Maplewood City was more prosperous than any city in Yang Kai’s native Star Field. Even Water Sky City of Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce could not compare.
But in the Star Boundary, it was just one of the countless unknown cities when taking the giant Southern Territory into account.
This was an eye-opening sight for Yang Kai.
The only thing that made him cringe slightly was that he actually needed to pay ten Low-Rank Source Crystals to enter the city!
This made him feel extremely distressed.
He was no longer a filthy rich man like back in his native Star Field. Now, every piece of Source Crystal was precious to him, so he did not dare to use them up casually.
The Source Crystals he had on hand were all from the Space Rings of the Blue Feather Sect disciples he had killed, and they amounted to only a few thousand in total.
There were originally four Space Rings Yang Kai obtained, even one belonging to a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, but Yang Kai had given Liu Xian Yun three of them and only kept one for himself.
In addition to the few thousand Source Crystals in this ring, there were only two artifacts that were of relatively low grade and some miscellaneous materials that were not of any use to him.
After entering Maplewood City, Yang Kai did not hurry to find a place to live but instead began walking around, listening to the various conversations of the surrounding cultivators to obtain information that was beneficial to him.
Just one day was enough to reap significant gains.
As he had expected, the average level of the cultivators in Maplewood City wasn’t very high, while the small great forces around it also didn’t possess strong masters.
City Lord Duan Yuan Shan was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator while the two Vice City Lords were both First-Order. The three of them worked together to govern all of Maplewood City. As for the small families in the city, all of them had at most one Old Ancestor at the First-Order Dao Source Realm.
Most of the surrounding great forces also had only one or two First-Order Dao Source Realm masters, with Raging Fire Temple being the exception possessing a Second-Order Dao Source Realm Sect Master, allowing them to be put on par with the City Lord’s Mansion of Maplewood City.
But Yang Kai knew that Temple Master Luo of Raging Fire Temple had been killed in Clear Jade Mountain, so that status was likely to change soon, together with the distribution and disposition of the various great forces in and around Maplewood City.
Word of the incident at Clear Jade Mountain had spread to Maplewood City and even across the Southern Territory at an extremely fast speed, but that was not a surprise as a Divine Spirit Luan Feng had appeared. Such an event would likely even attract true masters to come and investigate.
Of course, Yang Kai did not need to care about such things. All he needed to worry about was whether Maplewood City could become his temporary foothold.
And from what information he had gathered, it seemed this place would do for now.
If there were not many strong cultivators around, it meant he wouldn’t encounter many great threats, giving him plenty of time to grow his strength.
So, after gathering enough information, Yang Kai immediately decided to settle down in Maplewood City for the time being. At the very least, he had to complete the conversion of his Saint Qi into Source Qi before making other plans.
As night fell, Yang Kai arrived at the administrative building next to the City Lord’s Mansion and talked to the staff about getting an Identity Token.
After some bargaining back and forth, Yang Kai spent another three thousand Source Crystals to complete all the procedures, grinding his teeth the whole time he was there.
Although the cost was high, he would now be able to live in Maplewood City with peace of mind for a year and even had a secluded home all to himself.
A number of secluded homes were built and managed by Maplewood City’s City Lord’s Mansion, and any foreign cultivator could rent one, but depending on the quality of the secluded home, the price would vary.
Yang Kai decided not to be stingy in this regard because he knew that a good environment was necessary to cultivate quickly, so he directly rented a high quality secluded home.
Leaving that administrative building, Yang Kai quickly arrived at the location of the secluded home he had rented.
Using the Identity Token he had acquired, Yang Kai opened the secluded home’s protective barrier and entered.
While it was called a secluded home, in reality, it was just a well-built house with a number of good Spirit Arrays arranged around it to prevent others from spying on or disturbing the occupant.
Yang Kai checked around and was quite satisfied. The World Energy aura in this secluded home was much richer than that of the city, obviously due to some form of World Energy gathering Spirit Array, and there were also several rooms with different functions for Yang Kai to use.
Yang Kai did not have very high demands though, as long as he had a secure place to live, everything was fine.
Sitting cross-legged, Yang Kai meditated for the night, slowly converting his Saint Qi to Source Qi as he restored his strength.
The next morning, Yang Kai walked out of the secluded home.
Walking down the streets, looking at the different kinds of cultivators coming and going, Yang Kai’s thoughts turned rapidly.
When Yang Kai first entered the Star Field, he had felt a rich sense of curiosity and a deep desire to explore everything around him while growing stronger step by step.
Back then, he was able to succeed, and this time, he was confident he could do the same!
Thinking so, Yang Kai’s vision became firm.
The only worry he had… was about his two big helpers. Ai Ou, Gui Zu and the others were also somewhere he did not know about, but if they weren’t separated, they would be able to pool their strength to protect themselves.
Yang Kai shook his head and did not think about it anymore as he walked straight ahead.
Not long after, he stopped in front of a shop called ‘Spirit Pill Plaza’, and after a moment of pondering, he walked inside.
The shop hand immediately walked up to greet him, “May I ask what this guest is looking for? Not to brag, but this Spirit Pill Plaza has a wide variety of pills for sale and always offers fair prices. Moreover, Spirit Pill Plaza has the support of Sir City Lord, so guest can rest assured there are no counterfeit goods here.”
This shop hand spoke the last sentence in a hushed voice, as if trying to act mysterious.
Yang Kai smiled slightly, knowing that he must say this to every guest who arrives here, but if that was the case, the City Lord might really be an investor in this Spirit Pill Plaza, otherwise, this shop hand would not dare make such a claim in Maplewood City unless he was eager to lose his life that is.
“I’m not here to buy Spirit Pills,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
“Then what is this guest interested in?” The shop hand had good training and continued to ask with a smile, “Spirit Pill Plaza only sells finished pills, nothing else.”
“Do you have pill recipes for sale?” Yang Kai frowned.
The shop hand furrowed his brow slightly upon hearing this and smiled awkwardly, “This… I really cannot take responsibility for. If this guest does not mind, I can consult with the shopkeeper.”
Yang Kai nodded.
The shop hand immediately turned around and went to the back of the store.
The reason why Yang Kai had come here to buy pill recipes was related to his experiences performing Alchemy in Blue Feather Sect.
Although his little shop had gained great popularity in Blue Feather Sect thanks to his exquisite Alchemy techniques, and his services were sought after greatly by Blue Feather Sect’s disciples, in many cases, Yang Kai had actually never heard of the pills his cultivators came to request, much less refined them before.
After all, the variety of materials available in the Star Boundary was far greater than in his native Star Field, with many herbs existing here that were unheard of back in Yang Kai’s home. This of course led to there being many more types of pills in the Star Boundary. With Yang Kai’s Alchemy knowledge, he was able to stand at the peak of the Star Field’s Alchemic Dao, but it was not even enough to be mentioned in the Star Boundary.
If he wanted to cultivate, he needed to earn Source Crystals, and the easiest way Yang Kai could think of was to return to his old career of Alchemy.
Increasing his repertoire of pill recipes was just preparatory work; after all, without sharpening one’s axe first, it would be difficult to cut wood efficiently!
Moreover, Yang Kai was also in urgent need of a pill recipe for the Source Condensing Pill!
The role of the Source Condensing Pill was to help Origin King Realm cultivators transform their Saint Qi into Source Qi. Once reached the Origin King Realm, breaking through again became increasingly difficult, requiring both skill, opportunity, and accumulation. Compared to breaking through, converting one’s Saint Qi to Source Qi was actually a relatively simpler and easier method to increase one’s combat strength.
Origin King Realm cultivators would naturally need a large amount of Source Condensing Pills to assist them in shortening the time it took to convert their Saint Qi to Source Qi.
When Yang Kai broke through to the Third-Order Origin King Realm, the remaining starlight in his body was completely consumed, causing the speed at which he could convert his Saint Qi to Source Qi to slow down dramatically. In order to increase this speed of conversion again, he could only turn to Source Condensing Pills.
Moreover, among Origin Kings, this pill was extremely popular, not too expensive, and didn’t seem to require any particularly rare ingredients, so as long as Yang Kai could obtain the appropriate pill recipe, he was confident he could refine them himself.
Even if he only refined Source Condensing Pills, Yang Kai felt he would be able to make a lot of money.
While waiting, Yang Kai browsed around Spirit Pill Plaza’s wares and saw many Spirit Pills he had never heard of, some with strange and intriguing effects that greatly sparked his curiosity.
As an Alchemist, he naturally desired the pill recipes for these pills and secretly began planning how to acquire them here.
Soon after, the shop hand from before came back with a smile on his face and spoke. “Humble Guest, our shopkeeper has asked me to invite you inside for a discussion!”
Yang Kai raised his brow with some surprise; after all, he was only here to buy some pill recipes and had never met this shopkeeper before, so why was he being received so warmly? However, after thinking about it carefully, Yang Kai nodded lightly, “Alright, lead the way.”
“This way, please!” The shop hand eagerly beckoned and soon brought Yang Kai to one of the back rooms of the shop where he stood to the side and bowed.
Yang Kai raised his hand and knocked on the door before a somewhat aged voice called out from inside, “Please come in!”
Pushing open the door, Yang Kai entered a room that was made from fine sandalwood and had some simple decorations. An elderly man stood inside with his hands behind his back. After seeing Yang Kai, this man quickly cupped his fists with a smile and said, “This old master is Spirit Pill Plaza’s shopkeeper Kang Si Ran. May I ask this guest’s honoured name?”
“Yang Kai greets Shopkeeper Kang,” Yang Kai smiled back.
Kang Si Ran nodded, swept his eyes over Yang Kai after which they flashed slightly, “Young Master Yang is quite young.”
Yang Kai naturally knew that he was saying this because he saw through his cultivation and realized that both of them were Third-Order Origin Kings.
However, Yang Kai could feel the aura fluctuations from this Kang Si Ran were quite pure and even. Obviously, this old man had finished converting his Saint Qi into Source Qi, and if he had enough opportunity, would be able to break through to the Dao Source Realm.
Receiving praise from the other party, Yang Kai naturally acted humble.
“Please come in, Young Master Yang. Have a seat and try this old master’s Maple Rain Tea!” Kang Si Ran enthusiastically poured Yang Kai a cup of steaming tea as he spoke, causing a rich fragrance to fill the room.
Kang Si Ran pushed the teacup in front of Yang Kai enthusiastically.
Inside the back room, Yang Kai took a seat but did not rush to touch the tea in front of him.
The shopkeeper of this Spirit Pill Plaza was a bit too enthusiastic, which made Yang Kai become a bit wary and thus showed a cautious demeanour.
Kang Si Ran apparently noticed this as well, but did not pay it any mind and simply smiled lightly, “I heard that Young Master Yang wishes to purchase some pill recipes?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
Kang Si Ran’s eyes lit up hearing this and asked, “Does that mean Young Master Yang is an Alchemist?”
Yang Kai frowned and asked lightly, “Does your noble establishment have a policy of inquiring about your customer’s details before selling them things?”
Yang Kai made no attempt to hide the blame in his voice, but Kang Si Ran did not become angry and instead apologized, “Please do not take offence, Young Master Yang, it was not this old master’s intention to appear rude. This old master will offer this cup as an apology!”
Saying so, he really drank down the cup of tea in one gulp.
Wiping the residual tea from his lips, Kang Si Ran continued, “If Young Master Yang is really an Alchemist and your accomplishments are high enough, this old master can deliver you any pill recipe you want.”
“Shopkeeper Kang’s meaning is?” Yang Kai was genuinely confused now.
Kang Si Ran smiled bitterly when he heard these words and did not answer right away, taking some time to consider his words before finally saying, “Very well, this old master will be succinct.”
“Please speak, Shopkeeper Kang.”
“The situation is this,” Kang Si Ran began his explanation. “My Spirit Pill Plaza is currently shorthanded of Alchemists… If Young Master Yang is an Alchemist at the Origin King Grade, this old master would like to hire him to work here and can offer very favourable treatment. This old master has two proposals which Young Master Yang may choose from, either offering a certain fixed salary for each month of work, or a percentage of the profits from the shop’s sales for each pill Young Master Yang refines. Young Master Yang is free to decide.”
Yang Kai was stunned when he heard these words, “Does your noble establishment really lack Alchemists?”
“Indeed,” Kang Si Ran said with a troubled expression on his face. He had been worrying constantly about this issue as of late, so now that he saw a glimmer of hope, he knew he had to make an attempt, “Originally my Spirit Pill Plaza had three Alchemists in its employ, but two recently left, leaving only one behind. The last remaining Alchemist is unable to refine enough pills to keep up with ordinary demand. However… Young Master Yang may rest assured. If you agree to assist this old master at this time, you may freely look through any pill recipe Spirit Pill Plaza owns.”
This answer could not help making Yang Kai a little excited; after all, he didn’t have many Source Crystals on hand right now, so if he were really forced to purchase pill recipes, the most he could probably buy was one or two. As for the pill recipe of the Source Condensing Pill… it would no doubt be extremely expensive, so given his current financial resources, Yang Kai doubted he would be able to afford it.
Yang Kai was only planning to check what kind of price these pill recipes sold for today after which he would go and raise the required amount of Source Crystals some other way.
Unexpectedly, after coming to this Spirit Pill Plaza, he had encountered this kind of pleasant surprise.
Maintaining a calm demeanour, Yang Kai asked, “Why did those two Alchemists suddenly leave? Was it because Shopkeeper Kang did not compensate them fairly?”
“How could that be possible?” Kang Si Ran smiled bitterly, “This old master has lived in Maplewood City for many years now and has always engaged in fair and upright business. The compensation for those several Alchemists was definitely not low, it’s just… as water flows to the lowest point, people always try to ascend to the highest heights. It is because of this immutable truth that they chose to leave this pill shop when faced with greater interests.
Listening to what he said, Yang Kai understood.
“Someone poached them!”
Kang Si Ran heard it put bluntly and couldn’t help showing a trace of annoyance on his face as he nodded, “Exactly. Spirit Pill Plaza is actually a subsidiary of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, while the other major pill shop in Maplewood City is owned by Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce. As such, it was only natural for them to target us.”
“Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Has Young Master Yang not heard of our two establishments?” Kang Si Ran was visibly surprised by his reaction.
Yang Kai smirked and shook his head.
Kang Si Ran was stunned for a moment. He could see that Yang Kai was a Third-Order Origin King, so for him to have never heard the names of these two chambers of commerce was quite shocking. In the Southern Territory, besides the supreme overlord Star Soul Palace, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce were among the most famous and powerful great forces.
Yang Kai’s strength was not low, so how could he not even have heard about them before?
However, Kang Si Ran was an experienced businessman, so in order to avoid embarrassing Yang Kai, he hurriedly smiled and said, “It seems that Yang Master Yang has secluded himself from worldly affairs to focus on his cultivation. En, no wonder Young Master Yang has such profound strength at such a young age, this old master is very impressed.”
Yang Kai gave a dry laugh but did not answer.
However, judging from the information disclosed by Kang Si Ran, the relationship between the two chambers of commerce seemed to be hostile. It was not difficult to understand that rivals would be enemies; since both of these great forces obviously engaged in business, it was natural for them to compete with one another.
The pill shop owned by Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce probably offered a higher price to snatch the two Alchemists from Spirit Pill Plaza, leading to its current embarrassing situation.
Without enough Alchemists, there would naturally not be enough Spirit Pills to sell, and as time passed, fewer people would patronize Spirit Pill Plaza. As the shopkeeper of Spirit Pill Plaza, Kang Si Ran would become anxious in such a conundrum.
These days, Kang Si Ran had been searching frantically for a suitable Alchemist for Spirit Pill Plaza to hire, but Maplewood City was not a big city in the Star Boundary, so even if some Alchemists were living here, most of them already belonged to certain great forces. As for lower-level Alchemists, even if Kang Si Ran were to hire them, they would not be of much use.
That was why he was so passionate about Yang Kai and immediately had the shop hand invite Yang Kai inside when he heard about the latter wanting to purchase pill recipes.
A person who wanted to buy pill recipes must be an Alchemist, as average cultivators would not care about pill recipes at all. Normal cultivators just needed to gather enough materials and compensation to ask an Alchemist to refine the pill they wanted.
“May I ask what grade of Alchemist Young Master Yang is?” After explaining his dilemma, Kang Si Ran asked Yang Kai nervously and expectantly.
If Yang Kai’s Alchemy level wasn’t high, he wouldn’t need to waste any time with him.
Yang Kai thought for a while before replying, “I can refine Origin King Grade Spirit Pills.”
His answer was not complete, and actually concealed many details, but it was good enough to satisfy Kang Si Ran.
Hearing Yang Kai personally say he was an Origin King Grade Alchemist, Kang Si Ran was already overjoyed, his eyes filling with a sincere, almost pleading light.
Without waiting for him to speak, Yang Kai said, “Shopkeeper Kang should understand: I am only interested in earning some Source Crystals by performing Alchemy and using it as an auxiliary to my cultivation right now, it is not my primary interest or profession, and not a job I intend to practice continually. That being the case, I suggest Shopkeeper Kang look for another master to hire.”
The attitude of the other party was very sincere, so Yang Kai did not want to deceive him and so explained his circumstances in a straightforward manner.
After all, to Yang Kai, Alchemy was just a means of cultivation, a field he did not plan on investing too much time and energy into. If he agreed to Kang Si Ran’s request, it would be equivalent to attaching himself to Spirit Pill Plaza, which would restrict his time and freedom in the future.
That wasn’t a situation Yang Kai wanted to see.
“Not your primary interest or profession?” Kang Si Ran was stunned but quickly smiled, “That does not matter. As long as Young Master Yang can assist this old master with Alchemy for three… no, no, two months, everything will be fine. This old master promises he will not delay Young Master Yang’s cultivation for long.”
“Just two months?” Yang Kai looked at him in surprise.
“En, in fact, the situation here has already been reported to the chamber of commerce’s headquarters by this old master, and they have agreed to transfer two Alchemists to assist, but it will take some time for them to arrive; after all, the road to this small place is quite long. What’s more, headquarters will not pay too much attention to a single shop in a small place like Maplewood City. Even so, Young Master Yang will only need to help this old master for two months before help arrives.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“What does Young Master Yang think? Is it possible?” Kang Si Ran asked nervously.
He had not slept at all since this incident arose, so upon finally meeting a suitable candidate, Kang Si Ran really did not want to miss this opportunity.
“If it’s just two months… it should not be an issue, but Shopkeeper Kang, those pill recipes…”
Before Yang Kai even finished speaking, Kang Si Ran waved his hand boldly, “If Young Master Yang really joins Spirit Pill Plaza, he may freely read all of the shop’s pill recipes. Even taking copies of them is acceptable.”
“Among the pill recipes your noble establishment owns, is there one for Source Condensing Pills?”
“Almost every pill shop will have a recipe for Source Condensing Pills, but each recipe is slightly different. Why? Has Young Master Yang not refined Source Condensing Pills before?”
Suddenly, Kang Si Ran became a little nervous as he worried about whether Yang Kai was lying to him. Which Origin King Grade Alchemist did not own the pill recipe for Source Condensing Pills? This was the pill with the greatest demand amongst Origin King Realm cultivators.
Yang Kai smiled awkwardly and could only say, “I came from a very remote place where there are very few powerful cultivators, so…”
Although this explanation was full of loopholes, it could still be regarded as a proper reason.
Kang Si Ran did not press him further on the issue.
“Good, Shopkeeper Kang, please provide me with a list of pills your noble establishment sells and prepare the appropriate pill recipes. I will go back for today and consider your proposal carefully. I will have an answer for you within three days,” Yang Kai did not rashly agree to Kang Si Ran’s request; after all, he wasn’t familiar with either Spirit Pill Plaza or Kang Si Ran. Who knows if he was a real man of integrity or not?
Acting cautiously was always advisable.
“Fair enough, then this old master will await Young Master Yang’s return. However, please consider this old master’s proposal as soon as possible. The pills in my Spirit Pill Plaza’s stock are all currently running out.” Kang Si Ran knew that this matter could not be rushed, so he could only agree to Yang Kai’s request.
As such, he quickly arranged a list of pills before handing it to Yang Kai.
After bidding farewell to Kang Si Ran, Yang Kai did not immediately return to his residence and instead began wandering around the city.
Whenever he saw a shop selling Spirit Pills, he would go in and ask some questions.
Although he had just negotiated with Kang Si Ran, he still wanted to see whether he could buy pill recipes from other places; after all, if he could act on his own, it would be better than hiring himself to Spirit Pill Plaza as he could monopolize all of the benefits.
Of course, cooperating with Spirit Pill Plaza also had some advantages, such as a fixed source of customers, sufficient materials, and no need to worry about sales channels.
There were pros and cons to both options.
In the middle of the night, Yang Kai returned to his residence with a depressed expression.
His endeavour today had not gone smoothly. Although he had visited a lot of pill shops, these shops either cherished their pill recipes like treasures and refused to show them to outsiders or asked for sky-high prices in order to purchase them, rendering Yang Kai helpless. What’s more, the shops that were willing to sell pill recipes were only willing to sell some obscure recipes, which were basically useless.
Pill recipes that were really useful and would sell well were not for sale anywhere.
Of course, Yang Kai was not surprised by this.
He could also understand the practices of those shops. The pill recipes of each shop were formulated, improved, and refined by many Alchemists over a long period of time. They were trade secrets that could not be easily shown to outsiders.
Now, it seemed he had to carefully consider Kang Si Ran’s proposal.
For the next two days, Yang Kai enjoyed a rare moment of peace.
On the third day, Yang Kai came to Spirit Pill Plaza again.
Kang Si Ran seemed to have given out instructions already, so when the shop-hand saw Yang Kai, he immediately welcomed him with a smile and said, “Sir, you’re here. Please come inside, Shopkeeper Kang has been anticipating your arrival.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and motioned for him to lead the way.
In the same back room as last time, Kang Si Ran was pleased to see Yang Kai keeping a punctual schedule, boosting his trust in him. With a smiling old face, Kang Si Ran greeted Yang Kai enthusiastically and motioned for him to take a seat before pouring him a cup of tea. Immediately after, Kang Si Ran took out a booklet from his Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai, “These are the pill recipes Young Master Yang requested before, please look to your satisfaction!”
Yang Kai thanked him and took up the pill recipe book before browsing through them.
Just sweeping his eyes over these pages, Yang Kai could not help but brighten up.
Because this booklet contained about fifty pill recipes, the first of which was actually the recipe for Source Condensing Pills.
Although Yang Kai had mastered most of the pill recipes in this booklet already, pill recipes were not something set and then never altered. According to the surrounding environment and what materials were readily available, a pill recipe could vary greatly from region to region. There were also often multiple different methodologies to refine the same Spirit Pill.
As such, even if one had mastered how to refine a certain pill, by studying an alternative pill recipe, they may be able to improve their own technique and ability, so this booklet was not without value.
Of the fifty or so pill recipes, there were only a dozen Yang Kai did not already know.
But this result still made Yang Kai extremely satisfied as he put down the booklet lightly.
Kang Si Ran’s eyes were fiery as he carefully observed Yang Kai’s behaviour, wondering if he would comply or not. As soon as Yang Kai put the book of recipes down, he asked, “Young Master Yang, are you satisfied with the catalog provided by this old master?”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “Shopkeeper Kang is very thoughtful. Were these pill recipes not hard-won?”
Kang Si Ran smiled and said, “Young Master Yang is very sharp. En, only a small number of these pill recipes are the property of the pill shop, the rest were acquired by this old master through his various connections. They are not trade secrets of Spirit Pill Plaza, so Young Master Yang need not worry about refining them.”
“It seems your noble establishment sells a large variety of Spirit Pills. Does this mean that if I were to become an Alchemist here, I would need to refine all of these Spirit Pills?”
“No no no,” Kang Si Ran waved his hand quickly, “My Spirit Pill Plaza mainly sells the first fifteen Spirit Pills in this catalogue while the others are seldom refined because they are not in high demand and do not yield much profit. Source Condensing Pills are by far the top priority of my pill shop. This old master does not mean to boast, but the Source Condensing Pills from Spirit Pill Plaza are at least ten percent more effective than the average Source Condensing Pill on the market so they are greatly sought after by Maplewood City cultivators.”
“Oh, and why is that?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
In fact, he had also noticed before that many people had come to Spirit Pill Plaza to buy Source Condensing Pills, and these cultivators were all without exception Origin Kings.
Hearing his question, Kang Si Ran smiled proudly and stroked his beard confidently as he explained, “Because our Source Condensing Pill recipe was personally improved by Grandmaster Huang Fu from the chamber of commerce headquarters!”
After speaking, Kang Si Ran remembered that Yang Kai was somewhat ignorant and uninformed, so he quickly added, “Grandmaster Huang Fu is an Emperor Grade Alchemist and enjoys a very high reputation throughout the Star Boundary!”
Yang Kai was really shocked when he heard these words!
So that was why Spirit Pill Plaza’s Source Condensing Pills were so popular, it turns out that the pill recipe was personally improved by an Emperor Grade Alchemist. As a result, the effect was better than ordinary Source Condensing Pills.
This was excellent news for Yang Kai.
Because what he needed most now were Source Condensing Pills. The pill recipe improved by an Emperor Grade Alchemist would be of immense use to Yang Kai and there was even a chance he could spy on some mysteries of the Alchemic Dao from this pill recipe.
“Hehe, Young Master Yang, this old master has shown his sincerity. Now, about Young Master Yang’s intentions…” Kang Si Ran looked at Yang Kai with a smile. At this moment, he was not as anxious as before because he could see from Yang Kai’s demeanour and tone that he was likely willing to temporarily join Spirit Pill Plaza.
As expected, Yang Kai nodded when he heard these words, “It would be this Yang’s honour to work as an Alchemist for your noble establishment. This Yang will be in Shopkeeper Kang’s care for the next two months.”
“Wonderful!” Kang Si Ran laughed loudly, the haze which had been clouding his face for the past few days finally lifting along with his mood.
The current situation of Spirit Pill Plaza was nothing less than precarious. Because Source Condensing Pills had such a large market appeal, Spirit Pill Plaza had always had a steady stream of customers. Before, with three Origin King Grade Alchemists refining Spirit Pills, they had just barely been able to keep up with demand, but when two of the three had been poached by Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce’s Pill Pavilion, the last remaining Alchemist was unable to cope, even if he worked almost nonstop.
Currently, the Spirit Pill Plaza was all but out of stock of Source Condensing Pills, causing many customers to complain constantly.
Consistency was an essential part of doing business, so once there was a shortage of goods, even the most loyal customers would be lost. This was a fatal blow to Spirit Pill Plaza.
With Yang Kai joining, although the situation wouldn’t be rectified immediately, Kang Si Ran could finally breathe a sigh of relief. All that was left now was to hold out for two more months while waiting for the two Alchemists to be transferred over from headquarters.
“Young Master Yang, this old master is first and foremost a businessman, so some things must be made clear up front. If this old master comes off as offensive in any way, I hope Young Master Yang can be forgiving,” After the great joy, Kang Si Ran suddenly wore a solemn expression.
“Please speak freely, Shopkeeper Kang!”
“Good, while Young Master Yang is free to observe and emulate these pill recipes, even taking copies for his own use, they cannot be disclosed to others, especially the pill recipe for Source Condensing Pills. Regarding this, this old master needs Young Master Yang Kai to sign a Soul Contract, I hope Young Master Yang can agree to this condition.”
“Not a problem,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“Very good, then this old master will ask Young Master Yang to review this contract to see if any changes are necessary.”
Kang Si Ran had already prepared everything in advance, so he directly took out the prepared contract from his Space Ring.
Yang Kai could not recognize what material this contract was made from, but he could sense a subtle energy fluctuation coming from it.
Yang Kai picked up the contract and began looking over the details about what responsibilities and obligations were expected of both parties. Regarding the pill recipes, the conditions were especially strict in that Yang Kai was to under no circumstances disclose the secrets of these pill recipes to anyone else.
After a quick review, Yang Kai nodded and said, “I have no issues with this.”
Kang Si Ran nodded and said, “Then this old master asks Young Master Yang to leave his Soul Imprint on this contract.”
Saying so, Kang Si Ran first sent a burst of his Spiritual Energy into the contract. Although Yang Kai had never done something like this before, all he had to do was follow Kang Si Ran’s example.
After the Soul Imprints of the two were branded into the contract, the contract suddenly ignited and a faint trace of Spiritual Energy split into two parts and poured into Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran’s Knowledge Seas.
Faintly, Yang Kai felt that a small seal had been added to his Knowledge Sea, one that normally had no effect on him, but would clearly cause some kind of backlash if he were to violate the conditions of the contract he had just signed.
[Such a mysterious thing!] Yang Kai secretly thought to himself as he wondered which master’s hands this Soul Contract stemmed from. Undoubtedly this was an excellent tool for those who wished to conduct business.
Kang Si Ran knew that Yang Kai was somewhat lacking in common knowledge, so he took the initiative to explain, “This Soul Contract is a specialty item of Serene Soul Palace and was personally developed by Serene Soul Great Emperor. Serene Soul Great Emperor is one of the Ten Great Emperors. The Soul Contracts he researched can guarantee the integrity and compliance of both parties who use them. If, during Young Master Yang travels in the future, he needs to cooperate with strangers, signing a Soul Contract can add a layer of security. However, each Soul Contract is not cheap, 150,000 Low-Rank Source Crystals are required for even the lowest level Soul Contract, but that does not make them any less popular, so it is often impossible to buy them in the open market.”
“So expensive!” Yang Kai couldn’t help being shocked. He was only able to make a total of 30,000 Low-Rank Source Crystals in Blue Feather Sect for a month worth of Alchemy, so 150,000 would have taken him at least five months of work to obtain and even then he might not be able to obtain one.
“Hehe, this old master’s Soul Contract was also obtained inadvertently from an adventure he had in his youth,” Kang Si Ran said with clear pain on his face.
Although he was reluctant to use this Soul Contract in this way, in order to keep Spirit Pill Plaza from closing down, Kang Si Ran had no other choice.
“Alchemist Yang, I look forward to working with you for the next two months,” Kang Si Ran quickly adjusted his expression and smiled at Yang Kai while cupping his fists kindly.
“Same here!” Yang Kai replied.
“Alright, since the Soul Contract has been signed, let us talk about the issue of remuneration next,” Kang Si Ran said and sat down. The Soul Contract just now only guaranteed that Yang Kai would not reveal any of the pill recipes he learned here while the matter of compensation was not written. This would require further discussions between Kang Si Ran and Yang Kai.
At that moment, a knock suddenly came from outside.
Kang Si Ran frowned and asked coldly, “What is it?”
He had clearly told everyone in the shop that he was discussing an important matter with Yang Kai today and that no one should disturb him, but now one of the ignorant shop-hands had done just that, making Kang Si Ran very annoyed.
“Shopkeeper Kang, it’s terrible! Alchemist Fan says he wants to leave our pill shop!” The panicked voice of the shop-hand called out quickly.
“What?” Kang Si Ran stood up abruptly, his face filled with shock and anxiety, obviously not having expected such a development.
“Shopkeeper, please come quickly, Alchemist Fan is insistent on quitting.”
“How can this be!?” Kang Si Ran was so angry that he hurried out after hearing these words, but when he reached the door, he suddenly remembered that Yang Kai was still here and asked, “Does Alchemist Yang want to come as well?”
“Is that appropriate?”
“Naturally, you are no longer an outsider!”
Kang Si Ran had a very hard time this past month with Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce’s Pill Pavilion using despicable and shameless means to poach two of his Alchemists.
If Spirit Pill Plaza really folded because of this, Kang Si Ran’s career in Violet Source Chamber of Commerce would be over.
