This discovery startled Yang Kai somewhat.
He now understood what the real danger in this Ice Cliff was.
The omnipresent Ice Principles were able to even freeze a cultivator’s thoughts, making them lose their lives without even knowing it, which was why these cultivators had all seemingly passed away serenely without any signs of struggle or pain.
After checking all the cave mansions, Yang Kai debated for a moment before he jumped down the cliff.
Although Kou Wu had told Yang Kai not to descend into the valley, since the power of the Emperor Pressure increased the further one went down, Yang Kai naturally wanted to give it a try.
Back in the Dead Zone surrounding Shadowed Star, Yang Kai had immersed himself in Emperor Pressure and derived many benefits from it.
He already had his own set of methods to cope with the suppression of Emperor Pressure.
However, he did not dare to act rashly and instead controlled his speed to descend slowly.
As Kou Wu said, the further down one went, the stronger the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles became.
After less than a thousand meters, Yang Kai was already beginning to feel a little difficulty resisting the biting chill from reaching his bones. Even by circulating his Source Qi, he was unable to completely protect himself.
With no other option, Yang Kai had to use his Domain.
Yang Kai had forged his Shi, the prototype for his Domain, with the help of the Emperor Pressure from the Emperor Garden, and the Emperor Pressure of the Emperor Garden was much stronger than the one that lingered in this place.
As such, his Domain was able to resist Emperor Pressure to a certain degree.
As soon as he pushed his Domain, Yang Kai felt much more relaxed.
Quietly releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai tried to peer into the depths below to see just how deep this Ice Cliff was, but soon, he was forced to take back his Divine Sense in amazement.
Because he found that the Ice Principles in this place were able to freeze his Spiritual Energy and Divine Sense. If he had not retracted his Divine Sense promptly, he would likely have suffered damage to his Soul.
After realizing this, Yang Kai no longer dared to release his Divine Sense outside his body.
There was only darkness down below, like the giant maw of an ancient beast just waiting to swallow one whole, causing all who stared into it to tremble.
After continuing down another three thousand meters, Yang Kai began to hear slight creaking noises around himself.
This was a sign that his Domain was reaching its limits, and if he continued to dive down, it was likely to collapse. Once that happened, Yang Kai would not be able to resist the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles with just his pure physical strength, leading him to a dead end.
[Seems this is my limit!] Yang Kai understood in his heart and knew when to draw back, so he quickly began flying upwards.
Although he had not achieved anything for his efforts this time, Yang Kai knew that this was indeed a good place to hone himself, so from a certain perspective, he really was thankful to Bian Yu Qing.
Instead of flying up to the top of the Ice Cliff, Yang Kai chose to dig out a cave mansion at a position a thousand meters from the surface.
This was the most suitable position for his current strength. The Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles filling the air here were just rich enough that he could barely contend with them, so entering retreat in such a position would be of great benefit to his own growth.
The excavation of his cave mansion took Yang Kai a lot of effort.
Ice Cliff had been soaked in this icy environment for many centuries, causing the rock to become infused with both the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles, transforming from ordinary stone to extremely solid ice rock.
It took Yang Kai three whole days to excavate a simple cave mansion.
This cave mansion was also only the size of two small rooms.
Yang Kai did not rush to enter secluded retreat and instead sat cross-legged in his new cave mansion while resisting the harsh environment and restoring himself.
Fortunately, thanks to him recently offering Alchemy services, he had accumulated a lot of Origin King Grade Spirit Pills and Source Crystals, so restoring himself was a quick and easy process.
It took a few more days for Yang Kai to adjust his state to its peak before he started to work on the most important matter he was facing.
Breaking through!
Yang Kai had been at the peak of the Second-Order Origin King Realm for some time now, and his comprehension of the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way had reached a saturation point. In fact, just after arriving in the Star Boundary and entering Blue Feather Sect, he had the qualifications to break through once more.
However, he did not rush to do that.
For one thing, he did not want to draw too much attention to himself. He was now under the eaves, so acting cautiously was prudent. Secondly, he wanted to accumulate more so that this breakthrough would go smoothly. Lastly, and most importantly, he had no suitable place to break through.
Although he had been assigned a residence in Blue Feather Sect and could use his Identity Token to open the barriers around it to prevent ordinary cultivators from spying on him, that would not stop someone on Bian Yu Qing’s level.
Yang Kai did not want to reveal any of his secrets.
This was not Shadowed Star. On Shadowed Star, he was supreme and could find somewhere uninhabited to enter undisturbed retreat with a single thought.
He originally wanted to stay in Blue Feather Sect for a while to gain the trust of Bian Yu Qing before leaving Blue Feather Sect temporarily on some mission and finding a suitable place to enter retreat and break through by himself.
But this trip to Ice Cliff made him change his mind.
Wasn’t this Ice Cliff the perfect place for a breakthrough?
There was no one else within ten thousand kilometres of this place, and the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles that filled the air would greatly suppress the disturbance caused by a breakthrough.
What’s more, three months from now, if he broke through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm and returned to Blue Feather Sect, he would have a good excuse to give Bian Yu Qing if she asked.
At that time, he could simply tell her that he had a sudden inspiration while he was in seclusion in the Ice Cliff that allowed him to break through and she would not investigate the matter further; after all, whether he was a Second or Third-Order Origin King, he was still of no concern to her.
For various reasons, Yang Kai felt that breaking through here was the optimum choice.
Regarding how to break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm, Yang Kai had considered it greatly over the past few years and formed a plan in his mind long ago.
Inside his new cave mansion, Yang Kai sat cross-legged while surrounded by about thirty thousand Source Crystals he had earned during this period.
These were all the Source Crystals Yang Kai had on him.
Even if he was an Origin King Grade Alchemist and had been selling his services to others for more than a month now, Source Crystals were not easy to earn.
However, Yang Kai figured thirty thousand Low-Rank Source Crystals should be enough to support his breakthrough this time.
Yang Kai did not rush, though, instead reflecting on the Martial Dao he had walked to arrive at this place.
Originally, he was just a Trial Disciple in High Heaven Pavilion, but after countless sorrows and hardships, meeting various friends and beauties, he had reached this far step by step…
He had not lived many years. Among Origin Kings, Yang Kai was actually very young, but his life experience was extremely rich and colourful, not worse than those old monsters who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Various sights and scenes from the years flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, like he had experienced them yesterday, both vivid and lifelike.
Yang Kai’s mood quickly became as tranquil as an ancient well.
As time passed slowly, Yang Kai seemed to forget everything around him.
The icy cold lingered around his body and began seeping into his body, penetrating his five viscera and six organs.
In the cave mansion, a layer of ice gradually formed around Yang Kai and all signs of vitality, even his breathing and heartbeat, seemed to slowly fade.
He gradually became like the dozen or so dead Blue Feather Sect disciples, as if his life was slowly being taken away by the frigid cold.
However, astonishing changes were occurring inside his body.
From his lower abdomen, Yang Kai’s Source Qi and Saint Qi rushed out and rioted inside his physique before flowing back to his dantian and undergoing a miraculous transformation.
The biggest difference between a Second-Order Origin King cultivator and one at the Third Order was not the conversion ratio of Source Qi to Saint Qi in their body, however. Even without a hint of Source Qi, a cultivator could break through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
The biggest difference between the two realms was the existence of an Origin Essence Crystal!
Only by condensing your own Origin Essence Crystal could one truly become a Third-Order Origin King!
The Origin Essence Crystal contained the essence of a cultivator, including all their insights into the Martial Dao and Heavenly Way.
It was similar to the Monster Core of a Monster Beast. Monster Beasts could use their Monster Core to activate their unique abilities and increase the power of such Divine Abilities.
Cultivators above the Third-Order Origin King Realm could similarly do so with their Origin Essence Crystal. This unique existence was a representation of a cultivator’s perceptions and comprehensions, and when using it in combat, it could dramatically boost their strength.
In a crisis, one could even directly summon their Origin Essence Crystal and use it to kill their enemy, similar to how a Monster Beast could summon their Monster Core to battle.
If one wanted to condense their own Origin Essence Crystal, however, they needed to first ask a single question, what principle would they use as the foundation upon which to refine it.
An Origin Essence Crystal was not all-powerful and could only strengthen a cultivator’s prowess and power in a certain field, not improve all aspects of their comprehension. For example, when Yang Kai first entered the Martial Dao, he had cultivated a Yang Attribute Secret Art. Later on, he had transformed his strength into his Demonic Flames then cultivated his Golden Blood Threads and Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi. All of these could be taken as the foundation for his Origin Essence Crystal.
However, once one selected a base, their Origin Essence Crystal could only strengthen that particular facet of their strength.
If Yang Kai condensed his Origin Essence Crystal based on his perceptions of his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi, when he used his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi in the future, the power it could display would be greatly enhanced.
The same went for his Golden Blood Threads…
However, Yang Kai did not intend to do this. His Origin Essence Crystal had to be condensed based on his comprehensions of the Dao of Space!
Space Force was extremely difficult to guard against and was superior to any other power at his disposal. Since Yang Kai was proficient in Space Force, he naturally planned to follow that path. This idea had not changed once since he came to this conclusion many years ago.
It was also for this reason that he did not dare to make a breakthrough in Blue Feather Sect at will.
This was his trump card. Bian Yu Qing still did not know he cultivated the Dao of Space, but if he were to be exposed, Yang Kai was certain he would immediately draw the attention of Blue Feather Sect’s senior leaders.
Even in the vast Star Boundary, the Dao of Space was only mastered by a handful of individuals.
From his lower abdomen, the mix of Source Qi and Saint Qi continuously converged and slowly condensed, causing a fiery pain in the process.
At the same time, inside Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea, his own perceptions and understanding of the Dao of Space began to transform into an invisible force that washed through the fiery ocean.
Yang Kai’s Soul was unprecedentedly peaceful as his consciousness focused entirely inwards on himself. In that state of enlightenment, Yang Kai’s ethereal Space Force surged, and in a nearly unconscious state, his perceptions and comprehension of the Dao of Space slowly expanded.
Time flowed forward quickly and quietly.
Gradually, extremely obvious signs of Space Force fluctuations spread from Yang Kai’s body, shattering the layer of frost covering his form.
A thousand metres down in the Ice Cliff, extremely obvious Space Force fluctuations began to burst forth from a certain cave mansion, forming a warped space that encompassed the surrounding region.
With cracking sounds, the space around Yang Kai began to destabilize.
One after another, tiny Void Cracks began to take shape and briefly swam through the air like dexterous fish before they were repaired by the ambient World Principles, only to reappear moments later in a seemingly endless cycle.
As time passed, the tiny Void Cracks began to connect, forming extremely terrifying rifts. It was as if the surrounding space was a piece of cloth that had been sliced through with a million sharp swords. Countless scars extended in all directions and the turbulent, chaotic Space Force sent chunks of rock and ice flying all around the small cave mansion.
At the same time, dazzling starlight suddenly burst forth from Yang Kai’s body.
Wisps of starlight began to flit about like fireflies.
These wisps were the same ones that Yang Kai had previously absorbed in the Starlight Corridor but had failed to integrate into his physique so far and were instead stored in his Knowledge Sea.
Stimulated by Yang Kai’s breakthrough, these starlight wisps emerged on their own and began to rapidly catalyze the transformation of his Saint Qi into Source Qi.
If anyone else was present at this moment, they would easily be able to identify Yang Kai as a Star Master; after all, his current appearance was so obvious that it would be hard for someone to not recognize his status.
A rushing force, like a magnificent tsunami, erupted from Yang Kai’s body, but he remained completely unaware as he continued to immerse himself in his comprehension of the Dao of Space.
Big and small tears in space continued to form and be erased around him, which were manifestations of Yang Kai’s Secret Technique: Exile.
A series of pitch-black crescent-shaped blades also shot out in all directions, obviously related to his Moon Blade Secret Technique.
Regarding Space Force, these two Secret Techniques were Yang Kai’s own creations, so it was only natural for them to appear at this time and place.
The sound of metal striking metal seemed to ring out from his lower abdomen as a certain something began to take shape here. This was the condensation of Yang Kai’s perceptions and comprehensions of the Dao of Space.
His Origin Essence Crystal had taken shape!
At the same time, the aura from Yang Kai’s body rapidly inflated.
*Pa pa pa pa…*
All the Source Crystals he had laid out in advance were suddenly lifted by a mysterious force and burst into pieces. Rich World Energy flooded the small cave mansion as Yang Kai’s body seemed to transform into a bottomless pit that began swallowing this aura madly.
The shackles that kept him in the Second-Order Origin King Realm were instantly broken, allowing Yang Kai’s cultivation to advance to the next level in a single, smooth leap.
Things had not ended yet though as Yang Kai continued to absorb the rich, pure energy from the exploded Source Crystals, allowing him to stabilize his cultivation and build a solid foundation.
As for Yang Kai himself, he did not pay any attention to the change in his realm as all his focus was still immersed in his insights into the Dao of Space.
He suddenly discovered that he had a new understanding of the complexities of Space Force.
Another brand-new Secret Technique faintly came to mind.
Ecstatic, Yang Kai remained perfectly calm outwards and focused himself even further as he tried to break through the bottlenecks which were hindering his comprehension so he could bring this new Secret Technique into existence.
Time flew by, and a month and a half soon passed.
During this time, Yang Kai hadn’t even moved, and the thirty thousand Source Crystals that he had taken out had long been used up. His cultivation had stabilized at the Third-Order Origin King Realm, and although the Saint Qi in his body had yet to completely transform into Source Qi, that was not a process that was supposed to take such a short period of time anyway.
However, when he opened his eyes again after all this time, Yang Kai seemed slightly different from before.
From his eyes, a piercing light seemed to shine forth, one that could cause space to shift with just a glance.
“Is this my new Secret Technique?” Yang Kai muttered to himself as his thoughts flashed and his figure suddenly disappeared.
This was not the same as his instantaneous movement Secret Technique, because Yang Kai had actually not moved at all and was still just sitting cross-legged in place, but if one were to sweep the area with their Divine Sense, no trace of his existence could be found. Even as just a Third-Order Origin King, Yang Kai would be able to completely conceal himself from an ordinary Dao Source cultivator with this Secret Technique.
However, if one were to look with their naked eyes, they would still be able to see a vague transparent figure that was sitting there motionlessly, like a reflected image in a ripple filled pond.
This was an extremely profound concealment Secret Technique.
Yang Kai’s new Secret Technique partially merged his body with the Void, making it almost impossible to detect him.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai grinned, “I’ll name it Nihility!”
Unlike Exile and Moon Blade, Nihility was not a Secret Technique for combat, but rather for concealment. To a certain extent, it was more precious than Exile or Moon Blade because it could save his life in a pinch. Only by surviving could one continue to fight.
However, Yang Kai vaguely felt that Nihility did not just have utility as a concealment art, but also had another important effect.
Whether this was true or not required testing though.
After a month and a half of retreat, Yang Kai had achieved all his goals, which naturally lifted his spirits. Closing his eyes, he began to thoroughly inspect his current condition.
Sending his Divine Sense into his dantian, Yang Kai soon discovered that there was now a hexagonal crystal silently floating there. It was his newly condensed Origin Essence Crystal, the condensation of his comprehension of Space Force.
Putting it bluntly, if someone were to obtain this Origin Essence Crystal and then comprehend all the mysteries contained inside it, they would obtain all of Yang Kai’s insights into the Dao of Space and would be able to use all of Space Secret Techniques.
This was no doubt Yang Kai’s most valuable treasure.
It was not the first time he had seen an Origin Essence Crystal. He found an Origin Essence Crystal in the Flowing Flame Sand Field many years ago and was ignorant of what it was at the time. Later, he confirmed it was the Origin Essence Crystal of the Insect Emperor. That particular Origin Essence Crystal was swallowed by Yang Kai’s Soul Warming Lotus, allowing it to evolve into its seven-coloured form. Later, Yang Kai had obtained the Origin Essence Crystal of Mad Crocodile Monster King from the Blood Prison. He had also obtained an Origin Essence Crystal at an auction on Purple Star.
The appearance of all Origin Essence Crystals seemed to be similar, a multi-sided crystal, but the colours varied quite a bit.
Regardless of the colour of other people’s Origin Essence Crystal, Yang Kai’s Origin Essence Crystal was pitch black, to the point where it seemed to be able to swallow all light and darkness!
This colour matched with his Space Force, satisfying Yang Kai greatly. The more he observed it, the more he liked it.
Withdrawing his consciousness, Yang Kai began inspecting his cultivation and the conversion ratio of his Source Qi.
There was not much to say about his cultivation: After condensing his Origin Essence Crystal, it was already obvious Yang Kai had successfully broken through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm.
But regarding the transformation of his Saint Qi, Yang Kai felt quite dissatisfied!
It was only half complete! Although he had been immersed in condensing his Origin Essence Crystal for the past month and a half, he was still well aware of his situation. He knew that the starlight wisps had voluntarily gushed out of his Knowledge Sea and begun transforming his Saint Qi for him.
But now, the starlight in his Knowledge Sea had almost been consumed clean but only half his Saint Qi had been converted to Source Qi, a depressing reality.
The reason he felt like this was that he did not know much about the Star Boundary.
If he knew that it would normally take several years for him to completely transform his Saint Qi into Source Qi despite being a Star Master and absorbing a lot of starlight from the Starlight Corridor, he might have been more appreciative of his progress.
For example, Yin Le Sheng had taken almost five years inside the Starlight Corridor to transform all his Saint Qi into Source Qi.
He too was a Star Master!
Ai Ou was also a Star Master, but if nothing unexpected happened, it would take him a minimum of five or six years to complete this transformation.
Cultivators who came from the lower Star Fields and were not Star Masters were even more miserable, needing at least ten years to convert their Saint Qi to Source Qi. This was the normal timespan. Even twenty or thirty years was also possible, while spending fifty years wasn’t that unusual either.
A few dozen years, however, was nothing to an Origin King Realm cultivator.
The transformation of Saint Qi into Source Qi increased a cultivator’s power noticeably, so even if one’s realm did not change, the strength they could display would still gradually increase.
However, Yang Kai took less than three months to transform half of his Saint Qi into Source Qi, an incredible achievement in record time!
The current Yang Kai was more than twice as powerful as he was a month and a half ago; after all, his cultivation had risen by a Minor Realm, and the percentage of his Saint Qi which had been converted to Source Qi had also increased significantly.
“There’s not much starlight left in my Knowledge Sea. How am I supposed to continue forming Source Qi in the future? Hmm… Some time ago, I overheard some people mention Source Condensing Pills that seem to have the same function as starlight. Should I try to refine those Source Condensing Pills?” Yang Kai stroked his chin as he muttered to himself.
Source Condensing Pills, as the name suggested, were specially used to transform Saint Qi in a cultivator’s body to Source Qi. They were only taken by Origin Kings and were an Origin King Grade High-Rank Spirit Pill. Although not comparable to the starlight wisps, these pills were the most commonly used auxiliary Spirit Pill for Origin King Realm cultivators.
However, Yang Kai had only heard the name of this Spirit Pill and did not have its recipe, so he was unable to search for the right ingredients to refine them himself.
Yang Kai secretly decided that he would go to the shopping district to find out if he could acquire new pill recipes after his confinement was over, including the one for the Source Condensing Pill. The Star Boundary had far more pill recipes than the Star Field, so now would be a good time to begin collecting them as they might come in handy later on.
However, purchasing pill recipes required a large amount of Source Crystals. Thinking of his now empty Space Ring, Yang Kai felt a big headache.
He did not expect that he, who was extremely wealthy in the Star Field, would suddenly find himself broke in the Star Boundary.
Putting aside these depressing thoughts, Yang Kai stood up.
As he got up, the layer of frost which had covered his body fell off. Yang Kai casually patted himself off before suddenly frowning, only to smile a moment later.
He found that his ability to withstand the severe cold around him had greatly increased.
When he had first entered seclusion here, he had done so because he was just barely able to withstand the harsh environment.
But now, he found that the severe cold in his surroundings had almost no effect on him. Obviously, this was because his strength had experienced a massive increase, allowing him to easily resist this harsh environment.
There was still some time before Yang Kai’s three-month confinement period was up, and now that he had accomplished all the things he had planned to, Yang Kai’s mind began to wander again.
Arriving at the entrance to his cave mansion, Yang Kai looked down into the dark abyss.
A month and a half ago, he could only reach a position less than five thousand meters below the top of Ice Cliff before having to return, illustrating just how harsh the environment was here.
Now that his strength had grown significantly, he was eager to test his limits again.
Additionally, if he could cultivate under the thick Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles for some time, it would be of great benefit to his mind and body. If nothing else, it would serve as good preparation for when he faced Dao Source Realm masters in the future.
If he could withstand Emperor Pressure, what would the coercion of a Dao Source cultivator count for?
Considering all this, Yang Kai did not hesitate to jump down.
Just like previously, the further he descended, the greater the Emperor Pressure and the richer the Ice Principles became. The ubiquitous cold seeped into Yang Kai’s body and Knowledge Sea, hindering his movements greatly.
Yang Kai did not move quickly as he slowly pushed his limits.
At three thousand meters, he was still safe and sound, at five thousand meters he was able to bear it, at eight thousand meters, it became somewhat difficult…
Once he reached ten thousand meters, Yang Kai was barely able to hold on.
He had broken through a Minor Realm and converted a large portion of his Saint Qi into Source Qi while also condensing his Origin Essence Crystal, yet it appeared an additional five thousand meters was all he could withstand. Experiencing this, Yang Kai could only shake his head as he further realized just how horrifying Emperors were.
With his current strength, ten thousand meters was his limit.
Just when he was about to stop and excavate a new cave mansion nearby to further temper himself, an idea flashed across his mind and he quickly became eager to test it out.
“I wonder if Nihility… can resist the frigid Ice Principles here!”
Having hit upon this idea, Yang Kai immediately put it into action and displayed his newly comprehended Secret Technique.
Instantly, his figure disappeared in place, leaving behind only a nearly transparent ripple where he once stood.
After displaying Nihility, Yang Kai immediately felt the terrifying Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles which were threatening to crush him alive disappear entirely.
There was simply no pressure at all where he stood.
[It really works!]
Yang Kai celebrated in pleasant surprise, but soon discovered a new problem.
After displaying his Secret Technique, Nihility, he could indeed ignore the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles in this place, but after just two breaths, the omnipresent Emperor Pressure and Ice Laws would overwhelm his Secret Technique, revealing him again.
The surging pressure descended upon him again in the next instant.
Standing still, Yang Kai frowned, pondering about what had just happened.
Soon, he understood.
His new Secret Technique relied upon him expending Space Force, merging his physical body with the Void to hide it from both visual and Divine Sense probing.
Because his body merged with the Void, it was also able to ignore the surrounding Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles suppression.
However, Nihility was by no means omnipotent; after all, the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles here were extremely profound and powerful, not something he could simply ignore. Under the battering of these two forces, it was natural that Yang Kai was unable to maintain his technique for long at his current level of mastery in Space Force.
Simply put, as long as the power of an attack exceeded his own ability to defend against it by a wide margin, it could dispel his Nihility Secret Technique.
Although this was all just speculation, Yang Kai felt like it was close to the truth.
This was an inevitable result, so Yang Kai was not frustrated and instead felt that it was natural.
There was no such thing as an invincible Secret Technique in this world. In the end, everything depended on one’s own strength.
However, that being the case…
Yang Kai grinned and displayed his Nihility Secret Technique again before immediately teleporting away.
The next moment, he appeared another fifty meters down where the ambient Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles broke his technique again.
However, just as his figure was revealed, before the surrounding terrifying forces could suppress him, Yang Kai once again used Nihility to merge with the Void and avoid the deadly pressure.
Repeating this process, Yang Kai rapidly descended, completely ignoring the dangerous environment surrounding him.
He had only wanted to test out the uses of Nihility, but now, he simply wanted to see how deep he could dive into the Ice Cliff.
Coming to his senses a moment later, Yang Kai could not help breaking out into a cold sweat as he stared up and was unable to even see the sky anymore.
Instinctively, he wanted to flee this place, lest he make a single mistake and wind up buried here. If that really happened, it would be the worst kind of joke.
However, just as he was about to leave, he saw a twinkle of light out of the corner of his eye, like something was gently flickering down below.
“What’s that?” Yang Kai kept displaying Nihility as he turned his head and looked down.
A moment later, the tiny fluorescent flicker appeared again.
Yang Kai was sure that he was not seeing things and there was really something there. After hesitating for a moment, he teleported once more to investigate.
However, to his surprise, Yang Kai actually found he had reached the bottom of the Ice Cliff without knowing it!
In these deepest depths, the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles were so strong they could instantly kill an average Dao Source Realm cultivator. Even a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master would not be able to reach this place.
Kou Wu had told him that the Sect Master and four Protectors had all come here before to investigate the Ice Cliff, but none of them had been able to reach its bottom.
However, Yang Kai’s Nihility Secret Technique gave him the ability to temporarily ignore the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles in this place, allowing him to reach this unexplored land.
The luminous flicker was not too far away from him, so Yang Kai carefully moved towards it while maintaining a vigilant watch on his surroundings, lest some kind of accident occurred.
Soon, he arrived at the source of the light.
There was no sunlight at the bottom of the cliff, but Yang Kai was no ordinary person either, so his vision wasn’t affected in any way. Looking around, his eyes could not help lighting up.
In front of him, a strange object that looked like an Ice Flower appeared. This Ice Flower looked as if it was really carved out of ice, having a pure and flawless appearance without the slightest imperfections.
Budding from this Ice Flower, were three small fruits.
Each of these fruits was only about the size of a small egg and had the appearance of fine ice crystal, a faint light actually pulsing from their surfaces, giving them an ethereal quality.
When Yang Kai first saw this, he subconsciously thought that it was some kind of ice carving rather than a spirit flower and fruits.
But soon, he realized he was mistaken because there was a faint scent in the air, the unique scent of spirit fruit that carried with it both a cool and refreshing aroma.
It was obviously a real spirit fruit!
In this terrifying environment, at the bottom of the deep Ice Cliff, Yang Kai did not dare to release his Divine Sense to check, but he could still tell that this Ice Flower and the three Ice Fruits contained extremely powerful energy. If a cultivator who cultivated an Ice Attribute Secret Art could obtain these things, it would be a peerless treasure!
They were most likely born here because of the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles.
Yang Kai quickly drew some conclusions about this Ice Flower and Ice Fruits and also understood that they were incredibly valuable. Because this spirit flower and fruits had been nurtured in this unique environment, they now contained traces of the Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles present here, which meant that a cultivator could comprehend some of the Divine Ability the Emperor who created this place used, whether they were used for Alchemy or swallowed directly.
This was a priceless treasure!
Yang Kai could not help breathing a little bit faster and nearly failed to re-active Nihility in time, causing a cold sweat to drip from his forehead.
After stabilizing his emotions, Yang Kai squatted down and began circulating his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi with a thought.
Soon, Yang Kai’s right hand was wrapped in a crimson red light.
Naturally, it was his Fire Sword Qi!
It was impossible to pick this kind of treasure without taking some precautions, but all Yang Kai could think of was to use his Fire Sword Qi to try restraining the rich Ice Attribute energy that radiated from this spirit flower.
However, he still underestimated the horror of this treasure and when his hand touched it, the crimson light which was protecting him collapsed on the spot. In the next instant, an indescribable chill began to seep into his fingers and travel up his arm.
A layer of frost formed on Yang Kai’s arm at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Yang Kai was horrified and without even hesitating for a moment he roared “Dragon Transformation!”
Accompanied by the sound of a thunderous dragon roar, a golden dragon phantom suddenly appeared behind Yang Kai. This dragon phantom flashed before sinking into Yang Kai’s body, at which point his right arm transformed into a dragon claw covered in thick Dragon Scales.
Grabbing the Ice Flower tightly, Yang Kai yanked fiercely before rapidly tossing it into his Sealed World Bead.
The next moment, Yang Kai inspected the situation inside the Sealed World Bead anxiously.
Inside the Sealed World Bead, a giant made from stone was meditating with its eyes closed. It was none other than Yang Kai’s Soul Clone that had been integrated into the second Stone Puppet to become his Embodiment.
This giant mountain-like body stood up and disappeared from where it had been sitting with a flicker to quickly arrive at a different place.
This was where Yang Kai had thrown in the Ice Flower.
*Kacha…*
Crisp cracking sounds rang out as inside the Sealed World Bead, the area around the Ice Flower rapidly transformed into a frozen landscape that spread out at an extremely fast speed. The terrifying Ice Principles contained in the Ice Flower even began to have an effect on the space inside the Sealed World Bead, causing the temperature to drop slightly.
Soon, within a radius of ten kilometres, a thick layer of ice had formed. Only after extending out such a distance did the anomaly caused by the Ice Flower gradually subside.
Receiving a report from his Embodiment inside the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai finally felt relieved as he stood at the bottom of the cliff.
Yang Kai was in a good mood after inadvertently acquiring a treasure like this Ice Flower.
While this thing was useless to him, it could be exchanged for a large number of cultivation resources, especially Source Crystals, which he was currently short on.
If he could find a good auction house to entrust the three ice fruits too, Yang Kai estimated he wouldn’t have to worry about Source Crystals in the near future.
But the bottom of the cliff was not a place to remain, so after obtaining the Ice Flower, Yang Kai immediately prepared to evacuate.
However, at that moment, a sharp and strange hissing sound suddenly reached his ears and a thin white light shot over from the distance, whistling like thunder as it carried a fierce momentum with it.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank as an incredible sense of crisis gripped his heart. Without hesitation, he teleported away.
*Chi…*
The snow-white ray of light struck the empty space where Yang Kai once stood and proceeded to plow through the ground, sending ice and rock flying in a shocking display of power.
“Who!” Yang Kai subconsciously thought that a master had hidden themselves at the bottom of this Ice Cliff and had attacked him, because the attack just now gave off the feel of a Sword Dao Secret Technique, and the white light was clearly a kind of sword-light that contained potent Ice Principles!
However, as soon as he shouted, Yang Kai felt that something was wrong. This was the bottom of the Ice Cliff and he was only able to arrive here thanks to his Nihility Secret Technique. If someone else was hiding here, just how terrifying would their strength have to be?
Would such a master need to launch a sneak attack to deal with him?
Thinking so, he quickly looked towards the source of the attack.
In the next instant, Yang Kai received a great shock.
Slashing towards him was another snow-white sword wave that was infused with rich Ice Principles that caused space itself to ripple and freeze as it flew forwards!
[I can’t block it!] Yang Kai instantly judged his situation and did not hesitate to teleport away again.
At the bottom of this cliff, he had to divert a good portion of his attention to resist the suppression of the surrounding Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles by maintaining his Nihility Secret Technique so he wouldn’t be crushed to death. Now, facing such a violent attack, although Yang Kai was somehow able to deal with it, it was by no means easy.
