently in his heart.
However, with his Soul Brand in Zi Dong’s hands, he did not dare refuse and could only try to rope his old friend into this turbid water. Thinking quickly on his feet, Xu Wei calmed himself and whispered to Kong Fa, “Brother Kong, our opportunity is here.”
Kong Fa frowned, “Brother Xu, by opportunity you mean… we should attack that little brat now?”
“Exactly.”
“Are you trying to kill yourself? That old monster next to that boy is not affable. Even if you and I team up, we will not necessarily be his opponents,” Kong Fa was taken aback.
“Brother Kong, riches and danger always appear together! Since you and I reached the Origin King Realm, have we ever had any opportunities to reach another breakthrough? Do you want to remain a First-Order forever? The Immortal Tree is a supreme treasure that few will ever see in their lifetimes. If we miss this opportunity this time, this Xu will not be able to accept it. Hence, this Xu is willing to fight. So what if we end up losing our lives?” Xu Wei earnestly spun his words, trying to drag Kong Fa down with him as there was no way he would challenge Gui Zu on his own.
Kong Fa’s face could not help becoming solemn, as if he was considering his options.
Seeing this, Xu Wei struck while the iron was hot and said, “You and I don’t have to defeat that old man. Now that Ni Guang is entangled by Zi Long, we just need to distract that old man while one of us seizes the opportunity to attack that boy. As long as we can catch that brat, it will surely tie that old man’s hands.”
“That may be so, but…” Kong Fa was still hesitant.
“Brother Kong, this Xu is willing to be the one distracting that old man while you take the opportunity to deal with that boy,” Xu Wei did not have the option to refuse, so he immediately offered to take on the more dangerous role.
Kong Fa trembled slightly as he stared at Xu Wei in amazement, truly somewhat moved as he said, “Brother Xu, you…”
The Xu Wei that Kong Fa knew was not such a bold and daring individual, so seeing him willingly take on danger surprised Kong Fa somewhat.
Xu Wei simply laughed, however, and said, “I just hope that if Brother Kong succeeds, he won’t forget this Xu’s contributions!”
“Naturally!” Kong Fa was finally moved by Xu Wei and quickly said, “Brother Xu, since you are willing to go so far, it would be unreasonable for this Kong to refuse. Let us do this! If this Kong really succeeds, we will split the Immortal Tree evenly between us!”
“En!” Xu Wei was overjoyed and thought to himself that he had finally managed to drag his old friend into this mess.
After the two finished their negotiations, they did not delay and began condensing their Saint Qi as they directed menacing gazes towards Yang Kai.
“Heh heh heh…” Gui Zu grinned strangely, “Can’t hold yourselves back anymore? It just so happens that this old master was getting bored standing here like this. You two brats, come entertain this old master.”
As Gui Zu finished speaking, the huge ghost head suspended midair suddenly roared, opened its black mouth, and bit towards Kong Fa and Xu Wei.
The pair were taken aback and dispersed quickly, summoning their artifacts and using their Secret Techniques to bombard the ghost head as they fled.
Gui Zu was not hurried and simply waved his hand lightly, causing the ghost head to split in half, causing the two men’s attacks to miss. The divided ghost head halves distorted and transformed into two smaller ghost heads then that pursued their respective targets.
Both Xu Wei and Kong Fa’s faces sank, only now realizing they had still underestimated Gui Zu. It would not be easy for either of them to escape the chase of these ghost heads, let alone get close enough to Yang Kai to attack him.
For a time, the Divine Bird’s nest became extremely active and lively, with fierce battles raging in the sky and on the ground
Yang Kai, under the protection of Xue Yue and Gui Zu, safely controlled his Embodiment to advance into the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
Soon, the Embodiment arrived at the Immortal Tree.
Through the Embodiment, Yang Kai was able to see this Immortal Tree clearly, and when he got up close to it, he could truly feel just how dense and rich the vitality contained within it was.
He had heard the rumours about the Immortal Tree before and knew that it was supposedly a relic of antiquity that had long ago disappeared in the river of history, but now, he was actually seeing one in this Severed World.
This was a supreme treasure that could grant one an immortal and indestructible body! It was even more valuable than Yang Kai’s Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus, and it is now in front of his eyes!
Yang Kai could not help feeling a bit agitated and had to forcefully calm himself down before controlling the Embodiment to uproot the Immortal Tree.
The two palms of the Stone Puppet Embodiment gripped tightly to the roots of the Immortal Tree and then began pulling up with some slight force.
What surprised Yang Kai though was that the Immortal Tree did not move at all! This small sapling seemed to be permanently rooted in the ground.
He could not help increasing his strength…
Still no improvement.
Yang Kai did not believe he couldn’t succeed and further increased the force he used…
Repeating this process a few times, Yang Kai only became more shocked.
Although his Stone Puppet Embodiment had not swallowed too many rare ores and had thus not grown its strength greatly, as a Stone Puppet it was born with great innate power. However, Yang Kai was now controlling his Embodiment to use all its strength, but it was still unable to even shake the Immortal Tree.
This Immortal Tree simply could not be pulled out!
However, what shocked Yang Kai even more was that the Immortal Tree remained undamaged despite such great force!
If it were any normal tree, it would likely have been crushed to splinters already.
It seemed that Ni Guang and Zi Long’s puppets failing to obtain the Immortal Tree before was not because they were interfering with each other, but because the two puppets themselves were not strong enough to pull this sapling out.
At that time, even if they worked together, there was no hope they could obtain the Immortal Tree!
“Is it still not enough?” Yang Kai muttered to himself and his eyes flashed, the next moment waving his hand and summoning out Xiao Xiao!
If one Stone Puppet weren’t strong enough, perhaps two would be. Yang Kai knew of the potential risk, but the reward was too much to not attempt it.
Moreover, Xiao Xiao had swallowed countless rare ores and was many, many times stronger than Yang Kai’s Embodiment.
As soon as Xiao Xiao appeared, he received instructions from Yang Kai and immediately rushed towards the Immortal Tree.
Soon, Xiao Xiao charged into the Seven Coloured Radiant Light!
The suppression from the Seven Coloured Radiant Light pressed from all directions towards Xiao Xiao’s body, but before he could even stumble, he released a profound energy fluctuation from his figure which completely offset it.
Xiao Xiao only paused slightly before he ran forward again unimpeded, moving through the Seven Coloured Radiant Light as if it were nothing but air.
“This is… Principal Strength?” Yang Kai was taken aback. Although his Soul Clone was controlling the Embodiment, his own senses were not personally affected, so he could still clearly perceive the changes around Xiao Xiao.
Just now, the strange power fluctuations that emerged from Xiao Xiao’s body were similar to World Principles!
Yang Kai was quite familiar with this kind of aura as he was the Star Master of Shadowed Star and had experienced its World Principles multiple times. Although the Principal Strength coming from Xiao Xiao’s body was extremely weak, it was no doubt real.
[Since when had Xiao Xiao been able to manifest such power?] Yang Kai frowned as he thought about it. The sentience of Stone Puppets wasn’t high, and Xiao Xiao couldn’t have simply comprehended Principal Strength on his own. The only possibility was that some Xiao Xiao had obtained this ability from some external source.
But when did such an event happen?
Reasoning through this scenario, Yang Kai quickly came up with a hypothesis.
On the Ore Star, Xiao Xiao had once swallowed the remnants of its Star Source and then fallen into a deep slumber for a time. Back then, Yang Kai had thought that Xiao Xiao would become stronger after waking up.
But when Xiao Xiao re-awakened, he had not experienced any kind of change, causing Yang Kai to be a little disappointed.
Now, it appeared that Xiao Xiao had experienced a significant change, it was just that it had yet to manifest at the time!
After devouring the Ore Star’s remnant Star Source, Xiao Xiao had clearly obtained some slight traces of Principal Strength, and although this power was quite weak, it was more than enough to counter the Seven Coloured Radiant Light.
Principal Strength was an extremely profound power!
While Yang Kai was distracted, Xiao Xiao arrived beside the Embodiment, stood on the opposite side of the Immortal Tree, and grabbed hold of its roots.
The next moment, a deep roar came from Xiao Xiao’s throat and his two small eyes narrowed, a clear sign he was exerting a great deal of strength.
*Kacha…*
From underground, a vague cracking sound rang out.
The Immortal Tree, which had so far been motionless, was finally shaken by the force being applied to it and the tiny sapling was clearly being pulled out at a subtle speed, causing the surrounding ground to crack as a result.
As the Immortal Tree was being pulled out, the aura in the surrounding region began to fluctuate wildly, setting off an incredible chain reaction.