After finally finding Yang Kai and having him sign a Soul Contract to become the second Alchemist in Spirit Pill Plaza and stabilize the situation, Kang Si Ran had really not expected to receive news that Alchemist Fan was planning to leave.
If Alchemist Fan really left, then the situation he had worked so hard to restore would likely collapse again, making the future worrying.
Kang Si Ran was incredibly anxious as he hurriedly led Yang Kai towards the shop’s backyard. Even before the pair arrived though, Fan Hong’s shouts could be heard, “Who dares to stop me!? This Fan must quit! Make way! Any who block this Fan’s path cannot blame this Fan for being impolite!”
In the backyard, several shop-hands were trying to persuade Fang Hong to stop, but they were not having any success.
Kang Si Ran heard these shouts and knew that the situation was indeed dire, so he quickly increased his speed and in the blink of an eye, he arrived to see a bristling Fan Hong who seemed to be on the verge of attacking.
However, after seeing Kang Si Ran, Fan Hong frowned as a hint of guilt flashed deep within his eyes.
“Alchemist Fan, what seems to be the matter?” Although Kang Si Ran was annoyed by Fan Hong at this moment, he did not dare to use a harsh tone and could only ask politely.
Fan Hong sighed and said, “Shopkeeper Kang, this Fan Hong feels sorry for you, but this Fan had decided he must leave. Please forgive me, Shopkeeper Kang.”
“Has this Kang not offered Alchemist Fan enough for his services? Or perhaps Alchemist Fan has received a better offer somewhere else? If so, there is room for discussion!” Kang Si Ran knew that the most important matter right now was to figure out why Fan Hong wanted to leave Spirit Pill Plaza so he could try to find a remedy to the situation.
“Shopkeeper Kang saying so is an insult to this Fan! This Fan has worked for Spirit Pill Plaza since he came to Maplewood City and has refined pills for Spirit Pill Plaza for more than a decade. This Fan regards this place like his home and would not be tempted by mere greed,” Fan Hong implored in an impassioned tone as he looked truly offended by Kang Si Ran’s words.
Kang Si Ran smiled bitterly, “If the reason is not payment, why does Alchemist Fan suddenly insist on leaving?”
Fan Hong sighed and said, “Shopkeeper Kang, this past month this Fan has been performing Alchemy day and night and is now nothing but a dried-up oil lamp. If this continues, this Fan is afraid he will not be able to bear it. Shopkeeper Kang, just allow this Fan to leave.”
Hearing this, Kang Si Ran was at a loss for words.
While the two of them were talking, Yang Kai was also observing Fan Hong and found that, as this man said, he had most likely experienced excessive consumption of his strength. Not only was Fan Hong’s hair a mess and his eyes bloodshot, but even his aura was also fluctuating somewhat chaotically. It was clear he was extremely fatigued.
What’s more, this Fan Hong was not very strong to begin with, only a peak Third-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator.
With this kind of cultivation, Yang Kai estimated that even if he was an Origin King Grade Alchemist, he could only be at the Origin King Grade Low-Rank.
After all, Alchemy often needed the support of enough internal Qi, otherwise, refining good Spirit Pills would be impossible. However, Alchemists normally immersed themselves in Alchemy year-round, causing them to neglect their own cultivation. But without a strong cultivation, how could they have enough strength to support high-level Alchemy?
This became a vicious circle for most Alchemists.
“This is indeed because this Kang’s failure of management. Please forgive my incompetence, Alchemist Fan!” Kang Si Ran also knew that Fan Hong had paid a great price this past month, so he did not hesitate to bow his head upon hearing this.
Fan Hong seemed surprised by this act and quickly said, “Shopkeeper Kang is too polite.”
Kang Si Ran shook his head, “It was this Kang’s failure of responsibility, but everything is alright now. This Kang has just hired another Alchemist, so Alchemist Fan need not bear this burden alone anymore. You can refine the normal number of Spirit Pills as before. That being the case, would Alchemist Fan consider remaining in the plaza? Of course, Alchemist Fan can take a few days to rest and recuperate first.”
“Hired another Alchemist?” Fan Hong was stunned when he heard these words and quickly scanned the crowd, finally stopping on Yang Kai’s unfamiliar face.
Yang Kai smiled at him slightly.
“This Kang has naturally seen Alchemist Fan’s contribution to the store with his own eyes, and no mere words of gratitude will be enough thanks. Please take some time to rest, and when you feel it appropriate, return to the store to discuss this matter again.” Kang Si Ran said sincerely, looking at Fan Hong imploringly as he really did not want to let Fan Hong go.
“This…” Fan Hong looked awkward and seemed a little hesitant.
Just as Kang Si Ran was preparing to persuade Fan Hong further, a clear and sweet voice suddenly came from outside, “Alchemist Fan, the time has arrived. This Mistress has come to meet you in person.”
As soon as this person’s voice fell, Fan Hong’s complexion changed drastically, going from red, to blue, to green, embarrassed to the extreme.
Kang Si Ran was also startled, but soon grit his teeth and cursed, “Zhuo Ning Si!”
His eyes flashed with anger, as if there was some great hatred between him and this woman named Zhuo Ning Si.
Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly as he vaguely understood something before he turned a grin towards Fan Hong.
Fan Hong was clearly uncomfortable, and his eyes were darting around erratically, his lips moving lightly, as if he was cursing.
When Kang Si Ran’s gaze shifted back to him, Fan Hong flushed even further and seemed to be looking for a hole to crawl into!
“This old master understands!” Kang Si Ran sneered coldly, “Alchemist Fan really found a better place to go. If that is the case, Alchemist Fan might as well have just said so earlier so this old master could offer his congratulations. Why bother looking for some excuse instead?”
Fan Hong gritted his teeth, becoming angry out of shame and snapped, “What is Shopkeeper Kang trying to imply? Is it not true that this Fan has made great contributions this past month? In order to refine enough Spirit Pills for the store, this Fang has coughed up blood several times already! If it were not for this Fan’s efforts, Spirit Pill Plaza would have closed already!”
The more he spoke, the more excited he became and the louder his voice resounded.
Kang Si Ran heard all this and frowned deeply, after a long time simply sighing and slumping his shoulders, as if he had suddenly aged a thousand years. Nodding faintly, he admitted, “What Alchemist Fan said is true, if not for Alchemist Fan’s support, Spirit Pill Plaza would indeed have closed a long time ago.”
“Hmph! If you understand, then there’s no need to say anything more!” Fan Hong coldly snorted, “This Fan must also consider his future. Sacrifice alone is not enough to support one’s life! Shopkeeper Kang should also understand this truth. You take care, this Fan will take his leave!”
Finished with what he had to say, Fan Hong pushed away the two shop-hands blocking his path and walked towards the front of the shop.
When he walked past Yang Kai, he paused for a moment and smiled at him faintly, seemingly taking pleasure in his misfortune, “You’ll be miserable as well soon.”
Yang Kai just shrugged in a noncommittal manner.
Kang Si Ran stood in place, pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned around and followed Fan Hong out.
Outside Spirit Pill Plaza, a beautiful woman with a rather revealing dress smiled as she stood before the gates, a few beautiful maids standing by her side. She exuded a kind of intoxicating charm that was only amplified by her exposed snow-white skin and deep cut dress which revealed a rather profound valley, drawing countless looks from the passing male cultivators.
This woman did not seem to care at all about the looks she was getting; on the contrary, she seemed to enjoy those men’s gazes very much. From time to time, she would even send out a wink or two, causing some men to nearly lose their souls.
Fan Hong hurriedly walked out of Spirit Pill Plaza, arrived in front of the beautiful woman, and muttered, “Didn’t I say I would come myself? What did you come here for?”
Zhuo Ning Si giggled as she pursed her lips and said, “Is there something wrong with this Mistress coming to greet you in person?”
“You… Haa…” Fan Hong sighed helplessly.
Zhuo Ning Si continued, “Even if Alchemist Fan wants to conceal the truth, unless he hides from the public forever, eventually, everyone will know. Besides, it is only changing one’s place of employment, is there anything wrong with that?”
Fan Hong wore a sullen face and did not answer.
He knew that Zhuo Ning Si had not come here to welcome him, but rather to strike a blow against Spirit Pill Plaza. He was just a pawn that could be used by Zhuo Ning Si.
So, he knew that arguing here was also pointless.
As the two talked, Kang Si Ran walked out and staring at this graceful and beautiful woman, his eyes nearly spat flames.
Zhuo Ning Si noticed his gaze and gave a strange cry as she placed her jade white hand atop her well-rounded peaks, “Shopkeeper Kang’s gaze is quite fierce, like he wishes he could eat this Mistress whole. But Shopkeeper Kang, you are not young anymore, are you sure you could handle such a rich meal?”
As she spoke, she covered her mouth and smiled.
“Shopkeeper Zhuo!” Kang Si Ran was not moved by her beauty at all and instead just smiled coldly, “You certainly are praiseworthy, this old master admires your methods.”
“Oh, what does Shopkeeper Kang mean? This Mistress does not understand,” Zhuo Ning Si pulled out a folding fan and began waving it lightly.
“No one here is a fool, so why bother acting? However, if Shopkeeper Zhuo thinks that this is enough to force my Spirit Pill Plaza to shut down, you could not be more wrong,” Kang Si Ran sneered.
“Haha…” Zhuo Ning Si covered her mouth with her fan as she stared at Kang Si Ran with her beautiful eyes, “This Mistress remembers that Shopkeeper Kang had three Origin King Grade Alchemists in his employment before, but they all seem to have left for this Mistress’s Pill Pavilion now. Could it be that Shopkeeper Kang is also a Grandmaster in the Alchemic Dao and plans to support his store all on his own? Shopkeeper Kang is truly not young anymore and should take better care of his body.”
“Hmph, with Maplewood City being so big, how hard do you think it is to find an Origin King Grade Alchemist?” Kang Si Ran grinned.
Zhuo Ning Si was truly stunned this time and asked in surprise, “Has Shopkeeper Kang hired another Alchemist?”
Fan Hong leaned over at this moment and whispered a few words in Zhuo Ning Si’s ear.
Zhuo Ning Si’s brow furrowed as her gaze shifted to Yang Kai, her beautiful eyes lighting up as she smiled and said, “Sir Alchemist, dare I ask your surname?”
“Yang!”
“So it is Alchemist Yang, this Mistress has been impolite,” Zhuo Ning Si smiled and said, “Alchemist Yang is young, but his cultivation is profound and he is also an Alchemist, this Mistress is deeply impressed.”
“There have always been many people who admire me,” Yang Kai chuckled.
Zhuo Ning Si slightly froze for a moment, not having expected Yang Kai to be so brazen, but she didn’t pay it much mind as she simply smiled and continued, “Then I wonder if Alchemist Yang is interested in coming to my Pill Pavilion to perform Alchemy, this Mistress can promise Alchemist Yang…”
“Zhuo Ning Si!”
Before she could finish speaking, Kang Si Ran cut in furiously.
Two Alchemists had been poached by Zhuo Ning Si previously, and she had surreptitiously stolen Fan Hong today. Not content, she was now openly trying to woo Yang Kai in front of him. Clearly, she didn’t put him in her eyes.
Kang Si Ran was furious!
“Why is Shopkeeper Kang so angry?” Zhuo Ning Si did not show the slightest fear; after all, both of them were Third-Order Origin Kings who had completely transformed their Saint Qi into Source Qi. It was only due to lack of opportunity that they could not break through to the Dao Source Realm. Pursing her lips, Zhou Ning Si continued, “I just said a few words to Alchemist Yang, it shouldn’t matter to you.”
Kang Si Ran’s face filled with murderous intent, but he knew he could not make a move here, so he was forced to choke down his burning anger while feeling his lungs burn.
Seeing his reaction, Zhuo Ning Si turned her beautiful eyes back to Yang Kai and continued, “Alchemist Yang, what do you think of this Mistress’ proposal? Regarding compensation, you need not worry, this Mistress will offer you twice as much as what Shopkeeper Kang has offered?”
Hearing this, Kang Si Ran’s face grew more and more ashen.
Before, the three Alchemists from Spirit Pill Plaza were tempted away by this woman’s wiles. He did not know much about Yang Kai or have any kind of friendship with him, so he could not be certain how he would react to such an offer.
Looking at Yang Kai with extreme anxiety, Kang Si Ran’s heart suddenly sank!
Yang Kai actually wore an eager expression on his face and said with a big smile, “Is such a good deed possible?”
Zhuo Ning Si smiled more happily and nodded, “Naturally. If Alchemist Yang does not believe this Mistress, he can simply ask Alchemist Fan. In addition to rich remuneration, this Mistress can also arrange four beautiful maidservants to serve Alchemist Yang and tend to his daily needs.”
Zhou Ning Si was a worldly woman who knew men spent all their lives chasing after power and wealth, so she was well aware of what methods to use to tempt them, as was obvious by her successfully poaching three Alchemists from Kang Si Ran in just over a month.
She believed that as long as Yang Kai was not a fool, he would make a wise choice.
“Shopkeeper Zhuo’s proposal is truly of great interest,” Yang Kai’s gaze shifted to the beautiful maidservants who were accompanying Zhuo Ning Si.
Seeing the look on Yang Kai’s face, Fan Hong could not help sneering as a light of contempt flashed across his eyes, thinking to himself that Yang Kai was a man without any integrity or character, but when he recalled his own situation, he suddenly felt awkward because he did not have the qualifications to look down on Yang Kai.
“Alchemist Yang… you…” Kang Si Ran looked at Yang Kai with a frustrated look of despair. A thousand words came to his lips, but in the end, he could not vocalize them and just hung his head helplessly.
Although he had signed a Soul Contract with Yang Kai just now, that contract only stated Yang Kai could not disclose the pill recipes Kang Si Ran provided him.
Yang Kai had yet to formally receive the pill recipes from him, so the Soul Contract was of no use!
Kang Si Ran felt deeply annoyed. If he had known this would happen, he would have added various conditions and terms to the contract, but it was late to regret now!
Zhuo Ning Si chuckled, her beautiful eyes flashing brilliantly as she seemed able to see the collapse of Spirit Pill Plaza. Once she succeeded here, she would receive much more attention from the upper management of the chamber of commerce.
As long as she could deliver a devastating blow to Spirit Pill Plaza, or better yet, force it to shut down, there was a chance she would be favoured by the higher-ups and allowed to transfer out of this small Maplewood City to a larger city where she would receive more status and benefits.
Just when she was about to seal the deal though, Yang Kai put on an awkward look as she said, “It’s a pity…”
“What a pity?” Zhuo Ning Si frowned.
“Actually, this Yang signed a Soul Contract with Shopkeeper Kang just now… So even if he had the intention, this Yang can’t accept Shopkeeper Zhuo’s proposal,” Yang Kai sighed with regret, his expression full of chagrin.
Kang Si Ran was taken aback and immediately shot Yang Kai a look of joy.
He did not believe that Yang Kai didn’t understand what restrictions the Soul Contract actually imposed. Yang Kai saying this now meant he truly had no intention of siding with Pill Pavilion, a pleasant surprise to Kang Si Ran.
At that moment, he directed a look full of gratitude towards Yang Kai.
After all, if Yang Kai really left, what else could he do besides cursing him for his impropriety? At that time, Spirit Pill Plaza would have no more Alchemists and would soon need to close.
Yang Kai’s attitude had become a life-saving straw for a drowning Kang Si Ran, causing his evaluation and impression of Yang Kai to undergo a complete change. Yang Kai’s figure even seemed a bit taller and grander now.
“A Soul Contract!” Zhuo Ning Si was shocked, “Shopkeeper Kang certainly spared no expense, even using a precious Soul Contract.”
Kang Si Ran coldly snorted, “I had no alternative.”
“Shopkeeper Zhuo, what do you think of this?” Yang Kai looked at Zhuo Ning Si with a smile, “I can perform Alchemy for Shopkeeper Kang while also for your noble establishment. I only need half of the benefits you promised before, how about it?”
“In your dreams!” Zhuo Ning Si rejected with no trace of politeness, glaring hatefully at Yang Kai.
After learning that Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran had signed a Soul Contract, she knew that it would be impossible to poach him, so she no longer had any reason to speak with him and shut him off completely.
Since she could not snatch him, what point was there in being polite?
Seeing this woman’s attitude turn so quickly, Yang Kai was a bit stunned.
Zhuo Ning Si had no intention of dealing with Yang Kai anymore, and she had already completed her objective in coming to Spirit Pill Plaza for now, so she sneered and spat, “Shopkeeper Kang, you only have one Alchemist left now, so I wonder how long your Spirit Pill Plaza will last! We’re leaving!”
Saying so, she waved her hand and led her beautiful maids down the street. Fan Hong naturally didn’t have any face to remain, so he hurriedly followed them.
Although the ruckus had subsided, Kang Si Ran’s brow remained deeply furrowed.
The predicament of Spirit Pill Plaza had not improved. Originally, with Yang Kai joining Fan Hong, there would be two Alchemists working for the shop. Kang Si Ran had felt a little relieved and was confident he could hold on for two more months until help arrived from the headquarters.
But what he did not expect was that just after inviting Yang Kai, Fan Hong would leave!
The situation had not changed at all.
The only thing he could hope for now was that Yang Kai’s Alchemy skills were substantially superior to Fan Hong’s but thinking about it carefully… Kang Si Ran felt that was unlikely. Yang Kai was already a Third-Order Origin King and had said to him at the outset that Alchemy was only a means of making money to him, a field he did not invest much energy into.
Such a cultivator would only regard Alchemy as an auxiliary profession. It would already be good if Yang Kai was able to refine Origin King Grade Spirit Pills by chance, so how could Kang Si Ran expect Yang Kai to be a true Grandmaster?
However, Yang Kai’s previous actions had left Kang Si Ran with a good impression of him. At the very least, Yang Kai was a trustworthy person.
Back in the meeting room, Kang Si Ran cupped his fists solemnly and said, “Alchemist Yang, regarding today’s matter, this old master offers his sincere thanks. If not for Alchemist Yang’s integrity, the face of Spirit Pill Plaza and this old master would have been completely lost.”
Yang Kai waved his hand lightly and said, “Shopkeeper Kang is too serious, this Yang did not do anything worthy of such praise.”
Kang Si Ran smiled and said, “This old master is actually a little confused. Since Shopkeeper Zhuo offered so many favourable conditions, why did Alchemist Yang…”
“En, I went to Pill Pavilion three days ago to buy pill recipes from them but was driven out by their shop-hand without even the slightest sign of courtesy.”
“Is that all?” Kang Si Ran’s jaw dropped slightly.
“What reason did Shopkeeper Kang expect?” Yang Kai chuckled.
“This old master understands. En, let us continue our discussion about remuneration then. Spirit Pill Plaza can provide two methods of compensation. One is a monthly salary where Spirit Pill Plaza will pay Alchemist Yang a certain amount of Source Crystals every month. As for the exact number… This old master can offer you twice the normal rate.”
Perhaps because he was grateful for Yang Kai’s choice to stay and help him, or perhaps because of the reward that Zhuo Ning Si had offered before, Kang Si Ran was not stingy with this issue and readily offered twice the normal salary.
“The other option is a sales commission! Spirit Pill Plaza will be responsible for providing you with various materials while Alchemist Yang will be responsible for Alchemy refinement. Once the Spirit Pills are sold, Spirit Pill Plaza will split the profits with Alchemist Yang. What does Alchemist Yang…”
“The second option,” Yang Kai replied before Kang Si Ran could even finish.
Kang Si Ran was startled!
He originally thought that Yang Kai would choose the first method; after all, only Alchemists who had great confidence in their own ability would choose the second method, because the more pills they refined the more profits they would make.
As a cultivator who did not focus on Alchemy, Yang Kai should have chosen the first method as it would protect his interests to the greatest extent, but he had actually chosen the second method, surprising Kang Si Ran greatly.
[Is Alchemist Yang a true Alchemy master?] Kang Si Ran wondered to himself.
Just to be cautious, he still asked, “Alchemist Yang does not want to take some time to consider? Alchemist Fan who left before was paid according to the first method.”
“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“If so, then… good,” Since it was someone else’s choice, Kang Si Ran did not have much to say.
Soon, the two finalized the profit-sharing arrangement.
Originally, the ratio between Spirit Pill Plaza and its hired Alchemists was thirty-seventy, with the Alchemist taking thirty. Spirit Pill Plaza needed to procure materials and sell the various pills while the Alchemists were only responsible for refining pills, so it was not a loss for the Alchemist to only receive thirty percent of the profits.
But Kang Si Ran took the initiative to arrange a forty-sixty split with Yang Kai, to which Yang Kai naturally had no reason to refuse.
With everything agreed upon, Kang Si Ran asked, “Does Alchemist Yang need to go back and rest for a few days before beginning?”
Yang Kai smiled and looked at him, “With Spirit Pill Plaza in its current state, is there any time to rest? En, let us begin now. Shopkeeper Kang, please provide me with the complete pill recipe booklet first. I will take two days to study it before beginning the refinement.”
“There’s no rush, appropriate preparations should be made first,” Kang Si Ran said as he took out a stack of pill recipes, he had prepared long ago from his Space Ring and handed them to Yang Kai, “Alchemist Yang, please come with me to the Alchemy Room!”
Spirit Pill Plaza has its own Alchemy Room, which was equipped with a large Spirit Array which could extract the underground Earth Fire for Alchemists to use. This room was located a hundred meters below ground and was originally used by three Alchemists, but now it was Yang Kai’s private site.
Entering inside, Yang Kai immediately felt a scorching heat on his face.
“Alchemist Yang, please take some time to familiarize yourself with the various pill recipes. There is no need to rush to begin Alchemy, just proceed when you are fully prepared.” Kang Si Ran was afraid that Yang Kai would become hasty and could not help emphasizing.
Yang Kai nodded before asking, “By the way, Shopkeeper Kang, what kind of Spirit Pill does the store need most right now?”
“Source Condensing Pills. There are countless Origin Kings in Maplewood City, so the demand for our Source Condensing Pills is great, often causing them to sell out the moment they are refined,” Kang Si Ran Replied proudly.
“En, I understand,” Yang Kai nodded lightly, having already figured so in his heart.
…..
There were countless herbs and medicines in this world, and the number of pills which could be refined from their various combinations were simply unknowable. However, if one asked various cultivators which Spirit Pill was in highest demand, if one excluded healing and restoring Spirit Pills, the answer in the Star Boundary would be Source Condensing Pills!
Using Source Condensing Pills was the standard practice amongst Origin Kings for countless years now, and all Origin Kings had a great demand for this Pill because it could promote the transformation of Saint Qi into Source Qi in the body.
Maplewood City was not very big, and there weren’t many Dao Source Realm masters, but there were many, many Origin Kings, so the demand for Source Condensing Pills could easily be imagined.
It was impossible to open a pill shop in Maplewood City and not sell Source Condensing Pills.
The Source Condensing Pill recipe of Spirit Pill Plaza was also improved by an Emperor Grade Alchemist, so compared to ordinary Source Condensing Pills, it had a roughly ten percent stronger efficacy which earned it much praise and many accolades.
Countless cultivators wanted to buy Source Condensing Pills from Spirit Pill Plaza, and every time a new batch of Source Condensing Pills was refined, people would go all out to snatch them.
This was even after Kang Si Ran placed limits on the number of purchases an individual could make.
If he did not limit the purchase quantity, customers would likely be even more aggressive!
Currently, the Source Condensing Pills of Spirit Pill Plaza were out of stock, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many old customers.
Outside the Alchemy Room, Kang Si Ran paced back and forth, feeling extremely restless. His strength and mental fortitude were not low, and he had trained himself to maintain composure at all times as a shopkeeper, but at this moment, he was still as anxious as an ant on a hot wok.
If he listened carefully, he could even hear the impatient urges of the Origin Kings outside the shop, demanding Spirit Pill Plaza open.
*Deng deng deng…*
A series of footsteps rang out from above.
Kang Si Ran did not even need to look up to know it was one of the shop-hands who had raced over.
Stopping his pacing, before the shop-hand could even speak, Kang Si Ran spat angrily, “Didn’t I order you to comfort those customers!? Why have you come down here again!?”
“Shopkeeper Kang, the situation is growing out of control! Our Pill Shop should have brought out a new batch of Source Condensing Pills yesterday, so many old customers have been waiting in line for an entire day now but delaying for so long has made them very dissatisfied.”
“So what if they are dissatisfied? Do you want this old master to make pills appear out of thin air? Make them wait again!” Kang Si Ran replied impatiently.
“We have explained the situation many times, but they refuse to listen,” The shop-hand said with a nervous expression. “And, and…”
“And what?” Kang Si Ran’s face sank.
“And I don’t know who spread the rumour, but some are beginning to say our Spirit Pill Plaza will no longer be selling pills in the future, so some customers lost patience and left already,” The shop-hand replied quietly.
“Zhuo Ning Si! You cheap slut!” Kang Si Ran almost crushed his own teeth in frustration.
Although he did not see it with his own eyes, with his shrewdness, he knew that Zhuo Ning Si had instigated people to spread such rumours. Naturally, this vicious woman would not miss this opportunity to add insult to injury, hoping she could close down Spirit Pill Plaza even one day sooner.
Although enraged, Kang Si Ran was really helpless.
If a new batch of Source Condensing Pills was not brought out for sale in short order, the customers who did not know the truth would most likely believe those rumours and many of them would leave, dealing a huge blow to Spirit Pill Plaza.
But in this situation, what could Kang Si Ran do?
Turning his head, he stared eagerly towards the Alchemy Room that was closed shut and could only pray in his heart that Yang Kai would not disappoint him.
“Shopkeeper, is that Alchemist Yang really credible?” The shop hand didn’t seem to have much confidence in Yang Kai. He had met many Alchemists in his life, but none of them had as high a cultivation as Yang Kai. What’s more, Alchemists normally had extremely sloppy images and because they dealt with herbs all the year-round, there would be a rich medicinal fragrance lingering about them. From his previous contact with Yang Kai, Yang Kai did not fit the image of an Alchemist at all.
“How should I know?” Kang Si Ran replied feebly.
It had been ten days since Yang Kai entered the Alchemy Room. The first two days were spent studying the various pill recipes while on the third day Yang Kai had requested a large number of herbs for refining Source Condensing Pills. After that day, the Alchemy Room’s door had been closed and was not opened once since then.
Kang Si Ran really wanted to rush in and see how many Source Condensing Pills Yang Kai had refined and how many herbs he had wasted!
Every Alchemist would have some rate of attribution in Alchemy. This was unavoidable. No matter how skilled the Alchemist was, there was no guarantee that they could refine every furnace of Spirit Pills successfully.
Depending on the Alchemist’s own abilities, however, the herb attrition rate could be vastly different.
Among the three Alchemists Spirit Pill Plaza used to employ, the best one had an attrition rate of thirty percent, which meant out of every ten furnaces, seven would be successful while the remaining three would be wasted.
This was already quite a remarkable feat. Fan Hong for example had a material loss rate of about fifty percent.
Even so, Kang Si Ran had to treat him with great respect. Who made him an Origin King Grade Alchemist?
What kind of attrition rate would Yang Kai have? Sixty percent? Seventy?
Even if it was eighty percent, Kang Si Ran felt he could accept it! As long as some Source Condensing Pills could be refined to alleviate the current situation, everything else was immaterial.
What he worried about now was that Yang Kai had not produced a single Source Condensing Pill yet! Were it not for it being taboo to disturb an Alchemist while they were performing Alchemy, Kang Si Ran would have rushed inside the Alchemy Room long ago.
The noise from the crowd outside grew more intense by the moment, only fueling Kang Si Ran’s anxiety.
*Kacha…*
Suddenly, a soft sound rang out.
Kang Si Ran was taken aback for a moment but was immediately overjoyed as he stared at the door to the Alchemy Room open.
Before it even fully opened, Kang Si Ran rushed in.
Ignoring the blistering heat inside the Alchemy Room, Kang Si Ran rushed over to Yang Kai’s side before swiftly sweeping his eyes around, quickly discovering a pile of medicine slag in one of the corners not far away.
These were naturally the burnt remnants of failed Spirit Pills.
Fortunately, the amount was not too great, probably just ten percent of the total herbs he had delivered earlier.
As for what he had delivered exactly, Kang Si Ran had given Yang Kai a hundred sets of ingredients for Source Condensing Pill’s seven days ago.
Now the only question was how many of those sets of materials had Alchemist Yang consumed. If he knew that, Kang Si Ran could estimate the herb attrition rate.
“Alchemist Yang…” Kang Si Ran forced a smile onto his face, cupped his fists, and asked, “Have you refined the requested Spirit Pills?”
“En, they’re all here,” Yang Kai stretched out his hand and waved, producing more than thirty jade bottles from his Space Ring.
*Si…*
Seeing this scene, Kang Si Ran could not help drawing a sharp breath as he stared at the jade bottles on the ground stupidly, his whole body frozen in shock.
Yang Kai looked at him in amazement, and called out, “Shopkeeper Kang?”
Only then did Kang Si Ran recover, twist his stiff neck, and stare at Yang Kai, “Alchemist Yang, are these all Source Condensing Pills?”
“Of course, Shopkeeper Kang can check them if he wants.”
Hearing what he said, Kang Si Ran did not hesitate anymore, stretched out his hand, swept up a few of the jade bottles, and began uncapping them one by one, discovering that the contents were really all Source Condensing Pills with pure coloured exteriors and fragrant aromas.
Each bottle had ten pills, and there were more than thirty bottles here, which meant there were at least three hundred Source Condensing Pills!
This number appeared in Kang Si Ran’s mind and pounded down on his brain like a hammer, making him dizzy and unable to think.
[How could this be? How is this possible? Is this all a dream?]
In just seven days, one person had refined more than three hundred Source Condensing Pills. That was equivalent to the results all three Alchemists Spirit Pill Plaza had employed before could produce!
Was Yang Kai more competent than all three of those Alchemists put together? Kang Si Ran completely lost his ability to think and was unable to regain his composure for a long time. Everything in front of him subverted his understanding of common sense.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai could not help cursing in his heart.
It seemed he had still taken out too many. If he had known earlier, he would have pocketed another hundred for himself.
Refining Source Condensing Pills was actually not difficult for Yang Kai; after all, it was only an Origin King Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Pill while Yang Kai had been capable of refining Origin King Grade High-Rank pills for quite some time. It was just that he had never refined this particular Spirit Pill before as he lacked the appropriate recipe.
As such, after a few initial failures, things had progressed smoothly.
The number of pills he could produce per furnace was also gradually improving.
At first, he could only refine two or three pills from a single set of materials, but as time passed, condensing four or five per furnace became the norm. Out of the hundred sets of materials, Yang Kai had refined almost all of them into pills successfully, so he wound up with roughly four hundred finished pills.
Yang Kai secretly pocketed a hundred Spirit Pills so his performance did not look so shocking.
But now, it seems that there would have been no problem with him pocketing two hundred.
He needed Source Condensing Pills himself, and a large amount of them at that. Even if he could not use them all up, he could still sell them. There was no need to worry about finding a customer for Source Condensing Pills.
Kang Si Ran’s expression, which was a mix of joy and shock, annoyed Yang Kai greatly.
But… Fortunately, he had kept all the Source Condensing Pills which formed Pill Veins for himself, which was a small comfort.
After a long time, Kang Si Ran let out a burst of slightly awkward laughter.
Yang Kai seemed to understand Kang Si Ran’s mood a bit, so he remained silent.
After all, Kang Si Ran had not expected Yang Kai’s performance to be so outstanding. A one-time refinement had actually resulted in the same number of pills, if not more than all three of the Alchemists he had hired before. Kang Si Ran had originally only prayed that Yang Kai wouldn’t waste too many herbs, so this result was a huge surprise.