After dodging the enemy’s second blow, Yang Kai finally got a chance to see who it was that was attacking him.
Seeing his attacker though, Yang Kai’s eyes bulged as his heart clenched and he exclaimed in disbelief, “How is that possible?”
He wasn’t being attacked by another person, but rather by a Monster Beast. This Monster Beast had a thick, pure white carapace, possibly from living at the bottom of this Ice Cliff for so long.
“A Spirit Devouring Monster Insect? It can’t be…” Yang Kai couldn’t believe his eyes.
The Spirit Devouring Monster Insect wasn’t a species exclusive to the Star Boundary, it also existed in the Star Field, so Yang Kai was able to recognize this Exotic Insect. The Spirit Devouring Monster Insect was capable of eating everything that contained energy.
Artifacts, Artifact Armour, cultivators, Saint Crystals… anything and everything could be gnawed through by this creature’s powerful jaw. Even powerful ancient barriers could be consumed by it.
There was a legend back in Yang Kai’s native Star Field that a swarm of these Spirit Devouring Monster Insects had been sealed on a certain Cultivation Star, but that after aeons of time, they had managed to eat their way through the seal and then caused a bloody reign of terror, nearly exterminating all life on that Cultivation Star.
Of course, this was only a legend, and whether it was true or not was unknown; however, where there was smoke, there was normally fire, so it was not difficult to understand the danger of Spirit Devouring Monster Insects.
Fortunately, these Exotic Insects matured very slowly, and most cultivators also understood how harmful they could be, so once they were found, they were quickly exterminated.
Yang Kai had also encountered Spirit Devouring Monster Insects before so he was able to recognize it at a glance.
But… the Spirit Devouring Monster Insects he had come across before were no bigger than his finger and couldn’t cause any harm to even weak cultivators.
On the other hand, the snow-white Spirit Devouring Monster Insect in front of him was four meters tall and had a majestic and mighty aura to it. Its fierce appearance alone put great pressure on Yang Kai.
“A Monster Insect Queen?” Yang Kai’s face sank.
Spirit Devouring Monster Insects weren’t high-level sentient creatures, but instead had a similar social structure to common ants. Among a swarm of Spirit Devouring Monster Insects, there was always a matriarchal entity that ruled over them.
The one in front of Yang Kai right now was definitely such a Monster Insect Queen!
What was truly outrageous though was that this snow-white Monster Insect Queen was using its two forelimbs to condense a sharp, white Sword Qi.
Yang Kai couldn’t believe his eyes.
At the bottom of this Ice Cliff, it was already unthinkable that such a huge Monster Insect Queen had appeared, yet it could even use Sword Qi.
What was going on?
The two attacks just now, which were clearly Sword Dao Secret Techniques, were no doubt from this Monster Insect Queen.
Even Yang Kai, who was accustomed to seeing great winds and waves and had a wealth of experience, felt like he was unable to keep up with the situation for a moment. Everything he saw before him completely subverted his common sense, destroyed his cognition, and made him unable to find a reasonable explanation.
The sentience of Spirit Devouring Monster Insects was very low, and even if one grew for tens of thousands of years, it couldn’t evolve to the point where it could use anything resembling a Sword Dao Secret Technique.
However, judging from the power of the two Sword Waves just now, this Monster Insect Queen’s accomplishments in the Sword Dao were not low! That was definitely a Grandmaster level attack.
One more thing that puzzled Yang Kai was that he faintly felt that the two sword attacks earlier gave him a feeling of familiarity.
Just as he was lost in thought, the Monster Insect Queen once again raised its limbs and its two small eyes flashed a cold white light before Ice Principles began condensing around it into a glowing white Sword Qi.
A flash of white light appeared as a pair of Sword Waves surged forward like a mighty dragon going to sea!
Even before these two Sword Waves reached him, Yang Kai’s breathing stagnated as the space around him seemed to freeze.
This was Sword Intent, an extremely profound Sword Intent infused with Ice Principles! The surrounding World Energy even began to condense into millions of tiny ice blades that madly shot towards Yang Kai.
It was as if it had suddenly begun to snow.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai exclaimed in shock, “Clear Sky Snowfall!”
The shock in his heart increased several times over as he never expected to see this Sword Dao Secret Technique in the Star Boundary. He knew the power this Secret Technique contained so he didn’t dare to hesitate as he sent out countless Moon Blades to intercept it.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The Ice Principles and Space Principle collided with one another, causing a series of explosions that shook the entire Ice Cliff. Although Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Space had reached a level that ordinary geniuses could never reach, he was still just a Third-Order Origin King, in the end. What’s more, this harsh environment at the bottom of the Ice Cliff greatly suppressed his strength while simultaneously boosting the Sword Dao Secret Technique displayed by the Monster Insect Queen.
So, as soon as the two Secret Techniques touched, Yang Kai’s Moon Blades were smashed to pieces, unable to contend with the Sword Wave at all.
The dazzling icy blade tore through Yang Kai’s resistance and slashed towards his face.
Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he hurriedly pushed his Nihility Secret Technique to its max, further merging himself with the void.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
The countless ice blades and the two huge Sword Waves passed through the place where Yang Kai was located, directly nullifying his Nihility Secret Technique.
Yang Kai’s transparent body was revealed again, and although he managed to avoid most of the attack, he had not been able to completely resist the Ice Principles effects.
When he appeared again, his face was a shade of bluish-purple, and before he could gather his energy to deal with the Monster Insect Queen, the surrounding Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles crashed down on him again.
Panicked, Yang Kai quickly used Nihility again to avoid the violent murderous pressure.
[I can’t stay here. If I do, I’ll die!]
Yang Kai immediately understood his situation and the instant his Nihility Secret Technique activated, he madly pushed his Space Force and teleported upwards, trying to escape from the icy depths.
Even if he didn’t look back, Yang Kai knew that the Monster Insect Queen was right behind him, because more Sword Waves were still flying at him from behind. If he wasn’t proficient in the Dao of Space, which allowed him to instantaneously move from one place to another, he would either be an ice sculpture or a shattered ice sculpture at this moment.
“Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!” Yang Kai flew up while dodging the attacks from behind in a flurry as a look of incomprehension covered his face.
The reason was simple: This Sword Dao Secret Technique displayed by the Monster Insect Queen had left him at a total loss.
After observing the Secret Technique several times, Yang Kai confirmed without a doubt that he had seen this attack before.
It really was Clear Sky Snowfall!
This was the Secret Technique that Su Yan used!
Back in High Heaven Sect, Yang Kai had occasionally seen Su Yan use this Secret Technique, so his understanding of it was very clear.
After coming to the Star Boundary though, he was now witnessing this Secret Technique be displayed by a Spirit Devouring Monster Insect Queen. How could Yang Kai not be surprised?
A Monster Insect Queen using a Secret Technique was shocking enough, but for it to be a Secret Technique that Su Yan had mastered was just too much. If it wasn’t for the pain Yang Kai felt from heavily breathing in the ice-cold air, he would have definitely thought he was dreaming.
What’s more, this Monster Insect Queen’s mastery and comprehension of Clear Sky Snowfall was definitely far beyond Su Yan’s.
After all, Su Yan was just a First-Order Origin King when Yang Kai left and she had only learned this Secret Technique a few years prior when she was a disciple of Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley.
The same Secret Technique appearing in two different places could only mean that it was somehow inherited by a master who had visited both places. But who could that be?
Did this Secret Technique originate in the Star Boundary or the Star Field?
Many thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, but he could not find a reasonable explanation.
However, he soon recalled Su Yan once saying to him that all the Secret Techniques she learned in Ice Heart Valley were originally created by Ice Heart Valley’s Ancestral Founder, Bing Yun. Even Profound Frost, Su Yan’s sword, was originally Bing Yun’s personal artifact.
With this connection made, Yang Kai vaguely remembered that Scarlet Wave Star’s Ice Heart Valley’s current Sect Master, Bing Long, had told him that Ice Heart Valley’s Ancestral Founder had likely not died because, in the Sect’s Restricted Area, only Profound Frost remained, while there was no sign of Bing Yun’s Origin Essence Crystal.
Could it be…
Did Ice Heart Valley’s Ancestral Founder Bing Yun actually travel to the Star Boundary?
The more Yang Kai thought about it, the more he realized that it was possible.
Yang Kai didn’t know how strong Ancestral Founder Bing Yun was, but during her reign, Ice Heart Valley had been a super force that was comparable to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, Sword Union, and Purple Star.
However, over thousands of years, Ice Heart Valley’s disciples could not retain the glory of their ancestors and the Sect eventually fell to the point where only a single First-Order Origin King remained to assume command.
The woman who founded a Sect that could reach such a height and endure for over ten thousand years could not possibly be weak.
If Bing Yun had left the Star Field long ago and travelled to the Star Boundary, everything could be explained.
The Clear Sky Snowfall Secret Technique displayed by this Monster Insect Queen was definitely related to Bing Yun, as was the formation of this Ice Cliff.
If Bing Yun was still alive, it should not have been difficult for her to reach the Emperor Realm with her aptitude. If that was so, the remnant Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles in this place would very much match with those of Ice Heart Valley.
Yang Kai gradually sorted out the context of this matter, but whether his hypothesis was correct or not was impossible to know. At the very least, his guess could explain why Clear Sky Snowfall appeared in the Star Boundary.
As the Sword Waves continued to fly at him behind, Yang Kai soon discovered a certain point that allowed him to slightly relax. It seemed this Monster Insect Queen was only able to use Clear Sky Snowfall, and it was likely its strongest move.
This made Yang Kai overjoyed; after all, if that was the case, he would still have a chance to deal with it.
Fortunately, he was proficient in Space Force and was an expert in fleeing. The most difficult kind of cultivator to kill was one skilled in the Dao of Space.
Whether it was in the Star Field or the Star Boundary, this was the case. No one wanted to offend a cultivator like Yang Kai who could use Space Force to come and go without a trace, because if they did and couldn’t instantly kill them, it would only lead to great trouble in the future.
Therefore, once a cultivator offended such an enemy, there were only two safe solutions: Kill them quickly or exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk! Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.
From the bottom of the cliff all the way to the surface, Yang Kai walked the line between life and death several times. Because he could not use his Divine Sense, Yang Kai didn’t know exactly how strong this Monster Insect Queen was, only that it was an opponent he definitely couldn’t contend with right now. As such, he didn’t even think about fighting and focused entirely on running away.
However, the Monster Insect Queen seemed to be obsessed and chased after Yang Kai relentlessly, its massive body leaping and twisting with uncanny agility as it scaled the walls of the Ice Cliff at a pace not slower than its prey.
After a full stick of incense worth of time, Yang Kai shot out from the Ice Cliff like a bolt of lightning and flew towards a nearby peak, finally able to catch his breath.
Without the suppression of the strong Emperor Pressure and Ice Laws down below, the natural advantage the Monster Insect Queen possessed disappeared and the situation improved.
As his thoughts turned, Yang Kai waited attentively while exhaling tepidly.
In the next moment, the huge snow-white figure shot out from the cliff and landed a few dozen meters in front of Yang Kai.
Observing the Monster Insect Queen’s hideous face, which was now clear in the light of day, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling his skin crawl slightly. Using his Divine Sense, he scanned the aura of his opponent and discovered to his dismay that it was the same if not stronger than Bian Yu Qing’s.
“Emperor Realm?” Yang Kai paled in shock.
Even if this Monster Insect Queen was not a true Emperor level Monster Beast, it was likely not far off. That was almost two Great Realms above Yang Kai.
Fighting such an enemy was no different than courting death! Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling grateful he had not been instantly killed at the bottom of the Ice Cliff.
Just as big beads of sweat were dripping from Yang Kai’s forehead though, he suddenly discovered something else out of place with this Monster Insect Queen: It didn’t give off any life aura, like there wasn’t a trace of vitality in its body at all.
“It’s dead?” Yang Kai couldn’t help frowning.
Without any life aura or vitality, this Monster Insect Queen could only be dead, but how could something dead act so flexibly? It was even able to use a Sword Dao Secret Technique like Clear Sky Snowfall!
However, if this was the case, it also explained why a near Emperor Realm level Monster Beast had not been able to instantly kill Yang Kai. If it was already dead, it wouldn’t be able to display anywhere near its peak strength from when it was alive.
Yang Kai observed carefully and quickly noticed a long scar on its abdomen, one that seemed to have been caused by a single sword slash. There was still some remnant Sword Qi lingering around this wound that had penetrated deep into its body. The wound itself was frozen over with a layer of crystal-clear ice, revealing its internal organs, but strangely no blood was flowing through it.
[It really is dead! Is this something similar to the Corpse Spirit Race with a dead body but a living Soul? Was it somehow brought back to life because of the special environment at the bottom of the Ice Cliff?]
Since encountering this Monster Insect Queen, Yang Kai had been faced with a series of unanswerable questions, but he didn’t have any time to ponder on them as, after the Monster Insect Queen appeared, it immediately began to attack.
Its forelimb swords condensed a rich Sword Qi onto them before it slashed forward.
The sky instantly filled with thick snow, as if the world was being wrapped up in a layer of silvery-white.
A frigid, howling wind swept forth with the Monster Insect Queen at its centre and the land within a ten-kilometre radius was engulfed by an indescribable chill. In this world, it seemed the world’s laws had been erased and all that remained was cold.
Here, the Monster Insect Queen was supreme!
This was an Emperor’s ability to control Principles, the very laws which governed the world and moved the moon and stars.
Yang Kai’s complexion changed drastically as he desperately pushed his strength to resist, but he couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering as the cold overwhelmed him. At the bottom of the cliff, he had been struck by the enemy’s Sword Wave, and although Nihility had allowed him to avoid fatal damage, he did not escape unharmed. Now, inside this field where the enemy’s Sword and Ice Principles filled the air, Yang Kai was immediately beset with problems.
The eyes of the Monster Insect Queen flashed a strange snow-white light as it cried out sharply. As it screamed, its icy Sword Intent affected the surrounding World Principles even further, causing this originally not so cold region to become as unbearable as the bottom of the Ice Cliff.
Yang Kai’s expression sank as he realized that he was in deep trouble this time.
While he was used to challenging opponents with higher cultivations than his own, there were still limits to his ability. Facing this Monster Insect Queen, which had likely touched upon the Emperor Realm and was proficient in a profound Sword Dao Secret Technique, Yang Kai couldn’t put up any meaningful resistance, even with his great skill.
He could almost foresee that when his opponent’s sword finally fell, his soul would be extinguished.
Facing this moment of crisis, Yang Kai desperately pushed his Space Force to escape, but to his dismay, he found that the surrounding space had already been sealed off by the rich Ice Principles, making it impossible for him to teleport away.
The white eyes of the Monster Insect Queen revealed a cruel glow as it raised its two forelimb swords up high and began condensing its Sword Qi.
Standing at the gates of death, inspiration suddenly struck Yang Kai and he hurriedly summoned out a certain object, poured all his strength into it, and hurled it towards the Monster Insect Queen.
It was a bracelet-like artifact that had countless tiny glowing runes engraved on it and released a thick Emperor Pressure.
When Yang Kai threw out this bracelet, the Monster Insect Queen didn’t sense anything from it and completely ignored it, but when the tiny runes on the bracelet lit up, the Monster Insect Queen couldn’t help releasing a pitiful cry.
Its eyes bulging violently as it stared at the bracelet in horror, the Monster Insect Queen’s huge body actually began to tremble slightly.
The bracelet clearly had a powerful suppressive effect on it.
*Dingdang…*
The bracelet struck the Monster Insect Queen’s forehead, and although Yang Kai had thrown it with a good deal of force, such an attack was obviously unable to cause any kind of injury to it; however, the aura which radiated from the bracelet was like a bolt of lightning striking the Monster Insect Queen.
The rich Ice Principles and Sword Intent which had enveloped the surrounding world suddenly collapsed and the heavy snowflakes filling the sky all shot off in random directions like tiny flying blades.
Yang Kai’s face turned pale as he saw this and didn’t dare to remain. Summoning the Sealed World Bead, he hurriedly escaped inside.
The moment after Yang Kai disappeared, a whooshing sound rang out as the entire icy domain poured back into the Monster Insect Queen’s body and exploded.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
The Monster Insect Queen’s body lacked any kind of meat or blood, but its snow-white carapace was instantly riddled with holes while even the Sword Qi on its forelimbs collapsed and splashed out.
Backlash!
Displaying such a high-level Sword Dao Secret Technique but being interrupted at a critical moment had caused all the power of this Secret Technique to flow back into the Monster Insect Queen, essentially hitting it with its own technique in a completely unguarded fashion.
*Hualala…*
Above the Ice Cliff, ice and rock were cut to pieces by the overflowing Sword Qi and the entire peak had a layer shaved off. It was conceivable that if Yang Kai was still here, even if he had used all his defensive methods, he would have been sliced to pieces and died on the spot!
A series of rumblings rang out as the fragmented ice and rock fell towards the bottom of the Ice Cliff, hitting the rock walls in a chorus of destruction.
Only after thirty breaths of time did the disturbance at the top of Ice Cliff gradually subside.
It was then that Yang Kai’s figure reappeared from the Sealed World Bead.
The scene before him caused him to gulp unconsciously as he secretly rejoiced, he had acted fast enough to escape.
When he went to observe the Monster Insect Queen, Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised to find that it was lying motionless on the ground. It had been fatally wounded and its carapace was now in tatters. Obviously, it couldn’t be any more dead.
A white light suddenly emerged from the Monster Insect Queen, twisted slightly, and directly condensed into the appearance of a long sword.
In form, it looked quite similar to Su Yan’s Profound Frost.
“What the hell is that?” Yang Kai frowned and was just about to take a closer look when the snow-white light shot directly towards him, releasing a frightening ice-cold aura.
However, the pressure from this snow-white sword was nowhere near as terrifying as the Monster Insect Queen’s had been.
Yang Kai grit his teeth, lifted his Sealed World Bead and released his Divine Sense like a tide to wrap up the snow-white light as he shouted, “Come!”
The next moment, the snow-white light wrapped by Yang Kai Divine Sense was pulled into the Sealed World Bead.
Atop the Ice Cliff, the tranquillity that had lasted for thousands of years was finally restored as the snow-white light disappeared. Yang Kai paled slightly as he gasped for breath and took a few steps forward, picking up the bracelet artifact that had been thrown out before. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief from having survived.
This time, he was able to overcome extreme danger and cause the Monster Insect Queen to suffer a severe backlash from its own Secret Technique, thus killing it, all thanks to the power of this bracelet artifact.
The Emperor Artifact, Insect Enslavement Bracelet!
This was the Insect Emperor’s artifact, and was capable of restraining all species of Exotic Insects.
The Insect Emperor had been killed by Yang Kai after much difficulty on Shadowed Star, and his two Emperor Artifacts now belonged to Yang Kai. In addition to this Insect Enslavement Bracelet, which was the Insect Emperor’s most recognized artifact, there was also the Soul Splitting Saber.
However, the grades of these two Emperor Artifacts were too high and could not be properly utilized or even refined by Yang Kai currently.
These two Emperor Artifacts had always been hidden inside Yang Kai’s Sealed World Bead, while the Soul Splitting Saber had never even been used. As for the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, this was only the second time Yang Kai had taken it out since obtaining it.
The previous time was in the Severed World when Yang Kai and Xue Yue were being chased down by countless Illusory Butterflies. At that time, Yang Kai had used the magical effects of the Insect Enslavement Bracelet to easily suppress those butterflies which could even cause difficulty to powerful Origin Kings.
From that experience, Yang Kai realized this Insect Enslavement Bracelet still had its uses even if he had yet to refine it.
It was also just a flash of inspiration when he suddenly remembered this special artifact a moment ago, and with nothing else to lose took it out to try, the effects far surpassing his expectations.
Looking at the Insect Enslavement Bracelet for a moment, Yang Kai felt a bit suspicious, because even if the Insect Enslavement Bracelet was an artifact that the Insect Emperor once possessed, and it had a natural suppressive effect on Exotic Insects, the Monster Insect Queen was not weak after all, How could it suppress it to the point where it died of a simple backlash?
Yang Kai could not figure it out.
Sometime later, he put away the Insect Enslavement Bracelet and his figure flickered, disappearing from where he stood to enter the Small Sealed World of the Sealed World Bead.
After releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai quickly found where the snow-white light which appeared from the Monster Insect Queen was.
Disappearing again, Yang Kai instantly arrived at a different place in the Small Sealed World.
Here, the mountains and rivers were serene and peaceful, with only the white light flying around aimlessly in its long sword shape.
Yang Kai decided to first conceal himself and observe to see what would happen.
Now that he had collected this thing into the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai had full control over it. Even if it had the strength of an Emperor, Yang Kai did not need to fear it.
The more he observed this thing, the more Yang Kai felt it was shaped similar to Su Yan’s Profound Frost, which also bolstered Yang Kai’s previous speculations about Ice Heart Valley’s Ancestral Founder Bing Yun.
“Is it the Soul of that Monster Insect Queen?” Yang Kai thought secretly but soon dismissed the idea. This sword-shaped snow-white light was indeed somewhat similar to a Soul, composed entirely of energy with a trace of chaotic consciousness, but it was definitely not the Soul of the Monster Insect Queen. On the other hand, Yang Kai felt an incredibly profound Sword Intent radiating from it.
[Just what the hell is this?]
After some time, Yang Kai determined that it could not pose any threat to him after this thing had left the body of the Monster Insect Queen, so he decided to appear before it.
Just as Yang Kai appeared, the sword-shaped snow-white light suddenly pulsed, releasing rich Ice Principles and Sword Intent as it pointed its tip towards him.
“Don’t get presumptuous!” Yang Kai slowly shook his head as he stretched out his hand with a flick of his wrist controlled the surrounding Principles to shatter the Ice Principles and Sword Intent coming from the light.
Inside the Sealed World Bead, just like back on Shadowed Star, Yang Kai was the supreme master and could change anything he wanted to at will with just a single thought.
An opponent trying to fight with him here was the height of foolishness.
The strange snow-white light obviously did not realize this though and was not discouraged by Yang Kai dispelling its ultimate move so easily. Without pause, it tried again to display its Clear Sky Snowfall technique.
“Stop causing trouble!” Yang Kai spat disdainfully before reaching out and condensing a rope of pure energy that tightly bound the light.
Waving his hand once more, the shackled snow-white light immediately flew to his hand.
Yang Kai closed his eyes and began carefully probing it.
He was very curious about what this thing really was.
As time passed, Yang Kai’s calm and tranquil look gradually changed, becoming astonished, surprised, shocked… and eventually joyous.
After a long time, he opened his eyes and a look of utter disbelief covered his face as he stared down at the snow-white light that was still struggling to escape its restraints.
“A Sentient Sword Intent? Can such a thing really exist in this world?” Yang Kai was astonished.
This snow-white sword-shaped light was not the Soul of the Monster Insect Queen, nor was it the Soul of any living creature. Instead, it was formed from the residual Clear Sky Snowfall Sword Dao Secret Technique’s Sword Intent that had somehow achieved a level of independent consciousness.
In this world, not all creatures required a flesh and blood body to be considered alive and sentient.
Some trees, stones, and even Spirit Pills that absorbed enough World Energy over a long enough period of time would be able to obtain sentience. Examples of such things were the variety of World Spirit Treasures and Pill Spirits…
The world was incredibly vast, so such wonders existed.
However, Yang Kai had never imagined that the Sword Intent of a Secret Technique could also give birth to a conscious will.
This snow-white sword-shaped light was surprisingly the Sword Intent of the Clear Sky Snowfall Secret Technique which, after countless years of tempering under the rich Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles of the Ice Cliff, had obtained sentience.
To put it bluntly, this was a living Sword Intent!
Just how profound a comprehension of the Sword Dao did the master who unleashed this Secret Technique possess to allow the mere Sword Intent of it to produce such a bizarre evolution?
However, this also explained in a certain sense why it couldn’t bring out the real power of an Emperor.
The Monster Insect Queen had died long ago, likely killed by that very Emperor in a single move, and only because of the special environment and its strong body did it manage to maintain its original form. Afterwards, the Sword Intent that lingered in its fatal wound had given birth to a chaotic will and instinctively attached itself to the Monster Insect Queen.
This was not like seizing control of a body by consuming and replacing its Soul, but rather like controlling the body of the Monster Insect Queen as a puppet, making it impossible to draw out its full power.
This also explained why it could only use Clear Sky Snowfall, and all its techniques seemed to be variations of this Secret Technique.
Fundamentally this Sentient Sword Intent was the essence of Clear Sky Snowfall, so aside from Clear Sky Snowfall, it naturally did not know anything else.
What’s more, it obviously had not completely integrated with the Monster Insect Queen, so under the suppression of the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, it was directly driven out of its body. Suddenly being separated from this Sentient Sword Intent, the Monster Insect Queen’s body lost all ability to control the attack it was condensing at that moment, so experiencing a total backlash was understandable.
Many of the incomprehensible events from earlier became clear after Yang Kai learned about the true nature of this snow-white sword-shaped light.
Looking down at the struggling Sword Intent in his hand, Yang Kai knit his brow.
Undeniably, this was a very precious treasure.
After all, it was a Sentient Sword Intent, so if it could be refined and consumed, it would be the equivalent of comprehending an Emperor Realm master’s full understanding of this Secret Technique.
Even Yang Kai was a little moved.
Although he currently had many Secret Techniques, having one more would boost his options when facing enemies in combat.
However… if he wanted to use such a Secret Technique, he needed to first cultivate an Ice Attribute Secret Art or be able to manipulate Ice Principles. Yang Kai did not have the slightest experience controlling Ice Attribute Energy, so even if he were to refine this Sentient Sword Intent, he would be unable to use Clear Sky Snowfall to any reasonable degree.
[It would be wonderful if Su Yan was here!] Yang Kai sighed.
He could not refine it, but he couldn’t let it remain in the Small Sealed World either; after all, his medicine garden was inside this Small Sealed World with all the herbs and spirit medicines he had accumulated. If this unruly fellow were to find the medicine garden and freeze everything inside it, Yang Kai would have nowhere to cry.
[How troublesome!]
Yang Kai frowned as he was unable to refine this thing, unable to let it stay, and unwilling to simply throw it away. Scratching his head for a while, he could not come up with a good solution to the problem at hand.
Just when he was feeling at his wit’s end, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
Yang Kai immediately smiled and carefully began to consider the possible gains and losses.
A moment later, he made up his mind and felt that this was indeed a good idea. Not only would it not waste this Sentient Sword Intent, but it could also boost his strength dramatically in the short run.
Considering all this, he no longer hesitated and exited the Sealed World Bead.
Looking left and right, Yang Kai quickly found the carcass of the Monster Insect Queen which was riddled with the backlash from the Clear Sky Snowfall Secret Technique. Rushing over, he quickly tossed the Monster Insect Queen’s body into the Sealed World Bead before following after it.
Standing in a large clearing, the bound Sword Intent suspended nearby and the huge snow-white Monster Insect Queen in front of him, Yang Kai grinned and stretched out his hand.
Although this Sword Intent had its own consciousness, it was still in a chaotic state and was unable to communicate meaningfully. As such, it only possessed the basic instincts to fight and kill, so Yang Kai did not bother trying to reason with it and directly bound it with his Divine Sense.
Yang Kai wanted to leave his Soul Imprint on this Sword Intent.
By doing so, he would be able to command it and make it obey his instructions.
This was no different from controlling a cultivator by marking their Soul, it was just that his target this time was a chaotic consciousness, which would not actively cooperate. However, it was precisely because this Sword Intent’s sentience was so limited that Yang Kai could control it completely.
Spiritual Energy pouring out, Yang Kai tried his best to burn his will into the Sentient Sword Intent.
During the process, he encountered a lot of resistance, and Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was damaged quite a bit, but one side in this contest was acting on instinct while the other was acting purposefully. In the end, the Sentient Sword Intent was defeated by Yang Kai’s methods and successfully engraved with Yang Kai’s Soul Imprint.
Marking this Sword Intent with his Soul was only the first step.
After completing this, Yang Kai released the bindings on the Sentient Sword Intent, and it no longer displayed any hostility towards him, even giving off a feeling of intimacy instead. The white light of its long sword form hovered around Yang Kai continuously, like a newborn baby that had just opened its eyes for the first time to see its parents.
No longer did it threaten Yang Kai; rather, it obeyed all of Yang Kai’s various orders without hesitation.
Yang Kai didn’t pay it any more mind and simply let it fly around next to him before closing his eyes and restoring his Spiritual Energy.
One day later, having restored himself to his peak, Yang Kai opened his eyes and found that the Sword Intent had already stopped flying around and was now resting quietly on his shoulder.
“Come, I’ll give you a new body,” Although Yang Kai knew that there was no point in trying to communicate with it, he couldn’t help talking out loud. As soon as his words fell, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the Sword Intent before immediately reaching out with his other hand and winding several Golden Blood Threads around it.
The Sword Intent seemed to want to resist, but under Yang Kai’s reassurances, it quickly calmed down.
Soon after, the snow-white Sentient Sword Intent was wrapped up in Golden Blood Threads and a massive surge of vitality flowed into it.
Half a day later, the originally snow-white Sentient Sword Intent had taken on a vibrant golden glow. At this moment, the Sword Intent was no longer just an aggregation of pure energy, but had an obvious vitality due to the infusion of Golden Blood Threads. It was not an exaggeration to say that it now possessed its own simple body.
With the Golden Blood Threads as its physical form and the Sword Intent as its soul, this Sentient Sword Intent was now a living creature, in a sense.
Yang Kai wasn’t finished yet though, and with a thought, the golden Sword Intent flickered and shot directly into the body of the Monster Insect Queen.
Lying on the ground, the Monster Insect Queen, which had no vitality at all, immediately underwent a significant transformation. The snow-white body took on a brilliant golden glow and was rapidly being repaired under the influence of the massive amount of vitality. The original damage from the Secret Technique backlash was now being restored at a rapid rate.
There were obvious power fluctuations now emanating from the Monster Insect Queen’s body.
The white eyes which had been dull and lifeless now began to faintly glow.
Yang Kai paid close attention to the changes in the Monster Insect Queen and to the degree of integration between the Sentient Sword Intent and its former host!
The method he was displaying right now was completely different from the previous Sword Intent’s control of the Monster Insect Queen. Before, the Sword Intent had simply attached itself to this body and controlled it like a puppet.
Yang Kai was using his method of condensing Blood Beasts to integrate the Sword Intent into the Monster Insect Queen’s body.
If he was successful, Yang Kai would immediately obtain an extremely powerful Blood Beast!
As for if it failed… Yang Kai felt failure was highly unlikely.
After all, the Sword Intent already had a certain degree of compatibility with the Monster Insect Queen, so, bolstered by his means, there was almost no possibility of failure.
Time passed as the colour of the Monster Insect Queen gradually changed to a mixture of gold and white while the aura fluctuations from its physical body and Soul became more and more stable, an obvious sign that the integration was nearly complete.