“This is…” Gui Zu stopped his battle with Xu Wei and Kong Fa to concentrate on the changes occurring around him, his expression extremely solemn as he quickly discovered that, within the surrounding several-thousand-kilometre radii his Divine Sense could cover, the ambient World Energy and aura was rapidly gathering towards the Immortal Tree. In just a short period of time, the aura inside the medicine valley had been greatly reduced.
If this continued, it would likely be difficult to grow any valuable medicinal herbs here in the future.
“This Immortal Tree is actually closely connected with the vitality of the entire medicine valley?!” Gui Zu realized what was happening and his eyes bulged in shock.
At that moment, a piercing cry rang out from the far horizon, one that contained clear and extreme anger, causing Gui Zu’s face to pale.
On the horizon, a brilliant seven coloured streak of light with a massive hazy figure inside of it was rapidly approaching.
“This is bad!” Gui Zu shouted, no longer having any mind to tease Xu Wei and Kong Fa. Using his full strength, Gui Zu repelled the two First-Order Origin Kings and shouted to Yang Kai, “The Divine Bird is returning. Yang Kai, hurry up!”
There was no need for his reminder, of course, as the thunderous cry just now was more than enough for Yang Kai to realize what was happening.
Yang Kai’s face became extremely solemn.
He did not know what kind of abilities the Divine Bird possessed, but it could clearly sense the changes happening to the Immortal Tree. It had been alerted to someone tampering with the Immortal Tree and was now returning rapidly. Before it arrived, everyone here had to quickly escape.
Sitting down cross-legged on the spot, while controlling his Embodiment to use all its strength, Yang Kai also gave similar instructions to Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao sensed Yang Kai’s anxiety and released a fierce roar, causing a ripple of sound waves visible to the naked eye to propagate from his mouth. The next moment, Xiao Xiao’s body swelled up!
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Xiao’s size had quadrupled.
Although this was not Xiao Xiao’s limit, the power added to his figure was still impressive.
The Immortal Tree was now being pulled up at a far greater speed…
Yang Kai took this opportunity to glance over in the direction the Divine Bird was approaching from, but what he witnessed caused his expression to pale.
The seven coloured light was now about a hundred kilometres away, which might seem like a great distance, but with the Divine Bird’s speed and strength, it could likely cross that distance with just two flaps of its wings.
At this moment, not only was Yang Kai panicking, but everyone else was as well.
Ni Guang and Zi Long had ceased their fight and withdrawn without a hint of hesitation. The former urged his Saint Qi to wrap up Xue Yue then fly off in the opposite direction the Divine Bird was approaching from. Before she was dragged away, Xue Yue called out Yang Kai’s name loudly, imploring him to escape quickly…
Zi Long similarly did not dare to remain and swiftly brought Zi Dong with him to escape.
“Brother Kong, run!” Xu Wei’s blood froze as he called out and formed a series of seals with his hands before a brilliant light burst from his body and he shot off faster than anyone else.
Kong Fa followed closely behind.
A group of powerful Origin Kings were now running away like frightened dogs, an extremely unusual sight.
In an instant, everyone around the Immortal Tree had evacuated, leaving only Gui Zu to guard Yang Kai.
Even with Gui Zu’s strength, he was still dripping sweat from his forehead as the black Qi surrounding his body became turbulent.
“Supreme Elder, you evacuate first!” Yang Kai called out anxiously.
“This old master isn’t going to just leave you here.” At the critical moment, Gui Zu proved his reliability and did not try to flee alone and abandon Yang Kai. This made Yang Kai affirm that his decision to invite Gui Zu to High Heaven Sect was the right one.
One had to know, Gui Zu choosing to remain at this time was a huge risk to his life.
Only at such moments could one truly see a person’s character, so Gui Zu’s conduct undoubtedly won Yang Kai respect and approval.
“I’m certain I can escape, you don’t need to worry about me,” Yang Kai replied very quickly.
Gui Zu was stunned before immediately realizing that Yang Kai was able to rely on his Space Force to flee, only saying in a solemn voice, “Then you must be careful, this old master will go on ahead.”
As his words fell, his body flickered as the Ten Thousand Soul Banner wrapped around him and he transformed into a black streak that flew away.
In the time it took for all this to happen, the Divine Bird had already closed more than half the distance and would likely arrive within the next breath. At such a close distance, Yang Kai was able to see exactly what the Divine Bird looked like.
It was an enormous peacock with bright, colourful wings and a beautifully arranged fan of tail feathers.
Besides the legendary phoenixes, it was likely there was no more beautiful existence than the Divine Bird in front of him.
But this beautiful visage was completely overshadowed by the monstrous murderous intent it was emitting!
There was another loud cry as the Seven Coloured Radiant Light around the Divine Bird condensed and then shot out in an intense beam.
Yang Kai leapt up from the spot and rushed forward.
At the same time, Xiao Xiao and Yang Kai’s Embodiment had already succeeded in extracting the Immortal Tree.
The moment the Immortal Tree was pulled out of the ground, the aura in the entire medicine valley became turbulent. Xiao Xiao grabbed the Embodiment with one hand, held the Immortal Tree in the other, and stamped the ground hard as he rushed towards Yang Kai.
The two sides met halfway.
Yang Kai directly stuffed the two Stone Puppets into his Sealed World Bead before immediately stretching out his hands, pushing his Space Force and fiercely tearing about the space in front of him!
A Void Crack appeared immediately.
Yang Kai dove in!
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light beam shrouded Yang Kai’s previous location in the next instant and surrounded the newly formed Void Crack, but Yang Kai was no longer there.
The Divine Bird seemed to be aware of this fact, and its huge body dived slightly before it charged towards the Void Crack.
Inside the Void, Yang Kai exhaled slowly with a look of lingering fear on his face.
If he had been just a bit slower a moment ago, the Divine Bird’s attack would highly likely have hit him. Fortunately, Xiao Xiao had lived up to his expectations and successfully pulled out the Immortal Tree.
Thinking of the Immortal Tree, Yang Kai’s blood began to boil again.
[Did a supreme treasure like this really just fall into my hands?]
Yang Kai had not expected that this trip to the Severed World would result in such earth-shattering gains. His original intention in coming here was simply to hunt for a Shocking Void Beast to obtain its Monster Core, but everything that had happened since went far beyond his expectations.
Whether it was the many precious herbs he had collected in the medicine valley or the Immortal Tree, they were far greater gains than Yang Kai had imagined possible.
Yang Kai could barely keep himself calm…
At that moment though, a terrifying energy fluctuation suddenly appeared behind him.
Frowning deeply and looking back, Yang Kai saw something which could not help shocking him, causing his eyes to bulge.
The Void Crack he had just torn open to escape now had a giant claw stuck through it, and judging from its shape, it undoubtedly belonged to the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock Divine Bird.
[It can break through space and accurately find where I am hiding?] Yang Kai’s face suddenly sank.
Immediately afterwards, a second claw broke through the crack, piercing it like a sharp sword.
Staring at it, it was as if the two claws had been inserted into a door and was prying it open to make way for a terrifying existence to enter.
In the next moment, these two claws moved fiercely to the side and the Void Crack torn out by Yang Kai immediately became bigger.
Through the Void Crack, Yang Kai could vaguely see a bit of the situation on the other side, but the view was not clear.
The Divine Bird’s head quickly poked through the crack and its two scarlet eyeballs instantly locked onto Yang Kai’s figure.
There was a clear and unforgiving hatred in that gaze.
The Divine Bird opened its mouth with an angry cry and a dazzling seven coloured light quickly condensed in its throat.
“Damn it!” Yang Kai was nearly frightened to death. How could he dare remain? The Seven Coloured Radiant Light was something even Ni Guang and Zi Long did not dare to touch, so although Yang Kai considered himself quite talented, he knew he did not currently compare to these two masters. Naturally, at this moment, his only option was to escape.
As soon as he moved, a beam of Seven Coloured Radiant Light sprayed out of the Divine Bird’s mouth at a frightening speed and shot straight into the depths of The Void.
As this beam travelled forth, the surrounding void shuddered.
“Hm?” Yang Kai frowned. Although he managed to avoid the Seven Coloured Radiant Light and suffered no harm, at this moment, he was keenly aware that the regions of The Void around where the Seven Coloured Radiant Light had passed had become somewhat unstable and showed initial signs of collapse.
This discovery caused cold sweat to pour down Yang Kai’s back.
He never expected that the Divine Bird would have such a shocking method.
Another beam of seven coloured light was soon spat out, and although Yang Kai had escaped far from the Divine Bird already, and his opponent clearly did not intend to pursue him into the depths of The Void, when the second ray of light poured in, the surrounding space destabilized further.
“This guy… could he be trying to destroy this region of The Void and force me out?” Yang Kai thought up a possibility and his mood became extremely gloomy.
If that was really the case, his situation was incredibly grave.