The violent ups and downs his emotions had experienced these past few days made it impossible for Kang Si Ran to restrain the joy in his heart or express it properly, so he could only let out this feeble laughter.
“How is that possible? Old Ghost Kang actually brought out more than thirty bottles of Source Condensing Pills? Are you sure?” Inside Pill Pavilion, Zhuo Ning Si’s pretty face was extremely gloomy as she stared at the First-Order Origin King in front of her and questioned.
The short and chubby cultivator nodded hurriedly, “Subordinate is certain! Those thirty bottles of Spirit Pills were indeed all Source Condensing Pills. Once they were taken out, they were snatched up by all the customers rapidly. Subordinate was only able to obtain three pills after exerting all his effort before returning as promptly as possible.”
Saying so, he respectfully took out a jade bottle containing three Spirit Pills and presented it to Zhuo Ning Si.
Because the Source Condensing Pills of Spirit Pill Plaza were so popular, Kang Si Ran had stipulated that all customers could only buy three of them at once.
Three Source Condensing Pills were enough for one Origin King Realm cultivator to use between ten days to half a month. Once a cultivator had used up their supply, they would need to return to Spirit Pill Plaza to purchase more Source Condensing Pills.
This selling method was also an important reason why Spirit Pill Plaza’s Source Condensing Pills were so popular.
Because of the tight supply of Source Condensing Pill, this kind of Spirit Pill also appeared on the black market of Maplewood City frequently, and although the price was often more than twenty percent higher there, they were still snatched up immediately.
Many Origin Kings did not care about the extra twenty percent charge as they were more concerned about converting their Saint Qi to Source Qi as soon as possible.
“They’re really Source Condensing Pills?” Zhuo Ning Si poured out the three Spirit Pills and furrowed her brow even further.
“Shopkeeper, were these Spirit Pills refined by that man named Yang Kai?” The chunky cultivator asked.
Zhuo Ning Si snorted coldly, “Do you think he is capable of refining so many Spirit Pills in just ten days? What kind of Alchemy Grandmaster do you think he is? Even an average Dao Source Grade Alchemist would not have such ability!”
“It is as the shopkeeper says, this subordinate was mistaken,” The short and fat cultivator thought about it and quickly agreed. Although he was not an Alchemist himself, he still knew about how Spirit Pills were refined and how many pills would come out per furnace, as well as how many pills one Alchemist could refine in such a limited time.
Even if there was technically enough time to refine more than three hundred Spirit Pills in ten days, doing so would be impossible because of the consumption of strength required.
“It seems Old Ghost Kang still had some hidden inventory,” Zhuo Ning Si muttered thoughtfully, “That old dog is really not easy to deal with.”
“What shall we do then? Subordinate has heard that Violet Source Chamber of Commerce has already dispatched two Alchemists to Maplewood City, and they will arrive within two months. If we cannot force Spirit Pill Plaza to close down within that time, we will lose this chance.”
Zhuo Ning Si heard these words and gently nodded, a cold murderous intent flashing across her pair of beautiful eyes.
When this murderous intent bloomed, the chubby cultivator couldn’t help shuddering slightly.
“Go keep watch over Spirit Pill Plaza, if there are any disturbances, report to me immediately,” Zhuo Ning Si waved her hand.
“Yes.”
After the fat cultivator left, Zhuo Ning Si picked up one of the Source Condensing Pills again with a puzzled expression. Sniffing and observing it carefully for a time, she could not help whispering, “Strange, this pill doesn’t look like it has been stored for a long time; rather, it looks freshly refined…”
She had noticed this almost immediately; after all, although Zhuo Ning Si was not an Alchemist, she dealt with Spirit Pills all year round.
The three Spirit Pills had a radiant lustre to them and bright, pure colours, indicating their quality was quite high. What concerned Zhuo Ning Si the most, though, was that these Spirit Pills seemed to have been refined recently.
[Could these really be from that Alchemist named Yang Kai?]
As soon as she had this thought though, Zhuo Ning Si rejected it.
No matter what, she did not dare to believe that one person could refine so many Spirit Pills in such a short period of time. She would rather believe that these were hidden away by Old Ghost Kang some time ago in preparation for an emergency and just now taken out.
After pondering for a moment, she stretched out her slender jade fingers and tossed one of the Spirit Pills into her mouth, swallowing it down before beginning to refine the medicinal efficacies.
She had reached the pinnacle of the Origin King Realm, and all of her Saint Qi had been transformed into Source Qi already, so she didn’t need the assistance of Source Condensing Pills anymore. She only did this to test the medicinal efficacies of these Spirit Pill.
Initially, Zhuo Ning Si’s expression was completely normal, but as time passed and the medicinal efficacies surged through her body, her face changed slightly. Opening her beautiful eyes, she called out in alarm, “This is…”
She discovered that the medicinal power contained in this Source Condensing Pill was actually stronger than the Source Condensing Pills previously sold by Spirit Pill Plaza.
Although this increase was quite subtle, hardly noticeable, it was nonetheless there.
“Did Old Ghost Kang ask some Grandmaster to improve the pill recipe?” Zhuo Ning Si suddenly thought of a possibility.
The Source Condensing Pill recipe that Spirit Pill Plaza used was something Zhuo Ning Si was extremely envious of and also the main reason she had not hesitated to poach the three Alchemists from her opponent.
Those three Alchemists, for various reasons, refused to leak the pill recipes they used back in Spirit Pill Plaza, but there was no problem with them using it themselves. As long as Zhou Ning Si was able to poach them for her Pill Pavilion, the Source Condensing Pills she sold would be the same as the ones sold by Spirit Pill Plaza at worst. At that point, the only advantage Spirit Pill Plaza had would evaporate and suppressing them would be even easier.
As such, today’s discovery angered Zhuo Ning Si greatly.
Old Ghost Kang was simply too cunning. He must have known about her plan long ago and decided to change the pill recipe again, increasing the efficacy of Spirit Pill Plaza’s Source Condensing Pills once more.
This way, Spirit Pill Plaza would still occupy an advantage in terms of medicinal efficacies.
Zhuo Ning Si’s breathing became hurried as she fumed internally. With things as they are, what point was there in her spending so much effort to poach those three Alchemists?
“Old Ghost Kang, just you wait! In a few days, the Star Envoy of the Star Soul Palace will arrive in Maplewood City. Let us see how you fight against this Mistress then!” Zhuo Ning Si muttered to herself.
At the same time, inside Spirit Pill Plaza’s underground Alchemy Room.
Yang Kai was sitting cross-legged as he reviewed the Alchemy he had performed over the past few days, analysing his results and mistakes.
After refining so many furnaces of Source Condensing Pills, he had naturally obtained some benefits other than the hundred Source Condensing Pills he had pocketed. His perceptions and insights into the Alchemic Dao had also increased somewhat.
A few years ago, he had triggered the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone on Water Moon Star, and since then he had a unique advantage over others when it came to the Alchemic Dao. That time, the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone had given him a significant boost in terms of his fundamental Alchemy talent.
If he was being blunt, his current Alchemy aptitude was not inferior to the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body of Xia Ning Chang, even superior in some respects.
It was for this reason that he was able to so easily use the new pill recipes he just received and even refine better Spirit Pills than normal.
Zhuo Ning Si had guessed wrong. The Source Condensing Pill recipe of Spirit Pill Plaza had not changed; what was different was that when Yang Kai refined pills, the medicinal liquid he condensed was far purer, so the end products had slightly better efficacy.
And this was only the beginning. Yang Kai believed that as he refined more Spirit Pills, the quality of pill he could produce would only continue to increase.
Kang Si Ran had delivered Yang Kai another hundred sets of Source Condensing Pill materials but had also insisted that Yang Kai take a few more days to rest before refining any more.
He was far more concerned about Yang Kai’s physical condition than Yang Kai was himself!
Now, inside Spirit Pill Plaza, Yang Kai was the only available Alchemist, but he was as good as the three previous Alchemists combined, so how could Kang Si Ran possibly show any neglect? After taking the three hundred or so Source Condensing Pills that day, Kang Si Ran’s attitude towards Yang Kai became even friendlier and more respectful, to the point where he was willing to accept any request Yang Kai made.
Having said that, Yang Kai did not really seem to have any special requests.
Right now, Yang Kai was digesting the Alchemy insights he gained over the past few days while using Source Condensing Pills to transform his own body’s power.
A few days passed in a hurry before Yang Kai once again began refining pills.
A hundred sets of materials were divided up and prepared as Yang Kai sat solemnly in front of his Purple Origin Furnace. Conflagrated Spiritual Energy burst from his Knowledge Sea to heat the furnace as he placed the various herbs into it, using his powerful Divine Sense to burn away the impurities while condensing medicinal liquid. Simultaneously, he portrayed one auxiliary Spirit Array after another to enhance the refinement process.
Yang Kai’s movements were light, fluid, and extremely skilful, without the slightest stiffness, while his mastery of heat would make even an Emperor Grade Alchemist nod in approval.
The improvement of his innate talent had made Alchemy even easier for Yang Kai.
Refining pills was now akin to eating and drinking, a near instinctual task to him. He clearly knew when to portray what kind of Spirit Array, which kind of Spirit Array would work best, and what level of heat various herbs should be subjected to in order to best refine them.
When Alchemy became natural, failure became something that required conscious effort.
Supplemented by his powerful Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, a natural advantage all Alchemists dreamed of, Yang Kai had already walked far ahead of many masters on the Alchemic Dao.
All of this was despite him not putting much time and effort into this profession.
The Dao was a long and dark road, one that was all but impossible to see far ahead on, and only a few lucky individuals could traverse smoothly.
Yang Kai was one of these lucky few.
As pill fragrance began to diffuse, Yang Kai’s expression became more focused, not taking any refinement lightly because of his own skill, instead taking things even more seriously.
Inside the Purple Origin Furnace, various medicinal liquids blended together and underwent a magical transformation under the manipulations of various Spirit Arrays and Yang Kai’s Conflagrated Spiritual Energy.
When the pill fragrance reached a certain concentration, Yang Kai’s hands suddenly moved.
Forming a series of mysterious seals with both his hands, he sent a subtle but profound stream of light into the Purple Origin Furnace, one that swiftly formed a strange pattern before disappearing.
An ancient and desolate aura suddenly permeated the air, one that did not seem to belong to the current era and was clearly evoked by Yang Kai’s movements
However, despite this, the method Yang Kai was using seemed to perfectly coincide with the Alchemic Dao and contained an infinite mystery.
While using this technique, Yang Kai’s Qi and Spiritual Energy flooded out in a great torrent and were consumed rapidly.
Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method!
This was an extremely profound Pill Condensing Technique, an Art which had no use in cultivation but was extremely important for Alchemists when they were condensing pills.
There were countless ways and methods to condense pills in this world, and each one had its own advantages. Grandmaster Zuo De, who had competed with Yang Kai in Water Sky City once, used his own Red Lotus Divine Hands Method to condense pills, a method which many Alchemists from Yang Kai’s native Star Field drooled over.
In the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture, there was also an extremely advanced Pill Condensing method that Yang Kai had once studied.
However, this Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method was not from the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture, but rather came directly from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.
As the last moment of the contest between Yang Kai and Zuo De that day, he had received this Pill Condensing Technique from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.
That Pill Condensing Technique was the prototype of the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method and was the culmination of all Yang Kai’s knowledge and comprehension of the Alchemic Dao.
With the aid of the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, an omnipotent and omnipresent manifestation of the Heavenly Way, Yang Kai had managed to comprehend this Pill Condensing Technique.
As such, the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method could essentially be regarded as a crystallization of the Alchemic Dao and Heavenly Way.
The Heavens worked in mysterious ways and only those who were predestined could realize something from it directly, but the benefits of doing so were unimaginable.
Yang Kai’s Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method was a product of the Heavenly Way itself, one he was only able to spy upon by coincidence.
Even if he wanted to teach this technique to others, it would be impossible as it was imparted specifically to him, and created for him, by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone.
At that time, Yang Kai felt that this Pill Condensing Technique was extremely abstruse and mysterious, not something he could achieve mastery of in a short time.
Now looking at it, its difficulty makes sense. After all, the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method, which Yang Kai had obtained in his native Star Field, was still considered an extremely high-end technique in the Star Boundary.
Every furnace of pills he refined, Yang Kai used the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method to condense.
At this moment, it was once more time to condense the Spirit Pills.
As Yang Kai began using the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method, the pill fragrance inside the Alchemy Room became more and more intense and once a certain critical limit had been reached, a popping sound rang out from the Purple Origin Furnace.
Realizing that the time had come, Yang Kai reached out and patted the Purple Origin Furnace, causing the lid to fly off and six small Spirit Pills to shoot out.
Yang Kai took out a pre-prepared jade bottle immediately and stuffed these pills inside it.
“Only six!” Yang Kai frowned slightly, seemingly a little dissatisfied.
Theoretically speaking, one set of Source Condensing Pill materials could be condensed into nine pills, which was also the absolute limit of a single batch of Spirit Pills. Although Yang Kai had excellent Alchemy aptitude and a unique Pill Condensing Technique like the Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method, he was still just an Origin King Grade High-Rank Alchemist in the end, so condensing six pills at once was his limit.
Nine was perfection, so he was three pills short!
However, this was already quite remarkable. Few Alchemists could condense the maximum number of Spirit Pills per furnace, and all who could were Grandmasters whose names echoed across the entire Star Boundary!
Even for those Grandmasters though, there were times when things went wrong, so it was impossible for them to always achieve success.
Six was a number impossible to reach for most ordinary Dao Source Grade Alchemists, so Yang Kai being able to accomplish this was mostly thanks to his Nine Heavens Profound Pill Method.
This was also why Alchemists would fight and even kill to obtain excellent Pill Condensing Techniques, because a superb Pill Condensing Technique meant that they could refine more pills per furnace, in essence saving materials, time, and energy.
When Yang Kai first began refining Source Condensing Pills, he was only able to condense two pills per furnace, but after just a dozen days or so, he could consistently condense six per batch, a terrifying accomplishment no one would believe possible.
Although it seemed that he was not far from the limit of nine, sometimes taking even a single step forward was all but impossible. In order to reach the upper limit, Yang Kai would require an enormous amount of practice and experience.
Yang Kai spent seven days consuming all one hundred sets of materials.
As usual, he deliberately failed to refine more than a dozen furnaces to avoid Kang Si Ran having doubts.
In fact, according to his current skill, even if Yang Kai closed his eyes and only half paid attention, he could still successfully refine a furnace of Source Condensing Pills.
When Kang Si Ran received the summons to pick up the finished pills, his whole being exuded an aura of excitement and happiness.
Even though he had already had such an experience once, Kang Si Ran still couldn’t believe that Yang Kai was able to refine a hundred furnaces of Spirit Pills in such a short time.
In terms of quantity, there was almost no difference from the previous time: three hundred pieces.
The difference this time was that Yang Kai had pocketed more than two hundred Source Condensing Pills!
“Alchemist Yang, it is this old master’s honour to work with you!” Kang Si Ran looked at Yang Kai with a smile on his face, “If it had not been for Alchemist Yang’s presence, my Spirit Pill Plaza would really have been forced to close. Thanks are not enough to express this old master’s gratitude. If Alchemist Yang has any need of this old master’s assistance in the future, he needs to simply ask and this old master will do his utmost to help.”
“This is just a simple business transaction; Shopkeeper Kang is far too serious.” Yang Kai smiled lightly.
Yang Kai’s humility and kindness made Kang Si Ran smile even more heartily. He had never before met such a young, capable, yet humble Alchemist.
Which of the three previous Alchemists in Spirit Pill Plaza’s employ had not been a difficult character to work with?
Every time Kang Si Ran would come to collect pills from them, the three Alchemists would have gloomy expressions on their faces, like he owed them millions of Source Crystals. Even if his cultivation was higher than theirs, Kang Si Ran always had to wear a flattering smile and act cautiously around them.
Kang Si Ran also had to provide them with special rewards!
For example, every time Fan Hong finished a round of Alchemy, Kang Si Ran would have to arrange a beautiful virgin for him to ‘relax’ with, and the cultivation of this virgin could not be lower than the Origin Returning Realm!
There were indeed many cultivators at the Origin Returning Realm in Maplewood City, but the price Spirit Pill Plaza had to pay in order to so frequently find women who met Fan Hong’s requirements was not low! The demands of the other two Alchemists were even more outrageous. One of them needed to drink a bottle of Ten Thousand Safflower Wine, which was only available in the City Lord’s Mansion, while the other required a Demon Flame Fruit which grew only in the depths of the Demon Flame Marsh!
That Ten Thousand Safflower Wine cost a thousand Source Crystals for a single cup! What’s more, it was an exclusive product of the City Lord’s Mansion and wasn’t generally sold to the public. If not for Kang Si Ran having some specific connections, he would not have been able to acquire this drink.
The Demon Flame Fruit was even rarer. Only a few fruit trees that produced the Demon Flame Fruit grew near the centre of the Demon Flame Marsh. Only occasionally would some adventurers be able to return with a few of these Demon Flame Fruits. Naturally, something so rare was expensive. Five thousand Source Crystals to obtain a single fruit was considered a bargain, while seven or eight thousand was entirely possible! What was worse was that this fruit did not serve any purpose in cultivation and could only be eaten to appreciate its taste.
Whenever he thought back on those times, Kang Si Ran’s heart felt like bleeding.
What’s more, this Alchemist Yang was not only friendly, he also had no strange extra conditions, just a few pill recipes were enough to satisfy him.
Compared to Yang Kai, with his noble and righteous character, those other three Alchemists were simply trash!
Now, those three Alchemists were that cheap slut Zhuo Ning Si’s, problem to deal with. Thinking this way, Kang Si Ran’s mood was bolstered greatly.
“Alchemist Yang, would you like to rest for a few more days? With the Source Condensing Pills you have provided this time, Spirit Pill Plaza won’t need to worry about supply for at least half a month,” Kang Si Ran saw Yang Kai working so hard and felt quite moved, so he took the initiative to make such a proposal.
“Oh? If there are enough Source Condensing Pills, are there perhaps other Spirit Pills that need to be refined?” Yang Kai asked.
Kang Si Ran chuckled, “The demand for other Spirit Pills isn’t very large, so this old master has some in stock still. Please take a rest, Alchemist Yang, there’s no need for you to overwork yourself.”
“All right, I’ll take a rest for a few days,” Yang Kai thought for a while before nodding.
“That would be best. By the way, Alchemist Yang only came to Maplewood City recently, yes? Would you like to accompany this old master tomorrow?”
“Where to?” Yang Kai looked at Kang Si Ran curiously.
Kang Si Ran smiled slightly and said, “Actually, a Star Envoy has come from Star Soul Palace and is now staying in the City Lord’s Mansion. This old master was fortunate enough to be invited to accompany Sir Star Envoy tomorrow on his mission and has been allowed to bring one person with him.”
“A Star Envoy from Star Soul Palace?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
Seeing his expression, Kang Si Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Yang Kai wasn’t so ignorant and uninformed that he didn’t even know about Star Soul Palace. After all, this was the overlord of the entire Southern Territory, the Sect where Bright Moon Great Emperor assumed command.
Bright Moon Great Emperor was one of the Ten Great Emperors.
As the representative of Star Soul Palace, any Star Envoy was obviously highly respected.
“Why would a Star Envoy from Star Soul Palace come to Maplewood City?” Yang Kai frowned; after all, Maplewood City was not prosperous enough to attract the attention of such a character.
But soon, Yang Kai seemed to understand, “Is it because of Clear Jade Mountain?”
“Indeed,” Kang Si Ran nodded and said, “A Luan Feng appeared at Clear Jade Mountain, so during this time, many foreign masters have come to visit Maplewood City in order to investigate Clear Jade Mountain. Alchemist Yang, you have been busy with Alchemy here day and night, so it’s understandable you don’t know what’s happening outside. Sir Star Envoy coming here is naturally because of that Luan Feng, otherwise, how could a tiny Maplewood City attract so many masters?”
“Who else has come?” Yang Kai suddenly became curious.
Yang Kai was not one for gossip, but the movements of the various great forces of the Southern Territory was of interest to him.
Hearing this question, Kang Si Ran explained everything he knew.
“The news of the Luan Feng’s appearance spread very quickly, so most of the top Sects from the Southern Territory have sent representatives. This old master knows that Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Orthodoxy Temple, and Azure Sun Temple have sent Elders. In addition, it seems that our Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce have dispatched masters. However, this old master is only responsible for running a small business, so he was not notified of who the chamber of commerce was sending,” Kang Si Ran said without hesitation. “There are also countless small and medium-sized great forces who have sent their own envoys. The current Maplewood City… is a gathering of dragons and tigers.”
“Do they want to track that Luan Feng’s whereabouts?” Yang Kai looked stunned.
“Naturally not!” Kang Si Ran laughed in surprise, “That Luan Feng is an Ancient Divine Spirit, an existence even the Ten Great Emperors might not be able to take down on their own, so who would dare try to trace its whereabouts? It is just… After all, it was a Divine Spirit that appeared, so it has attracted much attention. Moreover, all the great forces knew that trying to trace her would yield no results, but they could not just ignore her either. Most Sects have not deployed their top-level powerhouses but instead sent out some personnel to make an appearance while also sending some of their promising youths in order for them to gain some life experience.”
“So that’s how it is!”
“Although our Spirit Pill Plaza is nothing worthy of note, it is still the property of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and a business that Sir City Lord has taken good care of, so this time, in order to welcome and accompany Sir Star Envoy, this old master was added to the invitee list. Is Alchemist Yang interested in travelling together to see the place where the Divine Spirit appeared in Clear Jade Mountain? This old master has heard that the black flames there are still burning and that not even Dao Source Realm cultivators can enter too deep. However, even from the outskirts, it would be a chance to expand one’s horizons, and if one is able to comprehend anything from those World Extinguishing Black Flames, it would be a great profit.”
[I’ve already deeply experienced those black flames,] Yang Kai thought to himself.
When that Luan Feng first appeared, Yang Kai was in Clear Jade Mountain.
It could be said that among the cultivators who were able to observe the Luan Feng up close and personal, only Yang Kai had survived, all the others had perished.
As such, Yang Kai was naturally not interested in Kang Si Ran’s proposal.
And so, he declined Kang Si Ran’s invitation. Although Shopkeeper Kang felt it was a pity, he did not say much; after all, not everyone was interested in showing their face to Sir Star Envoy in hopes of somehow currying favour with him. Everyone had their own ambitions and preferences, so Kang Si Ran didn’t force the issue.
Kang Si Ran even somewhat admired Yang Kai’s free and easy disposition, so he simply encouraged him to take a few days to rest before taking his leave.
Yang Kai cleaned himself up and then left Spirit Pill Plaza to return to the secluded home he had rented in Maplewood City.
The next day, a magnificent, extremely large, and luxurious flying ship set out from the City Lord’s Mansion and headed towards Clear Jade Mountain. Emblazoned on the side of this ship was a shining moon symbol.
This was naturally the insignia of the Southern Territory’s Supreme Sect, Star Soul Palace.
All of Maplewood City was simply abuzz at the mere sight.
Yang Kai, on the other hand, ignored all this and went to rent a White Jade Dragon Horse carriage before ordering the coachman to head to a certain street in the west of the city.
Even if Maplewood City was a small, unknown city in the Southern Territory, it still occupied an extremely vast area, and since flying and flight type artifacts were not allowed inside the city, if cultivators wanted to save time on the road, they could only rent one of the White Jade Dragon Horse carriages. These White Jade Dragon Horses were rumoured to have the blood of ancient dragons flowing through their veins, but this bloodline was extremely thin. These Monster Beasts had a gentle temperament and were easy to domesticate while possessing great speed, so they were well suited for pulling carriages.
After just half an hour, Yang Kai arrived at his destination.
Yang Kai paid for the ride before getting off the carriage and moving to a remote alleyway where he took out a set of clothes he had prepared in advance from his Space Ring and donned them. With his face and figure covered by these black robes, Yang Kai walked straight out into the bustling street ahead.
This was the location of the black market in Maplewood City!
Although he had not been in Maplewood City for long, Yang Kai had already inquired about the existence of this black market.
The black market here was a place that could not openly exist, but its existence in this street was essentially condoned by Maplewood City’s City Lord’s Mansion. Here, spoils people obtained after killing others and robbing them, as well as certain other items which could not be sold aboveboard could be found.
There were also many items of unknown origin sold in this place.
The cultivators who streamed in and out of the black market all abided by certain unspoken rules, the most important of which were that no one asked the origin of any item, no one asked for any names, and after transactions were settled, there were no refunds.
In this kind of place, it was easy to find treasures, so it is very popular among Maplewood City’s cultivators and was always crowded.
However, because of the customs here, it was also easy for substandard and counterfeit goods to be mixed in with genuine ones. This was a kind of test of a buyer’s vision and knowledge. If someone was deceived because of their greed or ignorance, they had no one to blame but themselves.
Yang Kai was originally worried that his black robes and covered hat would draw too much attention; after all, hiding one’s appearance was a clear indication that one was up to no good.
But when he entered the street where the black market was located, he found that his worries were unnecessary.
There were many cultivators dressed similarly to him, so Yang Kai was quickly able to relax.
As soon as he entered the street, an old man with shifty eyes quietly came up to him, glancing around, acting all mysterious as he tugged on Yang Kai’s clothes and motioned him over.
“Speak quickly,” Yang Kai said coldly.
“Little Brother, this old master wants to tell you about something good, not something that can be discussed out here in the open; after all, the walls have ears in this place.” As the old man spoke, he glanced around vigilantly, as if someone really was watching.
“Then don’t talk about it,” Yang Kai naturally knew these kinds of people would linger in a place like this, so he didn’t want to waste any time on this old man.
Saying so, he stepped forward and walked off.
“Ah, Little Brother, don’t go!” The old man hurriedly caught up and blocked Yang Kai’s path, gritting his teeth as he said, “Alright, Little Brother seems to be a busy man, so this old master won’t waste your time; here, take a look at this!”
Saying so, he took out a crumpled piece of animal skin from his chest pocket. This animal skin looked very old and was clearly made from some kind of Monster Beast leather. Some subtle energy fluctuations were coming from this animal skin and a series of complex lines crisscrossed its surface, making it look extremely profound.
The old man showed the animal skin paper to Yang Kai quickly before hiding it away in the next instant, speaking with some slight grief in his tone, “This old master will speak frankly, this is a hidden treasure map that has been passed down through this old master’s family for generations. This old master’s ancestors once served Heaven Devouring Great Emperor and this treasure map leads to Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s hidden treasury! This old master’s strength is weak, however, so he is unable to make use of this map. Today, this old master was fortunate enough to see Little Brother and instantly knew he was a man of great destiny, one who would be worthy of obtaining this treasure map! What does little brother think? Will he purchase this map?”
“Heaven Devouring Great Emperor?” Yang Kai raised his brow.
“En!”
“The Great Emperor who cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law?”
“Who else but him?” The old man looked at Yang Kai with joy, “It turns out that Little Brother even knows about the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. That is a peak-level Secret Art that is not tolerated by Heaven and Earth. Speaking truthfully, this Secret Art is very likely inside the hidden treasury. If Little Brother can obtain this Secret Art, his rise to the Ten Great Emperors will be just around the corner!”
“Hehe, I already know the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, so I am not interested in your hidden treasury. You should find someone else.”
“This old master will sell this big opportunity to Little Brother for just five thousand Source Crystals! Is little brother really willing to pass up such a fortuitous encounter?” The old man shouted from behind towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai didn’t even bother with him anymore.
The old man suddenly put on an angry face and spat, “Smelly brat, if you don’t want to buy it then just say so instead of boasting so shamelessly! Saying he already knows the Heaven Devouring Battle Law; does he take this old master as a fool?”
After shouting out loud, the old man muttered to himself, “Is this trick too easy for others to see through…? Should I use a different approach?”
As this old man was worrying he wouldn’t be able to deceive anyone for a few months and would really wind up penniless, he suddenly saw another cultivator walk up the street, a young girl who looked less than twenty years old. This girl was a great beauty with an outstanding figure, but a large crescent-shaped birthmark that covered her right cheek ruined her overall beauty, causing many who saw her to sigh.
The girl was skipping around the street, like a playful spirit, an innocent look covering her face.
Upon seeing this, the old man immediately greeted her with the kindest smile he could muster on his face.
“You… what do you want?” The girl was startled and immediately stepped back from the old man warily.
“Don’t be afraid, Little Girl! This old master has no malicious intent!” The old man smiled more and more kindly.
“Then what do you want to do?” The girl looked the old man up and down, with a trace of instinctive vigilance still apparent in her clear, beautiful eyes.
The old man chuckled while pretending to be mysterious, “This old master seems to share some destiny with this little girl, so he would like to deliver you a big opportunity!”
When the girl heard this, her beautiful eyes brightened and she asked happily, “A big opportunity? What kind of big opportunity? Hurry up and talk about it!”
She was excited from the bottom of her heart as she secretly thought that the legendary stories that Aunty Feng told her when she was a child were true. Opportunities and fortuitous encounters were something real! In those childhood stories, ordinary cultivators would sometimes receive guidance or benefits from mysterious elders, allowing them to soar up into the sky and become supreme existences, worshipped and adored by countless others.
When she was young, she had loved listening to these stories but after coming out for the past half-year, she had not encountered any such situation, causing her to think that her Aunty Feng was simply making them up.
Now, though, there was a mysterious old man who wanted to give himself a big opportunity standing right in front of her! The young girl was so excited that suddenly, in her eyes, the old man who was clearly an old trickster now looked like a powerful hidden master who was stealthily searching for an appropriate inheritor to his legacy in this crowded place!
Now, this old master had seen that she was a peerless genius, one in hundreds of millions, so he had chosen her.
As for his casual… or rather his sloppy appearance, shouldn’t a powerful master who was trying to hide themselves look like this?
“Heh heh heh…” The old man flashed his big yellow teeth as he reached into his chest pocket to take out a crumpled animal skin…
…..
“Grandma, is there a shop that deals in Spirit Pills around here?” Yang Kai stood in front of a stall, looking at the silver-haired, trembling old woman, and asked.
“One for five hundred Source Crystals, they were refined by this old woman personally,” The old woman looked at Yang Kai with a smile on her face and pointed to the pile of odd objects Yang Kai could not even identify in front of her.
Yang Kai frowned and asked again, “I asked if there are any pill shops around here!”
“Oh, if you buy two, this old woman can give you a small discount, just nine hundred Source Crystals,” The old woman raised her hand and swung it lightly, as if she was offering him a great bargain.
“Don’t pretend to be deaf and dumb with me. Do you think I won’t smash your stall?” Yang Kai spat viciously at the old woman in front of him before releasing his Third-Order Origin King aura.
The old woman’s complexion changed and her senility from just now disappeared, her eyes becoming cold and stern as she spat, “Little Brat, don’t you know how to respect your elders? So impolite.”
“A First-Order Origin King pretending to be deaf, do you think I’m a fool?” Yang Kai looked at her contemptuously.
“Go there, don’t block this old woman’s business. These years, business has been getting harder and harder,” The old woman pointed her finger in a certain direction before blinking and restoring her feeble, frail look.
Following the instructions of the old woman, Yang Kai quickly arrived at the door of a shop.
The shop hand here was a normal person, unlike the old women and the old man he had met before, so after seeing Yang Kai, he greeted him enthusiastically before arranging a room for him as well as serving some tea then drawing back.
Yang Kai was not in a hurry, so he waited quietly while tasting the fragrant tea.
The reason why Yang Kai had come to the black market was that he had no other choice.
Right now, he had more than three hundred Source Condensing Pills on him.
These Source Condensing Pills were secretly pocketed by him and there was no way he could use them all up personally. Keeping them around would be a waste, so selling them off was the best option, but… he had no good channel to go about this; after all, the origins of these Source Condensing Pills was not ‘legitimate’.