Just to be safe, Yang Kai even pierced his palm and forced out a few drops of his purest Golden Blood to ensure the Monster Insect Queen’s body was fully repaired.
Suddenly, the snow-white eyes of the Monster Insect Queen glowed a profound golden light and its huge body shivered, as if the Sword Intent was becoming familiar with its newly fused body.
Stumbling up from the ground with difficulty, like a toddler trying to stand for the first time, it almost fell to the ground several times.
When it finally managed to support itself and began to slowly walk around, Yang Kai could not help laughing.
[Success!]
Although his idea was a bit outlandish, it had proved effective, in the end. Using a separate Soul and physical body, he was able to condense a complete Blood Beast!
Originally, Blood Beasts were not truly living creatures and were instead formed from dead Monster Beasts. It was a Divine Ability that attached a Golden Blood Thread to a corpse, and the requirements for materials were not too strict.
Even if the Monster Insect Queen was crawling on the ground, its body was still one and half times Yang Kai’s height and had an imposing presence. The more Yang Kai observed his latest work, the more satisfied he became with it.
He could clearly feel the chaotic will of the Sword Intent inside the Monster Insect Queen’s body still intimately tied to his Soul.
When he fought against this guy before, he had not been able to determine its full strength, so now, Yang Kai naturally wanted to see how powerful it could be.
With a thought, he instructed the Monster Insect Queen.
The Monster Insect Queen immediately stood upright and condensed Sword Qi onto its right forelimb.
With the appearance of this Sword Qi, rich Ice Principles also condensed, causing the surrounding temperature to rapidly drop and innumerable tiny snowflake-like blades to form in the air before it slashed forward, sending out a deadly barrage towards the void.
Clear Sky Snowfall!
A violent power burst out suddenly, causing the surrounding space to tremble as the World Principles became slightly disordered from the impact.
Yang Kai nodded in appreciation.
Worthy of a Sentient Sword Intent, its mastery of this Sword Dao Secret Technique had reached a Grandmaster-level; however, that wasn’t a surprise as it was originally the Sword Intent of a powerful Emperor Realm master. At this moment, using the Monster Insect Queen as a medium, it was almost as if an Emperor was personally taking action.
The power it could display was obviously reduced due to various reasons, but the profundity of the Secret Technique itself was still an astonishing sight to behold.
“About as strong as a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator’s full-powered strike?” Yang Kai frowned as he muttered to himself and stared at the Monster Insect Queen.
Yang Kai was not dissatisfied at all as his experiment had achieved the expected effect.
Although he had felt an aura close to an Emperor Realm master from the Monster Insect Queen before, after transforming it into a Blood Beast, the amount of strength it could display had dropped noticeably.
This was inevitable.
The Blood Beasts Yang Kai had condensed before were all like this.
What’s more, at this moment, the Sentient Sword Intent and Monster Insect Queen had just fused together, so it certainly wasn’t able to exert its full power yet.
After some time, the power it could display would improve, but Yang Kai estimated that the Third-Order Dao Source Realm would be its peak.
Still, it was enough!
With the support of a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master by his side, one he could order around at will, Yang Kai finally had some qualification to stand in the Star Boundary and would no longer need to be as cautious and fearful as he had been until now.
However, external forces were in the end just that, external. It was personal strength that a cultivator should always prioritise.
Yang Kai deeply understood this and thus did not put all his hopes on external boosts.
His ‘punishment’ here in the Ice Cliff had yielded great rewards.
Without even mentioning the strange Ice Flower and Ice Fruits, just this Monster Insect Queen had made Yang Kai’s stay worthwhile. On top of that, he had made a breakthrough to the Third-Order Origin King Realm here and transformed half his Saint Qi into Source Qi while simultaneously comprehending his new Nihility Secret Technique.
Yang Kai was in an excellent mood as he observed the Monster Insect Queen in front of him while thinking it would be good if he could find an Ice Attribute artifact sword.
With a proper artifact to assist it, the Sword Intent would be able to exert significantly more power in combat.
If an enemy were to suddenly face this Monster Insect Queen while it wielded a long sword and used Clear Sky Snowfall, they would definitely be stunned stupid.
Although Yang Kai had many artifacts on hand, aside from a few Emperor Artifacts, there was really nothing he used personally, and there certainly was not an Ice Attribute sword that would meet the Monster Insect Queen’s requirements.
This was not a surprise though, since how could there be any Monster Beasts who were proficient in Sword Dao Secret Techniques?
After instructing the Monster Insect Queen to continue adjusting itself inside the Small Sealed World, Yang Kai left.
There was nothing more Yang Kai needed to do as it would simply take time and accumulation for the Sentient Sword Intent and Monster Insect Queen to fully integrate. Once this process was complete, it would become a complete Blood Beast.
Yang Kai was looking forward to it.
Over the next few days, there were no more surprises. Yang Kai dug out a new cave mansion at five thousand meters below the top of the Ice Cliff and used the special environment here to temper his will.
At the same time, he immersed himself in researching his new Secret Technique Nihility.
Finally, on a certain day, Yang Kai stood at the top of Ice Cliff and looked into the distance.
If his sense of time was not wrong, his three-month confinement should be up today, so he was standing here to wait for Kou Wu to come and pick him up.
Although his confinement was over, it might cause problems for him again if he simply flew back on his own, and Yang Kai didn’t want to draw more attention to himself now, so he patiently waited.
However, to his surprise, no matter how long he stood there, Kou Wu did not appear.
It was not until the day was almost over that a small black spot appeared in the distance.
Yang Kai smiled happily as he stared outwards.
The appearance of this visitor quickly entered Yang Kai’s eyes, but rather than Kou Wu, it was a cultivator he had never met before.
Judging from the aura this person gave off, he was only a Third-Order Origin King.
The visitor stopped at a distance, apparently not intending to get too close to this dreaded Restricted Area, and as he stared in the direction of Yang Kai, he simply yelled, “Senior Brother Kou asked me to come tell you today that your confinement is over, and you can return to the Sect.”
After saying what he needed to, this man turned around and left.
Yang Kai was stunned and quickly leapt up from where he stood to chase after this man.
As a fellow Third-Order Origin King, and with the other party not flying at full speed, Yang Kai naturally caught up very quickly.
Flying forward side by side, the person frowned slightly as he quietly spread out a bit from Yang Kai.
Although Yang Kai was aware of this, he did not pay it any mind and instead cupped his fists and asked, “Dare I ask this Senior Brother’s surname?”
The man wore an impatient look and snapped, “I was just ordered to deliver a message from Senior Brother Kou. Don’t try to get friendly with me.”
This man wore a grumpy expression on his face, like Yang Kai owed him a large sum of money.
Being rebuffed so forcefully, Yang Kai felt a bit awkward but still tried to ask, “Why didn’t Senior Brother Kou come today and instead troubled Senior Brother to come in his place?”
“Senior Brother Kou was given a task and left the Sect a month ago. If you want to wait for him to pick you up, you can go back to Ice Cliff!” The man finished explaining quickly before accelerating forward, quickly throwing off Yang Kai.
The attitude of this man was quite off-putting, which made Yang Kai upset.
However, considering that most of Blue Feather Sect’s disciples did not share a harmonious relationship and the two of them didn’t have any friendship with each other or even know each other’s names, Yang Kai didn’t let it bother him.
However, Kou Wu being task to go out a month ago surprised Yang Kai quite a bit.
He wondered what kind of task would force Kou Wu to go out in such a hurry.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai did not think too much about it and just flew forward leisurely.
Ice Cliff was only ten thousand kilometres away from Blue Feather Sect’s headquarters, a relatively short distance for Yang Kai, so it did not take him long to return to the Sect.
Before flying down to his humble residence, Yang Kai released his Divine Sense and inspected the room next door.
Naturally, this was Liu Xian Yun’s residence as the two lived no more than twenty meters apart.
Inside the room, Liu Xian Yun seemed to be adjusting her breathing, but after sensing Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, she quickly opened her eyes and ran out of the room with a look of pleasant surprise on her face, “Brother Yang, you’re back?”
She had been alone for the past few months and was feeling a bit isolated and helpless here in Blue Feather Sect as it was an unfamiliar place to her.
Although she had not known Yang Kai for a long time, because the two shared similar fates and backgrounds, she still had a sense of intimacy with him that was only enhanced by Yang Kai being so kind and good to her.
When she learned that Yang Kai was being confined, she could not help worrying.
If something were to happen to Yang Kai on the Ice Cliff, she would really be alone from now on.
“I just returned,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“As long as you’re alright… Oh? Brother Yang, you actually made a breakthrough?” Liu Xian Yun quickly noticed Yang Kai’s breakthrough and lifted her hand to cover her mouth, her beautiful eyes flashing with surprise. After all, she had heard that the environment in Ice Cliff was extremely harsh and it was difficult for people to even survive. She had been worrying about Yang Kai’s safety, but he had now returned unscathed and actually broke through as well.
“It was just luck,” Yang Kai nodded faintly. “How have you been these past few months?”
“How else could I have been?” Liu Xian Yun smiled bitterly and shook her head, “Nothing’s happened.”
As she spoke though, she suddenly coughed slightly, and an abnormal blush appeared on her face. Although she concealed this extremely quickly, how could Yang Kai have missed it?
“You’re hurt?” Yang Kai frowned.
“I had a small accident while I was cultivating,” Liu Xian Yun replied hurriedly.
Yang Kai stared into her eyes, as if to look straight into her heart, causing Liu Xian Yun to smile forcefully, “It’s not a big deal, I just became a bit too anxious while I was meditating. I’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”
“Was it really an accident when you were cultivating?” Yang Kai’s voice gradually became cold. Liu Xian Yun was a Third-Order Origin King, and although it wasn’t unheard of for Cultivation Dissonance to occur during a retreat, that was only under the premise that someone was in secluded retreat and made a mistake while comprehending some profound Secret Technique or Art.
How could Liu Xian Yun have been so reckless to enter a secluded retreat in this unfamiliar, almost hostile environment?
“Why would I need to lie about this?” Liu Xian Yun said anxiously, “I wanted to enter retreat to comprehend the mysteries of the Dao Source Realm a few days ago, but I didn’t expect my strength wasn’t sufficient…”
“I’m not a naïve child, tell me the truth,” Yang Kai interrupted her explanation.
Liu Xian Yun opened her mouth to say something, but soon let out a sigh before lowering her head, “Brother Yang, just let this matter drop. Right now, Protector Bian and Senior Brother Kou are not in the Sect. If we stir up trouble, it won’t end well.”
“Protector Bian isn’t in the Sect?” Yang Kai frowned.
“En, Protector Bian and a large number of the senior disciples left about a month ago. Senior Brother Kou was among them. I don’t know why they left. In any case, I’m really fine, it’s just a small injury. You and I are still new here, so we should tolerate what we can tolerate.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly before curling his lips and flashing a wry grin, “It’s good that you can think so, but I’m afraid some people don’t share your opinion.”
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked to the side.
Liu Xian Yun was startled but quickly reacted, following his gaze as her own became stern.
Over there, a group of four cultivators was walking over, with the one in the lead wearing a resolute and indifferent look. With his hands behind his back, he gave off an imposing aura while behind him there were three people whom Yang Kai had met before.
One of them was Chu Fei, who had been taught a harsh lesson by him in the shopping district last time. It had been three months already, but Chu Fei’s injuries had still yet to completely heal; this wasn’t a surprise though as Yang Kai had only held back just enough to not kill him last time. Even with good healing pills and Chu Fei’s own restorative abilities, healing completely in just three months was impossible. At this moment, Chu Fei had a somewhat weak air about him, with a pale complexion and slightly unsteady steps.
The other two were the ones who had been accompanying Chu Fei at the time.
The moment Yang Kai returned from the Ice Cliff, this group of people had shown up at his door, so their intentions were blatantly obvious.
Chu Fei looked at Yang Kai with deep hatred, like he was staring at his mortal enemy. Grinding his teeth, he quietly whispered to the cultivator who was walking in the forefront.
This man’s expression was cold and did not change in the slightest, but judging from Chu Fei’s flattering demeanour, it was apparent that this man’s status in Blue Feather Sect was not low; it was at least on the same level as Kou Wu’s, with strength to match.
This group walked over arrogantly while the man in the lead directed sharp eyes towards Yang Kai, obvious disdain and contempt apparent in his gaze.
After coming to a stop some ten meters away, Chu Fei looked at Yang Kai grimly before sneering, “Junior Brother Yang, I trust you’ve been well since we last met. I didn’t expect that Protector Bian locking you up in Ice Cliff didn’t take your life, it seems your luck isn’t bad.”
Yang Kai lightly chuckled as he swept his eyes over Chu Fei and said, “How are Senior Brother Chu’s injuries? Are your muscles perhaps cramped from lying in bed for so long and you came here to find Junior Brother to loosen them for you again? If that is the case, Junior Brother is happy to help.”
Chu Fei heard this and couldn’t help shivering slightly. In the battle three months ago, he had been unable to put up any resistance and was quickly knocked to the ground and beaten to a pulp. He had not only been severely wounded, but he had also lost all face. Even thinking about it now still gave him nightmares.
Realizing he had become frightened with just a few words, Chu Fei became angry out of shame and snapped, “Don’t be so full of yourself! If you know what’s good for you and cooperate, Senior Brother might spare you some pain, but if you don’t…”
“Oh…” Yang Kai exclaimed. “After not seeing you for three months, Senior Brother Chu’s courage has certainly grown a lot, I wonder why that is? Could it be… because of this Senior Brother?”
Saying so, Yang Kai turned his eyes towards the leader of this group.
Yang Kai didn’t bother acting polite as the other party was obviously here to retaliate, so acting humble would only be showing weakness.
Chu Fei and the other two Origin Kings were not of any concern to Yang Kai. Three months ago, when he was just a Second-Order Origin King, he was able to easily deal with these three, and now his strength had grown quite significantly. The only one Yang Kai had to care about was this helper they had brought.
The man’s aura was on the same level as Kou Wu’s, and if Yang Kai’s guess was right, he should be a First-Order Dao Source Realm master. This man had not said a word since he appeared, but when Yang Kai’s eyes met with his, a terrifying light flashed across them as a pure burst of Spiritual Energy shot out and stabbed towards his Knowledge Sea.
This man had directly displayed a Soul Secret Technique in an attempt to overwhelm Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea defences in one fell swoop, giving him a vicious demonstration of authority.
Yang Kai was furious.
Divine Sense attacks were extremely dangerous, and if one was not careful, they could wind up as a mindless fool. The other party’s actions were nothing less than brutal, and he obviously had no intention of holding back. This was completely different from when Yang Kai had beat up Chu Fei. No matter how heavy-handed Yang Kai was at the time, he made sure that Chu Fei would be able to recover normally if given enough time, but this man had launched an attack that could very well cause irreversible injury.
At the very least, this kind of approach would leave dark injuries on his Soul that could never be fully healed.
Infuriated, Yang Kai coldly snorted and madly mobilized his own Knowledge Sea’s, summoning up a roaring wave of Spiritual Energy to meet his opponent head-on.
Facing a Divine Sense attack that had already locked onto him, Yang Kai could not dodge and could only brutally fight back!
At the same time, inside his Knowledge Sea, a dazzling seven coloured light blossomed from the Seven Coloured Soul Warming Lotus as it began to rotate rapidly. The dazzling radiance expanded outwards and merged together with Yang Kai’s Divine Sense, further enhancing the power of his attack.
An invisible collision erupted between the two at a level of danger far greater than simply crossing swords.
The attacking man’s eyes shrank as a look of surprise and amazement flashed across his face. Obviously, he hadn’t expected Yang Kai’s Soul to be just as powerful as his own.
A moment of carelessness had caused him to suffer a small loss as his face turned pale and he felt a sharp pain in his head.
Yang Kai also did not feel any better though. Such a dangerous Divine Sense collision had obviously caused him some damage as well; however, with the protection and restorative power of his Soul Warming Lotus, he did not need to worry about this.
Even if his Soul was damaged, the Soul Warming Lotus would be able to repair it for him.
On the contrary, his opponent, who had believed he could crush Yang Kai at will, now discovered that the young man in front of him was actually able to fight him on even ground, making him curse himself for underestimating his opponent as he hurriedly tried to take back his Divine Sense.
But how could Yang Kai let him off so easily?
Relying on his higher cultivation, this man had launched a Divine Sense attack without saying a word, obviously intending to suppress him in one shot, yet now he wanted to retreat? Not if Yang Kai had anything to say about it!
Resisting the piercing ache in his mind, Yang Kai grit his teeth and forced his Divine Sense to chase after the withdrawing enemy.
The indifferent look on the man’s face finally changed, all of his previous disdain and mockery being replaced with shock and horror. Although he had only fought a single round with Yang Kai, he could now see that this young man was a madman.
Without even mentioning how this Junior Brother at the Third-Order Origin King Realm had Spiritual Energy equal to his own, just the will to risk critically injuring himself to strike back at his opponent was not something an ordinary man could achieve.
[Does this bastard… not fear death?] Deep in his heart, the man felt a deep sense of fright.
In a head-on confrontation, the stronger won.
When Yang Kai’s violent Divine Sense surged forward, crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood along the way, pursuing his opponent’s Divine Sense back to his Knowledge Sea and tearing open his defences, the man couldn’t help stumbling backwards and crying out in pain.
No longer possessing the aloof demeanour of a Senior Brother anymore, he was reduced to a simple man suffering unbearable torment.
Yang Kai also trembled as his face turned pale.
However, he grit his teeth and charged towards his enemy at remarkable speed without saying a word.
“Senior Brother Zhou Yi!” Chu Fei exclaimed in shock.
From his point of view, this Senior Brother named Zhou Yi had only stared at Yang Kai for an instant before both of them shook violently and turned pale. Senior Brother Zhou Yi had been forced to retreat several steps while Yang Kai took this opportunity to approach, a cruel and merciless light filling his eyes.
Chu Fei was still a Third-Order Origin King, so he had detected the fluctuations of Divine Sense just now, but what he could not believe was that, it was Senior Brother Zhou Yi who had actually suffered the bigger loss in that brief confrontation.
Seeing Yang Kai not retreat but instead attack, Chu Fei hurriedly shouted to warn Zhou Yi.
But how could he act in time?
As soon as his voice fell, Yang Kai had already rushed up to the cultivator named Zhou Yi and a five coloured glow from his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi covered his fists as he struck forward towards his enemy’s chest.
*Hong…*
The world vibrated fiercely as a violent force burst out and Zhou Yi was directly pounded into the ground, leaving behind a human-shaped pit as dust filled the air.
Seeing this scene, Chu Fei felt a sense of deja-vu as it was so similar to what had happened to him three months ago. Suddenly his face turned pale as he trembled in place, while his two Junior Brothers put on an even more embarrassing display as they called out in alarm and hurriedly retreated for fear of being implicated.
“How could this be?” Chu Fei was completely dumbfounded.
He thought that Yang Kai would definitely be taught a severe lesson if he invited Senior Brother Zhou Yi to avenge him, and now, with all the masters from Protector Bian’s faction out of the Sect, no one could stop him.
Today, he was going to get his revenge and humiliate Yang Kai, but how could he have anticipated that the Senior Brother he invited would be beaten to the ground by Yang Kai in a face-to-face encounter.
The bizarre scene before him caused Chu Fei to doubt his eyes.
It wasn’t until this time that Chu Fei noticed Yang Kai’s cultivation was no longer at the Second-Order Origin King Realm but had instead reached the Third-Order.
“How could he have made a breakthrough in that damned Ice Cliff?” Chu Fei’s heart shook as he realized that he had made a mistake this time.
In Blue Feather Sect, there had always been a convention. Any disciple that was confined in the Ice Cliff and did not die would become highly valued, and if that disciple was able to gain some insight or even break through in the Ice Cliff, they would immediately become an elite disciple of Sect, causing their status to soar up to the sky.
Over the years, many Senior Brothers had risen to fame because of this.
After all, the Ice Cliff was formed by an Emperor Realm master’s single strike and was suffused with profound Emperor Pressure and Ice Principles. Being able to break through in that kind of environment showed just how talented a cultivator was.
And now, Yang Kai was undoubtedly such a disciple.
If this news spread, it would definitely attract the attention of the Sect, and this Junior Brother, whom Chu Fei hated deeply, would instantly come to possess much higher status and importance than him. At that time, he would only be able to look up to Yang Kai. As for revenge, there was no need to even dream of it anymore as Yang Kai not coming to find trouble with him would be a blessing.
Many distracting thoughts passed through Chu Fei’s mind as he quickly understood that if he could not solve this matter properly today, it would become a catastrophe for him, causing him to panic internally.
Just as Chu Fei was secretly scolding Zhou Yi for being useless, a low growl filled with rage suddenly rang out, “Boy, you court death!”
This voice was filled with unspeakable hatred, like a wounded beast’s roar tinged with cold murderous intent.
Chu Fei’s eyes lit up and he was called out with joy, “Senior Brother Zhou!”
The low roar was from Zhou Yi, who had been punched into the ground by Yang Kai.
Although Yang Kai had not held back, Zhou Yi was a First-Order Dao Source Realm master, so how could he possibly be killed so easily? After becoming disoriented after his loss during their Divine Sense confrontation just now, he had been unable to prevent Yang Kai’s follow up attack in time.
Now that he had come back to his senses, he was naturally enraged.
As he shouted, he leapt up and turned a vicious glare towards Yang Kai, his eyes bloodshot as killing intent radiated from his body.
If he had only accepted Chu Fei’s request to meddle in this matter reluctantly before, after being punched by Yang Kai, he now personally wanted to butcher him.
After being beaten to such an extent by a Junior Brother who was in a lower realm, how could Zhou Yi wash off this shame with anything other than blood?
The surrounding space began to stiffen as the anger of a Dao Source Realm master was even able to affect the ambient World Principles to a certain extent. Wind began to gather towards Zhou Yi, whipping his hair into a frenzied dance as his aura continued to sharply rise.
Yang Kai tensed up as he instinctively felt a sense of crisis surge up in his heart, so he directly used his Demon Eye of Annihilation without any hesitation.
His left eye suddenly turned golden as a narrow pupil containing a mysterious and majestic power that had an incredible suppressive effect on one’s Soul burst forth.
As their eyes met, Zhou Yi could not help feeling startled because he could feel the strange force coming from this golden eye affecting his thoughts and will.
In his Divine Sense exchange with Yang Kai, he had suffered a small injury, so now facing the Demon Eye of Annihilation, he was naturally at a disadvantage.
Yang Kai seized the opportunity to display his most powerful Soul Secret Technique, “Blossoming Lotus!”
A lotus bud suddenly appeared in his left eye and in a flicker shot into Zhou Yi’s eyes.
Everything in front of Zhou Yi suddenly disappeared and all that was left was this lotus bud. The bud madly began extracting his Spiritual energy and slowly blossomed, revealing a kind of strange, deadly beauty.
Yang Kai currently had an advantage over Zhou Yi in terms of Soul cultivation, so how could he not take advantage of it? As soon as the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique came out, Yang Kai took the initiative to attack again.
Before Zhou Yi could react, Yang Kai shot out dozens of Golden Blood Threads which, under his exquisite Divine Sense control, twisted and turned into a golden net that wrapped up Zhou Yi.
This was just one of the myriad transformations possible for Yang Kai’s Golden Blood Thread.
“Dragon Transformation!” Yang Kai did not hesitate to use another Secret Technique, morphing his right arm into a vicious dragon claw before he thrust it out towards Zhou Yi’s chest.
Now that things had developed to this point, it was either Yang Kai died or Zhou Yi died. The latter’s murderous intent was not just a deterrent, it represented a real desire to kill Yang Kai.
Against someone who wanted to seriously kill him, Yang Kai would not show mercy.
“Brother Yang, don’t!” Liu Xian Yun called out in alarm from behind.
If Yang Kai really killed Zhou Yi, it would no longer be possible to resolve this matter, but as she did not have a way to calm the situation in front of her either, she could only shout instinctively.
Yang Kai turned a deaf ear to her cries as his expression remained cold and indifferent as he made his resolve to quickly kill the enemy before him.
Seeing the dragon claw about to penetrate his chest, Zhou Yi managed to shake off the influence of the Blossoming Lotus Secret Technique at the critical moment and roar, “Boy, you dare!”
With a clatter, the lotus image in Zhou Yi’s eyes shattered and his murderous intent, which had stagnated somewhat, soared upwards again. At the same time, his First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation exploded vigorously.
“Anguished Wind Palm!” Zhou Yi shouted as he stuck out a palm covered in rich Wind Attribute energy, creating a storm-like vortex that tried to chew through Yang Kai’s right arm.
*Kacha…*
A harsh grating sound echoed as the dragon scales on Yang Kai’s right arm broke apart. Even the dragon claw itself wasn’t able to maintain its shape properly.
Although the First-Order Dao Source Realm was only a single Minor Realm above Yang Kai’s current cultivation, because Zhou Yi’s Saint Qi had been completely transformed into Source Qi, his true combat power had far exceeded that of an ordinary Third-Order Origin King.
What’s more, First-Order Dao Source cultivators had touched upon the threshold Principles and could slightly mobilize them to enhance their techniques.
What Zhou Yi cultivated was undoubtedly the Wind Attribute, and his Anguished Wind Palm obviously contained all his perceptions and comprehensions of the Wind Principles.
Wind Principles were swift and flexible, so this Anguished Wind Palm was both terrifyingly fast and sharp.
Feeling the approaching murderous intent made Yang Kai’s complexion change drastically, but rather than retreating, he grit his teeth and pushed his dragon claw towards Zhou Yi’s chest with even more force.
“You…” Zhou Yi’s eyes bulged as he desperately pushed his Source Qi to protect his body, but even then, he was unable to stop Yang Kai’s sharp dragon claw.
Under the terrifying penetrating power of this dragon claw, Zhou Yi’s defences were akin to paper.
In an instant, Zhou Yi’s heart was grasped by Yang Kai!
The next moment, the Anguished Wind Palm’s attack struck Yang Kai.
However, the instant Zhou Yi’s palm was about to make contact, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly flickered and disappeared, causing the violent blast of wind to hit nothing but air.
When the lingering power of this palm dissipated, Yang Kai’s figure reappeared, as if he had never even moved.
Nihility!
By using his Nihility Secret Technique, Yang Kai had merged his body with the void temporarily, thus avoiding the majority of the Anguished Wind Palm’s power.
However, a part of the attack’s force still blasted into Yang Kai’s body, ripping into his physique and wantonly damaging his physical body.
Yang Kai’s vitality roiled in his chest and he could not stop himself from coughing up blood.
“You’re not dead?” Zhou Yi exclaimed in shock.
He was certain Yang Kai would die under his palm, after all, Yang Kai’s hand had grabbed hold of his heart, so there was no way he could dodge. Zhou Yi was sure that his Anguished Wind Palm was enough to rip apart any Third-Order Origin King in a frontal collision.
What Zhou Yi couldn’t figure out was how Yang Kai seemed to have only suffered some small injuries and not taken any major damage.
What kind of Secret Technique did he just use? This boy had somehow been able to avoid his attack without even moving, it was almost as if he didn’t exist at that moment.
In front of his simple wooden house, Yang Kai’s right arm dripped with red blood as golden blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, making for a terrifying picture as he tightly clenched Zhou Yi’s still-beating heart.
Zhou Yi was still bound tightly by the net of Golden Blood Threads as he stared at Yang Kai in front of him with dilated eyes.
Madman! This Junior Brother of his was an absolute lunatic! Zhou Yi kept screaming in his heart.
The two maintained such a stalemate, motionless.
An extremely solemn atmosphere filled the air, making it almost impossible to even breathe.
Not far away, Liu Xian Yun covered her mouth with her small hands as her beautiful eyes shook violently, while Chu Fei and the other two Origin Kings stood there gulping hard.
“Heh heh, it seems this is your loss, Senior Brother!” Yang Kai grinned suddenly.
Zhou Yi’s face twitched slightly and although he was full of unwillingness, there was no doubt that his life was currently no longer his to control.
As long as Yang Kai exerted a little bit more force, he can take his life.
“If you kill me, you’ll die too!” Zhou Yi stared at Yang Kai coldly but did not even try to beg for mercy, instead making threats.
“Are you willing to bet on that? Let’s see if I can leave this damned place after I kill you! Junior Brother may not be very strong, but he is confident in his ability to escape!” Yang grinned wickedly as Zhou Yi shut his mouth, not daring to speak for fear that this crazy Junior Brother of his would really crush his heart.
If that happened, it wouldn’t matter to him if Yang Kai lived or died because he would already be dead regardless. Everyone had only one life, so Zhou Yi didn’t dare to risk his.
“If you dare to move, I’ll kill him immediately!” Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and stared coldly at Chu Fei who seemed to be trying to escape.
Only after Yang Kai spoke, did Liu Xian Yun suddenly recover from her shock and with a flicker she arrived in front of Chu Fei to stare at him vigilantly in case he took the opportunity to escape.
Chu Fei felt like crying in anguish as he really didn’t dare to move now.
“You seem like a smart person, and obviously you don’t want to fight a battle where everyone dies in the end, right? Draw back and Senior Brother will let this matter drop,” Zhou Yi’s expression narrowed as he stared at Yang Kai in front of him and spoke.
Yang Kai snickered, “Naturally, I don’t want to die, but with things having gotten to this point, there can be no good end. Senior Brother, what do you think would be best, killing you now and fleeing… or killing you and waiting to see what punishment the Sect metes out? And do not spout any nonsense about not finding trouble with me again if I let you go, only a fool would believe such drivel.”
Zhou Yi’s face went gloomy as he did not know how to answer.
“Forget it,” Yang Kai suddenly laughed cheerfully and said. “We should settle accounts here first before discussing what comes next.”
Saying so, he turned his head and looked at Chu Fei and his minions, his eyes gradually becoming cold, “In the end, you’re the reason all of this happened. Whether it was me being confined for three months or this incident, it’s all your fault. Since that’s the case, let’s start by having you kneel down and slap yourselves while calling yourselves pigs!”
As soon as this statement came out, Chu Fei and the others’ complexions changed drastically.
“You… don’t go too far!” Chu Fei screamed. Although this place was relatively remote and there were usually very few people who came and went from here, if he really obeyed Yang Kai’s command, how would he be able to show his face in the Sect in the future? This story would immediately be passed out to every disciple and he would degenerate into a complete laughing stock.
“We’d sooner die than suffer such humiliation!” The Second-Order Origin King also yelled, his face filled with anger.