Yang Kai had thought that he would be safe hiding inside The Void after obtaining the Immortal Tree, but it appeared his opponent was not so easily avoided. Even hiding in the Void was not safe from the Divine Bird’s wrath.
A third beam of Seven Coloured Radiant Light poured in…
The fourth…
The Divine Bird seemed to be tireless and constantly spat its powerful light into The Void, causing the surrounding space to become more and more unstable.
When the Divine Bird released its ninth blast of light, a massive crack split open as it passed through.
It was almost as if the Divine Bird’s light had managed to tear open The Void itself.
At the same time, the entire surrounding space began to collapse, and the ambient Space Force became extremely chaotic, with numerous Void Cracks forming before collapsing towards a central point.
It was conceivable that after these cracks had completely condensed, this region of the Void would no longer exist and Yang Kai would be crushed into oblivion by the resulting force.
Yang Kai could not help cursing and without thinking about it, he flew directly towards the crack the Divine Bird had ripped open.
Now, if he wanted to escape from this place, Yang Kai had a few options.
He could return to the Severed World from where he came or through another weak point. However, that was not safe, as once the Divine Bird caught his scent, it would surely hunt him down.
Thus, Yang Kai could only hope that the new Void Crack created by the Divine Bird’s attack connected to some safe place.
With his comprehension of the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was not worried about becoming lost in The Void, so no matter where this tear was connected, it was better than returning to the Severed World.
As such, Yang Kai did not hesitate.
It only took a few breaths before Yang Kai arrived at the tear and dove into it.
After his figure disappeared, the Divine Bird coldly glared in the direction Yang Kai left and retracted its head and claws.
In front of the Divine Bird, the power of The Void fluctuated wildly before collapsing inwards into a single point. A moment later, this collapsed space exploded outwards, crushing a large region of the Severed World’s Void.
However, after exploding, this Void Crack did not disappear and instead was replaced by a massive rotating vortex that was translucent, like a cloudy piece of glass.
Through this vortex, one could vaguely see what was on the opposite scene.
There, a figure was turning its head and looking around, seemingly a bit dazed. Naturally, it was Yang Kai.
The Divine Bird saw him and let out a fierce cry as it flapped its wings and dove into the vortex without hesitation, its figure appearing on the other side a moment later.
When the Divine Bird left the Severed World, the monstrous aura it was radiating also disappeared.
The Origin Kings who had fled before also appeared one after another, gathering not far from the vortex and staring at the situation on the other side with strange expressions.
Over there, Yang Kai was clearly being chased by the Divine Bird, fleeing madly as his figure rapidly drifted away.
And the space he and the Divine Bird were now in seemed quite familiar.
“The Star Field?” Ni Guang raised his brow, recognizing this area as the place where he and the other masters had entered the Severed World before.
“How is this possible?” Gui Zu was also at a loss and could not figure out what had happened.
Not far away, Zi Long’s expression changed as he seemed to be contemplating something, but he swiftly made a decision, silently wrapped Zi Dong in his Saint Qi and diving towards the vortex.
Xu Wei, who was under Zi Dong’s control, quickly kept up.
After these three rushed into the vortex and appeared on the other side, they chased after Yang Kai stealthily. Obviously, Zi Long was unwilling to simply let this matter drop, but that was expected as the Immortal Tree was currently in Yang Kai’s hands. As long as he could catch up with Yang Kai, there was still a chance he could snatch the Immortal Tree from him.
“Uncle Ni, let’s go too,” Xue Yue said in a hurry.
Ni Guang nodded, “It looks like the Star Field is really on the other side of this vortex, and it’s not dangerous to pass through. There aren’t many benefits left in this place anyways, so… En. let’s go!”
Saying so, he turned to look at Gui Zu again, “Friend, do you plan to…”
Gui Zu snorted, “My Sect Master is being pursued! This old master certainly cannot just stand by and do nothing!”
“Understood, then this Ni will accompany you.”
The two reached a consensus quickly and rushed towards the vortex.
The remaining Kong Fa thought for a while before also hurriedly following.
As Ni Guang had said, there were not many benefits left in this place, so there was not anything to gain by remaining, only dangers. However, if they were lucky, chasing Yang Kai might yield some benefits.
A moment later, everyone had disappeared.
Soon after, a figure appeared sneakily and swept its eyes around. It was none other than Meng Tong who had left early.
It was impossible to know where he had been hiding but having detected that the situation had become calm again, he had decided to show up.
*Xiu xiu…*
A whooshing sound soon filled the air and grew louder, clearly indicating that someone or something was approaching.
“There’s still someone here?” Meng Tong was taken aback for a moment and turned towards the direction the sound was coming from. A moment later, a beautiful figure appeared in his field of vision.
After seeing this person’s appearance, Meng Tong smiled lightly nodded in greeting.
“Huh, Brother Meng?” The visitor recognized Meng Tong and called out.
“Elder Luo!” Meng Tong greeted, also recognizing this individual. It was none other than Luo Lan of Sword Union. Although the pair were not familiar with each other, they had at least met a few times before. Meng Tong was like this, having neither deep hatred nor friendship with other Origin Kings, always insisting on acting alone.
“What happened here? This Mistress was in the distance just now and thought she saw the Divine Bird,” Luo Lan asked curiously. She had seen the Divine Bird leave its nest, but at that time she was quite a distance away, so by the time she arrived here, everything had been settled so she was at a loss about what had transpired.
“It’s a long story.” Meng Tong gave a wry smile, “But now, there is a chance to leave this place, so would Elder Luo like to exit first?”
Luo Lan was taken aback, looked at the vortex thoughtfully, and lightly opened her lips to ask, “Leave through this vortex?”
“Yes. Everyone else has left already. Only you and I remain in this Severed World, and this Meng was planning to leave just now,” Meng Tong nodded.
“Everyone left?” Luo Lan was surprised, but after thinking about it, she nodded, “In that case, this Mistress will leave with you.”
“Is that so,” Meng Tong smiled lightly before taking the lead and diving into the vortex.
After he and Luo Lan left the Severed World and returned to Star Field, Meng Tong briefly explained to her what had happened before.
When she learned that the Immortal Tree had ultimately fallen into Yang Kai’s hands, Luo Lan was shocked!
After all, there were so many masters present, with three powerful Second-Order Origin Kings, but the one who won the prize turned out to be Yang Kai, an Origin Realm junior. It was truly an unexpected outcome.
Luo Lan could not help feeling that Yang Kai’s luck was too good.
However, the Divine Bird obviously would not give up easily and had actually chased Yang Kai out of the Severed World and into the Star Field. At this moment, Yang Kai’s situation was likely extremely perilous.
“Yeah, and that’s what happened,” After Meng Tong finished speaking, he went silent.
Luo Lan looked into the distance with some worry, uncertain if Yang Kai could escape this disaster. Her impression of Yang Kai was quite good, and she knew that Gu Jian Xin wanted to make friends with him, so she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
But now, the scope of this situation had exceeded the boundary she could interfere in, leaving Luo Lan with a deep feeling of powerlessness.
“Elder Luo, this Meng will take his leave here. May we meet again in the future!” Meng Tong was a cautious individual, so although the Immortal Tree held great attraction to him, he did not think his luck was Heaven-defying enough to snatch it, so he didn’t plan on wading into the muddy waters. After exiting the Severed World, he had decided to return to his secluded home immediately.
His gains from this trip were not small, so after entering retreat for some time, if he was fortunate enough, even if he couldn’t break through, his strength would certainly increase noticeably.
“Many thanks for dispelling my doubts, Brother Meng. Have a safe journey!” Luo Lan gently nodded.
“Farewell!” Meng Tong cupped his fists, turned around, and flew off.
After Meng Tong left, Luo Lan could not help sighing but did not attempt to pursue Yang Kai, instead adjusting her bearings and flying off in the direction of Azure Tree Star.
At the same time, Yang Kai was fleeing wildly through the Star Field!
Behind him, the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock pursued as swiftly as the wind, depressing him greatly.
He did not know exactly how strong the Divine Bird was or what realm it was equivalent to, but judging from how it was doggedly pursuing him, Yang Kai was certain it wasn’t weaker than a Third-Order Origin King.
Because even if he used the Space Secret Technique and was moving extremely fast, he still could not escape its pursuit.
With each beat of its wings, the Divine Bird would instantly cross dozens of kilometres.
Yang Kai almost spat blood in depression.
The Divine Bird seemed consumed with hatred on the level of him killing its father or taking its wife, following behind him relentlessly. The distance between the two sometimes widened and sometimes narrowed, with no signs of the situation changing for the better.
What frightened Yang Kai the most was when the Divine Bird occasionally spat out blasts of Seven Coloured Radiant Light. When that happened, he had to focus all his attention on dodging as he did not dare allow himself to be contaminated.