Yang Kai could not openly sell these pills as that would only draw problems from Spirit Pill Plaza.
As such, he could only come to this black market.
This was the best and most suitable place to pawn off these illicit goods.
Yang Kai basically did not have any Source Crystals on hand, so after selling this batch of Spirit Pills, he would have some emergency funds.
A short while later, a fat man opened the door and walked in. This fat man literally jiggled as he walked and the floor beneath him creaked. There was so much excess flesh on his face that his eyes were nothing more than narrow slits.
As soon as he entered, the fat man cupped his fists enthusiastically and said, “Jin Fu Gui, greets this Young Lord.”
He knowingly did not ask Yang Kai’s name, because people who came here didn’t like others inquiring about themselves.
Yang Kai stood up and returned the courtesy, “Shopkeeper Jin is too polite.”
Sweeping his eyes over this fat man, Yang Kai quickly discovered that he was also a Third-Order Origin King, and the aura fluctuations coming from him were extremely powerful. It seemed this Jin Fu Gui had fully converted his Saint Qi into Source Qi. Masters like this, while not a frequent sight in Maplewood City, still existed in a substantial number. Kang Si Ran and Zhuo Ning Si, for example, could be considered masters in Maplewood City.
Jin Fu Gui quickly sat down, the chair beneath him groaning under the sudden stress.
Smiling widely, he looked at Yang Kai and said, “I’ve heard from my shop-hand that Young Lord wishes to sell a batch of Spirit Pills, yes?”
“Indeed!”
Jin Fu Gui heard this response and his slit eyes flashed, “Dare I ask what kind of Spirit Pills Young Lord wishes to sell? This Jin is a well-known figure in Maplewood City, so Young Lord can rest assured that this Jin will offer a fair price and will never reveal any information about their origin.”
“Shopkeeper Jin saying so puts me at ease,” Yang Kai nodded, reached out, and took out a bottle from his Space Ring before pushing it over to Jin Fu Gui and saying, “Shopkeeper Jin should see for himself what type of Spirit Pill I have come to sell.
Jin Fu Gui nodded to Yang Kai before picking up the jade bottle and un-capping it.
The next moment, Jin Fu Gui could not help raising his brow and muttering in some pleasant surprise, “Source Condensing Pills?”
Source Condensing Pills were always in short supply, especially on the black market. Even if there were not 10,000 customers looking for Source Condensing Pills each day, there were at least 8,000. This kind of Spirit Pill was always snatched up as soon as it appeared, whether it was above or below-board.
Therefore, Jin Fu Gui was extremely satisfied with the goods Yang Kai had brought.
“How many would Young Lord like to sell?”
Yang Kai silently gestured a number.
Jin Fu Gui couldn’t help showing a stunned look this time as he asked unconsciously, “Three hundred? Young Lord was able to obtain three hundred Source Condensing Pills?”
One Source Condensing Pill could be used for ten days by a First-Order Origin King while a Second-Order Origin King would use it up in about six or seven days. As for Third-Orders, three to four days was the norm.
As such, while three hundred Source Condensing Pills may not seem like a large number, it was definitely not small either. Any Origin King who was able to obtain so many Source Condensing Pills would not have to worry about converting their Saint Qi to Source Qi for several years at least.
What Jin Fu Gui was wondering was where Yang Kai had obtained such a large number of Source Condensing Pills!
However, such information was obviously confidential, so he didn’t press for an answer.
After pondering for a moment, Jin Fu Gui said, “Three hundred is no small number, but regarding their quality…”
Yang Kai smiled and said, “Shopkeeper Jin can try one himself.”
Jin Fu Gui did not refuse and nodded. “Then please forgive this Jin for his rudeness.”
Saying so, he poured out a Source Condensing Pill from the jade bottle, stuffed it into his mouth, and silently circulated his Secret Art to refine it. After a while, his fat face shook slightly as a light of surprise flashed across his eyes.
This was a Source Condensing Pill that Yang Kai had refined using the pill recipe provided by Spirit Pill Plaza, so its quality was even better than the Source Condensing Pills previously sold by Spirit Pill Plaza.
Jin Fu Gui was also a Third-Order Origin King who had dealt with Spirit Pills for many years, so how could he not be able to judge this difference?
Secretly shocked, he quickly realized that the origins of these Source Condensing Pills in Yang Kai’s hands were likely quite extraordinary.
The room fell silent for a while as Fatty Jin tapped his hand on the tabletop, as if contemplating something.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, “The quality of this batch of Source Condensing Pills need not even be questioned. En, what does Young Lord think of this price?”
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and gestured.
Yang Kai couldn’t help sneering, “Shopkeeper Jin, is my batch of Source Condensing Pills only worth such a price in your eyes? If that is the case, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Jin Fu Gui lightly coughed. “Young Lord, please wait a moment. This batch of Source Condensing Pills is indeed top-notch goods, but selling them in my humble establishment will require some manpower and labour. Young Lord does not intend for this Jin to make no profit at all, right?”
“What Shopkeeper Jin says makes sense,” Yang Kai nodded. “But there is never a need to worry about customers for Source Condensing Pills. I don’t even need to go to any store, all I need to do is stand in the street and shout and I will be able to sell my entire inventory in no time. Shopkeeper Jin, are you sure you want to give up this opportunity to profit?”
Jin Fu Gui’s fat cheeks twitched as he grit his teeth and gestured again, “Then how about the price!”
Yang Kai glanced at him, “Raise it another five hundred and perhaps we will have an opportunity to collaborate again in the future!”
Jin Fu Gui frowned when he heard these words, but soon made a decision and nodded, “Then we will follow Young Lord’s suggestion. I hope that Young Lord will patronize my humble establishment first if he ever has more Source Condensing Pills in the future.”
“Naturally,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully. “By the way, besides Source Condensing Pills, I have some other pills here. Please give me an estimate of their worth, Shopkeeper Jin.”
The other pills Yang Kai mentioned were naturally the ones he had on hand from performing Alchemy in Blue Feather Sect. There were a variety of different pills, but their grade and popularity naturally could not be compared with the batch of Source Condensing Pills.
Of course, Jin Fu Gui did not care about this. To him, as a black market businessman, as long as he could make money, it was enough.
After bargaining back and forth a bit, Jin Fu Gui collected most of the Spirit Pills Yang Kai had on hand while Yang Kai received nearly 170,000 Source Crystals!
This number finally allowed Yang Kai to relax somewhat.
He had performed Alchemy for nearly a month in Blue Feather Sect, but only earned 30,000 Source Crystals.
Now, in just half a month, he had earned 170,000. The biggest reason for this was because Source Condensing Pills were high demand products.
After leaving Jin Fu Gui’s shop, Yang Kai continued to wear his black robes as he was not in a hurry to return and instead began touring around the black market.
Good deals could be found in this kind of place, but the probability was very small; after all, there weren’t many cultivators who didn’t know what the quality of the goods they owned was and listed and sold some rare treasure as garbage.
Yang Kai walked around but gained nothing.
Just as he was about to go back home, he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice from not far away, one that was filled with a trace of anger and grievance as it shouted, “Why must you be so unreasonable!”
Yang Kai was startled when he heard this voice and the image of a cute, innocent girl flashed across his mind.
[Is that possible?] Yang Kai thought to himself. He had only come to Maplewood City a few days ago and wasn’t familiar with many people here, so there was no way he would mistake this voice for someone else.
Curious, he hurriedly over.
Not far away, a crowd of people was standing around watching a small group of people.
Yang Kai made his way through the crowd and looked inward.
In an instant, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
In front of him was a young girl in a long green dress with a slight frown on her face. This girl’s stature was quite petite, but her chest was plentiful. She had a graceful figure, delicate features, and snow-white skin, but her most notable characteristics were the large crescent-shaped birthmark on her cheek, and the few bulging cloth bags hanging on her waist.
[Mo Xiao Qi!]
Yang Kai couldn’t believe his eyes.
It turned out to be Mo Xiao Qi, the innocent girl he had met in Clear Jade Mountain.
[She actually survived?]
Yang Kai could not help breathing a sigh of relief inexplicably when he saw this little girl alive and well, the lingering guilt in his heart disappearing in an instant.
Back on Clear Jade Mountain that day, when the furious Ancient Divine Spirit Luan Feng had released its World Extinguishing Black Flames and wiped out all life within a few hundred kilometres, Mo Xiao Qi had disappeared. Yang Kai was certain she had died and could not help feeling guilty. If he was close enough to Mo Xiao Qi, he could have pulled her into the Sealed World Bead to escape before she was burnt to ashes.
Just because of some discomfort he felt around her, Yang Kai allowed this innocent girl to be killed under the Luan Feng’s anger.
At that time, Yang Kai indeed felt a little guilty. Although he and Mo Xiao Qi weren’t familiar with one another, his impression of her was still quite good. There were very few girls like Mo Xiao Qi in this world.
Seeing her again now, while Yang Kai was delighted, he was also quite curious about how she managed to escape at that time. After all, the Luan Feng’s indiscriminate attack was simply too terrifying. If it were not for his Sealed World Bead, Yang Kai was certain he too would have died that day.
However, when he thought carefully about how the origins of this girl were extremely mysterious and about her dazzling array of high-end artifacts, perhaps… she had an extremely powerful artifact that had somehow allowed her to escape that crisis.
Thinking so, Yang Kai’s evaluation of Mo Xiao Qi rose even higher!
After all, an artifact that could withstand the furious attack of a Luan Feng needed to be at least Emperor Grade. Mo Xiao Qi being able to possess an Emperor Artifact proved that her background was simply unimaginable.
However, at this moment, this young girl with such a strong background was once again involved in trouble.
Opposite her, a group of cultivators stood around a young man like stars surrounding a bright moon. This young man had a jade carved face and a suave appearance, but his pair of wicked eyes kept sweeping over Mo Xiao Qi unscrupulously, lingering quite a bit on her full peaks that could draw the attention of any man.
However, when his gaze shifted to Mo Xiao Qi’s face, he could not help flashing a regretful expression, as if he hated the unfairness of the Heavens and was about to shed tears of blood!
“Why are you being so unreasonable? I saw this thing first and even paid for it, so why should I give it to you?” Mo Xiao Qi was holding something behind her back, facing off against a group of a dozen men without the slightest fear.
“Girl, there are some things beyond your control. Since my Young Lord is interested in this item, he must have it. We will pay you double the Source Crystals you bought it for so please hand it over and we can avoid any unpleasantness,” On the other side, a man coldly snorted and as he spoke, he intentionally released his aura in a threatening manner.
“What would I need your Source Crystals for?” Mo Xiao Qi pursed her lips, turning her head to the elderly stall owner and saying, “Tell me, did I buy it from you first?”
The old man could not help frowning as he glanced between Mo Xiao Qi and then dozen or so menacing men and awkwardly laughed, “I… I guess?”
“What do you mean ‘you guess?’” Mo Xiao Qi looked at him in amazement, “Didn’t I give you the Source Crystals already? I even gave you some extra as a sign of gratitude, but you didn’t even thank me.”
The old man’s mouth twitched as he fell silent.
The young man who had been surrounded by cultivators on the other side suddenly chuckled and turned to the old seller, “Old man, how many Source Crystals did this girl pay you?”
The old man’s expression became embarrassed as he hesitated for a moment before stating, “Eight thousand!”
“Eight thousand, en, not too many. This Young Lord will pay you ten thousand, so why not sell that item to me?” The young man looked at the old man with a smile.
“Ten thousand?” The old man was overjoyed when he heard this and nodded hurriedly, “Good, good…” After agreeing, he looked embarrassed again though, “But this thing has already been bought by this girl…”
“So what? This is business: The one who offers the higher price wins,” The young man smiled heartily and looked at Mo Xiao Qi. “Girl, you should understand clearly now. This Young Lord will buy this thing for ten thousand Source Crystals, please hand it over…”
“The higher price wins?” Mo Xiao Qi grit her teeth angrily and before the young man could finish, she shouted, “Good, then I’ll pay twenty thousand for it.”
Hearing this, the old seller was both surprised and delighted, never having expected that one of his items would sell for such a high price. At the same time, he was a bit annoyed with himself. Since these two parties were willing to fight so vigorously over this item, clearly it was quite valuable, but he himself was unable to recognize it and had just sold it as an ordinary trinket, allowing others to pick up a bargain.
The young man frowned, a ruthless expression appearing on his face as he shouted, “This Young Lord will pay thirty thousand then! You think you have more Source Crystals than this Young Lord?”
“Fifty thousand!” Mo Xiao Qi threw out a number lightly, but they pounded down on the young man’s head like a hammer, causing him to even shrink his neck slightly.
The young man lost all patience at that moment and roared, “Girl! Do you know who this Young Lord is? How dare you try to steal from me!”
“I don’t know who you are,” Mo Xiao Qi looked at him with clear disgust, “Besides, aren’t you the one trying to steal from me? You’re a liar!”
“Good! You little skank. It seems you will not regret unless you see your coffin! If so, this Young Lord will let you understand, I am Flying Saint Palace’s Young Palace Master, Ning Yuan Cheng. If you understand your place now, hand over that thing and then scram, if you don’t… Heh heh heh, this Young Lord will make both you and that thing stay behind!”
Ning Yuan Cheng smiled deviously as he shot a malicious look towards Mo Xiao Qi.
“Flying Saint Palace!”
“He’s Ning Yuan Cheng?”
“That girl is in big trouble.”
After Ning Yuan Cheng’s voice fell, before Mo Xiao Qi could even respond, the surrounding crowd began to whisper among themselves slightly.
After all, while Flying Saint Palace was not a first-class force in the Southern Territory and could not be mentioned in the same sentence as Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Orthodoxy Temple, or Azure Sun Temple, it still had some reputation and was far stronger than the forces around Maplewood City.
As Flying Saint Palace’s Young Palace Master, Ning Yuan Cheng’s reputation was also not small. At least in the Southern Territory, he was a somewhat known figure.
During this period of time, because of the appearance of a Luan Feng, many great forces had sent representatives to Clear Jade Mountain to investigate the situation, Flying Saint Palace was no exception, and the leader of its delegation was none other than Young Palace Master Ning Yuan Cheng.
However, after exploring Clear Jade Mountain for some time and gaining nothing, Ning Yuan Cheng had decided to stop over in Maplewood City briefly, ultimately leading to this encounter in the black market.
Ning Yuan Cheng had a smug expression on his face, thinking that after announcing his name and the great force behind him, this little woman who did not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth would bow down and apologize, perhaps even offering herself to him to garner his forgiveness.
[En, although this little girl has that ugly birthmark on her face, her figure is really outstanding, especially her chest. They’ll be great fun to play with.]
Once it was night, after the clothes were removed and the lights were extinguished, what one’s face looked like made no difference.
“Flying Saint Palace? What is that? I’ve never heard of it,” Mo Xiao Qi frowned slightly, a blank look on her face.
Ning Yuan Cheng’s proud expression instantly stiffened while the other Flying Saint Palace cultivators wore gloomy faces.
“Bold! How dare you insult my Saint Palace! Capture her! This Young Lord will let her know what Flying Saint Palace is!” Ning Yuan Cheng shouted with a fierce expression on his face.
A dozen or so Origin Kings took action without hesitation.
Maplewood City was a small, out of the way town, whose City Lord was only a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. As for the two Vice City Lords, they were just First-Order Dao Sources, making for three Dao Source Realm masters in total, not a force Flying Saint Palace needed to put in their eyes. What’s more, this was the black market of Maplewood City, so even if violence was used, no one would dare raise any fuss.
So what if the City Lord’s Mansion investigated later. Would they dare oppose Flying Saint Palace?
Out of the dozen or so people who rushed out, three of them moved faster than the rest and arrived around Mo Xiao Qi in an instant, two of them reaching for her delicate shoulders while one patted his palm towards her lower abdomen.
From their respective palms, power surged.
They had been ordered by their Young Lord to capture Mo Xiao Qi, not to kill her, so they held back.
The onlookers all exclaimed as they showed looks of pity.
After all, a group of men were acting together to bully a little girl. Although this little girl was also clearly a Third-Order Origin King, just the situation alone was enough to arouse the sympathy of others.
Yang Kai also could not bear to watch what he knew was about to happen and turned his eyes aside.
However, his pity was not aimed at Mo Xiao Qi, but rather at the Flying Saint Palace cultivators who had attacked her.
What happened on Clear Jade Mountain that day was still fresh in Yang Kai’s memory…
Even though he had cultivated the Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art and had a physique many times more powerful than cultivators in his realm, his hand had been bloodied when he touched Mo Xiao Qi, so what fate awaited these three was quite obvious to him.
What’s more, Yang Kai had only wanted to lead Mo Xiao Qi away with him at that time and thus did not use any of his strength, but these three actually attacked her, so the consequences…
“Ah…*
Sure enough, a series of screams rang out, causing all the surrounding cultivators to stare dumbfounded at the scene before them, their jaws dropped to the ground.
The two cultivators who had grabbed towards Mo Xiao Qi’s shoulders were thrown through the air the moment they laid hands on her, their palms bloodied and torn apart to the point where their bones were visible.
As for the cultivator who palmed towards Mo Xiao Qi’s lower abdomen, he was even more miserable. After his palm landed, while Mo Xiao Qi stumbled backwards a bit from the force, the man actually let out a pitiful scream as he fell backwards, his hand feeling like it was on fire.
Looking closer, at some point, a distorted, horrifying looking face seal had appeared on this man’s hand. As for the man himself, a terrifying howling sound echoed throughout his Knowledge Sea.
The cultivator froze in place instantly as a huge phantom face appeared in his Knowledge Sea and began to drain his Spiritual Energy at an astonishing pace, all the time showing a wicked and intoxicated expression.
This man was completely unable to resist and the light in his eyes quickly dimmed.
“What?” Ning Yuan Cheng saw this scene and immediately cried out in shock.
Everything that happened in front of him here was beyond his ability to understand.
It was clear that his three subordinates were the ones attacking Mo Xiao Qi while she had just stood there, her face flustered, as if she did not even know how to defend herself, but while she was perfectly fine. His three subordinates were the ones who had suffered severely.
Two serious injuries and one death, this kind of result made Nin Yuan Cheng doubt his eyes.
Just what kind of Secret Technique had she used?
Was this girl just playing pig to eating a tiger?
Could she actually be an old witch who had lived for thousands of years and was hiding her cultivation while pretending to be innocent here?
Various thoughts flashed across Ning Yuan Cheng’s mind, causing cold sweat to drip down his back.
“Retreat!” At that moment, the rest of the cultivators who were rushing towards Mo Xiao Qi heard a loud shout in their ears.
All of them realized how precarious their situation was and reacted extremely quickly, not daring to attack Mo Xiao Qi as they scurried back in fright.
A man then walked out from behind Ning Yuan Cheng with a gloomy expression on his face. He was a middle-aged man who had an unassuming look to him and had been standing behind Ning Yuan Cheng silently until now, a calm look on his face. However, now, he actually had to stand in front of Ning Yuan Cheng to protect him.
As the Young Palace Master of Flying Saint Palace, Ning Yuan Cheng had one or two real masters protecting him while he was out travelling.
This middle-aged man was a master from Flying Saint Palace who was responsible for protecting Ning Yuan Cheng, a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master named Liu Yi Zhi.
As a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master, his vision was naturally sharp, so it only took him an instant to realize that Mo Xiao Qi had some kind of extraordinary background. Just now, he had seen that the situation was bad and ordered the other Flying Saint Palace disciples to fall back.
As he stood in front of Ning Yuan Cheng, blocking all angles from which he could be attacked, Liu Yi Zhi stared at Mo Xiao Qi solemnly, seemingly trying to peer through her secrets.
“You… you… what do you want to do?” Mo Xiao Qi didn’t come back to her senses until this moment and though obviously still frightened, tried to put on a strong act and shouted, “You… don’t come here, I’m not good to provoke, if you’re not careful… I’ll punch you!”
The surrounding crowd could help rolling their eyes when they saw and heard this.
[You not being good to provoke is obvious… Why bother saying it yourself?]
Liu Yi Zhi frowned slightly. Although he instinctively felt that Mo Xiao Qi’s expression didn’t seem to be fake, nor like an old witch concealing her cultivation and pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, he still did not dare to take her lightly.
After thinking for a while, he asked in a deep voice, “Dare I ask this Young Lady’s honoured name?”
Mo Xiao Qi just grit her teeth and stared at him without answering.
Liu Yi Zhi frowned more severely after seeing this. The other party not saying anything put him in an embarrassing position, but under the circumstances, he could only ask again, “Then dare I ask this Young Lady where she hails from? Upon closer inspection, Young Lady seems somewhat familiar, like a certain acquaintance of this old master’s. Perhaps… our two great forces have some kind of connection. If that is really the case, please enlighten us so that we can avoid an awkward conflict between allies and family members.”
He obviously wanted to make big things small and make small things nothing; after all, Mo Xiao Qi’s strange performance made Liu Yi Zhi unable to see through her. Anyone he could not see through was someone not to be provoked easily, lest it invite disaster to the Sect.
This was especially true for the current Maplewood City, as there were dragons and snakes mixed into the crowd everywhere, with various great forces coming from far and wide. Liu Yi believed that Mo Xiao Qi was very likely a disciple from some super force.
As long as someone with a little bit of experience was faced with Liu Yi Zhi’s rhetoric, they would know how to act and cooperate of their own accord.
But Mo Xiao Qi obviously did not have such experience and had no idea what Liu Yi and Flying Saint Palace was trying to do, so she bluntly said, “How could we be friends or family? I have never even heard of your Flying Saint Palace, so how could that be possible? How could my Spirit… I have any connection with you?”
Liu Yi Zhi’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot as he secretly scolded Mo Xiao Qi for not understanding how to cooperate here, really wondering if this girl in front of him was faking it or was truly just that ignorant.
However, some clues revealed by Mo Xiao Qi just now really shocked Liu Yi Zhi.
Mo Xiao Qi just now had clearly wanted to say she came from ‘Spirit’ something, but in the Star Boundary, there were only a few great forces whose names began with ‘Spirit’. However, none of these forces were ones Flying Saint Palace could afford to provoke, so for a time, Liu Yi Zhi found himself in the same awkward situation of not being able to infer Mo Xiao Qi’s true origins.
Just as he felt like he was riding a tiger, a strange cry suddenly came from the crowd.
“Who?” Liu Yi Zhi was already irritated and turned to bark at the source of the sound with no trace of politeness.
Over there, he saw a black-robed figure walking out from the crowd. This individual had their face concealed, but from the voice, it was apparent it was a man, and from the aura fluctuations, this man seemed to be a Third-Order Origin King, the same as Mo Xiao Qi.
The black-robed man was naturally Yang Kai.
He really could not stand to watch anymore.
Others might not understand Mo Xiao Qi’s temperament, but he did, and he knew that if this was not handled well, even if Flying Saint Palace had scruples about the situation, they would still attack Mo Xiao Qi in order to maintain their Sect’s face.
Once that time came, Yang Kai was not sure if Mo Xiao Qi would be able to resist. Although there were many magical treasures on her body, the other party was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator who could inspire the surrounding World Principles to bolster his strength, so it was questionable whether Mo Xiao Qi’s artifacts would be enough to protect her.
Facing Liu Yi Zhi’s question, Yang Kai actually completely ignored him and instead hurriedly walked over to Mo Xiao Qi and said, “So this is where you were, Young Lady! You really made it difficult for this subordinate to find you.”
“Young… Young Lady?” Mo Xiao Qi instinctively stammered in panic, thinking her whereabouts had been revealed and her father had sent someone to catch her, subconsciously taking something out from her Space Ring as she prepared to flee.
However, in the next instant, she felt something was wrong.
Because this person’s voice was actually somewhat familiar.
The next moment, Yang Kai showed her a little of his appearance.
Mo Xiao Qi was taken aback, and a light of pleasant surprise flashed across her beautiful eyes as she called out, “Ah! It’s you! You didn’t die!”
Yang Kai covered his face again, grinned wryly, and said, “Young Lady, please hold back a bit next time. Although this subordinate is quite resilient, he is still not able to completely block your certain-kill strike. Subordinate had to rest and recover for many days to finally restore himself.”
As he spoke, Yang Kai shot Mo Xiao Qi a meaningful glance, fearing that this little girl who was so lacking in common sense would blow his cover. Not confident still, Yang Kai quietly sent her a Divine Sense Message telling her not to speak.
Mo Xiao Qi nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice.
The onlookers heard this conversation and could not help wearing sympathetic looks as they gazed towards Yang Kai, like he was really a subordinate responsible for protecting the safety of this Young Lady. Not only did he seem to have the thankless job of working as a nanny, he also seemed to have to withstand attacks from his Young Lady…
“Hm? Young Lady, what’s going on here?” Yang Kai pretended to finally notice the unusual situation and began sweeping his gaze around, in the next moment shouting furiously, “Who dares to attack my Young Lady!? You must be courting death!”
Yang Kai was just a Third-Order Origin King, so in front of a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master, he had no choice but to put on a fierce appearance in hopes of deceiving him. Not showing the slightest fear, Yang Kai wore a vicious expression on his face as thick murderous intent burst from his body, causing many of the people in the surrounding to pale slightly.
“Good good good, it seems there are really some who don’t know how to fear the Heavens! Heh heh heh, even if Sir Star Envoy comes now, he won’t be able to save you!” Yang Kai grit his teeth as he directed a piercing gaze, like that of a mad beast, at the surrounding crowd.
If Yang Kai’s fearless appearance alone was not enough to convince him, the sudden revelation he had just made was enough to cause Liu Yi Zhi’s will to resist to collapse.
Even Sir Star Envoy Sir would not be able to resolve this situation? Just what kind of background did these two people have? Was this girl the direct descendant of some Elder of Star Soul Palace?
With Liu Yi Zhi being so alarmed and afraid, Ning Yuan Cheng need not even be mentioned.
He thought he would be able to walk sideways in a small place like Maplewood City as Flying Saint Palace’s Young Palace Master, with no one daring to offend him.
How could he have known he would suddenly provoke a far nobler existence that even Sir Star Envoy would need to yield before?
In that instant, Ning Yuan Cheng’s face had turned pale as his legs trembled and he stared at Liu Yi Zhi imploringly.
Although the latter was a powerful cultivator at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, when facing those peak level great forces, what did his cultivation matter? Any random Elder from Star Soul Palace could grind Flying Saint Palace into dust.
Secretly gulping, Liu Yi Zhi summoned his courage, cupped his fists, and spoke, “This friend, please calm yourself. This is just a small misunderstanding between your Young Lady and my Young Lord. Just now, a few of my Flying Saint Palace’s blind disciples offended this Young Lady, but they have already suffered punishment for their impropriety. In light of this, I ask this friend to show magnanimity.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai squinted at Liu Yi Zhi.
“It is indeed. This friend, please see for yourself, your Young Lady is completely unharmed.”
“Hmph, if the Young Lady was hurt, do you think you would still be standing there spouting off nonsense to me?” Yang Kai sneered.
Liu Yi Zhi felt deeply angered in his heart; after all, there was a huge gap between his and Yang Kai’s cultivation. No Origin King had ever dared speak to him like this, but Liu Yi Zhi did not dare show any signs of dissatisfaction on his face, because the other party’s origins were clearly far above his own. What’s more, clearly there wasn’t just one Third-Order Origin King protecting this girl.
There were likely even more powerful masters secretly watching from nearby!
As this man covered in black robes was talking to him, Liu Yi Zhi noticed him making a few inexplicable gestures with one hand towards a certain direction, seemingly informing his companions of something.
Upon discovering this, Liu Yi Zhi felt cold sweat drip from his forehead.
Because under his Divine Sense perception, he could not perceive the existence of any master observing him. There was only one possibility in this situation to explain this: The masters hidden in the dark were far stronger than him.
“Dare I ask this friend… Where he come from?” Although Liu Yi Zhi was frightened by Yang Kai, he was still a little unwilling to let this matter just drop, so after hesitating for a moment, he cautiously tried to probe Yang Kai’s origins.
“Hmph!” Yang Kai sprayed heat from his nose as he swept his eyes over him and instead of answering asked, “You’re from Flying Saint Palace?”
“Yes,” Liu Yi nodded, wondering what Yang Kai was asking this for.
“You want to know where we are from? Fine, come here, I’ll tell you, but there will be a price to pay.” Yang Kai smiled slightly as he said in a low voice, “Within three days, there will be no Flying Saint Palace in the Southern Territory. I wonder, can you afford the price?”
Liu Yi Zhi’s whole body shivered as his face went pale.
“Do you still want to know?” Yang Kai asked coldly.
“It was this Liu who misspoke, please do not take offence!” Liu Yi Zhi was completely scared now, so how could he dare utter anything else?
“A group of pitiful weaklings, frogs at the bottom of the well. This King won’t waste his time with you. Since the Young Lady has not suffered any harm, we will spare you this once, but if there is another offence…” Yang Kai glared angrily at Liu Yi Zhi and emphasized, “You understand.”
Liu Yi Zhi was already dripping with sweat, so at this moment he could not be concerned about the Sect and even his own face and quickly cupped his fist, “Many thanks for showing mercy.”
Saying so, he quickly turned around, grabbed the still frozen Ning Yuan Cheng, and shouted hastily, “Move!”
The remaining disciples of Flying Saint Palace didn’t dare to remain, quickly gathering up the corpses of their fellow Sect mates off the ground and fleeing after Liu Yi Zhi.
“Young Lady, we should be on our way as well.” Only now did Yang Kai breathe a sigh of relief and said to Mo Xiao Qi.
At this moment, this little girl was staring at Yang Kai with sparkling eyes, a look of pure admiration on her face.
“Let’s go!” Seeing her look like this, Yang Kai could not help but urge in a low voice.
After all, Liu Yi Zhi was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master, so while Yang Kai’s bluff might be able to fool him for a while, there was no telling how long it would last. If he were to realize something was amiss and come to investigate, the situation would rapidly deteriorate.
After acting so presumptuous in front of a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master, how could their fate be good once they were exposed?
“Wait! What about those fifty thousand Source Crystals?” The old seller called out rather desperately.
“You still dare ask for fifty thousand Source Crystals? Do you believe I’ll take your life instead!” Yang Kai glared at the old man, causing him to hurriedly back up.
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai grabbed Mo Xiao Qi’s wrist and prepared to take her away from here.
The next moment, he released Mo Xiao Qi like he was shocked, as blood dripped from his palm.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Big Brother Yang…” Mo Xiao Qi finally recovered and started to apologize in a fluster.
Maplewood City, Yang Kai’s secluded home.
Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi sat across from each other at the table.
After leaving the black market, Yang Kai took Mo Xiao Qi and fled back here in a hurry, deliberately checking to make sure no one was following them while also making several detours along the way.
After confirming they were not being followed, he returned to his rented secluded home.
“Big Brother Yang, you’re amazing!” Mo Xiao Qi held her cheeks in both hands and blushed crazily as she stared at Yang Kai with bright eyes, not even trying to conceal the look of worship and admiration on her face. “With just a few words, how were you able to frighten all those bad guys away?”
Yang Kai chuckled dryly.
If it had been someone else praising him like this, Yang Kai would definitely think that the other party was just spouting flattery, but coming from Mo Xiao Qi’s mouth, Yang Kai knew it was genuine.
“They just overthought the situation themselves,” Yang Kai casually said.
Today’s matter was indeed Flying Saint Palace letting their thoughts run wild, and also a result of the current situation in Maplewood City. If it weren’t for the current Maplewood City being a mix of hidden dragons and snakes, whether Yang Kai’s rhetoric would have been useful was really questionable.