“Is that so?” Yang Kai smiled slightly before ignoring Chu Fei and the others, instead turning to look at Zhou Yi while slowly tightening his grip, “Senior Brother, Senior Brother Chu doesn’t seem to want to cooperate, so what should we do now? Junior Brother currently has his hands full and cannot force them to comply, which is annoying him greatly. If by some chance Junior Brother were to lose control and apply too much strength…”
Zhou Yi immediately began oozing big beads of sweat from his forehead. He could already feel the pressure on his heart growing stronger and stronger, causing his breathing to become a bit hurried. Quickly turning his head, he yelled at Chu Fei and the others in a panic, “The guilty must pay for their own crimes, this matter was caused by you three so you cannot just stand by and feign innocence. If I die, I die, but if I, Zhou Yi, can escape this disaster, you should understand what fate you’ll endure.”
As soon as Zhou Yi spoke, Chu Fei and the others could not help turning pale as all of them turned hate-filled yet imploring looks towards Yang Kai, as if praying he would show them mercy and spare them.
Yang Kai of course turned a blind eye to them as he continued to increase the strength of his grip.
“You haven’t kneeled down yet?!” Zhou shouted.
Chu Fei and the others didn’t dare to hesitate, and all fell to their knees, their expressions uglier than if they were about to die.
Shame, such great shame!
Regardless of anything else, they were Origin King Realm cultivators. Fighting and being injured was a common matter to them, but when had they ever been forced to kneel? Each of them cursed out Yang Kai in their hearts as they all secretly vowed to find a chance in the future to repay this humiliation a hundredfold, otherwise how could they purge the hatred in their hearts.
“Why don’t I hear the sound of faces being slapped?” Yang Kai turned his ear to the side with a puzzled look on his face.
Zhou Yi’s fierce eyes immediately floated over towards Chu Fei and others.
*Pa pa pa…*
Chu Fei and his followers lifted their hands and slapped their cheeks numbly.
“What else?” Yang Kai continued to sneer.
Chu Fei felt his blood boil as his heart seized, almost causing him to pass out from rage and making him wish he could rush out and fight Yang Kai to the death, but because of Zhou Yi’s despotic power, how could he dare show any trace of resistance?
Steeling himself, with a face as ugly as if he was crying, he began to shout.
“I am a pig, wu wu…”
With Chu Fei taking the lead, the remaining two naturally did not dare to hold their silence and so a grand spectacle played out. Three Blue Feather Sect disciples knelt on the ground, slapping themselves while calling themselves pigs. This kind of humiliation was a hundred times worse than any torture the Sect would use as punishment.
“I should not have provoked Junior Brother Yang, I am a pig!”
“I’m a pig, Junior Brother Yang, please show mercy and spare us this time.”
…
“En, very good,” Yang Kai laughed with satisfaction, “Even if things were a bit forced, it’s good.”
“Is that enough?” Zhou Yi looked at Yang Kai coldly, his teeth grinding so hard they seemed they would shatter as the hatred in his eyes was so thick it was almost tangible.
“Senior Brother, you’re really fierce!” Yang Kai immediately put on a frightened look, “Junior Brother is quite timid, so please don’t stare at him like that. If Junior Brother becomes flustered, he might accidentally crush your heart…”
Zhou Yi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, they were dull and indifferent as he quickly said, “Junior Brother Yang, it was Senior Brother that had eyes but failed to see and angered you today. We should let this matter stop here. In the end, we’re both fellow Sect Brothers, so we should not raise our hands against…”
Before he could finish speaking though, Yang Kai suddenly lifted his left hand and slapped him.
*Pa…* A blood-red palm print appeared on Zhou Yi’s cheek and even a few teeth were knocked out.
“Now you say we’re fellow Brothers? We should not raise our hands against one another? Why didn’t you think so when you tried to attack me just now!”
“You……”
“You what?” Yang Kai slapped out again. Zhou Yi instinctively wanted to resist, but feeling the grip on his heart tightening, he did not and could only receive this second slap willingly. The anger which he had just forced down was instantly rekindled and his eyes became bloodshot.
“If you utter another word, I will slap you, and if you keep staring at me like this, I’ll punch you like this,” Yang Kai punched out, hitting Zhou Yi’s eyes, blackening them.
Zhou Yi finally held his tongue, knowing that Yang Kai was completely insane and could not be provoked. Showing any signs of resistance or anger now would only cause him to suffer. With no other option, Zhou Yi simply lowered his head, so he didn’t have to look at Yang Kai. At the same time, he was already thinking up just how he would torture Yang Kai in the future to wash off this insult.
“Xian Yun, is he the one who hurt you?” Yang Kai suddenly asked an inexplicable question.
Liu Xian Yun’s expression changed, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she just nodded in the end.
It wasn’t difficult for Yang Kai to guess this; after all, he understood Liu Xian Yun’s strength well and knew it was impossible for Chu Fei to have wounded her so. The only person who had such ability was this Zhou Yi.
Yang Kai nodded indifferently before grinning, “As a Senior Brother in the Sect, not only did you not take care of your Junior Brother and Sister who were newly recruited, you deliberately bullied and oppressed them. Senior Brother Zhou Yi, you’re a true role model.”
When his words fell, Yang Kai’s left fist flew and beat Zhou Yi violently.
Zhou Yi had no ability to resist and could only endure Yang Kai’s abrupt beating.
Although Yang Kai’s cultivation was a Minor Realm lower than his own, his physical strength was extremely strong so the force behind each fist could not be ignored. As such, it was not long before Zhou Yi’s face had become swollen and bruised, deformed to the point it was miserable to look at.
Suddenly, Zhou Yi laughed coldly and said in no uncertain terms, “Boy, if you don’t kill me today, you’ll pay for this in the future.”
Yang Kai frowned, looked out into the distance thoughtfully, then coldly snorted and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to kill you before I die!”
At that moment, he had sensed a master rapidly approaching their position.
This was not a surprise, of course, as it had been some time since this incident had begun and word of it had surely spread throughout Blue Feather Sect by now, so Yang Kai expected someone to come sooner or later.
What he didn’t expect was that the master who came would be so powerful. Even from so far away, the pressure Yang Kai felt was not weaker than that of Bian Yu Qing’s.
[Which Protector has come?] Yang Kai could not stop his expression from sinking.
Soon, Liu Xian Yun also sensed the approach of this master and her beautiful eyes could not help looking at Yang Kai with worry; after all, the trouble he had gotten into was indeed a bit fierce. Meanwhile, Chu Fei and his two minions were still kneeling on the ground slapping themselves while calling themselves pigs.
A moment later, a profound streak of light appeared and came to a halt up in the sky not far from where Yang Kai and the other stood. When the light faded, a number of figures were revealed.
Terrifying coercion fell from the sky, making it difficult for everyone to breathe and causing their bodies to sink, as if a great mountain was pressing down on them.
At the head of this group was an old man with snow-white hair. Behind this old man stood several men and women of varying cultivations, some Origin Kings, some Dao Source Realms. At this moment, however, all of them wore astonished looks as they stared at the strange scene below.
After seeing this old man, Zhou Yi was overjoyed and hurriedly shouted, “Protector Miao, save me!”
[Protector Miao?] Yang Kai’s brow rose when he learned the identity of this newcomer.
Miao Qi was also one of Blue Feather Sect’s Protectors and had a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation, the same as Bian Yu, Qing Zhu and Jun Shan.
If a master at this level wanted to take Yang Kai’s life, he would likely not be able to put up any resistance.
Yang Kai did not know exactly what kind of attitude this Miao Qi would take to deal with today’s affairs and secretly made up his mind that if this old man wanted to favour Zhou Yi and suppress him, he would directly release his new Monster Insect Queen and raise as much chaos as possible.
Although the Monster Insect Queen could only exert the strength of a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator; with its solid foundation if it went all out it could at least delay Miao Qi for a while.
Yang Kai would take that opportunity to flee with Liu Xian Yun.
As for whether he could escape at that time, it would depend on his own means.
Considering all this, Yang Kai adjusted his mood and turned his eyes fearlessly towards Miao Qi.
Miao Qi seemed to be looking at Yang Kai too, and seeing the strange scene in front of him, he could not completely hide his surprise. With the difference in strength between Yang Kai and Zhou Yi, logically speaking, Yang Kai should have been subdued with ease, but it was obvious that at this moment, Zhou Yi was the one who was restrained and had lost his right to decide if he lived or died. Miao Qi could not figure out what had happened.
As for Chu Fei and his minions… they were so miserable and unsightly that Miao Qi didn’t want to spare them a second glance.
“Protector Miao, help!” Chu Fei and the others also yelled one after another. The appearance of Miao Qi gave them hope so regardless of Yang Kai’s previous threats, they hurriedly stood up from the ground with their swollen faces and begged for salvation.
Miao Qi remained indifferent, however, as he used his Divine Sense to repeatedly scan Yang Kai, seemingly trying to understand what mysteries he was hiding.
Behind him, a middle-aged man stepped forward and looking down below condescendingly, he asked coldly, “What happened here?”
Chu Fei and the others clearly recognized this man and hearing this, they quickly cupped their fists and said, “Reporting to Senior Brother Pang, I had some grievances with this Junior Brother Yang before, but today, I heard he had returned from the Ice Cliff and came here to apologize. I don’t know what kind of insanity possessed Junior Brother Yang as he suddenly struck out without warning or explanation. Before we could resist, we were made into this miserable state! Senior Brother Pang and Protector Miao must uphold justice for us.”
Chu Fei was articulate and quickly made up an excuse on the spot, pushing all the blame and fault onto Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was a bit stunned when he heard these words and could not help admiring Chu Fei’s ability to twist the truth.
Senior Brother Pang was noncommittal and with a frown asked, “Then what happened to Junior Brother Zhou?”
Chu Fei was immediately filled with righteous indignation as he pointed at Yang Kai and shouted, “Senior Brother Pang, please understand. Senior Brother Zhou was just passing by here, saw us being humiliated, and out of righteousness and compassion stepped forward to intercede, but Junior Brother Yang was treacherous and under the guise of apologizing suddenly attacked Senior Brother Zhou. Senior Brother Zhou has a kind heart and did not expect to suddenly be attacked and was caught off guard… it is all our fault; we are the ones who caused Senior Brother Zhou to fall into such a state!”
Chu Fei sobbed bitterly while he spoke, and while Zhou Yi did not say a word during the whole process, he also made an aggrieved face and cooperated with him in this face.
“Bullshit!” Liu Xian Yun could not listen to this anymore and her pretty face flushed red as she shouted, “Clearly it was you holding a grudge and coming to look for trouble with Yang Kai by taking advantage of Senior Brother Zhou Yi, but when things turned against…”
“Xian Yun, you don’t need to explain,” Yang Kai interrupted her as he turned to look at Chu Fei with a sneer before saying lightly, “Right or wrong, Protector Miao will make his own judgment.”
“But…” Liu Xian Yun wanted to say more, but seeing the firm look in Yang Kai’s eyes, she simply sighed and stood down.
She and Yang Kai both knew that if this Protector Miao favoured Chu Fei and Zhou Yi, even if Chu Fei’s lies were exposed, Protector Miao would not care. If on the other hand Protector Miao was a fair and just man, there was no need to explain anything.
Everything would depend on Miao Qi’s attitude!
“No need to explain? That must mean you have a guilty conscience! Senior Brother Zhou’s life is being held in your vicious hands, what is there not to explain?” Chu Fei changed his previous cowardly appearance and became impassioned as if the Heavens themselves had wronged him.
Yang Kai just sneered.
The Senior Brother Pang up in the sky frowned and said with disgust, “Shut up!”
Chu Fei hurriedly shut his mouth.
Senior Brother Pang looked at Yang Kai and said lightly, “Are you the disciple who has just joined the Sect?”
“Yes, Yang Kai greets Senior Brothers and Protector Miao. Please forgive this disciple for not giving a proper salute as his hands are currently a bit preoccupied,” Yang Kai replied in a neither humble nor arrogant demeanour while maintaining his previous posture.
Senior Brother Pang sneered, “I’ve heard about you, your courage truly isn’t small. You only just entered the Sect and have already stirred up so much trouble. It seems that Yan Xiu Ran suffered the loss of his Treasure Seizing Snake at your hands and you even committed a big enough mistake to be confined in the Ice Cliff by Protector Bian. Now you’ve just returned, and this is the mess you make?”
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly before snorting coldly, “The tree simply wishes for quiet, but the wind continues to howl!”
“Bold!” Senior Brother Pang snapped, “A little brat who only just joined the Sect dares to disregard the rules and caused trouble everywhere, it seems you have no redeeming values!”
Yang Kai’s face became cold as he solemnly said, “Isn’t Senior Brother Pang being too biased here, not understanding the whole story but already rendering judgement about me?”
“Senior Brother is teaching you for your own good, yet you dare argue back?” Senior Brother Pang looked angry as his Source Qi flared up, like he was ready to attack Yang Kai.
Yang Kai’s heart sank seeing this. If the attitude of this Senior Brother Pang represented the attitude of Protector Miao, then today things would not be settled peacefully.
Just as he was preparing to summon the Monster Insect Queen and run rampant, Protector Miao waved his hand gently.
The furious Senior Brother Pang bowed his head and restrained his Source Qi fluctuations before stepping back docilely.
Miao Qi’s gaze swept across Yang Kai before landing on Zhou Yi, at which point he coldly declared, “Waste!”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi could not help turning pale.
He could naturally hear the deep dissatisfaction and disappointment in Miao Qi’s voice; after all, it was a fact that he was suppressed by Yang Kai, and nothing he said would be able to justify it.
Being defeated and held hostage by a Junior Brother at the Third-Order Origin King Realm was certainly a performance worthy of such an evaluation.
Zhou Yi realized that, no matter what, he would not be able to rise up in the Sect again from now on, causing both a sense of profound loss and infinite hatred to well up inside him.
If it were not for Yang Kai, how could Miao Qi have judged him so? Lowering his head, Zhou Yi grit his teeth and said nothing, but the extreme rage in his eyes could not be concealed.
At this time, Protector Miao turned back to Yang Kai and declared, “No matter what happened here today, everyone belongs to the same Sect, and since this old master has encountered this situation, he cannot just ignore it. Imprison all of them and throw them into the Bone Prison. Once Protector Bian returns, she can deal with it.”
After rendering his judgement, Miao Qi turned around and left.
Senior Brother Pang bowed and acknowledged Miao Qi’s orders.
After Miao Qi left, Senior Brother Pang turned around and yelled, “Did you not hear Protector Miao’s words?!”
Chu Fei and his followers stood frozen on the spot, with bitter, defeated looks on their faces, not having expected Protector Miao to handle today’s affairs in such a manner.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, looked happy because as long as Miao Qi didn’t directly attack him, there was still room for him to manoeuvre.
This was undoubtedly the best result Yang Kai could have hoped for.
Grinning, he called out, “Senior Brother Pang, it’s not that Junior Brother doesn’t want to obey Protector Miao’s command, but just look at Senior Brother Zhou’s eyes. Junior Brother is afraid if he releases him now, he will immediately attack… If that happens, heh heh, Junior Brother is quite weak and couldn’t possibly resist.”
“Still trying to act smart!?” With a cold snort, Senior Brother Pang assumed an air of authority and declared, “Rest assured, since Protector Miao has spoken, Zhou Yi would not dare disobey. Just let him go.”
“Since Senior Brother Pang has said so, Junior Brother will obey,” Yang Kai smiled and retracted his Golden Blood Threads and took his hand out from Zhou Yi’s chest, bringing with him a big splash of fresh blood.
At that last moment, Yang Kai also secretly urged his strength to explode inside Zhou Yi’s body, causing some damage.
Zhou Yi couldn’t help coughing up a mouthful of blood as he grit his teeth and glared at Yang Kai, “You…”
“Sorry, did I act too quickly? Should I insert my hand again and try once more?” Yang Kai asked innocently.
Zhou Yi nearly choked on his rage as he shouted, “You best pray you don’t fall into my hands one day, otherwise, you will definitely wish you had died here today!”
“Senior Brother Pang, he’s threatening me!” Yang Kai yelled immediately with a look of panic on his face.
Senior Brother Pang naturally ignored him and formed a series of seals with his hands before palming towards everyone present with an unhappy expression, including Liu Xian Yun.
The six people involved in today’s incident all had their cultivators sealed.
“Come with me!” Senior Brother Pang looked extremely impatient, wrapped everything in his Source Qi, and flew off in the direction of the Bone Prison with a wave of his hand.
In front of the Bone Prison, Yan Xiu Ran was still standing guard, and when he saw Senior Brother Pang arrive, he promptly greeted him with a smile.
Senior Brother Pang nodded lightly before saying, “Lock up these troublemakers and be sure to watch them carefully.”
“Yes,” Yan Xiu Ran replied before sweeping his eyes around, the next moment gawking as he pointed at Yang Kai, an expression of anger filling his face as he yelled, “It’s you… you bastard!”
“Heh heh, Senior Brother Yan, we meet again,” Yang Kai greeted him with a warm smile on his face.
Yan Xiu Ran couldn’t help his face from going cold as he snorted, “Good, good, good, I didn’t expect you to return to the Bone Prison so soon. Senior Brother will definitely entertain you well this time.”
“Then I’ll be imposing on Senior Brother’s hospitality,” Yang Kai spoke happily, as if he was not even afraid of death, causing Senior Brother Pang to shake his head in frustration once again.
It had only been four months since Yang Kai came to Blue Feather Sect, and this was his second time entering the Bone Prison.
However, the situation this time was quite different. The first time he had been caught and detained, but the second time it was a real punishment.
He and Liu Xian Yun were locked inside the same cell while Zhou Yi, Chu Fei and the others were locked up in a cell adjacent to them. They were so close that Yang Kai could still feel their hate-filled gazes, even in the darkness.
Yang Kai naturally ignored them.
Sitting down cross-legged on the damp ground, Yang Kai frowned.
Blue Feather Sect may not be a place he could remain any longer. He and Liu Xian Yun had joined this Sect temporarily because they were forced to do so. They had no sense of belonging to this place, and after so many incidents had occurred, Yang Kai did not want to remain either.
If he continued to stay here, perhaps one day he would find himself in real trouble. Yang Kai knew that his current strength was not very high, and although he was able to turn all danger into safety so far, that had more to do with luck than skill. A single mistake and his Martial Dao would come to end.
Yang Kai felt especially strong about this after he saw Yan Xiu Ran, Zhou Yi, and the others talking sneakily just now and sneering at him before they were locked up. Yang Kai knew they were plotting something and would probably even try to stealthily kill him inside this place.
Yang Kai did not plan on just sitting still and waiting for trouble to come.
Now that Protector Bian and Kou Wu were not in the Sect, as long as these people cleaned up the aftermath slightly, they would definitely not suffer any real consequences.
Besides, even if Bian Yu Qing came back, as a woman who was subject to shifting moods, it was not even certain she would stand by his side. She had thrown him into the Ice Cliff once already, not out of kindness, but more as a test of his potential!
If he had died, she would definitely not care, if he survived, she may pay a bit more attention to him, but not to the point where she would do everything in her power to protect him.
After making up his mind, Yang Kai quietly began to contact the master he had once met here.
“Senior… Senior Wu…. Senior Wu Meng Chuan…”
Yang Kai kept calling out softly.
However, to his surprise, he did not get any response.
When Yang Kai was first imprisoned in the Bone Prison, Wu Meng Chuan had taken the initiative to call out to him and said he could pass him the method to break the seal on his cultivation, but Yang Kai was completely unfamiliar with Blue Feather Sect at that time, so he didn’t dare to act rashly lest he be used as a pawn without him knowing.
If he wanted to leave Blue Feather Sect today though, he needed to take advantage of Wu Meng Chuan’s ability.
If he was really a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master, releasing him would definitely cause a giant commotion he could use as cover to escape together with Liu Xian Yun.
But now, the other party wasn’t responding, so Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering if Blue Feather Sect had moved him somewhere else or if the other party was already dead.
Yang Kai didn’t become discouraged though and kept trying.
Finally, after two full hours, a well-concealed Divine Sense fluctuation passed a message to Yang Kai’s ear.
“Brat, it’s you again! Did you get locked up again?” Wu Meng Chuan’s voice was filled with surprise.
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “Senior doesn’t need to laugh. But Senior, why did you not respond for so long? I thought Senior was no longer here.”
Wu Meng Chuan’s hoarse laughter rang out, “The Spiritual Energy I can use each day is limited, only enough to communicate like this for half an hour or so, so I dare not use it lightly.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded slightly, not doubting his explanation.
“Kid, why are you trying to contact this old master? Are you prepared to cooperate with this old master?” Wu Meng Chuan’s emotions became vaguely agitated; after all, he had been locked up here for several years so after finding an appropriate helper, he naturally didn’t want to let go of this chance.
If he missed this opportunity, he did not know whether he would be able to escape the Bone Prison in his lifetime.
Yang Kai knit his brow and replied, “I’m fine with cooperating, and can even agree to help Senior escape from here, but… What benefits can Senior give me? After all, Junior doesn’t want to simply act for free.
“What benefits do you want? This old master will speak the truth with you: Right now this old master only has his life, so even if he promises you anything, he might not be able to deliver it. However, if you trust this old master, once he is free, this old master will give you anything you desire!” Wu Meng Chuan quickly said.
Yang Kai curled his lips and said with a casual look on his face, “Then Senior, do you have some powerful Secret Arts or Techniques? Just give me one of those.”
“You want a Secret Technique?” Wu Meng Chuan asked rhetorically before going silent.
Yang Kai did not worry and just waited quietly.
The reason why he made this request was just as a casual front, because even if Wu Meng Chuan said he would not give him anything, Yang Kai would still have to cooperate with him to survive. As such, Yang Kai simply wanted to give this request a try, and judging from this silence, it seemed like there was hope of success.
This made Yang Kai realize that Wu Meng Chuan really could not wait to leave this place, and his help was absolutely necessary! Otherwise, there would be no need to seriously consider his rude request.
Was Wu Meng Chuan really going to agree with his opening bid? Yang Kai suddenly had such a thought in his mind, but quickly rejected it.
The opponent’s strength was so high that if he annoyed him, Yang Kai would probably be the first to die if he did release him.
After a while, Wu Meng Chuan seemed to make a decision, laughed wickedly, and said, “Good, since you want to learn a Secret Technique, this old master will pass you his most powerful one! With the help of this Secret Technique, climbing to the Emperor Realm in the future will be completely possible! Here, take it!”
When the words fell, a wave of information flooded into Yang Kai’s Knowledge Sea. Yang Kai simply let go of his Knowledge Sea defences and accepted this stream of Spiritual Energy.
This message contained two Secret Techniques, one of which was the one to lift the seal on his cultivation, while the other was the ‘benefit’ Wu Meng Chuan gave to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai quickly began inspecting his gains.
Wu Meng Chuan’s voice sounded again a moment later, with a hint of exhaustion clear in his tone, “Boy, this old master is counting on you. Lift the seal on your cultivation as soon as possible then help this old master escape.”
After saying so, he fell silent. It seemed that using his Spiritual Energy to send that message just now had tired him out, so when Yang Kai tried to call out to him again, Wu Meng Chuan did not respond.
Realizing this, Yang Kai focused on investigating the two Secret Techniques Wu Meng Chuan had given him. Needless to say, the Secret Technique to lift the seal on his cultivation wasn’t very profound, and after reading it a few times, Yang Kai had already mastered it. All that was required was for him to stimulate and move his strength in a certain manner to slowly break down the seal.
As for the other Secret Technique, it had an extremely strange name.
Heaven Devouring Battle Law!
Yang Kai didn’t have much time to study and comprehend this technique carefully so he simply browsed through it.
Soon though, a look of shock filled his face.
He had thought that Wu Meng Chuan would casually give himself a Secret Technique to satisfy him, and his claims about it being his most powerful and profound method were all just lies.
Who would teach a stranger their best Secret Technique for no reason?
But now it seemed… What Wu Meng Chuan said was most likely true.
This Heaven Devouring Battle Law was not exactly a Secret Technique but was actually closer to a Secret Art, and an extremely profound one at that. By cultivating this Secret Art, one could swallow and refine almost anything that contained aura, just like a Spirit Devouring Monster Insect, allowing one’s strength to grow extremely rapidly.
This Secret Art was divided into several parts, and the most profound actually detailed how to cultivate it in the Emperor Realm.
Yang Kai’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he read through this Secret Art.
Including information on the Emperor Realm meant that this Heaven Devouring Battle Law was truly a Secret Art one could use to cultivate to the Emperor Realm. The value of such a set of Secret Arts was inestimable, and it would definitely cause a reign of chaos and blood as people tried to snatch it if it were to appear in the Star Boundary.
Yang Kai was deeply shocked and had to check it several times before finally confirming he was not mistaken.
While greatly shocked, he was also equally suspicious.
How could Wu Meng Chuan impart such a miraculous Secret Art to him without any hesitation? Even if he needed help from Yang Kai, a master like Wu Meng Chuan wouldn’t act so generously. What kind of evil intent was he hiding?
This wasn’t just Yang Kai being overly suspicious and pessimistic about the situation, it was simply natural to think this way after such a treasure was simply tossed into his lap.
Yang Kai secretly guessed that this Secret Art either required some kind of special innate talent to cultivate, or if it could be cultivated by anyone, it had enormous drawbacks!
He was more inclined to believe the latter possibility.
As for what the consequences of trying to cultivate this Secret Art were, Yang Kai had no way of guessing for now.
Temporarily setting this Heaven Devouring Battle Law aside, Yang Kai began to comprehend the Secret Technique that lifted his sealed cultivation.
This seal was placed on him by a First-Order Dao Source cultivator, Senior Brother Pang, so there were some specific steps Yang Kai needed to take to lift it. If he tried to break through it forcibly, not only would he suffer backlash from the seal itself, he would likely harm himself in the process as well.
Yang Kai was not a new or inexperienced cultivator anymore, so he understood what he needed to do.
As such, he mentally prepared himself for a long and arduous struggle.
What shocked him though was that, less than an hour later, after following the steps outlined in the Secret Technique provided by Wu Meng Chuan, the seal on his body already began showing signs of loosening and his strength was starting to return.
This discovery surprised Yang Kai and he secretly guessed whether Wu Meng Chuan was a master from Blue Feather Sect in the past. Otherwise, how could he be so familiar with the method to remove the seal its disciples used to imprison others?
However, if Wu Meng Chuan was a master from Blue Feather Sect, why was he imprisoned in the deepest part of the Bone Prison?
This puzzled Yang Kai somewhat, but he didn’t spend much time agonizing over it. In his current situation, the sooner his seal was lifted, the better.
The aura fluctuations that gradually surged from his body could not be concealed from Liu Xian Yun who was so close by.
When she noticed this, Liu Xian Yun immediately covered her red lips with her hands and looked at Yang Kai in shock, unable to believe he was forcibly trying to break through a seal planted by a Dao Source Realm master and that he was having such success.
In order to avoid being caught by others, Liu Xian Yun took the initiative to sit cross-legged in front of Yang Kai to block his figure from view.
However, this could only delay matters slightly.
As Yang Kai’s aura fluctuations became more and more obvious, Zhou Yi and the others who were imprisoned nearby also began to take notice.
One by one, they climbed up from the ground and looked suspiciously towards Yang Kai’s location.
After they determined that Yang Kai was trying to lift the seal on him, Zhou Yi couldn’t help shouting, “Boy, you dare!? Are you not afraid of the rules!”
Chu Fei also called out, “Yang Kai, you’re dead, you’re so dead! You dare try to lift the seal on you by force? That’s no different from not putting Protector Miao in your eyes! No one can save you now, you will have to face Protector Miao’s fury!”
Clearly taking pleasure in Yang Kai’s coming misfortune, Chu Fei wore a big grin as if he could not wait to see Yang Kai being tortured to death for his crimes.
But soon, his smile became stiff as very soon, the aura fluctuations coming from Yang Kai’s body became more and more apparent.
On the surface of his body, a rope-like chain of glowing runes appeared and began to flicker, looking like they would collapse at any moment.
The seal was about to be broken!
“How is that possible?” Chu Fei was shocked.
Yang Kai was just a Third-Order Origin King, and with his cultivation being sealed by a restriction that Senior Brother Pang had planted himself, it should be impossible for him to break free so easily.
“Not good!” Zhou Yi’s thoughts were sharper and quickly realized that, with the blood feud between him and Yang Kai already forged, if Yang Kai really was able to regain his cultivation and escape from the Bone Prison, the first one to die would undoubtedly be him!
What’s more, he was already seriously wounded right now, and his cultivation was sealed, so he wouldn’t even be able to fight back! Death was all but certain!
Realizing this, Zhou Yi’s face suddenly became panicked as he shouted loudly, “Junior Brother Yan!”
But as soon as he spoke, a popping sound rang out as the rune chain winding around Yang Kai’s body exploded into a million points of light and disappeared, while the aura of a Third-Order Origin King flared up.
Yang Kai stood up, and before Zhou Yi could shout a second time, he slammed his fist into the bone bars.
With a clatter, bone chips flew out and Yang Kai sprang out of his cell like a beast that had just been set free. Arriving in front of Zhou Yi at lightning speed, he reached out a hand and grabbed his neck tightly.
Zhou Yi went stiff and was unable to move. His eyes were filled with horror as he shivered while staring at Yang Kai who was right in front of him. No sound was able to escape from his mouth as the grip on his throat was choking the air from him.
Chu Fei and the others were so shocked that they backed away a few steps before falling on their butts.
Yang Kai stared at Zhou Yi indifferently before slowly forming a cruel grin on his lips.
“Junior Brother Yang…” Zhou Yi desperately managed to squeeze out a few hoarse words as he stared at Yang Kai imploringly and said with difficulty, “You don’t really want to kill me. Senior Brother indeed did something wrong before, but you and I are both fellow Sect Brothers… Forgive me, I’ll apologize to you! I won’t leak a word of what happened today, it’s still not too late for you to stop.”
“Do you think that’s possible? Fool!” Yang Kai looked at him contemptuously before exerting a slight force on his hand.
With a crack, Zhou Yi’s neck was snapped and twisted crookedly. Yang Kai then snatched his Space Ring before tossing away the lifeless corpse.
Not even bothering to check the contents, Yang Kai simply stuffed it into his pocket.
Inside the cell, Chu Fei and the others were already shivering violently. Laying limp on the ground, the trio watched Zhou Yi die in front of him and immediately understood that they were next. Looking at Yang Kai in a panic, endless regrets flooded their hearts.
They had not expected that after offending Yang Kai, their final outcome would be like this.
“Junior Brother Yang, forgive me! Senior Brother was wrong, please spare us!” Chu Fei cried and begged loudly for mercy.
Yang Kai just stared at him coldly, his eyes filled with contemptuous disgust. Stretched out his hand, a Golden Blood Thread flew out and struck Chu Fei’s forehead.
A small, red dot appeared on Chu Fei’s forehead as he went stiff, paralyzed in place, the light of vitality quickly disappearing from his eyes.
The Golden Blood Thread flew out again and passed through the heads of the remaining two one after another, reaping their lives before immediately snatching their Space Rings.