This kind of fleeing through the Star Field from a powerful being brought back memories for Yang Kai…
When Yang Kai escaped from Green Mountains Star, Luo Hai had chased him like this, following him for an entire half a year until Yang Kai arrived on Scarlet Wave Star. After hiding in the Sealed World Bead, Luo Hai completely lost his trail.
Now, the Divine Bird was doing the same thing again, but it was undoubtedly much stronger than Luo Hai.
If it were not for Yang Kai’s accomplishments in the Dao of Space increasing dramatically during this time, he would definitely be doomed.
After mobilizing his Space Force repeatedly and avoiding the Seven Coloured Radiant Light again and again, the situation became even more dangerous.
After a countless number of its attacks had failed, the Divine Bird seemed to become incensed.
No longer spitting its beams of light towards Yang Kai, the Divine Bird concentrated its power onto one of its feathers and shot it towards its fleeing prey.
This attack was extremely difficult to dodge or defend against.
Yang Kai had been in a state of crisis for some time now.
Of the twenty Blood Beasts he had managed to condense in the Severed World, several had already been destroyed in order to protect him from danger.
Each Blood Beast represented a Golden Blood Thread, so each destroyed Blood Beast meant a destroyed Golden Blood Thread.
Yang Kai’s heart felt like it was bleeding.
*Xiu…*
A splitting sound suddenly rang out from behind, causing Yang Kai’s complexion to change dramatically, but just as he was about to evade as usual, Yang Kai realized that the Divine Bird’s attack this time was a bit different, not only faster but also stronger.
Not daring to be negligent, Yang Kai turned around in a hurry and thrust out his hands.
The space in front of him was disturbed by his Space Force and a large circular Void Crack was suddenly opened.
As soon as this Void Crack took shape, a streak of light impacted it.
With a bang, Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he saw the circular Void Crack he just opened shatter and a fierce attack pierced towards his chest.
Pain assaulted Yang Kai as he felt his body was about to explode as he felt something penetrate straight through his chest, causing a blowout of his Golden Blood in the process.
He had suffered a heavy blow this time causing his aura to deflate significantly.
Under the huge inertia, his body was sent flying like a sack.
As he was tumbling, Yang Kai looked down and after seeing his injury clearly, a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Sure enough, something had penetrated through his chest, but fortunately, it had missed his heart, piercing through the right side of his body instead.
This kind of injury was not fatal, but it was quite serious, even for Yang Kai.
*Chi chi…*
A sound that caused Yang Kai to tremble rang out next, and when he looked up, he saw the Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock closing in on him with several feathers floating around it.
These feathers were the Divine Bird’s true feathers and each possessed some of its Blood Essence. Under normal circumstances, the Divine Bird would only use its feathers as a last resort.
This only proved how strong the Divine Bird’s determination to kill Yang Kai was.
Obviously, what had just pierced his chest was the Divine Bird’s feather!
Yang Kai realized this, and his expression became extremely solemn. While circulating his Saint Qi to forcefully suppress his injury, he pushed his Golden Blood Threads to weave a Golden Blood Shield behind him.
At the same time, he activated his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art.
In an instant, Yang Kai’s radiated a five coloured light as countless tiny wisps of Sword Qi began swirling around his body, causing a faint grating sound to echo through the space around him.
His physical body had been unable to resist the attack of just one of the Divine Bird’s feathers, resulting in his chest being penetrated straight through, so how could Yang Kai dare hold back when facing so many of the Divine Bird’s feathers,?
At that moment, Yang Kai used every last means of defence he had to protect himself.
Just as he finished his preparations, the terrifying sound of something slicing through space rang out behind him.
Right now, Yang Kai felt like he was aboard a small boat sailing on a stormy sea, drifting back and forth wildly, at risk of sinking at any moment, his life hanging by a thread.
In this great crisis though, Yang Kai felt surprisingly calm, his perception becoming even more acute than usual.
Dodging rapidly, Yang Kai did his best to avoid the onslaught of the Divine Bird’s Feathers.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A series of attacks shot past him, some of them missing, others grazing his body and causing the glow of his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art to rapidly dim.
Time had never passed so slowly, but everything also seemed to end in the blink of an eye. When the slicing sounds around him disappeared, Yang Kai nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
*Hong…*
Yang Kai’s eyes caught sight of a seven coloured glow at that moment which was rapidly streaming towards him.
Seven Coloured Radiant Light!
Yang Kai’s complexion sank as he realized he was unable to avoid this beam of light in time. In order to dodge the Divine Bird’s Feathers, he had spent an enormous amount of his energy and focus, but at this vulnerable moment, the Divine Bird spat out a stream of Seven Coloured Radiant Light that was absolutely impossible for him to evade.
Facing this crisis, Yang Kai hurriedly summoned his Sealed World Bead and disappeared with a single thought.
He dove directly into the Sealed World Bead!
The Seven Coloured Radiant Light enveloped the Sealed World Bead in the next moment! But although this seven-coloured light was incredibly powerful, how could it possibly damage an Emperor Artifact? The Sealed World Bead did not suffer any harm and was only shot off into the distance like an arrow from the string.
As for the Divine Bird that had been closely pursuing Yang Kai, it showed an almost human-like expression of shock at this moment.
No matter how Yang Kai escaped before, or how he used his Space Force, it had been able to accurately grasp the direction he fled and easily chase him down, but this time, it completely lost all trace of him.
Nevertheless, the Divine Bird was not to be underestimated. With its high sentience and intelligence, although it did not understand what the Sealed World Bead was exactly, it knew Yang Kai’s sudden disappearance must be related to it.
Letting out a piercing cry, it flew forward extremely quickly and tried to swallow the Sealed World Bead.
How could Yang Kai allow this to happen though? After evading the Seven Coloured Radiant Light by entering the Sealed World Bead, he quickly exited, grabbed the Emperor Artifact, and continued to escape!
Being teased like this, the Divine Bird was furious, and its feathers bristled, as if it was swearing to rip Yang Kai’s corpse into ten thousand pieces in the next moment.
But right then, a sudden change occurred.
In the surrounding Star Field, an extremely mysterious power quickly condensed and pressed down onto the Divine Bird like a great weight, one it was incapable of freeing itself from. Yang Kai on the other hand, who was close by, was not affected in the slightest by this strange force.
This peculiar power increased in intensity at an extremely fast speed.
In less than ten breaths, a giant purple thundercloud appeared above the Divine Bird’s head, one filled with purple arcs of lightning that swam about unpredictably like snakes. The purple thundercloud hovered strangely above the Divine Bird’s head like a shadow, and no matter how it tried to move, it was unable to escape it, just like how Yang Kai was unable to avoid the Divine Bird.
The Divine Bird showed a look of fear for the first time and released a piercing cry.
Although Yang Kai did not know what was going on behind him, he also noticed that something was wrong. Regrettably, he didn’t have any spare capacity to look back as fleeing was the best he could achieve.
*Kacha…*
A thunderous sound echoed through the Star Field a moment later and washed over Yang Kai, causing his very Soul to become turbulent, his face to pale, and blood to spray from his mouth.
The Divine Bird cried out in anger as a giant purple thunderbolt fell from above and struck its body.
A scorched smell spread as the powerful Seven Coloured Radiant Peacock Divine Bird trembled after being struck by this purple lightning, several of its beautiful feathers falling off after being charred.
Its speed also dropped noticeably!
*Kacha…*
A second explosion sounded as a second bolt of purple lightning fell.
The Divine Bird was struck again and cried out even louder this time, still unable to resist this purple lightning despite flapping its wings wildly in fury.
*Kacha…*
A third bolt struck…
Yang Kai flew out several thousand kilometres until he felt like he had opened up a safe distance from the Divine Bird before turning back to see what was happening. A single glance brought Yang Kai great joy.
He clearly saw that the Divine Bird, which had been chasing him so doggedly and he had no power to resist, was now being pinned down by a terrifying Heavenly Lightning.
“A breakthrough?” Yang Kai’s first thought was that this Divine Bird had broken through its shackles at this time and reached a new level; after all, the purple thundercloud condensed above its head was extremely similar to a World Energy baptism.
“No, that isn’t it!” Yang Kai quickly denied this guess though.
The Divine Bird was incredibly powerful and had reached an extremely high realm, so it was no simple matter for it to break through once more. Perhaps its realm would not improve even after thousands of years, so it made no sense for it to reach a breakthrough at this time.
Moreover, Yang Kai did not feel that the Divine Bird’s aura was becoming stronger, even though it was already plenty strong.
But if this wasn’t a breakthrough, what was it?
After pondering for a moment though, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he thought of another possibility, one that drew a burst of great laughter from his throat as he took pleasure in the Divine Bird’s misfortune. The previous, depressing helplessness he felt was wiped out and replaced with jubilation.