But right now, in Maplewood City, there were representatives from many great forces, and although Flying Saint Palace was not bad, it was certainly not a top Sect, so Liu Yi Zhi had some scruples.
“But enough about that. Xiao Qi, you… how are you here?” Yang Kai changed the subject quickly.
“I’ve been here the whole time.” Mo Xiao Qi looked at Yang Kai curiously, wondering why he would ask something so silly. “Right, the secluded home I rented is very close to Big Brother Yang’s! En, but why haven’t I seen you around before now then?”
“I wasn’t living here before and only returned today.”
“Oh.”
“But what I wanted to ask was, Xiao Qi, how did you escape from Clear Jade Mountain last time…?” Yang Kai looked curiously at Mo Xiao Qi.
After all, when he came out of the Sealed World Bead, he had searched for Mo Xiao Qi but was unable to find any clues at all and assumed she had died without leaving behind even ashes.
But now, a month or so later, they had actually run into each other again in Maplewood City.
“That day… I used this thing to escape,” Saying so, Mo Xiao Qi took out an object from her Space Ring and placed it in front of Yang Kai.
“This is…” Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he stared at what appeared to be a piece of animal skin that was exuding some subtle energy fluctuations.
These energy fluctuations were quite familiar to Yang Kai though as, surprisingly, they were Space Force fluctuations.
This animal skin was only about the size of two side-by-side palms and had a number of mysterious lines and runes drawn on it, forming a type of profound Spirit Array.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand to touch and examine it carefully.
After a while, he was shocked as he muttered aloud, “Does this thing have the effect of short-distance teleportation?”
Mo Xiao Qi heard this and looked at Yang Kai with a big smile, “Big Brother Yang really has cultivated the Dao of Space! He can even detect this.”
“You knew I cultivated the Dao of Space?” Yang Kai looked at her in surprise.
“En, when you fought with those people in Clear Jade Mountain, didn’t you use Space Force? I recognized it because when you used your power it gave a similar feeling to when Uncle Li fights.”
“Uncle Li?”
“En, Uncle Li Wu Yi. He also cultivates the Dao of Space and is very, very strong. This thing was made by him as a life-saving artifact for me,” Mo Xiao Qi didn’t have the slightest vigilance around Yang Kai and spoke about herself openly. It seemed that like how a leopard does not change its spots, one’s personality was difficult to change. Since Yang Kai had never done anything bad to her, she seemed to trust him implicitly.
Continuing on, Mo Xiao Qi explained, “Uncle Li said that this thing can open a Void Corridor at a critical moment, so it is very suitable for escaping. I originally had two, but since I used one back in Clear Jade Mountain, I only have this one left…”
Mo Xiao Qi expressed some reluctance as she spoke.
[This Spirit Array can open a Void Corridor directly?]
Yang Kai was stunned.
Although his attainments in the Dao of Space were extremely high, this was a feat he was absolutely unable to replicate at the moment. In terms of teleportation, he could use his Space Force to accomplish this, but if he received too much of a disturbance, he would be unable to execute his technique.
Once the surrounding World Energy became too unstable, Yang Kai’s teleportation technique would not be able to play much of a role.
This was related to his personal strength, his comprehension of the Dao of Space, and the World Principles of Star Boundary. The Star Boundary’s World Principles were countless times stronger than his native Star Field’s, so Yang Kai’s ability to teleport was greatly suppressed in the Star Boundary.
However, this Li Wu Yi was able to refine this simple-looking animal skin into a tool that could directly open a Void Corridor. Obviously, Li Wu Yi’s attainments in the Dao of Space far outstripped Yang Kai’s.
“Big Brother Yang, I’m sorry,” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly apologized with a look of guilt.
“Why would you apologize so suddenly?” Yang Kai looked over at her curiously.
“Last time, when we were in danger, I wanted to take you with me, but that Luan Feng’s attack came too fast, and I could only… I could only… Later, I went back to see if I could find you, but I couldn’t go too deep into the mountains and thought… you died.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai laughed.
It seemed that both he and Mo Xiao Qi had similar thoughts. Both of them thought the other party must have died under the World Extinguishing Black Flames while unaware they both had means of escape.
“Then Big Brother Yang, how did you escape?” Mo Xiao Qi asked.
“I’m proficient in the Dao of Space,” Yang Kai said vaguely.
“Oh, en, Uncle Li said that people who are proficient in the Dao of Space are the best at escaping,” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly realized.
Seeing the look on her face, that showed not the slightest bit of doubt, Yang Kai inexplicably felt a deep sense of guilt…
Next, the two chatted casually for a time.
However, under Yang Kai’s subtle probing, he discovered that the Li Wu Yi Mo Xiao Qi mentioned was an Emperor Realm master! He didn’t inquire about Mo Xiao Qi’s background though, as sometimes, the less one knew, the better.
Mo Xiao Qi’s origins were obviously extraordinary, this was something Yang Kai was well aware of.
“Big Brother Yang, if you have nothing to do now, would you like to go treasure hunting with me?” Mo Xiao Qi suddenly suggested enthusiastically.
“Treasure hunting?”
“En en!” Mo Xiao Qi nodded happily as she took out a piece of animal skin from her Space Ring and said, “I bought this treasure map today, and the person who sold it to me said it leads to the hidden treasury of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor! There might even be a record of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law in it!”
“Why does this thing… look so familiar?” Yang Kai wore a suspicious look as he picked up the animal skin and observed it carefully, the next moment his face turning black.
“How many Source Crystals did you buy this for?” Yang Kai looked up at Mo Xiao Qi.
“Seven thousand!” Mo Xiao Qi triumphantly, “Not expensive, right? If we can really find the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, we’ll have struck it rich!”
“That damn swindler!” Yang Kai couldn’t help cursing in a low voice.
“Big Brother Yang, what did you say?”
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai lightly coughed, pondered for a moment before saying earnestly. “Xiao Qi, when you go out, you need to remember that people can be sinister and not everyone you meet is as honest and kind as you. You need to be careful around others.”
“I know, Aunty Feng used to tell me that.”
“In the Star Boundary, there is much intrigue, so not all people can be believed.”
“I know that too.”
“En, since you know, then… this treasure map, it’s fake,” Yang Kai sighed softly, having no way other than to state it bluntly as expecting this little girl to realize on her own was just asking to embarrass himself.
“What? How can that be? That old man vowed that this was really a map to Heaven Devouring Great Emperor’s treasury and was handed down in his family by a Great Emperor himself!” Mo Xiao Qi looked at Yang Kai with an incredulous expression and asked, “Could it be that a Great Emperor would lie?”
“I don’t know if a Great Emperor would lie, but the person who sold you this thing definitely lied to you.”
Mo Xiao Qi was taken aback, but after thinking about it for a while, she vaguely began to understand and cursed, “That hateful swindler, he dares to trick me! I have to go find him!”
“Forget it, that person must be long gone, where would you even start looking for him?” Yang Kai hurriedly stopped her.
Mo Xiao Qi suddenly pursed her lips and stomped her feet as she waved her small fists, “So vexing! That old swindler better not let me see him again or I’ll make him pay.”
After putting out a few ruthless words, her mood seemed to be much calmer. After pausing for a moment though, Mo Xiao Qi began taking out a bunch of animal skin maps from her Space Ring and asked, “Then Big Brother Yang, take a look at these things, are any of them fake?”
Yang Kai swept his eyes over these ‘treasure maps’ and couldn’t stop his face from twitching.
“Then what about this one?” Mo Xiao Qi took out another thing, a pitch-black stone.
“Haha…” Yang Kai gave a dry laugh.
“What about this peerless Secret Art?” Mo Xiao Qi threw something out again.
Yang Kai swept his eyes over it and his body shook.
This booklet indeed had old, yellowed pages, and on its front, the three words ‘Peerless Secret Art’ were written in a fanciful font!
It was as if the seller was afraid others wouldn’t know this was a ‘Peerless Secret Art’.
A single innocent girl had strolled through the black market and purchased so many useless things! If everyone in the world was as naïve as Mo Xiao Qi, wouldn’t all swindlers be wealthy by now?
Yang Kai’s silence made Mo Xiao Qi extremely depressed as she buried her head in her chest, a dark shadow seemingly looming over her.
Seeing her look like she had taken a devastating blow, Yang Kai sighed slightly and was just about to comfort her while also letting her take this as a lesson to not be swindled so easily in the future when suddenly, Mo Xiao Qi lifted her head again, giggled, and said, “This thing is definitely not fake!”
Saying so, she carefully took out a pale, oval stone and placed it on the table.
Seeing the look of confidence on her face, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit interested and released his Divine Sense to inspect this stone, but try as he might, he couldn’t perceive even the slightest fluctuations from it, like it was a real stone.
However, while this thing looked like a stone, and Yang Kai couldn’t sense anything inside of it, he did notice an inexplicable force on its surface which was blocking the probing of his Divine Sense.
“What is this?” Yang Kai frowned and asked.
Mo Xiao Qi smiled mysteriously and said, “A beast egg!”
“This is a beast egg?” Yang Kai was shocked, “How do you know it’s a beast egg?”
“I just know,” Mo Xiao Qi replied with a triumphant face, “In any case, I’m certain about this, I just don’t know what kind of Monster Beast egg it is, but I can feel it is very powerful.”
“Do you have some kind of Secret Technique that allows you to perceive that?” Yang Kai looked at her thoughtfully.
“En, that’s why I was fighting with that Flying Saint Palace guy just now. Perhaps he also saw it was extraordinary and wanted it.”
“Since you’re sure it is a beast egg, then take care of it carefully,” Yang Kai did not know much about caring for Monster Beasts, but since Mo Xiao Qi had some kind of Secret Technique that she could use to perceive such things, obviously she wasn’t mistaken.
This was probably the only thing she gained from her visit to the black market.
“By the way, Xiao Qi, do you know anything about the Heaven Devouring Battle Law?” Yang Kai suddenly remembered something and asked.
“Heaven Devouring Battle Law… En, it’s the Secret Art of Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, of course I know about it,” Mo Xiao Qi nodded, “Heaven Devouring Great Emperor relied on this supreme Secret Art to reach the pinnacle of the Emperor Realm. In his time, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was extremely powerful, even among the Ten Great Emperors, he could rank amongst the top three.”
“Oh? Then Heaven Devouring Great Emperor is now…”
“Heaven Devouring Great Emperor has already fallen,” Mo Xiao Qi smiled slightly, “It is rumoured that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was an affront to the laws of Heaven and Earth, so Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was ultimately rejected by the Star Boundary’s World Principles, causing a fatal dissonance in his cultivation, but I know…” At this point, she suddenly smiled mysteriously and whispered. “That story is fake.”
“Then what is the truth?”
“Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was besieged and fell in the Shattered Star Sea,” When Mo Xiao Qi said this, her expression suddenly became extremely solemn.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and said in a serious tone, “The strength of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor could be ranked amongst the top three of the Ten Great Emperors, so the only ones who would dare to attack him are…”
“Shhh…” Mo Xiao Qi raised her finger to her mouth and motioned, “This is a really big secret. I also only heard a few words about it when Uncle Li and Aunty Feng were chatting. Big Brother Yang, make sure you don’t talk about this outside, otherwise, it will very likely lead to deadly consequences. There are definitely not many people in this world who know this secret.”
“I understand this naturally, it’s just… Those Seniors, why would they suddenly besiege Heaven Devouring Great Emperor?”
“I don’t know this,” Mo Xiao Qi shook her head.
With Mo Xiao Qi’s character, if she really knew something, she would not conceal it, so since she said she didn’t know, it meant she really didn’t know. As such, Yang Kai did not ask her anymore.
However, Yang Kai instinctively felt that the reason Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was besieged might have something to do with the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
It looked like he would need to spend some time studying this Heaven Devouring Battle Law! Even though Yang Kai knew that Wu Meng Chuan had taught him the Heaven Devouring Battle Law with malicious intent, it was still the Secret Art of one of the Ten Great Emperors, so it would be a shame to just toss it aside.
The two chatted for a while before Mo Xiao Qi left.
Before leaving, Mo Xiao Qi gave Yang Kai a Communication Bead and told Yang Kai that he only had to pour his Divine Sense into it if he wanted to find her.
Yang Kai nodded and accepted.
Although Mo Xiao Qi was naïve and innocent, she clearly possessed an extraordinary background and had knowledge and experience in some respects that were far beyond Yang Kai’s, so perhaps there would come a day when he needed to draw on her strengths.
Yang Kai naturally did not refuse her kindness.
What’s more, both of them were currently staying in Maplewood City, so having a way to contact one another made it convenient to cooperate in case there was an accident.
The function of Communication Bead was similar to ordinary communication artifacts, but Mo Xiao Qi’s Communication Bead was specially crafted and far superior to ordinary messaging tools. Just from the subtle energy fluctuations it gave off, Yang Kai judged that it was an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact.
After seeing Mo Xiao Qi off, Yang Kai took out a large number of Source Crystals inside his secluded home and used them to open all the various protective barriers at his disposal, ignoring the cost.
Right now, he had a lot of Source Crystals on hand, so he was not going to be stingy.
After ensuring safety and privacy, he summoned the Sealed World Bead and entered.
Inside the Small Sealed World, there was complete tranquillity. Yang Kai quickly released his Divine Sense, allowing him to see the situation inside at a glance.
In the medicine garden, the herbs he had previously obtained from the Severed World were thriving. These herbs were all Origin King Grade, and if they were refined into Spirit Pills, they would be a great benefit to the growth of any Origin King.
Yang Kai was reluctant to use them before because each of these herbs was extremely rare and precious in his native Star Field, but now that he had come to the Star Boundary, where resources were far more abundant, these herbs were not anything special.
As such, he decided to refine these herbs into Spirit Pills so he could quickly enhance his cultivation.
It just so happened that he could also use these herbs to refine Spirit Pills to enhance his Alchemy techniques and see if he could impact the bottleneck of the Dao Source Grade. If he was successful, he could become a Dao Source Grade Alchemist.
In the Star Boundary, Origin King Grade Alchemists were not anything special, but Dao Source Grade Alchemists were quite valuable.
Yang Kai was not very strong right now, so if he had the identity of Dao Source Grade Alchemist as a shield, it might be able to save his life in a crisis.
A short time later, Yang Kai had collected all the Origin King Grade herbs in his possession and began sorting them into various categories, preparing them for pill refinement.
Inside the Small Sealed World, in addition to the herbs in the medicine garden, there was also the Monster Insect Queen that he had collected earlier, as well as the Ice Flower he obtained at the bottom of the Ice Cliff.
In the region where the Ice Flower and Ice Fruits were located, the cold was almost unbearable, but the Monster Insect Queen actually chose to sleep there, seemingly absorbing the Ice Attribute Energy which was emitted by the Ice Flower and Fruits to strengthen itself.
After this period of recuperation and fusion, the Monster Insect Queen, which had been transformed into a Blood Beast, had recovered quite a bit, with all the big and small wounds which had originally marred its body showing obvious signs of healing.
The Monster Insect Queen’s body was indeed dead, but Yang Kai’s pure Golden Blood had an incredible restorative ability.
What surprised Yang Kai the most was that the blue and purple dual swords Mo Xiao Qi gave him before have actually merged together with the Monster Insect Queen’s body.
The dual swords were each individually Origin King Grade High-Rank artifacts, so when combined, they were comparable to an ordinary Dao Source Grade artifact. What’s more, these dual swords were Ice Attribute artifacts, making them perfectly suited to the Monster Insect Queen. On that day, after obtaining these dual swords on Clear Jade Mountain, Yang Kai had simply tossed them into the Small Sealed World and forgotten about them.
Looking at them now, though, the two swords had actually merged together with the forelimbs of the Monster Insect Queen, becoming a part of its body.
This was quite a strange sight, to be honest. Yang Kai had only wanted to find a suitable weapon for the Monster Insect Queen, so he had given it these dual swords without hesitation.
Thinking about it carefully, even though the Monster Insect Queen was now one of his Blood Beasts, its true form was that of a Sentient Sword Intent, so it had an affinity for sword-shaped artifacts.
A Blood Beast, Sentient Sword Intent, and dual sword artifacts had all been completely kneaded together, making Yang Kai unsure of how to describe this Monster Insect Queen exactly.
Unfortunately, the Monster Insect Queen didn’t have a true consciousness and wasn’t a living creature, otherwise, Yang Kai would be looking forward to just how much it could grow.
After observing the Monster Insect Queen for a while and confirming that it was well, Yang Kai found a comfortable spot, sat down cross-legged, and took out a Source Condensing Pill to refine before sinking into contemplation.
He wanted to comprehend the Heaven Devouring Battle Law taught to him by Wu Meng Chuan!
Back in the Bone Prison, although he had slightly perused this Secret Art and felt that it was extremely powerful and profound, Yang Kai had not had much time to study it carefully.
Moreover, after Yang Kai learned the origins of this Secret Art, he deeply felt that Wu Meng Chuan had given it to him for some nefarious reason, so he was not willing to cultivate it.
However, not cultivating it did not mean it was useless to him. A stone from a foreign mountain could still be used to polish one’s own jade. Perhaps Yang Kai could gain some insights by studying this Secret Art.
Yang Kai quickly entered a meditative state.
Since he first began cultivating, Yang Kai had come into contact with a lot of Secret Arts and Secret Techniques, so he had a wide breadth of insight and experience.
After comprehending it for some time though, Yang Kai found that this Heaven Devouring Battle Law was far more mysterious and powerful than any Secret Art or Secret Technique he had ever encountered.
One could use this Secret Art to swallow and refine anything that had energy within it and turn it into their own strength. When one reached the peak, they could even use it to swallow the sun, moon, and stars!
Yang Kai was shocked.
The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor who created this Secret Art was definitely an unparalleled madman!
He even wanted to devour the stars themselves!
However, at the same time, Yang Kai deeply admired this Heaven Devouring Great Emperor as, no matter how crazed he might have been, he was without a doubt equally talented. Otherwise, he would not have been able to create such a Secret Art.
Rumour had it that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was not tolerated by the Heavens and Earth, and this was not exactly untrue.
Such a Secret Art really could not be tolerated by the World, nor by other Great Emperors. As such, Heaven Devouring Great Emperor was finally besieged by the other Great Emperors and died in the Shattered Star Sea.
However……
Yang Kai was keenly aware of the drawbacks of this Secret Art.
While it sounded tempting to be able to devour and refine all creation and use it to strengthen oneself, and doing so really could rapidly enhance one’s strength, this kind of unrestrained swallowing was bound to be accompanied by massive hidden dangers.
The different and even conflicting energies one swallowed into their body would only cause Cultivation Dissonance if one’s body wasn’t strong enough to contain and refine them.
The most obvious example of this was Wu Meng Chuan.
That old man’s disposition was nothing less than cruel and violent. Even his loyal followers were killed and refined by him without so much as a second thought. Obviously, this evil temperament had something to do with him cultivating this Secret Art.
Moreover, if this Secret Art was really so profound, Wu Meng Chuan would not still be a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator.
He would have long ago broken through to the Emperor Realm.
“Such a waste!” Yang Kai sighed.
This peak level Secret Art had just fallen into his hands, but it seemed he had no choice but to throw it away, making Yang Kai feel like it was a great pity.
Regardless of how tempting it might be, he could not take such massive risks with his future by cultivating this Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
In the end, there was not just one road to becoming an Emperor.
Just as Yang Kai was feeling deep regret over this Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he had a sudden flash of inspiration and an exciting thought came to him.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was able to swallow anything with energy in it and refine it for one’s own use.
The Stone Puppet Clan’s innate Divine Ability allowed its clansmen to devour and refine various ores, remove the waste, and use the essence to strengthen themselves.
The two were surprisingly similar…
Moreover, Stone Puppets had incredibly intrepid physiques which in terms of adaptability and endurance were all but peerless! For instance, Xiao Xiao was even able to swallow and refine the Sun’s True Essence.
What would happen if a Stone Puppet were to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law?
Generally speaking, the Stone Puppet clan could not cultivate any Secret Arts because, although they were innately powerful, their sentience was too low, and they couldn’t comprehend the mysteries of a Secret Art, let alone cultivate one.
The Heavens were fair in all things, giving the Stone Puppet Clan powerful physical bodies and great destructive power, but lowering their sentience proportionally.
If the Stone Puppet Clan were also highly intelligent, surely they would be a race comparable to the Ancient Divine Spirits, an extremely terrifying thought.
But… Yang Kai had his Embodiment!
The Embodiment was originally transformed from the Golden Stone Puppet and had already integrated the entire floating continent. It was the physical host of Yang Kai’s Soul Clone, equivalent to Yang Kai’s second body!
The Stone Puppet Clan could not cultivate Secret Arts, but that did not mean Yang Kai’s Embodiment couldn’t.
Thinking about it, Yang Kai’s blood began to boil as he suddenly discovered that, with regards to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, his Embodiment had a unique advantage and ability to cultivate it.
Hurriedly pushing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai took back his Soul Clone which was currently residing in his Embodiment and poured the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and all his current insights into it.
His Soul Clone flew out once again and poured into the mountain-like Embodiment.
Immediately afterwards, the Embodiment assumed a solemn posture and began to cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law with a serious look on its face.
Initially, there were no changes, but as time passed, a cracking sound rang out from the Embodiment’s massive body, causing Yang Kai to be slightly surprised. He thought something had gone wrong, but after carefully perceiving the situation of his Soul Clone, he discovered that this was not the case.
The cracking sounds continued and grew louder until a large swath of rocks fell from his Embodiment at a certain point. When these rocks hit the ground, they instantly turned to dust and scattered about.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he could not help grinning.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was truly extraordinary, and this supreme Secret Art seemed tailor-made for the Stone Puppet Clan!
What had fallen from his Embodiment just now were impurities and waste that served no purpose. The Embodiment had originally integrated the entire floating continent, and it had been using the innate Divine Ability of the Stone Puppet Clan to refine its mass over the past few years. Unfortunately, the progress was extremely slow, leaving it with a massive body that was quite inconvenient to move around.
Yang Kai had engaged in many battles since he obtained the Embodiment but rarely brought it out to help him for precisely this reason.
Its body was simply too big, and trying to bring it out of the Sealed World Bead required a massive amount of his Spiritual Energy, so how could Yang Kai be willing to do so unless it was his last resort?
According to the previous rate of progress, Yang Kai had estimated it would be at least ten or twenty years before the Embodiment gradually shrunk to only a hundred meters or so in height. Only then could it be used at will.
But by that time, Yang Kai’s strength would certainly be far greater than the Embodiment’s strength now, so how much help could his Embodiment, which was currently comparable to a Third-Order Origin King, provide?
In fact, Yang Kai had been having a headache about what to do with his Embodiment, but since he had no good solutions to the problem, he could only put off dealing with it.
But now, with the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, it seemed all his problems were solved.
The Heaven Devouring Battle Law, combined with the innate Divine Ability of the Stone Puppet Clan, allowed his Embodiment to refine the remaining impurities in its body at a much more rapid pace. Countless discarded impurities fell from the Embodiment, leaving behind only the pure essence. It was as if the Embodiment was shedding its skin and being reborn.
Perhaps it would not be long before his Embodiment could become another big helper to him.
But that was not the end of it!
What excited Yang Kai the most was that, now that his Embodiment had a compatible Secret Art, it could cultivate and become stronger. The Stone Puppet Clan could not cultivate and could only improve its strength by devouring rare ores.
Xiao Xiao had grown up in this manner.
Now though, Yang Kai’s Embodiment not only had the innate Divine Ability of the Stone Puppet Clan, but it also had the assistance of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. With these two factors combined, as long as Yang Kai could supply it with enough materials, his Embodiment would be able to rapidly improve its strength in a very short time.
*Xixilili…*
Where the Embodiment sat, it was like a meteor shower, with countless bits of impurities falling off it, quickly creating a thick layer of dust around it.
With his Soul Clone presiding over his Embodiment’s cultivation, Yang Kai did not need to pay it any attention at all.
And so, Yang Kai quickly set about cultivating, focusing on transforming his Saint Qi into Source Qi.
He had used up all the starlight in his body, so if he wanted to promote the conversion speed of his Saint Qi, Yang Kai could only use Source Condensing Pills.
Although the effect was slower than using the starlight, the Source Condensing Pills refined by Yang Kai were of excellent quality, so the results were still quite good. What’s more, he consumed Source Condensing Pills far faster than normal Origin Kings for some reason.
An ordinary Third-Order Origin King would need about three days to refine the medicinal efficacies in a Source Condensing Pill.
But Yang Kai was able to do this in just one day.
After some thought, Yang Kai figured that it was because he was a Star Master. Star Masters were able to absorb starlight from the Starlight Corridor, and convert their Saint Qi into Source Qi far faster than ordinary Origin Kings, so Yang Kai assumed the same was true for Source Condensing Pills.
However, this was not a bad thing. Right now, he did not need to worry about Source Condensing Pills and could simply refine more if he ran out. His priority was to fully transform his Saint Qi as soon as possible, improving his combat effectiveness and bringing him one step closer to breaking through to the Dao Source Realm.
Time flew by and soon, seven days had passed.
Yang Kai left the Sealed World Bead.
After scanning around with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai immediately noticed that someone had entered the detection array around his secluded home. When he went to check who it was, Yang Kai could not help raising his brow. Taking out his Identity Token, he deactivated all the Isolation Arrays and barriers.
Outside his secluded home, a man dressed as a shop-hand was standing there with an anxious look on his face, holding a communication artifact in his hand, seemingly sending constant messages with someone else. Suddenly, Yang Kai’s voice rang out, “Come in.”
The shop hand was stunned for a moment but immediately flashed an overjoyed smile as he hurriedly opened the door and entered.
“Greetings, Alchemist Yang!” The shop-hand hurriedly saluted.
“En, Shopkeeper Kang asked you to come see me? Is something wrong?” Yang Kai asked lightly.
This shop-hand was an employee at Spirit Pill Plaza, so Yang Kai naturally recognized him.
“Yes, Shopkeeper said that he would like to request Alchemist Yang’s presence at the pill shop in order to discuss a certain matter.”
“Shopkeeper Kang is already back?”
Kang Si Ran had been invited by the City Lord’s Mansion on its investigation of Clear Jade Mountain where the Luan Feng had appeared. Yang Kai knew about this, but with the World Extinguishing Black Flames still covering that region, there really wasn’t anything to be discovered other than ashes.
Calculating the time, it actually made sense that the investigation team had returned.
“Shopkeeper returned yesterday and immediately tried to contact Alchemist Yang but was unable to reach your esteemed self. Please accompany this humble one back to the pill shop to speak with Shopkeeper. Shopkeeper has urged this humble one several times already, so the matter is certainly important.” The shop hand smiled and said in an accommodating manner.
“Sure,” Yang Kai nodded.
Although he did not know why Kang Si Ran was so eager to find him, he knew something big must have happened. Otherwise, Kang Si Ran would not have had a shop-hand camp out outside his secluded home.
With no need to pack or arrange anything, Yang Kai immediately left the secluded home and rushed over to Spirit Pill Plaza with the shop-hand.
Not long after entering the pill shop, Kang Si Ran immediately pulled Yang Kai into a back room.
Seeing him put such an emphasis on secrecy, Yang Kai could not help asking, “Has something happened, Shopkeeper Kang?”
Kang Si Ran chuckled and replied, “Alchemist Yang, something good has happened.”
“And what is this good thing?”
“Sir Star Envoy has delivered us an opportunity!”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai frowned as Kang Si Ran was still being vague in his explanation.
“The situation is this,” Kang Si Ran poured a cup of tea for Yang Kai as he explained, “In three days, Sir Star Envoy will open the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda here in Maplewood City!”
“Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?” Yang Kai was now even more confused, “What is that?”
Kang Si Ran’s jaw dropped slightly, seemingly quite surprised that Yang Kai hadn’t even heard of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, but when he remembered Yang Kai’s completely ignorant performance from before, he quickly adapted and explained, “It is this Kang’s fault for not being clear, please don’t take offence, Alchemist Yang.”
Yang Kai’s expression was a bit embarrassed as he knew Kang Si Ran was just trying to give him face, but he quickly composed himself and listened attentively.
“The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is an Emperor Artifact!”
“An Emperor Artifact?” Yang Kai’s interest was piqued.
“Indeed, and a very high-level existence among Emperor Artifacts at that!” Kang Si Ran smiled slightly, seemingly satisfied with Yang Kai’s look, “What’s more… The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is a very special type of Emperor Artifact. It does not have any offensive or defensive ability at all.”
“No offensive or defensive ability? Then what is it for? Is it used for cultivation?” Although Yang Kai was ignorant and uninformed about the goings-on of the Star Boundary, he still had common sense. The most common functions of artifacts were to attack or defend, but since this Emperor Artifact was not used for either of those, its only use could be for cultivation.
“In a certain sense,” Kang Si Ran chuckled and said. “The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is used to provide life experience, a training ground exclusively for Star Soul Palace’s disciples.”
“So what Shopkeeper Kang means is… This Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is a Small Sealed World?” Yang Kai immediately thought of a possibility.
Kang Si Ran looked at Yang Kai in surprise and said with obvious admiration, “Alchemist Yang is truly sharp. En, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is indeed a self-contained world, a very profound and mysterious one at that.”
After listening to Kang Si Ran’s explanation, Yang Kai understood the gist of the matter.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was a supreme treasure of Star Soul Palace and was famous across the Star Boundary.
This was not only because it was a powerful Emperor Artifact, but also because it was extremely special. The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda’s internal Self-Contained World was similar to his Sealed World Bead, but it was far more complete than the Sealed World Bead.
It was rumoured that the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda belonged to Bright Moon Great Emperor, the master of Star Soul Palace, but this Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda already existed in some form before Bright Moon Great Emperor became famous.
Only after it was acquired by Bright Moon Great Emperor and further refined and improved did it become what it was today.
The space inside the pagoda was said to be an ancient battlefield, one which had many scattered ancient treasures and extinct spirit grasses as well as various sealed regions to explore. Now, the pagoda was situated inside Star Soul Palace and was one of the most coveted experience zones for Star Soul Palace disciples.
As long as they met certain requirements, disciples of Star Soul Palace could enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda for life experience.
Inside, they could hone their cultivation, improve their fighting skills, and study the mysteries of the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao.
Although the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda had existed for countless years, and after so many years, countless cultivators had entered it for life experience and to search for opportunities, the number of treasures inside had only increased with time.
The reason was simple: Entering came with risk. Many of Star Soul Palace’s disciples had fallen inside, leaving behind their Space Rings as well as their artifacts, enriching the bounty of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda and becoming treasures for others to seek.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was divided into five layers, with the first and second being for Origin Kings to explore, the third and fourth layers for Dao Source cultivators, and the highest fifth layer being for Emperors to gain experience and pursue the Dao.
Inside the pagoda, there were not only ancient hidden artifacts and spirit grasses that had matured for countless years, but there were even fragments of World Principles and Star Sources.
This was because it was a shattered ancient battlefield. In ancient times countless powerful cultivators had fought and died inside, leaving behind shattered World Principles and Star Sources.
Though neither of these were complete, they still contained much power and many insights which if obtained and comprehended by cultivators would be of huge benefit.
After cultivating to the peak of the Origin King Realm, the next step was the Dao Source Realm where one would begin to comprehend Principle Strength. However, Dao Source Realm cultivators could only stimulate and borrow Principle Strength from the world around them. In order to truly use Principle Strength, the laws of the world, one needed to reach the Emperor Realm, and even then, some simple manipulation of Principle Strength was the most that could be achieved.
In the Star Boundary, countless Origin Kings had finished the conversion of their Saint Qi into Source Qi, but only a few could break through to the Dao Source Realm because the biggest hurdle was their inability to perceive and comprehend World Principles.