After finishing this, Yang Kai turned his head and said, “Xian Yun, you stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Liu Xian Yun looked astonished; after all, from feeling the surge of power from Yang Kai’s body as he lifted the seal to him killing Zhou Yi and the other three, everything happened too fast.
Before she could even react, Yang Kai had finished everything.
Liu Xian Yun quickly realized that Yang Kai was going to flee from Blue Feather Sect today, otherwise, he would not have acted so ruthlessly. She did not have any opinion about this though as her feelings towards Blue Feather Sect were the same as Yang Kai’s.
If she had not been forced, how could she have inexplicably joined this Sect?
She did not have the slightest hesitation to abandon Blue Feather Sect, but she was worried that the two of them wouldn’t have the necessary strength to cut open a bloody path to freedom.
At this moment, when Yang Kai said he had somewhere to go, she couldn’t help asking for more details.
Yang Kai didn’t have time to explain and simply gave her a comforting look before his figure flashed and he entered the depths of the Bone Prison.
He didn’t know what the depths of the Bone Prison looked like, but the place where Wu Meng Chuan was being imprisoned was undoubtedly the most fortified location.
Yang hurriedly deeper into the prison, the cave itself becoming darker and damper as he walked. There were a number of obvious and concealed energy fluctuations around him, obviously coming from powerful Spirit Arrays that would lead to dreadful consequences once touched.
What surprised Yang Kai was that all the cultivators imprisoned in the Bone Prison looked at him indifferently, none of them even making any noise, as if they had already anticipated his arrival.
Some people were even guiding his way forward, allowing him to safely avoid the location where there were barriers and Spirit Array traps.
[These people… should be with Wu Meng Chuan!] Yang Kai figured they had been instructed by Wu Meng Chuan, so they were not surprised to see him arrive and even took the initiative to guide him.
Yang Kai observed secretly and was shocked to find that there were at least several dozen cultivators imprisoned in the depths of this Bone Prison, and although their cultivations were sealed, Yang Kai could still tell that they were not simple.
Each of these people gave Yang Kai an intimidating feel, indicating they were almost all Dao Source Realm experts.
[What exactly is Wu Meng Chuan’s origins? Who are all these people? Why had they been locked up here?]
Yang Kai had all kinds of doubts in his heart and faintly felt there was some kind of big conspiracy and secret behind this Blue Feather Sect.
After proceeding more than a thousand metres into the depths of the Bone Prison, Yang Kai arrived at its end.
Here, there was only a single cell made from some unknown material with only a single, small window one could look into, but thanks to the darkness, there was nothing to behold.
However, Yang Kai could still clearly feel that there was a life aura inside, one that seemed quite faint, however, and quite unlike what a powerful Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator should have.
“Boy, you made it here quite quickly. It seems your aptitude is even more astonishing than this old master imagined!” Wu Meng Chuan’s hoarse voice came out from the cell in front of him, tinged with surprise.
“Senior Wu?” Yang Kai asked tentatively.
“Indeed.”
“What should I do now?” Yang Kai asked hurriedly. Whether he could safely escape from Blue Feather Sect today or not would depend entirely on how powerful the man imprisoned here was, so Yang Kai naturally did not want to delay.
“I’ll teach you the method to unlock this cell now,” Wu Meng Chuan’s voice came out before a burst of Divine Sense flew towards Yang Kai’s forehead.
Yang Kai frowned but did not resist as he carefully accepted this technique.
This method was somewhat similar to the Secret Technique used to lift the seal on his own cultivation, but was more complicated.
Fortunately, Yang Kai easily comprehended it with his previous experience and got to work after half a stick of incense.
As Qi burst from Yang Kai’s body and rushed into the door in front of him, a clicking sound echoed as the invisible Spirit Arrays and barriers were slowly cracked.
A short time later, Yang Kai lifted his palm and patted the prison door.
A brilliant flash burst from the cell door as the last of the barriers was broken.
Wu Meng Chuan’s excited voice came out again, “Good, good, you are indeed the one this old master was waiting for. Now come and help this old master pull out these damn Spirit Suppressing Gold chains so this old master can regain his freedom!”
His voice was feverish with expectation, and even seemed to contain a trace of madness.
This made Yang Kai hesitate a little, not knowing if what he was doing was right or not. Perhaps, he was about to release a terrible monster that would bring about great consequences to him in the future.
But in this situation, he did not have any options, so after only a slight pause, he set his concerns aside.
Pushing open the cell door, Yang Kai was finally able to take a look inside with the help of the prison’s dim light.
After seeing Wu Meng Chuan’s appearance, Yang Kai could not help narrowing his eyes.
On the opposite wall was a human-shaped creature, but it seemed that all his limbs were pinned in place, so he could only maintain a limp posture.
It was impossible to see the original appearance of this humanoid creature as, currently, there was almost no meat on his bones, his cheeks were sunk in, and his sparse hair was a complete mess.
It was not much of an exaggeration to say he was a living corpse, without any life aura at all. Yang Kai couldn’t even tell if his blood was still flowing.
Even so, his eyes were extremely bright, almost burning with ravenous flames that would terrify any who stared into them.
“Senior Wu?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Heh heh heh…” The skinny old man who was pinned to the wall grinned, “There’s no need to doubt little boy, this old master is Wu Meng Chuan!”
“You’re…” Yang Kai could not bear to describe it. How much hatred did Wu Meng Chuan have with Blue Feather Sect for them to torture him to such an extent?
“This is the result of persecution, this old master could only endure the humiliation to survive,” Wu Meng Chuan said in a low voice that sounded akin to the wailings of a ghost.
“There are people already coming, quickly now!” Wu Meng Chuan’s expression suddenly turned cold as he called out sharply.
Yang Kai also noticed the sound of someone walking in from the entrance of the Bone Prison and did not hesitate anymore. Rushing over to Wu Meng Chuan’s side, he reached out to grab hold of the spike driven through his right hand.
This spike was probably made from Spirit Suppressing Gold since Yang Kai felt all the Qi in his body stop flowing when he grasped it, making it impossible for him to circulate his cultivation.
“Just use your raw strength!” Wu Meng Chuan reminded him.
Yang Kai nodded and the muscles on his arms bulked up before he unleashed the explosive power within them.
With a sharp scraping sound, the spike was pulled out, bringing with it a splash of black blood. This blood was thick and sticky, obviously having been dried out for quite some time, taking on a colour normal blood should not have.
Yang Kai quickly repeated the process on all the spikes driven through Wu Meng Chuan’s limbs.
Once the last spike was pulled out, the old man nailed to the wall fell and collapsed on the ground, seemingly panting, but still releasing wicked cackling laughter from his lips.
He was still wrapped in a chain forged from Spirit Suppressing Gold, one that was extremely strong. Yang Kai tried to pull it apart but quickly discovered that he could not break it so easily. In the end, Yang Kai used his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi to finally gain enough power to wrench apart the chain.
His Five Elements Indestructible Sword Qi was from his Body Tempering Secret Art, so it was not affected by the Spirit Suppressing Gold.
Having regained his freedom, Wu Meng Chuan stood up unsteadily, his green eyes flashing as he smiled slowly and with no small amount of madness he shouted, “Zhu Jun Shan, Bian Yu Qing, Miao Qi, Tong Cong! Are you prepared to withstand the anger of this old master?”
Yang Kai’s heart clenched slightly when he heard the four names Wu Meng Chuan mentioned as they were none other than the four Protectors of Blue Feather Sect. Obviously, Wu Meng Chuan had some kind of unforgivable hatred with these four people. It was also likely that Wu Meng Chuan was tortured into his current pitiful state by these four people.
However…
Wu Meng Chuan was barely even alive right now, yet just after regaining his freedom he actually dared to utter such a shameless boast! From Yang Kai’s perspective, his thoughts were a little too unrealistic.
He even regretted not escaping here the first chance he got after he unsealed his cultivation and instead wasted precious time rescuing this old man.
However, it was too late to regret now, so after a quick thought, Yang Kai said, “Senior, our transaction has been completed. Junior has no reason to stay here any longer, so he wishes you luck and will take his leave!”
Saying so, he turned around and prepared to escape.
Wu Meng Chuan gave a low laugh as he gave Yang Kai a sidelong glance and asked, “What’s wrong? Do you think that this old master is not the opponent of those four?”
Yang Kai frowned and said, “It’s not that Junior doesn’t trust Senior, it’s just that in your current state…”
“Hmph!” Wu Meng Chuan snorted before waving his emaciated hand and declaring, “Follow this old master, this old master will let you understand.”
Seeing his calm and confident demeanour stunned Yang Kai for a moment and made him wonder just what this old man was going to do next. However, this old man was clearly not someone who easily gave up on life, so Yang Kai could only restrain his anxiety and follow after him.
Soon, the two arrived at the cells where the many cultivators had been detained.
After seeing Wu Meng Chuan, the cultivators who had just guided Yang Kai before became excited and gathered at the fronts of their cells while staring towards Wu Meng Chuan eagerly.
Wu Meng Chuan stood in the hallway and looked around, a burst of low laughter suddenly escaping from his lips as he slowly lifted his dry hands. The next moment, an inexplicable suction force gushed out from his thin body.
Yang Kai was shocked when this happened as, at this moment, he actually felt his Knowledge Sea become turbulent, as if something was pulling on his very Soul. Not only that, the vitality in his body began to riot and tumble, making him extremely uncomfortable.
His complexion changed drastically as he hurriedly circulated his strength to resist this disturbance, but even so, it was not easy to calm his restlessness.
The cultivators detained in the cells weren’t so lucky, however. After seeing Wu Meng Chuan take this stance, some of them called out in shock as all the expectation and enthusiasm on their faces changed into fear and panic and they hurriedly tried to back away.
However, behind them were only prison walls, so where could they retreat?
Screams rang out and streams of blood-red light began to flow out from all the cells towards Wu Meng Chuan, who opened his mouth and sucked all off it into his stomach.
At a speed visibly to the naked eye, his emaciated body began to fill in, and through his dirty, torn robes, the cracked and dried up skin soon became ruddy while the sparse white hair on his head not only quickly turned black, but also began to fill up.
Wu Meng Chuan’s body seemed to be infused with an unimaginable amount of vitality, causing his current, pitiful appearance to rapidly transform into one surging with life.
Yang Kai could not have been more shocked.
He could clearly see that the blood-red light that was flowing from the cells around him were the vitality essence of these trapped cultivators. At this moment, they were all becoming nutrients to restore Wu Meng Chuan’s strength.
Just what kind of magic was this? How could there be such a Heaven defying technique?
Yang Kai suddenly recalled the Heaven Devouring Battle Law that Wu Meng Chuan had given him before, and although he had yet to gain a comprehensive understanding of this Secret Art, Yang Kai at least vaguely understood its purpose and characteristics. At this moment, Wu Meng Chuan was obviously displaying the Heaven Devouring Battle Law!
Could there be such a profound and evil Secret Art? Was it really possible to forcibly deprive others of their vitality and life essence for one’s own use?
Was this Secret Art so powerful that it could let a half-dead man suddenly regain all his vitality within a few breaths?
[Just what kind of Secret Art is this?] Yang Kai didn’t dare to think about it anymore.
However, at this moment, he also understood that this Heaven-defying Secret Art must come with equally detrimental flaws. This Heaven Devouring Battle Law definitely had drawbacks he had yet to uncover, but at the very least, Wu Meng Chuan’s evil temperament might have been related to it.
As Yang Kai thought about this, Wu Meng Chuan’s aura fluctuations increased at an alarming rate. Going from the Saint Realm to Origin King Realm only took three breaths, after which it quickly grew to the peak of the First-Order Origin King Realm, Second-Order, Third-Order, First-Order Dao Source Realm… Continuing to climb upwards, there seemed to be no limit.
This old man saying he was a master at the Third-Order Dao Source Realm was clearly not just idle boasting.
“Sect Master, mercy! We have remained loyal to you all these years, without any complaints, despite being imprisoned here all this time! Why must you act this way? Sect Master!”
From one of the cells, a cultivator suddenly screamed.
Immediately afterwards, from all directions, cries for mercy came from these cultivators, all of whom addressed Wu Meng Chuan as Sect Master!
“Sect Master?” Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed.
[Which Sect’s Sect Master was Wu Meng Chuan? Could it be the Blue Feather Sect?]
Once this thought emerged, Yang Kai was taken aback.
Instinctively, he denied it, but the more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
Because until now, Yang Kai had not even heard the name of Blue Feather Sect’s Sect Master. He had gathered a lot of information about Blue Feather Sect during his first month here and had learned the names of the four Protectors and a number of the more important figures in the Sect, but whenever he mentioned the Sect Master, all his Senior Brothers wore solemn expressions and held their silence.
When he asked Kou Wu once, Kou Wu also reprimanded him and told him to not dig into things he shouldn’t, lest misfortune befall him.
Yang Kai didn’t know exactly what all that was about at the time, but now… he somewhat understood.
This situation was quite interesting actually. The Sect Master of Blue Feather Sect had been imprisoned in the deepest part of the Bone Prison, bound with spikes and chains made of Spirit Suppressing Gold, and tortured in an inhumane manner until he had become an emaciated dying old man. Without help from a very specific type of cultivator, Wu Meng Chuan would likely have never escaped from such imprisonment.
This also explained why he could teach Yang Kai such an effective method for lifting the seals on his cultivation.
If Wu Meng Chuan was really the Sect Master of Blue Feather Sect, he would certainly be familiar with the Secret Techniques his own Sect used.
The begging continued from all the terror-stricken cultivators, who were feeling desperate in their hearts. They had thought that Wu Meng Chuan would release all of his loyal supporters to assist him in his grand revenge after he escaped, but Wu Meng Chuan directly displayed his Heaven Devouring Battle Law to absorb their vitality and deprive them of their strength and essence to heal himself instead.
All their trust and expectations being betrayed, they clearly saw the cruel face of Wu Meng Chuan.
“Indeed, all of you served me faithfully, this old master acknowledges as much. Unfortunately, this old master needs strength right now, and you all swore to follow this old master until death, so… this old master is simply collecting on your promise. What is wrong with that?” Wu Meng Chuan turned a deaf ear to the pleading of his subordinates as he stood there indifferently and urged his Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
After hearing this, Yang Kai felt a chill run up his spine.
If the main support beam was crooked, the entire house would not stand straight. Yang Kai finally understood why the cultivators of Blue Feather Sect had so little unity and constantly engaged in open and covert intrigue. With such a Sect Master, how could the disciples be virtuous?
It could even be said that this old man Wu Meng Chuan was to blame for Blue Feather Sect’s current ethos.
This was not someone to become entangled with! Yang Kai secretly made up his mind to leave the Bone Prison and escape from Blue Feather Sect as quickly as possible, otherwise, with how unstable Wu Meng Chuan was, he would certainly try to kill him one day.
Yang Kai did not want to entrust his safety to others.
“Wu Meng Chuan, you bastard descendant of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, you are a shame to all Emperors! I curse you, curse you!” Finally, someone couldn’t stand it anymore, and after realizing that begging for mercy was useless and death was inevitable, he began to shout and curse to vent his anger.
This curse contained explosive information that caused Yang Kai to freeze up momentarily.
Heaven Devouring Great Emperor?
Although he had never heard of this Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, he could feel a sense of pressure from these four words alone.
Only when a cultivator reached the Emperor Realm were they qualified to be called an Emperor.
However, ordinary Emperors did not have the qualifications to receive a title, only the very strongest Emperors were given titles. These titles varied, but they most often represented the strongest cultivation technique or Principle that particular Emperor cultivated in their life.
A title represented strength, legacy, and glory that was worthy of shocking history and amazing the present.
If Emperors stood at the peak of the Star Boundary, then Titled Emperors stood at the peak of Emperors.
This Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was definitely one such figure.
[Wu Meng Chuan is a descendant of a Titled Emperor?] Such a reality was really beyond Yang Kai’s expectations.
Judging from the title of this Great Emperor, it was obvious he also cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Or rather, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law must be an inheritance passed down by Heaven Devouring Great Emperor.
Yang Kai was stunned!
Could a Titled Emperor’s cultivation technique be described as simply precious? This was a world-shaking treasure! If the news of its existence spread, it was likely that even Emperors would desperately try to snatch it.
Yang Kai suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. He now knew such a big secret, so would Wu Meng Chuan really just ignore his existence, or would he instead try to silence him permanently?
What’s more… why did he pass the Heaven Devouring Battle Law to him in the first place? This Secret Art was undoubtedly his most precious possession.
Yang Kai did not believe for a moment that Wu Meng Chuan was a kind and generous person. Judging from his current behaviour, this old man was as cruel and vicious as could be. Even his loyal subordinates who had followed him for years even after being imprisoned could be killed at will by him, so how could he be anything remotely resembling virtuous and magnanimous?
Considering all this, Yang Kai secretly became vigilant and decided to release his Monster Insect Queen immediately if something was wrong.
As if perceiving the change in Yang Kai’s demeanour, Wu Meng Chuan turned his head and gave Yang Kai a low laugh.
Yang Kai felt his hair stand on end.
Fortunately, Wu Meng Chuan did not seem to pay him any mind and just muttered in a low voice, “Hmph, if it wasn’t for one of you leaking this information, how could those four thieves have learnt that this old master is the descendant of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor? After mastering the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, how could this old master have wound up so miserable if not for your betrayal? This old master has no intention of trying to find the guilty party though. Once you all die, all of you will be absolved of your sins.”
Saying so, Wu Meng Chuan pushed his Heaven Devouring Battle Law even more fiercely.
Standing behind him, Yang Kai had to work extremely hard to resist the suction force that threatened to pull his Soul and essence out.
Today, he had learned so many secrets he had not yet had time to digest.
Inferring from Wu Meng Chuan’s words, he was probably sold out by one of his own subordinates, and as a result, the four Protectors came to learn of his true lineage and about the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, which lead them to betray and imprison him here in hopes of extracting the Heaven Devouring Battle Law from him.
Conspiracies and traps, together with sneak attacks, were likely involved as well.
However, Wu Meng Chuan obviously had not cooperated, otherwise, he definitely would not be alive today. He would have been killed by the four Protectors long ago.
Who would not covet the Secret Art of a Titled Emperor? It was understandable that when the four Protectors learned of this that they decided to attack Wu Meng Chuan; after all, each of them was a Third-Order Dao Source Realm master as well, so if the four of them all launched a sneak attack, their chances of success were quite high.
Just as many distracting thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, the screams in the surrounding cells subsided, and the vitality of those cultivators quickly dissipated.
Yang Kai turned his head to look around and found that the appearance of these people after they died was extremely pitiful, like withered husks that had decayed over hundreds of years. There was not a single trace of vitality left in any of them.
After devouring the vitality and life essence of so many people, Wu Meng Chuan had gone from looking like a decrepit old man to a handsome middle-aged man in his thirties or forties.
And judging from the violent fluctuations emerging from his body, his cultivation had already been restored to the Third-Order Dao Source Realm!
Turning his eyes, he grinned at Yang Kai and said, “Let’s go, this old master must wash this place in blood today. En, this old master smells the aura of an old acquaintance approaching, truly nostalgic!”
Saying so, he began walking outwards.
Wherever Wu Meng Chuan walked, the cultivators locked in cells adjacent to him would scream out as streams of their vitality were sucked up and swallowed by him. Those that were slightly weaker would die directly while those who had some strength would suffer longer as Wu Meng Chuan drained them dry.
Along the way, Wu Meng Chuan’s aura grew even more powerful and frightening.
Even Yang Kai felt a deep sense of fear towards the violent fluctuations coming from him and wondered if this Wu Meng Chuan would be able to consume so much energy or whether he would explode and die from it.
At that time, several figures quickly approached from the front. With such a huge disturbance, it was obvious something had gone wrong inside the Bone Prison, so a team of guards had come in to investigate. The leader of this group was none other than Yan Xiu Ran and behind him were the two guards who had been responsible for torturing Yang Kai during his last stay here.
Just after these three entered the Bone Prison, and before they even had time to figure out the situation, they were palmed dead by Wu Meng Chuan as he strolled towards the exit.
After their physiques burst into blood-mist, that very mist was quickly swallowed up by Wu Meng Chuan.
“Brother Yang…” Liu Xian Yun’s voice called out from the darkness.
Wu Meng Chuan’s eyes flashed coldly as he was about to attack Liu Xian Yun when Yang Kai hurriedly shouted, “Senior, she’s my friend!”
“Your friend?” Wu Meng Chuan looked at Liu Xian Yun coldly for a moment, seemingly hesitating, but after a short pause he nodded and said, “Fine, she’s too weak to be of any use to this old master anyways.”
“Many thanks for not killing her, Senior!” Yang Kai exhaled heavily.
If Wu Meng Chuan really attacked Liu Xian Yun just now, he would not be able to just sit back and watch and would be forced to fight.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
“Brother Yang, this Senior is…” Liu Xian Yun didn’t even realize how close she had come to the gates of death, but she understood that Wu Meng Chuan was not someone to trifle with. In that brief moment he had stared at her, Liu Xian Yuin had felt cold sweat drip from her forehead, making her unable to even breathe.
“This is Senior Wu,” Yang Kai casually explained before turning to Wu Meng Chuan and asking, “Can Senior help lift the seal on my friend?”
Although Yang Kai could also break the seal for Liu Xian Yun now, it would definitely take him some time, so it would be best if Wu Meng Chuan could help him.
Wu Meng Chuan didn’t speak when he heard this request and simply waved his hand, unlocking the seal on Liu Xian Yun’s body directly and allowing her to access her cultivation again.
“Kid, after you leave here, take your friend and run as far as you can,” Wu Meng Chuan suddenly said lightly.
“Hm?” Yang Kai was startled.
He had been wracking his brain trying to figure out how to escape from Wu Meng Chuan all this time; after all, he now knew the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, which was the very reason Wu Meng Chuan had been imprisoned back then.
He felt that Wu Meng Chuan would never allow him to leave with such a precious Secret Art in his possession.
However, this old man actually just encouraged him to run away.
There was definitely more to this situation than he realized! It was just that Yang Kai was unable to see through the fog.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to leave?” Wu Meng Chuan smiled lowly.
“That is not what I meant,” Yang Kai frowned and shook his head. “In that case, I will bid farewell to Senior.”
“Good, don’t die out there, this old master is looking forward to your growth, heh heh heh!” Wu Meng Chuan smiled strangely and strode forward.
Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun looked at each other and followed close behind.
Soon, the trio left the Bone Prison.
“Leave,” Wu Meng Chuan stood there with his hands folded behind his back as he stared in a certain direction. From that direction, a strong light was rushing over, and judging from the aura, Yang Kai was certain it was Miao Qi he had just met a while ago.
Yang Kai cupped his fists to Wu Meng Chuan, “Senior, take care!”
Saying so, he pulled Liu Xian Yun and left.
After Yang Kai left, Wu Meng Chuan turned his head and looked in the direction he flew off as a strange light flashed across his eyes and muttered under his breath, “The seed has been planted, now it’s just a matter of time before it sprouts. En, something to look forward to.”
After watching for a moment, he turned his head back and stared in the direction Miao Qi was coming from with a cold face and called out callously, “Miao Qi, come suffer death!”
Surrounded by the brilliant light, Miao Qi heard this voice and was shocked, hurriedly coming to a stop as he cried out in horror, “Wu Meng Chuan? How could you possibly have escaped?”
“Heh heh heh, this old master was truly trapped, but an honourable person helped set me free! This old master said that I would kill you thieves a thousand times over one day, and today this old master will make good on that promise.”
After experiencing a moment of panic, Miao Qi gradually calmed down and looked at Wu Meng Chuan coldly, “Hmph, you just escaped, and you think you can compete with this King? Don’t forget, you and I are both Third-Order Dao Source Realm masters!”
“Without being confident of victory, how could this old master move!” Wu Meng Chuan’s voice fell before suddenly he opened his mouth and spat out a small bottle-shaped artifact. From that bottle, blood seemed to flood out, covering everything in crimson red, making it seem as though the world had been submerged in a seal of blood.
“Blood Spirit Bottle! You really possess it!” Miao Qi’s scream of horror came from within the blood sea.
Wu Meng Chuan growled, “Indeed, this thing has always been on this old master. If it had been fully restored in the past, this old master would never have suffered defeat at the hands of you four. Miao Qi, Miao Qi, you look down on this old master too much. This old master is the descendant of the mighty Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, how could he not have one or two Emperor Artifacts on hand? In this sea of blood and spirits, this old master is supreme. As for you, how much of your strength can you exert? This old master will crush all of your bones one by one, then drain all of your vitality bit by bit, before finally feasting on your Soul so you will never enter the cycle of reincarnation!”
Wu Meng Chuan’s hate-filled voice seemed like a curse to Miao Qi’s ears, making his face turn completely pale.
“Don’t worry, after killing you, I will go hunt down Zhu Jun Shan, Bian Yu Qing and Tong Cong too, so you all can die together!”
From the sea of blood, Miao Qi’s panicked roar rang out.
The Blood Spirit Bottle was an Emperor Artifact left behind by Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, and although Wu Meng Chuan, as a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, could not display its full might, with the help of this Emperor Artifact, Miao Qi was naturally not his opponent so suffering defeat and death were only a matter of time.
Far away from Blue Feather Mountain, more than a hundred thousand kilometres away, two streaks of light shot across the sky like lightning before abruptly coming to a halt and flying down to a concealed spot below.
When the light faded, it revealed the figures of Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun.
“Have we escaped?” Liu Xian Yun felt both pleasant surprise and some disbelief as a thrilled look flashed across her beautiful eyes.
During their flight, she unexpectedly discovered that no one tried to stop them. However, this was not too surprising as she and Yang Kai both belonged to Blue Feather Sect at this moment and had Identity Tokens on them, so even if someone asked, all they needed to do was show their Identity Tokens and they could pass through safely.
After leaving Blue Feather Mountain, the two continued to speed along, and now, feeling as if they had gone far enough, they decided to land.
A distance of more than a hundred thousand kilometres was safe enough, and what’s more, no one would care about the two of them fleeing with Blue Feather Sect currently in chaos.
It was also fortunate that Bian Yu Qing and Kou Wu, the two who knew Yang Kai and Liu Xian Yun’s real identities, weren’t in Sect.
“Brother Yang, we really escaped!” Liu Xian Yun was still immersed in her excitement and said with a smile on her face.
“Xian Yun, come here,” Yang Kai on the other hand did not look happy at all and simply beckoned to Liu Xian Yun with a solemn expression before immediately taking out a few Space Rings from his pocket and sweeping them with his Divine Sense.
These Space Rings were all owned by the enemies he killed in the Bone Prison before; four in total.
After checking their contents, Yang Kai kept one for himself while stuffing the others into Liu Xian Yun’s hand and saying, “You take this.”
“Brother Yang, what is this?” Liu Xian Yun stared at Yang Kai blankly.
“It’s nothing. From now on, you and I will be parting ways,” Yang Kai replied sternly.
Hearing this, Liu Xian Yun’s tender body trembled as she asked him with some difficulty, “Brother Yang, do you think I’m holding you back?”
Yang Kai frowned in silence but soon nodded, “Yes!”
Liu Xian Yun looked at him seriously as she grit her teeth and protested, “No! Brother Yang, be honest with me, are we in some kind of danger still? Is it related to that Senior Wu?”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Yang Kai spat impatiently, “Are you women all so long-winded? I’m telling you to leave, so just leave.”
Liu Xian Yun clenched her fists as she glared at him, her proud peaks heaving up and down as she quickly said, “I’ve received much care from Brother Yang during this period, so if Brother Yang is now facing any danger, Xian Yun will not just sit back and watch.”
“What danger could I be in?” Yang Kai said in an exasperated tone, “In any case, you and I are now well water and river water. You walk along the open road while I cross the plank bridge. Good luck!”
When Yang Kai finished, he directly flew off.
“You think you can just leave?” Liu Xian Yun raised her brow and snorted coldly before chasing after him.
Although she did not know why Yang Kai was doing this, from the impression she had of him these days, she knew he was not a ruthless person, so Liu Xian Yun concluded that Yang Kai was definitely in trouble and was trying to separate from her so as not to get her involved.
But how could she be so ungrateful? Naturally, Liu Xian Yun couldn’t let Yang Kai face danger all alone.
Even if her own strength was limited, two people working together was still better than one person alone.
To her surprise though, Liu Xian Yun was only able to chase after Yang Kai for a brief moment before she completely lost his trail. His speed was so great that it had already exceeded what an Origin King was capable of. What’s more, there were some faint Space Force fluctuations in Yang Kai’s wake.
Liu Xian Yun knew Yang Kai comprehended the Dao of Space as, back in the Starlight Corridor, he had used Space Force during his battle with Yin Le Sheng.
Wanting to chase a person who was proficient in Space Force and was determined to throw her off was undoubtedly a fruitless endeavour.
As such, after Liu Xian Yun chased him for a while, she was forced to give up. After falling back to the ground, she sighed faintly before staring in the direction Yang Kai disappeared as she muttered to herself, “Many thanks for this period of time. Please take care!”
Lifting her hand, she finally scanned the Space Rings she had in her palm and quickly realized there were a lot of Source Crystals and artifacts stored inside them. One of the Space Rings had significantly more wealth than the others, so it had to have belonged to Zhou Yi.
“It really fits his character,” Liu Xian Yun smiled bitterly. Yang Kai had only taken a ring belonging to one of the Origin Kings and left everything else to her, obviously out of concern for her future. Now, she would not need to worry about cultivation resources for a while.
…
Up in the air, Yang Kai continued flying along.
The reason why he chose to part ways with Liu Xian Yun was really because he felt a sense of anxiety in his heart, and the source of that anxiety was none other than Wu Meng Chuan.
Although he did not know what Wu Meng Chuan was plotting, he knew that the old man wasn’t just kindly allowing him to leave, especially after he taught him the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
[This must be some kind of conspiracy!]
That old man was a Dao Source Realm master, possibly even half a step into the Emperor Realm, so Yang Kai did not have any confidence to face off against him. In order to avoid Liu Xian Yun getting involved, he could only separate from her.
In any case, Liu Xian Yun was an Origin King master and was once a dominant figure in her Star Field, so he believed that even in the Star Boundary, she would be able to take good care of herself.
If she had an accident due to bad luck, it would only go to show that her destiny ended there.
Right now, Yang Kai only wanted to be as far away from Blue Feather Sect as possible, so he had no intention of stopping and kept speeding forward.
Along the way, he was able to see the various rivers and mountains of the Star Field. The cultivation environment here was far better than any Cultivation Star in his native Star Field, and at night, when he looked up, he could see the clustered, brilliantly glowing nebulae, each representing a lower Star Field.
After flying for a month straight, Yang Kai finally felt a bit safer.
Over the course of a month, Yang Kai had put a few tens of millions of kilometres between him and the Blue Feather Sect, so even if Wu Meng Chuan was a powerful Dao Source Level Realm master, he definitely wouldn’t be able to deal with him across such a vast distance.