“If I’m not mistaken, it’s being rejected by the Star Field’s Principles!” Yang Kai stared brightly in the direction where the Divine Bird was and watched as it struggled beneath the purple thundercloud. It was almost as if the Heavens themselves were protecting him now, delivering a crisis to the Divine Bird which had been pursuing him.
World Principles were a peculiar power that was both profound and mysterious. Even Origin Kings could not normally touch upon Principal Strength. One would need to become a Star Master of a Cultivation Star before vaguely being able to feel the World Principals of that particular Cultivation Star and gain the ability to slightly manipulate them, but even that was enough to enjoy plenty of conveniences.
World Principles would reject all existences that did not conform to them.
For example, Shadowed Star’s World Principals rejected the existence of Origin Kings!
After Qian Tong broke through to the Origin King Realm, he had returned to Shadowed Star and thought that he could become the greatest cultivator there, but what he had not anticipated was that Shadowed Star itself would reject his presence. From time to time, Heavenly Thunder or Earth Fire would strike him, causing him to be unable to enter secluded retreat and cultivate.
Moreover, this repulsive force became stronger as time passed, and if Qian Tong did not leave Shadowed Star in time, he would sooner or later be tormented to death.
As a last resort, he could only beg Yang Kai to take him away from Shadowed Star.
Qian Tong’s situation was similar to that of the Divine Bird’s right now.
The Divine Bird did not belong to the Star Field and its mere existence was an affront to the Star Field’s Principals, so it was fiercely rejected. The purple thundercloud was a manifestation of the Star Field’s Principals trying to expel the Divine Bird.
The Divine Bird could temporarily resist this repulsive force, but it could not do so forever.
Because this rejection came from the entire Star Field, it was not in any way subtle like Qian Tong’s case on Shadowed Star; as a result, the repulsive force here towards the Divine Bird was incomparably stronger than what Qian Tong had encountered.
Yang Kai had a clear memory of Qian Tong’s situation, so he was able to make some inferences about the scene before him.
Although he could not be sure, Yang Kai was about eighty percent certain this was what was happening.
Looking at the scene in the distance, Yang Kai finally relaxed.
Without the Divine Bird chasing him, he had no need to panic and simply stood in the void, took out a few healing pills from his Space Ring, and swallowed them as he continued to observe.
A few thousand kilometres away, purple bolts of lightning continued to crash down from above, and no matter how the Divine Bird tried to dodge or defend itself, the lightning would strike it accurately, each time causing it some visible damage.
After being struck a few dozen times in succession, the Divine Bird began to grow anxious.
It could perceive that these purple lightning bolts were steadily becoming more powerful, and although it could still resist them now, if this continued, there was a chance it would fall here.
Although the Immortal Tree was precious, compared with its own life, it was nothing more than a foreign object.
It naturally knew what decision to make.
Resisting another bolt of purple lightning, the Divine Bird no longer dared to remain, quickly turned around, and flew back the way it came.
It could feel the repulsion coming from the Star Field and knew that in order to save itself it needed to return to its nest immediately!
“Hey, the Divine Bird is returning!” In front, two streaks of light were rushing over. It was Xu Wei and Zi Long, who was carrying Zi Dong with him.
When Zi Dong saw the Divine Bird’s massive body approaching, he exclaimed, “Could that brat have been killed by the Divine Bird?”
Zi Long did not answer but instead focused on the purple thundercloud above the Divine Bird. When he felt the terrifying power contained in that thundercloud, his expression paled and he quickly changed direction, wanting to avoid the Divine Bird.
But the Divine Bird was completely angered, so how could it simply let Zi Long leave?
Opening its giant beak, the Divine Bird spat out a stream of Seven Coloured Radiant Light towards Zi Long’s trio.
Zi Dong’s face went as pale as paper as he screamed in fright.
Zi Long and Xu Wei also wore solemn expressions as they both used their own methods to quickly evade this blow, appearing extremely dishevelled.
By the time the two Origin Kings managed to avoid the Seven Coloured Radiant Light blast, the Divine Bird had already flown a thousand kilometres past them.
“The Divine Bird…” Xu Wei looked confused, unable to understand why the Divine Bird was currently fleeing like a stray dog.
“It looks like it’s having a breakthrough,” Zi Long pondered out loud.
It was not that Zi Long wasn’t knowledgeable enough, it was simply that matters relating to World Principles and Principal Strength were beyond his realm of comprehension.
“Look over there!” Zi Dong suddenly shouted, as if he had discovered something astonishing and pointed in a certain direction. “It’s definitely that little bastard! He’s not dead!”
A few thousand kilometres away, a dazzling light flickered and although it was too far away for Zi Dong to clearly see Yang Kai’s face, he was certain it was him.
After all, at this time, who else could it be besides Yang Kai?
“It’s good he hasn’t died yet!” Zi Long’s eyes flashed, “It seems the heavens are helping me.”
He was quite worried that Yang Kai would be killed by the Divine Bird and the Immortal Tree would be snatched back, but now that he saw Yang Kai was safe and sound, his mood lifted.
As long as the Immortal Tree was still in Yang Kai’s hands, he still had a chance to obtain it!
Without hesitation, Zi Long wrapped Zi Dong in his Saint Qi and hurriedly chased after Yang Kai’s trail.
Not far behind Zi Long’s trio, Ni Guang, Gui Zu and a few others also encountered the Divine Bird that was rushing back to its nest and had to deal with beams of Seven Coloured Radiant Light themselves.
“If the Divine Bird is returning to its nest… then Yang Kai…” After Xue Yue managed to stabilize her footing, her face could not help turning white as she thought of a possibility that she couldn’t accept, her body trembling violently.
In the end, she was still a woman. Many years ago, on that Dead Star, her entire body had been touched by Yang Kai and although she had deeply hated him at the time, it was still the first time a man had ever touched her intimately, so his image was firmly ingrained in her heart. Later, when she was poisoned by the Profound Yin Sunflower Water and her life was hanging by a thread, it was Yang Kai who refined the pill that saved her life.
At that time, she had wanted to win over Yang Kai and keep him by her side, but he had rejected her, saddening and frustrating Xue Yue greatly.
So, over the years, Xue Yue had been brooding over Yang Kai… never once forgetting him.
However, she still had her pride and with her usual manner of conduct, it was simply impossible for her to approach Yang Kai like a normal woman or say the things she felt were shameful. As the next successor of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, she needed to place the chamber of commerce’s prosperity above all else. As for her own happiness and desires, they were nothing but illusions, the moon reflecting in the water.
In the Emperor Garden, Xue Yue was extremely happy to meet Yang Kai for a second time and wanted to have a good talk with him, but when she saw Yang Kai acting so intimately with that enchantress Shan Qing Luo, she lost her temper.
Their reunion did not end well by any measure.
Xue Yue regretted what happened after that for a long time and blamed herself for being impulsive. She secretly made up her mind that, she would be sure to speak to Yang Kai clearly if she had another chance to see him.
But she also knew that the Star Field was incredibly vast, so it was almost impossible for two unrelated people to encounter each other over and over again.
What stunned her was that another reunion really came.
Outside the entrance to the Severed World, Xue Yue could not believe her eyes when he saw Yang Kai arrive.
She wasn’t a naïve little girl who believed in superstitions and had always baulked at the very idea of fate, but she began to believe in it slightly after seeing Yang Kai again.
In the Severed World, facing a life or death crisis, Xue Yue finally put aside everything and forced Yang Kai to take a stand using a reckless and shameless method which ultimately resulted in her achieving her wish.
As she said at the time, her request was not complicated, as long as there was a man in this world who would treat her as a woman, allowing her to experience all the joys of being a woman, she would be satisfied.
But now… that person might very well be dead!
Xue Yue could not accept it and felt as if she had been struck by lightning, standing dumbfounded in place, her pretty face pale and bloodless.
“Yang Boy isn’t dead!” Gui Zu stared forward and said confidently, “Zi Long is still pursuing someone, so he must have found Yang Boy’s trail. We need to chase after them as well, he won’t be able to resist Zi Long if he gets caught!”
Hearing what he said, Xue Yue’s tender body shook, and she turned to look at Ni Guang and cried out, “Uncle Ni!”
Ni Guang remained silent as his Saint Qi enveloped Xue Yue and he flew off together with Gui Zu.
After flying for a while, Ni Guang suddenly said, “Third Young Master, you can be friends with that boy Yang Kai, but don’t get too close. You should know what kind of mission you bear.”
He obviously saw the issue. Whether it was Xue Yue’s performance in the Severed World before or her current behaviour, Ni Guang was able to tell just how much weight Yang Kai held in Xue Yue’s heart.
Xue Yue’s face turned stiff when she heard this, but she soon nodded almost imperceptibly, “I know, Uncle Ni.”