This was the reason why cultivators who were Star Masters were so highly coveted in the Star Boundary.
For example, Yang Kai had already experienced Shadowed Star’s World Principles back when he was just an Origin Returning Realm master, and although those were just the World Principles of a Cultivation Star rule, incomparable to the Principles of the Star Boundary, just the experience was enough to give him a significant edge in comprehension. Because he had this experience, Yang Kai would not face much of a bottleneck when breaking through to the Dao Source Realm in the future and would even have an advantage when trying to reach the Emperor Realm.
However, this kind of advantage was not just admired and appreciated, it also inspired great envy, and sometimes even murder and robbery! Netherworld Sect’s Yin Le Sheng was the best example.
As such, Yang Kai did not reveal the secret of him being a Star Master.
“Having said all that, Alchemist Yang should understand that the opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is a great opportunity, yes?” Kang Si Ran asked with a beaming face.
“En, I understand. If this is the case, then the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is indeed a good place to explore,” Yang Kai nodded.
“There’s more as well,” Kang Si Ran smiled slightly, “Alchemist Yang should know that the current Maplewood City is currently a big mix of dragons and snakes, with countless representatives of big and small forces present. So, with Sir Star Envoy opening the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, how could those top great forces not show due respect?”
“Shopkeeper Kang means…” Yang Kai was shocked as he suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Heh heh heh… Alchemist Yang, Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Orthodoxy Temple, Azure Sun Temple, and many other great forces have all brought out some precious treasures to add to the pagoda. Not only were there some rare pills, there were also powerful Secret Arts, Secret Techniques, and even some Dao Source Grade artifacts!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit hearing this.
If this was really the case, then all of Maplewood City would certainly be stirred up.
Normally, cultivators who were not born into power trying to obtain any advantage from the various great forces would be more difficult than ascending to the Heavens, but this time, such a good opportunity had appeared, with countless rare treasures hidden inside the pagoda just waiting for someone to find them! How could the various cultivators not rush out to seize this chance?
“Heavenly Martial Holy Land even took out three Dao Source Fruits as a part of their contribution!” Kang Si Ran’s expression suddenly became excited as his voice trembled, “Alchemist Yang, you are an Alchemist, so you must know the role of Dao Source Fruits better than anyone.”
“The Dao Source Fruit used to refine Dao Source Pills?” Yang Kai called out in alarm.
“Indeed!” Kang Si Ran couldn’t restrain the shaking of his hands as his tea cup even sprinkled out some water, “Only a few great forces in the Star Boundary can grow Dao Source Fruits, and in the Southern Territory, only Heavenly Martial Holy Land is capable of this, even Star Soul Palace does not have Dao Source Fruit trees. What’s more, only six Dao Source Fruits mature every ten years, yet Heavenly Martial Holy Land actually brought out three for this event, a massive sacrifice on their part.”
“Does Shopkeeper Kang want one of those Dao Source Fruits?” Yang Kai saw that his fanatical expression was and had a guess.
“Of course this old master wants one!” Kang Si Ran smiled bitterly, “Alchemist Yang, this old master has been stuck at the peak of the Third-Order Origin King Realm for more than two hundred years already. This old master knows his aptitude is poor, and unless he has some kind of great fortuitous encounter, reaching the Dao Source Realm in this lifetime will be impossible; however, if this old master can obtain a Dao Source Fruit… this old master can also make an attempt! Whether this old master ultimately succeeds or not, at least he will have a chance!”
Although Kang Si Ran was the shopkeeper of Spirit Pill Plaza, and technically a member of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, because his strength and status were low, there was no way he could obtain a precious resource like a Dao Source Pill internally.
Each Dao Source Pill represented a great opportunity to create a Dao Source Realm cultivator, so Violet Source Chamber of Commerce would obviously not arbitrarily grant them to its subordinates. One would need to make a corresponding contribution or pay an appropriate price first.
Kang Si Ran had managed Spirit Pill Plaza in Maplewood City for two hundred years, and while he had some small achievements during this period, they were nowhere near enough to trade for a Dao Source Pill.
Yang Kai could thus understand Kang Si Ran’s excitement.
Because one Dao Source Fruit could refine a single furnace of Dao Source Pills, and there is a limit of each furnace to produce nine pills, as long as Kang Si Ran could obtain a single Dao Source Fruit, as long as he found a Grandmaster to refine it, he could at least obtain one or two Dao Source Pills.
Once he broke through to the Dao Source Realm, his status in Violet Source Chamber of Commerce would be completely different and there would be no need for him to remain in a small place like Maplewood City.
Without even mentioning Kang Si Ran’s desires, Yang Kai also wanted those Dao Source Pills.
Once he finished the transformation of his Saint Qi into Source Qi and was able to touch upon the secrets of Principle Strength, he would be eligible to break through to the Dao Source Realm, so a Dao Source Pill would greatly increase his chance of successfully breaking through.
“Alchemist Yang, do you want to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?” Kang Si Ran calmed down and asked Yang Kai.
“Such a grand event, I certainly don’t want to miss it,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
“Very good, very good!” Kang Si Ran laughed, “If we miss this opportunity, it will be impossible to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda in this lifetime.”
“But Shopkeeper Kang… If what you said is true, then this experience will likely be extremely dangerous. You and I are both Third-Order Origin Kings, so there is no worry facing other Origin Kings, but if we were to encounter a Dao Source Realm master…”
“Haha, Alchemist Yang need not worry about that,” Kang Si Ran smiled and waved. “The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is not so easy to open. Sir Star Envoy has extended a great kindness to our Maplewood City cultivators, but how could he possibly completely open the pagoda? This time, only the first two layers will be opened, so only Origin Kings and below will be able to enter. There won’t be any Dao Source Realm cultivators inside.”
“Is that so?” Yang Kai was surprised.
But when he thought about it for a bit, he understood.
The Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was a powerful Emperor Artifact, so even opening it once would definitely require a significant price. Even if it was a Star Envoy of Star Soul Palace, no matter who he was, it would be impossible to completely open the pagoda.
If he did, the loss to Star Soul Palace would be too great.
However, this was just the situation Yang Kai wanted to see.
As long as there were no Dao Source cultivators, he didn’t need to fear anything. When the time came, he would only need to worry about the native dangers inside the pagoda.
“En, this is why this old master was so anxious in summoning Alchemist Yang over, I wanted to inform you about this before the official announcement. Right now, only those who followed Sir Star Envoy to Clear Jade Mountain know about this. Now that Alchemist Yang has received this news though, he can make appropriate preparations.”
“Many thanks for your consideration, Shopkeeper Kang,” Yang Kai said gratefully.
“Alchemist Yang need not be so polite. Without you, Spirit Pill Plaza might not even exist, this is simply this old master returning the favour.”
“In that case, this Yang will take his leave first. I really do need to go back and prepare,” Yang Kai spoke and stood up.
“Then this old master will await your arrival three days from now,” Kang Si Ran cupped his fists slightly.
Yang Kai nodded and left Spirit Pill Plaza.
Upon returning to his secluded home, Yang Kai took out the herbs he had collected from the Small Sealed World medicine garden before he immediately began to refine some Spirit Pills.
Although it was only cultivators at the Origin King Realm and below who would be entering, and Yang Kai was not worried he would encounter powerful enemies, having some Spirit Pills ready was only prudent. If something dangerous happened, it could mean the difference between victory and defeat, life and death.
With the pile of herbs beside him, Yang Kai began refining one furnace after another, soon immersing himself in his work.
The next day, word of Star Soul Palace opening the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda spread across Maplewood City.
Countless cultivators cheered and praised Star Soul Palace for its generosity while the few Dao Source Realm masters present felt indignant; after all, the opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time had nothing to do with them.
For a time, Maplewood City’s pill and artifact shops were flooded with customers.
Two days later, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was going to be opened, so naturally all the cultivators eligible to enter wanted to prepare themselves and did not hesitate to spend a large sum of money to buy restorative and life-saving Spirit Pills. Many also choked down their reluctance to purchase the artifacts they had been eyeing before but never dared to buy.
If one wanted to chop wood efficiently, they first needed to sharpen their axe. Every cultivator understood this simple truth.
If they wanted to gain something in the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda and still emerge with their life, they needed to do the utmost to prepare themselves.
Mo Xiao Qi apparently got the news and was extremely interested in it, so she specifically sent a notification to Yang Kai through the Communication Bead she had given him, asking him to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda with her in two days.
Yang Kai readily agreed while feeling a little guilty in his heart.
Mo Xiao Qi had notified him as soon as he got the news, but he actually knew in advance and forgot to notify her.
If she wanted to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t stop her.
Although she was innocent and naïve to an extreme degree, ignorant of the dangers of the world and the treacherous nature of people, with all the precious artifacts on her, no one in the Origin King Realm would even be able to touch her.
Yang Kai continued to focus on his Alchemy.
At the same time, in the City Lord’s Mansion.
In a certain secluded room, a man and a woman sat some ten metres apart, opposite each other.
The man appeared middle-aged and had a deep and profound aura. He had a majestic aura about him, and his black robes were embroidered with a number of small silver stars over his heart. These stars were extremely lifelike and even shimmered mysteriously.
A Silver Star Envoy!
Only Silver Star Envoys of Star Soul Palace would dare wear such robes as these silver star emblems were the identifying mark of Silver Star Envoys.
In Star Soul Palace, Star Envoys were divided into three classes. From top to bottom, Gold Star Envoys, Silver Star Envoys and Bronze Star Envoys. Even the lowest-level Bronze Star Envoy required one to be a First-Order Emperor.
This middle-aged man, who looked like he was in his early forties, was a Silver Star Envoy, which showed he was a Second-Order Emperor.
As for the legendary Gold Star Envoys, they were all Third-Order Emperor Realm masters!
Over the years, Star Soul Palace had sent out Gold Star Envoys only a few times, and even ordinary Emperors from other Sects would not have an opportunity to meet a Gold Star Envoy. In Star Soul Palace, there were only three Gold Star Envoys, and no one knew where they were or what they were doing at any particular time.
Opposite this Silver Star Envoy was a young woman who appeared to be about twenty years of age. This young woman had picturesque features and long silky black hair, her beautiful eyes were like a pool of clear water, without the slightest impurity. The woman wore a long blue dress with luxurious gemstones dotting it. These gems obviously were not mere decorations though as each one exuded a subtle yet profound energy fluctuation.
Sitting there cross-legged, her brow was slightly furrowed as the aura around her body fluctuated, seemingly resonating with the surrounding World Principles.
She was clearly on the verge of a breakthrough!
The cultivation of this young woman was at the peak of the Third-Order Origin King Realm, so if she were to break through again, she would naturally reach the Source Realm.
“Princess, are you alright?” Although the forty-year-old man was a Second-Order Emperor, he still used an extremely respectful tone when speaking to this woman who was merely at the peak of the Origin King Realm, clearly indicating that her status was anything but low.
The young woman heard this question and nodded gently, “There is nothing wrong for the time being.”
“Haa… Princess, you were too willful this time,” The Silver Star Envoy said with some annoyed resignation. “You deceived me with a False Face Bead in order to sneak out of Star Soul Palace with me. After going back this time, the Great Emperor will certainly punish me.”
The young woman heard this, spat out her tongue cutely, and said, “Uncle Xiao, don’t worry. Xun’er will plead for you when the time comes. You are my Father’s youngest Junior Brother, he will certainly not punish you harshly.”
“You?” Xiao Yu Yang squinted at Lan Xun, taking pleasure in her misfortune as he said, “You can’t even protect yourself now, so how are you planning to ask for mercy for me? The Great Emperor said that when you return, he will punish you with ten years of seclusion in the palace!”
“Ten years?” Lan Xun exclaimed in alarm as she sobbed, “Just kill me and get it over with. It’s so boring just staying at the palace all day long. It’s the whole reason I snuck out to play…”
“You chose the wrong time to do that then,” Xiao Yu Yang said with a sigh and smiled bitterly. “You knew you were on the verge of a breakthrough, so why did you take the risk of going out instead of staying in the palace to prepare properly?”
When Lan Xun heard this, she could not help lowering her head and muttering, “I heard that a Divine Spirit appeared. I’ve never seen a Divine Spirit before, so I wanted to come out and see it.”
“You are the daughter of a Great Emperor! You have a bright and limitless path ahead of you, so how could you not meet some Divine Spirits in the future? At worst, you could simply ask the Great Emperor to take you to Dragon Island to stay as a guest. There are Divine Spirits everywhere there.”
“What’s so good about a few big snakes?” Lan Xun pouted with dissatisfaction.
“A few big snakes…” Xiao Yu Yang’s mouth twitched. Even as a dignified Second-Order Emperor, he was struck was speechless for a while, eventually just sighing and saying, “In any case, you cannot suppress your breakthrough much longer, and there is not enough time to return to Star Soul Palace now, so the Great Emperor agreed to allow me to open the entrance to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda here. Great Emperor will activate the real pagoda at the same time, allowing you to enter to break through. In order to conceal this fact, we even announced that this was an opportunity given by my Star Soul Palace to the cultivators of this city. We also managed to deceive those few from Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Orthodoxy Temple, and Azure Sun Temple into helping, otherwise, I alone would not have been able to accomplish this. However, you must be careful when the time comes. I will use a Secret Technique to send you directly to the third layer where you need to find a good place to feel the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao and absorb as many of the shattered Principles as possible. Those broken World Principles and Star Sources will be of great benefit to your future growth.”
“I know.”
“Do you understand how to draw in those Shattered World Principles and Star Source Fragments?”
“En, my father taught me before and I’ve properly studied the set of Secret Techniques.”
“Very good, it’s just a pity that… Princess is not a Star Master. If you had managed to successfully refine a complete Star Source prior to now, you would be able to reap even more benefits this time.”
Lan Xun smiled, “Uncle Xiao is not a Star Master but he has still reached the Second-Order Emperor Realm. Although Star Masters have many conveniences on the path of cultivation, Xun’er is confident that she will reach the same height as her father one day, even without such advantages.”
Xiao Yu Yang heard this, looked shocked, but soon laughed, “Good, it’s good Princess has such ambitions, it’s just a pity you’re not a man…”
Lan Xun suddenly snorted, “So what if I’m not a man? Am I any worse than those men?”
“Uh… Uncle Xiao meant that if you were a man, Uncle Xiao would definitely be happy to share a drink with you!” Xiao Yu Yang was an experienced man and knew how to quickly change the topic without a sense of abruptness.
“I’d rather not, I don’t know how anyone could drink something so bitter and smelly.”
“Haha,” Xiao Yu Yang didn’t say much on this matter and instead solemnly exhorted. “The most important thing for Princess this time is her breakthrough. Of course, you can also go explore the third layer if there is enough time, as there are many good things inside. Even if we old folks enter, we may not be able to obtain anything good. Inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, the most important thing is opportunity and luck, but strength comes a close second.”
“Xun’er will remember.”
……
Two days passed by in a flash.
On this day, Maplewood City was extremely lively as everyone invariably gathered towards the huge square in front of the City Lord’s Mansion. Origin Returning Realm masters and Origin Kings all beamed brightly, while all other cultivators wore gloomy, disgruntled expressions.
This could not be helped, as Dao Source Realm masters would not be able to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda this time while cultivators below the Origin Returning Realm did not possess the necessary strength. Even most Origin Returning Realm cultivators didn’t dare to enter this time.
Those who had the guts would be putting their lives on the line in order to seek opportunities.
Before the City Lord’s Mansion, a high platform had been set up at some point.
On the high platform, several cultivators of varying ages sat.
Everyone down below looked up at these cultivators with respect and admiration.
After all, those people were all Emperor Realm masters. If they weren’t Emperors, they would not have been qualified to be seated at all. Even City Lord Duan Yuan Shan of Maplewood City could only stand to the side with a smile on his face.
Duan Yuan Shan was a master at the Second-Order Dao Source Realm, so he was normally a peak-level existence in Maplewood City, but in front of these Emperors, he didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
Time passed quietly.
More and more cultivators gathered.
Everyone was looking around, looking for the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, Star Soul Palace’s legendary treasure, hoping to catch a glimpse of its true appearance.
Unfortunately, no matter how they searched, no one was able to see the slightest clue.
Some insiders knew that the real Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was not here, nor was it carried by Sir Star Envoy. Although this was the Southern Territory, where no one dared show disrespect to Star Soul Palace, this was a foundational treasure in the end, so how could it be carried around casually?
This time, an entrance to the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was being opened remotely by Sir Star Envoy and the other Emperors present, while the masters in Star Soul Palace’s headquarters coordinated with them.
So even if the pagoda was not physically here, it was still accessible.
Yang Kai stood in the crowd, listening to the conversations of the surrounding cultivator, and soon understood the situation.
This eliminated many of the doubts he had. Originally, he thought that the Star Envoy of Star Soul Palace was carrying the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda with him, but he could not understand why this was. Now he understood.
While he was waiting, someone patted him on the shoulder and Mo Xiao Qi’s voice rang out, “Big Brother Yang!”
Yang Kai turned his head and saw Mo Xiao Qi standing beside him with a smile while countless cultivators around her had backed off with grimaces on their faces as they stared at this little girl fearfully.
It was not an exaggeration to describe Mo Xiao Qi as a hedgehog with the sharpest of spikes, and everywhere she went, the cultivators who accidentally bumped into her experienced great pain and hurriedly made way.
As such, the place where she and Yang Kai stood actually became quite spacious as no one dared to approach to within a few paces of them.
“Big Brother Yang, I found you! There are so many people here,” Mo Xiao Qi said as she turned her eyes around like a country bumpkin who had just entered the city and was awed by the sights, she was seeing for the first time.
Yang Kai looked at her with an awkward smile on his face and called out to her wryly, “Xiao Qi…”
“Hm, what’s the matter?” Mo Xiao Qi turned her head back curiously, but in the next moment her beautiful face turned pale, she covered her mouth with her delicate hand, and pointed to Yang Kai’s shoulder, “Ah, your shoulder is all bloody, Big Brother Yang! Who attacked you? How could they!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine…” Yang Kai spoke calmly and in a somewhat resigned tone, as if he had already gotten used to this. A short time later, he managed to staunch the blood flow and said, “Just do not touch me so casually next time please, otherwise… I might lose too much blood and die.”
Mo Xiao Qi was stunned for a moment before she blushed, lowered her head, and squirmed in place a bit as she pinched her dress guiltily.
“Haha, you’re here, Alchemist Yang!”
At that moment, Kang Si Ran’s hearty laughter rang out from nearby and when Yang Kai turned his head to look, he saw Shopkeeper Kang striding over.
“Shopkeeper Kang!” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
“Seeing Alchemist Yang’s confident appearance, this Kang is relieved. It seems Alchemist Yang has prepared appropriately.”
“This Yang can only do his best to return safely.”
“Alchemist Yang is too humble. Inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, there are countless opportunities to be had. I am certain Alchemist Yang will be able to smoothly return after obtaining great benefits. Oh, this girl is…”
“Oh, this is Xiao Qi. She’s my friend,” Yang Kai introduced Mo Xiao Qi to Kang Si Ran. Although Mo Xiao Qi was quite innocent, she wasn’t quite familiar with interacting with others, so she just nodded lightly and stood quietly at Yang Kai’s side.
“Alchemist Yang, this old master previously asked the Senior who came from the chamber of commerce headquarters for some information and learned that everyone will be separated upon entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, so it is unlikely we will be able to travel together,” Kang Si Ran said in an apologetic tone.
Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “Could it be that upon entering, everyone will be sent to a random location?”
Yang Kai had already entered various Sealed and Self-Contained Worlds before, so he was not unfamiliar with such things. When Kang Si Ran mentioned this, he immediately thought of a possibility.
“Yes,” Kang Si Ran nodded solemnly. “The space inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is an ancient battlefield, so its World Principles are not complete and are even broken in certain places. As such, even if cultivators enter at the same time, they will appear in different positions. Before, this old master was thinking he could travel together with Alchemist Yang, but it seems that will not be possible now.”
Yang Kai smiled slightly and said, “If we can’t join hands, it means others can’t either, which means that everything will come down to our own individual abilities.”
“What Alchemist Yang says is right. This old master also thought of this, so he came to specifically inform you to remain cautious inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. In the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, there are numerous barriers and traps that, can kill Origin Kings like us if we fell into them. Countless Star Soul Palace disciples fall inside every year for this reason, so one cannot be careless.”
“Many thanks for the warning, Shopkeeper Kang, I will be careful,” Yang Kai gently nodded.
The two stood in place and chatted casually.
“By the way, who are those people sitting up there, Shopkeeper Kang?” Yang Kai gestured to the high platform in front of City Lord’s Mansion with his eyes and asked.
Kang Si Ran chuckled and said, “In fact, this old master only recognizes three of them. The second one from the left is one of my Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s Vice Presidents, Sir Lou Chi. Next to him is Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President, Sir Ceng Yuan. As for the one in the middle, he is Silver Star Envoy, Sir Xiao Yu Yang of Star Soul Palace. The others… this old master only knows their origins and is not clear about their names.”
Yang Kai nodded and was just about to respond when Mo Xiao Qi’s voice came from the side, “The first one on the left is Chen Wen Hao from Heavenly Martial Holy Land, the first one on the right is Feng Ming from Orthodoxy Temple, and the one to Feng Ming’s right is Gao Xue Ting from Azure Sun Temple.”
Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran looked at Mo Xiao Qi in amazement.
“You recognize all of them?” Yang Kai asked.
Mo Xiao Qi giggled, “I’ve learned the names and appearances of many Emperor Realm masters, so I know a little about them. Everyone except for Silver Star Envoy Xiao Yu Yang, who is a Second-Order Emperor, are First-Order Emperors.”
“Young Lady is very knowledgeable; this old master is impressed!” Kang Si Ran cupped his fists with admiration.
Mo Xiao Qi waved her hand quickly, “It’s nothing.”
Yang Kai’s expression moved slightly as well, because when Kang Si Ran introduced the Emperor Realm powerhouses up above, he still addressed them as ‘Sir’ to show respect, even if he knew these masters could not hear him. However, Mo Xiao Qi directly called those Emperors by their names, seemingly not concerned with their status or strength at all.
But that side… At this moment, there were actually six Emperor Realm masters in this tiny Maplewood City. It seemed that all of the Southern Territory’s top great forces were represented here, a rare sight indeed.
No wonder even City Lord Duan Yuan Shan had to stand to the side with a flattering smile on his face.
As time passed, none of the cultivators down below dared to show any impatience, and despite the crowd being massive, no one dared to speak too loudly; after all, six Emperors were sitting before them, so who would dare act presumptuously?
But of course, there was at least one person who did not know how to fear the Heavens and was actively hawking his wares here.
“Top-grade Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills! Buy them now before they are gone! With just one Spirit Pill, as long as you have just one breath left, you can escape from the gates of death! Only three pills left! These are my family’s long inherited treasures! Act now before it’s too late!”
A shout suddenly sounded among the crowd.
All the cultivators were stunned and hurriedly turned towards the place where the voice came from.
If one had to ask which kind of pills sold the fastest in Maplewood City these past two days, the answer would undoubtedly be healing Spirit Pills.
After all, many cultivators wanted to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, who could guarantee that they would not be wounded inside? As such, cultivators had instantly emptied all the major pill shops of healing pills, causing the price of such pills to rise three-fold in a day. Even so, healing pills were still in short supply.
No matter how expensive the price was, could it be more expensive than one’s life? Perhaps a good healing pill would be able to save one’s life at a critical moment, so no cultivator was going to be stingy in this regard.
As early as last night, the supply of healing pills in Maplewood City was exhausted. Without even mentioning high-grade healing pills, even the most common ones were completely sold out.
But now, at this moment, in this square, someone shouted they were selling Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills, a pill which could bring someone back from the brink of death. How could this not attract everyone’s attention?
“This voice…” Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi looked at each other and couldn’t help wondering, “Why does it sound familiar?”
“Buy now! Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills refined from the legendary Immortal Source Liquid for sale! Immortal Source Liquid is the essence condensed from the divine Immortal Tree; a single drop is more precious than a thousand drops of Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk! Supplemented by many rare herbs, refined by an Emperor Grade Alchemy Grandmaster, if you miss this opportunity…”
The sales pitch continued.
Yang Kai suddenly remembered who the owner of this voice was.
Mo Xiao Qi apparently also remembered at that moment and shouted indignantly, “It’s that old swindler.”
As she spoke, she rushed out.
Relying on her advantage of being completely untouchable, Mo Xiao Qi smashed her way through the crowd and rushed directly towards the hawker as she shouted, “Old swindler! Still trying to deceive people with your lies! Today I’ll teach you a lesson you never forget!”
When the hawker looked over, he instantly recognized Mo Xiao Qi and his heart clenched. Before Mo Xiao Qi could reach him though, he suddenly pointed behind her with widened eyes and shouted in a voice filled with awe and excitement, “It’s the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda!”
Everyone heard this shout and was instantly overjoyed, turning their heads in the direction the old swindler was pointing.
However, where was there any sign of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda? Clearly, there was nothing there but empty air.
“Ah… I was tricked again!” Mo Xiao Qi reacted quickly and turned back.
But there was now no trace of the old swindler either. He seemed to have disappeared without a trace.
“Hateful!” Mo Xiao Qi stomped angrily.
Several thousand meters away, amidst a thick crowd of people, a sloppily dressed old man with a shaggy beard sighed in relief, “That was dangerous, I was almost caught… Why must life treat me so horribly? That little girl is simply too much, it was just a few thousand Source Crystals yet she wanted to chase down and kill this old man. Pei, such unfairness!”
After feeling sorry for himself for a while, he suddenly turned and tugged at the clothes of a man next to him and whispered, “Little Brother, you also want to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, yes? Do you perhaps need some good healing pills?”
“Oh? Old Sir has healing pills for sale?” The man suddenly became interested.
“Heh heh heh…” The old man grinned, flashing his big yellow teeth, trying to act mysterious as he took out a jade bottle from his vest pocket and quietly whispered, “These Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills, which can even bring someone back from the brink of death, were obtained by my family’s ancestors and passed down through the generations. Little Brother, please take a look!”
Seeing Mo Xiao Qi walking back angrily, Yang Kai knew that she must have failed in her mission.
However, Yang Kai felt something about this situation was strange because he had some contact with the old man in the black market at that time and failed to find anything out of the ordinary about him. The only noticeable trait was his wicked appearance which clearly marked him as nothing good.
However, when Mo Xiao Qi charged off just now, Yang Kai had simultaneously used his Divine Sense to lock onto that old swindler.
But all of a sudden, that old man had managed to get rid of his tracing and disappear.
[That old swindler is not simple!]
This surprised Yang Kai greatly; after all, he was approaching the Dao Source Realm in cultivation and his Divine Sense was far more powerful than even that, so the other party being able to throw him off so simply was proof that the old swindler was no ordinary person.
But having said that, ordinary people would not go around cheating people out of their Source Crystals using such blatant and easily seen through scams either.
Time passed and soon, it was noon.
Atop the high platform, Duan Yuan Shan, who had been standing to the side with a big smile on his face, quickly walked over to Xiao Yu Yang and asked something in a low voice. After getting an affirmative nod, Duan Yuan Shan turned around, inhaled deeply, and shouted, “Citizens of Maplewood City, may I have your attention please…”
When the crowd heard this call, everyone immediately understood that the show was about to begin so they quickly fell silent and turned their attention towards the high stage.
Duan Yuan Shan smiled slightly and cupped his fists, “First, allow this Duan to offer his sincerest and most heartfelt thanks to Silver Star Envoy Senior Xiao from Star Soul Palace for opening the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda in my Maplewood City. Many thanks to Heavenly Martial Holy Land, Orthodoxy Temple, Azure Sun Temple, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, and Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce as well for their assistance in this great favour and for their generous contributions of precious treasures, Secret Arts, Secret Books, Martial Skills, and artifacts. For this grace today, on behalf of all of Maplewood City and its surrounding forces and families, as City Lord, this Duan offers his praise and thanks once again, wishing several Senior’s continued good health and success on the Martial Dao, in addition…”
Words seemed to overflow from Duan Yuan Shan’s mouth once he opened it, his speech filled with lavish praise and flowered words he had clearly been preparing for some time now.
However, before he could finish speaking, Xiao Yu Yang frowned impatiently and snapped, “Enough nonsense, get to the point!”
Even though he was reprimanded so bluntly in front of so many cultivators in the city, Duan Yuan Shan did not dare show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he simply nodded and after rearranging his thoughts slightly, continued, “The time has come! Please take action, several Seniors. To the gathered cultivators, your life or death, fortune or misfortune, will be decided by your own hands upon entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda!”
As soon as these words fell, the six Emperors stood up one after another.
Below the high stage, countless peoples’ eyes turned towards these six.
Xiao Yu Yang gave a loud, long roar as he formed a series of seals with his hands. The surrounding World Energy hummed as stifling coercion burst forth, causing many of the Origin Kings gathered below to reel back in fright.
It was not just the Origin Kings present who felt pressured though, as even the other five Emperors on the stage were staring fixedly at Xiao Yu Yang and observing his movements, seemingly wanting to glean some clues from his actions.
Xiao Yu Yang’s movements were extremely fast, his hands flying so quickly that only a series of afterimages were visible.
With one last shout, Xiao Yu Yang suddenly pointed his palms forward.
At that moment, a complex and profound series of lines and runes appeared before him.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Yu Yang used his fingers like brushes, the surrounding World Principles as ink, and the void as his canvas to draw even more patterns and runes, each of them seemingly resonating and interacting with the world itself, like living creatures.
Crackling sounds rang out constantly.
An indescribable force began to emerge from this giant array and spread outwards slowly.
Soon, a runic circular Spirit Array approximately a hundred metres in diameter had formed before everyone’s eyes.
Xiao Yu Yang at this point shouted, “Begin!”
When his voice fell, the other five Emperors leapt up and, in a flash, appeared at five different positions around the Spirit Array where each of them used their own methods to pour their strength into it.
The entire Spirit Array began to rotate with the influx of this energy.
As the power of the six Emperors poured into it, the Spirit Array rotated faster and faster, causing those who were staring at it to feel slightly dizzy.
The faces of the six Emperor Realm masters were extremely solemn as the consumption of their strength was far greater than they had anticipated. Before long, besides Xiao Yu Yang, the other five Emperors had gone slightly pale from the exertion.
Fortunately, this process did not last long, and when the huge Spirit Array began emitting a steady light and transforming into a kind of shining doorway, Xiao Yu Yang shouted again, “Great Emperor, please take action!”
After these words fell, from the light gate, an illusory palm appeared, one that seemed to emerge from beyond the Heavens, and shattered some kind of final barrier. Instantly, the light gate stabilized and the figure of a pagoda suddenly appeared, one that was emitting a brilliant five-coloured glow that somehow blurred and obscured its true appearance.
“Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda!”
Under the high stage, the cultivators who saw this scene exclaimed, their eyes widening as they stared towards the glowing pagoda.
This was obviously the core treasure of Star Soul Palace, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda Emperor Artifact which was famous across the entire Star Boundary. Almost all had only heard rumours about this tower, while none of them had seen it with their own eyes. But now, not just seeing, these people would soon even be able to enter this paradise.
Thinking so, many felt their breathing become rapid and ragged.
“Many thanks for your hard work,” Xiao Yu Yang signalled lightly to the other five Emperors.
These five seemed to be extremely exhausted at the moment though, so after acknowledging these words of thanks, they all returned to their original seats, closed their eyes, and began adjusting their breathing.
In the next moment, a Space Ring appeared in Xiao Yu Yang’s hand, and he threw it towards the light gate with a smile before gently palming towards it.
The Space Ring instantly shattered and from inside it, hundreds of different bursts of light shot out and flew into the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda like arrows from a string.