Coming to a stop, Yang Kai looked around, but there was only wilderness as far as he could see.
He did not know where he was now as he was still newly arrived in the Star Boundary and knew nothing about its geography. He only knew that there were four major territories and that he should still be in the Southern Territory.
With no other choice, Yang Kai kept flying at a slower pace, looking for traces of civilization while restoring his strength.
After half a day, he finally found something.
A flight type artifact that resembled a chariot appeared in the distance, and judging from its aura fluctuations, it was Origin King Grade.
Yang Kai quickly moved towards the chariot hoping to ask for directions to the nearest city from whoever the owner was.
However, the other party did not show any intention to stop and simply flew past Yang Kai without even sparing him a glance.
“How indifferent!” Yang Kai looked depressed.
But soon, he discovered that immediately after this chariot, a number of other flight type artifacts flew over from the same direction.
“What’s happening?” Yang Kai was confused and subconsciously thought that he had gotten caught up in some kind of pursuit incident, but after carefully inspecting the situation, he found this wasn’t the case as none of these people showed any murderous intent and were simply flying in the same direction as the previous chariot.
It was almost as if they were hurrying along towards a certain place.
[What is this?]
Yang Kai stood on the spot, waving his hand constantly, trying to find someone to ask what they were doing, but everyone completely ignored him as they hurried along.
Yang Kai felt somewhat embarrassed standing there being ignored.
However, he was able to glean some insights from his observations. From the variety and grade of all these flight type artifacts, the Artifact Refining standards of the Star Boundary were obviously quite extraordinary.
Some of these flight type artifacts were shaped like simple long swords, while others were shuttle-shaped, chariot-shaped, boat-shaped, sedan-shaped, and a variety of other unique designs. Each one had excellent speed and appeared quite dazzling to Yang Kai.
“Hey, why are you just standing here in a daze? If you do not hurry up, you won’t be able to gain any benefits,” Suddenly, a voice came from the side.
Yang Kai turned his head and found that a tiger-headed chariot had come to stop beside him. The carved tiger’s head was quite vivid and majestic and atop it there was a middle-aged man with an Origin King cultivation staring at Yang Kai curiously.
Overjoyed, Yang Kai quickly cupped his fists and said, “Greetings, friend.”
The middle-aged man nodded, swept his eyes over Yang Kai, and asked thoughtfully, “Are you… not from Maplewood City?”
“Maplewood City?” Yang Kai raised his brow before slowly shaking his head, “No! May I ask if Maplewood City is far from here?”
“Maplewood City is just a hundred thousand kilometres in that direction,” The middle-aged man seemed personable and friendly, so he took the time to point Yang Kai in the right direction before grinning and saying, “However, are you sure you want to go to Maplewood City now and not join in the fun?”
“If I may ask, for what reason is this friend and all the others gathering?” Yang Kai asked with a puzzled look.
The middle-aged man smiled mysteriously, “Thirty thousand kilometres from here, someone in Clear Jade Mountain found a powerful Firebird that seems to be a sentient Artifact Spirit. Everyone is going there now to try to snatch that Artifact Spirit in the hopes of refining it.”
“A Firebird Artifact Spirit?” Yang Kai was shocked when he heard these words.
“If you want to go to Maplewood City, just fly in that direction, if you want to join in the fun though, you’d best hurry,” After the middle-aged man finished explaining, he urged his chariot forward quickly.
Yang Kai stood stunned in place as a burst of excitement filled his heart.
Although the other party’s description was not very clear, if it really was like he said, then it was possible that Liu Yan had appeared in this Clear Jade Mountain!
Liu Yan’s original form was that of a Firebird, and she was definitely an Artifact Spirit with sentience.
Liu Yan’s very existence was extremely attractive to all cultivators.
The reason was simple, it was not easy for Artifact Spirits to form, the process requiring both great opportunity and luck.
Back in the Starlight Corridor, Yang Kai had used his Space Force to destabilize the passage, resulting in him being separated from Xiao Xiao and Liu Yan. Since then, Yang Kai had been quite worried about their safety, but unfortunately, he had no way to find them.
Xiao Xiao looked like a living puppet at first glance, which would be enough to draw people’s interest, and if he were to expose his strength in front of people, he would definitely be targeted.
However, Xiao Xiao’s escape methods were extremely profound. Belonging to the Stone Puppet Race, Xiao Xiao’s ability to bury through the earth made him almost impossible to catch.
Liu Yan was different. She didn’t have profound escape methods like Xiao Xiao but her existence carried the same level of attraction to all cultivators. If she could be caught and integrated into an artifact, it would be equivalent to obtaining an artifact which had formed a real Artifact Spirit, raising its power significantly!
Not only that, some cultivators who were proficient in Fire Attribute Secret Arts would even be able to directly refine Liu Yan to strengthen themselves.
Even if she had no use whatsoever to a person, they could still sell her for a high price!
As such, Liu Yan’s situation was actually much more dangerous than Xiao Xiao’s.
So, at this moment, after Yang Kai heard the information provided by the middle-aged man, he couldn’t help feeling anxious. If the Firebird that appeared in Clear Jade Mountain was really Liu Yan, then her current situation was dire.
With so many cultivators rushing over, Liu Yan would not be able to protect herself and would sooner or later be caught.
Understanding this, Yang Kai also quickly displayed his Movement Skills to chase after the crowd.
A distance of thirty thousand kilometres was nothing to a cultivator at the Origin King Real, so after just half a stick of incense, Yang Kai reached the outskirts of Clear Jade Mountain.
There were already many cultivators gathered here, roughly two hundred people in total.
But what made Yang Kai feel a little at ease was that the cultivations of these people were not high, most just Origin Returning or Origin King Realm. Dao Source masters were extremely rare.
It seemed that the overall level of cultivation in this Maplewood City was not very strong, or at least Yang Kai speculated so.
The cultivators gathered here did not even seem to be in a rush to enter the mountain to search and instead were busy trying to form alliances with one another, probably wanting to take advantage of superior numbers to ensure safety and success.
Some people looked battered and bruised. Burns were also especially common. There were even a few dead bodies on the ground, which looked terribly scorched.
“That Firebird is really ferocious, although from its aura fluctuations it doesn’t seem to be any stronger than a Third-Order Origin King, its flames are extremely difficult to resist. Brother Zhao and Brother Zhang were both veteran Origin Kings, but all it took was a single attack for them to be burned to death. Fortunately, we ran quickly, otherwise…”
The speaker was sitting next to the corpses, dealing with his own injuries while explaining to others as a look of lingering fear covered his face.
Many people had gathered around him to gather information as well as to inspect his injuries to infer just how strong the Firebird was.
It was precisely because of the experiences and explanations of various groups that the Origin Kings present who weren’t too strong gave up the idea of trying to capture the Firebird alone and instead tried to form groups.
Yang Kai naturally heard these words, and he couldn’t help feeling excited in his heart.
Third-Order Origin King Realm power and terrifying flames, the characteristics really matched Liu Yan! If Yang Kai had previously been wondering whether the Firebird in Clear Jade Mountain was really Liu Yan or not, now he was almost eighty percent certain.
Liu Yan had an aura on par with an ordinary Third-Order Origin King, but because she had swallowed and refined many exotic flames as well as a large amount of Sun’s True Fire, her flames were extremely terrifying, to the point that even Yang Kai did not dare touch them easily.
“Several friends, if that’s the case, did all of you actually see what that Firebird looked like?” Yang Kai pushed aside the crowd and stepped forward to ask.
“Naturally we saw it,” The speaker raised his head and glanced at Yang Kai with a wry smile, “Otherwise, how could we have wound up in such a miserable state?”
“Then dare I ask what exactly does that Firebird look like?”
“It’s a bit difficult to describe actually. It did have a long tail but wasn’t very big itself, maybe ten metres across.”
Yang Kai was stunned when he heard this. If Liu Yan was using her innate appearance, she should be far larger than that.
“Then was that Firebird able to change its form?” Yang Kai continued to ask.
The man suddenly laughed, “What, were you hoping it could transform into a cold-faced red-haired beauty in a high exposure dress?”
The crowd laughed suddenly as they looked at Yang Kai with various levels of amusement and disdain, wondering if his head was empty or just damaged.
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai chuckled wryly before withdrawing from the crowd.
Although he was not able to obtain much information, it was still somewhat rewarding.
Whether the Firebird in Clear Jade Mountain was Liu Yan or not, he would only be able to tell after entering. First though, he silently stimulated a certain Soul Imprint in his Knowledge Sea.
There was a Soul connection between him and Liu Yan which he had planted when he first subdued her, so as long as they weren’t separated by too great a distance, they would be able to perceive each other.
But to his disappointment, he did not feel Liu Yan’s response.
It seemed that entering and searching was his only option.
Just when he made up his mind to enter Clear Jade Mountain, suddenly a person approached him quietly from behind. Yang Kai frowned, looked back, and saw a petite girl with a rather full figure looking at him with a smile.
This girl should be a great beauty, but on her cheek, there was a rather large brown crescent-shaped birthmark. This ugly birthmark greatly harmed her countenance, causing all the men who saw her to let out a sigh of disappointment.
She was wearing a green dress that while loose, could not disguise her proud peaks while around her thin waist, there were a number of cloth pouches that all seemed to be filled with something.
With a pleasant expression on her face, and a completely innocent and harmless smile, she called out to Yang Kai timidly, “Uncle, could I have a moment of your time?”
Yang Kai’s face instantly turned black as he said in a gloomy tone, “Who is your uncle? Do I look that old?”
Although Yang Kai’s age was indeed not young from a mortal’s point of view, for a cultivator, he was still quite young, and simply judging from his outward appearance, he looked like he was in his early twenties.
Suddenly being called uncle by a young girl naturally caused Yang Kai’s mood to sink.
Seemingly a bit frightened by Yang Kai’s fierce expression, the young girl couldn’t help falling back a few steps with an aggrieved expression on her face.
Yang Kai swept his eyes over this girl, pausing ever so briefly on her rich peaks, before he muttered in surprise, “Third-Order Origin King?”
He was stunned to discover that this girl, who seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, actually had a cultivation on par with his own.
However, Yang Kai was not sure how old this person really was. This ‘girl’ might actually be an old grandma who had lived thousands of years. Yang Kai was definitely not naive enough to believe that the frightened and aggrieved expression on her face was genuine.
Acting out like this was commonplace for these old witches, so no matter how realistic the performance, Yang Kai would not be fooled.
However, at that moment, Yang Kai could not help thinking of a certain individual.
Lin Yun’er!
When he was back in High Heaven Sect, this little girl would always call him uncle in a delighted tone, making Yang Kai inexplicably feel a lot older.
He didn’t know where that silly little girl was now, only that at that time Yang Yan had left behind everyone and everything, including Ye Xi Yun, but had actually taken Lin Yun’er with her. Apparently, it was all because of Lin Yun’er’s Tyrant Strength Body Special Constitution.
The expression on Yang Kai’s face gradually became softer and the girl patted her chest in relief before boldly saying, “Then this big brother, could you spare me a moment to chat?”
[A great actor indeed!] Yang Kai sneered repeatedly in his heart as he wore a calm look on his face and said, “What do you want to talk about?”
The ‘young girl’ glanced left and right cautiously before her red lips wriggled, sending a message to Yang Kai’s ear.
Yang Kai frowned and quickly asked, “Are you lying to me?”
“I have no grievances with you, why would I lie to you?” The girl looked wronged.
“Lead the way then,” Yang Kai gestured.
The girl smiled immediately and walked off.
She didn’t show the slightest caution or vigilance towards Yang Kai, making him wonder if she was just acting or was that confident in her strength.
Yang Kai was more inclined to believe the latter.
After a short walk, they left the crowd. In a relatively remote location, two other people seemed to be waiting, and when the girl came back, these two wore happy smiles.
Yang Kai observed the situation carefully and quietly released his Divine Sense to scan these two, quickly discovering that they were both Third-Order Origin Kings as well. The two were a man and a woman. The man looked stalwart and had a kind smile on his face that seemed as refreshing as a spring breeze while the woman was quite pretty and had an enchanting figure, a pair of watery eyes that seemed to contain an endless attraction as well as faintly pouting lips that looks sweet and delicate to the touch.
A man with weak will who looked at this woman would probably quickly lose himself to her charms.
Even Yang Kai showed a slightly dull expression before quickly regaining his composure.
His performance was naturally seen by this woman who couldn’t help smiling ever so slightly, as if very satisfied with her own charms.
“Little Sister Xiao Qi, did you manage to find someone?” The woman asked with a smile.
The girl nodded when she heard these words and said happily, “This big brother should be okay; he’s also very interested in our plan.”
As she spoke, she pointed at Yang Kai.
The man smiled at Yang Kai and nodded, cupping his fists and saying, “This one’s name is Xu Qing, dare I ask how this friend is called.”
“Yang Kai!” Very few people in the Star Boundary knew him anyway, so Yang Kai felt no need to make up a fake name.
“Yu Ruo Mei greets Brother Yang,” The woman elegantly bowed to the side.
Yang Kai quickly returned the greeting.
“My name is Mo Xiao Qi,” The girl who led Yang Kai also introduced herself.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Sister Xiao Qi, just now, when you said you knew where the Firebird was. Is that true?”
Had it not been for this girl named Mo Xiao Qi telling Yang Kai that she knew the exact location of the Firebird, Yang Kai wouldn’t have followed her here.
Intrigue was certainly just as common here in the Star Boundary as it was in his native Star Field, if not even more common, so how could Yang Kai have acted so carelessly without a good reason?
Mo Xiao Qi’s information was simply too tempting for him to refuse.
Listening to Yang Kai’s question, Mo Xiao Qi nodded her head and said, “Naturally, it is true.”
“Where is it?” Yang Kai asked directly while to the side, Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei also perked up their ears, seemingly equally interested.
“It’s…” Mo Xiao Qi just uttered a word before suddenly seeming to think of something and swallowing down the latter half of her sentence before smiling and saying, “I won’t tell you right now, just follow me.”
She looked incredibly naïve and innocent, as if she had really planned to tell them the exact location and details of the Firebird just now.
Yang Kai coldly snorted, “How am I supposed to trust you then? Since you know the specific location of the Firebird, why didn’t you just gather familiar people to search for it yourself instead of gathering us strangers?”
Xu Qing nodded to the side and said, “Brother Yang is correct. Sister Xiao Qi, it’s not that we don’t trust you, it’s just that none of us know each other, so this Xu hopes Sister Xiao Qi can explain herself slightly.”
Mo Xiao Qi frowned her delicate brows and said in a completely natural tone, “I went in and saw it before, so naturally I know where it is. Did you all see that group of injured people? I just followed them quietly before and met that little one inside. That group had some of its members die and they escaped, but after they left, I followed that little one back to its nest. As for why I didn’t find acquaintances… I don’t know anyone here, and I don’t think I can fight that little one alone, so I went looking for help.”
Yang Kai and Xu Qing looked at each other and both nodded slightly.
There was nothing wrong with Mo Xiao Qi’s explanation, but even if there was something amiss, they wouldn’t have any way to find that out from here.
Seeing the others fall silent, Mo Xiao Qi couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous and hurriedly said, “But don’t worry, while that little one is quite powerful, he is still just a baby, so he shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with as long as we prepare enough.”
To the side, the enchanting Yu Ruo Mei smiled and asked, “Sister Xiao Qi, it’s not that we are afraid, but… there is only one Firebird. If we succeed, how should we allocate it?”
Hearing this, Mo Xiao Qi suddenly squeezed out a look of apology and said, “I was just about to discuss this matter with Big Brothers and Sister. That little one is of great use to me, so if we really managed to capture him, I hope you can allow me to keep him…”
As soon as this remark came out, not only did Yang Kai show a strange look on his face, but even Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei wore gloomy expressions.
Each of them was a Third-Order Origin King, so how could they simply work in vain? Without even mentioning Yang Kai, who had his own plans, Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei would definitely not agree to such nonsense conditions.
[Isn’t this old grandma taking her innocent act a bit too far?] Yang Kai secretly despised her in his heart for not understanding that going too far was worse than not going far enough.
Mo Xiao Qi saw the looks on each of their faces and quickly said, “Of course I won’t let all of you suffer a loss. I can give you enough compensation.”
“Compensation?” Xu Qing snorted coldly, his attitude is no longer as friendly as before as he sneered, “I wonder what kind of compensation Sister Xiao Qi can give us?”
Mo Xiao Qi didn’t answer him immediately and instead sent her Divine Sense into her Space Ring. A moment later, a brilliant flash appeared in her hand as she took out three artifacts.
Of the three artifacts, one of them is a pink dress that was dotted with beautiful gemstones. These gems obviously weren’t ordinary things though as they clearly gave off a powerful energy fluctuation.
The second artifact was a pitch-black broadsword that while not too big, looked quite heavy. Even if one used their Divine Sense on it, they would feel a sense of suppression.
The last item was a thick sabre that was carved with mysterious patterns and had a bloody air about it. At a glance, it was obvious that a large number of masters had died under this blade.
Each of these three artifacts gave off a potent energy fluctuation.
“Origin King Grade artifacts?” Xu Qing’s eyes bulged as Yu Ruo Mei’s breathing became quick.
Yang Kai was equally dumbfounded.
Because the three artifacts that Mo Xiao Qi took out were actually three Origin King Grade artifacts, and they were definitely not low-grade Origin King Grade artifacts.
“This Heavy Ying Sword and Lasting Regret Saber are both Origin King Grade High-Rank artifacts, each with its own unique characteristics and strengths. This Multi-Coloured Gauze Robe is an Origin King Grade Mid-Rank artifact that was woven from three-thousand-year-old Snow Silkworms from the Northern Territory. The silk thread spat out by these silkworms is resistant to all five elements and has good protective strength. The Sand Star Stones dotting it can also be used to attack and defend… En, I’ll give you these three things to start with, okay? Once this matter succeeds, I’ll be sure to thank you again,” Mo Xiao Qi looked at the three people in front of her timidly and asked eagerly, “Is this enough?”
Xu Qing couldn’t help gulping with difficulty as Yu Ruo Mei’s beautiful eyes fixed on the Gauze Robe, unable to tear her gaze away.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, suppressed the shock in his heart forcibly before he stared at Mo Xiao Qi calmly, an extreme sense of vigilance welling up inside of him.
This woman had casually taken out three extremely high-end Origin King Grade artifacts, so clearly the word ‘wealth’ was not enough to describe her. Such a person was definitely not some unknown figure, and it was even possible she was a Dao Source Realm master who was disguising herself. Otherwise, how could she act so carelessly?
No matter who she was, she should still know the truth of not revealing one’s wealth to the world. Her daring to bring out such treasures so casually should be a sign that she had nothing to fear here.
However, if she was really hiding her true cultivation, she would need to at least be a Third-Order Dao Source Realm in order to avoid Yang Kai’s senses. If that was the case though, why bother asking them for help?
Yang Kai simply couldn’t figure it out.
“Is this not good enough?” Mo Xiao Qi saw that the three of them hadn’t responded for a long time and couldn’t help showing a look of disappointment as she went to put away the three artifacts.
“Why would Little Sister Xiao Qi say that?” Yu Ruo Mei moved first as she put on a giant smile, “Elder Sister saw that Little Sister is a good girl at first sight. Since Little Sister wants that Firebird, Elder Sister will not compete with her. Elder Sister is willing to cooperate.”
She spoke righteously, but her hands moved even faster, snatching the Gauze Robe and stuffing it directly into her Space Ring.
Forget about whether the Firebird in Clear Jade Mountain actually was as valuable as this Origin King Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact, even if it was, after splitting the profits from it four ways, it would not be equivalent.
Moreover, they had yet to even begin and Mo Xiao Qi had already given her such a valuable artifact, so if they really did manage to succeed, there would undoubtedly be even more benefits.
As such, she didn’t hesitate anymore.
Seeing that Yu Ruo Mei had already spoken, Xu Qing couldn’t help but to lightly cough and say, “This Xu deeply understands Sister Xiao Qi’s sincerity. If that is the case, then you can count on this Xu’s assistance.”
Saying so, his gaze shifted back and forth between the broadsword and sabre hesitantly before eventually choosing the broadsword and putting it into his Space Ring.
Mo Xiao Qi turned her gaze to Yang Kai, looking at him expectantly.
Yang Kai frowned as he instinctively didn’t want to wade into this muddy water, but once he thought about Liu Yan being besieged by so many masters, he could only play along for now.
Xu Qing also persuaded, “Brother Yang, after Sister Xiao Qi has shown such sincerity, how can you hesitate?”
Yang Kai sighed and said, “It’s not that I am hesitating, it’s just… I don’t use sabres.”
Mo Xiao Qi heard this and her eyes lit up as she hurriedly said, “Then what kind of artifact does Big Brother Yang want?”
It seemed she didn’t fear Yang Kai asking for compensation, but rather him not asking for anything.
“Do you have a Sword? An Ice Attribute sword would be best,” Yang Kai suddenly remembered that the Monster Insect Queen lacked a decent weapon, so he decided to ask directly.
“En, let me take a look, I think I had one somewhere.” Saying so, Mo Xiao Qi put away the sabre and began digging through her Space Ring again.
Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei were now staring at this Space Ring with fiery eyes, as if they were staring at an endless treasure trove.
It wasn’t surprising for them to act like this though, as Mo Xiao Qi’s performance at this moment made them believe that this girl was carrying countless precious treasures. She was easily able to take out three or four Origin King Grade artifacts, so who knows how many more good things she had in her ring?
Who wouldn’t covet such a Space Ring?
Yang Kai naturally saw this and couldn’t help sneering in his heart.
He didn’t believe that Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei couldn’t see the various issues about Mo Xiao Qi, but people die for wealth just as birds die for food. This was an eternal truth, so Yang Kai didn’t even concern himself about it.
After a long while, Mo Xiao Qi raised her head and said to Yang Kai in an apologetic tone, “Big Brother Yang… I seem to have remembered wrong. I don’t have the Ice Attribute Origin King Grade High-Rank sword.”
Her expression was just like a child who had done something wrong and was seeking forgiveness.
Yang Kai said lightly, “Since you don’t have one, don’t worry about it.”
In any case, even if the Monster Insect Queen didn’t have a proper weapon, the strength it could display was still not weak.
“Would a pair of dual swords be alright?” After Mo Xiao Qi finished speaking, she suddenly took two long swords that exuded a rich chill. One of these swords was purple and about a meter in length while the other was blue and was slightly shorter. This pair of dual swords made for a perfect combination that gave off a brilliant aura and had an oppressive air about them.
The most noticeable thing about these two long swords was that each one gave off the aura fluctuations an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact should have.
Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei’s eyes turned red all of a sudden as their breathing became ragged.
“Dual swords?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up brightly as he never expected Mo Xiao Qi to give him such a huge pleasant surprise.
In essence, dual swords were still just a single sword artifact, but wielding them was significantly more complicated than a single sword. Correspondingly, the power that they could exert was also far greater.
For this reason, the value of these dual swords was far above that of an ordinary artifact, equivalent to the value of a defensive artifact of the same level.
In other words, this pair of Origin King Grade High-Rank longswords was equal in value to an ordinary Dao Source Grade artifact.
“Are you sure you want to give me these dual swords? Their value must not be low,” Yang Kai looked at Mo Xiao Qi and asked with a frown.
“If Brother Yang feels it’s inappropriate, does he want to exchange it for the broadsword I accepted?” Xu Qing asked eagerly to the side. He was not a fool and clearly understood which of these two artifacts was more valuable.
Yang Kai simply glanced at him and smiled coldly.
Xu Qing could not help but gawk for a moment before he scratched his head awkwardly.
Mo Xiao Qi on the other hand just smiled helplessly and said, “But I don’t have an artifact Big Brother Yang needs, only these dual swords reluctantly comply with your request. If Big Brother Yang does not dislike them, please accept them.”
“En… Since you’ve said as much, then I’ll respectfully accept,” Yang Kai took the dual swords from Mo Xiao Qi’s hands and threw them into the Sealed World Bead, sending them directly to the Monster Insect Queen to allow it to refine them.
Only after these swords disappeared did Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei take back their reluctant gazes; however, thinking about how they had a super-rich teammate by their side, and about what other benefits they could obtain from her, the pair calmed down and exchanged a glance, seemingly communicating with each other secretly.
Mo Xiao Qi did not seem to notice this scene at all and instead was just delighted that all three of them had accepted her gifts. Smiling, she asked, “Then we have a deal? If we can really catch that little guy later, if everyone can keep their promises, Xiao Qi will be very thankful.”
“Of course, of course,” Xu Qing wore the same gentle smile on his face again from before.
“We shouldn’t delay then,” Yang Kai urged. At this moment, many different teams had already assembled outside Clear Jade Mountain while others had already entered to search. Yang Kai was very worried about Liu Yan’s current situation so he didn’t want to wait any longer.
“En, follow me,” Mo Xiao Qi turned around and led the way.
“Brother Yang, please!” Xu Qing smiled and stretched out his hand.
Yang Kai calmly said, “You two can go first, I’ll bring up the rear!”
Xu Qing smiled lightly and did not refuse, “In that case, we will be troubling you, Brother Yang.”
Saying so, he immediately moved forward. Yu Ruo Mei also rushed past Yang Kai and nodded lightly as she entered Clear Jade Mountain. Yang Kai looked around for a moment before chasing after the group.
Clear Jade Mountain Range extended for hundreds of thousands of kilometres in all directions, and its depths were filled with many fierce beasts. However, Yang Kai’s group of four consisted entirely of Third-Order Origin Kings, so even if a Dao Source Realm-level Monster Beast were to appear, they would still be able to fight back. As such, this group did not show much tension. What’s more, they were not penetrating far into the mountains so there wouldn’t be any truly powerful Monster Beasts.
Mo Xiao Qi really seemed to know the exact location of the Firebird and, after entering Clear Jade Mountain, she did not even hesitate to lead the group forward at a rapid pace.
Her performance also gave Yang Kai some additional confidence.
However, what surprised Yang Kai was that as Mo Xiao Qi traveled forward, she didn’t put up her guard against them at all, as if she really trusted all three of them from the bottom of her heart.
As for Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei in the middle, covert Spiritual Energy fluctuations were being exchanged between them as they obviously conversed with each other in secret.
The two of them felt they were being quite discrete, but in front of Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense, which had completely surpassed the level of Third-Order Origin King, they were unable to hide anything.
At this time, Mo Xiao Qi had a mysterious origin, Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei were acting sneakily, and Yang Kai had ulterior motives from the start. Who would be able to laugh last was uncertain.
Along the road, the sound of rushing wind could be heard occasionally, obviously signs that other teams were present and searching for the Firebird’s whereabouts.
However, as time passed, such disturbances became less and less frequent. The place the four of them were travelling towards seemed quite a bit deeper into Clear Jade Mountain.
After half a day, Mo Xiao Qi, who was leading the way, stopped suddenly, the other three coming to a halt right behind her.
“When I saw it last time, it was just over that mountain. Everyone should prepare to fight,” Mo Xiao Qi reminded everyone.
Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei nodded as they began to circulate their strength in preparation to take action.
But Yang Kai frowned because he would have sensed Liu Yan a long time ago if she was really close by, yet even now, he didn’t feel a hint of Liu Yan’s aura, which meant there were only two possibilities.
One was that Liu Yan had left this mountain to search for a new hiding place.
The second possibility was something Yang Kai very much did not want to see, that it wasn’t Liu Yan here in Clear Jade Mountain, making it obvious why he couldn’t sense her.
Mo Xiao Qi used a Secret Technique to conceal her aura while Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei did the same.
The Secret Techniques used by the three of them all varied, and it was clear at a glance which was stronger and which was weaker.
After Mo Xiao Qi executed her Secret Technique, her aura completely disappeared. If he wasn’t able to see her directly with their eyes, even Yang Kai felt he would find it difficult to sense her. It was clear she had cultivated an extremely high-grade Secret Technique.
Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei were completely different. Although their techniques were not bad from Yang Kai’s perspective, they were still completely incomparable with Mo Xiao Qi.
Yang Kai also used his Secret Technique to conceal his aura.
Nihility!
However, he did not use the full power of Nihility and instead only partially activated it. This way, he did not have to worry about revealing his mastery of Space Force while still sufficiently concealing himself.
What Yang Kai couldn’t think of was that after he displayed the weakened version of his Nihility Secret Technique, Mo Xiao Qi would turn and glance at him, a look of doubt flashing across her beautiful eyes before she quickly turned back again.
[Did she… notice something?] Yang Kai was surprised.
The four of them moved forward silently, and soon, they arrived at a certain terrace on the mountain. Looking down from there though, Mo Xiao Qi couldn’t help exclaiming.
“What happened?” Xu Qing was surprised.
“It’s not here anymore,” Mo Xiao Qi spoke aloud as she stood up and flew directly into the mountain valley below.
The remaining three looked at each other and no longer bothered concealing themselves as they followed after Mo Xiao Qi.
In the mountain valley, there seemed to be traces of a recent battle, with flames still burning in the surrounding as well as the smell of burnt flesh lingering in the air, inducing a sense of nausea.
Such a scene made everyone’s eyes shrink.
However, the current situation also confirmed that Mo Xiao Qi had not lied. The Firebird really did live here before, but probably killed a few of its enemies and fled after being disturbed by these people.
“Isn’t that… the third Elder of the Jiang Family?” Xu Qing looked down at the corpse of an old man in brown robes and whispered.
Obviously, he recognized this old man despite the severe burns on his body.
“How strong was this person?” Yang Kai asked.
Xu Qing’s face turned solemn as he said, “The Jiang Family is among the top forces in Maplewood City. Their third Elder was a well-known figure with a Third-Order Origin King cultivation, comparable to us!”
“Is that the Vice Palace Master of Red Leaf Palace? He actually died here?” Yu Ruo Mei covered her red lips with her hands as her beautiful eyes shook.
Among the various dead cultivators here, there were a total of at least eight Origin Kings, with several being Third-Order.
Eight Origin Kings had joined forces but were still killed by that Firebird. This discovery caused Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei’s expressions to sink.
The eight corpses in front of them made them suddenly feel that their approach to this situation was a bit too sloppy. It was obvious they had greatly underestimated the strength of this Firebird.
After all, the two of them plus Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi only made four Third-Order Origin Kings. In terms of number and overall strength, they were definitely not any better than the eight dead corpses in front of them.
This group had been brutally killed, so how could the four of them succeed?
At this point, Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei could not help feeling the urge to withdraw, their faces gloomy.
Yang Kai frowned as well.
He was well aware of what Liu Yan’s strength was, and even if she was not weak, she couldn’t kill this many powerful enemies at once.
The hesitation of the three was apparent to Mo Xiao Qi, so she quickly comforted, “Don’t worry too much. Although that little guy killed this group, it was also injured.”
“How do you know?” Yang Kai looked up at her.