But Gui Zu cut in at that moment with a burst of wicked laughter, “Young love between a man and woman is only natural, what does it have to do with whatever mission she carries? Hahaha, the way you Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce people handle things is quite pitiable.”
Ni Guang’s face changed drastically as he turned his head to stare at Gui Zu in amazement.
“What are you staring at? This old master knows very well this little girl is a woman! I believe you also know,” Gui Zu coldly snorted. “Trying to act all mysterious.”
Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce daring to allow Ni Guang to take Xue Yue out alone for life experience in such a dangerous place was an obvious indicator of his trustworthiness. Moreover, Ni Guang had a Second-Order Origin King cultivation and was absolutely qualified to have access to the top secrets of the chamber of commerce.
As such, Gui Zu was not worried he had let any secrets slip.
In fact, just as Gui Zu expected, only a few throughout Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce knew that Xue Yue was a woman, and Ni Guang was among them.
Ni Guang and President Ai Ou were life and death friends that had known each other since they were young. Over the years, they both made great contributions to the development of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, and it could be said that Ni Guang ranked second only to Ai Ou himself and the Supreme Elders who no longer concerned themselves with worldly affairs.
“How did you learn about this?” Ni Guang was shocked and asked.
“What’s so hard to figure out?” Gui Zu sneered, “This old master not only knows that she’s a woman but also that her physique is unusual. Although I do not know which Special Constitution she possesses, it’s obviously the reason you’ve all gone so far to hide her true gender. En, let this old master guess, a Special Constitution that requires one to conceal their gender, there’s only the rumoured Wonderful Furnace Divine Body and Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body. Looking at this little girl’s appearance, she appears more valiant and heroic than seductive, so she should not be a Wonderful Furnace Divine Body. So, it’s the Dragon Marrow Phoenix Body then? Tsk… this kind of physique is one not seen in ten thousand years.”
Ni Guang was really horrified this time as he glowered at Gui Zu. He had never expected that this old ghost’s eyes were so sharp, only needing a few clues to pinpoint Xue Yue’s Special Constitution.
Xue Yue was also shocked as she looked at Gui Zu in surprise.
She did not believe that Yang Kai told Gui Zu about this as he wasn’t someone with loose lips.
“You…” Ni Guang opened his mouth.
“Relax!” Gui Zu smiled and patted Ni Guang’s shoulder heartily, acting extremely friendly.
Ni Guang was a little wary at first, but soon realized that Gui Zu had no malicious intent, so he simply allowed him to pat his shoulder.
“This old master won’t do anything to this little girl, after all, she is my Sect Master’s woman. Jie Jie Jie Jie… seems like we will all be one big family after this. En, but Sect Master is really blessed, all these two need to do is combine their yin and yang and his strength will increase greatly once more,” Gui Zu laughed wickedly.
“Senior!” Xue Yue was so ashamed her face flushed, and she glared at Gui Zu angrily, blaming him for being so unreserved and disrespectful.
Ni Guang’s head was muddled for a moment as he simply could not keep up with Gui Zu’s pace and instead turned to Xue Yue for answers.
Yet Xue Yue just lowered her head, not daring to say anything.
“Haa…” Ni Guang sighed deeply, “Yue’er, this matter… don’t let your father know about it or he’ll definitely explode. Your Uncle Ni has neither a wife nor children, so you are like a daughter to me. This matter… I’ll find a chance to talk to your father and see what position he takes.”
“Thank you, Uncle Ni!” Xue Yue bit her red lips lightly and whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet, you also know what your father’s temper is like. This will be… difficult,” Ni Guang sighed again before glaring at Gui Zu, “You shameless old bastard, aren’t you embarrassed saying such things in front of a Junior?”
“Heh heh!” Gui Zu smiled weirdly and snorted indifferently.
“But…” Ni Guang looked solemn towards Gui Zu, “You just called that boy your Sect Master, so you two belong to the same Sect? What Sect is that? Why have I never heard of you before?”
Obviously, in Ni Guang’s opinion, a powerful cultivator like Gui Zu could not be unknown, nor could the Sect he belonged to.
But he had never met Gui Zu before, or even heard of him for that matter.
“This old master and Yang Boy do indeed belong to the same Sect, but… it was in the Severed World that this old master decided to join. So, this old master hasn’t actually seen the Sect before.”
Ni Guang stared at Gui Zu in disbelief as he asked in amazement, “You just decided to join? What does that boy’s Sect have that could attract a character like you?”
There must be something extraordinary about Yang Kai’s Sect, otherwise, how could it have won over a Second-Order Origin King? Ni Guang was now very curious what exactly Yang Kai’s Sect possessed that was of such interest to Gui Zu.
“Heh heh!” Gui Zu just grinned and held his tongue, acting mysterious.
[Hmph, if this old master told you there were three Origin King Grade Alchemists in the Sect, wouldn’t your heart stop? This isn’t something this old master will show off easily.]
“Never mind,” Ni Guang waved his hand with disinterest, “If you do not want to explain, that’s fine, but since you belong to it now, that boy’s Sect is certainly not to be looked down on. En, that boy’s aptitude and character are also commendable. It seems Yue’er’s vision isn’t bad. He might be a decent match for her.”
Xue Yue smiled sweetly hearing Ni Guang complimenting Yang Kai, seemingly happier than if that praise had been directed at her.
Ni Guang saw this and could not help sighing once more. Yue’er was normally so shrewd and sharp, so how could she suddenly act like an ordinary love-struck woman?
Yang Kai flew through the Star Field with all his strength.
Although the Divine Bird had been rejected by the Star Field’s Principles and been forced to retreat, Yang Kai knew that his crisis had not been resolved.
Because there was a dazzling purple light pursuing him now.
Zi Long!
There was no need to think about who it was since Yang Kai was certain who this purple light belonged to. With such a conspicuous colour, who besides Zi Long, who cultivated the Purple Qi Eternal River Secret Art, could it be?
Since Zi Long was after him, Xu Wei was certainly with him.
With his current strength, if he was at his peak, Yang Kai might be able to put up a fight against a First-Order Origin King, but against a master like Zi Long, he was doubtful.
What’s more, while he was escaping from the Divine Bird before, Yang Kai had frequently used his Space Force, causing him a great deal of expenditure. The Divine Bird’s Feather had also pierced his body, and he now had severe wounds. At this moment, Yang Kai simply wanted to run as far away as he could.
However, even if he was skilled in Space Force, he was near exhaustion after fleeing desperately just now, so escaping was currently a great challenge.
Even using his Space Force, Yang Kai could only cross a dozen kilometres in a single leap. Such a distance was nothing to a Second-Order Origin King, and even if Zi Long was not proficient in the Dao of Space, he could cross such a distance in the blink of an eye with his great strength.
Out of desperation, Yang Kai could only summon his Star Shuttle, sit cross-legged on it, and use it to fly forward while also unfurling his Wind and Thunder Wings to boost his speed.
The sound of wind and thunder erupted from Yang Kai’s back as two semi-transparent wings appeared, the left one comprised of Wind Attribute Energy while the right half was filled with Thunder Attribute power. In the next instant, Yang Kai rapidly accelerated.
Looking back and observing silently for a moment, Yang Kai found that his current speed could almost match Zi Long’s pursuit speed, allowing him to relax slightly.
As long as he could gain enough time, he would be able to restore himself.
However, where to flee now was a difficult question.
The attraction of the Immortal Tree was too great, and Yang Kai was certain Zi Long would never give it up, so he had to find an absolutely safe place to flee to!
In the Star Field, the only Cultivation Stars Yang Kai was familiar with were Shadowed Star and Tong Xuan Realm; however, these two places were too far away from his current location. Even at his current speed, it would take a year or two to reach them. What’s more, neither of these places could be considered safe.
If Zi Long was brought to either of these places, it would only result in disaster. Neither Tong Xuan Realm nor Shadowed Star could resist a master on Zi Long’s level.
With Tong Xuan Realm and Shadowed Star not being options, where was he supposed to go?
Yang Kai suddenly found himself at a loss.
He had spent many years in the Star Field now, but the number of places he had been to was quite limited. Now that his life was in danger, he had no idea where to go.
Not giving up, Yang Kai sank his consciousness into his Knowledge Sea, condensed his Soul Avatar, and looked up for inspiration.
In the sky above his Knowledge Sea, a sea of stars flickered brightly.
It was the Star Chart which Yang Kai had refined dozens of years ago, a miniature model of the entire Star Field!
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense quickly wandered through the Star Chart, looking for a place to escape to.
Unfortunately, every time his eyes landed on a spot, he could only slowly shake his head in rejection…
For a time, he could not find any good options.
Suddenly though, he saw a certain place and his eyes lit up, muttering to himself, “That’s right, I can go there!”