“That’s…”
“They’re the treasures brought out by the other great forces! Look at that artifact!”
“Are the famous Dao Source Fruits among those things then? If I can obtain that fruit, I can break through to the Dao Source Realm!”
“There are only three Dao Source Fruits, but tens of thousands of competitors. How are you going to obtain one?”
“If I can, I can!”
…..
After realizing the streams of light were the treasures the other great forces had contributed to this time’s opening of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, everyone became excited, especially regarding the three Dao Source Fruits which greatly stimulated the desires of these Origin Kings.
Although everyone was extremely excited, no one dared to act arbitrarily; after all, Xiao Yu Yang was still watching them.
After taking a moment to sweep his eyes around, Xiao Yu Yang smiled slightly and shouted, “Everyone, you may enter.”
As soon as his voice fell, how could the cultivators who had been waiting here anxiously hold back? Everyone began using their movement skills and Secret Techniques to rush towards the light gate, seemingly afraid to be left behind.
For a time, the square in front of the City Lord’s Mansion became noisy and chaotic.
Even before entering, fights were beginning to break out about who had priority to go in.
Xiao Yu Yang did not pay this commotion any mind, however, as his eyes simply moved towards a certain young woman who was standing amongst the crowd. Seeing this young woman looking towards him, he gently nodded, before flicking his wrist secretly and sending a gentle but well-concealed force towards her.
Yang Kai’s group of three also mixed into the crowd, squeezed to and fro by the chaotic rush, winding up quite miserable.
However, the cultivators who accidentally touched Mo Xiao Qi all felt like they were being pierced by sharp swords and reeled back in pain.
Yang Kai noticed this quickly and immediately gave Mo Xiao Qi a wink. Mo Xiao Qi understood and boldly and without hesitation or looking back charged forward.
After some twists and turns, the trio finally reached the light gate and rushed inside.
A familiar feeling of long-distance teleportation overcame Yang Kai, but he quickly stabilized himself and soon, a completely different environment appeared before him.
Immediately, Yang Kai noticed that the World Energy here was not very rich, quite thin in fact.
However, all around him, there was a mysterious force that all cultivators at his level craved for, Principle Strength!
Although the Principle Strength here was somewhat strange, and not nearly as strong or complete as in the outside world, because it was shattered and fragmented, it was actually much easier to grasp and understand.
It was no wonder that Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda was a highly visited experience ground for Star Soul Palace’s disciples. In this special environment, Star Soul Palace’s cultivators would far more easily be able to grasp Principle Strength. Even if the Principles in this place were incomplete, just being able to touch and study them was a great boon.
After the Origin King Realm came the Dao Source Realm, but if one wanted to break through to the Dao Source Realm, they needed to first grasp Principle Strength.
Star Soul Palace having a treasure like Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda allowed its disciples to twice as easily reach the Dao Source Realm than average cultivators.
This was an extremely terrifying advantage.
Yang Kai had not even gathered his wits when he heard a terrible scream come from nearby.
Startled, he quickly turned his head to look around.
Nearby, Yang Kai noticed a cultivator get bitten in the neck by a crocodile-like Monster Beast. Blood splashed out like a fountain from the cultivator’s throat as he tried to stop the flow with his hands but failed miserably.
Another crocodile-like Monster Beast clamped onto this man’s thigh and began dragging him into a nearby marsh.
*Gululu…*
In the blink of an eye, the cultivator disappeared, leaving behind only some bubbles on the muddy water’s surface.
The cultivator who suffered misfortune obviously arrived here before Yang Kai, but after such a long-distance teleportation, one would often feel dizzy and disoriented for a short time, so he had failed to respond in time to the approaching danger.
Regarding this, even if Yang Kai wanted to make a move, it would have been too late by the time he noticed.
The fierce beasts hiding in this swamp were simply too fast.
*Huala…*
With a soft gurgling sound, from the corner of Yang Kai’s eyes, another crocodile beast, exactly like the ones that had just killed the previous cultivator, sprang up from the swamp, its eyes filled with bloodlust as it opened its mouth and snapped towards him.
With the lessons learned from the previous cultivator, how could Yang Kai be caught off guard though? With a flicker, he threw out a punch covered in five-coloured light toward this crocodile’s head.
*Guangdang…*
As if metal struck metal, sparks flew, and the crocodile was smashed back into the swamp it emerged from.
However, the crocodile did not die and instead flicked its tail to escape under the water.
Yang Kai only then released his Divine Sense to scan his surroundings.
The next moment, his face could not help but sink.
Under his perception, there were countless fierce auras all around him, stealthily approaching under the muddy water.
These auras obviously belonged to more crocodile beasts like the ones he had just encountered. Individually these creatures were not that strong, most of them just peak Ninth-Order Monster Beasts, which was equivalent Third-Order Origin Returning Realm humans.
Such Monster Beasts really were not anything in Yang Kai’s eyes.
However… there were far too many of them, and Yang Kai didn’t want to get bogged down dealing with them.
If a different cultivator had been teleported to this place, they would very likely encounter misfortune; after all, not every Origin King could ignore the discomfort of long-distance teleportation like Yang Kai.
Ordinary cultivators would feel some sense of disorientation and dizziness.
At this point, Yang Kai immediately leapt up and decided to withdraw.
But something he did not expect happened.
As soon as he reached a height of ten metres, a huge pressure suddenly crashed down on him, like a mountain was suddenly weighing on his back, pressing him down towards the ground.
Everything happened so quickly he was unable to even resist.
“A Flight Inhibiting Array?” Yang Kai’s face turned black as he quickly reacted.
When Kang Si Ran introduced the internal situation of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda to him before, he had said that there were many Natural Arrays, restrictions, and traps scattered about. These Spirit Arrays had various functions but Flight Inhibiting Arrays were amongst the most common.
Inside such Flight Inhibiting Arrays, cultivators would not be able to fly very high, and once they exceeded a certain height, they would experience a heavy pressure that forced them back down.
What Yang Kai had just encountered was the effect of a powerful Flight Inhibiting Array.
The only thing he didn’t know was whether this Flight Inhibiting Array was artificially arranged or generated naturally.
But Yang Kai didn’t have time to think about it right now since the countless lurking crocodile beasts leapt at him from all directions the moment he fell, their mouths wide open as their sharp teeth flashed.
Yang Kai’s strength erupted in response as he threw out his fists, leading to a loud series of bangs.
In the blink of an eye, he knocked back several dozen crocodiles, but the vitality of these Monster Beasts was extremely tenacious. So, even after taking a punch from Yang Kai, not only did they not die, they were almost completely unharmed and swiftly dove down into the marsh.
More crocodiles pounced out, taking the places of their comrades.
Soon, Yang Kai was covered with crocodiles, his hands, arms, legs, all being bitten into.
These crocodiles all had amazing jaw strength, far more so than ordinary Monster Beasts, and with the peak Ninth-Order strength, how could they not be dangerous?
Ordinary Origin Kings, even if they pushed their strength to the maximum extent, would find it difficult to resist these crocodile Monster Beasts.
Fortunately for Yang Kai, his physique was far more powerful than normal thanks to his Five Elements Indestructible Sword Tempering Art. As the fierce Five Elements Sword Qi burst from his body, many of the crocodiles who tried to bite him wound up with bleeding mouths instead, forcing them to release Yang Kai.
However, Yang Kai was still dragged into the mud by this swarm of crocodiles.
The marsh was cold and dark, but the biggest hindrance was that it was so muddy and murky that Yang Kai was unable to see much even with his eyes opened. Even after throwing his fists out indiscriminately, Yang Kai soon realized his situation was not getting any better and instead he was simply sinking faster into the depths as more and more crocodiles besieged him.
“Secret Technique, Moon Blade!”
Sending out ten pitch-black Moon Blades in all directions, accompanied by the sound of flesh being sliced through, Yang Kai felt the pressure he was under diminish greatly.
Inside the muddy waters, red blood and dead crocodile carcasses abounded.
“Demon Eye!” when Yang Kai opened his eyes again, his left eye had gone completely golden and his vision was finally restored.
Scanning the area with his Divine Sense next, not only did Yang Kai realize that his recent slaughter had failed to repel these crocodiles, the fresh blood drawing more of them over instead.
“Courting death!” Yang Kai was furious. With his current strength, he could even face an ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator without losing, but because of a moment of carelessness, this pack of weak Monster Beasts had actually put him in such an awkward situation.
This made him become a bit angry out of shame.
With a wave of his hand, Yang Kai directly released the Monster Insect Queen, which had still been repairing itself inside the Sealed World Bead, and issued an order with his Divine Sense.
The Monster Insect Queen was now Yang Kai’s Blood Beast, and despite having its own faint sentience, it would strictly obey any of his orders.
Wielding the dual swords accompanied by the flash of white light, a massive sword wave swept out.
*Kacha…*
An icy domain filled the surrounding area, not only causing Yang Kai to shiver but also greatly slowing down the crocodile Monster Beasts.
With a brilliant flash, Sword Qi surged and all the surrounding crocodile Monster Beasts were cut in half, dying instantly. Even the crocodiles in the distance were not spared.
With the purple and blue dual swords at its disposal, the Monster Insect Queen’s strength seemed to have greatly increased, and even if it did not use its Clear Sky Snowfall Secret Technique, simply swinging its swords could have such an effect.
Yang Kai coldly snorted and was just about to escape from these muddy waters when suddenly a flicker of light caught his eye.
In the depths down below, a clear and misty light was flickering.
Using his Divine Sense to probe it, Yang Kai noticed a subtle but potent energy fluctuation.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as he pushed his energy to protect his body and dove down. The Monster Insect Queen, like a loyal guard, followed beside Yang Kai and dealt with any threats that tried to disturb him.
Soon after, Yang Kai arrived at the bottom of the swamp where the misty light was being emitted.
With the help of his Demon Eye of Annihilation, Yang Kai was finally able to see exactly what this thing was.
It turned out to be a palm-sized Spirit Mushroom of some sort.
“What is this…” Yang Kai pondered.
Although he knew most of the herbs which grew in his native Star Field, he had not had a chance to expand his knowledge about the Star Boundary’s various spirit herbs and medicines.
He had never seen nor heard of this mushroom before.
As he observed it, the mushroom’s hue went from a misty white to a faint green.
After a while, it turned red…
Even after checking through his memories again, Yang Kai was unable to recognize what this mushroom was, but judging from the aura it gave off, he could tell it was some kind of Dao Source Grade herb.
Deciding to worry about identifying it later, Yang Kai decided to first pick this mushroom and transplant it into his Sealed World Bead’s medicine garden.
And so, Yang Kai immediately went to work.
Soon, the Spirit Mushroom had been planted inside the medicine garden of his Sealed World Bead.
After finishing this though, Yang Kai did not rush to leave and instead continued to search around.
Sure enough, he found a few identical herbs in the vicinity.
It was half a day before Yang Kai rushed up from the swamp, the Monster Insect Queen following closely behind while, down below, countless crocodile Monster Beast corpses floated on the surface of the water. For hundreds of kilometres around, the marsh had been dyed red with blood.
Either because they were deterred by the strength of the Monster Insect Queen, or possibly because they had almost all been killed, no more crocodile Monster Beasts came to attack Yang Kai and he was able to leave the area freely.
Not acting rashly this time, Yang Kai only hovered a metre above the surface of the water as he flew out of the swamp.
There were many types of Flight Inhibiting Arrays, some of which completely prohibited flying while others simply restricted how high one could fly. From his previous experience, Yang Kai knew that this Flight Inhibiting Array was undoubtedly the latter type, so as long as he didn’t exceed a certain height, his ability to fly would not be suppressed.
The area of the swamp seemed quite wide, and Yang Kai needed to fly for half a day before finally reaching its edge.
The Monster Insect Queen was also taken back by him long ago.
The Monster Insect Queen was still restoring itself, so it wasn’t a good idea for it to fight too much at the moment. Yang Kai also didn’t want others to see he had such a helper with him. The Monster Insect Queen could be regarded as his biggest trump card at the moment, so concealing it until absolutely necessary was naturally for the best.
The space inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda seemed to be extraordinarily vast, as even after tens of thousands of cultivators from Maplewood City had entered this place, Yang Kai had yet to encounter even a single person.
As Yang Kai looked around, he was unable to find the landmark he was looking for, so he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
This should be the first layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and Kang Si Ran had told him that after entering the pagoda, he should try to make his way to the second layer as quickly as possible. Although the first and second layers were both meant as experience grounds for Origin Kings, as a peak Third-Order Origin King, it was naturally better for Yang Kai to go to the second layer.
The way to enter the second layer was through a Five Coloured Light Pillar.
Yang Kai had been looking for this so-called Five Coloured Light Pillar, but he hadn’t seen any signs of it so far. He also had no clues about how to go about searching for this passageway to the second layer.
Just as he was looking around though, the ground beneath his feet trembled violently and a thunderous rumbling rang out.
Yang Kai’s complexion changed and he hurriedly circulated his Qi while scanning his surroundings vigilantly, lest some kind of danger appeared.
Nothing appeared in his immediate area though, but when he looked up, in the distance Yang Kai saw a true Dragon phantom suddenly appear.
This Dragon phantom was massive and radiated a fiery red glow. As its tail swept through the air, it soared up into the clouds and circled around before it once again came crashing down the ground, landing somewhere out of sight and disappearing.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up.
He never expected that in this first layer of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, an authentic Dragon phantom would appear.
This was definitely not caused by some Secret Technique or Secret Art but was a genuine Dragon phantom, possibly even related to a Dragon artifact. Yang Kai was certain of this because when this phantom appeared, he could clearly feel a surge of heat from his chest.
This heat came from the Dragon Scale he had fused with.
This Dragon Scale seemed to be resonating with something in the distance.
Yang Kai immediately realized that this might be a great opportunity.
No wonder the rumours said that there were many opportunities inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and those who entered it and who had good luck would obtain many benefits while at the same time, if one’s strength was high, but luck was bad, they could not hope for anything.
No longer hesitating, Yang Kai immediately rushed towards the place where the vision appeared from at top speed.
The position where the True Dragon phantom had manifested was quite far from his current position, so even using his full strength, it took Yang Kai three hours to arrive.
Looking around, Yang Kai couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.
There were already many cultivators gathered here, a rough count putting the number at several hundred, and more were arriving all the time, obviously attracted by the previous vision.
This place was a mountain valley, and at its centre was some kind of small altar. This altar seemed to have just emerged from the ground, as it still had soil and dirt on it, and was radiating an ancient and desolate aura, clearly indicating it was very, very old.
On the ancient desolate altar, there were a dozen or so unknown objects, all of them covered by some kind of faint black light curtains that resembled upside-down bowls. Although these light curtains blocked people from seeing what these objects were, they were just translucent enough for some faint outlines to be seen.
The things shrouded by these light curtains were quite diverse in shape and size.
There were hammers, swords, and dagger-like artifacts as well as yellow-coloured Secret Arts and Secret Books. There were also some jade bottles and boxes. Each of these objects was quite attractive, especially the artifacts which seemed to exude extremely powerful energy fluctuations, even the lowest of which was Dao Source Grade.
This caused Yang Kai’s eyes to flash.
Not only him, but all the other cultivators who rushed had greedy eyes as they stared covetously towards the altar.
“Were these things put here by the various great forces? Perhaps the Dao Source Fruit is here!” Suddenly, a cultivator called out.
“No!” Someone replied, “I came here earlier and heard that this altar had suddenly emerged from the ground. It seems someone activated some hidden array, causing it to appear. What’s more, all the items on the altar, as well as the altar itself exude an ancient aura, not like something that was placed here recently.”
“So, what you mean to say is that this altar is something that exited here from the beginning, and the treasures atop it are from ancient times?”
“Quite possibly!”
“Then what are we waiting for, we need to grab them quickly!”
Treasures leftover from ancient times that were so well preserved had inestimable value, countless times more than the treasures which were tossed inside by the various Southern Territory great forces. As soon as the news spread, many more cultivators could immediately come here to try to snatch them.
Many cultivators who wanted to observe for a while first couldn’t hold themselves back anymore and mustered their courage to rush forward. Their action immediately affected those around them, and more and more people leapt into the fray.
Even Yang Kai started to move, but instead of rushing up to the front of the pack, he maintained a position somewhere in the middle, leaving himself some leeway to observe the situation of the cultivators in front of him to ensure he did not accidentally fall into some kind of trap.
“Everyone, wait!” At that moment, a shout suddenly rang out and immediately, a handsome young man dressed in white robes flew up into the sky above the crowd.
This young man’s lips were red, and his teeth were white, giving him a suave look and judging from his extraordinary temperament, at first glance one could tell he came from a good background.
“Everyone, please stay calm and listen to me,” The young man shouted again.
Many cultivators frowned and looked up impatiently; after all, there were treasures in front of them, yet at this moment someone suddenly prevented them from moving forward. It was extremely unpleasant, tantamount to killing their parents or robbing them of their wealth. Such hatred was absolutely irreconcilable…
However, when everyone saw this person’s face clearly, many people stopped in place obediently while others showed looks of awe and fear.
“So, it is Young Lord Jiang Chu He!” From the crowd, a cultivator who recognized this youth cupped his fists and said, “I wonder what Young Master Jiang’s intentions are? Could it be that Young Master Jiang wishes to use his Jiang Family’s authority to monopolize the treasures on the altar? If so, I would advise Young Master Jiang to reconsider.”
“That’s right, these treasures are all without owners currently, and although the Jiang Family is a powerful force in Maplewood City, this is the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. If Young Master Jiang wants to take charge here, he should consider his own weight first,” someone immediately agreed.
Hearing what they said, Yang Kai immediately understood the identity of this young man.
He was the Young Master of Maplewood City’s Jiang Family!
In Maplewood City, under the City Lord’s Mansion, there were some powerful families and great forces. Among them, the Jiang Family was considered quite powerful as it had an Old Ancestor at the First Order Dao Source Realm. Although Yang Kai had not had any dealings with the Jiang Family, he had seen several Jiang Family cultivators killed by the Luan Feng in Clear Jade Mountain.
This time, all those who entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda were basically from Maplewood City, so naturally many people recognized Jiang Chu He. Even if one didn’t know him, they would have at least heard his name.
However… just as the previous people had said, if this was Maplewood City, everyone might still be concerned about the strength of the Jiang Family’s Old Ancestor and have to give Jiang Chu He face, but inside this Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, the Jiang Family was not much of a deterrent.
What’s more, the treasures were right in front of them now.
Men die for wealth just as birds die for food, this was a well-known fact, so let alone a mere Jiang Chu He, even if the Old Ancestor from the Jiang Family was here, these hundreds of Origin Kings would not back down.
Jiang Chu He didn’t show any annoyance on his face though and said with a smile, “These friends are too serious. There are hundreds of fellow cultivators here, so even if this Jiang would not dare provoke public anger by trying to monopolize these treasures. This Jiang never had such intentions.”
“Then what does Young Master Jiang want to say?”
Jiang Chu He continued with a smile, “This Jiang simply wanted to warn everyone that where there are benefits, there must be risks. What’s more, this is the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda! Do any of you really think obtaining the things on this altar will be that easy? If that were the case, these items would have long ago been snatched up.”
“We naturally understand this, but… even if there are risks, we must not hesitate to push forward. Otherwise, what point would there have been in cultivating until now? I’m already prepared to face whatever consequences may come!” The man who spoke first coldly snorted and declared.
“This friend’s courage is admirable!” Jiang Chu He smiled and said, “But… doesn’t this friend think he should first inquire about what this altar is? Know thyself and know thine enemy and thou shalt be triumphant even in a hundred battles, no?”
“This is the first time any of us has entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, so how should we know what this altar is?” The man shook his head for, but quickly looked at Jiang Chu He in surprise and asked, “Could it be that Young Master Jiang knows something? If that is so, please enlighten us, Young Master Jiang.”
Jiang Chu He shook his head, “This Jiang is not clear, but I believe… there is someone here who should know about it.”
Saying so, he turned his head and looked towards a certain spot in the crowd with a smile on his face and asked, “Young Lady Qin, what do you think?”
Everyone followed his gaze and saw a woman standing in the middle of a group of cultivators like the bright moon among the stars. This woman looked quite young, about twenty-five or sixty-six years of age and seemed to be suffering from some kind of disease, her complexion somewhat pale and her build slightly thin.
If not for her current condition, she would definitely be a great beauty, but even so, seeing her in her frail condition, like a flower swaying in the wind and rain, still aroused great pity from others.
Seeing Jiang Chu He shifting everyone’s attention onto herself, this Young Lady Qin frowned and revealed a look of annoyance. The cultivators around her also glared at Jiang Chu He in dissatisfaction.
“Young Lady Qin? Young Lady Qin Yu from the Qin Family?” Exclamations rang out from the crowd, as if this Qin Yu was very famous.
“I heard that Young Lady Qin Yu is extremely well learnt, especially about the secrets of the ancient past. Could Young Lady Qin know something about this altar? If that is the case, and Young Lady Qin could enlighten all of us, this Jiang would be incredibly grateful,” Jiang Chu He smiled gently and asked, only causing the glares from Qin Yu and her guards to increase further.
Yang Kai’s brow also rose slightly as he suddenly understood what Jiang Chu He’s intentions were this time.
This guy obviously wanted to inquire about the situation of this altar.
However, if he were to simply ask Qin Yu on his own, she might not be willing to say anything, but by involving everyone here in this matter, he forced Qin Yu into a situation where even if she was reluctant, she had to comply.
No one wanted to become the target of public anger.
This Jiang Chu He looked like an upright and righteous man, but his methods… were quite despicable.
There were many other cultivators present who like Yang Kai understood the crux of this matter, but because it was related to their own interests, they didn’t speak up and instead turned to Qin Yu with interest.
“Yes, Young Lady Qin, if you know something about this altar, please enlighten us. If you can warn us about any potential dangers here, all of us friends will be exceptionally grateful!”
Under the attention of countless pairs of eyes, Qin Yu seemed a little uncomfortable, or perhaps the pressure here was simply too much, forcing her to cover her mouth with her handkerchief as she coughed.
“My Young Lady has been ill since childhood and is not accustomed to speaking too much; please do not make things difficult for her here!” Beside Qin Yu, a forty or fifty-year-old guard at the Third-Order Origin King Realm spoke coldly as he reluctantly cupped his fists.
Qin Yu, however, lifted her hand to him and said softly, “It’s fine. Since Young Master Jiang and all these friends wish for it so earnestly… This Mistress will share what she knows.”
It was impossible to tell what kind of disease she was afflicted with, but whatever it was, not only did it seem to limit the strength she could exert, it also seemed to be sapping her strength, a truly worrying condition.
However, when they heard that she was willing to address the situation about the altar, everyone couldn’t help gazing towards her expectantly.
“Young Lady Qin really has heard of this altar; this Jiang is sincerely impressed!” Jiang Chu He also beamed. He had previously just been trying his luck, but didn’t expect to actually be rewarded for his efforts.
On the one hand, he hoped Qin Yu would reveal everything she knew about this altar so that he could better take advantage of the situation, but on the other hand, he was worried that this information would also help his many competitors, causing Jiang Chu He to feel somewhat complicated.
“If this Mistress is not mistaken, this is the Soaring Dragon Altar…” Qin Yu slowly said as the surrounding cultivators all went silent. It was as if in the entire first layer of the Five-Coloured Treasure Pagoda, only Qin Yu’s existed, “With this altar, it is supposedly possible for a fish to leap over the Dragon Gate and soar into the skies to become a true Dragon!”
“This Soaring Dragon Altar… does not appear at any fixed interval or position. It may appear in the first, second, or possibly even fifth layer. Rumour has it that it has existed since ancient times, but even if those from Star Soul Palace enter here frequently, it is not easy for them to encounter the Soaring Dragon Altar.”
“In the records of the ancient books of Star Soul Palace, the Soaring Dragon Altar has appeared a total of eight times… With each appearance, some rare treasures will appear along with it. If one is able to obtain one of these treasures… perhaps, they really can leap over the Dragon Gate and cultivate to the Emperor Realm.”
“Leap over the Dragon Gate!”
“The Emperor Realm!”
Numerous cultivators whispered amongst each other, their eyes glowing hotly.
Most of the cultivators from Maplewood City could only be described as average. Although their strength wasn’t bad in the grand scheme of things, because they lacked powerful backgrounds and backing, rising above the Origin King Realm in their lifetime was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.
However, Qin Yu’s words gave them hope, as if there was a road laid out before them, leading directly to the Emperor Realm!
After Qin Yu spoke, countless cultivators became even more anxious to begin.
Although they thought that the treasures on the altar were good from the start, none of them were certain and with so many others around, none dared to act too rashly for fear of bringing death to themselves.
But after listening to what Qin Yu said, everyone renewed their determination.
A chance to reach the Emperor Realm was enough for them to risk their lives.
However, some people remained calm and asked loudly, “Dare I ask Young Lady Qin if any dangers are associated with this Soaring Dragon Altar?”
“Dangers… most definitely, possibly life-threatening ones at that, but as for what specific dangers there are… This Mistress does not know; after all, the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is Star Soul Palace’s supreme treasure, so not much is recorded in available ancient books. This Mistress is also entering this place for the first time, so…”
Hearing this, everyone showed disappointment.
Although many suspected Qin Yu knew more than she was telling, she had already revealed so much which could be considered a great benevolence, so if they were to try to force the matter, it would be tantamount to slapping the Qin Family’s face.
Almost everyone present lived in Maplewood City, so who would be willing to offend one of its most powerful families? If they did that, even if they could leave the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda safely, they would have to live their life in fear of the Qin Family coming to settle accounts with them.
“However… it is said that this Soaring Dragon Altar is an artifact refined from real dragon bones, so if one wants to get close to the Soaring Dragon Altar, they must at least be able to resist the Dragon Pressure of an Ancient Dragon,” Qin Yu continued for some unknown reason.
“Refined from Dragon Bone?”
“The Dragon Pressure of an Ancient Dragon?”
Many called out in alarm.
At that moment, a whooshing sound rang out from nearby, like something was cutting through the air at an extreme speed, shocking everyone and forcing them to circulate their strength as they vigilantly observed their surroundings.
The next moment though, someone exclaimed, “Shameless! Acting so sneakily!”
It seemed that when everyone’s attention was attracted by Qin Yu’s explanation about the Soaring Dragon Altar, the cultivators from some force had concealed themselves and quietly approached the Soaring Dragon Altar.
The Secret Technique these people used to conceal themselves was quite exquisite and no one noticed their actions.
If it were not for the sudden change in the Soaring Dragon Altar, these people might have actually been able to sneak away with all the treasures without anyone being the wiser.
But at this moment… these people were all exposed. There were not many of them, just five in total, all of them approaching from different directions towards the Soaring Dragon Altar.
Now though it seemed one of these people had triggered some kind of Spirit Array around the Soaring Dragon Altar and caused it to send out bolts of light towards them.
The group of five were caught off guard and two of them were killed on the spot, blood splashing out as their bodies were cut apart. The survivors knew that they had been exposed and had lost their chance, so they immediately stopped trying to conceal themselves and instead focused on defending against the incoming attack.
Fortunately, the Soaring Dragon Altar’s attack did not seem to be too strong, so after the remaining three were able to defend themselves without too much difficulty. Glancing around and seeing the looks on everyone else’s faces, these three exchanged a knowing look, grit their teeth, and rushed forward.
“Damn it, it’s the Ghost Step Sect!”
“This group of pitiful weaklings dares to covet my treasures; they must court death!”
“Those treasures are mine!”
Seeing a group already racing towards the Soaring Dragon Altar, the remaining cultivators no longer held back, and each used their own Movement Skills to rush up as well, everyone hoping to reach the Soaring Dragon Altar as soon as possible to seize the treasures there for themselves.
Jiang Chu He was amongst the fastest and with a flicker, he flew out several hundred metres in the blink of an eye as his gaze fixed on a certain Secret Art atop the Soaring Dragon Altar and waved his hand towards it.
At that moment, a rope-like artifact shot forward towards the Secret Art which was still a few hundred metres away.
“Young Master Jiang, you…” When someone saw this, they called out in shock.
“Hahahaha!” Jiang Chu He laughed, as if the Secret Art was already in his hands and he had cultivated it to perfection, reaching the peak of the world, his arrogance greatly inflated as he shouted, “Treasures belong to those who can seize them. This Secret Art… belongs to this Jiang.”
As soon as his voice fell, however, his smile stiffened as he stared at his rope artifact in a daze and muttered, “How could this be?”
His rope artifact had only extended about ten metres forward before it fell to the ground limply, as if it had lost all spirituality, and no matter how Jiang Chu He urged it, he could not make it respond.
Not only him, but other people who wanted to use their artifacts to obtain the treasures on the Soaring Dragon Altar all lost their connection with their artifacts at that moment.
While Jiang Chu He was in a state of shock, a huge pressure suddenly fell from the sky and forced him to the ground, planting his face in the dirt while sending up a big cloud of dust.
“Hahahaha, Young Master Jiang, your ability to bow your head all the way to the ground is quite exquisite. This one deeply admires your skill!” The previous cultivator laughed as he shot back Jiang Chu He, not forgetting to ridicule him before leaving.
“Damn it, I’ll remember you!” Jiang Chu He stood up from his humiliation and cursed.
Looking around, all the cultivators around who had wanted to fly over to the Soaring Dragon Altar found themselves in similar situations to his own, plummeting from the sky and landing in miserable poses.
This discovery made the bitterness in Jiang Chu He’s heart disperse greatly.
In an instant, everyone understood that if they wanted to obtain the treasures on this Soaring Dragon Altar, they would need to personally rush up and seize them.
However… this was definitely not an easy task.
The distance between the surrounding crowd and the altar was not much, so no one put it in their eyes at first, but as one got closer to the Soaring Dragon Altar, fierce and inexplicable coercion swept towards them. In the eyes of all cultivators present, the entire Soaring Dragon Altar seemed to transform into a giant Ancient Dragon that had opened its giant maw and was just waiting for its prey to leap inside.
Some of the cultivators who had weaker wills became dazed and froze on the spot, their eyes filling with fear as their bodies trembled violently.
Others, even if they were able to withstand the terrifying Dragon Pressure, were struggling simply to lift their feet, a far cry from the speed they had just shown.
“Young Lady, we…” On the other side, the Qin Family group was still huddled around Qin Yu. Under Qin Yu’s instructions, they had approached the Soaring Dragon Altar unhurriedly.
Qin Yu coughed lightly from time to time, with a completely composed expression on her face. On the contrary, the other Qin Family cultivators all looked extremely anxious, seemingly worried the others present would snatch all the benefits before they had a chance.
“Don’t panic!” Qin Yu finally took a breath and whispered, “The Soaring Dragon Altar… is not so easy to approach. Instead of rushing, we should take this opportunity… to feel the Dragon Pressure of an Ancient Dragon. This pressure has… a great effect when it comes to tempering oneself. If… in the future, you encounter a powerful foe, having this experience will allow you to maintain your composure.”
Although Qin Yu was only a Second-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator, she seemed to have enormous prestige among this group of Qin Family guards, so when she spoke, all of them immediately calmed down, stilled their hearts, and focused their minds to use the surrounding Dragon Pressure to temper their wills while guarding their Young Lady.
Suddenly, Qin Yu’s brow furrowed as she turned towards a certain direction.
When she did, she met eyes with Yang Kai who flashed her a smile as he casually strolled forward.
“He is…” Qin Yu looked deeply at Yang Kai’s back and found to her surprise that, despite her innate ability to see through others, she could not do so with him.
He did not seem to have the slightest eagerness for the treasures on the Soaring Dragon Altar, and while everyone else was struggling with all their might, he acted as if he was taking a leisurely walk through his garden.