“There are bloodstains on the ground,” Mo Xiao Qi smiled slightly, pointing to a place nearby.
Over there, a puddle of red blood covered the ground, but this blood was actually burning with red flames. Yang Kai had not paid much attention before, but with Mo Xiao Qi’s reminder, he finally noticed it.
[It’s not Liu Yan!]
The moment Yang Kai saw this pool of flaming blood, his heart filled with disappointment.
The Firebird in Clear Jade Mountain was obviously not Liu Yan! Because Liu Yan was an Artifact Spirit that had no physical body, even if she became injured, it was impossible for her to bleed. And judging from the situation around this bloodstain, this blood contained an unimaginable scorching power that could continue to burn for quite some time.
Realizing this, Yang Kai lost most of his enthusiasm.
The reason why he came to Clear Jade Mountain was that he thought Liu Yan was here. Now that he had learned the truth though, he was naturally disappointed.
“If that’s the case, we may really have a chance,” Xu Qing frowned thoughtfully.
Although the Jiang Family Third Elder’s party had died here, they had definitely caused some damage to the Firebird, so if the four of them were well prepared, they might not necessarily fail.
“If we really encounter that Firebird, what should we do? Shouldn’t we discuss this carefully before deciding whether to proceed?” Yu Ruo Mei asked. The eight dead people in front of her made her feel uneasy, and if it weren’t for her greed towards Mo Xiao Qi, she would have already left.
Although treasures were good, one first needed their life to enjoy them.
“En, we should discuss this carefully. Let’s talk about our Secret Techniques and methods briefly so we can cooperate smoothly when the time comes,” Xu Qing suggested.
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai immediately shot him a meaningful glance.
Mo Xiao Qi, however, just smiled and waved her hand confidently, “No need, once we meet him, you three only need to help me tie him down for a time. I can take care of the rest.”
Saying so, she put on a look of absolute confidence, not that any of the others knew why that was.
Mo Xiao Qi’s entire existence was a conundrum to Yang Kai.
He was fairly certain that the innocence and naivety she displayed were all a deception, but even now, he couldn’t see any flaws in her act. Moreover, judging from the generous gifts she had handed out and the extremely profound concealment Secret Technique she had just used, it was obvious her origins weren’t simple.
How could an ordinary Origin King have so many Origin King Grade artifacts in their Space Ring, and all of them of extraordinary grade and quality? What’s more, subtle but powerful fluctuations came from all over her body, making it apparent she was wearing a lot of very powerful artifacts.
This girl definitely had a very powerful background.
This made Yang Kai wary of her.
For these various reasons, her saying she had a way to deal with the Firebird was quite believable to him.
After obtaining advantages from a person, it was difficult to just abandon them as well, so although Yang Kai did not want to get involved in this Clear Jade Mountain situation anymore, he also didn’t feel he could just back out now.
“Sister Xiao Qi, you said you have a way to deal with that Firebird, can you tell me in detail? After all, that beast is very strong and we really don’t want to follow in their footsteps,” Xu Qing asked with some worry as he pointed to the nearby corpses.
Yu Ruo Mei nodded similarly, agreeing with Xu Qing’s point of view.
Mo Xiao Qi frowned and looked a little embarrassed, but after a moment, she seemed to make up her mind and said, “It’s not convenient for me to give a detailed explanation, but suffice-it-to-say, I have an artifact that restrains its strength. Please trust me everyone, I wouldn’t let you do something too dangerous.”
Hearing this, Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei looked at each other and nodded lightly, the former smiling and saying, “Since Sister Xiao Qi has said so, this Xu will not ask anymore. I just hope that Sister Xiao Qi will be successful at that time.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Mo Xiao Qi was overjoyed and patted her chest firmly, “Then let us quickly track its location, although I don’t know where it has fled, it must have left behind some traces so we can definitely find it.”
Saying so, she led the way again.
After travelling for another hour or so, Mo Xiao Qi suddenly stopped, and the atmosphere of the group became tense again.
The tracks ahead had suddenly ended.
Just when she frowned, trying to find clues again, an extraordinary force suddenly rose up from nearby. This aura was extremely hot and as soon as it appeared, the temperature in the air rose rapidly, causing the surrounding green trees to wither and dry up before quickly bursting into flames.
“Be careful!” Yang Kai hurriedly shouted.
There was no need for him to warn them though as all four people present were Third-Order Origin Kings and were extremely sensitive to such energy fluctuations. When the heat flooded towards them, the four quickly scattered in different directions.
*Hu…*
A jet black ball of flame the size of a washbasin directly bombarded the place where everyone had originally been standing, turning it into a scorching inferno that seemed like it would burn until the end of time. The terrifying heat from these black flames caused the faces of almost everyone present to become solemn.
“As I thought, it’s here!” Mo Xiao Qi on the other hand did not show a look of fear but instead one of joy. Her delicate face was filled with excitement as she turned to stare in a certain direction.
On the other end of her gaze was a strange-looking bird about ten metres tall and covered in fiery-red feathers. The look in its eyes was fierce as it stared at the intruders. Its long tail feathers were particularly beautiful in appearance, making it look like an incarnation of fire.
“Liu Yan?” Yang Kai was taken aback.
The suddenly appeared Firebird, from appearance alone, was almost identical to Liu Yan’s, but soon Yang Kai understood that the Firebird in front of him was not Liu Yan.
Because, even though it looked like it was made of pure fire, it was still obviously a flesh and blood creature, and… Yang Kai also vaguely felt a faint pressure from it, a sign that it was likely even stronger than he was.
“Damn it, who spread that rumour this thing was an Artifact Spirit?” Xu Qing cursed to the side, extremely angry.
On the outskirts of Clear Jade Mountain, many cultivators had heard rumours that a sentient Artifact Spirit was hiding here, which led to countless cultivators rushing over, but now it seemed that was not the case. Obviously, this rumour was spread by some blind bastard who was unable to properly identify this Firebird.
However, thinking about this was meaningless now.
“It’s coming again!” Yu Ruo Mei screamed as her tender body flickered, leaving behind an afterimage as she rapidly dodged.
The next moment, a black ball of flame bombarded where she stood before.
After Yu Ruo Mei’s figure re-appeared some distance away, a look of lingering fear covered her face. She could clearly feel the powerful lethality contained in those black flames and was certain that if she was contaminated by them, her fate would not be any different from the Jiang Family’s Third Elder.
So many dead Origin Kings had already proven how difficult an opponent this Firebird was, so how could Yu Ruo Mei dare act carelessly?
“Friends, please hold it down for a while, I’ll start preparing!” Mo Xiao Qi hurriedly said as she suddenly jumped away from where she stood and began forming a series of mysterious seals with her hands, her entire temperament suddenly changing dramatically.
The innocence faded from her face as Mo Xiao Qi suddenly became solemn and awe-inspiring, her red lips squirming lightly as she formed seals rapidly with her hands. It was impossible to discern what she was saying, but as she spoke, a blue sphere of water appeared in front of her. This sphere contained a surging Water Attribute strength, like a vast ocean compressed down innumerable times, and if one listened carefully, they could even hear the sound of crashing waves coming from within it.
“A Dao Source Grade artifact?” Xu Qing’s eyes nearly turned red as his breathing became ragged, staring greedily at the blue water ball in front of Mo Xiao Qi.
Although he was a Third-Order Origin King, he had never even touched a Dao Source Grade artifact before, much less owned one. Although he speculated this girl had at least one Dao Source Grade artifact on her from the previous degree of generosity Mo Xiao Qi had displayed, after really seeing her pull one out, Xu Qing still felt shocked.
What’s more, this water sphere was obviously no ordinary Dao Source Grade artifact. It was very likely a High-Rank Dao Source Grade Artifact!
Such a treasure was invaluable to Xu Qing!
“Brother Xu, is this the time to get distracted?” Yang Kai snorted coldly as he hurried over to Mo Xiao Qi.
When Mo Xiao Qi took out the water sphere artifact and began to chant, the Firebird on the opposite side immediately fixed its sight on her as its eyes trembled, seemingly sensing a threat from her. Instantly, it marked Mo Xiao Qi as its priority.
Opening its beak, it spat out a pillar of black flames like a surging dragon towards her.
Yang Kai’s face changed drastically as his first instinct was to dodge.
“Please help me resist it, I can’t move right now!”
Before Yang Kai could dodge though, Mo Xiao Qi’s nervous words rang out in his ears.
“What a Pig!” Yang Kai couldn’t help cursing. He really couldn’t figure out whether Mo Xiao Qi was acting naïve or really was just that stupid. In the face of such a powerful enemy, she had displayed a Secret Technique that required her to remain stationary? What difference was that with courting death? Right now, as long as he dodged, Mo Xiao Qi would certainly be hit by the black flames and judging from the terrifying power behind them, she would definitely die.
Was her previous naïve and innocent performance from before not a disguise but her genuine personality? Was he wrong to suspect her of putting on an act all this time? If that wasn’t the case, how could her combat instincts be so terrible?
Anyone with even the slightest experience or combat sense wouldn’t choose this approach unless they were with teammates they could believe in from the bottom of their heart!
As for him, Xu Qing, and Yu Ruo Mei, they obviously were not companions who Mo Xiao Qi could entrust her life to.
In that instant, various thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, but he swiftly shoved them all aside and shouted, “If you don’t want to die here, help me!”
As he spoke, a five-coloured glow burst from Yang Kai’s body.
Stretching out his hand, he shouted, “Earth Sword Qi, Divine Nullification Shield!”
A yellow-brown light condensed in front of him and quickly assumed the form of a giant shield.
While cultivating the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art, Yang Kai had absorbed a large amount of energy from Divine Nullification Sand as his Earth Attribute Supreme Treasure, so now he could naturally use it as a form of defence.
The Earth Attribute was thick and solid, so it was best used for defence. As such, the defensive power of this Divine Nullification Shield was naturally quite good.
However, he did not stop there. Yang Kai next stripped the green Wood Attribute light from his body to create an illusory forest in front of himself, adding a second layer of protection behind the Divine Nullification Shield.
Next was the Water Attribute, Metal Attribute, Fire Attribute…
All five of his Sword Qis were used to rapidly create a five-stage barrier in front of himself.
*Hong…*
The black flame pillar struck the Divine Nullification Shield and smashed through it in an instant before rushing into the illusory forest, which it swiftly burst to ashes.
The ocean of water and shield of iron were next to fall, and only when the black flames reached the raging inferno wall did it pause momentarily.
This wasn’t too surprising though, as Yang Kai had used Sun’s True Fire to condense his Fire Sword Qi, so it was definitely not inferior to his opponent’s black flames in terms of grade. However, in terms of quantity, Yang Kai’s flames were naturally inferior, and it was only a blink of an eye before he fell into a disadvantage.
The intense heat and murderous intent which was smashing towards Yang Kai made his hair stand on end as he felt death itself rapidly approach.
Only then did Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei finally react.
Although the two of them were clearly plotting something, they were not fools and understood that they weren’t opponents of this Firebird. If they wanted to survive now, they had to first rescue Mo Xiao Qi while praying that her Secret Technique would be effective.
Seeing Yang Kai already taking action, they didn’t dare hold back.
“Heaven Weave Slash!”
“Limitless Sacred Seal!”
A pair of techniques flew out from Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei, blocking the explosive power of the black flame pillar. The full-powered blow of two Third-Order Origin Kings was not to be underestimated.
With the two of them joining in, the pressure Yang Kai felt was greatly reduced.
Secret Technique, Exile!
Yang Kai knew that if he didn’t use his best cards, he would have no chance to survive this, so he no longer had the luxury of concealing his strength and quickly displayed his Space Force.
In front of him, a black void suddenly opened, like the great maw of an ancient beast, and greedily swallowed up the weakened black flames, exiling it to the endless Void.
Fortunately, the violent and chaotic eruption of power allowed Yang Kai to partially conceal his Secret Technique, making it impossible for the others to completely see through him and instead assume that the explosive collision of their combined might have caused space to collapse momentarily.
At the very least, when Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei saw his Exile Secret Technique with their own eyes, they did not immediately associate it with Yang Kai and instead just trembled in shock from the violent explosion.
On the other hand, Mo Xiao Qi, who had been concentrating on preparing her own Secret Technique to activate her artifact, had her eyes light up as she directed a surprised look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was ignorant of all this, as he was now riding a tiger and had no attention to spare.
If he did not escape now, the Firebird would definitely attack him first, but if he dodged, Mo Xiao Qi would be in danger. This made him curse Mo Xiao Qi mercilessly in his heart while he stood fast, literally acting as a human shield for her.
The successfully combined resistance of Yang Kai, Xu Qing, and Yu Ruo Mei obviously made the Firebird aware that it had encountered a difficult opponent this time. Its red eyes flashed with anger as it spread its wings and sent out a barrage of black fireballs towards the trio obstructing it.
Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei both let out shouts as they quickly used their Movement Skills to dodge; unfortunately, the number of fireballs was so great that they were quickly forced to summon their own defensive artifacts in order to gain some sense of security.
Yang Kai’s face also went as black as the bottom of a pot. Xu Qing and Yu Ruo Mei were free to move, but he could only stand in place, so with no other choice, he summoned his Golden Blood Threads to intercept the incoming fireballs.
Although the effect was good, Yang Kai felt a deep sense of bitterness as many of his Golden Blood Threads were damaged or destroyed in the process.
His Golden Blood Threads were all condensed from his own Pure Golden Blood, so each was extremely precious. Having suffered such a huge loss this time, Yang Kai felt like shedding tears of blood.
“Ah, my Cloud Mirror!” Xu Qing’s cried rang out suddenly. Yang Kai took a moment to glance over and saw a mirror-like artifact in Xu Qing’s hand get wrapped in black flames and begin to melt. Flustered but with no other choice, Xu Qing could do nothing but toss away his artifact, lest he be contaminated with the black flames as well.
From the aura fluctuations this mirror gave off, it was obviously an Origin King Grade Mid-Rank artifact!
It seemed Yang Kai was not the only one to suffer heavy losses! While his Golden Blood Threads were damaged, he could still use his Golden Blood to repair it or condense new ones, but Xu Qing’s Origin King Grade artifact being burned down meant it was gone for good.
Seeing this, Yang Kai’s mood suddenly improved a lot.
Not only did Xu Qing lose his Cloud Mirror, the Origin King Grade hairpin artifact Yu Ruo Mei was using was also quickly destroyed by the black flames. The two of them had lost a great deal of wealth at this moment and were feeling a little distraught. Glaring at the Firebird, thick anger and hatred filled their eyes, but frightened by the ferocity of the Firebird, neither of them dared to step forward to challenge it and could only dodge in embarrassment.
*Li…*
The Firebird suddenly cried out, its voice filled with a mix of rage and anger, echoing through the sky.
The moment this voice sounded; everyone’s complexion changed drastically.
Because this cry was very likely going to attract the attention of others. If all the cultivators who had entered the depths of Clear Jade Mountain were brought here, all the efforts their group of four had put in would be taken advantage of by others.
In that brief moment, when Yang Kai lost concentration, a black fireball suddenly arrived right in front of him. Yang Kai’s face sank as he was about to use Exile again, but what he did not expect was that the fireball actually exploded right in front of him, sending out a rain of tiny black fire droplets towards him.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank suddenly and without any time to hesitate, he directly displayed another of his most powerful Secret Techniques.
Dragon Transformation!
Together with a thunderous dragon roar, a huge illusory dragon head flashed above Yang Kai’s head. At that moment, powerful Dragon Pressure filled the air, causing the Firebird on the opposite side to become dumbfounded as a trace of fear spread across its scarlet eyes.
Pieces of dragon scales emerged and wrapped up most of Yang Kai’s body. Even the True Dragon Scale appeared on Yang Kai’s chest, covering his vital organs.
*Hong Hong Hong…*
A series of bangs rang out as countless black fireballs hit Yang Kai’s body, causing him to spray a mouthful of blood from his mouth. The black flames peppered his physique, burning madly as it quickly began to melt through his protective dragon scales, as if they were snowflakes under the scorching sun.
Yang Kai’s face became incredibly solemn as he desperately urged the power of his Golden Divine Dragon Source to prevent the black flames from spreading.
However, his appearance looked very miserable as his aura dropped noticeably.
“Sister Xiao Qi, I’m at my limit!” Yang Kai said in a fluster as he prepared to abandon his position. He had done his best, and if he remained any longer, his situation would become worrying. He had stood fast to defend Mo Xiao Qi even to the point where his life was in danger, he felt he had done enough.
“I’m ready!” Mo Xiao Qi answered back as she pushed her palms forward. In that instant, the sound of a tsunami burst out from the blue water ball in front of her, giving the illusion that one was standing before a vast ocean that was about to come crashing down on them.
The water sphere burst into innumerable pieces in the next instant, becoming a cloud of mist that rushed forward as if it had come alive.
The mist washed over Yang Kai’s body, extinguishing the burning black flames that had given him so much trouble.
Immediately after, the mist arrived at the Firebird and directly wrapped it up, transforming back into a blue water sphere again.
However, this time, the water sphere was many times larger than before, and no matter how the Firebird struggled inside, it was unable to escape.
Having finished all this, Mo Xiao Qi also seemed to be quite drained, her delicate face somewhat pale as her well-rounded peaks heaved slightly. Using this artifact put a huge strain on her.
Although the price was not small, the result was gratifying.
“Hee hee, I finally caught you, little thing. Let’s see how you try to run away now,” Mo Xiao Qi straightened herself up and smiled as she looked ahead.
Yang Kai’s face suddenly sank as he shouted, “Watch out!”
As he shouted, he quickly flickered away from where he stood just as another figure appeared behind him and sent out a Secret Technique that shattered Yang Kai’s afterimage.
The figure which just appeared frowned deeply, as if he hadn’t expected Yang Kai to see through his sneak attack.
Who else could it be but Xu Qing?
At the same time, the figure of Yu Ruo Mei mysteriously appeared behind Mo Xiao Qi as a violent power burst from her slender palm. A cruel and greedy smile flashed across her coquettish face as she palmed directly towards Mo Xiao Qi’s exposed back.
Mo Xiao Qi let out a horrible cry as she spat out a mouthful of blood as she was sent flying forward, her beautiful eyes flashing a look of utter shock and disbelief.
“Ahh!” Mo Xiao Qi’s screams and Yu Ruo Mei’s screams sounded simultaneously.
Although her sneak attack had hit its mark, Yu Ruo Mei felt like she had been hit equally hard somehow and was also sent flying backwards, her pretty face turning pale as she felt the ache from her palm. Upon landing, she lifted her hand up and cried out in surprise, “How can this be? What is this?”
A strange mark had appeared on her palm at some point. This mark looked like an extremely menacing face and contained a terrifying power that caused her to feel like she was hearing endless wailing screams in her ears.
The eyes of the strange face suddenly glowed a gloomy light, and in the next moment, Yu Ruo Mei felt like she saw a mighty existence staring down at her indifferently.
After falling silent, she shuddered before collapsing to the ground.
“Ruo Mei, what happened?” On the other side, Xu Qing, whose attack had failed, saw Yu Ruo Mei fall to the ground and could not help calling out.
Yu Ruo Mei’s expression was blank as she lay on the ground sluggishly. If someone used their Divine Sense to invade her Knowledge Sea at this moment, they would see a phantom there that greatly resembled the mark on her palm madly devouring her Spiritual Energy and as her Soul was being drained, the light from her eyes also began to dim.
On the other side, Mo Xiao Qi stood up while coughing lightly. Judging from her state, although she had suffered a sneak attack, it was obviously not a big problem. Turning her head and looking at Yu Ruo Mei blankly, she asked in a completely confused and disbelieving tone, “Why did you suddenly attack me?”
The look of distress from being betrayed was so authentic it really did not seem like she was acting.
It was like she really had been attacked from behind by her most trusted of companions. If it was not for the powerful protective Artifact Armour she was wearing, she would likely be dead right now.
“You really are a stupid woman,” Yang Kai looked at her like she was an idiot.
Mo Xiao Qi turned her head to look at Yang Kai, her big eyes turning watery as she asked him, “How am I stupid?”
Yang Kai could not help rubbing his forehead with his palm, really not knowing how to explain it to her.
“What did you do to her?” Xu Qing was unable to get a response from Yu Ruo Mei no matter how he called out so he could only turn to ask Mo Xiao Qi.
Mo Xiao Qi’s tender body trembled as a look of fear appeared on her face, waving her hands in a flustered manner as she said, “I didn’t do anything to her… The Artifact Armour I’m wearing automatically applies a Wicked Ghost Seal to anyone who attacks me, so she… she…”
Yang Kai was stunned once again!
Did this woman really just reveal the secrets behind her defences?
At this point, he was finally able to determine that this girl named Mo Xiao Qi was not some kind of old witch who was playing innocent in order to deceive them, but rather a real innocent naïve little girl!
Could she really be only as old as she looked on the surface?
Yang Kai was taken aback as this thought emerged in his heart.
If that was so, it was truly terrifying.
“Wicked Ghost Seal?” Xu Qing frowned. Obviously, he had never heard of this Secret Technique, but soon, he shook his head lightly and declared, “It matters not! Now there is one fewer person to split the spoils between. Good, this Xu can reap all the benefits for himself!”
No longer paying any attention to whether Yu Ruo Mei lived or died, he instead began to laugh wickedly.
Yang Kai sneered as he called out sarcastically, “Brother Xu, where is all your confidence coming from? Are you not able to see the situation clearly? There’s two of us but only one of you here.”
“Is having more people useful?” Xu Qing sneered as he looked at Yang Kai contemptuously, “How much strength can the two of you exert at this moment?”
From his point of view, Yang Kai had just stood in front of Mo Xiao Qi to resist the Firebird’s attack, which must have caused him a great deal of consumption. After that, Yang Kai had even been contaminated with those black flames, so even being alive was pure luck.
As for Mo Xiao Qi, after she used her water sphere artifact, she looked ready to collapse.
The two of them were obviously not at their peaks and should not be able to display too much strength.
On the other hand, he was in good condition, so he did not fear them.
Yang Kai just chuckled lightly and said, “If Brother Xu really thinks so, then you might as well give it a try.”
Seeing Yang Kai look so confident and composed, Xu Qing could not help frowning, wondering whether Yang Kai was just acting mysterious or was truly confident.
Nearby, Mo Xiao Qi still stood there with a despondent look on her face as she stared towards the now soulless Xu Ruo Mei and muttered, “Why did you try to attack me?”
Yang Kai turned his head to glance at her and couldn’t help snapping, “Idiot, men die for wealth like birds die for food, don’t you understand such a simple truth? Did your parents not tell you this before you ran out?”
“I didn’t,” Mo Xiao Qi shook her head vigorously, a look of panic flashing across her eyes as she waved her hands at Yang Kai. “You absolutely cannot tell my father I am here, or he’ll punch me!”
“I don’t even know your father, how am I supposed to tell him?” Yang Kai nearly coughed up blood when he heard this completely out of place response.
“That’s right!” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly showed a look of relief.
“Enough!” When Xu Qing saw the two of them continue to banter back and forth like he was not even there, he lost his calm and roared angrily and snapped, “Brother Yang, if you don’t want to die, leave now, you have no reason to fight with this Xu.”
Yang Kai chuckled as he glanced faintly towards Xu Qing and said, “We truly have no reason to be hostile with one another, but… what Brother Xu can think of, this Yang can also understand.”
Xu Qing was taken aback for a moment as he looked at Yang Kai in surprise before saying with some amazement, “Brother Yang really conceals himself deeply, but if that’s the case, why do we not work together? We can split the spoils half and half.”
“No, no,” Yang Kai shook his head before pointing to himself and saying. “If I have one shortcoming, it’s that I always like to eat alone, I don’t like sharing with others. If Brother Xu understands his limits, he should leave now before it’s too late.”
“Isn’t Brother Yang afraid he won’t be able to stomach so much by himself?”
“I have a good appetite!”
Mo Xiao Qi looked at the two of them blankly as she interjected, “What are you going to eat? I have some spirit fruits here; would you like them?”
Saying so, she really took out two tender looking spirit fruits from her Space Ring. The moment these fruits appeared, a rich fragrance filled the air, and judging from the energy fluctuations coming from them, they were obviously not ordinary fruits but instead rare treasures.
“Even if you don’t speak, no one will think you’re a mute!” Yang Kai glared at her angrily.
Mo Xiao Qi instantly felt wronged.
“Hmph, since Brother Yang has said so, is there no room for discussion?” Xu Qing gulped as his eyes became slightly red. Everything Mo Xiao Qi took out from her Space Ring stimulated his greed further and he became even more convinced that there were countless treasures hidden she was still hiding.
He was certain that if he could grab this Space Ring, he would not have to worry about cultivation resources for the rest of his lifetime, so how could Xu Qing endure?
“From the moment Brother Xu attacked me, we had nothing to discuss,” Yang Kai sneered.
“Good! Then let this Xu test whether Brother Yang is capable of backing up his words or not!” As soon as Xu Qing’s voice fell, his power suddenly surged and his physique began to rapidly inflate.
The clothes on his body began to rip and were soon torn to shreds while at the same time, countless golden hairs began to sprout from Xu Qing’s bare skin.
After just three breaths, Xu Qing’s entire image had undergone tremendous changes.
Now, he was more than five meters tall and had a slightly hunched figure with unusually long arms, rippling muscles, and bloodshot eyes. From his throat, a bestial roar rang out and together with the thick golden hair that covered his entire body, he looked exactly like a giant golden ape.
Yang Kai was quite shocked.
It was the first time that he had seen this kind of Secret Technique, at least, there were no Secret Techniques that would allow one to assume the form of a Monster Beast in his native Star Field. This only went to show how full of mysteries and wonders the Star Boundary really was.
However, what surprised Yang Kai more was that even in the dangerous situation they were in earlier, Xu Qing had actually held back such a card, yet was now not hesitating to use it to deal with him.
“Beast Soul Symbiosis? Golden Hair Giant Ape?” Mo Xiao Qi exclaimed from the side, her beautiful eyes trembling slightly before she made a move that Yang Kai found difficult to believe.
She actually lifted both her hands and covered her eyes, not daring to look at Xu Qing who was now practically naked, most of his ‘vitals’ exposed to the air.
[This silly girl!] Yang Kai had nothing to say as he completely gave up any idea of relying on her help in the coming battle.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing, who had displayed his trump card Secret Technique, roared before he transformed into a streak of golden light that rushed directly towards Yang Kai.
A fist bigger than a carriage smashed down at the same time, with a force that seemed capable of crushing mountains and splitting seas.
[Quite fast!]
Yang Kai instantly realized how difficult an opponent Xu Qing would be, and after taking a deep breath, he stabilized his stance to meet the approaching fist with one of his own.
A look of mockery appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes as he sneered, “Want to stop my punch? Don’t be so presumptuous!”
The huge fist fell even faster as Xu Qing added more strength to it.
*Hong…*
There was a loud bang and Yang Kai snorted as half his body was beaten into the ground while Xu Qing’s five-meter-tall body also staggered backwards, almost flying out directly.
His golden-haired face filled with astonishment as he never expected Yang Kai’s physical power to be so immense, but he still quickly stabilized his figure and raised his other fist up high before slamming it down with the force of a falling meteor, causing an ear-splitting roar of wind as it cut through the air.
Yang Kai was half-buried at the moment so he could not move freely and had no way to avoid this blow.
With no other choice, he could only raise his arms to guard himself.
With another loud bang, Yang Kai was smashed into the ground completely, leaving only his head half-exposed.
Xu Qing did not even spare Yang Kai a second glance, not caring whether he was alive or dead, instead just charging over towards Mo Xiao Qi with all haste.
In his opinion, it was meaningless to engage in a life or death battle with Yang Kai. As long as he snatched Mo Xiao Qi’s Space Ring, his goal would be achieved.
Mo Xiao Qi still stood there, covering her eyes, ignorant of the approaching danger, her face was beet-red all the way to the tip of her ears. For Mo Xiao Qi, who was as pure as a piece of white paper, even just the bare upper body of the beast-like Xu Qing was more than she could bear, much less what had been exposed down below.
In her heart, she was truly panicking.
[I saw it, I saw it! I won’t go blind right? Right?]
Aunty Feng’s teaching of ‘never look at the ugly body of a man or it will blind your eyes!’ still rang loudly in her ears.
Mo Xiao Qi still remembered that when Aunty Feng had told her this, she wore a completely serious expression and spoke in a serious tone, so she firmly believed her.
Xu Qing was extremely fast and arrived beside Mo Xiao Qi in an instant. Looking down at this naïve girl who was completely unguarded against him, and the glittering Space Ring on her hand, Xu Qing could not help grinning.
Reaching out swiftly, he grabbed towards Mo Xiao Qi’s Space Ring.
Having learned his lesson from Yu Ruo Mei’s pitiful example, he did not dare attack Mo Xiao Qi; after all, who knows what kind of power the Artifact Armour she was wearing still had? If he followed in Yu Ruo Mei’s footsteps after reaching this point, it would be a really bad joke.
His goal from beginning to end was Mo Xiao Qi’s ring.
However, just when his huge hand was just a meter away from Mo Xiao Qi, the two earrings she was wearing suddenly released a faint ring as they transformed into two dazzling rays of light which shot towards Xu Qing like arrows from the string.
This unexpected counterattack caused Xu Qing’s eyes to shrink and all the golden hairs on his body stood on end.
His complexion changed drastically, and he no longer dared to approach Mo Xiao Qi, instead forcing himself to retreat rapidly.
The two dazzling lights did not relent, however, and pierced towards Xu Qing from left and right.
At this moment of crisis, Xu Qing released a desperate roar as golden light radiated from his body, making him seem even larger than before.
Two puffs rang out as the golden light halo around Xu Qing’s body was instantly pierced through and he staggered backwards a few steps with a great snort.
The two rays of light then swiftly returned to Mo Xiao Qi’s delicate earlobes.
Now, there was a big hole in Xu Qing’s abdomen out of which blood poured like a fountain. In a panic, Xu Qing circulated his Qi in order to staunch this outflow.
Looking over at Mo Xiao Qi incredulously, he couldn’t believe that this seemingly defenceless girl in front of him was able to cause him such heavy losses without lifting a finger or even intending to fight back.
Yu Ruo Mei dying was not unjust!
“Who are you?” Xu Qing growled.
At this time, if he could not guess that Mo Xiao Qi’s background was enormous, he would not have been an Origin King Realm cultivator. He was now secretly regretting being blinded by Mo Xiao Qi’s wealth.
She was no doubt the descendant of some great Sir.
When dealing with such a person, if he could wash his hands cleanly after the fact, it was fine, but the slightest mistake or leak of information would only result in a relentless pursuit!
If he fell into the hands of her elders, a swift death would be the best outcome he could hope for.
However, now that he had already acted, there was no turning back. Since regrets were of no use, he could only steel himself and go all out to silence all the witnesses to the crime.