Yang Kai silently scolded himself for getting too anxious and forgetting that place. If he could escape there, what would it matter if Zi Long was a Second-Order Origin King? Forget about Zi Long, even if those old monsters who had secluded themselves from the world came, they wouldn’t be able to catch him.
That place was an absolute safe-haven!
Moreover, he could take the opportunity to consolidate his gains in that place, and if the opportunity was right, he might even be able to break through to the Origin King Realm.
What held Yang Kai back from entering the Origin King Realm now was only his comprehension of his own realm, the Heavenly Way, and the Martial Dao. Both his physical body and his Soul already greatly exceeded those of an ordinary Origin King.
As long as he could break through to the Origin King Realm, Yang Kai wouldn’t need to fear Zi Long anymore.
“En, it’s decided: I’ll go there!” Yang Kai muttered to himself before sending his consciousness back to his body.
The next moment, he opened his eyes with a flicker, turned around to glance at Zi Long who was chasing behind him, and snickered, “Chase me, come and chase me! One day, you’ll regret it, haha!”
Pushing his Saint Qi, his Star Shuttle’s speed suddenly increased.
“That bastard!” A few thousand kilometres away, Zi Dong cursed, “What kind of Secret Technique did he use to achieve such speed?”
Zi Long also had a gloomy face and was in a bad mood.
Originally, he thought that it would be an easy task to capture Yang Kai without the Divine Bird’s interference, but he had not expected that, after chasing Yang Kai through the Star Field for quite some time, he was unable to even pull closer.
This little brat’s speed was on par with his own!
“Young Master is correct, that boy must have used some kind of powerful Secret Technique to achieve his current speed, but Young Master may rest assured. When he can no longer support that Secret Technique, his speed will definitely drop. At that point, the boy will easily be captured, considering Senior Zi Long’s ability,” Xu Wei saw Zi Dong losing his temper and immediately tried to placate him.
He did not care if Zi Dong was angry or frustrated, but in his current position, he had no choice but to try to calm him down. If Zi Dong became enraged and had no other place to vent his hatred, would Xu Wei have to suffer in Yang Kai’s place?
Xu Wei would not allow such a stupid scenario to play out.
He just wanted to remain safe, nothing more, nothing less.
Zi Dong gave a sidelong glance towards Xu Wei, causing the latter’s heart to clench. He didn’t know what his new Young Master was thinking, so he could only put on a flattering smile and laugh awkwardly.
“Are you sure he used some kind of forbidden Secret Technique? Are you sure his Secret Technique will soon fail?” Zi Dong asked.
“Uh, this…” Xu Wei was speechless.
[Damn it, how am I supposed to know? Wasn’t it you who suggested this in the first place? This old master was just following your words but now you’re trying to blame this old master? You stupid pig!]
Xu Wei slandered mercilessly in his heart as his anger raged, but he did not dare show any defiance on his face, making him extremely uncomfortable.
“Waste!” Zi Dong cursed, turning his head away from Xu Wei in disgust.
Xu Wei nodded with an ugly smile, “Yes, yes, Old Servant is useless!”
[This old master will make you pay for this one day…] Xu Wei ruthlessly swore to himself!
While the two were talking, Zi Long kept gazing towards the front.
His Divine Sense was much stronger than Zi Dong’s or Xu Wei’s, and his eyesight was also sharper, so even though they were separated by a few thousand kilometres, he could still see some of Yang Kai’s situation.
Yang Kai had indeed used some kind of Secret Technique, one that formed wings on his back.
Although Zi Long had never seen such a Secret Technique before, he could tell that it wasn’t one that greatly consumed a cultivator’s strength, so it was simply impossible for it to fail from overdraft.
Turning his gaze back, Zi Long’s brow furrowed even deeper.
Unsurprisingly, Ni Guang and that black ghastly fellow were chasing them, separated again by a few thousand kilometres.
The longer the delay, the more complications arise! If Yang Kai were to join up with the two masters behind him, even Zi Long would find the situation troublesome.
Realizing this, Zi Long made up his mind and quickly stretched out his hand.
In front of him, a tiny shuttle-like artifact appeared.
“This is…” Zi Dong seemed to recognize this artifact and his eyes quickly lit up.
Xu Wei, on the other hand, frowned. Even with his vast experiences, he could not identify what this artifact was.
If Yang Kai were here though, he would be surprised.
Because this shuttle artifact looked remarkably similar to High Heaven Sect’s Flying Shark Battle Shuttle.
In addition to refining an Origin King Grade Starship, Yang Yan also refined a much smaller Starship that had a shuttle shape.
“Shattering Void Shuttle!” Zi Long said flatly, “My Purple Star’s ancestors received the method to refine this ship from the Great Emperor himself over ten thousand years ago, but their abilities were limited so they could only refine one, and… there are still some flaws with it. Nevertheless, it should be more than enough to catch up with that brat. Quickly get on board!”
Saying so, Zi Long waved his hand and the Shattering Void Shuttle instantly grew to more than a dozen metres in length.
A hatch opened and the trio flew inside.
Upon entering, Xu Wei and Zi Dong both looked around in surprise, noticing the many complex and mysterious Spirit Arrays engraved inside the Shattering Void Shuttle. There were also many High-Rank Saint Crystals inlaid in these Spirit Arrays powering them.
“Xu Wei, take charge of this Spirit Array!” Zi Long pointed to a place and ordered Xu Wei.
“If I may be so bold as to ask… Senior Zi Long, what exactly should this Old Servant do…”
“Sit on the Spirit Array and pour your Saint Qi into it,” Zi Long explained.
“Old Servant understands,” Xu Wei quickly sat down cross-legged on the Spirit Array, but before he could even begin pouring his Saint Qi into it, he let out a stuffy snort.
Because at that moment, the Spirit Array was actively drawing out his Saint Qi, and the rate at which it was doing so was frightening.
This made his face change drastically.
He instinctively wanted to jump up, but when he saw Zi Long’s stern gaze, his head shrank, and he sat back down again.
A dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a rat’s father will definitely be a rat…
This father and son were both bad news! Xu Wei’s heart was filled with indignation and grief…
No wonder Zi Long said that this Shattering Void Shuttle had some flaws, it turns out it needed to extract Saint Qi from a cultivator to operate, and judging from the draw rate of this Spirit Array, ordinary cultivators couldn’t bear such consumption. Even an Origin King like Xu Wei would not have enough Saint Qi to persist for long.
“Dong, you sit here,” Zi Long pointed to another Spirit Array and said to Zi Dong.
“Yes, father,” Zi Dong did not hesitate to sit on another Spirit Array.
Zi Long then sat on the third Spirit Array.
When the three finished sitting down, the Spirit Arrays inside the Shattering Void Shuttle fully activated and after a brief hum it shot off.
The shuttle’s speed was much faster than Zi Long’s own, almost appearing to break through the void, hence its name.
“Haha, let’s see you try to run now, Boy!” Zi Dong laughed wildly. After sitting on the Spirit Array and pouring his Saint Qi into it, he found that he became closely connected to the Shattering Void Shuttle. Through this connection, he could sense Yang Kai’s position and situation clearly and could not help rejoicing. This way, he would be able to spectate Yang Kai’s desperate but futile attempts to escape.
Back in the medicine valley, Zi Dong had been humiliated by Yang Kai three times, but Zi Dong had nowhere to vent his anger because the Seven Coloured Radiant Light everywhere.
Anger, however, was just like wine: The more it fermented over time, the stronger it became…
Zi Dong could not wait to drink Yang Kai’s blood and eat Yang Kai’s flesh…
Sitting in the Shattering Void Shuttle, Zi Dong was already imagining the wonderful scene where he caught Yang Kai and tortured him to death. Just thinking about it caused a peal of low laughter to leak from his lips and a crazy light to flash across his eyes.
When this laughter entered Xu Wei’s ears, he could not help but shiver. He did not know what this idiot Zi Dong was thinking to cause him to make such a disgusting laugh, and he didn’t dare to ask, simply turning his head away and focusing on pouring his Saint Qi into the Spirit Array below him.
“What the hell is that?” Yang Kai, who had been fleeing a few thousand kilometres ahead, also noticed the anomaly behind him at this moment.
Although he could not see the Shattering Void Shuttle itself, it was obvious that his pursuer’s purple light had disappeared, but the distance between them was closing!
Less than ten breaths later, the gap had narrowed a thousand kilometres!
If things continued like this, it would not take less than a stick of incense before he was caught. Yang Kai was startled, and a gloomy look appeared on his face.
In this situation, he could only rely on his Space Force, but Space Force was not inexhaustible, it was similar to Saint Qi and Divine Sense, needing time to restore after being overdrawn.
At this moment, Yang Kai was still trying to restore himself.