Qin Yu shook her head slightly, closed her eyes, and lowered her head. The next moment, when she raised her head up again, a profound light, like the brilliant stars in the night sky, flashed across her eyes.
At that exact moment, Yang Kai’s body went stiff, as if a gaze that was able to see through all of his secrets had been fixed onto him.
Turning his head back abruptly, he met eyes with Qin Yu once more.
The next instant, Qin Yu’s tender body trembled, and she began coughing violently.
“Young Lady!” The guards were shocked.
Qin Yu waved her hand lightly as she doubled over and covered her mouth with her silk handkerchief, coughing hard for a moment before gradually recovering.
“I’m fine,” Qin Yu gasped, but when she looked up again to where Yang Kai was before, she found that he had completely disappeared and let out a sigh.
“This woman is quite strange,” at the same time, Yang Kai, who had submerged himself into the crowd, frowned and muttered.
He had felt that this girl named Qin Yu was somehow extraordinary, but with the other party’s cultivation being just a trivial Second-Order Origin Returning Realm, he was unable to reconcile his instincts with reality.
But when Qin Yu looked at him just now, like she was peering into his very depths, Yang Kai could not help feeling chills up his spine.
“If it is not necessary, it would be best to have less contact with her in the future,” Yang Kai muttered as he made up his mind, fearing that his secret might inexplicably be leaked to her.
“Ahh!”
At that moment, a scream suddenly sounded.
A cultivator, who had been petrified in place by the Dragon Pressure for some time now let out a pitifully cry and shivered violently, like he was seeing something horrifying, and in a panic, his Qi began to riot, and he released several Secret Techniques into the air around him.
A moment later, with a resounding bang, this cultivator’s head exploded, releasing a great splash of red and white before his headless corpse fell miserably to the ground.
This shocked and terrified the nearby cultivators.
But things had not ended yet. Like a spark that lit a fuse, the death of this person set off a myriad of screams from different locations. The encounters of these cultivators were just like the first, seemingly falling into a nightmare, their strength fluctuating chaotically, launching random attacks, then having their heads explode.
“Dragon Pressure Suppression!” Someone in the crowd yelled in horror.
Everyone understood how these people were killed. Obviously, they were overwhelmed by the supreme Dragon Pressure here, causing a fault in their Souls which led to their death.
For a moment, some of the more timid and lower strength cultivators did not dare to advance and instead tried to turn around and retreat.
However, the moment these people stepped back, bursts of light rapidly shot out from the Soaring Dragon Altar towards them.
Everyone was shocked by this scene.
These lights were not shot out at random though and were actually targeted at the cultivators who were trying to flee.
In the blink of an eye, more than thirty more corpses littered the ground.
This sudden change caused everyone to freeze on the spot.
After a short silence though, someone suddenly shouted, “We can’t retreat! There’s a restriction here that will kill you if you try to withdraw! Everyone be careful!”
“Damn it, it’s a trap!”
“Damn Star Soul Palace…”
“I… what should I do?”
Many people here had low strength but had still coveted the treasures before them, but now that they found themselves in this predicament they began to blame and accuse Star Soul Palace for their misfortune.
In the current situation, if they moved forward, the Dragon Pressure they needed to resist would become fiercer, and the slightest carelessness could lead to their head exploding, an incredibly gruesome death. The few cultivators who had died just now were a perfect example of this. However, there was also no retreat from there as the thirty or so fresh corpses that had holes through their chests proved.
After realizing that they could neither advance nor retreat, many chose to simply stand in place.
However, not everyone was like this as there were still some who had real capabilities and confidence in their strength who continued to resist the Dragon Pressure as they walked towards the Soaring Dragon Altar step by step. These masters were focused on the dozen or so treasures before them, and despite the gruelling difficulty of each step forward, they only felt more and more joyful as they approached their goal.
Snatching wealth from the jaws of danger was a truth everyone understood well. Who among the cultivators here had not experienced many life or death crisis? As such, most had extremely strong determination.
What’s more, without even mentioning whether they could snatch those dozens or so unknown treasures, many cultivators still felt ecstatic just because of the benefits they gained from approaching the Soaring Dragon Altar.
Every step they took tempered their will, and under the supreme Dragon Pressure, many of the Origin Kings present even noticed that their Saint Qi was rapidly being transformed into Source Qi.
The conversion speed was far more than what taking Source Condensing Pills could achieve.
Yang Kai discovered this as well.
In truth, he was capable of completely ignoring the Dragon Pressure from Soaring Dragon Altar; after all, he possessed the Source of a Golden Divine Dragon in his body. Although the Soaring Dragon Altar was made from True Dragon Bones and could radiate intense Dragon Pressure, in front of Yang Kai’s Golden Divine Dragon Source, this paltry Dragon Pressure could play no role.
In ancient times, countless different clans belonged to the Dragon clan, but among these clans, bloodline suppression was obvious. The Golden Divine Dragon was of the highest status in the Dragon clan while, from the previous vision the Soaring Dragon Altar created, it was most likely refined from a Red Dragon’s bones.
Red Dragons primarily controlled Fire Attribute power.
The Golden Divine Dragon Source’s mere presence was sufficient to suppress the Dragon Pressure from the Soaring Dragon Altar, leaving a ten-metre radius around Yang Kai free from any kind of suppression.
When Yang Kai discovered this, his first thought was to immediately rush up to the altar and snatch everything for himself.
But after thinking about it carefully, he decided not to act rashly.
After all, there were still hundreds of Origin King Realm cultivators here. Even if Yang Kai could somehow escape from the encirclement of these Origin Kings, which was a questionable prospect at best, he would find himself in grave danger once he left the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
Once the people outside learned that he had obtained so many benefits from the Soaring Dragon Altar, he would become a public target.
An ordinary man is innocent, but treasures make him guilty. Yang Kai didn’t believe that those Dao Source Realm masters outside would not covet the treasures from the Soaring Dragon Altar. If he became the target of multiple Dao Source Realm masters, his future would become bleak.
And so, Yang Kai didn’t dare to reveal too exaggerated of a performance.
At this moment, he hid amongst the crowd while approaching the Soaring Dragon Altar step by step, relying on the Supreme Dragon Pressure to transform his Saint Qi into Source Qi while also leisurely observing the situations of the cultivators around him.
Not long after, many powerful Origin Kings were silently noted by Yang Kai.
These people were undoubtedly Masters who had fully transformed their Saint Qi into Source Qi, and when they were resisting the Dragon Pressure, they clearly had a much easier time than the others. This group was moving far faster than the rest and had created a noticeable gap between them and the others.
Yang Kai quickened his pace a bit while thinking in his mind how he should pack away all the treasures without getting caught.
Just as he was lost in thought though, a grating voice came from the side, “How dare you surpass this Young Lord, die!”
As soon as the word ‘die’ was left out, a palm print struck towards Yang Kai. This palm caused a howling and violent wind to burst form and seemed to contain great destructive power.
Yang Kai’s complexion instantly sank as he raised his own hand and palmed in response.
*Pa…*
With a light thump, the two violent palms collided with one another and released a powerful shockwave.
Yang Kai’s body shook slightly but he remained standing in place while on the contrary, his attacker gave out a shout as he was unable to resist Yang Kai’s blow and was on the verge of being blown away.
The man’s face changed drastically in the next instant, draining of all colour and blood.
After all, the cultivators that had tried to retreat earlier had all been shot through by the light beams the Soaring Dragon Altar shot out. He was not sure whether he would receive the same treatment if he was forced backwards.
If that really happened, he did not have confidence he could withstand the attack from the Soaring Dragon Altar.
Realizing this, he grit his teeth and actually forced himself into the ground like a wooden stake.
He would rather let the force from Yang Kai’s blow wreak havoc inside his body rather than be forced backwards.
*Pa pa pa…*
There was a series of popping sounds as this man’s face turned pale and blood began overflowing from his mouth and nose, turning his appearance hideous.
“Young Lord!” Someone shouted and hurried forward and pressed his hand against this half-buried man’s back, circulating his strength to resolve the last remnants of Yang Kai’s strike, allowing the half-buried man to finally stand firm.
Yang Kai finally looked back and saw a familiar face, grinning as he snickered, “So it is Young Master Jiang…”
The person who attacked him was surprisingly Jiang Chu He, who had riled up the crowd before.
When Yang Kai saw him for the first time, he felt this Jiang Chu He gave off a scholarly and upright aura, befitting his status as the Young Lord of a big family, but after watching him manipulate the crowd into pressuring Qin Yu, Yang Kai understood that this person was a sinister trickster who was both petty and manipulative.
In short, the type Yang Kai most despised!
Even just now, it seemed Jiang Chu He had only attacked him because Yang Kai had managed to overtake his progress.
“Who is Your Excellency?”
Jiang Chu He had suffered a big loss just now and nearly encountered a fatal disaster, so while he bore extreme hatred towards Yang Kai in his heart, he was equally fearful of him. He had never expected that he would be unable to even withstand a single move from another Origin King.
And in the situation just now, it was clear that the other party had only used a casual blow rather than his real strength. Didn’t that mean that if this was a life or death battle, he wouldn’t be able to resist at all?
[Is he some kind of monster?] Jiang Chu He felt a deep sense of fright.
Since when did Maplewood City have such a genius?
“Who am I?” Yang Kai grinned, “Young Master Jiang only needs to know there are some he cannot afford to offend.”
Seeing Yang Kai’s shameless boasting, Jiang Chu He flashed an unconvinced expression on his face, but after thinking about it, he realized that this young man might be from some outside great force. After all, Maplewood City currently had many masters gathered from around the Southern Territory.
Considering all this, Jiang Chu He’s expression turned solemn as he cupped his fists and said, “This Jiang previously committed an offence and asks Your Excellency not to take it to heart.”
“Seems you still have some sense. It’s fine, since it is your first offence, I will let it pass,” Yang Kai smiled coldly before turning around and ignoring Jiang Chu He as he walked off.
Jiang Chu He stared at his back, his face turning blue, then red while trying to suppress his own injuries and simultaneously resist the supreme Dragon Pressure in the air, making his situation quite difficult.
At the very back of the crowd, Qin Yu walked forward slowly, accompanied by her many guards. This couldn’t be helped as her strength was truly quite low here, so she was unable to advance as quickly as the others.
But it was precisely because of this that she was able to witness this scene just now.
“This person… What is his background?” Qin Yu frowned.
As a cultivator of Maplewood City, Qin Yu, naturally, knew what kind of strength Jiang Chu He possessed. Although Jiang Chu He’s aptitude wasn’t the best, he had the resources of the Jiang Family backing him, and after many years of cultivation, he had already reached the peak of the Third-Order Origin King Realm and fully transformed his Saint Qi into Source Qi.
In short, even if Jiang Chu He was not invincible in the Origin King Realm, he was not someone who could be injured with a single move from a cultivator in the same realm.
But someone had accomplished just that.
While this surprised Qin Yu, it also piqued her interest in Yang Kai.
“Young Lady, is there something about that man that is of interest?” When a guard saw Qin Yu staring at Yang Kai, he couldn’t help asking.
“Have any of you met this man before or know of his origins?” Qin Yu asked softly.
All the guards shook their heads, indicating they had never met Yang Kai before.
The guard who spoke earlier followed up, “If Young Lady wants to know, subordinates will make some inquiries after the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda closes.”
Qin Yu nodded, “Remember to just inquire, do not offend him.”
“Yes.”
…
Near the Soaring Dragon Altar, the gap between everyone’s strength gradually became clear as time passed. Although everyone here was basically an Origin King, and many had reached the Third-Order, those who were strong and those who were weak were quickly separated under the pressure of the Soaring Dragon Altar.
Those who had superior will, perseverance, and strength were able to approach closer faster.
The rest lagged behind.
For a time, hundreds of cultivators became divided into several rings with Soaring Dragon Altar as the core, all of whom were desperately trying to get closer to the centre.
In the first ring, there were roughly forty Third-Order Origin Kings who had only a small gap between each of them. It was foreseeable that if nothing happened, these forty masters would reach the Soaring Dragon Altar first. As for the second, third, and even further out rings, these people had no hope of obtaining anything.
However, these people did not dare to retreat, as that would be courting death, so they could only grit their teeth and march forward.
During this period, more and more cultivators died violently because they were unable to bear the intense Dragon Pressure. Within a radius of several hundred metres of the Soaring Dragon Altar, there were now a few hundred headless corpses littering the ground, making for a horrifying scene.
The thousand-metre region surrounding the Soaring Dragon Altar had become a burial ground for countless Origin Kings.
Half an hour later, the several dozen cultivators in the first group were now less than ten metres from the Soaring Dragon Altar!
At such a close distance, the dozen or so treasures on the altar could now be seen clearly, and regardless of what these people’s origins were, they couldn’t stop their breathing from becoming quicker.
However… with only a dozen or so treasures and forty or so cultivators in the lead group, it was impossible to split them evenly, and most people were destined to return empty-handed.
Everyone obviously knew this, so once they were ten metres from the Soaring Dragon Altar, everyone secretly began circulating their strength as their eyes darted about, hostility rapidly swelling up within all of them.
Suddenly, there was a sound of something breaking through the air as the surrounding World Energy turned chaotic. A golden arrow had been shot by someone and was now flying towards a certain burly figure.
“Damn it, I knew you were going to attack Father here since the beginning! Could you no longer hold back?” The burly man seemed to have been prepared long ago, so when he saw the enemy next to him attack, he immediately stretched out his hand and summoned a turquoise shield to protect his body.
*Peng…*
With a loud bang, although the golden arrow was quite powerful, it was still blocked successfully by the burly man.
Seeing this situation, the person who made the sneak attack could not help staring in a daze.
The burly man grinned fiercely as he withdrew his shield and then clenched his fists, Source Qi surging from his body as he punched out, “Tyrant King’s Holy Fist!”
This was obviously a powerful Secret Technique, and the moment it flew out, some faint traces of Principle Strength swirled around it. It was obvious from this scene that this burly man had already touched the threshold of the Dao Source Realm and perhaps was just one step away from breaking through.
From this fist wind, an aura that seemed to dominate and control the world lingered, causing the face of the cultivator who had previously attacked to pale. In a hurry, this man twisted his body whilst reaching out to summon a metre long sword into his hand at the same time.
With a flick of his wrist, Source Qi poured into this long sword and the man’s expression became solemn.
“Water Moon Mirror Flower!” Shouting, the man swung his sword in a half-circle, leaving behind a reflective afterglow.
The Tyrant King’s Holy Fist arrived in the next instant but was completely blocked by this sword light mirror.
The Origin King Realm Domains of these two, which had both reached the grand accomplishment stage, flared at the same time trying to suppress one another.
*Kacha…*
It seemed that even the surrounding space was unable to bear such a violent confrontation and small cracks began to appear in the next instant.
“Good, good, good! Finally someone decent!” Seeing this, the burly man not only was not surprised, he instead laughed and wore an even more rampant expression.
On the other hand, his opponent secretly grumbled bitterly, not having expected that the person he had just attacked at random in order to thin out the competition would actually be such a madman.
With no other choice, he could only grit his teeth and meet his enemy head-on.
Just as the battle between these two began, the forty or so cultivators in the lead group all took action, as if they had all negotiated to begin at this very moment.
However, these people did not rush towards the Soaring Dragon Altar but instead turned to attack the nearest cultivator.
All of a sudden, chaos broke out around the Soaring Dragon Altar.
Sneak attacks and counterattacks were launched one after another.
Often, a cultivator would start launching a sneak attack towards his or her target but was instead sneak attacked by another, forcing them to grit their teeth and turn to defend themselves.
Some fought alone, some fought in tangled melees, and some tried to evade fighting altogether…
These elite Origin Kings almost all belonged to Maplewood City, but they seemed to have become bitter enemies at this moment, and it was not long before the air was filled with the light of Martial Skills and artifacts.
The cultivators further back saw this scene and were stunned for a time…
But soon, many flashed looks of pleasant surprise, because this chaos meant that they still had a chance to obtain the treasures on the Soaring Dragon Altar! At the moment, they went all out to stimulate their strength and advance closer.
However, their thoughts were obviously naïve. The cultivators in the first group were indeed fighting amongst themselves, but if someone from the outer groups tried to approach, those from the lead group would give up their battle and jointly attack the newcomer.
It seemed that those in the first group only regarded themselves as real competitors, while all the latecomers were just a group of pitiful weaklings. How could such wastes be qualified to seize these precious treasures?
After twenty or so from the outer groups died, the cultivators from the second group finally understood the situation and did not dare to approach at will.
Yang Kai was actually just behind the cultivators in the second group and, when he saw this, he could not help frowning.
If he wanted to get close to the Soaring Dragon Altar now, he would need to no doubt become the target of the cultivators in the first group. But if he did not close the gap, he wouldn’t be able to obtain anything from the Soaring Dragon Altar.
As soon as he thought of this, he could not help shouting loudly, “Treasures belong to those who are destined for them! These cowards are far too overbearing trying to block our path! Friends, if you wish to leap over the Dragon Gate follow me!”
After riling up the crowd, Yang Kai set an example and rushed up first.
The cultivators in the second group were not willing to be blocked here in the first place, so when Yang Kai shouted out about the Dragon Gate, and they recalled what Qin Yu said before, all of them were filled with righteous indignation and responded to Yang Kai’s cry. Gathering in groups of three or five, they began charging forward with fierce determination.
“Brat, you’ve got a sharp tongue, you can die first!” Soon, the two masters in front of Yang Kai turned their attention to him.
These two masters had been fiercely fighting one another, but when they heard Yang Kai agitating the crowd, they both regarded him as a target.
Since the two of them could join the lead group, obviously they were elites in the Origin King Realm, and under their joint efforts, even if they could not defeat a Dao Source master, they were definitely able to overwhelm ordinary Origin Kings.
One person summoned a big axe and chopped towards Yang Kai, a brilliant glow radiating from the blade’s edge making it look like a giant meteor crashing to the ground.
The other person stretched out his hand and summoned a small bell into it. Swinging the bell, an invisible shockwave was sent out and rippled towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai wore a solemn expression as he didn’t dare act careless, pushing his strength madly as he stepped forward and summoned a big sabre into his hands.
Sending his Spiritual Energy into this sabre, he energized it and sent out an attack.
With a brilliant flash, the sabre silently sliced through his target’s Knowledge Sea Defences and crashed into his Knowledge Sea.
Within this person’s Knowledge Sea, a great storm surged and it seemed as if the ocean inside was being split in two. Massive waves surged up but instead of crashing down again, the waves strangely evaporated midair!
The Knowledge Sea was the source of a cultivator’s Soul, and if the seawater in one’s Knowledge Sea evaporated, their Soul would take corresponding damage.
This person reacted like he was struck by lightning, going stiff in place, his eyes filling with horror as he stared at Yang Kai in a daze, unable to open his mouth or even make any sound.
The next moment, this person’s head slumped, and he fell directly to the ground and died!
“What!?” The other man was shocked to see his previous opponent die just like that.
He knew how difficult his opponent was as the two of them had just fought. Neither side had been able to gain any advantage over the other, but now a random Origin King had killed him in one blow.
Origin Kings absolutely could not possess such strength, so the reason for this must be the sabre.
But… just what kind of artifact could have such prestige?
During this man’s momentary shock, Yang Kai’s figure flickered, dodged the attacks which had been sent out against him, and appeared right in front of his opponent while grinning widely and raising up the sabre in his hand again.
Only now did this man discover just how strange this sabre was. The blade was actually pitch black and seemed to be almost immaterial in quality. What’s more, it gave off an inexplicable force that seemed to pierce into his Soul.
It almost felt that if he stared at this blade long enough, his Soul would be sliced open. Feeling a stinging pain in his head, the man was awoken from his shock and hurriedly looked away.
Soul Splitting Sabre!
An Emperor Artifact which originally belonged to the Insect Emperor!
After Yang Kai killed the Insect Emperor that year, he found two Emperor Artifacts, one was the Insect Enslavement Bracelet, and the other was the Soul Splitting Sabre.
However, the powers of these two Emperor Artifacts were too great and Yang Kai was not strong enough to refine them at that time, so he could only set them aside temporarily. In several subsequent adventures, the Insect Enslavement Bracelet had been able to play some role. For example, Yang Kai had repelled a swarm of Illusory Void Butterflies in the Severed World, and below Blue Feather Sect’s Ice Cliff, he had stunned the Monster Insect Queen with it, allowing him to defeat it.
With these experiences, Yang Kai realized the importance of Emperor Artifacts and had started to refine the Soul Splitting Sabre in his spare time.
Although he had spent much energy and time on this project, Yang Kai was still unable to fully refine the Soul Splitting Sabre. Even if could use it now, the power he could extract was minimal compared to its potential. This was similar to the Annihilation Thunder Bead, which Yang Kai still could not fully utilize.
However… Emperor Artifacts were still Emperor Artifact in the end.
Even a trace of its true power was not something an Origin King Realm could resist.
This was especially true of the Soul Splitting Sabre as it was able to cut through Spiritual Energy, wounding the Soul while disregarding the physical body, making it extremely difficult to guard against.
The Soul Splitting Sabre seemed to be a Soul-type artifact, a treasure even rarer than defensive artifacts!
What’s more, Yang Kai’s Soul was extremely powerful, so after using the Soul Splitting Sabre against an Origin King, how could his opponent possibly defend against it?
After a single face-to-face encounter, the enemy’s Soul had shattered, and he had died on the spot.
Yang Kai had done this deliberately. Right now, the lead group’s cultivators seemed to have reached an unspoken consensus to prevent cultivators from the second group from approaching the Soaring Dragon Altar. If he wanted to deter his enemies, he could only use overwhelming force to kill a few of them.
By easily killing one, the others would be warned and no one would dare to stop him again.
Sure enough, after this first person died, his original opponent, who saw Yang Kai standing in front of him, raising the Soul Splitting Sabre again and releasing black light from its blade, instinctually backed away in horror.
This step backwards though… immediately triggered the Spirit Array arranged on the Soaring Dragon Altar.
A bolt of light suddenly lasered towards the man who had just stepped back from the Soaring Dragon Altar.
This man’s complexion changed drastically, and without even hesitating, he flew out at the fastest speed he could muster, a radiant glow bursting from his body as he tried to defend himself.
But no matter how fast he fled, he was not able to escape the Soaring Dragon Altar’s attack, and after just a single breath, the bolt of light pierced straight through his protective Source Qi like paper and opened a hole in his chest.
“Ah…” A partial scream rang out before the man fell to the ground with a thud, just like the cultivators who had been killed by these light beams before, his entire physique mangle to a miserable state.
Everyone around paled in horror.
After all, from the moment Yang Kai took action to when these two died, less than three breaths had passed.
In just three breaths of time, two peak Origin Kings from the lead group had been killed off. Regardless of what artifacts Yang Kai had used just now, this alone was enough to demonstrate his strength and methods.
In an instant, the look in the eyes of the cultivators near Yang Kai shrank as their expression filled with fear and horror. Intentionally or unconsciously, all of them began to distance themselves, clearly indicating they had no intention to be his enemy.
This effect was exactly what Yang Kai had expected, so he simply flicked his wrist, stored away the Soul Splitting Sabre and walked forward lightly, treating all the surrounding cultivators like air, an extremely arrogant display.
*Hou…*
Suddenly, a thunderous roar rang out from amongst the crowd, one that seemed like a cross between a dragon and a beast.
Everyone was surprised hearing this and turned their eyes towards the source of this sound, their expression stiffening the moment they did.
Because at that position, a man wearing what looked like a training outfit and seemed to be about thirty years old had used some kind of powerful Secret Technique that caused his entire body to glow crimson red, like a cooked prawn. What’s more, above this man’s head, there was now a phantom image of a fiery-red Flood Dragon.
This Flood Dragon phantom was almost corporeal in its existence and with its giant teeth and claws were incredibly intimidating. After making an appearance though, this Flood Dragon’s body flickered and dove into the body of the young man below.
The next moment, this man’s aura rose noticeably, and a faint trace of Dragon Pressure even began to radiate from his body.
“Duan Tian Ci! It’s Duan Tian Ci!”
Someone suddenly exclaimed.
“He’s the son of Sir City Lord?”
“I’ve heard that when he was young, he went out on an adventure and through a fortuitous encounter obtained the complete Soul of a Flood Dragon. Now, it seems the rumours were true. With the help of this Flood Dragon Soul, the pressure he’ll have to face will definitely be lowered.”
Many cultivators cried out in unwillingness while others just stared in envy.
Yang Kai also instantly understood the identity of this person.
It turned out to be Duan Tian Ci, the son of City Lord Duan Yuan Shan. The Flood Dragon phantom that had just appeared was obviously a Flood Dragon Soul he had acquired in his early years. Duan Tian Ci had used some kind of method to stimulate it to help him resist the powerful Dragon Pressure here.
Although Flood Dragons were not part of the Dragon Clan, they still had a trace of the authentic Dragons’ bloodline, so the soul of a Flood Dragon was naturally useful in resisting Dragon Pressure.
Duan Tian Ci was clearly a man who understood patience. He had hidden this advantage all along until he got close enough to the Soaring Dragon Altar. Obviously, he had been planning this since the beginning.
However… he was not the only one who had held back their trump card.
Just as Duan Tian Ci inspired his Flood Dragon Soul, another young man nearby let out a shout as a light cover that resembled a bell appeared around him.
The surrounding cultivator’s attacks landed on this bell, but this young man completely ignored them as he strode towards the Soaring Dragon Altar step by step.
None of those attacks were able to penetrate his defenses.
“It’s the Immovable Heavenly King Bell from Raging Fire Temple! He must be Zong Zi Jin from Raging Fire Temple!”
One of the cultivators present recognized the name of this cultivator and the artifact he used.
“The Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact, Immovable Heavenly King Bell?”
“That’s cheating! How are we supposed to fight that?”
Many Origin Kings protested.
Although Zong Zi Jin’s cultivation was not high enough to bring out the full power of the Immovable Heavenly King Bell, it was still a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank defensive artifact, so no attack from an ordinary Origin King could scratch it. Only if a dozen people joined forces and used their full strength would they pose a threat to Zong Zi Jin.
As he walked forward, Zong Zi Jin turned his head to look at those who attacked him and sneered, “This Zong will remember each of you! When things are settled here, this Zong will definitely return your kindness!”
Hearing these words, many Origin Kings turned pale.
“Young Master Zong, this is a misunderstanding! This one had eyes but failed to recognize Young Master Zong, thus leading him to offend him. Please show mercy, Young Master Zong, if you had reported your name earlier, how could I have possibly attacked you?” An Origin King Realm hurriedly backed down, for fear that Zong Zi Jin would come to settle accounts with him afterwards.
“That’s right, Young Master Zong, as the saying goes, it’s better to make friends than enemies. Why must Young Master Zong be insistant?”
Zong Zi Jin sneered when he heard this groveling and without stopping, said faintly, “Fine, since it is all a misunderstanding, then I shall let this matter go, but… if anyone dares to harass this Young Master again, he will not be so forgiving.”
“We would not dare.”
“Young Master Zong is merciful!”
The cultivators were overjoyed.
Zong Zi Jin obviously knew this was not the time to get tangled up with these people. If he was stubborn and drew them into a fight, it would only benefit others in the end, so he backed down without much hesitation.
The only other person present who could compete with Duan Tian Ci and Zong Zi Jin now was Yang Kai.
Having already reached this point, he naturally circulated his Golden Divine Dragon Source slightly to resist the invisible Dragon Pressure, so in truth, he was the most at ease.
As the three of them moved forward, they exchanged glances and sparks could be seen flying.
Yang Kai secretly felt bitter at this moment, because unlike Duan Tian Ci and Zong Zi Jin, he had no backing and no background, so if he really used his full strength to sweep away the treasures on the Soaring Dragon Altar, he would definitely suffer public outrage.
As such, he was considering whether to let Duan Tian Ci and Zong Zi Jin start first and use them to share the pressure.
But soon, he rejected this idea because, no matter how many or how few treasures he took away, he would still be targeted. If that was the case, he should just go all out…
Just as Yang Kai made up his mind though, Duan Tian Ci suddenly formed a seal with his hands and caused his aura to soar.
He had not hesitated to use some kind of powerful Secret Technique to boost his strength at this last moment.
Immediately, he let out a loud laugh and crossed the last dozen metres or so, arriving at the Soaring Dragon Altar in one fell swoop!
Seeing this situation, Yang Kai’s heart clenched while Zong Zi Jin’s expression also changed, both of them gritting their teeth as they increased their speed.
“It’s all mine!” Duan Tian Ci laughed loudly as he stretched out his hand to grip a sword-like artifact.
This sword was undoubtedly among the best of the dozen or so treasures on the Soaring Dragon Altar, its whole body radiating a powerful glow that marked it as unordinary at a glance.
Duan Tian Ci was still a cautious man, though, so when he seized the sword artifact, he also raised his vigilance while circulating his strength, preparing for anything unexpected.
What surprised him though was that he was able to pick up the sword with great ease.
This result made him freeze for a moment, but it did not diminish his joy.
Just when he was about to stuff his first harvest into his Space Ring though, something unexpected happened.
As soon as the sword left the Soaring Dragon Altar, it actually flickered and transformed into a dead tree branch. Not only did it lose its original appearance, it also lost all its aura…
With a gust of wind, the dead branch broke into two pieces and fell to the ground.
Duan Tian Ci’s smile stiffened.
The expressions of the many cultivators who had been paying attention to him weren’t any better, filled with doubt, surprise, mockery, and incomprehension…
“It’s… it’s a fake?” After a moment, Duan Tian Ci roared unwillingly as he threw away the half of the dead branch in his hand and grabbed a hammer artifact.
The second artifact was taken out by him, and similarly to the first, it turned into an ordinary stone the moment it left the Soaring Dragon Altar.
“An illusion! It’s all an illusion! We’ve been deceived!”
Suddenly, a cry of unwillingness rang out from the crowd.
There was no need for this person’s reminder, though, as almost everyone present had figured out what was happening by now.
After all, Duan Tian Ci had picked up two artifacts in front of everyone’s eyes so there was no chance for him to falsify anything or swap the artifacts for fakes without someone noticing. As such, the only explanation was that the treasures on Soaring Dragon Altar were not real. Everything was an illusion that was powerful enough to deceive everyone present.
For a moment, the cultivators who had been struggling to move forward came to halt, unsure whether they should be laughing or crying.
No one thought that the final outcome would be like this.
The Soaring Dragon Altar, which all of them believed was their chance to leap over the Dragon Gate and soar into the Heavens, turned out to be a giant fraud.
Yang Kai was also stunned stupid.
The moment Duan Tian Ci used his Secret Technique to rush forward, Yang Kai had become quite anxious, but seeing the dramatic scene before him… he was caught quite unprepared.
Swiftly, his expression changed as he closed his eyes briefly before opening them once more.
With everyone’s focus elsewhere, no one noticed that Yang Kai ‘s left eye had turned golden.
The next moment, he rushed forward.
On the other side, Zong Zi Jin also ran up to the Soaring Dragon Altar, and after exchanging a glance with Duan Tian Ci, he began snatching up one ‘treasures’ after another from the Soaring Dragon Altar before tossing each one away.
The seemingly precious treasures and Secret Arts all turned out to be extremely ordinary things, of no use or value whatsoever. Many of these things, after being thrown to the ground, even fell apart and turned to dust the wind then blew away.
Soon, Yang Kai joined them.
Picking up a jade bottle, Yang Kai opened it and looked inside before angrily cursing and tossing it away.
Not long after, under the joint efforts of the trio, it turned out that nothing on the Soaring Dragon Altar was real.
“How could this be?” Duan Tian Ci still seemed unable to accept this ending as he kept muttering disappointedly.
“It seems… we’ve all been played for fools!” Zong Zi Jin laughed wryly at himself.