Just as he was lost in thought, a rich murderous intent suddenly erupted behind him. Xu Qing was startled and hurriedly turned his head to find Yang Kai furiously falling towards him, his body covered in a blinding five-coloured glow, his face filled with anger. The violent power which surged from Yang Kai’s fists made him seem like an enraged beast, causing Xu Qing to slightly shudder.
Yang Kai underestimated the power of the animal-like Xu Qing mainly because he did not know anything about the Golden Hair Giant Ape.
If he knew that this Golden Hair Giant Ape, even in ancient times, was a species famous for its physical strength, he would not have acted so carelessly and been smashed into the ground as a result.
In ancient times, the Golden Hair Giant Ape could easily lift mountains…
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s skin was thick and his flesh was tough, so although he was a little embarrassed, he was not injured.
However, Xu Qing’s attack completely enraged him.
Using his Third-Order Origin King Domain infused with his comprehension of the Dao of Space, Yang Kai thoroughly suppressed Xu Qing and engulfed him in an ocean of tiny Void Cracks.
Yang Kai smiled grimly as he waved his hand and shot out a series of Moon Blades towards his target.
Xu Qing’s complexion changed drastically as although he could not determine what kind of power Yang Kai’s Moon Blades were composed of, just the solidification strength of his Domain was enough to threaten his life.
Disregarding the injury to his lower abdomen, Xu Qing roared to the Heavens as his golden hair stood on end, transforming into steel needle-like existences that pierced Yang Kai’s Domain and allowed him to break free of its pressure.
The sound of the air being cut rang out as Yang Kai’s Moon Blade’s slashed forward, erasing everything in their path but failing to hit their mark.
Yang Kai swiftly turned around and locked onto Xu Qing’s position where he saw that at some point a giant axe had appeared in his opponent’s arms and was now being chopped down towards him.
Yang Kai roared in anger as the five-coloured glow from his body shone even brighter. Using his Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, his right arm was covered in a layer of dragon scales as he punched out towards the approaching axe.
The two forces impacted each other like two colliding mountains, causing the surrounding world to tremble.
“What!?”
Xu Qing’s complexion changed once more as he watched his artifact axe fly out while Yang Kai remained unharmed, his body only reeling back slightly before he once again charged forward.
Xu Qing’s blow just now, even if used against a fully prepared Third-Order Origin King, should have at least caused serious damage if it did not kill them directly, but Yang Kai clearly looked unscathed.
[Just how strong is his physical defence?]
Xu Qing’s anger was also stimulated by this sight, and instead of shrinking back, he charged towards Yang Kai as well.
The two quickly became entangled in a fierce battle, but from the very beginning, it was Xu Qing who was at a clear disadvantage. Yang Kai only became more and more ferocious during the fight, using various Secret Techniques that caused Xu Qing to complain constantly in his heart.
[How can this be? I’ve used my Golden Hair Giant Ape’s Beast Soul Symbiosis that allows me to surpass any Origin King cultivator. No one can compete with me… could it be his Source Qi…]
Xu Qing was both shocked and suspicious, and as such thoughts crossed his mind, fear or worry began to creep into his heart, keeping him from maintaining his composure.
Xu Qing was being comprehensively suppressed by Yang Kai in all respects, and new wounds were being added constantly to the ones he already suffered.
After just half a cup of tea’s time, Xu Qing found his defences on the verge of collapse and realized that he would die sooner or later if he continued to fight Yang Kai.
Realizing this, he began thinking of how to withdraw.
It was at that moment that the sound of something breaking through the air rang out from the horizon while at the same time a burst of loud laughter sounded, “The Heavens have blessed me today, I actually get to pick up a bargain here, hahahaha!”
As soon as his words fell, a flying ship suddenly blocked the sun overhead. On the deck of this flying ship was a lineup of eight cultivators, each with a heavy aura about them. Leading this group was an old man that was now transfixed by the Firebird imprisoned in the blue water sphere.
Yang Kai and Xu Qing both hurriedly withdrew from their battle when this third party suddenly appeared.
The next moment, Yang Kai arrived by Mo Xiao Qi’s side and frowned, raised his head to the sky while at the same time he spread out his Divine Sense to check the surrounding region.
The next moment, Yang Kai’s face turned ugly.
His brief scan had discovered countless cultivators hurriedly approaching here, obviously drawn by the loud cry the Firebird had let out earlier.
Worse, on the flying ship that arrived first, the old man leading them was clearly a Dao Source Realm master.
As soon as the old man’s voice fell, however, another figure flew over in a flash of light. When the light faded, a middle-aged man dressed in scholarly robes appeared and sneered, “Old Jiu, you’re quite fast.”
The old man heard this voice and turned a look of disgust towards the middle-aged man while saying coldly, “Chen Shi Qi, did you come here to join the fun too?”
The middle-aged man named Chen Shi Qi smiled when he heard these words and replied, “If Old Jiu can come here, why can this Chen not?”
“En, my Raging Fire Temple is also interested in joining the fun, I hope Old Jiu won’t refuse,” Another voice sounded as a tiger-shaped chariot appeared from a different direction, a burly man riding atop it.
This man was as big as a bear and his body gave off an obvious Fire Attribute aura. Even his hair and beard were a dark crimson coloured.
“Hmph!” Seeing this person from Raging Fire Temple arrive, Old Jiu and Chen Shi Qi could not help snorting, unpleasant looks filling both their faces as they showed extreme wariness towards this brawny man.
“Three Dao Source Realms!” Yang Kai frowned. Although he couldn’t tell exactly, he could vaguely estimate the strength of these three people. The man called Old Jiu and Chen Shi Qi who arrived first were probably First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators while the brawny man was a Second-Order.
So as soon as the brawny man appeared, Old Jiu and Chen Shi Qi stopped arguing and after a quick glance, moved slightly closer together, seemingly forming an alliance.
“Temple Master Luo appearing here in person is unexpected. Doesn’t Temple Master Luo need to assume command back in Raging Fire Temple? I heard that your Temple recently hasn’t been very peaceful,” Old Jiu said coldly.
The big man surnamed Luo chuckled lightly and said, “Old Jiu need not worry, those small disputes inside the Temple were easily resolved by this Luo.”
Hearing this, Old Jiu’s face sank as he knew that this ‘easy resolution’ probably involved the death of many people.
One should not be fooled by the carefree and light-hearted attitude Temple Master Luo gave off; in truth, he was a cruel man whom many within the vicinity of Maplewood City feared.
As these three masters talked, more and more cultivators gathered around, most in groups while those like Chen Shi Qi who were all alone were extremely rare.
This situation made the three Dao Source Realm experts quite dissatisfied, and they even considered expelling all these mixed fish, but none of them took the lead to do so because they were worried about stirring up public anger.
Yang Kai frowned slightly as he felt this matter was about to become a bit difficult.
While he was hesitating though, Temple Master Luo suddenly asked, “Old Jiu, you’re well learned. Do you recognize this Monster Beast?”
He had been staring at the Firebird wrapped in a water sphere but was unable to recognize its species, so he decided to ask.
Old Jiu frowned and said, “If this old master is not mistaken, this little thing seems to belong to the Phoenix bloodline.”
“Phoenix?”
“An Ancient Divine Spirit?”
Many cultivators heard this and revealed looks of surprise while also taking a few steps back in shock.
The title of Ancient Divine Spirit was too shocking. Even a common cultivator would feel terrified when they heard it. Even the ten Great Emperors would feel somewhat hesitant when facing an Ancient Divine Spirit; after all, such Monster Beasts were rulers descended from ancient times. A True Ancient Divine Spirit was powerful enough to destroy a world!
Yang Kai’s eyes also flashed when he heard these words. If that was the case, it would also explain why he felt a faint coercion from this Firebird.
While dragons had Dragon Pressure, phoenixes had Phoenix Pressure. If this Firebird really belonged to the Phoenix lineage, it would naturally give off an innate pressure that could deter any living creature.
Chen Shi Qi nodded to the side, “This Chen also agrees with Old Jiu’s view, but this Chen cannot see which family it specifically belongs to.”
Temple Master Luo chuckled, “I heard that there was a Divine Spirit called the Luan Feng in ancient times, one that had both Phoenix and Azure Luan bloodlines. This Luo is not talented, but he had seen some ancient records before regarding this creature and this little one has some similarities, but I am not certain.”
“Luan Feng?” Old Jiu frowned before he suddenly shouted at Xu Qing who was standing to the side, “Brat, answer me, what kind of power has this thing used?”
Xu Qing had already lifted his Beast Soul Symbiosis state and restored his original appearance, but his face was a little pale. Obviously, he had experienced a great deal of consumption in the previous battle. Hearing Old Jiu’s question at this moment, he did not dare conceal anything and quickly began narrating what had transpired before.
As they listened, everyone, including the three Dao Source Realm masters grew visibly more excited.
Because according to Xu Qing’s description, this Firebird may really be a Luan Feng.
That was a genuine Ancient Divine Spirit!
In other words, this little Firebird was an infant Divine Spirit!
If they could capture it and bring it back to their respective power, once it grew up, they would have a Divine Spirit as a helper, a privilege only the top ten Emperors might be able to enjoy.
Thinking so, many people’s breathing became short as this was an opportunity to reach the Heavens in a single bound.
Old Jiu, Chen Shi Qi, and Temple Master Luo looked at this little Firebird with undisguised greed.
“We need to leave!” Yang Kai saw how the situation was developing and realized that this was not a place he could remain any longer, so he hurriedly and quietly warned Mo Xiao Qi.
“Can I take my hands off now?” Mo Xiao Qi asked timidly.
“You’re still covering your eyes!?” Yang Kai was stunned and quickly moved her hands away from her eyes.
Regaining her sight, Mo Xiao Qi looked around for a moment and called out in shock, “So many people?”
“En, if we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to!” Yang Kai ground his teeth.
“But… my little Luan Feng!” Mo Xiao Qi bit her red lips and looked at the Firebird that was imprisoned by her artifact. Even though she was naïve, she knew that in front of everyone’s eyes it would be impossible to carry off this Firebird.
“You knew it was a Luan Feng?” Yang Kai looked at Mo Xiao Qi in amazement.
“En, I knew the first time I saw it,” Mo Xiao Qi spoke as if it was obvious.
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment before he began cursing viciously to himself.
If he had known that it was a juvenile Luan Feng in Clear Jade Mountain, even if Mo Xiao Qi had given him ten times the benefits, he would never have come here.
An ordinary man is innocent, but treasures make him guilty. If one really managed to obtain this infant Luan Feng, it would be nothing but trouble. If it was a baby Divine Spirit, then it must have parents. Yang Kai did not want to be chased down and killed by a mature Luan Feng.
This little Luan Feng was a beautiful flower indeed, but one covered in the sharpest of thorns. It was simply ridiculous that so many people here were blinded by the beauty of some imagined future and wanted to take it for themselves.
But facing this naïve, bordering on stupid girl, what was Yang Kai supposed to say?
Trying to reason with her would likely leave Yang Kai coughing up blood from frustration.
While the two were communicating secretly, Old Jiu asked again, “What artifact is this? It seems capable of restraining this juvenile Divine Spirit.”
He was staring at the blue water sphere with scorching eyes, a look of greed covering his face.
The same was true for Chen Shi Qi and Temple Master Luo.
Even though the Luan Feng in front of them was a baby, it had the blood of a Divine Spirit coursing through its veins so no simple artifact could restrain it. This blue water sphere did not seem too eye-catching at first, but if one were even slightly perceptive, they would understand it was a shocking treasure itself.
Even the three Dao Source Realms were unable to identify its exact grade.
“This thing… was brought by that girl.” Xu Qing’s thoughts turned quickly after he heard Old Jiu’s question and he pointed to Mo Xiao Qi with a wicked smile as he spoke.
Yang Kai’s face suddenly became gloomy as he began cursing Xu Qing’s eighteen generations of ancestors.
Xu Qing obviously wanted to murder them with a borrowed knife. He had already offended Mo Xiao Qi and was afraid of being chased down by the power behind her, but was also powerless to deal with her, so he could only take advantage of Old Jiu and the other Dao Source cultivators.
Sure enough, Old Jiu and the others heard this and could not help staring towards Mo Xiao Qi brightly.
Temple Master Luo grinned meaningfully and said, “Little Girl, you’re quite good. Do you want to join my Raging Fire Temple? This Luo can provide you with the best cultivation resources if you agree.”
He directly opened his mouth to recruit Mo Xiao Qi, thinking that as long as he could win her over, the Luan Feng that was imprisoned by Mo Xiao Qi’s artifact would also belong to him.
If it was any normal cultivator, even if they refused, they wouldn’t speak directly, but Mo Xiao Qi obviously had no such qualms and simply shook her head decisively before saying, “Aunty Feng said that forces outside are like weeds, none of them worth mentioning, so I won’t join your Raging Fire Temple.”
On Temple Master Luo’s forehead, blue veins bulged as his eyes suddenly became cold while on the other hand, Old Jiu and Chen Shi Qi laughed out loud, clearly taking pleasure in his misfortune.
Yang Kai’s face went black as he forced the corners of his mouth upwards slightly and cupped his fists, “Temple Master Luo, please don’t mind. This girl has some problems with her head!”
“What did I say wrong?” Mo Xiao Qi looked at Yang Kai blankly.
“You shut up!” Yang Kai snapped.
“Oh.”
“Hmph, you dare to insult my Raging Fire Temple? Little Girl, your courage isn’t small! If you comply with this Luo’s demands today, this Luo will spare your life, but if you refuse…” Why would Temple Master Luo bother with Yang Kai? Mo Xiao Qi’s answer had caused him to lose face, so murderous intent instantly flared from his body. If he had not wanted to use Mo Xiao Qi’s artifact to subdue the Luan Feng, he would already have taken action.
“Temple Master Luo, you must not rush to attack her. This girl is wearing a lot of powerful artifacts, some of which can act independently to protect her! One of my companions simply touched her accidentally and had her Soul destroyed as a result. Even this Junior was almost implicated by her,” Xu Qing yelled in a loud voice, as if he was afraid there would be some here who didn’t hear him.
“An artifact that can independently protect her?” Temple Master Luo heard this and could not help gasping, “Is it an artifact with an Artifact Spirit?”
Artifacts were just dead objects, so in order to act independently to protect their wearer, they needed to have formed an Artifact Spirit. Such artifacts were definitely not low-grade and were extremely valuable.
“Interesting,” Old Jiu also looked at Mo Xiao Qi with bright eyes. Using his Divine Sense, he began scanning her earrings, hairpin, necklace, and bracelets, quickly discerning that almost every piece of jewellery worn by Mo Xiao Qi was of high-grade artifact, just as Xu Qing said!
Chen Shi Qi’s expression flickered as a greedy light flashed across his eyes.
“Xu Qing, you’ll die like a dog for this!” Yang Kai yelled and grabbed Mo Xiao Qi as he shouted, “Run!”
As soon as his voice fell though, Yang Kai shoved Mo Xiao Qi away as he felt a shocking pain run up his arm the moment he touched her.
“Sorry, on my hand there’s…”
“Stop talking, just focus on surviving for now!” Yang Kai was disinclined to listen to her explanation and simply wrapped her up in his Qi before dashing off.
“My Weak Water Bead, my little Luan Feng!” Mo Xiao Qi exclaimed tenderly as she formed a seal with her hands, seemingly wanting to take back the Weak Water Bead and the imprisoned Luan Feng.
But how could the three Dao Source Realms present just watch this happen? Temple Master Luo and the others all waved their hands abruptly to suppress the Weak Water Bead and Luan Feng in place.
“Take back your Weak Water Bead now!” Yang Kai said hurriedly.
Mo Xiao Qi nodded obediently and did not bother with the Luan Feng anymore, instead just focusing on retrieving her Weak Water Bead.
Without the imprisonment of the Weak Water Bead, the infant Luan Feng immediately regained its freedom, spread out its wings, and sent out a barrage of black fireballs in all directions, causing the surrounding cultivators to hurriedly dodge. At the same time, the baby Luan Feng shot up into the sky, attempting to escape.
“Where are you going!?” The three Dao Source Realms all acted together to seal off the retreat of the Luan Feng but none of them dared to get too close; after all, the black flames gave even them an extremely dangerous feeling. Once contaminated with it, it would no doubt be extremely difficult to extinguish.
After stopping the infant Luan Feng, Temple Master Luo turned his attention to Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi, sending a palm out towards them.
“You want to just leave? Naive!” Temple Master Luo coldly snorted.
Even a casual blow from a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master could affect the World Principles around it, causing Yang Kai to feel a deep sense of crisis. Without hesitation, he displayed his Nihility Secret Technique, causing his figure to disappear.
The power of the palm flew over and passed through Yang Kai’s body, hitting empty space before impacting an oval-shaped light shield around Mo Xiao Qi’s body which completely dispersed it, leaving her with no injuries at all.
When Yang Kai’s figure reappeared, he immediately stared at Mo Xiao Qi like she was some kind of monster.
He was able to avoid the attack of Temple Master Luo because of his Space Secret Technique, but Mo Xiao Qi had not even needed to do anything as the artifacts she wore were enough to perfectly protect her.
This girl’s background and heritage were clearly even greater than he imagined.
The speed of the two was extremely fast and in the blink of an eye they had disappeared.
Behind them, Temple Master Luo and the others had fallen into a chaotic battle for the Luan Feng. The light from Secret Techniques and artifact attacks filled the sky as powerful energy fluctuations exploded everywhere. Cultivators fell from the sky one after another, with none of the living having any spare energy to deal with Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi now.
After escaping a couple dozen kilometres, Yang Kai suddenly stopped.
Mo Xiao Qi also stopped and looked at Yang Kai suspiciously, “Why did you stop?”
Yang Kai looked at her coldly and grinned meaningfully.
Mo Xiao Qi’s beautiful face suddenly went pale as she hurried back a few steps before trying to act tough and shouting, “What do you want to do? I’m warning you, I’m quite fierce!”
Yang Kai couldn’t help rolling his eyes, “What do you think I want to do? I just want to observe from here.”
Mo Xiao Qi frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly said joyfully, “The mantis catches the cicada, while unaware the oriole is behind?”
She looked extremely excited, as if she had found something fun.
“I just want to lie in wait to see if that Xu Qing escapes. Anyone who plots against me won’t have a good end,” Yang Kai declared coldly.
“I’ll help you! He really didn’t seem like a good person,” Mo Xiao Qi volunteered.
[Shouldn’t you have noticed he was not a good person before all of this?] Yang Kai was completely speechless.
And so, the two of them went into hiding, concealing their auras as they waited.
However, Mo Xiao Qi was currently far away from Yang Kai. It was not that Mo Xiao Qi was wary of him, or afraid Yang Kai would try to take advantage of her somehow, but rather that Yang Kai was afraid of her!
This girl was covered with sharp thorns, and just touching her now had drawn blood from Yang Kai’s hand, so who knew what kind of misfortune would befall him if he were to accidentally touch her again.
As such, under Yang Kai’s strong request, Mo Xiao Qi lay in ambush a thousand metres away from him.
At this moment, she seemed to be pursing her lips and muttering something with an uncomfortable look on her face.
Although the battle was occurring nearly thirty kilometres away from where he currently was, with Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense, the situation on the other side was easy to observe.
More and more cultivators were rushing over and getting drawn into the battle, some of whom were Dao Source Realm masters.
These cultivators were either in groups ranging from three to eight members in total, causing the battle to become even more heated.
From time to time, someone would fall from the sky, but the flow of blood and cries before death did nothing to calm the situation, instead only further fueling the flames of battle. Almost everyone now had bloodshot eyes as they attacked everyone else mercilessly.
The Dao Source Realm masters were undoubtedly much calmer, and while fighting amongst themselves, they were also blocking the Luan Feng’s escape routes, making it impossible for it to flee.
Yang Kai soon found Xu Qing amongst the crowd. This guy had once again displayed his Beast Soul Symbiosis Secret Technique to assume his Golden Hair Giant Ape form and was trailing behind Old Jiu, killing the stragglers left behind by the old man.
Soon, of the hundreds of cultivators who entered Clear Jade Mountain, at least eighty percent had become involved in the battle, creating rivers of blood and mountains of corpses after just two short hours.
As time passed, even the Dao Source Realm masters began to get hurt. Now, everyone was going all out, not just to snatch the Luan Feng, but also to seek revenge for their grievances.
Almost all of the cultivators present were either from Maplewood City or the surrounding area, so there were many grudges between them and now was as good a time as any to settle them.
More and more cultivators fell as the battle raged on.
The Dao Source Realm masters finally realized that the situation was getting out of hand at some point, and with some unknown party making the proposal, the battle rapidly subsided, but by this point, only half of the cultivators which had gotten involved in this debacle were still alive.
The infant Luan Feng was still surrounded by cultivators and had lost its previous ferocity. Instead, it was collapsed on the ground weakly, its beautiful feathers somewhat bloodied as the once brilliantly burning flames which covered its body had gone dim, like they were on the verge of being extinguished.
This battle seemed to have damaged its very source.
The infant Luan Feng had no way to escape under the watchful gazes of so many cultivators, the only question now was who would be able to subdue it.
However, it was clear from everyone’s posture that none of them had any intention to back down, so a quick resolution to this situation was highly unlikely.
Sure enough, the remaining cultivators wrangled and quarrelled on the spot for more than an hour but were still unable to come up with a good solution. The situation was still deadlocked and the atmosphere was gradually becoming tenser, as if a second battle was about to break out.
During the whole process, the infant Luan Feng had been lying on the ground while crying out softly.
Yang Kai, who was still hiding in wait, frowned as he began to grow a bit anxious.
Once these people finished negotiating ownership of the Luan Feng, their next target would most likely be Mo Xiao Qi; after all, she seemed to be worth no less than this infant Luan Feng.
Just as Yang Kai was debating whether to leave, his skin suddenly cramped as a terrifying sense of crisis washed over him.
This made him frown as he did not know what had happened to cause him to feel this way.
Turning his head and looking to the other side, Mo Xiao Qi also seemed to be aware of something and was looking around frantically even now.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, as if a giant cloud had obscured the sun above, casting a massive shadow onto the ground. At the same time, the temperature of the air rose rapidly, causing the lush and green trees of Clear Jade Mountain to begin to wither and burn.
*Li…*
A high-pitched and sharp cry rang out from high above.
Yang Kai was shocked to hear this cry and instinctively looked up, the next going completely stiff.
Up in the sky, an existence almost identical in appearance to the infant Luan Feng was flapping its wings lightly as it approached.
However, this creature was countless times larger than the infant Luan Feng, like a massively enlarged version of it.
As it flew by, even the surrounding sky seemed to be burned as space warped and distorted. It exuded an unimaginable pressure that seemed capable of crushing mountains and caused Yang Kai’s bones to creak despite how far away it still was.
“Luan Feng! A real Ancient Divine Spirit!” Yang Kai exclaimed in shock.
This was a real, mature Luan Feng, a powerful existence that only appeared in legends, a peerless overlord that was on par with true Dragons!
Yang Kai could not help cursing in his heart, as although he had guessed that there must be a mature Luan Feng somewhere since an infant Luan Feng had appeared, he hadn’t thought he would see this mature Luan Feng with his own eyes so quickly!
The deterrence brought by its huge figure alone almost made Yang Kai unable to move, not to mention the burning black flames it exuded which seemed capable of burning all creation to ashes.
Yang Kai’s eyes shrank violently as he tried to run, but to his shock, he found he was unable to even move his fingers, and could only watch as the Luan Feng flew over his head.
*Li…*
Thirty kilometres away, the baby Luan Feng let out an urgent cry filled with sorrow as it did its best to lift up its weak body, like a lost child that had finally seen its parent and was calling out for help.
Temple Master Luo, Old Jiu, Chen Shi Qi, and all the others were frozen solid in place. When the giant shadow that obscured all light descended on their heads, everyone knew that catastrophe was imminent, and huge beads of sweat fell from their foreheads. Everyone was desperately circulating their strength, wanting only to flee from here quickly.
But under the coercion of an Ancient Divine Spirit, they were no better than children, completely incapable of resisting.
This was true even for the Dao Source Realm masters present. As for the Origin Kings and Origin Returning Realm cultivators, they were even more miserable.
There were even a few weaker Origin Returning Realm cultivators who coughed up blood and died on the spot from the pressure.
The Luan Feng hovering in the air looked down and seeing its child’s tragic situation, its eyes became red as a violent hostility exploded from its body and swept out toward the horizon.
As it hovered mid-air, it opened its giant beak, and its abdomen began to bulge. A moment later, a jet black, World Extinguishing Black Flames swept down like a giant tidal wave.
“No!” Temple Master Luo could only desperately cry out once before he was vaporized by the torrent of black flames.
Wherever the black flame passed, everything ceased to exist. Among the more than two hundred cultivators who were at the scene, none escaped this calamity. All of them were burned to death, body and Soul.
The black flames filled the air and spread out rapidly, to the extent that they could still be seen clearly hundreds of kilometres away. These flames seemed to burn down even Heaven and Earth.
A ten-kilometre wide region was instantly turned into a burning wasteland where nothing grew, and this dead zone was rapidly expanding as the wall of black flames continued to spread.
Thirty kilometres away, Yang Kai was absolutely horrified, and seeing the black flames crashing towards him like a tsunami, he did not dare to hesitate, pushing his Golden Divine Dragon Source power madly to resist the coercion of the Luan Feng and restore a bit of his freedom.
The next instant, he summoned his Sealed World Bead directly and hid inside of it.
The moment Yang Kai disappeared; the black flames washed over his hiding place. If he had been even an instant slower, he would have followed in the footsteps of Temple Master Luo and the others.
“Oh no!” Just after he hid inside the Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai suddenly remembered Mo Xiao Qi.
Although Mo Xiao Qi possessed many powerful artifacts, in front of the World Extinguishing Black Flames of an Ancient Divine Spirit, those artifacts were undoubtedly useless. Yang Kai had acted purely on instinct just now and did not have any time to think about Mo Xiao Qi.
Thinking back now, even if he had tried to rescue her, Yang Kai knew he would have been too late.
Yang Kai could not help but feel a little depressed.
Although he did not have any real friendship with Mo Xiao Qi, this simple and silly girl did not deserve to be burnt to ashes by those black flames, causing Yang Kai to feel a little guilty.
[Hopefully, the Heavens show mercy and allow her to survive!]
Yang Kai thought to himself, despite knowing the possibility was remote.
Clear Jade Mountain burned as black flames covered a hundred-kilometre radius where not a single plant and animal remained.
Only after her flames ceased to spread did the Luan Feng, who was still floating in the sky, flicker and suddenly assume the form of a young woman with a noble temperament, her hair tied up in a neat bun, and luxurious robes adorning her exquisite figure.
Her beautiful eyes did not carry the slightest emotion as only icy murderous intent filled them.
Only when her gaze landed on the baby Luan Feng on the ground did her expression reveal a hint of tenderness.
Then the infant Luan Feng also transformed at this moment, turning into a young child that looked no older than four.
The young woman lifted her hand and an invisible force gently wrapped up the child and lifted her up.
The young woman glared at the child fiercely, seemingly blaming her for causing trouble, but the young child only grinned happily and snuck into the young woman’s arms, assuming a comfortable position before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
The young woman sighed helplessly as she embraced her child with one hand before flying off at an incredible speed. Before she left though, she cast her sharp eyes towards the spot where Yang Kai had previously been standing for a moment, her delicate brow furrowing as a trace of confusion flashed across her face.
…..
Ten days later, Yang Kai quietly left the Sealed World Bead.
As soon as he appeared, he felt an unbearable heat all around him, one that seemed so invasive it even burned his Soul.
Yang Kai was shocked and quickly flew up.
Looking down from above, he was both terrified and awed by what he saw.
At this moment, with the battlefield of Clear Jade Mountain as its centre, black flames spread in all directions for several hundred kilometres. Although ten days had passed, there was still no sign of these flames being extinguished, especially the ten-kilometre region at the centre where it seemed nothing existed except for the raging World Extinguishing Black Flames. Likely, it would be hundreds, if not thousands of years before anything could grow here again.
There were naturally no corpses on the ground as the black flames had not even left behind any ashes from their bodies.
Glancing over at the place where Mo Xiao Qi had been hiding before, Yang Kai’s face turned gloomy.
The black flames were present there too, burning fiercely with no sign of Mo Xiao Qi at all.
[That girl… likely suffered disaster,] Yang Kai thought to himself.
At that time, if there was a chance, he definitely wouldn’t have just left her to die, but because he wasn’t anywhere close to Mo Xiao Qi, and a single moment of hesitation was the difference between life or death, he was simply unable to do anything.
[Was this fate?] If he had not been so concerned about touching Mo Xiao Qi and being attacked by her defensive artifacts, Yang Kai wouldn’t have separated from her so far. If she was by his side at that time, Yang Kai could have taken her into the Sealed World Bead with him.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai turned to leave.
However, at that moment, he suddenly noticed something and turned his gaze in a certain direction.
There seemed to be something left over there.
In front of the Luan Feng’s World Extinguishing Black Flames, anything that could survive was bound to be a rare treasure. Smiling happily, Yang Kai flew over in a hurry.
After getting close, Yang Kai was able to see the true nature of this object.
It was actually a feather, a meter long glowing red feather that was just lying quietly on the ground.
[A Luan Feng feather?] Yang Kai raised his brows and hurriedly stepped forward.
He did not dare to stretch out his hand to take it rashly, but instead used one of his Golden Blood Threads to wrap around it.
Unexpectedly, this Luan Feng feather was not hot at all. Through his Golden Blood Thread, Yang Kai could feel that this feather did not pose any threat to him on its own, as if it was just an ordinary decorative item, but if one carefully examined it, they would be able to tell that a terrifying power was contained within it.
[What an amazing treasure!]
If this Divine Spirit feather was handed over to an excellent Artifact Refiner, they would definitely be able to produce an extremely powerful artifact, even refining an Emperor Artifact was possible! After all, this was clearly a peak level Artifact Refining material.
Yang Kai examined it for a while before happily storing it away.
This trip to Clear Jade Mountain was not without gains. He had obtained the Ice Attribute dual swords from Mo Xiao Qi and picked up a Luan Feng’s feather. Compared with the amount of time and effort he had to exert, this was already an extremely rich harvest.
It was just a pity about Mo Xiao Qi…
Yang Kai sighed lightly before adjusting his mood and flying off.
His destination was Maplewood City!
When he first came to the Star Boundary, he was caught by Kou Wu and forced to join Blue Feather Sect, not having any time to appreciate the many wonderful sights and scenes of the Star Boundary, so Yang Kai was very much looking forward to arriving at the nearby Maplewood City.
He was just a Third-Order Origin King, and the power in his body had yet to be completely transformed into Source Qi, so he did not even have the qualifications to break through to the Dao Source Realm. Right now, his top priority was to find a way to finish this transformation.