But seeing Zi Long quickly catching up, how could Yang Kai just sit and do nothing? Gritting his teeth, Yang Kai took a Space Spirit Crystal out of the Sealed World Bead, held it in his hand, and began to draw energy madly from it.
This Space Spirit Crystal was one of the ones he found in The Void of the Severed World, a true Space Spirit Crystal. It was the product of The Void and completely different from the ones found in mineral lodes.
A stream of pure and profound power poured into Yang Kai’s body, giving him a sense of euphoria.
His Space Force, which had originally been used up, was replenished at an extremely rapid speed.
“Trying to compete with me in speed? Eat my dust!” Yang Kai felt that there was nothing wrong with him besides his chest wound, which would take some time to restore, so he quickly pushed his Space Force and flickered forward a few hundred kilometres.
Repeating the process, he teleported another few hundred kilometres.
Now that his understanding of Space Force had reached a new high, the distance he could cross instantly was countless times higher than before.
After mobilizing his Space Force several times, the distance between the two parties had increased once again.
“What?” Inside the Shattering Void Shuttle, Zi Dong, who had been soothing his rage by thinking of how he would torture Yang Kai, was taken aback and almost bit his tongue as he was shocked to find the distance between them had pulled apart again.
“Even the Shattering Void Shuttle can’t keep up with his speed?” Zi Long was also shocked.
The refining method of the Shattering Void Shuttle was obtained by an Ancestor of Purple Star from the Great Emperor personally, and although their skills in Artifact Refining weren’t high enough to complete this shuttle properly, it was still one of the Great Emperor’s designs. How could it possibly be inferior?
Zi Long was certain that the Shattering Void Shuttle was the fastest artifact in the entire Star Field, nothing else should be comparable.
But now, reality had slapped him in the face.
In front of Yang Kai, who was proficient in the Dao of Space, even if they used the Shattering Void Shuttle, they could still only eat his dust from afar…
No, they may not even be able to east his dust.
“This boy must be killed as soon as possible! Otherwise, he will only bring us endless troubles!” Zi Long’s heart shook as a determined look appeared on his face.
The next moment, he shouted at Xu Wei, “Xu Wei, why are you still holding back? Why aren’t you using your full strength?”
Xu Wei’s face twitched as his heart filled with bitterness.
Just sitting on this Spirit Array made him feel as if his life was being drawn away, that his Saint Qi was flowing from his body like a raging river.
But now, Zi Long actually told him to pour all his strength out; how was that different from killing him?
“Xu Wei, so you’ve been holding back this whole time. Do you want to die!?” Zi Dong roared furiously as he glared at Xu Wei.
“Mercy, Young Master! Mercy! Old Servant will go all out!” Xu Wei caught the look in Zi Dong’s eyes and began leaking cold sweat. He knew that he would really lose his life if he dared to talk back.
This little bastard was not someone who could be reasoned with.
Not daring to hesitate, Xu Wei pushed his Saint Qi madly into the Spirit Array.
With a hum, the Shattering Void Shuttle’s speed increased sharply.
“Hah, so quick! Let’s see that little bastard escape this time!” Zi Dong madly shouted.
A few thousand kilometres ahead, Yang Kai frowned, “It can actually speed up? Interesting, if that is the case, it might actually be able to keep up with me. Hm, looking at it from up close though, it looks somewhat familiar… like the small Starship refined by Yang Yan.”
Deep down in his heart, he was puzzled, obviously not knowing that the refinement method for the Shattering Void Shuttle really did stem from Yang Yan’s hand.
However, Purple Star’s ability really was far inferior to Yang Yan’s, making the Shattering Void Shuttle incomparable to the Flying Shark Battle Shuttle.
The Starships refined by Yang Yan could truly shatter The Void after all.
For a time, a grand chase played out across the Star Field.
As time passed, Yang Kai’s injuries gradually healed.
His physique was already extremely powerful, and his Golden Blood had a terrifying restorative ability, so even if he did not do anything, the wounds he suffered from the Divine Bird slowly repaired themselves.
Yang Kai was a unique case in this sense. If it had been any other cultivator, even if they did not lose their life, such injuries would have left them at least half-crippled.
After his injuries healed, Yang Kai became more relaxed. He used his Star Shuttle in an unhurried manner, and when he noticed the Shattering Void Shuttle drawing too close, he would simply skip across space a few times to open some distance before using his Star Shuttle again, slowing down and allowing his pursuers to catch up.
This obvious fishing behaviour almost caused Zi Long and Zi Dong to cough up blood in anger.
After so many days of pursuit, both father and son had blue veins throbbing on their foreheads.
As for Xu Wei, his figure now barely looked like a living human!
Only after some time did he realize that what was being extracted by the Spirit Array was not just his Saint Qi, but also his very essence!
A cultivator’s essence was similar to a Cultivation Star’s Source. Once this essence was consumed, their vitality drained, it would be extremely difficult to supplement!
Xu Wei had wanted to give it up a long time ago, but because of Zi Dong’s despotic power, he did not dare to leave the Spirit Array and could only grit his teeth and persist. Constantly taking pills to supplement his losses, Xu Wei accepted the Spirit Array’s wanton extraction.
The current Xu Wei no longer looked like a healthy middle-aged man, but instead like a malnourished beggar, his black hair now grey, making him look old and senile.
He never dreamed that an Origin King like himself would fall into such a desolate state.
His resentment towards Zi Long and his son was overwhelming!
Even so, Zi Dong was still not satisfied with his performance and constantly cursed him as trash and a waste.
From Zi Dong’s point of view, the reason why the Shattering Void Shuttle was unable to catch up to Yang Kai was all because Xu Wei was useless. If it were not for Xu Wei being so weak, they would have already succeeded and returned to Purple Star to celebrate rather than being stuck following behind Yang Kai’s ass.
“Xu Wei, take this,” Zi Long suddenly took out a pill from his Space Ring and tossed it to Xu Wei.
Xu Wei opened his turbid eyes, took a look, and couldn’t help trembling slightly as he reflexively asked, “What pill is this?”
This pill was a blood-red colour and had a strong bloody aura coming from it. The aura of this pill was somewhat nauseating and there seemed to be a violent force contained within it.
Xu Wei did not dare to take it lightly. Right now, he was akin to a dried-up oil lamp, so any accident now could kill him.
“You were told to take it so take it. Why utter so much nonsense?” Zi Dong yelled, but when he saw the pill itself, his eyes flashed with imperceptible reluctance.
Xu Wei noticed this change though and immediately understood that this pill was likely something quite precious.
“Sovereign Blood Pill!” Zi Long quickly answered.
The next instant, Xu Wei’s eyes bulged before he snatched the Sovereign Blood Pill and stuffed it into his mouth without any hesitation.
Xu Wei let out a cough as a wave of vitality burst from his thin body and it gradually began to swell up.
His originally sallow skin began to become ruddy and his white hair turned black again at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Haha!” Xu Wei let out a loud laugh as he suddenly became vigorous again, like he was several hundred years younger in an instant.
“Xu Wei is extremely grateful for Senior Zi Long’s generosity. Senior and Young Master may rest assured, Old Servant will go all out!” Xu Wei said in a deep voice before immediately pushing his Saint Qi into the Spirit Array below.
Zi Long nodded lightly, a satisfied look appearing on his face.
The Sovereign Blood Pill was an Origin King Grade Spirit Pill that could only be refined by the single Origin King Grade Alchemist that belonged to Purple Star. Even as the Sect Master of Purple Star, Zi Long only ever obtained two in his lifetime, and this was the only one he had for the past hundred years. The other was used long ago to save Zi Long’s life at a critical moment.
Although the effect of this Spirit Pill was not on par with the legendary Immortal Source Liquid, it was still a Heaven-Defying treasure, which was apparent from the changes Xu Wei had just undergone.
If it weren’t for the urgency of the situation, how could Zi Long be willing to give Xu Wei such a precious Spirit Pill?
However, Xu Wei was indispensable to powering the Shattering Void Shuttle, so Zi Long could only give up this precious pill out of desperation.
Zi Long believed that, with the support of the Sovereign Blood Pill, Xu Wei would be able to persist for some time, and as long as he could catch Yang Kai, this sacrifice would be paid a million times over.
“Xu Wei, put your best into it. If this matter is successful, this King will have his son return your Soul Brand,” Zi Long said lightly.
Xu Wei’s body shook as a look of intense desire appeared on his face. Nodding, Xu Wei put even more effort into his task.
He was an Origin King, but now he was nothing but a slave to this little brat Zi Dong, completely destroying any face he had and ruining all his future prospects, but Zi Long’s words no doubt gave him new hope. As such, Xu Wei really no longer held back, just hoping he could catch up with Yang Kai as soon as possible to complete his task.